N 01° 49.014
E 173° 00.896

Navigating into and across an atoll is always a challenge. Relying on the Navionics charts with their daily updates of useless, unedited pissmarks left by sailors, is playing Russian Roulette. One can’t simply rely on them.

Unfortunately, there is no Soggy Paws Compendium for the Kiribatis. However, they have a downloadable document from Mr. John about the Kiribati including Abaiang. He explains and gives WPTs of his own route and of a Kiribatis guide, which shows a pretty different route.

In the Navionics map there also recommended routes through the pass and across the atoll to the few villages scatter over the very narrow but long land surface.

Which route is the best?
What do satellite maps show?

First I plotted both routes and saw that both crossed areas, which are indicated by Navionics as too shallow.

Then I took screenshots with coordinates of satellite images and tried to correlate these with the Navionics maps at my chart plotter. Sometimes, I could see a shift of shallow areas in a certain direction but this shift was inconsistent.

This put another question mark behind the Navionics Charts.

Which route to take?

In the Mr. John document is a statement, that the reduction of depth in the Kiribati atoll is slowly and not as sudden as in the Tuamotus. This means, if navigate MaRe slowly, I should always be able to stop her.

I plotted a route following in the pass the one of Mr. John, then changed thereafter to the recommended route towards Tebero village because this could be the route taken by small ferries or small supply boats.

The most important thing I wanted to rely on is eye ball navigation. Tobi, using my polarizing sunglasses, stood at the bow and looked for shallow spots coming up in front of MaRe. For this we needed to arrive at the entrance of the pass about 1400 – 1500 to have the sunlight from behind.

For Friday, a pretty clear sky and winds in the range of about 10 KN from E were forecasted.

We lifted the hook around 0620 to have enough daylight to see unmarked mooring barrels for fishing boats floating on sea level. We left Tarawa Atoll along the track we made when we came in. Outside of the atoll, it first looked like we need to run the engines all the way to the Abaiang Atoll. However, then we got enough wind to sail almost all the way N and NE until the wind died and we had to use the engines again.

We were well prepared for going inside and across the atoll. Already in the pass I recognized that the depth indicated in the Navionics maps are completely off. This continued until we dropped the anchor at the other inner side of the atoll.

From the outer entrance of the pass until we dropped the hook, it took us 0110 h. This was more tiering than sailing a full day outside somewhere with night watch duties. Tobi needed to look into the water to see if there is an obstacle or to shallow area, and I had to watch our position, direction the depth meter, Tobi, and the water in front of MaRe.

We made it safely, dropped the hook, cleared up the boat and were exhausted.

We both fell asleep outside. When I woke up again, it was dark already. Tobi slept deeply on the outer cushion on PRT. I took my 1 l shower and went to bed. Tobi did the same but somewhat after midnight.

The safe end of a difficult passage.

On Monday we called immigration to see if the permits for the outer islands are ready and where told we can come and pick them up but should bring all boat documents along. (At the end we only needed the passports.)

Immigration has it’s main office in Bairiki, the real capital city or I better say capital village. In Bairiki, is the residence of the president, the parliament, the ministries, the High Commissions of NZ and AUS. In between these two is the Chinese Embassy. In contrasts to the High Commissions of NZ and AUS, the Chinese Embassy has barbed wire on top of the high walls. The NZ High Commissions’ walls are painted with animals; this gives a pretty friendly impression, which I like.

To reach Bairiki we needed to take a bus for a 7 km ride over the Nippon Causeway. This road is given to Kiribatis by the “People of Japan”, as the memorial plates always say. A term I like. It’s a full Japan’s system because the cars have to pay for the only land connections between parts of water surrounded islets of the Tarawa atoll. Such a road would also be toll road in Japan.

The bus ride costs AUD 1.10 one way, which I consider to be fair for the local people.

The staff in the immigration office was, as always in Kiribatis, pretty friendly and helpful. In a reasonable time we got the permissions for the outer islands, Abaiang, Butaritari, and Abemana. And we got the information that we need to get stamps from customs in Betio.

We walked around in Bairiki to see what’s the difference to Betio. In Bairiki we saw housing projects with solid walls and two floors. Two floors because lands is not much available. These houses look good. However, it needs to be known how cool they are inside and how good they can withstand tropical depressions and seldom so, cyclones.

Most of properties appeared cleaner than in Betio, but still lots of garbage lies around.

“Merry Christmas” was written on a huge inflatable Santa Claus figure. It felt strange to me to see this Christmas element in the heat of Kiribati, just a degree north of the equator. I still associate Christmas with cold weather and sometimes snow.

