Back to Vava'u

After very nice couple of weeks in the Ha'apai group, it was tie to move back north. We checked out with all the officials in Pangai on Monday and sailed to Ha'ano Island to get ready for an early morning departure on Tuesday. The anchorage was not the greatest this time. The SE winds was blowing right through the anchorage and the swell was coming over the reef making it a bit rough. We decided not to launch the dinghy and go snorkelling and instead got the boat ready for Tuesday's sail. We were underway by 04:00 in 15-20 knots of SE winds with SE swell. Genoa and mizzen and off we went. We had a great sail with speeds touching 7.5 knots at times. We decided to hed all the way back to Neiafu as we had lots of time and the picked up mooring by 15:30. All in all we averaged 6.6 knots on the way up and sailed on starboard tack from Ha'ano Island to the entrance buoys to get into Neiafu. Yesterday was check in and re-stock day so busy, busy, busy. I don't know what it is about this place but it always drives us both a bit nuts. We walked out to the big hardware store in the afternoon more for the exercise than for any other particular reason. On the way back we stopped at a few more of the small stores that you see everywhere and found a few little things. The big score was the case of diet coke we found at the Coca-Cola distributor. We have been looking for sugar-free stuff in preparation for out friends Jan and Tony and we finally found some. We got the last case in Vava'u, and at wholesale price. Today we will likely get out of here and go around to Tapana Island and hook up with Cats'Paw 4 and Toketie.

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Bikes, Dogs and Rain

We had a nice sail from Uoleva back to Pangai on Kifuka Island Thursday after a morning beach walk. The beach walk was interesting, especially the dead pig floating just off shore. We had earlier seen half a dozen piglets on the beach with no sign of mom which we thought a bid strange, but the mystery was soon solved. Nature at work! When we arrived at Pangai, we saw another ketch anchored that we didn't recognize but figured we would run into them sooner or later, it's not that big a place and there's only one bar/restaurant. We stocked up on a few supplies and treated ourselves to a cold beer at Mariners Café. We found out the other ketch was also Canadian registered and from Vancouver. That made it a full Canadian anchorage. While we were refreshing ourselves, Malachi came into the harbour and stern tied to the wharf. OK now it's getting weird, three Canadian boats here, no other boats, and all registered in Vancouver. What are the odds? One the way back out to Tarun, we stopped by and said hello to Salena and her owners Michel and Carol. We talked for a bit and they invited us for dinner, so sure why not. It turns out that they left Canada in 2005 and have been cruising three months on and three months off since then. He works three months on and three months off as a Captain on one the Royal Caribbean cruise ships. Not a bad gig. Nice people and we had a great evening getting to know each other.
Yesterday we decided to get some exercise and rented a couple of bicycles to tour the island. We went to the north end of Lifuka, crossed the causeway to Foa and went to the north end of Foa. Mostly flat, this was good as we had single speed bikes. Brakes were the old style, push backwards on the pedal, so that took a bit of getting used to as well. Stopped for a snack at the top of Foa then rode back to Pangai for lunch. We got chased by a dog on the way back and Cathy got nipped on the ankle but no damage but we will watch out for distemper and we may have to put her down if she starts foaming at the mouth or something (I'm kidding OF COURSE). We had lunch on the waterfront in Pangai under the tree's then rode south to the end of Lifuka. It was getting on to low tide and the locals were out on the reef connecting Lifuka to Uoleva harvesting giant clams. We ran into to some kids, as we do everywhere and they were a blast. One of them was quite an artist and was drawing figures in the sand. I got some pictures and will post on the web site when we get back to Vava'u. Last night was cooks night off so into the Mariners for dinner, pizza, burgers and beer. We had planned to get up early for the Saturday AM market (6:00 to 08:00) but it has been blowing 20 knots and raining since the wee hours of the morning so nuts to that. I didn't bother pulling the dinghy out of the water last night so this morning, I had to bail it out and haul it up. It was literally half full of water, so much so the gas tank was floating around inside. Its up out of the water and the plug is out so it drains. Looks like we'll have a boat day, put up the rain catcher and fill the water tanks and generally take it easy. It is worth noting that Cathy did get Coffee and Juice in bed this morning.

