Position 30deg 57min South, 173deg 53min East
Boat speed 5-6kts, bearing 175deg true
Beating windward for 3 days in winds of 20-30 knots gusting 40plus, swells of 4 to 6 meters, have seen the odd ten meter one, waves continually breaking over and flooding the cockpit. Currently 360 Nautical Miles from Auckland, with the weather unlikely to change, we are all feeling sick, but surviving.
Josh
Position 26deg 05min South, 178deg 15min East
Winds 10 to 15kts North Easterly, heading 230 true at a boat speed of 5 to 6 kts. We�ve had a reasonable day with a few showers � somehow this time the trip feels a lot slower and we are keen to be home. It�s a long way. We are looking forward to a more northerly wind shift tomorrow and an increase in boat speed. This dead down wind sailing under head sail although easy has an unpleasant motion, and the kids have spent most of the day sleeping with the lethargy that comes with a bit of sea sickness. Skipper Its true time goes quite slowly, it seems there are only 3 things to do on board, sleep, stare aimlessly at the empty horizon or cough up your guts overboard. Not quite, but the days just seem to plod by. Dads been great, picking up our slack when we sleep, and is reading Ella Enchanted to keep us entertained. However it is frustrating to know we will only be home in a week. I�d better find something todo or I might loose my mind :P Missing home a lot, although it is good to be with my family. Josh (with Emma over my shoulder)
Position 24deg 23min South, 179deg 45min West
We�re nearly back in the Eastern Hemisphere. Made South Minerva at about 9.30 am winds were blowing a good 20 to 30kts with a lumpy sea. We dropped anchor and went for a swim and made the vessel shipshape. We changed the head sail from no 3 back to the number 2 and left by midday. It was great to show Josh this awesome spot albeit for only a short period. The weather however was not great and it was overcast but Josh enjoyed it. The wind has shifted to the North East and has slowed somewhat so the seas are not bad but we are presently under motor to try and keep our daily averages up. Mum took the opportunity to make dinner while in Minerva and we had a good breakfast of omelet sandwiches. We have been doing shift of 3 on 6 off but no one seems to be sleeping 6 hours so we will try 2 on 4 off tonight and see how it goes. The temperature has certainly dropped and the crew are wearing thermals under their wet weather gear. Boy are they in for a surprise in a few days time. Could just make out Black Adder on the radio � they are very nearly home. We also hear from Robin and Rick on Endangered species they are happily in Musket cove � wish we were too. It was also good to keep an all important sked with Sunstone this morning to discuss weather with Tom.- we essentially will have a low approach as we arrive north of New Zealand and the winds will turn westerly then south westerly � hopefully we will reach the top of the North Island in time. It might also require us to make for Opua instead of Auckland but we will know closer to the time.
Skipper
Position: 23deg 49min South, 179deg 00min West
A lumpy day at sea for all of us. Tom and Emma were sick and all of us felt queasy. Making good time towards South Minerva. Made about 160nm in the last 24 hours.
Matt
21deg 20min South, 175 deg 41min West
Final day � walk into town to immigration to have the passports stamped and fill in forms. Vatuni picked me as I was leaving and off to the Harbour Authority to pay money and get a receipt and then off to customs (yet another building) to show stamped passports receipt for harbour fees, and get our clearance certificate to show to customs in NZ. We filled the advance arrival form for NZ and asked Vatuni to fax for us. Sad goodbyes to Vatuni as he and his family have been very good to us. We cast off our stern lines and picked up our anchor and off we went to Pangimotu to anchor and swim and clean the hull. Josh and the kids went ashore to have one last tropical island experience (first for Josh) and we weighed anchor for the last time in Tonga 1:15pm (TST). The winds are South Easterly and the sea still rough with swells 4 to 6 meters with a few cross swells. The winds are 25 kts gusting over 30 and we have settled into the night with a triple reefed main and a storm jib making a good 6kts. We all feel a bit sea sick and so no dinner just something to drink and some snacks. We are aware of not so good weather up ahead � our plan is to go to Minerva to show Josh if we pass in daylight. Then make our way to a position 30South 172East above NZ and hopefully thereby be in a position to handle the Westerlies we are expecting (which no doubt will become Southerlies in due course)
Skipper
oh and thankyou grandad and granny jo for the caterpillar juice. its going down a treat. just what we needed.
Nuku�alofa Harbour
Tuesday was spent doing some final shopping (everything is a mission), we even managed to squeeze in another 10liters of diesel. (Tongan diesel is a high sulpher diesel and realy smells). The weather is still overcast with the odd bit of rain � reflecting our mood about leaving. But we are all excited about picking Josh up from the airport. Vatuni arrived later in the afternoon and helped with some final stuff and off to the airport. A cold wind blew from the South and we were surprisingly cold. So much excitement to see Josh (who had left his booking till late and ended up getting a business class seat at my expense much to his delight and my ��) The children stayed up late into the night talking.
Skipper
Nuku�alofa Harbour
The winds came up and the floods come down � we filled all our spare water containers from the rain. We kept threatening to drag our anchor as all the vessels are stern moored (Mediterranean style) in the small craft harbour and the wind was coming from our port side. I kept getting up and checking � in the small hours of the morning the first vessel dragged anchor into the vessel next to her � I got Matt up and off we went to their assistance, borrowed a danforth anchor from the next door vessel and joined a number of ropes and dinghied the anchor up wind into the harbour and then used this as a kedge to winch the offending vessel off the other. Then took out their main anchor as well. We then noticed another vessel in danger and found an old man on board who was battling to manage his vessel � he looked like he was having a heart attack but assured me that he only had a broken rib from a previous fall. Matt and I set his kedge and winched him off and set his other anchor as well. Then off to wake the crew of Soulmate to warn them that their vessel was running aground. We helped them reset their anchors. The rest of the day as spent trying to catch up on sleep, do some minor repairs and down load weather information from an internet caf� to start preparing for the trip home.
