Passage to Fiji

Today is Mon, July 20, and we are enjoying a good sail to Fiji. So far we have only used the foresail with moderate following winds and seas. There was supposed to be no wind Sun, but by going a slightly different route we had enough wind for all but 6 hours of motoring. By then, the batteries needed charging anyway. We really miss the hydrogenerator for power on long trips when we use the autopilot and there is no sun overnight. We've been hand steering in the daytime. We have only seen 2 boats but they were large and close, fishing and a cruise ship. The AIS is only working out a few miles but lights and radar tell you something.

You could do this trip in 3 days if you started early am and had good winds. But in Tonga you have to check out at the dock so didn't get away until 11am. We couldn't enter the outlying reefs after dark or arrive at Savusavu in the dark so are aiming for Tues am. That has meant reefing down and travelling slowly. We are travelling through the islands today so it is more scenic than the ocean passages.

Fiji has 332 islands covering 274,000 square miles if you count the water. That is why it is taking a day and a half just to get to the first check in spot. Here we leave Polynesia and enter Melanesia. The word means "black islands". The native peoples came from SE Asia-a very long time ago. But half the population is Fijian Indian, the descendants of indentured slaves brought in to work the sugar cane fields. There is some unrest between the groups as the Indians run most of the businesses. The time zone is UTC plus 12, the same as NZ. That puts us close to a third of the way around the world from our start.

On the Canadian homefront, Rob's dad, Norm had a 90th birthday bash last weekend in Wpg. I hear it was a great event. Mike and Dave's crew flew out from our family. Looking forward to some pictures when we get internet again. Unfortunately, his mom, Nora, had another small stroke this week so is not doing as well. Wish we were closer!

A few parting thoughts on Tonga. The economy is based on foreign aid and Tongans sending cash home after moving to other countries. Expats seem to run all the businesses. We noticed another customer in a restaurant wearing a Wpg Blue Bombers tshirt. Of course, we introduced ourselves, with Rob wearing his Banff tshirt. The couple have moved to Neiafu and had just purchased a local restaurant that they hope to improve and make a living from. We wish them luck but I hear the success rate is not that good.

We have met some cruisers that we have crossed paths with in previous ports. Especially the young Norwegian couple from Milla that we have seen in 5 locations since Feb. They have sold their boat here to Kjell, another Norwegian who represented the BPO for us here .Also went to brunch with a single hander from Italy who anchored next to us in the San Blas in Jan. The king was to visit this week so missed that.

We will miss waking up to the sound of church singing and bands on shore. And the relaxed pace of life.

More Feasting Farewell to Tonga

MAGGIE at Tapana Island

Dancing girls after our feast!

Hanatele (sp) showing us is botanical garden

We enjoyed the feast more than the pig!

More Feasting

Farewell to Tonga

July 16, 2015

We have been making our preparations to check out tomorrow, Fri, despite the fact that Friday leavings are considered unlucky in the sailing mythology. We have enjoyed the visit here and certainly have been well fed. Last Sat we did some more eye testing on Vaka'eitu, followed by a Tongan feast. Our 5 BPO boats were there as well as a charter boat anchored nearby. There is just one family living on the island but they have 11 children! The parents were good singers with a guitar and some of the girls did some dancing for us. The food was plentiful and delicious and included the usual roasted pig.

We had been in the anchorage near Tapana up to that morning and left again Sun am as we had made reservations for the Sun brunch at the Botanical Gardens. As well as the good food we enjoyed meeting some other cruisers and tourists. The 22 acres of gardens looked interesting enough that we booked a several hour tour for Tues along with Wendy and Dave on Elysium. I think the highlight was the guide, Hanatele (sp?). Before retiring he was the agriculture minister for the government. He had many interesting stories of visits with the king, the pope, and getting protective legislation instituted here. He even had meetings in Ottawa with the AGO. He had owned the first 8 acres since age 8 and had his father garden for him during his working years. It is the only place in the country where a variety of plants and trees are being cultivated and protected.

