The Kingdom of Tonga, Vava'u Island Group
09/14/2004 - 10/10/2004
Leaving Niue. Three days to the Kingdom of Tonga. We are finally on our way to Tonga, our last stop before New Zealand. We hope to spend 6-8 weeks in Tonga.
The Final Short Passage
From Niue, it's about 250 nautical miles to Nieafu (nee-AH-foo), the main harbor town in the heart of the Vava'u (va-VA-oou) group of islands in the Kingdom of Tonga. This means two overnights, arriving in Nieafu on the morning of the third day.
The prevailing winds are primarily behind us for the entire passage. Frustrated with our ability to "run" (about 20° either side of) dead downwind with the gennaker, we decided to sail "wing-on-wing" -- with the main prevented off to the starboard side, and the genoa poled out on the port side.
Wing-on-Wing almost the entire way to Tonga. The first time we've gone overnight (much less two) with this sail configuration. We were very reefed down to prevent damage in the event of an uncontrolled jibe.
The first 32 hours of the 45 hour sail was fine sailing. During the 8-12 knot winds, we moved along nicely at over 5.5 knots (not bad for downwind). Robin exclaimed "This is what trade wind sailing is supposed to be". At 12-18 knots, we reached speeds of 6.5-7 knots for hours on end. Excellent. We usually don't like to sail wing-on-wing at night, but we reefed way down, stayed wing-on-wing and sailed slower.
In the last 12 hours, we sailed on a broad reach (with both sails on the starboard side). Still reefed (triple reefed), we sailed all the way to the leeward side of Vava'u in 19 to 31 knots of wind. To find comfort, we kept Whisper sailing along in the 4.5 to 5.5 knot range through the 9 foot waves. We were tired when we arrived, but overall, it was a great sail. Our average speed for the entire 45 hour, 254.5 mile trip dropped to 5.7 knots.
One minor frustration in the past few months is the amount of engine time required to keep the batteries charged. The 735Ah Lifeline AGM's are only providing about 150Ah of juice. We run all our electronics most of the day and all night when on a passage. The generator fuel pump failed in Niue, so all battery charging had to be provided by a small 75 Amp Balmar alternator on the main engine. To have the engine running frequently -- only to charge an underperforming battery bank, has multiple downsides. First, the engine drowns out the wonderful sounds of sailing-- the whooshing water, the creaking boat, the wind in your ears. Second, downwind, the diesel exhaust smoke wafts into the cabin and cockpit - not a good smell if the seas are rough and there is any queasiness among the crew. As soon as we arrive in Tonga, the priority will be to get the generator fuel pump fixed.
Duncan hoists the Tongan flag and the "Q" or Quarantine flag. Tonga is in the background.
Landfall in the Kingdom of Tonga
We were VERY excited to be in Tonga. Multiple cruisers describe Tonga as an ideal cruising grounds - a place where many Kiwi's spend the entire cruising season. We look forward to six to eight weeks exploring Tonga.
There are four main groups of islands, with two of these -- the Vava'u and Ha'apai island groups are popular cruising destinations. Vava'u is by far the most popular. There is a Moorings and Sunsail charter cruising base in Nieafu along with many cruiser services -- including at least two dive shops and several whale watching outfits. Several bars and restaurants in town cater to cruisers.
Neiafu harbor from the top of the hill. The Moorings Charter base dock is in the foreground. The anchorage is primarily filled with moorings to pick up. It is too deep to anchor in most of the bay. Local businesses collect between $3 and $8 US/day for their moorings.
The Mermaid. Home of the Vava'u Yacht Club, and home for many hungry and thirsty cruisers.
Neiafu
Over the course of 6-8 weeks in Tonga, we visited Nieafu several times. It is the main town, with many services and stores. This log combines a few of our visits to give a feel for the town's atmosphere.
The first visit to town was to visit restaurants, catch up with many friends we hadn't seen in a while, and re-provision the boat in preparation to visit some of the over 40 Vava'u anchorages. There is also a laundry service, and a couple Internet cafes, and a telephone service. The Internet cafe offers reasonably fast Internet, but the Telco offers a frustratingly slow (satellite delay) telephone connection (and an occasionally disconnect) when calling parties abroad.
