Whew!! I don’t even know where to start with this entry, so much has happened since we last posted on our blog.
I think first of all I need to mention about our friends on Anna who were rescued from their boat after she capsized. We have only heard second hand stories so I don’t want to go into details here except to say that we know they are safe and that our thoughts are with them and that we are so glad for the couple of days and the lovely meal we had with them in Tonga.
We spent about a week back in Tongatapu where the kids learnt how to skurf (riding on a wind surf board being towed by a dinghy!) and they did very well. We had another Sunday on Pangiamotu when all the tourists and expats come out to the island which was great for the kids as there were heaps of other children to play with. It was also lovely for me as I got talking too and it was a great way to spend a Sunday afternoon!
The plan from there was to get a few jobs done on the Monday, some fresh food, and spare spark plug for the dinghy outboard and clear customs to head for the Vava’u group of Islands with an overnight stop somewhere in the Ha’apai. But we were on Tongan Island time and that just didn’t happen. The outboard ended up being serviced which was great but took longer than we had allowed for so we didn’t get our other jobs done until the Tuesday and finally left on the Wednesday thinking to do an overnighter straight to Vava’u. But as per usual things changed and we were finding the swell a bit uncomfortable so decided to stay a night or two on the way in the Ha’apai group and having easier day sails. Our first night anchorage was NOT comfortable despite the two cruising guides we had rating it as a good place to stay but the next night we went to the main town for this group Pangai and met up with Kelly and his crew John and Glen on Anna a boat Dan had done some work on in Whangarei. We weren’t able to do the visa extension here which was the reason we stopped here even though it is a port of entry if you are coming from a different country. The town seemed small after Nuku-alofa but there was a small market, one cafe where you could get beer and ice cream and we also posted some postcards, which I had been trying to organise myself to do since we first got here! We had a meal out with the guys off of Anna, and then a lovely visit with them on the Friday afternoon, where I had a good poke around and the kids enjoyed doing some drawings and looking through the lovely big photo books of pacific island reef and sea life.
On the Saturday we headed up to Ha’ano which is the northern most anchorage so that we would have a good start for a day sail to the Vava’u group the following morning. We had some time on the beach and a quick talk to Glen on the VHF as Anna sailed past on their way to Nuie. Sunday morning we headed north again and had a great sail, average 10 knots with a couple of high teens on the speedo surfing some waves. It was a great sail, but Dan says probably we should have had another reef in. The conditions died down after we had sighted the southern islands in the Vava’u group and we slowed right down which was a slight concern as we could see some very big black clouds coming from a couple of different directions and could here thunder in them also. The weather caught up to us once we were inside the island group and quite sheltered from the seas and we had picked our land marks which was lucky for us as visibility decreased, rain set in and wind went from high teens to high 20’s then 30’s and I saw my first 45 knots. As the sea was relatively flat I was enjoying myself on the helm scooting along at 13 knots while Dan was on the winch trying to reef the main and at no time did the boat feel out of control. We decided it wasn’t going to be safe to try an anchor at that time so we sheltered in the lee of a large island with very deep water around it and sailed up and down at a very sedate 1-2 knots for an hour or so then when it had calmed we went we were able to anchor before it got dark. While this was going on we saw a boat near us come out from behind an island, not seeming to be very in control and had to watch as they were trying to get their head sail in and fix the furler it was on. We later found out their anchor had dragged and at the same time the sail let itself go! Also in the harbour further up the island group we could here on the radio lots of conversation as unfortunately a boat had broken free of its mooring and managed to sail itself into three other boats while its owner and crew where on shore! The boat is from Nelson and we did know the owner before the incident so Dan has been spending time with him and the other boat owners helping to sort out estimates etc for the insurance work required.
On the Monday we had planned to extend our visa and check in officially to the Vava’u group but we didn’t know it was a public holiday for the Kings birthday, so we had a quite walk around the main town and orientated ourselves for the next day, and did our paper work on the Tuesday with no worries.
Our friend Pirate Pearl was also in Neiafu and only had a few days before flying back to NZ so she jumped ship onto Division II and we spent the time swimming and snorkelling and partaking in a rum or two each evening. On the Thursday we went on a school visit where they put on a feast for us as well as a few dances and songs. This was because Pearl and John from Ocean Jewel had visited two times and given them some school supplies and they wanted to show their appreciation. This was a great experience and Paige, Rylee and Oliver disappeared as the local Tongan children grabbed them and took them off to play. I spent time talking with the ladies from the village and once they found out I was a nurse almost running a mini clinic as I answered questions about diabetes and foot ulcers, cradle cap and pregnancy testing! We also gave out some more reading glasses and it was really funny watching them all putting them on and walking around with them on. I did try to do some testing in the hope they were getting a good strength but language was a bit of a barrier. Once the formalities had finished and we had enjoyed a feed of local lobster, crab, pig on the spit, raw fish and fish cakes with watermelon and coconut as refreshers we headed back to the boat with an entourage of children following. They were all standing on the wharf watching us and we were so hot we went straight for a swim and waved at them to come and join us. We then had about two hours of all these kids jumping and swimming around the boat. The most adventurous even jumped off of the end of the boom into the water including me!
On the Friday we dropped Pirate Pearl back into Neiafu so she could catch her flight. That evening there was a fundraiser organised by volunteer med students to get an ECG machine for the local hospital so we went along and met up with another family on a boat from Nelson who we had heard about from several different sources but never met until got here. So all in all, four boats originally from Nelson here in Vava’u! We also saw another Schionning designed catamaran in the harbour so went over to say “Hello” and were welcomed on board for a drink and a lovely chat and story exchange.
Over the past two weeks we have been bouncing around between the main town Neiafu, and some of the closer anchorages while Dan works with the insurance claimants and have been meeting all sorts of people. We have had some time with another family from Nelson that we knew when we were going to the reading time at the Nelson Library and who were here on holiday. We didn’t know they were going to be here so that was great for the kids to have someone else to play with for a while.
Today we hosted a birthday party for John from Ocean Jewel with all the folks from Nelson and as we were getting sorted our friends Hamish and Kate arrived in Neiafu on their yacht so they also came over for cake and coffee, so we had a lovely time with five kids and nine adults for a couple of hours.
We are looking forward to another couple of weeks bouncing around up here, trying to get out to some of the eastern islands and then making some decisions about where to next.
