We sailed two nights from Tikehau to the false pass of Toau. A distance of 140nm, which normally should be an easy overnight sail for us, ended up being a two night sail as we had the wind straight against us. It is not the first (or last) time that we have experienced that the weather forecast is not correct.
A false pass is a closed basin that is entered from the outside of the reef. It is not possible to go through it into the lagoon of the atoll, as we can do in the “normal” passes. There is little current inside the false pass, as the water flow is hindered by a reef one the inside. So, we are well protected, as long as the wind is blowing from the right direction.
The false pass in Toau has 8 moorings, and considering what we just had experienced in Makatea, we were a little nervous about going on yet another mooring. The wind was blowing 20kts, so even though we were well protected inside the pass, we felt the strain on our lines.
According to the weather forecast, the wind was going to calm down after a couple of days, so we settled in and decided to wait.
We went for a couple of short snorkels nearby, and saw plenty of fish and sharks, but the visibility was not great due to the high winds creating turbulence in the water.
We also visited the local “restaurant” which is at the only inhabitants house on this atoll. Unfortunately, they were not there, only one of their neighbors, who could inform us that they wouldn’t be back for another two weeks. A solid sign that we are getting towards the end of the sailing season here.
The winds increased over the next day, and we had several squalls passing through. We had a couple of quiet boat days, waiting for things to clear up.
On one morning, Bruse received a call from his brother, and that is when we learned the sad news. Bruse’s mother had passed away that morning. It was somewhat unexpected, so needless to say, we were in quite a shocked state.
After reviewing our options of what to do, we decided the best course of action would be to sail the boat back to Tahiti, and fly to Norway from there. The cyclone season is approaching, and it is not ideal to leave a boat in this region when the heavier winds of summer sets in after November 1st.
We worked hard to find a secure spot in Tahiti to leave Noxoma, and contemplated that the admiral might need to stay behind to watch the boat. However, we got very fortunate. After we went to the office of one of the marinas, they were able to find a space for us to leave her for a couple of weeks. We were so relieved, and started preparing the boat for an unplanned stay away.