Ana's Cafe (middle) and the Moorings Base (right). We frequent Ana's for breakfast whenever visit Neiafu.
One of the many stores in Neiafu. One Saturday morning, a band set up on the steps of the store and played American classic rock.
Shopping is a fun challenge in Neiafu. Robin finds the cutes little pineapples at this store.
We explored town and quickly discovered that no one store offered all the needed provisions. Cheese was one place, wine another, meat at another, bread over there, dry-goods at another, and specialty items (maple syrup) at yet another. A shopping trip could take all morning. Some cruisers spent an entire day exploring all the various stores and taking notes of what the stores had before they ventured on their official shopping expedition.
Systems Update
Our Standard Horizon Intrepid VHF radio started squeaking, squawking, then failed entirely in Neiafu. Unfortunately, the local radio repair technician was out of town until November. We found a new (cheapo) replacement radio at the radio shop, but the price was exorbitant for the quality and features of the radio.
A good VHF radio is important, so we decided to order a new high-end ICOM M502 and "Command Micr" (for the binnacle in the cockpit). Todd (of Sound Rigging / Offshore Store / Yachtmaster's Northwest) shipped the new radio to us via DHL. It arrived here in Neiafu Tonga in exactly one week. Excellent! Good work DHL, and thanks Todd!
Duncan disassembled the failed generator fuel pump only to discover two small circuit boards control the pump output. A simple, 12V furl pump with only two wires (a positive and negative power wire) requires computer circuitry to run? Go figure. We ordered a new Fischer Panda factory recommended (Hardi brand) fuel pump. We hope to see it arrive in Tonga soon.
Luckily, Mark on Vinden (the first person he mentioned this to), happened to have a spare 12V fuel pump from an old VW he owned. It was never used, so he brought it along cruising as a possible spare or fuel transfer pump. He loaned it to me until we get our replacement. For now, the generator is running! It almost dies (and occasionally does) after the initial start-up, and it only puts out about 2/3 output, but it is running and charging again! Yeah!
Since we were waiting to have stuff shipped in, we decided to have our flat mail sent to Neiafu via DHL. Our mail package arrived in a record (for us) one-week time. This was our first mail drop since June (in Tahiti)!
The 110V electric side of the hot water heater failed in Palmerston, so now we only get hot water when we run the engine. We'll tough it out and address this problem in New Zealand.
We've already mentioned the problem with the AGM batteries. We may try equalizing them again using the Balmar voltage regulator and alternator, but we're reluctant to mess with any major systems before a big passage -- when we'll need them to be working!
First priority, a decent cheeseburger. This delicious burger was served by the Dancing Rooster Restaurant in Neiafu.
This giant hog was roaming town. Here he is on his way into the grounds of the Catholic Mission in Neiafu. Perhaps the hog heard about the upcoming Tongan feast and needed to put in a request to the higher powers.
The anchorage moorings as viewed from the Paradise Hotel. We found a New Zealand newspaper (classifieds and real estate sections) in the hotel lobby. It was fun to sit and read about what is available in Auckland today.
The Royal Tongan Airway has two DC-3 airplanes. The King shut down the other competing airline (which used modern planes), when the Royal airline started to suffer from the competition. Ahhh, the advantages of a Monarchy.
Neiafu Sunrise. The morning mist (okay, smoke from coconut fires) rises over Neiafu harbor.
Neiafu Sunset. Just another beautiful sunset.
Chris and KT from Billabong. This is the first time we've seen them since Bora Bora. The sailed the northern route to Suwarrow in the northern Cooks and Niuatoputapu in the Niuas group of northern Tonga.
Friends and Party #1
Much of the allure to Neiafu is the opportunity to catch up with friends we have not seen in a while. Most of these folks we've traveled with at least for a few weeks since we left Mexico. Many cruisers scatter after landfall in the Marquesas, and the next opportunity to see them will be when we all (or many of us) converge in Tonga.
These pictures cover a couple of parties at The Mermaid. Our first big blowout was impromptu and a blast. Our second big party was organized and just as fun. The second party involve free beer, party T-Shirts, and an "Awards" ceremony (roast).
Jasper and Flo on Flocerfida. We got to know Jasper and Flo in Plamerston and Niue.