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Ha'afeva

We arrived here Sunday after a gentle deep reach from Uoleva. The only anchoring information we had any detail on was for the anchorage east of the island so we headed there. The wind and seas when we dropped anchor were not great so we looked at the charts and decided to head around the island and find some more shelter. We headed south and dropped the hook where we thought it would be OK but the depth sounder through a wobbly and instead of 6 meters we were in 25 meters, so off we went again, further around to the west side of the island. It is marked on the charts as a deep ship anchorage but it looked like you could get close to the reef to find shelter and better depth. We saw another boat here so we figured if they could anchor, we could. The other boat turned out to be Malachi, another Canadian boat from Vancouver that we had not seen since Avalon on Santa Catalina Island last November. We found a place in 8 meters of water and hooked in nicely. The winds were from the NW so we had some protection from the seas but not the wind. Good holding so we weren't worried. Three locals guys paddled out in a beat up aluminium run-a-bout and offered us fruit and yams so we traded some notepads for them. One of them, Peter Tuulli, invited us to his home for lunch the next day so we said sure, why not. Well we had a windy, rainy night with winds to 25-30 knots from the NW then clocking around to the SE, then SW. I was up a few times checking on things and then the winds settled in from the SW. A small low had passed over top of us that had not been on any weather charts. Tuesday morning was spent pouring over weather maps and talking to our friends on Crazy Diamond about weather. Things finally settled down somewhat, the rain stopped and by 12:00 all looked pretty good so we headed to shore for lunch. Barry and Sue from Crazy Diamond were also invited and weren't far behind us. Peter met us on shore and helped us pull the dinghy up past the tide line and then took us to his mother's home. His house had burned down a short while ago. The family has a bit of land with pigs and chickens fenced in, a garden, a building for sleeping and a separate kitchen/eating area. There is no stove but rather a earth oven or Umu where most of the food is cooked. This had caused a problem for them as well as the first kitchen had also burned down a short while ago, due to the Umu. Cathy had baked a lemon bread to give to them and presented it to Peter's mother when we arrived. Well she opened it right up and sliced off a piece for herself, for Peter, for their friend Linda who was there and for one of Peter's young sons Issi. They loved it! We thought it a bit different that they were eating sweets before lunch, but what do we know. Barry and Sue arrived and Peters mother (never did manage to get her name) proceeded to bring out fish, lamb, yams and breadfruit for us to eat from the UMU. The food was placed in the table to eaten communally and they gave Cathy and me one plate to share and Barry and Sue one plate to share. You eat with your fingers, no cutlery. They stood around and watched us eat and when we asked if they were not eating too, they said no, they had already eaten and this was for us. The food was excellent, simple, but excellent. The lamb was salted as they have no refrigeration. It was cooked in coconut milk as was the fish. Peter had caught the fish off the beach that morning, small but tasty. Well we ate all we could and still managed to get through only about half of the food provided. We knew it would not be wasted. Peter's mother asked us if we by chance had a spare tarpaulin on board. They needed something to put on the roof to cover the holes in the tin. I had one so said yes, you could have it. Peter asked if he could come out and see inside our boat so we brought him out and showed him around and gave him the tarp to take back. He liked it a lot! I took him over to Malachi as they were not onboard when he came out on Sunday. He offered them fruit and asked them to come to shore and get it. I took him back and after many thanks from both of us, left him on shore.
We were sitting on board Tuesday morning when we heard this voice hailing us. One of the young guys that had been with Peter on Sunday in the run-a-bout had rowed an outrigger out to us. It was a shaped, hollowed out log with lots of patches. He did stay afloat but it was a close thing and he had to bail like mad every few minutes. He was desperate for some rope so I gave him a piece of line that I had extra from the old towing bridle for the dinghy. He was wearing the Canada cap that I had given Peter so they trade around a bit I think. We went back in to shore for a walk yesterday and when we went to see if Peter was around, we found out he had gone to Nuku-Alofa on the supply ship that had called into the island on Monday night. Oh well we will likely be back here with Jan and Tony in a month or so so maybe we will see him then. Today we plan to head back north, maybe to Pangai depending on the weather and explore around he island of Lifuka for a few days before heading back to Vava'u next week.

