Position: 20 degrees, 01 minutes south; 167 degrees, 46 minutes west
Our "landfall". This is it. This is all you see from the outside of the atoll. No land in sight, just the bare top of the reef
Through the pass-it gets this rough because all the current is going out through a fairly small opening in the reef
The color of the water is amazing. This is just inside the reef
We're anchored in about 10 feet of water over sand. Right next to us the depth drops to 40 feet, this the change in color
If you can call it a “landfall”. Actually there is not a stitch of land in sight. This is really an atoll, but without any islands. There’s a reef that surrounds us by 360 degrees and all around us the waves are breaking on the reef. That’s what protects the inside. However, the reef is just under water, so you can’t see any land whatsoever. The only thing that sticks above the reef is a wreck of a fishing boat on the west side of the reef. It’s about 5 miles from north to south and one mile east to west. In the meantime, we’re anchored on the inside in totally protected water. It’s a little bumpy since some part of the wave energy makes it over the reef, but no big waves. Most of the inside of this reef is 40 feet deep with some coral “bommies” that seem to stick up about 10 feet. We don’t want to anchor in that since the chain can get wrapped around the bommies and cause problems. So, we’re on the fringe of the inside-near the reef- in about 11 feet over sand. It’s pretty cool to see because the water color goes from turquoise to ice blue as you move from 40 feet very suddenly to 10 feet. The transition is about three feet-there’s literally a “wall” of sand from the depths up to where we are. Then the 11 feet of sand goes about ΒΌ of a mile out to the ocean reef where the big waves are breaking. These waves are almost the only indication there’s anything here. From the outside, there is very little to tell you there’s a reef here. I said “very little” because there’s one other thing. If there are clouds overheard and you are paying attention, you will see the bottom of the clouds glowing a turquoise color. They are reflecting the inside reef water color. It’s subtle but unmistakable.
All in all, this is kind of like sitting in a bathtub in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. There is a storm of sorts that looks to be blowing through in the next couple days. We’re thinking that this is a good place to sit it out. We might put out a second anchor tomorrow just for extra security. Overall it should be an interesting experience. Heck, just being here is already an experience of a lifetime. Orcinius is here with us and we are the only two boats anywhere near here. We were saying at dinner that there have probably been fewer boats here over the years than people who have climbed Mt. Everest. It’s that far out of the way from anywhere else and the pass is just imposing enough to keep a lot from even trying to get inside.
By the way; our passage was fantastic. The full moon has just been stunning. Tonight it’s still shinning its light, but there are clouds filtering it. We’re looking forward to doing some snorkeling tomorrow weather permitting. The water clarity is nothing short of amazing.