A pleasant evening was spent having drinks and a chat on Soulmate.
We�re exhausted and a bit apprehensive about the decision to sail back soon. � I need a crystal ball that�s what I need.
Skipper
Nuku�alofa Harbour
I was woken around 23H55 last night to the sound of sirens and vehicles close by and jumped up to check what was happening. All I could see was flashing lights and a raging fire just a few boats along the harbour wall from where we were tied up. Everyone else was snoring soundly, so I woke the skipper and we watched for a while trying to work out what was happening. We had thought that if the wind direction changed, bringing the smoke any closer we might have to quickly cut our ties, up anchor and head out of the harbour. However, the smoke did not come too close. It looked as though they were allowing the fire to burn itself out, as long as it was contained to the one location, we later saw firemen boarding another vessel and hosing it down, we think that must�ve been to keep that vessel safe. This morning we took a look at it, the fire was a bit further along the wall than we had thought, but had completely destroyed the wooden superstructure of a vessel that was owned by one of the churches and had just undergone an upgrade, and they had obviously hosed down a neighbouring vessel to protect it.
Vatuni kindly came to collect us at 8am this morning to go to Liahona High School 1st Ward along with his family. We discovered there are two wards that meet at the high school and that the boarders are divided between the two wards. Emma and Matt thought this was great as there were so many youth attending church. We enjoyed the best sacrament meeting ever! The whole of Vatuni�s family of seven, the Fifita�s, spoke and sang, along with about four other youth. They all spoke on the principle of tithing and it was wonderful. As it is an English speaking school, the service was all in English and it was great to be able to understand everything! The children all enjoyed their lessons, as did Charles and I. As we have experienced every time we�ve attended church, no matter where we were, the children were warmly welcomed in their classes and made new friends.
Vatuni�s wife, Fehi, had kindly made us a delicious lunch of roast chicken, carrots, yummy purple Hawaiian sweet potato with gravy, salad and watermelon, which we enjoyed with their family. It was soo good and they were excellent hosts. It was so good to chat to them and discover more of the challenges and blessings that families face here in Tonga. The children enjoyed the company of their children: Abraham, Palu, Junior, Tutoe and Melemoala.
They came back to the boat with us and we were looking forward to showing them around on board, only we discovered that the windward stern mooring line (that had been tied on by a nameless member of the crew), had come adrift! We found our vessel about to nudge the vessel on the leeward side and our dinghy up on the rocks against the wall. We left our guests on the shore, while the Skipper, aided by Tom, Emma and Matt, along with two other boaties in their dinghies powered with little 2hp engines, who attempted to act as tug boats to assist us to re-anchor and turn the boat against the wind to pick up our stern lines again. Skipper�s ego took a big hit, having previously done this twice before faultlessly and unaided! Oh, where were the onlookers then?!! Skipper will be providing remedial knot classes for the crew in the near future!! We brought our guests aboard and showed them round while Matt made hot chocolate for everyone. We enjoyed chatting some more and thanked them for making our Sabbath very special. After they�d left, Charles went walking along the embankment to thank again those that had helped us re-anchor, we�d had the tropical rain cover on since yesterday hoping for rain to fill our empty water tanks, however, despite being cool and overcast today, we didn�t see any rain. As always, keeping his eyes open for every opportunity, he spotted someone filling their water tanks and was advised that they had collected it from the custom�s office water tank. They kindly offered to lend us their water jerry cans and Matt and Charles did a couple of runs until we too have full water tanks on board. See, the Lord did provide! He�s continuing to provide too, as, since we�ve filled up, it�s started to rain � now we�re excited, we might even get a freshwater shower tonight! We are now trying to use as little as possible so we can have enough food and water etc to last us for two weeks til we get home. Abby and Rebekah had a little play with the children from Wellington that were on the boat that lent us the jerry cans, a 54ft chico called Soulmate built by Keith Eade for himself, the same boatbuilder as built our boat.
Joy
We picked up anchor early to anchor stern to in the harbour and set to with the reprovisioning of the boat and changing of the engine oil etc preparatory to leaving for NZ on Tuesday. There are quite a few boats in the harbour, most just arriving to enjoy their time in Tonga, seems like it�s just us going home. It�s the first time we�ve been in town on a Saturday and there are markets everywhere and a huge selection of fresh fruits and veges. Shopping just takes forever though, as we have to carry everything back to the boat ourselves and we have to go to different shops to get different things. Can�t wait to get back to the ease of NZ�s supermarkets and trying out the new Pak n Save! Each trip to the shops brought back several bags of groceries or in Matt and Dad�s case, fuel, and Tom ferried us across the harbour in the dinghy so we didn�t have to walk so far. Abby and I caught a bus back from town on one of our excursions, 60c each, we were just relieved when, after taking an unexpected scenic route, we found ourselves at our correct destination! We managed to find somewhere to buy takeaway fish and chips which we shared as a treat and hopefully will only have to get a few more groceries next week to ensure they will last for the trip home. We�re so going to appreciate oranges when we get back, they�re $2.50 each here!! We�ve put up our tropical rain cover and are praying for rain to fill our water tanks, as the last time we filled up with water here, for $23, it tasted awful. If we�re not successful with that, we�ll have to pay for a bowser to come and fill up our water tanks which is $50 plus a 45c/litre cost, hopefully it�ll taste good at that price, but rainwater is our preferred option. We turned in early tonight after a busy day and are all tired.
