Bonjour From PARADISE!
Ahoy Delos Tribe! We’re comin’ at ya today with our monthly newsletter from the INSANELY gorgeous atoll of Raroia. We’re typing this in true comfort because for the first time since leaving the Sea of Cortez in April Delos is STILL! After 19 days at sea and super rolly anchorages in the Marquesas, then our passage here to the Tuamotu Islands, it feels like heaven to have found a flat anchorage. There’s a nice 15-20 knot breeze so it’s been nice and fresh on board which has been quite the treat too. The water is super clear and we’ve been getting in some great scuba diving, snorkeling, and swimming. Sierra can’t get enough of the being in the water here! One other cool thing we did here was checking out the monument for Kon-Tiki. Kon-Tiki was a rudimentary hand-made balsa wood raft that Thor Heyerdahl and a team of Norwegian Explorers sailed across the Pacific Ocean in 1947. We actually talked about Kon-Tiki in our last newsletter, so if you missed that one here’s the quick run down on the story there: Intrigued by Polynesian folklore, Heyerdahl believed that people from South America could have reached Polynesia during pre-Columbian times. His goal in completing this voyage was to show that it would have been possible using only the materials and technologies available to those people at the time. After spending 101 days at sea, they made it to French Polynesia and ran aground right here on the reef in Raroia. We’ve both read the book documenting their expedition called “Kon-Tiki” which is amazing (and available in our Amazon Storefront)but we also watched the movie after checking out the monument. We HIGHLY recommend both!
I (Brian) am in the process of getting my long stay visa which means we can stay for a year in French Polynesia (Kazza and Sierra both have Swedish passports so for them it’s no problem to stay here). That’s great news for us because now we can really take our time and move really slowly through this incredible part of the world. If you wanna follow our adventures through the Tuamotus you can follow our location HERE.
Some INCREDIBLE News!
This is Aaron Carotta. We met him last year when we were stuck in the marina in Chiapas, Mexico for about 3 weeks while we were waiting for a bunch of bad weather to pass. Aaron was attempting to make the first ever circumnaviation of earth by rowing. He was almost 2 months in to his Pacific Ocean crossing when he activated his EPIRB on May 31st (An EpPIRB is an emergency beacon that’s activated in extreme distress when a rescue is needed that transmits your location). Extensive rescue efforts began but all communication and pings from the beacon were lost, and eventually the search was called off on June 12th. His beacon went off again on Thursday, and they were able to spot him in his liferaft and he was eventually picked up by an oil tanker on June 16th, more than 2 weeks after his first distress signal. The oil tanker is en route to Hawaii and is expected to reach its destination with Aaron aboard on June 25th. We’ve been following Aaron’s story and the search efforts closely, and we are so incredibly happy and relieved to hear that he has been found safe, sound, and in good health. Very little is known yet about what actually happened, but I’m sure Aaron’s got one hell of a story. So let’s all cheers a cold one for Aaron today and celebrate being alive! You can follow Aaron on Instagram at @adventureaaron if you’d like to keep following along on his story.
What We’re Jamming To…
One of our go-to playlists for the last 5 years or so is THIS puppy right here. We’ve definitely mentioned it in a few videos before too. Every track is solid gold, and it’s a timeless collection of tunes to vibe out and sip a sundowner in the cockpit to. Think Doobie Brothers, Fleetwood Mac, Tina Turner, Steely Dan, and much much more. Do yourself a favor and add this one to your rotation 🙂
Blast From The Past…
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All the scuba diving we’ve been doing lately here in the Tuamotu’s has got us thinking about one of our favorite diving missions of all time. During our 1,400 mile sail from Madagascar to South Africa we decide to make a little pit stop at one of the most epic and remote dive spots on the planet: Bassas Da India. Because it’s so far from civilization and protected from any commercial diving or fishing operations, it is truly one of the most untouched places in the world. Check out the episode HERE to get the full experience!
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