2122UTC | 16 47.52’S 151 00.50’W
Anchored, EXPLORING
Phoebe did not lie in her previous post as we did wake up and packed today to feel like an entire week of adventuring. We woke up in peaceful Baie Tapuamu in Taha’a, stuffed our electric, yet mighty dingy with all eleven of us, and puttered over to an alleged manta ray cleaning station. The water was rather cloudy, and some of us were convinced we might not see much that day, however the coral reef was nice enough for a paddle and we were quite quickly rewarded with a prolonged visit from two manta rays (alongside their trusty ramoras), a quick glimpse of 5 eagle rays diving below the pelagic zone, and plenty of brain coral, groupers and damselfish. Since that wasn’t enough fun we came back to the boat where a treasure hunt for Mary and Phoebe began. They were impressed with some of my hiding spots so that’s all you need to know about that.
After a glorious snack session orchestrated by Big Chickpea Mafia (who I am sure is paying Mary big bucks for her to promote hummus to everyone she meets on board) we puttered over to a world renowned floating coral garden nearby, where we were immediately greeted by a stingray. We walked across the beach towards the channel from where the current rips you across “bushes” and gorgeous lumps of coral. Some of it was overgrown and bleached which was quite sad, but most of it was in pretty good shape. Nemo fans went a bit mad as there were quite a few clown fish in the sea anemones. The vibrant Giant Pacific clams and Guineafowl pufferfish were a personal favorite of mine and Kates, while Maddie was quite mesmerized by a reef octopus (perfectly camouflaged as a rock — not sure how he spotted it). The octopus was trying to get a bite at the coral reef conveyer belt buffet so Maddie stayed still trying to watch it, but because he stood so perfectly still for so long people kept going up to him to ask if he was okay, so I am not sure the octopus ate much once we found it, but grateful Maddie shared his discovery with us.
While the fish and coral were outstanding, what I really need to get out into the world is that ASMR is missing out on underwater noises. I did not foresee enjoying listening to parrot fish munching on corals as much as I did, but some of us spent quite a bit of time doing that as well. This was a top 3 snorkeling destinations for all the divers on board and we pretty much had the corridor to ourselves which was incredible. We were a bit gloomy Mary had to be onboard harassing the watermaker, but she also managed to make us all delightful poke bowls for dinner because she is perfect Mary of all trades and captain of all.
Andreea Didconu
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*queue Coldplay’s ”Sky Full Of Stars"*
Somewhere in the doldrums, under a sky so thick with stars that the Milky Way looks like cloud cover, the line between sea and space stops being a metaphor. The bioluminescence below mirrors the galaxies above, Venus sets on the horizon like a distant ship, and at 3am it hits you that you're watching sunlight ricochet through an incomprehensible tangle of celestial bodies to land on glassy Pacific water. Then the equator arrives — no painted line, just a countdown, a crew holding their breath, and Neptune waiting to collect his due.
Last night in the Southern Hemisphere!
At midnight, Joey's watch sang happy birthday under a sky full of stars; by 0930, the crew had already swum in 5,000 meters of Pacific blue, chased rainbows through a golden squall, and eaten chocolate chip pancakes with Moorea pineapple. That's the doldrums for you—the wind dies and life somehow gets fuller. Tomorrow, Neptune comes to collect his due as SV Nordic Falken crosses the equator for the first time.
First squall of the trip!
"We're gonna get our ass whooped" — not the sunrise greeting anyone had in mind, but Jim called it. The oldest and sharpest hand on board steered them straight through the squall, soaked to the bone and loving every minute of it. He's got a message for his wife, and it turns out she was right about the water.