Joy
Pangaimotu Island, Tongatapu
Woke up early this morning and left for Nuku�alofa in a SE of 25 knots with moderate sea swells. 15 hours of hard sailing. Mum managed to make pancakes for breakfast just as we left. We had to tack and beat into wind all the way into Nuku�alofa with waves crashing over the boat. Me and Dad hand steered most of the way. Tom was the only one that was sick though we were all feeling pretty queasy. Mum made some omletes when we arrived at about 2 in the morning. We were all pretty hungry as no one had been up to eating much underway.
Matt
Position: 19deg 56 min South, 174deg 43min West �Ha�afeva Island
The winds have not played ball with us. This morning we woke around 3am with the sound of rain � and no, we didn�t have the energy to put the rain catcher up (we should have and I regret it now) � The wind however had changed to the West and our cosy little anchorage in Uiha Island in 3m of water was, all of a sudden, not so much fun. With lots of shoal areas and coral heads, we were in no position to move, so sat it out and moved in daylight. The winds have swung around to the South West now and we have decided to sit out the night at Ha�afeva hoping for more favourable conditions in the morning. We hope that the winds will have moved to the South East but whatever we find, unless it�s a gale, we will make our way further south. At Ha�afeva we have swum again and done some snorkeling and the younger children have found some friends on the only other vessel here (a large cat called Twin Image). We definitely feel like we are making our way home � we were last here a month ago.
Skipper
Uoleva Island, Ha�apai
We picked up our anchor at 8.30am to make our way further south through the islands, so many places we�d love to go and our time is running out fast now. We�re feeling sad as we can feel it all coming to an end, though the kids are looking forward to seeing their friends again. As there was no wind to head south, Charles steered us through a narrow coral channel, with Matt as lookout, round to Uiha Island, we dropped anchor at 10am and went ashore to explore. We walked through Uiha village, a very pretty village with beautifully kept gardens and street lights on the dirt roads. This is the first island away from the main centres that has had electric street lights. Some of the houses had fairy lights outside, so we presumed they might�ve had electricity too, but all houses had outside cookhouses, so we�re not sure whether it was just a few who had electricity or just electric lighting. The electricity was cabled underground. Uiha has quite a lot of history, the royal tombs are in this village and there are two beautifully painted turreted churches here. We continued walking through to the village of Felemea looking for the uncle of a friend of ours from church. As luck would have it, the first house we asked where Manu Masima lived was his house! We were introduced to his family and invited to a dance and feast this Friday to welcome their daughter back from her mission. Unfortunately won�t be here for that, and maybe that�s a good thing as we might�ve been expected to eat the turtle that had been caught and was still alive, tied up and lying on its back so it couldn�t get away. The turtle was about 1m wide and the first one most of us had seen this holiday and we were so sad to see it treated this way. It was a prized catch for them and, without refrigeration, the best way to keep it fresh was to keep it alive as long as possible. They turned it over for us to see its shell, it was so strong it moved quickly towards the sea, so it was placed on its back again to restrain it. The water was beautifully clear to snorkel in. We joined the crew of the only other boat here, a cat called Aorere for dinner on the beach. We bbq�d boerewors on the boat and took it ashore to share. They cooked green bananas and yams on a fire and served it with a spicy peanut sauce. It was very heavy to eat and whilst we chatted and learned more about cooking local foods over a fire, but we�d have preferred our boat dried mash potato and peas! And we made a gracious early retreat to return to the boat and fill up on delicious pancakes and syrup!.
Skipper
Ha�ano & Uoleva Islands, Ha�apai
We arrived at Ha�ano Island, the most northerly island in the Ha�apai group around 10.30am. Excellent snorkeling was found in the bay with beautiful coral and plenty of fish, and we explored the island around the beach. We wished we had more time to stay, but we were keen to keep going further south to find an anchorage for the night. We caught a small tuna on the lure on the way, and are looking forward to sushimi tomorrow. We arrived at Uoleva Island around 4pm and went ashore for a walk on the beach, exploring the other end of the island from the previous time we were here. This island has the most beautiful sandy beach running all around the island and is your typical tropical paradise. We found a fabulous new resort there, Serenity Beaches, run by an American lady Patti and a Tongan, Semi. They have five beautiful Thai-style fales that look out over the beach on either side of the island and a lovely main dining/social area. They advertise over the internet HYPERLINK "http://www.serenitybeaches.com" www.serenitybeaches.com and we were very impressed. A great place for a �get away from it all�, unsophisticated, but comfortable, romantic or quiet holiday. We enjoyed chatting to them so much, and being taken on a tour of the place, that we got back to the dinghy well after dark, fortunately we were the only yacht anchored off the island and Matt had put our anchor light on to guide us back. Charles had a wash off the duckboard before tea, but wished he hadn�t soaped up after seeing things that glowed in the dark in the sea! It�s different from phosphorescence, they looked almost alien, round or oblong things that would glow an eerie blue every now and again, out in the sea, we haven�t discovered whether they�re fish or jellyfish, anyway, it was the quickest wash he�s had yet � he didn�t spend a second longer in the water than he had to!
