Maupiti Part 1

After Daria’s departure, we had one week left before Kim had to leave so it was agreed that we would head off to Maupiti (which we had been hearing wonderful things about) for 3 or 4 days and then back to Bora Bora for a day or so and Kim’s departure.

The thorny part of getting to Maupiti is the pass – reputed to be the worst in the Societies. All our cruising guides where in agreement and stated bluntly that numerous ships have come to grief here and the pass should only be attempted in settled weather (and never when waves are breaking across the inlet).

To understand the dynamics, a little background is necessary. The reef surrounding Maupiti is low and swells from the southeasterly trades break over the reef filling the lagoon with prodigious amount of water. This water has few places to exit the lagoon – the primary one being Pass.

The pass itself is very narrow and shallow so the enormous volume of water exiting the lagoon races thru the pass at speeds up to 7 knots. The water just outside the pass is extremely deep (400 meters) and shoals rapidly to 6 meters in the pass. As waves approach the pass from the sea, they build rapidly as the water shallows and when these waves encounter the outbound tidal flow, the result is large standing waves.

When discussing Maupiti, talk of this witches brew is the first thing cruisers talk about and many never go because of it.

While at Marina Taina in Papeete, we were med moored next to a cruising cat named Ultimate Lady and got to know the crew aboard. They were headed to Maupiti in search of a record wahoo and had engaged the services of a local fisherman in Maupiti to act as guide. They were kind enough to give us Nunu’s phone number and let him know that we would be calling about conditions before making the trip down.

Long story short, Nunu gave us the green light so we were off. Even in benign conditions the pass was both intimidating and challenging. The following is a radar image as you approach.

This is a radar image overlayed on the chart so you can see the breaking waves on the reef, the reef and the the pass.

This is a shot of our scanning sonar as we entered the pass- the inner circle is 4 meters deep.

And what we saw out the window.

Once inside, there is a well marked channel to the village. We were no sooner thru the pass when Nunu came along side in his unique fishing boat. More like a speed boat (the boat is powered by a 300 horsepower engine and does over 30 knots), the driver is stationed in an enclosed area near the front of the boat. The lever in front is for steering. Those are two 130 pound, top of the line trolling rigs in the rod holders behind the driver. Nunu rigs the business end with 12 or more feet of 800 pound mono leader and steel rigged hook sets. Remember what I said about big and mean up here? Nunu thought we were way outgunned with mere 80 pound class tackle.

That spear mounted beside the helm station isn’t a gaff for gaffing fish. Nunu chases down mahi mahi at 30 knots (mahi can only do 20 knots) and, while steering the boat at full throttle with one hand, spears the mahi on the fly with the other. His record day – 42 mahi. I can’t imagine ever getting one with this technique.

Nunu spent the afternoon aboard telling us about himself and his island along with things we should do while in Maupiti. Really nice guy and more about the island next time.