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Moving On South

After 4 days on Uoleva we've decided to head a bit south and try and find some shelter from the NW winds that are expected in the next day or so. That coupled with the increasing swell that is rolling us around a bit too much makes it easy to leave. We've actually been quite busy here. Cathy took the enclosure and dodger off and re-stitched it (again) to try and make it last to NZ. I re-sealed the starboard side of the pushpit, glassed in the veggie locker to stop it from getting wet when take seas through the hawse pipe, and rebuilt one of the manual bilge pumps (the one I cannibalized for parts for the head). We've walked the beach, snorkelled, and generally been living the cruising life. We had one boat come into the anchorage for the night on Friday, Crazy Diamond. They're a nice British couple we first met in Nuie. They are heading off for Tasmania to have Christmas with their family. Other than them, there was a boat here when we arrived, Galaxia, a German boat skippered by Wolfgang but he moved on in the afternoon as he had to get back to Tonga-Tapu to drop his guests off. It has been MUCH quieter here. We are not missing the crowds from Vava'u yet. The idea is to stay here another couple of weeks, weather permitting, then head back to Vava'u. We'll see how it all shapes up. We are relying on electronic charts now as today we sail off the edge of the paper charts. We have found that the detailed electronic charts are accurate here so hopefully that will remain true. There's lots of coral out there!

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Oh My Aching Head

Well we are still at anchor in Pangai but will leave this morning for Uoleva. The idea was to leave yesterday but after my morning "constitutional", the waste pump for head decided to stop working. Not my favourite job at the best of times but this was at the worst of times. There was nothing for it but to take it apart, clean it and put it back together, simple really, hah. Taking it apart relieved all the built up pressure in the lines and I now know what it would look like if the shite really did hit the fan. Got everything cleaned up, put in one of the new kits hat Rob and Nancy had brought down when they came to Mexico (THANKS MUCH!!!) and put it all back together, carefully. Unfortunately, it leaked. Why oh why does this happen just about every time I take it apart. So, strip it again (MUCH cleaner this time) and I find that the pivot arm that is essential to the operation and seal of the pump has cracked. No spare, but we have two manual bilge pumps that are identical to the waste pump so I strip one of those, cannibalize the pivot arm and put the head back together. Of course one of the self taping screws that join the two halves of the plastic pump body strips. No problem, each rebuild kit comes with machine screws and nuts to replace the self taping screws. They didn't fit! After futzing around with it for awhile, I dig out the spare bits bin and found a longer screw, problem solved. Finally after nearly 4 hours the toilet was working properly again, yeah. I glued and clamped the broken pivot arm and will re-enforce it with epoxy today and repair the bilge pump so we will still have two manual pumps. Not the best way to spend the day. We did however go to shore (after I had a swim and a wash) and managed to track down a telephone so I could call my parents. I haven't spoken to them for nearly 2 months. The phone system here is somewhat lacking, the delay on the call was incredible, at least a couple of seconds so using the phone was like making a radio call, each person speaks in turn, still nice to be able to talk to them. Today, we sail!