A pretty big shop, a combination of food store, kitchen ware and appliances, clothes and hardware store pulled our attention. It is Chinese owned and run with combination of Chinese and local people.

Immediately, a washing machine was attracting me. The logo appeared like the MIELE logo, but it was MEILE. The technology was pretty old.

Tobi looked for replacement of lost lures, but they did not have what he wanted.

In another shop, called a “mall” I got rechargeable batteries and refills for my FM Bird ball pen.

At the end we looked at the wharf. Once a little harbor with a slip for small boats, a cyclone ripped down the walls with ṛemnants just around water level. Youngsters played football with two very small goal. As one goal was just at the upper end of the slip. This means pretty often someone had to go in the water to get the ball. In the heat of Kiribati, this was a moment to cool down and nobody cares the wet clothes.

Back to Betio, with the bus again, we went straight to the customs office to get the necessary stamp. After we explained what we need, we were told that another customs’ office is in charge of these permits. We walked to this other office and were told we need to go to other office. Verification of the location of the second “other office” on my OsmAnd off- line map showed that we just come from this very office. I asked the officer to please call the other office and explain that they have to stamp the document. He did so and we walked back. When we opened the door, everybody was expecting us with apologies. A lady, who took charge, told us that the reason was the broken printer in the other office. We waited maybe 20 min, then we got our documents. Instead of stamping the documents issued by immigration, customs issued documents with the same content and stamped it….

With big smiles, and many thanks we left happily with all the documents we need for the outer islands.

The copra processing plant was just next door to customs so we decided to ask if we can see the production. As it was already late on the afternoon and the production was going down, we were asked to come back the next day.

We did and came back the next day and the factory manager gave us a tour. At the beginning of the process there are the bags with copra, the content of a fully ripened coconut, dried in sunlight and air. The copra is made at the outer islands, where it is the main source of income. I remember the price being paid for copra is a fair one; it’s a bit more than I tought. A few men empty the bags into a kind of big funnel from where the copra is transported into a height of about 5 m. From their it comes down again by passing through a shredder. Up again into several presses. At the end they get 20 t / day of unrefined coconuts oil. It’s buffered in a huge tank of 1000 – 1500 t of this oil. Shipping abroad, mostly China, is the unrefined oil in flexitanks for 20 t. These flexitanks are placed in a container before being filled.
A small amount is refined in the factory to produce cooking oil, body oil. Another part of the unrefined oil is used to produce soap for the Kiribati market. At the end, we both got a bottle of body oil and a big slap of soap, good maybe for a year. It was an interesting tour with good explanations by a very friendly plant manager.

After we left the copra processing the first day, we went back to the tender were we had four 20 l diesel jerry cans and drove into the harbor corner only less than 100 m from the fuel station. It was a bit tricky because there were 2 vessel tied up and loading and unloading freight for the outer islands. We passed under their docking lines and could tie up the tender at one of the lines and walk up the stairs.
With the jerry cans filled with diesel we returned the same way to tender and made it back to MaRe. So we got the first 80 l into the tank.

On Monday we also asked at the fish factory if we can get potable water. We referred to an information from sailors that we can get free water from the factory. The prices they mentioned fluctuated a lot. 500 l for 50 AUD was the agreement. A fair price and lower than at other prices.

Wednesday was the great refill day. First again 80 l diesel, than water. For water I have only two 25 l emergency jerry cans on board. So we needed to shuttle forth and back.

Kids are playing around the only ladder we needed to dock MaRe’s tender to reach the fish factory.

Kids jumped into water from the pier, which height fluctuates by the 2 m tide difference. Some of the kids made even a somersault backwards into the water. Some other tried to catch small, 10 – 15 cm long fishes using just a line with a hook. As a bite they used a small piece of meat from a bigger fish, which was lying in the dust of the street. The shocking thing was that they bit a piece of this fish with their teeth, chewed it and fixed it on the hook.

Another boy got on of these small fishes, bit off the head, and ate the raw fish meat from the back of the about 15 cm long fish while swimming in the water and holding to a rope of the vessel also loading and unloading goods for and from the outer islands.

To lower the filled jerry cans into the tender we had to use a line. It would not have been possible to bring down a 25 kg jerry can on the metal ladder.

Some times a man standing by gave us a hand and the kids in the water gave the tender a push to get it in the right position. A very friendly together around the metal ladder they needed to get out of the water and we needed it to get out and in the tender.