Joy
Neiafu, Vava�u
Well today was really busy as we spent it shopping (who knew shopping was such hard work!) we had to walk all over town to get everything we needed as we can�t get everything at the same place. We had so many things to get like milk, flour, cokes (for dad!) and other essential items. The stuff was really expensive! Like popcorn kernels in a 250g bag was $8!!!! And chocolate $13 for a bar!!! CRAZY!!!!! So we shopped all day and carried huge watermelons and cases of coke back to the dingy (which flooded when we all got in � matt fixed it the next day!). Mum and dad treated all us kids to dinner at The Mermaid Bar we had hamburgers and chips which were REALLY good!!! We said goodbye to all our friends and then at about 10:30pm we upped anchor and left Vava�u to head south to the Ha�apai islands and ultimately back to Nuku�alofa, Tongatapu before leaving Tonga for home! Me and Matt�s shift was at 2-6 in the morning it was sooooo long we spent the entire time singing to songs and talking. It was fun till bekah nearly threw up on the floor. O well!! It was a good night.
Emma
Port Maurelle
Today was a great day all round. Tom made friends with a boy his age called William off a large super launch anchored in the bay. We were then offered a ride on their jetski that they keep on board. So we spent the morning taking turns riding on this jetski with a max speed of about 150km/h. After that William took out a sea biscuit and attached it to the back of the jetski. And once again we took turns trying to hold on for as long as possible while hurtilling across the water at insane speeds. Both me and tom have bruises where we came off the biscuit and were thrown across the water. We said goodbye to our friends Kate and Sarah from Avant Garde who fly back home to NZ early tomorrow morning and spent the rest of the day snorkeling around the bay with William (who also unfortunately flys back to NZ tomorrow aswell). For dinner we had stirfry and invited Mike from Tusitalla and Mike from Acocoamo (not sure if that�s how you spell it). Mum also had Dad stitch up her finger. She got two stitches without anaesthetic.
Matt
A bell started ringing in the village at 6.15am, at first we were surprised that it only rang about four times if it was meant to wake everyone up � we felt we could easily have slept through that, however, more bells joined in and they continued ringing on and off for about 10 minutes announcing the start of the day to everyone. Many churches a single bell under a covered area on the ground, but often empty gas cylinders suffice as bells.
We watched as lights turned on in the houses as it was still dark and the moon was still out. The bit that impressed us the most though, was that at 6.20am we heard numerous voices cheering joyfully, it only lasted a couple of minutes, we could only think it was a great way to welcome the new day. Abby and Joy felt that we should do that at home but, apart from the fact that it would take some practicing to get everyone up at the stroke of the bell, the neighbours might think we�ve finally gone nuts!! Joy and Tom were up early to snorkel the false entrance of the lagoon and discovered great snorkeling on the far side of the gap with wonderful coral valleys and plenty of reef fish. It was a beautiful sunny day and the water was warm at 8am. Em and Abby went back with Joy so as not to miss out, despite being asleep previously, they agreed it was worth getting up for. We left the Hunga Lagoon at high tide and made our way under jib to Sisia Island. This island is not far from Port Maurelle. It�s small and uninhabited and has a lovely beach on the western side. Here we stopped for lunch and snorkeled. Matt took Emma for some scuba lessons � She�s doing very well and can comfortably take her mask off and on etc at 15m, and enjoyed doing somersaults and handstands on the seabed! Rebekah finally discovered that she was able to stay afloat and swim in her snorkel and flippers out of her depth without her lifejacket. This was a pivotal point for her and she enjoyed snorkeling around looking at blue starfish, orange finger coral and beautiful coloured reef fish without being afraid. We�ve had a good day and are anchored in Port Maurelle for the night. Mum cut her finger during dinner preparations, so Matt finished off cooking a delicious butter chicken curry and Mum got waited on, which she thoroughly enjoyed. Matt also washed up � and we have the photo to prove it.
Skipper
Today we got word of a whale in the channel near Mariner�s Cave, so we set off on Avant Garde along with the crew of Red Thread to go and find it. We could see it�s blow from a far and we headed in. Avant Garde have a much better engine than us and so chased it so well that we caught up with the whale. We then spent over an hour just enjoying watching the humpback whale repeatedly surface, blow and dive. We got quite close on a number of occasions, cutting our engine, and just watching the majesty of this beautiful mammal, the only noise being its breath and our whoops and cheers of delight; it even swam under the boat checking us out and we could see its white underside as it breached. What a thrill! This whale is here early in the season, the whales mainly come in during July and August to calve up here and whale watching is a big tourist business. We had thought we might miss out on seeing them, returning home so soon, so this was a real bonus. As it was over lunchtime, I�d taken along some home made bread dough, tuna, cooldrink and papaya and Marion baked the two loaves in her oven while we watched the whale, and then treated us to a lovely lunch on board on our return. They are lovely people, who also have their own island! Oyster Island near Espirito Santo, Vanuatu; the Island Cruising Association are all stopping in there after Fiji on their 6 month Pacific Tour, hopefully we�ll sail there someday too. Rebekah, Abby & Tom spent the rest of the afternoon on Red Thread, cleaning their boat in return for the treat of watching a movie onboard afterwards! Tom�s choice of Star Wars won, not sure that the little girls enjoyed it as much though. Matt and Emma were returned from Kairos in the early evening, we were sad to say our farewells to Kairos as our association with Abbey and her parents has made our holiday. They left for Fiji at midnight, to make the best of the good winds, for their three day trip over. Charles was sorely tempted to take off for Fiji, we have the charts and we had initially planned to go there, however we decided to stick with our current game plan and make the most of Tonga, we�ll just have to do Fiji another time!
Joy
Port Maurelle
The crew slept in late. The day was funny with quite a number of showers and strong gusts of winds. Kairos is planning to leave tomorrow for Fiji, and the teenagers on board are sad. Its amazing how short and intense these relationships are, when you are so isolated. I�ve had my arm twisted to let the two oldest return to Neafu with Kairos as she fills up with diesel and water and clears customs � we will make some plans to retrieve them tomorrow or the next day. The younger crew are happy as not only do they have the friends from Red Thread but Tusitala has arrived with more little people. Joy and I looked after the young people from both theses vessels for the afternoon to ensure that their respective adults could get to Mariners Cave.
