Aitutaki Southern Cook Islands

Now anchored inside the reef in the beautiful but shallow coral strewn lagoon.
Our entrance through the pass was made possible by two other sailors already in here. We would have really struggled without their help. We couldn't even see where the break in the reef was, where you enter. Yet again we are in awe of the pre GPS sailors. Our sailor chums took Neil in their dinghy for a recce. which was very valuable information.
We set off gingerly through the pass and hit the bottom a couple of times; Neil had to wiggle the rudder back and forth and carve a trence in the sand at one spot (we should charge a dredging fee!). Finally we sprung free and entered the lagoon. We thought the drama was all over but in fact it had only just begun.
Initially we set a bow and stern anchor quite easilyand were happy. We decided to get our snorkel masks on and take a look at the anchors to make sure they were in OK - big mistake. We saw a rock by the bow anchor and moved it....that broke us free of course, so we scrambled on board and had to re-anchor. Our neighbours were anchored very close (as its a small space) but we got a lot closer at one point and they had to push us off with their dinghy whilst we re-anchored. Next we reset the stern anchor, whilst doing this the join in between the chain and rope came apart and the chain sank. Fortunately the front anchor was OK so in the water again to re-connect them underwater. It was only a few feet down, but there is about a 4 knot current sweeping through the anchorage so you are fighting it every time you dive. In the end we fixed everything and flopped on deck in a wet tired heap. One look at the swaying palm trees, blue lagoon and the sign saying Aitutaki Game Fishing Club - cold beer here - sign - and all was well!!