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Ha'apai

Sunday morning we pulled up the anchor to make our way south to the Ha'apai group. The day before when we sailed to Ovalau from Neiafu, we had put in a number of waypoints to get us safely outside the fringing reefs around Vava'u. Early Sunday morning we upped anchor and got underway. The sails went up immediately and after one gybe to put us on port tack, we followed our track to get out. The wind was ESE so we had it just forward of the beam and we trucked along between 6-7 knots under genoa and mizzen only. In fact we didn't even take the sail cover off the mainsail. By daybreak, the wind had freshened and we took a reef in the mizzen and rolled up a bit of the genoa. The seas were 3 meters with breaking tops with a fairly long period between them. They were however just forward of the beam so we occasionally we took a good spray over the bow. We had 65 miles to cover before dark so we made sure to keep the boat speed up. The challenge was to get to the island of Ha'ano at the top of the Ha'apai group before dark, hence the early morning departure. As we sailed along, we both realized that we really had made very few early morning departures (i.e. before dawn) on the entire trip. After puzzling it out we figured out that the first time we pulled up anchor in the dark was in Bull Harbour on the North end of Vancouver Island last year when we were getting ready to go around Cape Scott and explore the west coast. The second time was when we left Niue to come to Tonga, and then we only had to slip easily off the mooring. As it turned out, we had lots of time for the trip. The winds stayed constant and we had the anchor down by 15:15. We had until about 19:00 before it would have been uncomfortably dark. The anchorage at Ha'ano is a large bite of island between two reefs. We followed the course given by the photocopied cruising guide and had no trouble. We would be lost without that photocopy. We also had to photocopy charts from that we borrowed from a Kiwi couple. The charts we had did not have enough detail and the electronic charts are not very accurate here. When Jan and Tony come in October, they are bringing charts for the Tonga group that they are borrowing from mutual friends in NZ.
We had to check in formally in Ha'apai so we Monday morning we upped anchor again and set sail for the village of Pangai on Lifuka Island. This is the administrative centre of the group. The challenge is that the anchorage and approach is very shallow and littered with shoals so we picked our way in carefully. Again, mostly under sail, the winds have been very cooperative! We got the anchor down outside the breakwater before lunch. After getting some food in us and getting the boat cleaned up a bit, we headed to shore to find Immigration, Customs and the Port Authority. We found the main government complex, realized we were too early (lunch from 12:00 to 13:30) so we wandered around the village a bit. It's very peaceful, so unlike Neaifu. The people seem more relaxed, and the pace was a lot slower. When we did get to customs, we thought we would have forms to fill out etc. Nope, just hand over the form we got from Neiafu and that was that. Immigration was pretty much the same. It took us maybe 5 minutes for both and after a handshake and welcome to Ha'apai, we were on our way. We had forgotten about the Port Authority. When we got back to the dock, we wandered over to the main building on the pier. One guy stretched out having a snooze and a lady was busy creating souvenirs. She was the one in charge of the Port Authority and had us sign in. Everything was so relaxed and informal. Today we will move a bit south (maybe 5 miles) to the island of Uoleva and stop for a awhile.

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Money, Money, Money

Well Neiafu certainly takes its toll on the cruising kitty. We came in here on Thursday to re-provision and clear out for the Ha'apai group, 60 miles south of here. By the time we got through food, laundry, 20 litres of gas and 20 litres of diesel, the money seemed like it disappeared, The gas and diesel cost TOG 150.00 (about 100.00 CAD). We're both pretty glad we can sail most everywhere here as running the diesel is getting expensive. Checking out of Vava'u was strange. Although we are not leaving the Kingdom of Tonga, we had to clear out with immigration and customs. We also had to pay our port fees, based on gross tonnage, ours came to TOG 7.40. When we get to Ha'apai, we have to go through the process again, check in with immigration, customs and the port authority and when we leave, check out. It keeps people employed. All the records are kept in beautiful ledgers, painstakingly written out longhand, very Dickensian. We went to the yacht club last night for the weekly race and prize-giving. It was packed! There has been 15-20 knots of consistent wind so the race was pretty close. The winner took the line by half a boat length. They don't bother with handicaps here and every boat that participates wins a prize of some description. The idea for today is off to the market for more fresh food, pick up a loaf of whole wheat bread that we ordered yesterday, pay our mooring fee and then sail south to Ovalau Island for the night before leaving at 04:00 Sunday for Ha'apai.

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The Electrical Storm

We've stayed in Port Maurelle waiting for the winds to go back to somewhat normal. We've had 25-30 knots for the past couple of days and there wasn't much point in moving. Monday was shore day and I managed to get all the rust stains off the boat and cleaned up some corroded bits on deck. We had a great walk into the village on the north end of the island yesterday and weather permitting I will go back today to help one of the locals tour operators with some wiring on his boat. As I write this however, it's grey, overcast and raining. The weather has quite frankly been less than we had hoped for here. Last night, in particular was bizarre. In the wee hours of the morning Cathy woke me up saying someone was shining a spotlight on the boat. We very quickly realized that it wasn't a spotlight at all but lightning! We got up, put our spare GPS and a handheld VHF in the oven (theoretically it would protect them in the event of a strike on the boat), switched off most of the breakers and watched as the sky was lit up by crash after rash of lightning. OK we've both seen lightning storms before, but this lasted well for almost 4 hours and it really didn't let up. There were a couple of close strikes and I'm hoping that they weren't boats. It was nerve racking. A couple we met in Mexico in January got hit while in Central America and basically blew out every bit of electronics on their boat. It was the last straw for them and they're selling the boat. All these things go through your mind as you watch the sheer fury of nature as you are blasted with rain squalls, listening to thunder and watching lightning crash all around.

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