We have momentary entertained the thought of joining the few boats that are going now to Fiji � it would be fun but we are coming to the end our trip and this would entail nearly a week all told of sailing and officialdom etc. So we have reluctantly stuck to our plans for making our way back to Nuku�alofa. We will have some fronts with Northerlies coming through Sunday that we will wait to pass over us before making our way down to do some more exploring of the Hapai group on the way down. We are missing Josh a lot and are looking forward to have him join the crew for the trip home.
We are impressed by the number of people who we have met that have sold their all, quit their jobs and careers and sunk all into their vessels and their trip. They sail until all their money has run out and then intend to return and sell their vessels and start again. This is a major commitment but we take only our experiences with us and the memories of the people we have touched with us when leave this earth. Its funny because when you speak to the land lovers they see the wealthy out cruising but the vast majority have no other asset on the planet except their boats � so when misfortune strikes in the form of major repair this has a huge impact on their cruising budgets and plans.
Skipper
Port Maurelle
We walked from our bay to Otea Village this morning, about 20 minutes on a dirt track. We were looking for the LDS chapel with the million dollar view and we found it in this little village. The chapel overlooks a magnificent bay and is right on the waters edge. One of the villagers and a church member showed us around his village. The principal of the government primary school came out and spoke to us, there were 18 children at the school and two teachers who lived in the village. We gave him balloons to give to the children, not much, but it was all we had on us. He offered to take us into the classes but we didn�t like to interrupt the children�s lessons, however, now our primary children wished we had taken him up on it. We also saw the neighbouring Reef Resort, it shares the same wonderful view and has very nice fales to stay in. It took 18months to build and has been open for just over a year. Charles and Matt took off with Kairos to go diving the island of Tu�ungasika, which is supposed to be the best coral diving in Vava�u. They said it was good, but not as good as Minerva Reef. Emma joined Alison, Warren and friends on Memphis, and showed them where Mariner�s Cave was and went snorkeling with them, she had a great afternoon and enjoyed being in adult company. They were glad they�d taken Em otherwise they said they wouldn�t have been able to find it. The rest of us enjoyed snorkeling in the bay and basking in the sunshine. On their return we invited Hazel and Bill from Liberation over for sultana scones with jam and cream (long life cream that is), it was good to see them again and to thank them for the delicious fish they�d given us for tea a week ago!Abby and Rebekah noticed a boat come into the bay with children on, and within minutes they were in the dinghy and over to say hello. It turned out that The Red Thread, had two little girls aged 5 and 8 and they were delighted to see other girls. They invited them onboard and immediately engaged them in games with their toys. After a tea of fried bacon, eggs and baked beans on freshly baked bread, we took off to the beach to light our evening fire. Matt took along a cloth to attach to a stick, dip in fuel and have as a torch � our children are pyromaniacs! However, I have to say it worked well. Tom and Emma invited all the boats in the bay to come to the fire and they came. Although the guitar came along too, we mostly chatted tonight, the fire burned well and everyone had fun. We thought Tom was doing his nightly fire dance, even though it was a little more exaggerated than usual, however, it turned out that he�d been bitten, he thinks by a centipede. He has two puncture marks about 1 cm apart on the edge of his foot, it bled and he was in pain, he said he saw a long worm-like thing with legs, disappearing after he was bitten. The fear of getting bitten, along with a rain squall, ended the beach party, but it was a good night. Rebekah�s friends, MeiMei and Linzi from Red Thread, plotted for her to sleep over on their boat and, as Matt and Emma have had sleep overs on Abbey�s boat Kairos before, Rebekah was keen to go, even though Abby didn�t want to. Tom has now taken paracetamol and antihistamine, hopefully the redness and swelling will have gone down by tomorrow, and he�ll be able to sleep tonight. I�m getting quite used to this lifestyle and the talk of carrying on to Fiji and Vanuatu like the other cruisers is very tempting � shame, we have to return to work to pay for this wonderful experience!
Joy
Position: Port Maurelle
The night was much cooler last night, down to 20 degrees C, we had to get out the sleeping bags as our sheets were not warm enough. But fortunately the blue skies and sun came out today and it was glorious. After a bacon and egg breakfast, with waffles on Kairos, Charles and Matt enjoyed diving the drop off on the west side of Nuku Island down to 34m, and later, the wall back towards Port Maurelle from Swallow�s cave, with the Kairos crew. The rest of us snorkeled the coral in the bay, and marveled at the infinite collection of reef fish we saw. A cruise ship came into Nei�afu today and brought 1800 people to this tiny town � it took two hours just to unload people who wanted to come ashore. One of the yachts here � and we�ve all got to know each other now � Pacific Rose, hired their services at $200 per person for a cruise, and took four people on board for the day, showing them the sights � now that�s enterprising!
We collected drift wood and lit a fire on the beach in the evening, this is something we�re not permitted to do in NZ, so the kids were very excited about it. We discovered that dry palm leaves really make the fire roar, and realized just how quickly the traditioanl woven huts would go up in a fire. The crew from two other boats, Memphis and Just Magic, saw our fire and joined us bringing their guitar, so we had a wonderful evening, singing songs on the beach and chatting, under a full moon. We got back to our boat at 10.30pm!
Joy
Position: Neiafu
Walked up to the Saineha Chapel again this Sunday and enjoyed their fast and testimony meeting. They had hymns that we knew this time, even if we did have to sing them in tongan! And it was good to see two rows of members, including youth, queueing up on the podium to bear their testimony � we could learn from their example! The children all went to their own classes and Charles and I to ours, and we all had friends in members who translated for us, so it was a very enjoyable day.
