Skip to navigation

Mark Moxon's Travel Writing

French Polynesia: Man vs Cyclone Kelly

The outside of Makemo atoll
You don't want to take your chances with bad weather in the Tuamotus; this is the outside of Makemo atoll, somewhere you really don't want to beach your boat

We finally left the Gambier Islands on Sunday 15th June, at least as finally as is possible when your passage and plans depend on the weather. We had initially planned to leave on the Friday, but having checked out with the gendarmes, the other yachties pointed out that Friday was the 13th, and if there's one thing that sailors are, it's superstitious. Besides, we still had a few jobs to get done before leaving, so we spent Friday working on the boat and trying to get hold of the weather forecast for the area.