With a late lunch break we did 5 water runs the same day. Exhausted we stopped with 4 water runs left for the next day.

We also did laundry because we had a good supply of fresh water.

The next day 4 more water runs, laundry and I needed to complete my routing into the Abaiang and Butaritari Atolls. This was not easy. I’m write more about this task in another narration.

On the last day Tobi went shopping for fresh food, but the supermarkets didn’t have much. Mostly imported, thus expensive fruits. A local market place for mainly local produce exist surely somewhere but we didn’t know. We also wonder what kind of local fruits and vegetables are grown on such a densely populated island.

I got one more jerry can of fresh water, and worked on preparations for next days departure to Abaiang.

N 01° 49.028,
E 173° 00.902

Just a quick update to explain the change in location.

This morning, very early, we left Tarawa atoll and sailed to the Abaiang Atoll where we dropped the anchor in front of the village with the police station, where we need to register tomorrow.

More in the next catching up narrations.

At about 0900 we took the tender and went ashore.Tobi found in NoForeignLand information about possible dinghy docks. One of them is pretty good and another one is good for refueling.

The people are very friendly and curious. The question about from where we are we had to answer very, very often. One elderly gentleman even stopped his bicycle to talk to us.

Potable water, we learned very quickly, costs money. About 5 l for an Australian $. It is made by reverse osmosis in a larger and maybe some smaller stations. People go to water outlets, buy water and carry it home by cars. Most likely this has to do with the rising water due to global warming which brings salt water into there fountains. Rain water is collected everywhere but I get the feeling it’s not possible to use it as potable water, because of the exhaust gases and the dust whirled into the air. With this dirt on the roofs rain water is downgraded to shower and laundry water.

Tobi found a hint, that sailors can get free potable water from the fish factory. We will explore that on Monday.

Global warming – we saw a wall about 60 – 70 cm high, going around living quarters which get regularly flooded since a few years. People said that often water comes into there homes even now. On an island in an atoll, there are no hills on which one can build houses. The highest point over sea level is, according what I was told, typically 1.5 – 2 m. This is not much.

According to what we learned is that Kiribatis are consider as refugees from rising ocean levels.

World war II ruins of bunkers and fortified large cannon positions are often to be seen

We also found the memorial park with a big stone plate carrying the names of 24 British unarmed people who were murdered by Japanese soldiers on 15. Oct. 1942. On which country was a right wing government in power bringing long term prosperity to its people?

Larger public buildings like schools and a new hospital are build by Australia and NZ. So is the new Betio Hospital built by NZ Ministry of Foreign Affairs & Trade. The Maternity and Children’s Department is already open. It’s an impressive, well thought through construction, with roofs covered photovoltaic panels. I estimated the solar peak power of only on building to be 175 kW – 220 kW. I don’t know what such department needs in power and what the storage capacity and
emergency system is. I only wonder what will happen in about 5 – 10 years when the power of the photovoltaic panels will decrease and replacements are needed. Who will pay for this costs?

There are cars, cars, cars, and motor bikes. The cars are very likely only Japanese cars. This I account to the fact that Kiribati has a left side driving system. Motorbikes are mostly Chinese with a few Japanese. Looking into properties I get the feeling that there are often several cars in one family. The streets are filled with cars’ “perfumes” and dust. This reduces the rain water quality a lot and it needs to be ) as not potable.

Shops are to be seen all over. From tiny ones tosupermarkets. Clothes shops are bunch of metal of rope lines with the clothes attached to them by clothes pegs. This just beside the street.

I found with the help of two ladies standing ąt a bus stop a barber shop. The shop was just an air-conditioned container. Inside it was all very simple. However the barber was good. Since long I found one who could make a cut with scissors. Now my hair is short again, thus washing it. is quick and needs only a little of our limited water.

When I’m looking at the economics in the Kiribati, i only can imagine fishing outside between the islands and at the high seas with Kiribati boats and Kiribati crews as source of good income. However, the fishing business is done by the Chinese who ship the catch back home. No jobs and no real income for the Kiribati people.

I also passed a maritime school. This means that the graduates will work on foreign vessel for low wages, to keep their families, who they don’t see often, at home afloat.

Although I could not talk yet with one of them, I expect that many of Kiribati people work in NZ and AUS as seasonal workers to harvest the produce.

That many, mainly men, have problems with alcohol is quickly to be seen and it’s sad. They are poor with no perspectives thus drown themselves in this toxic liquid.

The old Betio hospital has no mattresses. Gone because they got dirty and nobody could clean them, was what a nurse told me. Patients lie on metal plates or tubes. Or, that’s what the nurse also told us, sometimes patients bring their own ones along.

