We stayed anchored by the sand spit at the southern end of Fulaga for a few days and explored the area by dinghy and paddle board.

The sand beach surrounding our anchorage

The sand beach surrounding our anchorage

Monty paddling around the lagoon

Monty paddling around the lagoon

Sand spit at low tide

Whistler anchored by the sand spit at low tide

Sand spit at low tide

Sand spit at low tide

We meandered along the beach at low tide with Joyce and Bob from Chara.

20150811-111909-1060547W

It was interesting to see the life on the flats at low tide.

20150811-112617-1060549W

Nudibranch, a soft seagoing slug

Nudibranch, a soft seagoing slug

As the tide was coming in, we waded through ankle deep water to get back to our dinghies.  The flats were a mixture of sharp volcanic rock and sand, so wearing shoes was a good idea for my feet!

20150811-113052-1060555W

We went by dinghy to a little pass around the spit for snorkeling one morning.  The incoming current so strong, we could barely cross the pass but there were lots of large fish.

One of the passes where we snorkelled

One of the passes where we snorkelled

Also anchored at the spit was a nice New Zealand couple, Graeme and Kath on Casteele, a Canadian-built, steel-hulled Waterline 44.  He is a boat builder by trade and she, an artist.  He popped over for a visit and we were the beneficiaries of some valuable advice on a few matters regarding our rigging and arch.

On another day, they had us over for coffee and squares with no wheat, just nuts and dates. I had to get the recipe, they were so good!  She showed us some of her art, both past and current projects, which was spectacular.  We hope to visit her studio in Nelson, NZ , sometime. We got to see the Waterline, which even after many years, was so beautifully crafted and solid.  Of course, Graeme was taking great care of her.

Casteele negotiating the spit on their way to an anchorage at the main pass

Casteele sailing around the spit

The next day, we moved the big boat to an anchorage closer to the main pass so that we could snorkel without a long dinghy ride.  As we approached the pass, Graeme came over on his dinghy and pointed out a patch of sand where we could drop our anchor.  Then he did the same for Chara.  How nice is that?

Graeme leading Chara to a good sand patch for their anchor

Graeme leading Chara to a nice sandy patch for their anchor

Joyce and Bob heading out to snorkel at the pass

Joyce and Bob heading out to snorkel at the pass

We saw loads of big fish and several sharks, fortunately down quite deep!  I kept close to the dinghy after I saw the sharks!  Monty pointed out a turtle and I managed to capture him on my little waterproof Lumix.

A large turtle who had seen a battle in his day

A large turtle who had seen a battle in his day

Tropical fish, wish I had a good book to identify all the different species we see!

A cute but not particularly shy fish!  Any one know what this one is?

It was exhilarating when the tide started to come in.  Monty had the dinghy painter tied to his wrist.  I floated close by as we were whisked through the pass, gazing at cabbage coral and a wide variety of fish.  It was my first real “drift” snorkel.