Harifi
The weather improves the next day and Philip and Claudia take us back to the south passe for a snorkel. Bruno’s girl is an halberg rassy 40, extremely nice boat, does not take long to cover the 6 miles with the wind on the beam, and I get to drive too. Plenty of people have the same idea, the anchorage is full. It is all perfectly timed, barely have time for a drink before we get in the water. Claudia is a mermaid, she spend more time in the water then out, I follow her from the boat to the shore where the boys will be taking the dinghy. The coral and fishes are absolutely brilliant, full of colours and the sun is shining so it is all very vivid. Water is so clear you can see very deep. We cross a very shallow patch right next to the empty resort. That was really beautiful with loads of tiny little fishes.
Back on land we meet with the boys, we have to cross the village, but no time for sightseeing, not even to see the mother of pearl altar in the little church. The timing is crucial if you want to snorkel the passe, the tide must be slack and then in coming, so you don’t end up swept up outside of the reef. We take the dinghy to just outside the passe, sad reminder that errors of judgement can be costly, a beautiful, brand new 50 foot boat hangs on the outside reef. Happened only a few days ago, no one was hurt thankfully, but it is heart breaking to see it being pummelled by the wind and waves. Apparently the sail were still up until yesterday…
Mask on head in the water, I follow Claudia the mermaid, and it is just fantastic. The passe is like a very deep V with a sandy bottom but the walls are just coral, healthy, colorful beautiful corals full of fishes of all shapes and sizes. A few sharks, but not as many as expected, the groupers have now moved on so have their predators. Still the whole thing is impressive. It is just brilliant. The current is building up and very quickly we are swept back into the entrance of the atoll and then following the wall further up into the reef. In the end the current is so strong that I have absolutely no control neither of direction nor speed, time to climb back onboard the dinghy. I have been nearly 3 hours in the water in one day surely it is a record, but then that is what happen when you hang out with a mermaid. We motored back to the Harifi anchorage, and I cooked dinner on board for Philip and Claudia to say thank you and Larus, Nancy and Tim, joined us. Perfect day.