After church we took off for Port Maurelle, feeling culinarily adventurous, we peeled the yam we got in Ha�pai, chopped it into cubes, par-boiled it and then roasted it in oil in the oven. I also made an apple sponge in the oven, and a loaf of no-knead pressure cooker bread. Surprisingly it all turnout out well, the yam needed a lot of salt, but otherwise was crunchy like roast potatoes, the pressure cooker bread, despite being cooked on low heat for 45mins was not burnt and the apple sponge was delicious with long life cream � which, I discovered, if you put it in the freezer for an hour before serving turns into thick almost whipped-type cream. Charles then barbequed lamb chops off the back of the boat and, as we were ready to eat around 6pm, Kairos came in and dropped anchor. We invited them to join us and added salad, beetroot, corn, papaya and watermelon to our spread and they were impressed with our Carenza feast! They invited us back to their boat to watch a movie, the Privileged Planet, which rounded off our Sabbath beautifully.
Joy
Position:18deg 39min South, 173 deg 58min West � Neiafu in Vava�u
Had a night of heavy rain, but the temperature was cooler this morning. We went to the pharmacy to get Abby some ointment for a boil type sore she has on her arm � we were surprised to find that they have Tami Flu in stock at $100 for 10 days, we decided we wouldn�t go for that � hopefully we�ll stay in good health. We found some good wholewheat bread at a local caf� and some freshly baked cinnamon buns from the bakery. Today we went out with Abbey and her parents, Janet and Clint from Kairos, to Mariner�s Cave, they hadn�t been before, so it was good to show them where it was and to go in with them. This time Matthew was first in! The sun came out and we ate lunch enroute sailing with the gib up. We then continued to Mala Island, a beautiful resort island which, although had been abandoned, is now being renovated and will be open in a couple of months. It�s a very pretty island with two small paradise island type beaches, so, after having spoken with the new management and caught up with the ins and outs of running a resort in Tonga, we snorkeled along the reefs just off the beach. Surprisingly, much of the coral had died, but it was shallow snorkeling and the fish were beautiful, so we enjoyed it all the same. There was a fat pink starfish that reminded me of spongebob square pants! And lots of Nemo�s family and relatives down there. It was a really good day.
We came back in time to enjoy our special �appreciation evening� with one of the boats that Charles had attended to a crushed finger injury. Not only did they give us delicious drinking water from their watermaker � for which we were very grateful, but they bought a voucher for Charles and I to enjoy dinner at an exclusive restaurant, the Dancing Rooster, and for the children to go on to their boat and have hotdogs for tea, and watch movies with popcorn and refreshments. The kids were all so excited they�ve been looking forward to it for days. The restaurant was set in chef Gunter�s home garden, with large tables covered with pretty cloths and sturdy chairs, pretty lighting and woven coconut palm roofing. There wasn�t supposed to be entertainment with our supper, however, a roaming dog snuck in to have a fight with the Gunter�s dog, which took quite some effort to get him off and out of the place. We treated ourselves to a lobster salad starter, seeing as we haven�t managed to catch one yet! And Charles enjoyed an expensive t-bone steak, in the land of pigs, I had a delicious pork steak and we came home replete! The children impressed our hosts with their good behaviour and were told they were welcome anytime, something we were proud of, especially as they don�t have children themselves.
Earlier in the day, John, one of Matt�s new found friends at church came out to see the boat, as Charles was out in the dinghy, Matt swam over to the pier and they swam back to the boat. It was the first time he�d been on a yacht and his eyes were wide, we had refreshments in the cockpit and chatted, fortunately English is his favourite subject and so chatting was easy. He�s working hard at school to go to BYU Provo on a scholarship, I could imagine he�ll succeed in his goals too. He works in the local video shop from 9-9 on Saturdays, so he just came over to see us in his break, we had to let him go so he could go home and change before returning to work. As by law, everything is closed on Sundays, they don�t have the hassle of telling employees they don�t want to work on the Sabbath.
Joy
Position: 18deg 39min South, 173deg 58min West � Neiafu in Vava�u
The ferry arrived Thursday � meaning the market is full of variety today. We bought watermelon, papaya, mandarins, apples, pineapples, eggs, tomatoes, onions, and various other provisions. The younger children met up with some friends Kai and Dior (their parents have a 47ft cat and stay on the island of Nuku) and went ashore to play. And it rained � hot, humid and very sticky � The highlight of the afternoon and evening was the Friday evening Vava�u Yacht Club�s race � no, we didn�t crack it and yes, we were at the back of the fleet, but it was fun and we won a prize, lunch for two at a local caf�, and had a great evening. � The music and festive spirit at the Mermaid restaurant continued �til late, and Matt and Emma only returned after 11pm � they insisted they were quite safe as there were church members there keeping an eye out for them, which was nice, and we were anchored nearby.
