Sunday, July 5, 2026 16°51'S 144°39'W

Tahanea NE - Motu Taharoa

The wind continues to back, so it was again time to move. We spent the morning on boat projects, and then hoisted anchor for a short jump closer to the three atoll passes.

Easy trip in light winds, with barely a bommie in sight. We were able to tuck the boat snugly behind the stream of the tiny Passe Otao. As there are no actually good spots for a 270° wind shift, we hope the tidal stream will smoothen the waves a bit.

After dropping the hook we ensured none of the nearby coral heads come too high, and rowed to see the pass on an incoming tide. Beautiful corals!

• Distance today: 4.3NM
• Lunch: spaghetti aglio e olio
• Engine hours: 1.5

Thursday, July 2, 2026 16°52'S 144°35'W

Tahanea E - Tahanea NE

In expectation of a 360° wind shift, we moved to the NE corner of the atoll. We motored the 5NM towards north and found a bommie-free spot in 6 meters deep after a bit of searching. Now we can explore the close by motus and enjoy a new scenery.

• Distance today: 5.3NM
• Breakfast: rye bread with cheese
• Engine hours: 1.7

Thursday, June 18, 2026 16°57'S 144°35'W

Tahanea Middle Pass - Tahanea E

After a nap and coffee the sun was high enough, and we hoisted the anchor.

Wind was slightly down from sunrise, but still in the 20kn range, driving big rolling waves through the 8NM fetch on the atoll. We decided to motorsail to keep the boat moving despite the excessive hobby horsing.

As always, bommie dodging in these uncharted waters was quite challenging, with waves occasionally splashing the lookout standing in the rear of the boat. But it was all worth it, we’re again anchored in a gorgeous and protected spot. And getting ready for the Midsummer.

• Distance today: 10NM
• Lunch: spaghetti with homemade pesto
• Engine hours: 3.2

Thursday, June 18, 2026 16°50'S 144°41'W

Makemo E - Tahanea Middle Pass

After several windy days, we knew the pass would be in a 24/7 ebb. Constant outgoing current means that you can only choose how fast you are being shot out of the pass. So based on available information we decided that at 2pm we should be ready at the pass.

We hoisted the anchor around noon. It was a bit of a workout as it had dug itself deep into the white sand. We motored through the atoll and were greeted by two other boats on their way out. It is always nice when someone else has come to the same conclusion of the best pass timing as you. We watched Windhorse II and Plan B go out with approximate 4kn current, so with Plan B 0.7NM away and nearly through, we stepped into the conveyor belt of the pass and made our speedy way through. No significant standing waves were present, so after the pass we hoisted the main in 1st reef and poled out the staysail and were on our way!

In the darkness we gybed and continued on a fast beam reach till midnight watch change. At that point it was time to try and slow down, so we put in a second reef. That wasn’t quite enough, so at 3am and 5NM to the pass we hove to and waited for light. It was pleasant to see the boat drift at about 1kn slowly towards our destination, bow staying at about 50° AWA, and the turbulent slick left by our keel calming the breakers.

About a half hour before sunrise we eased the tiller and sheets, and continued our way towards the pass with just the reefed mainsail. Just at sunrise we slipped through with 2.5 to 3kn counter-current.

Powered by the mainsail and engine we made it through quick and smooth. Inside the atoll we packed in the sail and dug the anchor from the chain locker and dropped the hook. It was time to sleep and only think of navigating the atoll in the afternoon with the sun high on the sky to see the bommies.

• Distance today: 92NM
• Lunch: lentil-sweet potato stew
• Engine hours: 3.6

Saturday, June 6, 2026 16°39'S 143°23'W

Pouheva - Makemo E

In the morning we completed the boat’s provisioning by rowing to get some fresh croissants from the village bakery. Then we waited for the sun to move to a better angle and hoisted anchor.

Soon we were able to fly full sail, and ghost along the still atoll on a gentle breeze. Sun was high and behind us, making bommie avoidance easy. And with this wind direction, the sails provided a nice shade for the lookout.

Now we are anchored in the east end of the Makemo atoll. Water is very clear here, and there are many reefs to explore. But first we’ll have to wait out some higher winds over the next two days.

