Rangiroa is the second largest atoll in the world. It is over 50 miles long and 20 miles wide. We can’t see but a small strip of land from the anchorage near the eastern pass on the norther side of Rangiroa. The rest of the atoll is too far away to see.
We have spent three days getting caught up on Internet, doing maintenance on Tahina, and relaxing. On the first morning, we were very pleased to see how clear the water is in the anchorage. Since we are located only a half mile from the pass, when the tide comes in the water gets very clear. Karen was sitting outside when suddenly a 4-foot manta ray surfaced and swam around Tahina feeding. It was our best view of a manta ray yet! Later in the day we went ashore to find out about dive shops, and to see what the village looks like. We walked around and found a few small grocery stores. Some even had a few fresh vegetables and eggs!
Not all our time in paradise is lounging about, sightseeing, and working on the Internet. We also have to do some manual labor occasionally. For the last two days we have been cleaning off the bottoms of Tahina’s hulls. Even though we have anti-fouling paint things still manage to attach themselves and grow on the hulls. Some gunk even grows above the waterline making Tahina look like she’s been swimming in a dirty pool. This not only looks bad along the waterline, but on the hulls growth can slow the boat down. Barnacles, algae, and slime all create friction. We noticed our performance was down a bit (a half to a whole knot) on the way over from Manihi. Sure enough, after diving on the bottom, there was some inch-long algae growing along the outside (sunny side) of the hulls and a smattering of barnacles (mostly on the saildrives/propellers). As big as Tahina is, the cleaning job takes several hours even with four of us working at it. But, we do get to look down at the fish while we’re working, and its a good way to cool off after some hot hours in the sun.
On Monday, we decided to go for a Memorial Day cookout. Jason and Lara cooked up some cheeseburgers, baked beans, and cole slaw. Other than the bottom work, we all pretty much relaxed for the day as well. We had planned to set up a dive today and maybe do some more sightseeing, but we may have our first rainy day in weeks according to the weather forecast. So, maybe the next day.
Sorry to hear about the grass farm on your hulls. When we lived on Manihi there was no formal anchorage site in the lagoon and none of the basins had been built, so yachts always tied up to the wharf. At that location is was usually no more than a day untill the butterfly and damsel fish had cleaned the jungle off every yacht’s hull! Some of the best fish watching was at slack tide next to a yacht. So, you might consider trying that sometime, i.e., tying to a wharf in a pass where the current sweeps the coral pretty clean and a dirty hull is like a banquet table to the little guys. By the way, one of the yachts left his log on while anchored there and logged 105 nautical miles tied to the wharf in 24 hours. Pretty good current! WTBrooks