Good Starfish, Bad Starfish

We are always learning on this adventure. We've learned that not all
starfish are good. The Crown of Thorns starfish are interesting
critters...central body with 'legs' similar to other starfish. But the
number of legs is more than 5. And not necessarily multiples of five. They
eat coral. They are eaten by Napoleon Wrasse and other big (and locally
absent) fish.


Here on Majuro Atoll and adjacent Arno Atoll, these starfish are in the
midst of a population boom. The scientists don't really understand very much
about them and are not sure what causes these localized explosions. But they
do know that where these leggy critters are in abundance, the coral is
decimated.

An instructor at College of Marshall Islands (CMI) and the local fishing
industry association (MIMRA) have joined efforts in an eradication program.
We were asked to join in the effort. So John, Mike (my brother), and I
joined five cruisers and 10 others and jumped on one of the local fishing
transport boats to nearby Arno Atoll. Even though we were planning to stay
only one night, we were loaded to the gills. On board was dive and snorkel
equipment for everyone, 2 dozen tanks, food, coolers, sleeping equipment and
so on. We could have stayed a week! The trip was fast, travelling at least
20 knots - we arrived in less than an hour, propelled by two huge 150hp
engines on the back of this open vessel.

We arrived and staked out the accommodations at a local B&B. Shortly
thereafter, we had a brief intro from Dean, the CMI instructor to discuss
what we were looking for, how we would capture them, and how to avoid being
stung by their sharp thorns. We were diving at night, as that is when they
are most active, and will be easiest to capture.

At 8pm, we all (remember - 18 of us) jumped into the back of a truck for the
ride to the boat. We spent an hour sorting out our gear and getting suited
up and then the boat dropped us onto the reef, just 100m away from the dock.
We worked in pairs or triplets, with some people responsible for scanning
and searching for animals, others wielding the long handled bbq tongs for
their removal, and all of us with multiple straw sacks tucked into our
BCD's/wetsuits that we were to fill with dozens of creatures.

After an hour of searching John, Mike and I had caught one starfish. ONE.
Most other dive teams had similar luck, with only two or three animals. The
snorkellers were having much better luck in shallow water, but we didn't
know that until we all rendezvoused back on the boat. Our trip definitely
added to the knowledge pool on this creature: shallow areas were preferred,
rather than the deeper sites; animals remain hidden and are not especially
active during the full moon; and coral with bleached spots may indicate a
nearby starfish.

All in all, it was a good trip. We did some snorkelling the next morning,
and a few more Crown of Thorns were added to the 45 that we collected the
previous night. The coral at Arno is some of the most beautiful we've seen
anywhere in the Pacific, such diversity and explosions of colour. Fabulous.

Disappointment in Raiatea

(Written on July 28)

We booked time in the boatyard at Raiatea Carinage some time ago and we've worked up quite a to do list while we sat on the hard. When we first pulled into the lagoon at Raiatea, we went straight to the yard, picked up a mooring, and investigated. My heart sunk. The yard was dirty, no washer-dryer in sight, and worse of all...it had only one toilet stall and a single shower. And both were beyond disgusting. I wasn't sure that I could withstand five days with such facilities. And I'm no princess. Mike and John were just a grossed out as I was. 

So, on Monday morning, when we were hauled out of the water, Mikey took a mop and a bucket of bleach to the facilities. Although it didn't look much better, at least we knew it was clean. Kind of. In any case, we were still very careful not to touch anything when being in there. EWWWWWWW....

The good news is that the stands they use to support the boat are pretty fabulous, and we feel quite secure about leaving the boat here. They've done a good job of hauling the boat, and the workers even swam below to boat, to place the straps exactly where they were needed. And the staff could not be nicer, or more helpful. Wow.

Our neighbors here in the yard have been great...Eric and Kris on SV Lady Meg are fellow Canadians and are finishing their trip around the world. They've been a great resource, as they've stored their boat in yards around the world several times to return home to Canada. There is a local family here, and the two girls, Leah and Daphine, are taking care of the litter of yard puppies...and have also been a hoot as we exchange language skills.