Position: 18deg 39min South, 173deg 58min West � Neiafu in Vava�u
Another overcast day, Charles is loving the cooler weather, the rest of us are looking forward to more sun. This morning we walked to Mt Talou National park, a hill overlooking the port of Neiafu. We walked past the King�s Vava�u residence and through the villages to reach the hill. The climb up the hill was aided with ropes tied to trees and the view from three different lookouts over the islands and reefs was well worth the effort. On the way back, we discovered a small dairy � they seem to be on every street corner, that sold the coldest cooldrinks we�ve had so far � shame the weather wasn�t warmer so we could really wallow in it, and a real bakery that supplies bread to the town. Their cinnamon rolls, baguettes and cheese bread was the best we�d tasted. Most of us are still suffering from Tongan quickstep, we don�t quite know what�s causing it and most of the time it�s manageable, but we only have on heads on board so we have to be quick about it! We treated a sore on Abby�s arm today which she thinks was caused from a bite or sting she received on the beach a few days ago, it�s gone septic, so we started her on antibiotics and drained it. Emma and Abbey from Kairos, made a delicious chocolate cake, while the rest of us walked south east of Neiafu exploring. Quite a few hotels and resorts have been reduced to rubble by fire, and it must have drastic impacts on people�s livelihoods, especially as there�s no insurance here. Other places stand unfinished and we wonder whether this is from lack of money or materials. Charles and I treated ourselves to supper at the Mermaid restaurant and enjoyed the company of other yachties, while the kids enjoyed NZ fish fingers from the local bulk foods shop where Bishop�s wife, Loisi, works.
Position: 18deg 39min South, 173deg 58min West � Neiafu in Vava�u
Dad�s bug seems to be spreading round the family � so kind of him to share. Good burley being produced, even though it�s tough going with 7 people sharing one heads on board, ha ha! Rebekah and Arwen were up at the crack of dawn playing, fortunately Abby joined in and kept them occupied. After breakfast we had sultana scones and took some over to share with Tusitala. The weather is still overcast and chilly, with the temperature dropping to 25 degrees. We got the sweatshirts out today � how are we ever going to cope when we come back to NZ?! Charles had to dive down to unhook our anchor chain from around a coral bombie, before we set off to our next daystop. Good job we hadn�t had to urgently move during the night or we�d have been stuck. We motored over to anchorage 17, Lape Island, and went ashore for a walk to the village. Lape village consists of four families, they live very traditionally and yet have their own Free Wesleyan church with minister on the island, and their own school. The school was a fairly new building, consisting of one room, the teacher�s desk and two chairs, a long school desk and long bench at which the six primary school children sit for their lessons. There was a separate toilet block and hand basin, and a small staff quarters adjacent to the school for the teacher. The view was out over the bay. The lessons are in English and it was interesting to see English posters everywhere and questions about the solar system on the chalkboard. It looked lovely. We arrived at lunchtime, so the children had gone home and we saw them with their mother in the cookhouse, eating their lunch that had been prepared over the open fire stoves. There was no electricity and water was from rainwater tanks from the roofs of the houses. The living was very simple and yet I was impressed at how beautifully the school children were turned out, with their hair neatly braided and in clean clothes � how they manage to wear white tops I just don�t know. We were impressed by the islanders industrious farming, aside from coconuts, they had crops of taro, cassava and karva, and were also growing bananas, mangos & pineapples (not in season), pigs and goats, and even had scarecrows in their domestic vegetable garden to keep out unwanted predators. Older children board at school in Neiafu,. going home on Friday afternoon and returning after church on Sunday. The people were very friendly and welcomed us into their village, which when walking through, is like someone walking up to your back door � so it�s quite intrusive. As the cooking on the island is done over an open flame, the kitchens are not part of the house, there is a separate cookhouse for each house to cook and eat in, and the house is for sleeping in. We then put up the gib and sailed through to Neiafu. Matt and Emma were hoping to attend the local youth activity, but unfortunately both were laid low, so didn�t manage to go, much to their disappointment. We had comfort food of mince, veg and mashed potato for tea and Matthew made good use of the local free internet before they discovered us and cut the access. Our friends who had lent the kids a TV show on DVD�s gave us an invitation for the children to go over to their boat to watch the second series of the show and have popcorn and beverages on a night of their choice � so they�re very excited. They also very kindly gave Charles and I a voucher for dinner at one of the local exclusive restaurants after Charles helped treat her injured finger, something that they really didn�t need to do. We�ve enjoyed their company and enjoy helping them out, plus they�ve given us lots of delicious desalinated water!
S�all from the cook and bottlewasher today, love to all, & thanks to John and Saskia for our very useful timer! It has so many useful functions and it�s used every day. xoxo
Position: 18deg 43min South, 174 deg 05min West � Anchorage 16, Vaka�eitu in Vava�u
We were woken up in the early morning to gusty winds, pouring rain and lightning. So me and dad didn�t get much sleep ( had to check we were saftely anchored every couple of hours ). Had pancakes for breakfast � made ones with oats in them, super filling. It continued to be overcast with rain for most of the morning, so we decided to stay put in this protected anchorage. It was the first time it actually felt cool, the temperature dropped to 26 degrees, Dad�s happy, the rest of us are all feeling chilly! Mum then made everyone do homework for a few hours - that went down really well, and washed our Sunday clothes as our white shirts were no longer white after our busy, long hot
Sunday! After that Mum and Dad went for a walk with Rebekah and found the remains of a resort on Vaka�eitu island, less than five years ago it was a fully functioning restaurant with Austrian food, fresh apple strudel etc and fales, quite sad really, not sure whether they couldn�t make it viable or whether it was wrecked in a cyclone. Me, Em, Tom and Abby stayed behind and tidied the boat then watched CSI: Miami (one of the tv series� given to us by Rick and Robin on Endangered Species ). For dinner we had burritos with more pancakes for dessert. Rebekah�s new friend Arwen, a 6 year old from Tusitala (stowaway Sarah�s cousin), came over to play and is sleeping over. Early night for everyone tonight.
