Zero2Sixty

Anchorage at Ilot Tautau, Tahaa

by Art on

Information

Rating
Bottom
sand
Depth
30.8 meters
Latitude
16°36.437′S
Longitude
151°33.395′W
-16.6072833-151.5565833

Another amazing place to set anchor in beautiful French Polynesia. From our anchorage, we look west over the island resort of Le Tahaa across an aquamarine flat that stretches for a mile or more with the jagged peaks of our neighbor island, Bora Bora, in the distance. We arrived in a rain storm that lasted most of the first day but waking up the next morning to this view was worth it.

We have great holding in about 30 meters with a nice sandy bottom (we can almost see it from here!) and the prevailing wind comes from the north keeping us nicely aligned with the edge of the barrier reef drop-off. We can paddle-board over to the reef to explore the miles of 1.5 m deep water with sand, stingrays and the occasional coral bommie. For a fantastic snorkeling experience (actually the best we've had so far on this journey) you have to visit the 'coral gardens'. Truly a common name for a lot of areas of coral reef around the world however, this one is the most amazing we've seen.

Coral Gardens by Carmen Every place you visit there is always a 'Coral Gardens' however this one is fantastic! It spans the gulf between Ilot Tautau and Ilot Maharanee. The water is about 1.5 meters deep with the coral growing to within inches of the surface. Underwater it's a true fairyland teaming with inquisitive fish, coral of all colors, the occasional octopus and dozens of red anemones with cute little anemone fish protecting them. You can spend hours slowly swimming around the tops of all this beauty and marvel at the sea-life underneath the surface.

Friendly yellow butterflyfish by Carmen We also took a nice dive along the drop-off from the reef into the depths of the inner passage. At one point, we came upon a turtle resting on coral who allowed Giamma to approach and spend some time with her. Although the coral was not as nice as what we saw in the Coral Gardens, we did see a lot of guineafowl pufferfish including the somewhat-rare yellow guineafowl variation. What a special part of the world to spend some time in. We'll miss this place for sure!

There's plenty of anchoring possibilities closer into the reef with some of the catamarans we see anchored in 2-3 meters of water. No problem finding a place to set your anchor here and the bonus is that the nearby resort has an internet access port so you can pick up your email, weather, etc. all from the 'comforts of home'!

Anchorage Position

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