[password] Tsar12
[position] 14 53.68S 146 35.73W
[weather] SE 20 knots rising to 25 in squalls cloudy with fine intervals 30 degrees
[status]the overnight sail to Ahe was straight forward though Zuny unfortunately wasn?t feeling the best but as we approached the atoll at dawn we got several rain squalls come in at 30 knots and the wind shifted to the East making the last bit a beat so we dropped the sails and motored the last 10 nm. The pass was relatively straight forward - outgoing ebb of 5 knots and the channel through to the village on the other side through the bommies and pearl farm buoys well marked which was just as well as we still had showers and reduced visibility. Dropping anchor in 7 m of clear water off the village wharf was a relief as the anchorage is very sheltered from the E/SE trades which is what I had read about the place and with fronts forecast for the next few days we will be holed up for a while.
Quick visit ashoreto a well kept village plus we managed to score some green papaya so Zuny will do her special recipe. That night it rained hard and blew so I put the water collection pipes on and filled our tanks totally collecting approx 500 litres before removing them - feels good to have totally full tanks again seeing we haven?t topped up anywhere along the way - just using water maker which will get a well earned rest for a few day.
Yesterday the supply boat arrived to the wharf so we went as and looked with interest - the wharf becomes a general trading place with most coming into town for the few hours while the boat is unloading. We picked up some green veges but little else - still no potatoes
Today we go to the other side of the atoll and take up a mooring on a pearl farm and will spend a few days with them - I had heard about this place in a blog and phoned them - they have a pension on the farm plus do meals ashore and do daily diving and fishing in the pass so we will join in - always good to have local knowledge on the pass dives and fishing .
Note: Sending a brief description of the weather you are experiencing is a great help to David and Patricia (Gulf Harbour Radio) for monitoring the weather.
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