04 Jul Toau, Apataki, Rangiroa and Tikehau; Archipel des Tuamotu – 25 June to 04 July 2001
 On one of the motus in the Rangiroa loagoon |
We made the three day passage from Fakarova to Rangiroa in the Tuamotus, stopping at Toau and Apataki along the way (see voyage section for the Tuamotus). In Rangiroa our friends Pete and Cathy Trogdon, formerly from Seattle and now living in Annapolis, Maryland joined us on Starr. In Rangiroa, I completed the four open water dives in order to become certified with PADI with Sebastian Bertaut of Blue Dolphins Diving Center; however, I was very unhappy when I returned home and learned that Sebastian had not kept his PADI Open Water Instructor’s rating current, and that the dives would not qualify me for certification. Sebastian was an excellent teacher and he taught me many skills. As a result of the four dives I am now a more confident diver. (Sebastian, please bring your dues current, so I can become certified. I really don’t want to do this all over again.)
The diving in Rangiroa was excellent, the best we so far. The water is crystal clear and I swam with dolphins, saw sea turtles feeding on the coral reef, huge manta rays, silver tip sharks and my favorite, Napoleon wrasse. With a water temperature of 85 degrees, I was still happy that I did not finish my PADI certification in Puget Sound.
Pete and Cathy are friends dating back to the days that I put on Superyacht Northwest in Seattle. Cathy was my first assistant. They moved to Annapolis about eight years ago when Pete took a job with Weems and Plath and ow Pete owns Weems and Plath. We also saw Pete March 2000 when we helped Johann Jenson take Zeehaen to Panama and through the Panama Canal. Pete and Chuck Worst helped crew Zeehaen from the Atlantic side of the canal to Ft. Lauderdale. They were good company. We all walk alot, ride bicycles, visit a pearl farm and scuba dive in Rangiroa. Pete gets to dance with some beautiful Tahitian women at the fancy hotel there. We do more scuba diving in Tikehau and then make the one day passage to Papeete.
 Sebastian Bertaut of Blue Dolphins Diving Center in Rangiroa |
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