Our time at Raiatea went by in a blur of boat projects. Mike and John took a day off to dive a local wreck...John even saw the elusive Hammerhead Shark. I stayed on the boat, as I knew I'd want to do more diving here next year upon our return, and diving inside wrecks freak me out. Something about confined spaces, I guess! We also spent time with friends on Dillon and Escapade to check out some of the local eateries, share a few meals, and watch a local festival.

It was great having Mike here, although was probably not the most relaxing end to a dream holiday for him! He's promised to write a blog post about his time on the boat, so stayed tuned for his perspective! After a few days in Raiatea, we stuffed his duffel bag full of broken boat parts, and went to see him off at the airport. We'd be following in his footsteps in a few days as we make our own way home.

Diving the Cessna

Yesterday had a great dive on the wreck of a Cessna airplane nearby. It was a shallow dive, so we shared equipment among 8 of us. Nice to get in the water, as it was smokin' hot. After our dive, we floated around, enjoying our cool beverages. It will be hard to leave here.

It's been great having Mike here - we're off today to explore the market, and take in some of the celebrations for Heiva - the month-long festival. Tonight we have tickets to see some of the dance and singing competitions!

Still in Rangiroa

We're still here in Rangiroa. The wind forecast was increased, so we decided to hang out here for a while. Neither of us have any desire to head out into 30 knot winds at the moment. Who knows...maybe it won't materialize. No worries. We're loving it here, so it doesn't really matter.

Above is a pic of John and I on our dive this week. Thanks to Taku, who gave us a copy of the photo. He did 11 dives while he was here!! WOW.

Our Position: 14°58.1'S and 147°38.2'W

Rangiroa - cheeseburgers and diving

Rangiroa Atoll, Tuamotu Archipelago, French Polynesia

Rangiroa is the largest coral atoll in the world. And the most populated island in the Tuamotus (2500 people). And still, slow internet!! But...we have managed to get email via wifi on the boat, so we can't complain too much. And, if you're willing to connect in odd hours, you might be able to do a bit of surfing. You may also notice that I've managed to figure out how to add an image to the blog posts finally. Hurray!!

Rangiroa has been awesome. On our first day here, after our nap, we met a great crew of sailors, and enjoyed drinks on the quay with them. Since then we've enjoyed drinks, diving, and a few meals with them - it's been a hoot. We're looking forward to running into them again in Tahiti!

The village is spread out among several motus, connected by a roadway, with the airport about 1/2 way between the two ends. We had heard that the local super hotel ($300-800 per night) offered a traditional Polynesian
performance, which we thought would be fun, but the hotel was closed for renos. With a combo of hitch-hiking and bike rentals we explored the 10 km or so to the other end of the road. There were a few stores, one even had veggies - green peppers and limes!! Too bad we couldn't carry more supplies on the bikes. We also stopped at a few trinket stores and pearl boutiques. It was a nice morning of exploring. Back at the quay, we treated ourselves to beer and fanta and cheeseburgers!! Hmmm....pomme frites!!

Yesterday, we went for a dive in Tiputa Pass, a drift dive that is highly recommneded. Although they warned us that it would not be as beautiful as the colourful coral of Fakarava, this is the place where we are more likely to see the large marine wildlife. Although it was fun to drift with the
current - feeling a bit like Peter Pan as we flew through the water effortlessly - we didn't see too much wildlife. We did see sharks and the largest Napolean Wrasse ever...as big as me, I swear. But no manta rays. And no hammerheads. Too bad. Another diver took a video and gave us a copy, so we hope to be able to put a snippet on the blog once we get to Tahiti.

We're getting geared up to leave for Tahiti. Today I fixed our spray cloth that was blown out in last week's storm, and John prepared our sails and filled up our fuel tank. We need to be in Tahiti in order to attempt to renew our visas; we'd like to stay longer than the standard three months that are issued upon arrival. Hopefully that won't be a problem, but we're getting many mixed messages. It will take us a couple days to get there, but we're looking forward to being in a marina with showers and laundry for the first time since Mexico - almost four months ago!