We had not seen John and MJ from Island Sonata since our brief encounter as we were leaving Palmerston the day they arrived.
Mary Lynn's Birthday bash was our first excuse for a party. Her husband Mark (boat Vinden) loaned us a fuel pump off an old VW. We hooked it up to our conked-out genset and we were up and charging again.
Marcia (crew on Flocerfida), Guinn (pronounced Gwen -- crew on Dikenja), and Flo (Flocerfida) check out the Mermaid Menu. Both Marcia and Guinn said goodbye from Tonga. Marcia went back to Manchester, England, and Guinn went back home to Australia to interview for teaching positions.
Peter (Matarua), Angela (Solstice), Joyce (Matarua), and Donna on Ocean Girl. Donna's husband Ralph went back to work for a while while Donna single-hands Ocean Girl around the beautiful islands of Vava'u. Not a bad gig if you can get it!
Ursula (Azimut), Joseph and Marcie (Horizon) and Eckhardt (Azimut). We had not seen Ursula and Eckhart on Azimut since Bahia Muertos -- back on the Baja in Mexico!
The party gals danced to the band until the wee hours. Flo, KT, and Donna dance the night away. Although not pictured here, Corby and Rick on Emerald danced their socks off too. Corby was a bit freaked-out at how close Flo wanted to dance with her! It was quite humorous.
Party #2: Kiwi Kick-Off
Fred on Mary C organized a great party at The Mermaid. Many Mexico, Panama, and West Coast US puddle jumpers converge in Tonga before continuing to New Zealand. Fred saw this as an opportunity to get everyone together and throw a party. Sounds good to us.
One of the big events of the night was an "awards ceremony" where many of the cruisers were roasted for their foibles before, during, or after the puddle-jump. Only a couple of the 50 or so boats escaped unscathed. Whisper's award was fairly benign -- just giving us extra-credit on our whale collision tale. Mag Mel, Billabong, and Whisper were all competing for top-honors in our whale collision stories, and Whisper WON!
Fred on Mary C is the MC for the awards ceremony at the Kiwi Kick-off party.
Whisper received her award for hitting a whale. Of the three boats that hit whales in the last 6 months, we must have been the ones to exaggerate the drama most effectively.
Chris (Billabong) takes advantage of the free beer while it lasts. The Kiwi Kick-Off party was a big success, with a record two kegs consumed in less than 75 minutes.
A week after the back flip off the wall, Chris (Billabong) documents where KT flipped over backwards.
Robin and Duncan are getting bit tired from all the socializing. Maybe its time to get back out to anchor? Over 40 anchorages await.
There were two kegs of the local Ikale Tongan beer reserved for the party, and the puddle jumpers managed to consume both kegs in a record 75 minutes.
The band for the night was a no-show, but that wasn't a problem. The sent out a scouting party and found a local guitarist. The woke him up and brought him in. Island Sonata's MJ provided vocals and Gumbo Ya-Ya's Kurt played drums while someone else played Kurt's keyboard.
Reflecting on our first big party, KT on Billabong recounted her big mishap (for which she received an award). While sitting on the stone wall at the edge of the Mermaid restaurant, she fell over backwards, six feet down a rock wall, and into the rock-strewn shallow water. The only one coherent enough to respond to KT's fall was Mary on Danseuse de la Mer who jumped in to save KT. They both stood up in thigh-deep water and KT asked Mary "What are you going here?".
KT only had a minor head injury and she emerged without a concussion, broken bones, or broken neck. She missed a large rock by inches. The fancy digital camera in her backpack was toast -- but she was okay. She was very lucky! Her head contusion had healed almost completely by the Kiwi Kick-off party. Whisper was home in bed when this occurred, but we got the full blow-by-blow the next day.
After our second weekend of partying, we were ready to head back out to anchor again. Off we'll go to Nuku Island and Port Maurelle.
Day sailing in the protection of the Vava'u reefs and islands is exceptional. We have enjoyed some of the best sailing of our lives here. There is no ocean swell, very little wind-wave and current, and awesome 10 to 15 knot winds. All 20 tons of Whisper will blast across the smooth, clear, warm water at 6-7 knots. It feels like small boat sailing again, and we are having a blast. It's the antithesis of "ocean passage" sailing -- we highly recommend it! No wonder Moorings and Sunsail charter operations are so busy here.
