Permit· Apataki· French Polynesia: Tuamotus, Marquesas, Gambier & Australs
Apataki Pearl-Farm Anchoring Rules
15° 34.5′ S · 146° 21.4′ W
Large pearl farms fill Apataki's southeast lagoon and lie across the Tehere-to-Carenage route: ask locally where you may anchor and follow the channel the farms leave open.
Practical
Position is Jacaranda's second waypoint inside Pakaka Pass (15°34.477'S 146°21.376'W) on the route east to the Carenage. Practice: Noonsite recommends going ashore on arrival and asking locals where anchoring is permitted, and warns of unmarked buoys and horizontal ropes even mid-lagoon. Irene's waypoint route from Tehere Pass (24 nm) threads a narrow channel between oyster buoy fields at waypoint APA03, with a new field added north of APA04 in 2017; the farm normally leaves a channel close to shore for local boats, but fields move, so treat any published route as a guide only (Irene, June 2017). Boats crossing from Pakaka had to zig-zag around pearl floats before the reef at about 15°33.926'S 146°19.132'W (Yolo, 2011). At the Carenage, Tony points out farm buoys and coral heads (many marked with steel rebar) on arrival. Wikipedia FR: pearl farming in 2017 was capped at 750 collecting lines and 1,150 ha of lagoon. Travel only in good light and float your chain wherever you anchor.
Best for
Crossing Apataki's lagoon among the farms
Nearby
- Rua Vahine Motu Anchorage (Apataki)2.2 NM away
- Niutahi Village Anchorage (Apataki)2.9 NM away
- Niutahi Bakery (Apataki)3.2 NM away
- Niutahi Eating Options (Apataki)3.2 NM away
- Apataki Cyclone and Maraamu Season3.3 NM away
- Apataki Gendarmerie Reporting Point (Niutahi)3.3 NM away
- Apataki Supply-Ship Day (Niutahi Quay)3.3 NM away
- Magasin Pahai (Apataki)3.3 NM away