Notes on Tarawa From Tuvalu all the way up to Majuro, we were bucking a 2-3 knot current.

It never really seemed to let up for any amount of time. We had virtually no wind, and had we not had such a bad experience in Tarawa (read on), we would have waited for a weather window. We motored the 2 of the 3 days. ENTRY/CHECKIN: We entered the pass around 10:30 at night. Andy drove using the radar and electronic charts while I stood on the front with a spotlight trying to identify the buoys. There are a few, but not all that are described on the charts. As we approached Betio, we pulled out of the channel and anchored. In the daylight, we were surrounded by derelict boats and wrecks. Hindsight, entering at night might not be the best idea. We picked up our anchor and anchored to the right of the wharf. We called Tarawa Radio on ch 16. They took our particulars (boat name, last port, next port, net/gross tonnage) and asked us to go to channel 06 where we would talk to Port Control. They told us we could anchor and to stand by for more information on check in (all of these conversations took several tries to complete, this is the condensed version). They called us about an hour later and set up a time for the boarding party to come to the boat. At our set time, Andy went in the dinghy to pick them up (they dont have their own boat, so be prepared to pick them up). The boarding party is supposed to consist of Customs, Health, Immigration, Police and Quarantine. Ours only included Customs and Health. We had to go to the other two ourselves. Customs was extremely simple in as much as we had a newbie and he didnt even ask us to fill out a form. Other boats were greeted with two customs agents but still said they were laid back. Health was a simple form. After waiting a few hours with no one showing up, we went to Immigration. To get to immigration, take a bus to Bauriki, across the causeway (80 cents per person) and get off in front of the town square. With the ANZ/bank on your left, walk down the road on your right, towards the water tower. Youll walk past some vendors (good Chinese rest. On the left), and across from the water tower you will see a few government offices. Immigration is the first one. To get to quarantine, after parking your dinghy, take the first road on your left. Youll walk a little bit and see the police station on your right. Go in there and ask where quarantine is. Its close by but theres no way I can explain in writing how to get there. You can take care of your check in with the police at this time too. They need a crew list and a copy of your boat documentation. After checking in (or before hopping the bus to immigration), go to the tourist office. They have some good maps of the islands and can help orient you. After parking your dinghy, go to the second street on the left and turn, the tourist office will be on your right.

CHECKOUT: Go to Immigrations first, then Customs to checkout. When we left there were no fees. However, boats after us were charged $25/day harbor fees. Evidently, these fees are on the books, they have just never charged them before. Ask what the fees are when you check in so you dont get surprised. GROCERIES/ RESTAURANTS: There are stores in each of the little towns. The biggest one in Betio (within walking distance of the boat) is Moel. They have most everything you need in a whare house type fashion. Next door to Moels is a smaller store that carries a good bit of Indian food. We found it to be cleaner and carry better produce when available. At times we saw cabbage, carrots, lettuce (wilted), apples, plums (bruised), onions, potatoes, squash/pumpkin, and even little tomatoes. But like everywhere else, they werent always desirable looking and if they are, grab them when you see them because they wont be there when you come back. I saw unrefrigerated eggs, but the produce for the most part was refrigerated. When we were at Immigration, I did see a tiny market where I bought some of the pumpkin/squash and a small bag of tiny tomatoes. If you walk to the back of the shops by Immigration, youll see a long table. The ladies sit here every day. I also saw breadfruit here and other food they had already made and were selling for lunch. Also in this same general area youll see some tables outside. This is a Chinese restaurant. You order inside and theyll bring it to your table. We found it to be cheap and pretty good (no after effects eitheran added bonus). Most of the other stores we saw were not stocked very well, but as with most other islands, it could all have to do with timing. The only other place we ate at was next to Moels, Aboels Kitchen. It was more Chinese food, much like we had near Immigration but slightly more expensive, and they sell beer. The restaurant on the other side of Moels also sells Chinese food that some other cruisers reported to be pretty tasty as well. BUSES: I cant say we mastered the bus system, but it cant be that complicated. Theyre not buses, theyre actually mini vans. Someone drives while another person takes your money. In general, I think the blue buses went across the causeways. The Betio bus (sign in the front says Betio) would take you to the edge of the causeway and then turn around and go back through town. Rides within Betio were 60 cents/adult and 20 cents/child. If you went across the causeway to the next town over it was 80 cents/adult and still 20 cents/child. INTERNET: You can buy wifi from the Port Authority for fairly inexpensive rates. The best deal is for a week or a month, but with a month you get over 700 hoursalmost