Tobi had the idea to walk to a coffee shop. It was a 2.9 km walk. When we arrived, there were 3 bars, which had the outstanding feature of extremely loud music. I closed my ears with my hands. First ŵe were in the wrong one and had quick drink before my hearing ability goes down to zero. When we discovered the one with the ice coffee, we ordered and set down. In that moment one of the employees wanted to start the powerful modern ghetto blaster. Luckily I could convince him no to do so. I’m sure that within a minute after we were gone, they started littering the bar with all this pressed air trash.
Seems I’m to old for getting my ears damaged in an environment where I feel the basses in my belly. Generation gap. The ice coffee was good, but never ever will I walk such a distance for drink.

The saddest thing we saw, was the garbage lying around everywhere. Larger areas we walked through I would call “slums with very friendly people”. Only in houses a bit better off, people collect garbage and the properties look kind of clean. I was on small islands in other countries where people are poor, but they keep their surroundings clean. Suva and Nadi were dirty and in some places in Panama I saw people preferring to live between garbage rather then cleaning their own surrounding. I’m asking myself why do people live in such an environment and don’t clean up? Is it really the lack of a perspective of a better life? Is it missing education at school? I have no answer.

N 01° 22.125
E 172° 55.748

First, I had a very bad night. I got cramps in my legs despite having taken 2 magnesium pills.

At around 0600 I got up and started working. The main task of the day was looking for tiny spot at the second reef’s eye at the leech. I observed chafing at a spot where I hardly could imaging chafing.

Inspecting it carefully, think I found and edge which could have caused the chafing. Very carefully I first use a small file. Then a 400 grit sandpaper with which I also smooth also other parts of the eye. At the end I used a 1200 grit sandpaper to polish the hole thing. Finally I had shorten the reef line and tie it around the boom with a running bowline knot.
Will it chafe again?

The most difficult things was the sunlight. During the work at the aforementioned eye I had to take frequent breaks and drink a lot. The sun just 1 deg away from the equator is pretty hot. Unbelievable hot!

Then I had to store the main sail properly because yesterday we just got it down.

When this was done could close the sail bag for sun protection and pulled the boom to PRT side to have as little shade as possible on the solar panels.

During the next break I called my OBM. A break to relax and enjoy .

Next was the cover on the jib sail. Looks easy but has its tricks.

Under the sun of today all activities slowed down with frequent breaks and drinking.

As the last task at the bow, I re-fixed the anchor line and it’s buoy.

After that we had a lunch break. Tobi, who cleaned all the floors inside MaRe, prepared frying pan toasted bread with marinated tuna. Gosh this was good! And welcome break.

Because we want to go ashore tomorrow early, we wanted to attach the outboard engine again at the tender. For this I needed to exchange one of the screws holding the outboard motor. Looks like an easy and quick job. It took at least an hour.

Fortunately it was Friday and I could take another break by calling my daughter for our regular weekly 30 min call.

Then we attached the outboard engine at the tender. However, we didn’t find the deadman key. We searched and at the end I used the spare key but this doesn’t have a deadman functionality. “Where the hell, is the real deaman key?”

Now it’s dark.

Tobi prepares dinner – most likely another sashimi dinner from the big yellow fin tuna v we caught the day before yesterday.

I will take now my shower starting with a few buckets of cooling seawater.

In our approach to Tarawa atoll/island I slowed down MaRe down to not have to v wait so long before we could enter the entrance pass.

At 0400 we were outside at the entrance pass and I decided to continue sailing very slowly N to kill time. We used only genoa and needed to furl it to 2 bars.

The alternative would have been heaving- to. However, considering the wind and current drift, I decided to not heave-to to not have to tack several times on the way back to the entrance. The sailing north variant was more attractive.

On the way back from N, we needed to sail upwind. So we hoisted the main with reef three to not be too fast. It worked out. For the last part l hand steered MaRe to sail her on 30 deg AWA very high into the wind to reach the leading line for the entrance pass without taunt l tacking one b more time.. Despite the by small AWA she was running fine the required speed of about 3 KN to be there in time for the passage.

Interesting was the “skyline” of Tarawa. The big ships inside the atoll dominate the “skyline” completely. Without looking through binoculars the palm trees would not be recognized. The houses dissappear inside them. The vessel gave an apocalyptic impression, like vessels being exposed to an over ground nuclear explosion.

Then the moment of sail down came. With all sails down we used the engines to go ìnto the atoll.