Matt (with additions by Mum)
Position: 18deg 43min South, 174 deg 05min West � Anchorage 16, Vaka�eitu in Vava�u
This morning Mum and me (Matt) went to the market to buy some fruit and vegetables. We bought paw paw and cucumbers and bananas and lettuce and tomatoes. Unfortunately they had no watermelon. On the way back we spotted Mike the skipper of Tusitala and his new crew he had picked up from the airport to replace Sarah the stowaway. Shortly after we paid for the mooring buoy and left Neiafu. On the way out we saw Bill and Hazel on board Liberation and she kindly gave us chocolates. We then went to several anchorages (the wind picked up and it started raining) but kept moving cause dad wasn�t happy and the beaches weren�t that nice. Ended up in Vaka�eitu with Tusitala and a few other boats we know. Went to the beach and played with the crabs we kept digging up. Made contact with Kairos and hopefully will meet up with them on Wednesday. It was a bit chillier today. The temperature dropped to a low of 27 hahahaha. Not looking forward to coming home to winter.
Matt
Position: 18deg 39min South, 173deg 58min West � Neiafu in Vava�u
What a good day � We got up early and dressed in our Sunday best (as best as we can do when on a boat i.e boys in white shirts & ties with shorts, skirts & tops for girls, and jandals). We walked a good few kms to the LDS Saineha Chapel just passed the LDS Saineha school. (we subsequently found that we could have attended one that was much closer). The chapel was small and less than half full, but their singing was amazing. One of the women, Denise, who was sitting behind us, kindly translated the talks for us. The final speaker, Bro Hiliau Kaufusi, kept giving his scriptural quotes in both English and Tongan, which was fantastic as we were able to keep up with the gist of the talk. He turned out to be the seminary teacher and the Adult Sunday School teacher. The children went off to their primary classes (with Mum) and the teenagers to their youth classes. They were all made to feel very welcome, and made new friends. After church Hiliau said that he was off to attend a �feast to celebrate the return of his good friend�s missionary son�, and he said that we were to attend with him. So off we went � firstly to his home and then in his van Tongan style i.e. all the kids (his and ours) in the back. Back door open and side door open (effective air-conditioning). We traversed the main island to the other side (near the West coast) to a village where the road ends: Tuanuku. Hiliau and I sat up front and he told us about his pigs, his karva crops, his money lending business, and local politics etc. He pointed out various plants and crops on the way
We were then shown inside a humble home: where the front room was furnished with a long tables and benches. We were introduced to the family and the returned missionary, Elder Moala. He was a good looking Tongan man with bright blue eyes and a lovely American accent. He had spent his mission in California and, having been born in America, was intending to return and go to university and study dentistry. We had a great time having him recount some of his experiences � especially the opportunity he had of reactivating his sister and baptizing her non-member husband, and attending the temple with both of them. The spread on the table was something to behold: Sucking pig, chicken, fish, various shell fish, yams, taro, kumara, potato salad, crab and mussel surimi, coleslaw, watermelon and much more � what a presentation and knowing how much food costs in this part of the world I can�t begin to imagine how much this cost. We felt like the consummate gatecrashers, and felt awful that we didn�t have anything to contribute, but we were made to feel very welcome and given seats of honour at the table. After we had eaten, our host, Elder Moala�s father, said we should accompany them to their ward ward conference at the Longomapu Chapel. This time we attended the last part of Sunday School and then afternoon Sacrament. It was all in Tongan but Hiliau sat next to me and translated. The chapel was full and again, the singing was incredible. The stake president acknowledged the Palangi�s in his talk. Afterwards we were invited to attend the Bishop�s house where yet another Tongan Feast was laid on. This house was more humble than the first and the beautiful feast that was prepared was much bigger � 3 little pigs this time plus all the above, we sat on mats on the floor. Again we were guests of honour, and our presence welcomed. The family did not participate, but waited behind in the other room in the house. There were other dignitaries there including Bro Spencer from the stake presidency, and others I gathered, were village elders. Speeches were made by most of the men, along with the Bishop�s wife and another lady. I made one too acknowledging our gracious host and the connection we feel as being part of a church family. We felt humbled by Bishop�s comments when he said he was sorry if there wasn�t enough food for us, or if we would still be hungry, meanwhile we�d never seen so much food on a table. Hiliau explained that we had to go now as it was getting late and the family needed to eat. That was the other thing that felt strange, that we would go in, sit down and eat, and then get up and leave without clearing the table, helping wash up or anything. However, the family would not eat till we had gone, so our leaving made room for the rest of the family at the table. There was still a huge amount of food left, we had hardly made a dent in the meal. I understood that the leftovers would be shared amongst family, friends, and neighbors alike. We were offered to take what ever we wanted (which we politely declined). This is a part of the culture that we don�t fully understand. The meal would have cost more than a few weeks wages. The home was lovingly cared for, but humble, and I�m sure the money could have been better spent. Our host was delighted with our presence and it appeared to be a great honor for him and he thanked us profusely for attending and making it special for them. (not that we did not have a fantastic time � because we did). This is definitely a very cultural thing. The real guests of honour were only about 5 and the meal would have sufficed for over 50. So there was no need to lavishly supply the honoured guests, except for special cultural reasons which I don�t fully understand. We were very humbled by the sacrifices these lovely people had made, and all the children commented on it when we got home. We so wished we could do something for each of them. They�ve certainly taught us how to share more.
On the way home we stopped to feed the pigs on one of Hiliau�s little plots. They appear to forage during the day and are fed with two coconuts each twice a day � It was explained to me that it was one of the easiest ways of farming that one could engage in. We didn�t offer to slice the tops off the coconuts with the machetes as we couldn�t wield the machete as efficiently without losing our fingers! Tom enjoyed throwing the halved coconuts to the pigs though.
We finally arrived home after dark, tired, having made new friends, good Sabbath lessons and having experienced a special part of Tongan culture we would not normally have been privvy to.
Skipper