Our Position (Rangiroa): 14°58.1'S and 147°38.2'W

Fakarava North - Pearls, Sharks, and Alternators

After a morning snorkel at the reef beside our anchorage, we weighed anchor and headed north to the village of Rotoava at the North end of Fakarava. This was an excellent way to cap off Amy and Strahan's visit to Renova. We wandered the village and found ourselves giddy at the prospect of filling our cupboards once again. We arranged a visit to a pearl farm, and were able to see how the gorgeous "Tahitian Black Pearls" are made. It is a much more complex process than I expected, and was surprised to learn that only one percent of all pearls produced are "A" quality - round, without blemishes, and with a high luster. We also got to meet Mike and Kyo from IO, from Victoria!

I tried to get online and do a few internet jobs, but found that paying two bills and viewing our account took almost 2 hours. While I banged my head against a wall, Amy and Strahan went for a fabulous dive outside the reef and John worked on replacing our VHF, which has become problematic as it only wishes to work intermittently. Now, everyone in the anchorage knows that it is us calling, as they are now able to recognize the machine gun noise that we broadcast whenever we push the transmit button on our mike. Too bad. We loved that radio, and it was almost new when we left BC. Oh well...the 1980's model works well, even though it is a power pig, and doesn't have some of the common channels, nor the fancy features. At least the rest of the anchorage doesn't feel as though they are in a war zone.

On Amy and Strahan's last day, we three went for a dive through the Garuae Pass. It was fabulous, and well worth the accolades in all the travel guides. We drifted through the pass, pausing several times to hold onto the coral and watch all the sea life around us. We saw hundreds of reef sharks, and more fish that I had thought possible to inhabit such an area. It was absolutely stunning, and I'm glad that I decided to join them at the last minute. And we finally got to meet Mike and Sammi from SV Quartermoon, who we'd shared anchorages with a few times, but hadn't met yet.

We celebrated our last evening by dining out at the Blue Van. This van is parked in someone's front yard, has plastic patio furniture in front, and serves up the standard menu of burgers, steak frites, and chow mein. Kinda eclectic fare, although it seems to be the norm around here. It was a fabulous meal. And we were able to chat with other cruisers who had also come to enjoy the meal - Mike and Hyo from IO (Canada), Jackie and Gary from Inspiration Lady (Canada), and Jack from Anthem (USA).

On departure day, we went ashore for last minute items, had one more swim, and then brought aboard the anchor and headed to the airport. There is a wharf directly in front of the airport, and we were able to tie up less than 100 feet from the airport check in counter. On the way over, the alternator wasn't charging the batteries, and none of the gauges on the engine panel were functioning, so while John and I did some troubleshooting and dug out the spare alternator, Amy prepared a lunch of fresh baguette and cheese in the cockpit. Turns out we had blown a fuse, so it wasn't long before we had replaced the fuse, and we were all enjoying lunch in the cockpit. After they checked in, we were able to return to the boat and enjoy a beer. I jumped in for a quick snorkel, and the fish life was fabulous.

Finally, the plane arrived and it was time to go. We said goodbye to Amy and Strahan and "ALLEZ". It was so great to have them aboard and we'll definitely miss their company. And their help. It was awesome having the extra hands to help with the anchor, the steering, the dinghy, the cooking, etc! And they were so generous with bringing down needed supplies and helping us to re-provision. We look forward to having them aboard again.

We waved to the departing plane as we made our way back to the anchorage.

We spent our last evening here enjoying sangria with Chris, Christine and the kids from Ottawa on their catamaran, SV Stray Kitty. Mike and Sammi from Quartermoon joined us, as did Jamie and Behan from Totem. What a fun night!!

Our Position: 16°03.7'S and 145°37.2'W