For the last week our weather has been dominated by a very slow moving low. First there were 3-4 days of southerly winds. Those made the mooring in Bora Bora uncomfortable, but we took advantage of them to sail to Tahaa. Today the low is quite close so last night and today we had almost no wind at all. That made our last anchorage a little problematic since drifting to the east had the potential for wrapping our anchor chain around a mooring. So we moved south a couple of miles to Baie Tapuamu opposite Motu Tautau (or Islet Tautau). We had tried to visit Tautau yesterday but a few miles straight into the south wind at 10-15 kts and 1' - 2' chop in the dinghy was just not going to be in any fun so we turned around and went north to the village of Patio which was a more protected trip as we headed around the north shore. Then the wind died last evening and today was almost flat calm. From our new base in Tapuamu it was quick trip in flat water.
We snorkeled between TauTau and Maharare in the "coral river". The water was very shallow which was challenging, but the fish were amazing! Several kinds of trigger wish we hadn't seen before, some new wrasses that looked absolutely psychedelic and lots of clams. Fay got some great clam shots, but this is the one she likes the best.
Then back at the dingy I shot this "screen saver" view of the southeast tip of Maharare looking north. Not much I can add, I think the picture says it all!
