At Sea in the Tuamotu Archipelago
A day at sea is a day to catch-up on reading, journey notes and photo records. A time to snooze and chat to friends.
The Tuamotu Archipelago is the longest chain of atolls in the world. It consists of 78 islands with a land area of about 900 km² spread over 20,000 km² of ocean. The population of around 16,000 people (2002 census) are spread over 41 inhabited islands. The main income is from cultured black pearls, with copra a distant second source of revenue. Most of the islands are atolls, although the island of Makatea is an uplifted atoll of around 80 meters elevation which was for 50 years a rich source of phosphate. The four most visited islands are Rangiroa, which is the largest atoll in the group, Manihi, Tikehau, and Fakarava.
During the morning we enjoyed presentations by Richard White and Jon Bowermaster. Richard gave an illustrated talk on the seabirds of the area: tropicbirds, boobies, terns, frigatebirds, and petrels. It was interesting to learn that frigatebirds obtain much of their food by harassing other seabirds in the air until they regurgitate their food, which the frigate grabs with its long hooked bill in midair or as it hits the water. Frigates are very unusual seabirds in that they cannot rest on the water without becoming waterlogged, because they do not waterproof their feathers. The favourite of many are the boobies which plunge into the sea to catch fish. They are well adapted for this behaviour with a large arrow-like bill with internal nostrils, and forward directed eyes to give acute binocular vision.
Jon presented a video overview of his National Geographic sponsored series on kayaking coastal areas on the eight continents. So far seven voyages have been completed, and the final one, Antarctica, will be undertaken in 2008. He also showed the first edited programme, the one on the Aleutian Islands. This was the first of the voyages and proved to be a great test of equipment and men both on the near-frozen Bering Sea and in climbing a 6,000 foot snow-covered active volcano. Everybody enjoyed watching the freezing adventure, which contrasted strongly with the conditions of the Tuamotu Archipelago.
During the afternoon we enjoyed the first half of the 1958 classic film “South Pacific”. This was followed by an illustrated presentation by Steve Maclean on the First Voyage of Captain Cook. Steve outlined the humble origin of Cook as the son of a day labourer who rose rapidly in the colliers of the North Sea coal trade and then in the British Navy. His skills in seamanship, leadership, and mapping lead to his selection to command an expedition to record the transit of Venus from Tahiti and an ongoing voyage of discovery to search for the hypothetical Southern Continent. During the voyage of discovery he mapped New Zealand and discovered the Great Barrier Reef where he went aground and damaged his ship. He made his way to Jakarta where his ship was repaired and where he experienced the main disaster of the voyage – the loss of 30 men to local diseases.
After dinner we enjoyed the second half of “South Pacific”.
A day at sea is a day to catch-up on reading, journey notes and photo records. A time to snooze and chat to friends.
The Tuamotu Archipelago is the longest chain of atolls in the world. It consists of 78 islands with a land area of about 900 km² spread over 20,000 km² of ocean. The population of around 16,000 people (2002 census) are spread over 41 inhabited islands. The main income is from cultured black pearls, with copra a distant second source of revenue. Most of the islands are atolls, although the island of Makatea is an uplifted atoll of around 80 meters elevation which was for 50 years a rich source of phosphate. The four most visited islands are Rangiroa, which is the largest atoll in the group, Manihi, Tikehau, and Fakarava.
During the morning we enjoyed presentations by Richard White and Jon Bowermaster. Richard gave an illustrated talk on the seabirds of the area: tropicbirds, boobies, terns, frigatebirds, and petrels. It was interesting to learn that frigatebirds obtain much of their food by harassing other seabirds in the air until they regurgitate their food, which the frigate grabs with its long hooked bill in midair or as it hits the water. Frigates are very unusual seabirds in that they cannot rest on the water without becoming waterlogged, because they do not waterproof their feathers. The favourite of many are the boobies which plunge into the sea to catch fish. They are well adapted for this behaviour with a large arrow-like bill with internal nostrils, and forward directed eyes to give acute binocular vision.
Jon presented a video overview of his National Geographic sponsored series on kayaking coastal areas on the eight continents. So far seven voyages have been completed, and the final one, Antarctica, will be undertaken in 2008. He also showed the first edited programme, the one on the Aleutian Islands. This was the first of the voyages and proved to be a great test of equipment and men both on the near-frozen Bering Sea and in climbing a 6,000 foot snow-covered active volcano. Everybody enjoyed watching the freezing adventure, which contrasted strongly with the conditions of the Tuamotu Archipelago.
During the afternoon we enjoyed the first half of the 1958 classic film “South Pacific”. This was followed by an illustrated presentation by Steve Maclean on the First Voyage of Captain Cook. Steve outlined the humble origin of Cook as the son of a day labourer who rose rapidly in the colliers of the North Sea coal trade and then in the British Navy. His skills in seamanship, leadership, and mapping lead to his selection to command an expedition to record the transit of Venus from Tahiti and an ongoing voyage of discovery to search for the hypothetical Southern Continent. During the voyage of discovery he mapped New Zealand and discovered the Great Barrier Reef where he went aground and damaged his ship. He made his way to Jakarta where his ship was repaired and where he experienced the main disaster of the voyage – the loss of 30 men to local diseases.
After dinner we enjoyed the second half of “South Pacific”.
