Goodbye Gambier, hello Hao!

Yes, we really enjoyed the time on Gambier. Even though there are just about 1000 people on the islands, you can do a lot! There are quite a few exciting hikes with fruit picking options, visit a pearl farm where they grow the famous black South Pacific pearls, and not least enjoy the wonderful Gambier islands with snorkeling or just to relax in a pleasant atmosphere. We also met a lot of friends there. We knew already some other boats from the Caribbean or Panama, but we also made some new friends there. The community among the sailors is really great.

Still, after two months, we felt that it is time to move on. Also, the weather got colder, and we faced more often strong winds on Gambier. We decided to go to Hao in the Tuamotus. It is about 450nm from Gambier. We waited for an appropriate weather window. Still, since it is winter at the moment, the sailing was a bit bumpy at times. We faced strong winds and many squalls. Anyway, it felt good to be back on the sea again and after our very slow Pacific crossing, it was good to see that the boat can still sail fast ⛵??….

The passage from Gambier to Hao took us a little less than four days. Actually, we had to slow down at the end to arrive at daylight in Hao. The “Passe Kaki” which is the entrance to the Atoll in Hao is a bit tricky and has very often quite some current, but finally, we made it and found a beautiful place in the old marina of Hao. Here are just very few other boats and the location makes a quite relaxed impression.