Maupiti - island of the Manta Rays

Just a short hop due West from Bora Bora - about 28 nautical miles - is the island of Maupiti. This is, apart from one tiny island with a population of 20, the western most island of the Society Islands and French Polynesia as a whole.  It is a small island, within the usual lagoon, and one that is not routinely visited by most cruisers.  The reason for this is the pass - the entrance though the reef into the lagoon surrounding the island.  On many islands the passes are wide, deep and there are often several of them, but for Maupiti none of these apply.  It is narrow - about 200 ft wide at most, shallow - 25-30 ft deep, and it is the ONLY way into and out of the lagoon.  On top of this it is situated on the southern most point, oriented South - North and therefore takes the brunt of the prevailing southerly swells, which can be 3m or more in height.  And if all that wasn’t enough to concern you, then add in the fact that the current is almost always outflowing and can be up to 9 knots strong!

All of this makes the pass an intimidating prospect for even the most experienced sailor, and it can only be negotiated in favourable weather and sea conditions.  Many boats have been known to sail from Bora Bora only to take one look at the seemingly continuous breaking waves at the pass and turn around and return to the relative tranquility of Bora Bora.  And if you have good conditions and can safely enter the lagoon, there is no guarantee when you can leave as exiting the pass is as dangerous as entering.

So it was, we watched the weather and sea state predictions and picked our day to make the jump.  I had the contact number for a couple who run a small pension on one of the motus (islets) at the pass, and was able to call them and ask their advice.  As sailors themselves, they had a better idea than most, just by looking at the pass, whether it was a go or no-go.  We were with two other boats, Serenity First and Two Drifters, who were following a similar route through the Society Islands as ourselves, and bearing in mind ‘safety in numbers’, we all left to arrive at the pass around the same time, at midday.  This would leave enough time to return in daylight to Bora Bora if it all went pear-shaped.  About an hour from Maupiti I called Camille, our contact, and he looked outside and gave us the thumbs up.  There was a little wind, about 15 knots, but from the East which is a good direction, and the southerly swells were under the critical 2m high mark.  Serenity First arrived before us and negotiated the pass without issue.   Two Drifters followed and we were the last through.  I have to say it didn’t look too bad from the ocean - the breaking waves on the reef either side of the entrance were small enough to leave a visible gap that we would sail through.  Using both motors and a fair amount of power to counteract the outflowing current of around 4 knots, we slowly and safely stayed the fine line down the middle of the pass and were soon in safe waters inside the lagoon.

Once inside we followed the channel up to a beautiful anchorage on a shallow bank half a mile or so from the main town.  The island itself is basically the tip of a mountain, and has steep slopes and sharp rocky features.  It is possible to hike to the top of the mountain for a supposedly magnificent view, but our feet weren’t feeling it, and we sent the drone up instead to video the amazing vista.  The few boats that were already here when we arrived were friendly and we were soon chatting with Philippe, a Frenchman on another catamaran, who was telling us about his trip to catch varo. The varo is a type of lobster or maybe shrimp, and is found on many islands in French Polynesia.  These langoustine-like shellfish burrow deep into the sand and can attracted out by lowering a baitfish down the hole.  They grab the fish and don’t let go so you can pull them out of the hole.  Sounds easy, but the trick is finding their holes..  We thought we might like to try this but unfortunately we ran out of time to try it here - but don’t worry there are several other places.  According to Philippe, the varo tasted delicious.  We popped by his boat to see what they looked like, but arrived just after the lunch he had enjoyed where they were the star.

Being a small island with a small, relatively isolated population, there is not much to see or do here, except enjoy the incredible natural beauty of the island and lagoon.  We did walk around the small town, and everyone to a man is incredibly friendly, proclaiming ‘Ia Orana’ at every encounter.  This is the traditional Polynesian greeting and one we have now practiced extensively. There are a couple of tiny stores in town, selling mostly canned and preserved good, but very little fresh fruit and vegetables.  Local fishermen sell their catches, and those with pamplemousse or breadfruit crops set up stalls on certain days. But a major draw for those brave enough to endure the pass, is the Manta Ray cleaning station at the south end of the lagoon. The cleaning station is no more than a collection of large coral heads in about 30ft of clear water where the canny Manta Rays arrive and allow the smaller reef fish to eat the parasites and dead skin from their bodies.  The Mantas, which can reach 8-10 ft in wingspan, just float motionless above the coral while the little fish do their work.  They even open their gaping rectangular mouths so the fish can enter and give them a mouthwash.  They don’t have teeth, and eat mostly only plankton and algae, so the little fish are not really in danger of being fooled into becoming breakfast.

We relocated india to the south lagoon not far from the Mantas so we could establish exactly where the cleaning station was.  The first time we dropped the dinghy anchor nearby and snorkelled to find them.  They were easy to find, being so large and dark in the crystal clear water.  It seems that they live inside the lagoon - it is possible some live outside in the ocean and come in the pass to clean - it is known they have large brains (the largest brain-body proportion of any fish) and have mapping capabilities, but we snorkelled the area at several different times of the day and there were always four or five rays there, and sometimes more.  Snorkelling is a good way to watch them from above, but at 30ft down one doesn’t have much time to swim alongside them just free-diving.  We saved our dive tanks just for this encounter, and finally when the conditions looked perfect - bright sun, clear water and not too much current, we donned our scuba gear and joined the Mantas.  It was an epic experience swimming alongside these gentle giants of the sea.  They seemed completely unperturbed by our presence, not really having any predators in their natural habitat.  The only time they would dart away is when you might touch one, either accidentally or on purpose to feel their smooth skin.  They all have vestigial ‘stingers’ like the stingray, but they are not used and not dangerous.  And so we spent 30 minutes or so just swimming around, above, below and alongside these amazing creatures, taking GoPro video as we went.  It was a simply amazing experience, never to be forgotten.

After a few days here, we felt completely relaxed, enjoying the slow pace, but all the time thinking about our exit strategy.  We had heard of boats ‘stuck’ here for a month at a time waiting for the weather window to negotiate the pass to exit.  As it happened, we found a small window where the seas had calmed to less than 2m swells, and the wind had dropped, and took the chance to leave while we could.  Along with three other boats who all saw the same window, we weighed anchor and motored out of the pass into the heaving ocean outside.  The day before I had taken the chance to send the drone on an automated mission to video coming into, and then going out of, the pass.  I thought it would be fun and helpful to those thinking about coming here and not knowing what to expect.  I have put the link to the video below, if you have the chance to watch the second part - the exit - you’ll see that I chose my moment to fly exactly when a large cargo ship was coming in - that happens only once a week, so my timing was perfect, or terrible, as you can see how close I flew to the incoming ship! 

Once out of the pass, the conditions that made it suitable for exit, were also terrible for sailing, so we ended up motoring all the way back to Raiatea, about 50 miles away.  It was a beautiful day so we just enjoyed the relaxed ride.  Maupiti had proved to be more than worth the effort and anxiety it took to be there, and gave us one of those life moments we will never forget.

Maupiti Pass - entrance and exit

The reef on the right hand side of the pass

The church in Maupiti

Some aerial views...

This is most of the town..

Stunning rocky outcrop

Imposing...

Little india!

The beautiful rays

See Dara in the background!

An eye on each side of its head and a long wide mouth

Manta selfie...

The water was so clear we could see our anchor on the bottom through our escape hatch - 30 feet down!

The cargo ship I 'just' missed with the drone!!