We made it in to port last night about 5:30pm, just as the tide was almost high, but it certainly wasn't slack yet - the current pushed us right through the cut, it was a bit nervewracking. Tim was at the helm, while I stood on the bow looking out with my polarized sunglasses, ostensibly to let Tim know if I saw any shallows or coral heads we should avoid.
We first were able to spot the island from about 13 miles out, about 1pm in the afternoon - pretty impressive for an island that is about 80 feet high at its highest. From the chart, I estimate that the lagoon is about 10 miles across at its longest point - the coral atoll is a big circle around the inner lagoon. As we approached the island, the clouds above it had a beautiful, but odd, green hue… I'm guessing it was a reflection of the water in the lagoon - I tried some photos, but doubt that our pictures will capture this effect as seen through our polarized sunglasses.
On our last night out, we'd gotten accustomed to not seeing any other ships or lights, so our watches had become routine - get up every15-20 minutes or so to glance around for ships and check that the autopilot or windvane is keeping us on course. While we were motoring because the wind had died, around 1030, Tim looked up and saw a strange sight. Looked like a stobe light close to the water, then flashing red, then white. He slowed down the engine not sure what he was seeing and called me out on deck. Our first thought was that it could be a liferaft - we actually shut down the engine to listen for voices calling out. But at the same time, we could see the glow of lights on the horizon to the east and west of us… most likely big fishing vessels with their working lights on. The beacon we had come close to may have been marking some sort of longline. Today, talking with our new friend Tyrone here on Fanning, he said it was probably boats from Asia fishing illegally, and that the Kiribati patrol boat was here the other day and was out looking for them.
This morning we were visited by the police/immigration officer and the customs officer. They got Tyrone to lend his boat to take them out to us… we were in the process of getting our dinghy off the bow when we saw them approaching. All went smoothly; wefilled out some forms and paid our $20 anchoring fee. It was also our introduction to the language of Kiribati - which is completely foreign!!! We're going to try to master a few basic words, but sadly I didn't get around to downloading any aids to learning this language! It seems that even though English is taught in school, most folks here only speak Kiribati. After our visit from the officials, we went in to look around and met Tyrone (who we had corresponded with on email) and Bruno (who runs a guesthouse here, and whom we had heard about from another sailor who's been here). We also introduced ourselves to the Mayor, head of the island's 7-member council, to make sure we would be ok to surf and fish in the area - he said no problem to both. Apparently there had been a fee for surfing here, but since the guy who was trying to start a surf charter business is no longer around, they have relaxed that fee.
Also this morning there was a canoe sailing race - it was really neat to see the small canoes with their little sails flying across the lagoon. Apparently August is some celebration month on the island and the competition was somehow a part.
Some quick thoughts/first impressions about Fanning Island:
- The lagoon is WAY bigger than I ever imagined! And with the winds blowing a steady 15 knots since we've been here, I'm not sure how we'll get to explore it all - too far to go in my kayak against the wind - but the winds must calm down at times… wishing we had a sailing dinghy!
- The people seem shy, but also used to yachts and tourists occasionally coming. The cruise ships come here irregularly now. The language barrier will be a challenge, but the kids are really cute and curious.
- There really is no gasoline, beer or much of anything else available here. But lots of coconuts, and they do grow seaweed commercially (but not the edible kind - this stuff is used in cosmetics). And hopefully we'll have lots of fresh fish!
- The main surfing wave was not breaking today, but it's definitely got a good setup!
- Politics are the same worldwide. Apparently the island has recently been visited by the President of Kiribati, and he installed internet here! So that the people would vote for him in the upcoming elections in September!
Now it's time for a big long sleep, catching up after 9 days at sea!
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