I mentioned that last week we visited an anchorage off Tapana island. There is a good Spanish restaurant on the island but was not open while we were there. The Ark Gallery features the art of owner, Sherri. She and her husband live on the floating houseboat. We finally took the bikes in the dinghy to shore. From there you could ride all the way to town. It was a bit of a challenge as many of the moving parts are well rusted. Also one of the pedals wouldn't stay on. But it was fun to cover more ground.

Last night, Wed, there was a fundraiser at Aquarium Restaurant to raise funds to buy the local police a VHF radio. Up until now if there is a marine emergency it has been the cruisers that use their radios for contact. They showed a short video of a large square rigger sailboat rounding Cape Horn in 1929. The filming was amazing considering when it was done. That,  plus a silent auction of donated boat parts,  raised the necessary funds. We parted with a few things like the dinghy pumps for our past 2 dinghies.

Depending on the weather, it will be about a 3 day trip to Fiji. We have spent some time here tracking down enough info and charts to travel through the country. After the first stop in Savusavu, it will still take 3 or 4 more days to reach the west coast. We need to leave about a week to get to Vanuatu after that. Dan arrives there Aug 6 so time to get moving.

Anchored between Kapa and Nuku Islands

Kapa Island with Nuku Island in background

Swallow's Cave - dinghy right in!

Definitely more pigs than people!

Carol on Nuku baech

Anchored between Kapa and Nuku Islands 

July 7, 2015


We are enjoying a quiet respite from traveling and thoroughly enjoying this anchorage. The small island of Nuku has a beach and reef but nothing else and most of the time we have been the only ones here, or one other boat. It is well sheltered from the wind and waves. The engine has started a few times now with no problems so we are starting to relax about it.

We have hiked around a few places on Kapa. They say there are more pigs than people and I would believe it now. We took the dinghy to the end of the island where there is a large cave, Swallows Cave. You can drive the dinghy right into it ,huge in width and height, and clear to the bottom. pretty awesome sight!

There has been a NZ boat next to us that we met in Lape. When we arrived they invited us for dinner .There are 4 aboard. The captain, Jeff, has made the trip to this area for 8 years now so has a wealth of info to share. It was particularly helpful to talk to someone about Fiji, our next stop, and get their ideas. It is not a scheduled BPO stop so we are light on reference material. We photocopied pages from a guide book and copied some charts. Fiji is a difficult area for navigation with lots of islands and reefs and rules about where you can go. We had them back for dinner last night and got to talk more about NZ. We are looking forward to a visit there (by plane) in Sept. They have offered lodging in the Hawks Bay area if we would like.

I wouldn't want to be in NZ right now. We are getting their cold forecasts as part of our marine weather. Locals have never seen it this cold for so long. There was an earthquake in the Tongan trench each of the last 2 days, 5.2 and 6.2, 50 nm away. That is 8 so far this month. Another unusual weather event has been tropical cyclone, Raquel, in the Solomon Islands. This is well past the "safe" season. There have been 3 more in the Pacific just north of the equator, which is unusually early for there. The remnants of Raquel are crossing Tonga today but further south.

An aside: One other year when Jeff was in this same anchorage, he extended an invitation to drinks then dinner to a boat anchored next to him. At the end of the evening when they exchanged contact info, the captain said he was the producer of Lord of the Rings. Another time it was the director and a dancer from the Sydney Ballet.

Eye Testing on Lape and Kapa Islands

Carol participating in eye testing on Kapa Island

Starfish - pretty, but apparently they destroy coral!

Reef at Lapa Island at low tide

Eye testing on Lape and Kapa Islands 

July 8, 2015
 
The two out islands we have been visiting this week were chosen because we had arranged with the chief to do eye testing on the children there. Once again, many of the adults also wanted their eyes checked. We will try to stock up on more inexpensive reading glasses to distribute to them when we can. These islands are small so there are not many children total, but two boys will be sent glasses for distance from the company in Germany. One teenager and one adult were referred to the eye Dr at the hospital for more serious problems. Mon and Tues were school holidays because of the coronation so the kids were free to meet us in Felavai on Kapa. They start the study of English in Gr 3 so we got along fine with directions with help from the older ones.( In high school they add learning Japanese!)

