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We Came for Fakarava's Wall of Sharks — But Left With Something More
June 30, 2026 · 17 min · 2K views · French Polynesia
What this video covers
A family sailing crew departs Tahaneha Atoll at 0500 to time the tidal cut out, then runs six hours to reach the south pass at Fakarava, French Polynesia, targeting a slack-tide window between 1400 and 1500.▶ 4:00 Missing that window means a five-hour wait, so they need to average seven knots.▶ 4:19 En route, an asymmetrical spinnaker (ASAM) collapses and wraps around the furled jib; the crew resolves it by dropping the main first, then re-launching the ASAM without the main blocking airflow.▶ 5:07 At Fakarava's south cut — a world-known dive site where thousands of groupers spawn near the June full moon and draw large shark aggregations — the family snorkels the pass to read current before committing to a full dive.▶ 6:01 They encounter reef sharks, Napoleon wrasse, and the famous wall of sharks.▶ 8:31 A second dive follows with friends, this time without managing children's air. At Tahaneha beforehand, the crew hunts coconut crabs by headlamp at night, finds a large egg-carrying female, and leaves her.▶ 1:50 Cyclone season is approaching, and the crew faces unspecified routing decisions ahead.▶ 17:17
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