Here in the atolls, we are always aware of the sun's position in the sky. This is because it makes a huge difference to our ability to spot coral "bommies" which can come up from depths very suddenly. Hitting one would spoil your trip let alone your day!

Another essential is polarising lenses. These allow you to see through the reflected sunlight and into the water. When combined with having the sun behind you and high in the sky, it makes for very good visibility.

For instance, without polarising lenses this is what you see: You can see the coral, but it's difficult. Get the lenses on and it turns into this: What a difference!

We have moved down to the SE corner of Tahanea and found some lovely sand to anchor on with plenty of swinging room that does not involve coral! Some friends of ours from our last trip to French Guiana arrived in Tahanea yesterday and we should catch up them later. We've not seen them since Panama as they headed off on the more traditional route via the Marquesas islands so it will be very interesting to hear about their trip and compare it to our route.