Exposure Therapy - Sharks 101

With several days on the Fakarava South Pass we were soaking up all the goodness. A beautiful beach, a great reef for snorkeling and the famous 'south pass' for Scuba Diving and snorkeling. Dan has done scuba dives with sharks many times -- but me -- well, I was in for a new and exciting experience of 2 hours of face-to-face encounters with these magnificent creatures.

Drifting over coral beds in the Fakarava South Pass, amazing visibility

We departed early - 6:50 AM - with a pick up direct from our boat. We, along with crews from 4 other ARC boats were on our way to the South Pass. The guides were terrific! There was one to every 4 divers. They did all the work, making it low stress for us. We were dropped in the water by the boat where the incoming tide flows through the narrow inlet in the reef. The current was moderate when we dropped in, I'm guessing 1-2 knots. We descended to about 40' while simultaneously drifting along the South wall of the pass. As per most dives in tropical locations there was much to see.

Just another shark headed straight toward us...

Lots of corals, fishes and in this case loads of sharks. The sharks seemed to swim back and forth in the deep part of the channel just waiting for the fish to flow through the narrow inlet and into their mouth for breakfast. There were hundreds of them (ok, well at least 50 and at times we could see 10-20 at a time!). This was a drift dive, so we didn't have to do much but just float and correctly steer ourselves behind the guide and out of the way of the sharks that were coming toward us. I was using my new gear, so was pleased that everything worked great. The water was so clear. At one point, I turned back to look at Dan (who was taking all the photos) and when I turned back I was face to face with a big nurse shark who thankfully adjusted his/her course to go around me. I'm proud of successfully not getting freaked out. After seeing so many, you would think I would be desensitized but alas, I'm not really -- but I'd do this dive again anytime. In my mind, I've just decided that a 3mm wetsuit creates an invisible force field that nothing can penetrate, so swimming with sharks (and an experienced guide) is A-OK.

After a brief rest for tea and biscuits on shore (which was much appreciated by the British people in our group), we repeated the drift dive this time on the North side of the pass. By this time the turbulence in the water had subsided, and the current strengthened a bit which means the visibility was amazing and blue. We floated down the pass again like superman/woman seeing things anew from a different vantage. It was a spectacular day.

We joined the other boats anchored here for a Beach BBQ. Bocce ball in progress as the sun sets.

We wrapped up our time at Fakarava South with a beach BBQ with our friends then departed back to the North. At the town on the North end we managed to secure a few fresh onions and 2 potatoes which would have to last us until we got to Papeete.

Final night at Fakarava South for a dingy raft up to watch the sun go down. (This is a fun way to get together when no one wants to host on their boat -- and no one wants to get bitten by bugs on the beach at sunset!)

We then headed 40 NM to the north end of the atoll of Toau. Population 4. This place was so scenic. Deb spent hours snorkeling, I got the paddleboard out, Gregg kayaked and Dan painted the dingy engine. It was idyllic. The family that lives here, runs a 'restaurant' of sorts. Basically, you make arrangements with them and they make you dinner on the beach the next day. Together with the crew of two other boats in the anchorage we enjoyed rice, poisson cru (ceviche) and fried fish caught by "De-se-ray" that morning along the outer reef.

Dan enjoying his own private island for the afternoon.

Dinner on the beach at Toau Atoll

Anchored at Taou Atoll (Drone credit: Dave McLeman/SV Offbeat)

After soaking up soooo much sun and sea -- and with the fresh provisions gone it was time to head to the city of Papeete, Tahiti. This was only a 36 hour trip. It was smooth sailing the entire way. We arrived early this morning at 1 am to the famous Point Venus. Anchoring in the dark is not our favorite, but it is wide open bay, well charted. With all our electronics and information from other previous sailors on where to anchor out of the swell it was no problem. We find ourselves this morning in the very bay Captain Cook anchored on April 13, 1769 in preparation to watch the Transit of Venus in June of 1769. It is a lovely bay framed by beautiful green mountains of Tahiti. This week, back to city life we are looking forward to many meals out, roadtrips and likely a lot of visits to local Chandleries.

The view we woke up to, anchored off Point Venus, Tahiti