Jenevora Swann narrates an adventurous trip to the Tuamotus in the heart of French Polynesia
With a multitude of coral reef atolls encompassing aquamarine water, secluded anchorages and miles of low lying coconut palm trees, you could be forgiven for thinking you’d arrived in a tropical paradise when sailing in the Tuamotus in the heart of French Polynesia.
Save for one thing. When it comes to exploring the South Pacific, the Tuamotus has a reputation among sailors that has long since earned them the nickname of the “Dangerous Archipelago”, due to the shallow, sharp reefs that surround the atolls.
Lying 930 miles north-northeast of Tahiti, the Tuamotus form the largest group of coral atolls in the world, covering a total area of 772,204 square miles, but with a land mass of just 328 miles.
Barely rising above sea level, all but one of the 76 atolls are low-lying and are made up of large fringing reefs and tiny motus (islands) that encircle a lagoon.
They are so difficult to spot, especially at night, it’s no wonder their reefs and currents caused many a shipwreck in bygone days. Famous British explorers who ventured into the Tuamotus include John Byron, James Cook and Robert Louis Stevenson.
Heeding their ‘dangerous’ reputation, some cruisers barely deviate from the well-marked passes of the two largest atolls of Rangiroa and Fakarava as they make their way southwest to the Tuamotus from the Marquesas or northeast from the Society Islands. Both of these popular atolls have marked channels to the main village, good provisioning and access to a 4G network.
Atoll Advice
For a skipper, the lack of landmarks and need for eyeball navigation, especially in locating narrow passes, can make entering an atoll tricky. Timing arrival to coincide with a slack tide is recommended as the difference in water height between the inside and the outside of the lagoon creates strong currents, which can result in standing waves in the channel.
While extra care must be taken when passage planning in the Tuamotus, especially when sailing at night, a confident skipper is all it takes to venture further afield and away from the mass of boats that gather in Rangiroa and Fakarava.
Once safely in through the various atoll passes, it’s a different world in the protected lagoons beyond. But the dangers haven’t finished yet!
A good light and someone on the foredeck are essential when cr
