The Pass Kauehi; Taumotus

Approaching the pass of Kauehi the rainsquall's keep coming. In a way this is good as the trip to here has been rough and the boat is covered in salt from the waves breaking against the side and spray going halfway up the mast. As this dries it leaves crystals behind that then stick to everything and gets transferred below. Now the rain is welcome and once through the pass it will be calmer. As we approach the pass all is still and we can see some overfalls on the inside. It is early, at least two hours earlier than we should have been, but the pass looked good. We edged our way closer and the water remains good so we decided to go through. Halfway we had a few waves but all was good and we were though... trembling knees and all. It was real easy at the end of the day so what was all the fuss for... it can get really bad in the passes and you just cannot get through them then. We radioed our friends behind us and they followed us through. The lagoon had some waves as the fetch to the weather side was must be around 6-8miles. The route across the lagoon was easy even though it was early and we had poor light to see the coral. We followed the ship channel that remains between 18-39m deep to the village on the other side of the atoll. The anchorage is lovely and for the first time in weeks we have anchored in a bay where the water is clear and there is no rolling around. Did a few odds and sods... made some fresh rolls and had lunch. As Colin had been up since 11pm the previous evening reefing in for the squalls and the letting sail out again as the wind dropped ( We needed to keep up our speed to above 5kn but not over 6kn to get to the pass at a reasonable time), it was now time to catch up on some sleep. So bellies full we hit the pillows. So till later ZZZZZZZZ
All our love
Colin and Sandy

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