Landmark· Arutua· French Polynesia: Tuamotus, Marquesas, Gambier & Australs
Arutua Atoll (no yacht pass)
15° 21.7′ S · 146° 37.2′ W
A big pentagonal pearl-farming atoll west of Apataki whose lagoon is open only through a small boat pass at Rautini; the cruising compendium lists it as 'no pass' for yachts.
Practical
Position is the OpenStreetMap node for Rautini, the village and commune seat on the east side. The Passe de Manina beside the village (see the passage entry) is a local small-boat pass: the Tuamotus Compendium lists Arutua as 'No Pass' and has no cruiser report, the July 2024 atoll sheet gives only about 1 m of water at the village landing stage (with a new quay inaugurated March 2022), and no source gives yacht pilotage. English Wikipedia calls it 'one navigable passage' and French Wikipedia places it to the SE, which is the local-boat sense. Yachts should treat Arutua as no-entry and pass well off; in 2020 the Chinese longliner Shen Gang Shun 1 went aground on its reef flat. Ashore (2024): 826 people, 3 shops, a bakery, a snack-bar and 3 snacks, an ATM at the post office since Oct 2020 (OPT open 7:30 am-3 pm Mon-Fri, to 2 pm Thu), a nurse, drinking-water fountain at 10 XPF/l, and 70 registered pearl farmers in the lagoon. Airport with Air Tahiti flights 3 times a week.
Best for
Knowing why you sail past
Nearby
- Arutua Mairie and Landing Rules (Rautini)Right here
- Rautini Magasins and Snacks (Arutua)0.1 NM away
- Rautini Post Office and ATM (Arutua)0.1 NM away
- Saint Philippe Church (Rautini, Arutua)0.1 NM away
- Rautini Quay and Landing Stage (Arutua)0.2 NM away
- Rautini Snacks (Arutua)0.2 NM away
- Arutua Airport (AXR)6.9 NM away
- Tehere Pass Snorkel (Apataki)12.6 NM away