September 2018

Back to school!

We had a friendly meeting this month of August on the port of Fakarava : Bertrand Piccard, stopping over on the cruise ship Paul Gauguin, on which he gave lectures while visiting the Tuamotu and especially the Marquesas.
One year after his exploit around the world with André Borchberg on Solar Impulse, a solar-powered aircraft, here he goes again for a great adventure: to gather a thousand profitable environmental protection projects. Enough to mobilize countless companies.

For more information, visit his website bertrandpiccard.com

Sad news in Fakarava: our friend Jacques, for incomprehensible administrative reasons, will probably soon be unable to welcome you in his Relais Marama, where for nearly twenty years thousands and thousands of divers and lovers of the islands have been delighted with his welcome, his spontaneity, and the authenticity of the lived experience.

July and August saw us sailing quietly around Fakarava and the surrounding atolls, often switching anchorages due to changes in wind direction. In recent days, we have been a little delayed for the publication of our new letter by a powerful maraamu, this south-east wind which brings an invasion of air from the South Pole, with violent gusts of wind and rain. As Hirifa's anchorage begins to be known for the quality of the protection it offers, we wound up being? 25 sailboats at anchor (plus one of the most amazing motor yachts I've ever seen, named IETA, it has a rather military look) to wait for the wind to turn and to refuel our tanks with the water coming from the sky.

Francette took the opportunity to do as always wonders in the kitchen, with delicacies like her speculoos mousse, her zucchini cake with curry, mint, coriander and green onions or her perfect tempura.

And then the wind again turned to the east, and we anchored in the small anchorage with services to uyachts of Pakokota. We will take the plane to Tahiti in two days to record the voice of our new film on the Caribbean and the trailer of our Connaissance du Monde tour that begins November 20 in Pau and ends at the House of Oceans in Paris December 21st.

Before the end of September, Francette and I will spend 2 or 3 weeks in our favourite anchorages, then I will receive on Banana Split for a few weeks my daughter Vaimiti and her boyfriend Stéphane, who are chefs in the tiny atoll, very luxurious of Nukutepipi, owned by Guy Laliberté, the creator of Cirque du Soleil



See you soon for other news from the Pacific, and may September be serene.



Antoine.