On Sat we were anchored off the small island of Lape. The islanders put on a Tongan feast for us and any cruisers who would like to come. There were 40 of us for dinner. There was a tour of their island and the work they do. Mostly they do weaving and tapa cloth for sale in the markets. The feasts are done occasionally as fundraisers. So far they have built a concrete dock and started a public washroom with the money. There are only 26 residents.

The food was absolutely wonderful, with fish dishes and salads. It was centered around the 6 month old pig, which might not appeal to all. It was a chance, also, to visit with other cruisers. The majority here are from New Zealand.

Sun morning we awoke early to the music of whales "singing" and blowing. They come to this area of Tonga to breed this time of year. There are many tour boats going out to see them or swim with them. Despite keeping a look out we didn't see them, although boats next to us did. During the day, we dinghied over to a shallow coral reef to do some exploring. Lots of interesting creatures that were new to me, like sea cucumbers and dark blue starfish, and things that look like brown sticks with feet. Also saw sea urchins, octopus and jellyfish. Right off the boat I saw my first Portuguese Man of War.

Happy Canada Day from Tonga

Mt Talau view looking east

Mt Talau view looking south

Ian from Trouble in Paradise? working on our engine

Happy Canada Day

July 1, 2015

Well, all of Canada will be celebrating tomorrow but we have out the red hats. A local bar is serving poutine tonight. We are having a much too long visit with Ian, the mechanic from Vancouver who worked on our engine. Rob went to start the engine to change the oil and it was a repeat of Swarrow, with the engine not starting or even turning over. Ian and Rob have been working all of Tues and Wed so far. A relay needed to be replaced  but the bigger issue is that one of the cylinders has sea water in it. It is amazing that we got it to start to get here. They are also looking at where it might be getting in. Ian's company is called appropriately "Trouble in Paradise". Since he retired and moved here he hasn't stopped working. I won't send this until I get an update.

Sunday after church we hiked up the highest hill here, Mt Talau. There is a National park with the hike and look outs. It was worth the climb to see the layout of all the bays and islands. Four local teenaged boys sat with us at the top and asked if they could sing for us. They did a good rendition of several English and Tongan church songs. We enjoyed them although they did eventually ask for money for their "church".

Chapter 2 is now in the bay after a rough passage from American Samoa. Yesterday we spent the afternoon with them and Tahawus doing eye testing. We are scheduled to do more children on another island on Sat. They have invited us to a Tongan Feast afterwards. Janet had inexpensive glasses of various strengths to give the adults. They were very appreciative.

The day before we arrived here we could hear one side of a  conversation on the VHF regarding a rescue operation. We have heard a follow up on the local net as the owner is safely in town here. They had to abandon his boat. The rudder was stuck to one side and the engine didn't work. The seas were too high for a tow in. Someone may find this boat as it is still floating and heading to Fiji. Another boat to the south also had crew rescued but their boat was sinking. We heard of another abandoned boat on the trip from Galapagos to Marquesas. They had a rudder breakage with water entering. We are considering ourselves lucky to be having trouble in a safe place.

July 2

The engine is working now! Ian finished up after dark yesterday. Today Rob purchased a clamp for a leaky pipe and new coolant that was drained. Then he is going to change the oil. And we should be good to move in the morning. The only remaining question is why and how did that sea water get into the system so we can prevent a repeat?

Vava'u, Kingdom of Tonga

Carol with "Primrose" purchasing hand made baskets at the market

Free range pigs! (not Carol of course)

School uniforms - long skirts for boys! Green for Mormons, blue for Methodist school

MAGGIE and other boats moored at Neiafu

Vava'u, Kingdom of Tonga

June 27 2015

Tonga is composed of some 170 islands. Vava'u is a group of about 50 islands near the north of the chain. These numbers are approximate as islands come and go with volcanic and seismic activity. The "Tongan Trench" along the islands is a major plate boundary so this is an active zone. There has been an earthquake this week but we didn't feel it on the water. That makes for some interesting island shapes. The major island here, Vava'u, has steep sides and a flat top.

