Apataki | Anchored In Town
After saying goodbye to our buddy boats we’d been sailing with we had some mixed emotions. Excited to explore new places, but sad to say goodbye to our new friends. As we approach the pass we see a familiar boat on AIS. Open range we’re pulled up to the dock after a tough sail in unpredictable winds. This was a great surprise and we were excited for a few more days with some good company!
We had heard of a mooring in the small pool area just outside of town, and open range confirmed our thoughts. As we approach we saw the tiny gap from the pass leading into the pool with shallow reef sticking out either side. Things were complicated further by the 1-2 knots of current draining out of the atoll. We increased the revs and shot Nanuka into the small pass narrowly missing the reef. Once inside things didn’t improve much, the space was tight and with the angle of the wind it put no more than one to two meters of water behind us before ending up on the reef. The pressure was on to collect the mooring and tie off tightly to keep Nanuka hole free! After a missed attempt due to the ball being too large for our boat hook, we managed to lasso the mooring and get tied off. After our usual checks we turned the engine off, looked around at the immense beauty of the area, and relaxed in what had to be one of the best moorings we’ve ever been on.