• Distance today: 10NM
• Lunch: melanzanchini
• Engine hours: 1.4

Wednesday, June 3, 2026 16°37'S 143°34'W

Garumaoa - Pouheva

There are passages that are easy, and there are passages that are nice. This was neither. We were supposed to sail on beam reach from Raroia to Makemo, following a gentle curve of a backing wind.

With this plan, we timed ourselves to slack water at the pass. And indeed there was no current, but as a sign of things to come, quite big and sharp waves that carried through the pass.

We exited together with Plan B. We were hobbyhorsing quite badly in the swell, and soon they overtook us and headed for the horizon.

Wind turned way earlier than anticipated, and what followed was a tough beat into big waves and quite changing winds. At times we were making comfortable progress with 60° wind angle and 15kn of wind, and other times we were bobbing about with no wind.

And then there were the squalls. 33kn, 36kn, and the last one taking the crown at 45kn. With sails up, the best option was to run with these, losing an hour or two of progress in just minutes. After the last squall, the wind died and we had to motor in. At least we timed the pass correctly and had a totally smooth ride in with 1.5kn of favourable current.

• Distance today: 94NM
• Lunch: lentil turnip curry
• Engine hours: 8.4

Monday, June 1, 2026 16°2'S 142°28'W

Raroia E - Garumaoa

Anchor got up slightly after planned departure time, but it came up easily. The pearl floats make hoisting anchor by hand lighter. Then we started motoring to the other side of the atoll.

We needed to keep a extremely vigilant lookout, as the Raroia East anchorage has a lot of unused pearl farm ropes and floats partially submerged around it. On many occasions we needed to turn the engine on neutral and hope we glide over the ropes without getting tangled. In this kind of a place a full keel is a good keel form as the likelyhood of getting caught by the derelict ropes is smaller.

We anchored in close proximity to the pier, but the supply ship for this month already did its visit last week. We are going for dinner on land with one of the local families.

• Distance today: 7NM
• Lunch: wraps with hummus
• Engine hours: 1.9

Saturday, May 30, 2026 16°6'S 142°22'W

Raroia NE to Raroia E

The Raroia northeast anchorage was very comfortable, and the facilities of the “Twin Palms Yacht Club” fun. But we still wanted to explore the rest of the atoll.

And so in the morning we hoisted anchor and followed Plan B on a slaloming motoring course between the coral bommies.

Now we are anchored next to an abandoned pearl farm, and very near the spot where Kon-Tiki did their crash landing after the Pacific crossing in 1947.

• Distance today: 10.9NM
• Lunch: tofu curry
• Engine hours: 2.7

Wednesday, May 20, 2026 15°56'S 142°19'W

Raroia, 485NM S of Anaho

The sea state grew a bit more rumbunctious than before but Lille Ø made decent progress. In the morning we poled out the genoa and continued wing on wing untill our speed dropped a bit too much. If we could keep up 5kn, we still had a chance to make it through the pass with a favorable current. Or so we thought. Timing the entry to an atoll is not an exact sciense. There are no measurement devices around, nor pass schedules provided. The best tool available is Guestimator, and that gets it wrong on many occasions. The things to consider are: tide, wind, waves, amount of passes, pass widths, size of the atoll. All these components affect the in and outgoing current and when they occur.

Guestimator had the slack tide at 1pm. The boats going through reported 5 to 6 knots of current at that time, we came in at 14:30 when guestimator had given 2kn of incoming current, in reality we had 4kn against. Luckily this is a wide pass with buoys marking the best path through. After the pass we motored through the uncharted waters of the atoll and dropped our anchor into 4 meters of crystal clear water and floated the anchor with couple of floaties to keep it away from the choral bommies.

Raroia is gorgeus. Well spend here a while soaking up all the different shades of blue.

• Distance today: 108NM
• Lunch: bananas
• Engine hours: 5.5

Tuesday, May 19, 2026 14°26'S 142°10'W

Pacific Ocean, 377NM S of Anaho

The light and easy conditions continued as we sailed past the Isles of Disappointment, aptly named for their lack of anchorages.

As the atolls draw nearer, the boats that chose this weather window from the various Marqusan islands are starting to converge. At the time of writing we have three visible on AIS, one - Norwegian Alissa - which actually shows above the horizon.

• Distance today: 98NM
• Lunch: navy bean soup
• Engine hours: 0