impossible to use them all. I think it was $35/month.cheaper for less time. One thing to notethey use this for their employees so the social networking sites like Facebook are blocked. We were able to get news, email and update our blog on blogspot without any problems, though. The speed was sporadic from fairly decent to extremely slow. For the most part, it was somewhere in the middle. Most were able to get a weak signal from the anchorage, but with the booster antennae, we had no problems. We were told you could also buy wifi, less expensively at Moels. We saw their signal on our computer but when we went to ask, they appeared as if they knew nothing about it. Worth a shotthey obviously had a signal, we just probably talked to the wrong people. We found communicating to be harder than planned as we thought they spoke English here. Some do, but most dont speak it very well. And some pretend they do, but it turns out they dont.just be prepared if youre making any official inquiries or plans (like taking on diesel or asking about the outer islands). OUTER ISLANDS: At the time we were there, Oct, 2011, the officials were not allowing anyone to visit the outer atolls without coming back to Tarawa for checkout. This was a change from their policy in September. Several yachts wrote letters trying to change their mind and by the time we left, they were waiveringdefinitely ask about it and try talking to the tourism office too if theyre on the fence. They seem to be trying to attract more yachts (at least thats what they said). If you do want to see the outer islands, you have to write a letter to Immigration asking for permission. We wrote a very simple letter stating the amount of time we were requesting and which island. Abaiang is a 25-30 mile sail, and from what others said, well worth the effort. When we took our letter back to Immigration, they typed up another letter and gave it back to us. This was to be presented to the police upon our arrival.

DIESEL/GAS: While we did not fill up in Tarawa, two other yachts did. We were told they do it by the barrel, but these other yachts were able to arrange for the tanker truck to pull up to the wharf. They scheduled a time for 10:00. The tanker showed up at 9:00 and the yachts werent there yet, so it left to deliver diesel around the island. They had to wait until it came back at 2:00 or so. They even had the time in writing. So, get there early if this is the route you take (and be prepared to wait). They were also told they wouldnt have to pay to be tied to the wharf, but once there, people gave them a hard time. In the end, I dont think they had to pay, but there didnt seem to be a particular policy in place.

THEFT:

Prior to arriving, we had not heard of any theft in Tarawa. When we arrived, there were two other boats there. Both, when left in the anchorage by themselves (i.e. no other yachts around) and after having left their boat to go ashore, were boarded and broken into. The first yacht had left a spare key where it was found. The thieves didnt take too much of value and the second yacht had their cockpit deck boxes broken into (by actually breaking the locks). The repair to the boxes would be more than the replacement of the things they took (knives, snorkeling gear). Since there were three boats in the anchorage including ours, we locked everything inside, including snorkeling gear, deck chairs, etc. and hid our electronics (in hindsight, not very well) and locked our door with a fairly large padlock. Were a metal boat with a pretty sturdy door and felt secure. The day the other boats went to the dock, we were broken into as well. This time they broke our lock (brought a tool with them to do this and left itthey had intent), stole 2 laptop computers, an iPad, a pricey pair of binoculars and a scuba mask. They left a purple hat, the tool they used to break in, and a piece of Styrofoam they fish on Styrofoam around the shoreline. Andy took the items to the police station where they didnt seem to know what to do with them. After talking to a police officer and waiting on an investigator, Andy finally suggested that he write something down for them. They felt this was a good idea and while he was doing it, asked him if he had any suspects (this would be a question asked more than once). Another cruiser went around to several of the local boats/Styrofoam floats and asked if anyone saw anything. He took the picture of some guys wiling to talk to the police (they didnt see anything though), typed up a flyer and took it in on our behalf. That was it for the police. No one checked into anything. After three boats being broken into in one week, no one even came out to the boat. The investigator offered, but when Andy picked him up he said he couldnt find his camera so could he come back another day. Andy told the customs folks as well and they appeared shocked, but just as uninterested. We finally offered two of the guys on a float $100 each if they could get our stuff back. One was an older guy and seemed somewhat interested. In the end, we left within a few days and nothing was ever found. The funny thing is, they didnt take the chargers to anything. I have no doubt the batteries were dead within a few hours. I also have no doubt they didnt even know what the iPad was (at least the investigator didnt).

In the end, as objective as I can be, Tarawa is nothing more than a break in your sail heading to or away from Majuro. It is trashy (more than I could have ever imagined), smelly, and regardless of how modestly you (the woman of the boat) might dress, you will be leered at. Its the first place Ive ever been where people had a blank stare about them. It was as if there were some sort of emptiness to their eyes. Not all, but most (probably proportionate to education). These are observations we made prior to being broken into, but traits proven not to be very helpful in a time when you need some clear thinkers. I know of others who have written about the friendliness of the people. I did find women and children to be more smiles than the men. But if youve read The Sex Lives of Cannibals, I would say hes probably not far off and in some cases, being generous. My suggestion would be

this, if you do stop in Tarawa, check in, go to the grocery store, get diesel or whatever your needs are, then take your boat further north. There are no roads in North Tarawa and the people are said to lead a more traditional lifestyle. There are some articles on noonsite.com from people who did just that. We skipped our trip to Abaiang, but again, I hear its worth it. My personal view is that if the boat isnt safe and youre stuck on it, and you cant visit outer islands after checking out, Tarawa has no draw whatsoever. It is highly doubted that well be stopping on our way back south.