The leading line in the Navionics map was matching the way through a few but well visible cardinal sign.

When we were just at the point to turn right, a Chinese fishing boat passed us from behind and forced us to stop the b engines. No understandIng of the situation they ǰust forced us to let them turn first. Chinese fishing boats own the Pacific Islands’ waters!

The anchor spot I considered first, was too close to a main channel inside the reef. So I decided to drop the hook in the vicinity of two other sailboats. A French and a Danish. Friendly greetings by waving the hands.

The hook went down at a bit less than 8 m. I gave 50 m of chain and the hook holds perfectly fine. A looong and challenging sail came too it’s end.

Inside the bay 1/3 of the 19 vessels are Chinese. 4 of these vessels are very modern fishing vessels which can pull in huge nets at their special designed sterns. They dock to a freighter like ship and transfer their catch. A pattern I saw the first time further east in the pacific en route from Cook Islands, Northern Line Islands, to Samoa. Getting the Pacific Ocean waters empty with highest speed is the objective.

As I was informed by email, I called the authorities on VHF CH16. We got a very warm welcome. They confirmed a few data from the documents I sent by email in advance and asked us to please wait until the boarding party comes. The boarding party has first to clear a Chinese fishing boat and then will come over to us.

At about 1600 they came from the “friendly” fishing boat which pushed us aside in the entrance channel.

The boarding party, about 5 men and 2 ladies, was very friendly. The procedure was straight forward and effective. As the skipper, I had to write an informal request for permission to go to 3 outer islands. Additionally I had to forward all documents again to one of the ladies.
Within 15 min all was done.

And now I’m waiting for the tuna sashimi and freshly cooked rice!

Finally Tobi got what he wanted since we started our sail to Kiribati, a big yellow fin tuna!

We don’t have a scale to weigh it, but we both think 40 – 50 kg.

It was a fight! The tuna went to STB side and in front of the keel it changed to PRT side. There was no other choice but follow that fellow with the fishing rod around the boat.

Pulling it in we needed to do it in shifts. For one of us it would not have been possible to win that fight. From the first reel alarm until the fish was on board it took at least 30 min. Maybe even closer to 60 min.

At about 1730 Tobi started gutting and filleting the tuna. Close to 2000 this was done and the the cockpit was clean again.

Then I told Tobi to take a normal shower and not our 1-l- shower.

As Tobi likes to cut meat, he also cut a bit into his finger. I put some antiseptic liquid on it and covered it with a bandaid and an old fashion tape called “Leukoplast”. A great tape , I know from my childhood and could buy it on Greece in 2019. Let’s see if we need to cut the whole finger off by tomorrow.

We now have so much meat that we hope to find someone who likes tuna.

Tobi is just now preparing the first fish dish. So we have the next days fish around the clock.

Fish dish, fish dish, everybody likes fish dish, …so do I!

N 00° 41.286
E 172° 51.100

Today I have to steer a bit a difficult course. At the beginning I need to go straight N. Since an hour or so I need to dodge the Maiana atoll, which is just some 15 NM ahead. I’ll pass it is west side.

I’m using the wind vane mode and have to adjust the wind vane angle to the wind. And when the wind changes too much, I have to make adjustments. Since I have to do these adjustments the changes directions more often and stronger.

I was wondering why the changes are suddenly so frequent and strong and found the route cause. The monkey with the tin tool is here again and manipulates the wind direction just to keep me busy.

As I don’t want to arrive early at the entrance to the Tarawa atoll, I keep sails pretty untrimmed today. That’s the easiest way to slow down.

The later I arrive at today’s destination, the less hours I have to heave-to, and the less hours I have to sail back to the atoll’s entrance.

At 0425, just in my watch, I crossed the equator for the 4th time.

Nothing exciting anymore. It’s just like, “Ok. I made it another time. “

After crossing the equator I starting making dough for our next bread.

S 00° 32.718
E 172° 46.866

As forecasted, the wind increase into the 5 Bft range. MaRe in her pyjama, runs with almost 6 KN in average through the nightly sea.

With a wind vane angle of 50 deg her COG is around 12 deg.

In terms of progress to our key WPT she is a bit ahead of the calculated point. This means that tomorrow we might need to slow down a bit by reducing the main to reef 3. and furle the genoa a bit.I’m curious where we will be in 6 h from now.

It’s nice crescent moon tonight. Because we are so close to the equator, the moon lies on his crescent. For someone like me who lived his life in the higher northern latitudes, it’s an unusual picture, fascinating me always when I see it.