Mangareva

2 July 2024

Mangareva

The last few hundred miles we traveled at high speed to Mangareva. As if the ship was very enthusiastic about getting to its destination. The fact that the wind had picked up to wind force 6 also helped, of course. And with those strong winds, grey skies and rain, we then arrived at the Gambier Islands.

The islands are all in a large lagoon, full of coral and although the channel is well marked, it was still quite challenging to sail in. Because even within the buoyage it is sometimes very shallow, and the channels can be very narrow in some places. But without any accidents we reached Rikitea where we were allowed to use the concrete jetty. Which is an enormous luxury, because everyone can board and disembark without having to be fetched or brought and the crew doesn’t have to be on anchor watch.

The island looks beautiful. There are more mountains than one might expect and when the sun occasionally breaks through the clouds, we immediately see the blue, green and turquoise waters you associate these islands with. We will be here all week and will be mainly busy with maintenance of the ship. Because there is always something to do.