Nanumea 05 40.314s 176 07.071e December 3, 2015 (Posted from Majuro February 2017) Janet We made it. Outside the reef of Nanumea atoll, 300 miles north of Funafuti, we faced a line of breaking water at the head of the pass into the lagoon. Just in front of us was Tim, from Exodus, who'd come out in his dinghy to guide us in. They had entered the lagoon earlier in the week. The waves at the entrance threatened to push us onto the coral, but the pass was well marked and we worked out where to go. As we motored in I looked over the side and could see the bottom, its clarity making it look only a couple of feet deep. I held my breath. We dropped anchor amongst the fleet in a tranquil location, flat sea, shelter all around and a village on shore. Surely a safe haven. Despite the early hour we decided a beer was in order. The cap was barely off the bottle and Deanne , Tim's wife, came alongside on her paddleboard to say hello. She was filling us in on life at Nanumea when the VHF crackled into life. "Northbound Fleet, Northbound Fleet, Free Spirit, Free Spirit, we need help. We have run aground at the entrance to the pass." said Lauri in a shaky voice. The magnitude of the event took a while to hit. We felt disbelief. It was a beautiful calm day, not the kind of day for something serious to happen. =20 "Free Spirit, Free Spirit this is Exodus, we will be out immediately." Came the reply moments later from Tim back on Exodus. They had a dinghy with a big outboard. Big enough to try and pull the yacht off the reef. Several other dinghies joined them. But not us, as our tiny motor would be more a hindrance than a help. Later we learned that on shore people ran for their boats and headed to the pass to help out. I was just beginning to think this was a fatal grounding, that Chuck and Lauri's Pacific trip was over, when we heard on the radio that they were off the reef, floating again. Later on, over a much needed drink, in the cockpit of Free Spirit, the still visibly shocked crew related their tale to us. They had been just about to enter the pass, well lined up with the outer marks, when Wham! A wave picked their yacht up and dumped it on the reef, forcing it onto its starboard side. "It was like hitting a brick wall," said Chuck. "For a moment I wondered if we were in the right pass," he continued. Later when they reviewed their chart they could see a bend in their track where they were picked up by the wave and bodily moved sideways onto the reef. The hull banged on the coral several times as waves came and went. The boat was so far over on its side that the starboard rail was underwater. "Radio for help," Chuck told Lauri. Five minutes later Tim turned up in his dinghy, but with no ropes.=20 "That boat is not coming off," Paul, who'd been with Tim, told us later. This was his first thought when he saw Free Spirit lying on her side on the reef, at high tide. "Grab a rope out of the lazarette," Chuck told Lauri, a difficult job with the boat on a steep slope. Heeled over so far meant there was no water getting into the engine to cool it but Chuck bravely carried on, gunning the engine each time a wave came over the reef. Then a slightly larger wave lifted them back into the water. A miracle. Grounding at high tide is usually certain doom. Later I snorkeled under their boat, and could see ragged aft end of the keel. There but for the grace of God I thought. Prematurely. It could have been any of us. And indeed it was to be. *** We spent a little time in the village. First we searched out Melee and her family who are Teamone's cousins. Teamone was Kailopa's brother-in-law and dear friend from Funafuti. They gave us a sack full of drinking coconuts. Chilled, their contents are a glorious thirst quenching nectar. We took Melee's four kids out to the boat. They peeked into every space in wonder. On Sunday I went to church with Exodus. The building was enormous, and ornate. One of the interesting and sad things about religion in much of the Pacific, is that is so Anglicised, all the trappings and traditions the same. Only the language is different. Even the plastic flowers were roses and carnations. The singing though was awesome, one woman in the choir should have been in Carnege Hall. Unusually the island only had one religion. We've been to many villages with four or five different denominations and churches for about 250 people. However this could have a dark side. The weekly ship from Funafuti arrived and a huge crowd was waiting to leave on her. A local woman told us that many of the people were being deported because they were the wrong religion. I've yet to verify this. Despite this atoll being a place to break the journey to Kiribati I don't recommend it to other sailors. The anchor snagging bombies gave most boats anchoring problems, and the flies were interminable. They pestered us from dawn till dusk. We had to cover the entrance to the cockpit with mosquito net, put mesh on all the hatches and live mostly inside. And we won't mention the pass. =20 *** With a fleet of nine we had a built in social life. We had music sessions with Brian and Amanda on Carla Catherine, dinner at Free Spirit, drinks on Exodus. When this group started getting together people would turn up with peanuts and popcorn. I would turn up with a delicacy; cheese with my various pickles, yes even tasty cheese is a treat up here. Even the kiwi onion dip was a hit. Then the other night I made gougons of tuna with Parmesan aioli. It elicited oohs and ahhs. I have been hoarding the last of my Best mayonnaise for just this kid of occasion. However not to be outdone, the food offerings from the other boats improved noticeably. *** =20 1300, Dec 8 "What time is lift off?" I asked. "10 minutes, we may need some time to get the anchor up," said David. We were on the cusp of heading out to sail 500 miles to Kiribati. We were a fleet of five. The rest of the boats had left the previous day. On the radio we joked about meeting at the start line, this side of the pass. Who will go through first, I wondered. I didn't think it would be Free Spirit after their reef encounter last week. Would we all make it through safely?