Leaving with an established SE (This time) we can sail to Tuamutus with relative confort an good speed to arrive in AMANU,  an atoll I visited in family in 2001; I got a special memory about this place as we enjoyed special relations with the island communauty n particulary Pere, the former "adjoint au maire", Pere showed an incredible love for anybody n a contagious dynamism; he received us with 2 other boats on 14 july 2001 as kings ...No local impressed me more in 10 years around the world than Pere.

In 2001 We sailed on my former cat PAPOOSE with his family and this one of "Makitoa", the shop keeper n spent 3 days together visiting the nearby uninhabited atolls...what happenned 19 years later  with the 9 members of this wild expedition :

- My wife Helena is no more - for the moment- on board,

- My son, 3yo in 2001 study in Auckland

- "Pere"  disappeared on sea on a trip between Hao n Amanu with 2 people 10 years ago. The wheather was not good, and this time he could not reach the nearby atolls of Marokau...

-  His son little "Pere" who was a 11 yo child in 2001 n is now the "maire" himself. and visibly makes the spirit of his exceptionnal father alive working for the tiny atoll communauty...A beautiful story!

- His daughter "Philomene" (8 yo in 2001) has a roulotte (fast food) in Tahiti

- His other son Xavier (17yo in 2001) joined the french army in Afghanistan, was wounded n now has a more quieter job, still in the army in Metropole.

- Makitoa, the imposant and always smiling chinese shopkeeper died from a cancer

- Temoe, his son married a marquisian, left the atoll n work now in the college in Marquises island.

Amanu now...not to bad at all: With only 210 permanent inhabitants, Nature still dominate the place,  Fishes are still there, the "Goelette" (cargo) come on a regular base and

the reasonnable sized cruiseship Aranui 5 stop out of the pass  twice a month with 220 passengers, giving a bit of money to the village on a very tiny and controled time...There are less n less retired from the CEP as Daniel but anybody can still live from fishing.

Regarding the challenge of the pass, not too many cruisers stopped here, they mostly come from Gambier. Here also the fragile balance seems to resist up to now...but for how long when there was 14 boats in the nearby Hao "marina" in june ? The communauty anyway seems to be is in good hands n can avoid the destabilisation.

Amanu pass at best time... but better check with the dinghy before...

No big swell no big rain to overfill the lagoon, but still 5k of outflow

Both Engines full speed, a bit of stress later, as many atolls, the price of the inside lagoon is here...

No easy village anchorage with the prevailing SE

We use the strong dinghy to arrive "downtown"

Alternative was to enter in the little harbour...but how moving this intimate place in a downtown marina ?

Pere the father, unfortunatly only present on the wall of his son saloon

Pere, the son is now the "maire" himself...the same contagious smile, a victory against the death and a life lesson !

NEW: (Global warming) A new town hall with one store in case of water surge

NEW: No more SSB for the com, still not internet... but solar panels provide power for all

The pass, next to the village: no change on this side

Not many change on this side too, 210 people leave permanently here

On the lagoon side, these brown spots are ...

...eagle rays: still many fishes around, the human pression decline from the CEP in the 1960...