This is the only country in the South Pacific that is a monarchy although the government also has some elected officials. There is a coronation of the new king the first week in July with a week of festivities in the southern capital. It will be quite the affair with hundreds of pigs slaughtered and tapas cloth laid out. A priest comes from England as no Tongan is allowed to touch the king. The Tongans have kept all their land locally owned. If you move here or start a business you lease the land.

The Wesleyan Church and the Mormons are the 2 largest religious groups but most people attend church, take their faith seriously and are quite conservative in dress. Churches run the schools. The uniform dresses cover knees and shoulders. The boys wear an ankle length skirt. We plan on getting to a service this Sunday. The singing is supposed to be great. We have heard some in the evenings over the water. The Mormons insist on English in their churches but think we will be more comfortable in the Wesleyan one.

Tonga is sometimes referred to as the "friendly islands". The people so far have lived up to that reputation with their smiles and welcoming words. There was a school reunion at the hotel when we were going by Wed. We were enjoying the music and were invited to join in the lunch. There were 4 small fish and 4 types of seafood in each lunch. We have had laundry done, haircuts, market, restaurants. There is a dvd store with all $1current  movies. One of the 3 we bought worked. Other than errands we have gone for a few long walks exploring. Can't believe the number of pigs wandering about. We went by a vanilla operation yesterday and got a brief tour of the process.

This week has been the type of experience that we enjoy the most about cruising. It is a chance to experience life in a new place, in a secure spot in a sheltered anchorage. This is the furthest south we have been (18 36S) and you can tell it is winter. There is a strong HI coming off Australia. bringing up Antarctic air. But we are enjoying the break from heat and humidity. We have met a few Canadians sailors in the bar and enjoyed swapping info. One couple from outside Calgary have been coming here for 10 years so can share what they love about it. Next week we plan to get out to some of the other anchorages.

Arrival in Vava'u, Tonga

Entering islands of Vava'u - looks more like Lake of the Wood with Palm trees!

             (We've added some pictures to the last several blogs - those posted since leaving Bora Bora)

Arrival in Vava'u, Tonga

Crossing the International Dateline

Tues. June 22, 2015

We arrived yesterday, Mon am, having completely missed Father's Day by crossing the dateline from Sat night to Mon morning. The time of day is still the same as Niue,

-11 UTC. But here it is +13 UTC. It is 7 hours later in Toronto but a day earlier. Or more correctly it is 17 hours earlier. On the clock we are 6 hours earlier than Wpg, and 5 earlier than Calgary. I won't try Kuwait, Wittstocks.  Fiji and NZ are + 12. The dateline should be at 180 degrees but it is moved 800 km east to go around Tonga, and 3600 km around Kiribati. That is because these countries are affiliated with NZ and Fiji. But one of the smaller island groups had the boundary moved in 1999 so they could be the first to enter the new century!

The wind didn't die off much the last day of travel, about 25 kn. We shortened watches from 5 to 3 hours for the last few days. Enjoyed a long sleep last night. To check in here you need tie up at the customs dock. Close to approach I put the engine in neutral and then back to forward for a bit more momentum into the wind. The transmission cable didn't work to get the engine into forward. Fortunately Rob did a great job throwing a line to Kjell on the dock. Bow thruster and reverse both worked ok so no damage this time.

There is a mechanic here, Ian, who is from Vancouver. He was free to spend the afternoon with us doing repairs. The cable wasn't moving enough to engage first gear properly. He adjusted that and the throttle cable so that it is working even better than it had been previously. We feel very lucky that the problem happened when and where it did and that it was easily solved. We are now on a mooring ball and can enjoy the visit.

We are starting the stay with a relaxing morning of cleaning up and drinking 2 pots of coffee. The scenery is beautiful and the anchorage so well protected there are no waves. It reminds us of a Canadian scene with scattered islands and hills with trees, except they are palms. Last night we had a dinner out with No Regrets. Good food and much cheaper than Tahiti. This afternoon we need to get ashore for Tongan cash, food, alcohol, and doing laundry. I tried yesterday during repairs but found out that my debit card expired the end of May. Another challenge to tackle.