Tuamotus

25. September 2011, Sunday
15° 10' 22" S, 147° 42' 0" W


"The Tuamotus? Heading Northeast from Tahiti?! That's going to be hard!"
The harbor master, with whom we have to check out before we leave Papeete, was right.
Normally one sails from here with wind and waves to the west, but to make it short:
After all the years on board the Odin and some bad weather, this time I felt really queasy for the first time.
Yes, let's call it a spade......I think I was SEASICKED!
And if I hadn't eaten such a delicious beef steak on the day of departure, which I definitely wanted to keep with me, I would certainly have fed the fish.
Well, after the first night I had grown “sea legs” again and the queasy feeling in my stomach was gone.
Nevertheless, the course we had to bolt upwind for 48 hours was one of the most uncomfortable for a long time.
We are now on Rangiroa, which means something like "the wide sky".
With a length of 80 km and a width of up to 32 km, this atoll is the second largest in the world.
It's so big that due to the curvature of the earth, you can't see the other side of the lagoon.
However, one can only enter it through one of two passes at certain times, otherwise the tidal currents are too strong.
Now we lie at anchor in her calm waters shimmering in all blue and aquamarine, colorful fish swim around the Odin and how could it be otherwise, all of a sudden all the hardships of this crossing are forgotten ;o)