Escape From Neiafu
With most of the 40 or so anchorages less than 10 nautical miles away (as the crow flies), it is easy to escape the big city lights of Neiafu, and find a nice secluded anchorage nearby. Okay, maybe 150 boats competing for the best of these anchorages (about 20 of them), means it won't really be very secluded, but its better than the 60 to 80 boats camped in Neiafu.
We scoured the cruising guide and selected 19 anchorages that sounded great. Then, we picked our top 10, and proceeded to the closest one. As of October 10th, we have only visited four of top 10 anchorages (and we visited the same one twice). We still have a few more weeks, so we hope to see more before we leave for New Zealand. We return to Neiafu harbor every week or so to re-provision.
Our plan is to cruise Vava'u and get ready for the passage between October 10th and October 24th, then we will start looking for a weather window to make our last big jump to New Zealand.
Port Maurelle anchorage. Our first stop was Port Maurelle. Port Maurelle was a VERY well protected anchorage with good holding and great exploring and snorkeling nearby. After a couple days there, we went over to Avalau island and sat for a night in a big wind with choppy seas. We split from there and motored over to nearby Vaka'eitu island. At the end of our first week, we returned to Neiafu for the big Kiwi Kick-Off Party. Then on Monday, we sailed down to Nuku island and spent a couple of nights there, then back to Port Maurelle. We also used several cloudy days here to catch up on our website. Tahiti was our last update!
Friends Jim and Penny on Alii Kai Too joined us in Port Maurelle for a day or two. Alii Kia Too was one of the boats at our "Gate 11" dock back in Alameda. They had a major rudder-skeg repair done in Raiatea, and they caught up to the fleet in Tonga.
Swallows cave, near Port Maurelle. The cave is cool and the snorkeling outside the cave is decent. We made a couple of trips to Swallows cave. The "Swallows" that inhabit the cave are actually "Swiftlets". Close enough.
We dinghy'd inside and took some pics. Lighting is a bit tough, but you can see the colors of the rock and unfortunately, the graffiti on the cave walls. The ceiling of the cave is probably 70 feet high.
A nearby cave had its roof cave in creating this pretty "grotto". We dinghy'd in here too, and took this picture looking straight up into the surrounding forest.
Pasargada, an HR36 owned by Jose, a Brazilian from Seattle (if you followed all that). We caught up on all our mutual friends! Brian, the brother of Todd, our Seattle Rigger/Boat Outfitter is aboard Pasargada as crew!
The bay at Vaka'eitu island. The pier at the Paopao Resort. A young Canadian couple just bought the four room resort and are adjusting to island life.
The trail through the hardwoods at the Paopao resort. This path leads down to a nice beach with nice sand and decent tide-pooling.
The tide pools at the Paopao Resort. This one is filled with Brittle Starfish (the black things).
A pineapple at the Paopao Resort. These must be collected at exactly the right time, otherwise, the local vermin will find them first.
The obligatory Hibiscus picture.
One of our favorite anchorages in Vava'u is Nuku Island. Nuku island is a picnic island. It's used by churches, schools, private parties, and Tongan Royalty for state functions. Prince Edward, the son of Queen Elizabeth II enjoyed a Tongan feast on Nuku island in 1983.
Whisper anchored for a couple nights and enjoyed the beautiful beach at Nuku. It is also in this anchorage that we enjoyed a dusk encounter with four huge humpbacks. When the wink kicked up to 15 knots, creating a six inch wind chop, it was time to move over to the more protected anchorage of Port Maurelle. Are we getting spoiled here, or what?
The anchorage at Nuku Island. Ava island is in the background. We enjoyed two snorkeling trips and one dive trip over to Ava island.
Some locals set up on the beach with a couple of shade umbrellas. The women and children swam, while the men went fishing in the anchorage.
80° Fahrenheit water. Crystal clear, 60 feet plus visibility. White-pink powder sand. Not too shabby. We think we'll relax here for a couple days.
Bobulona motors by Nuku island out in the main channel. We almost forgot what it's like to dig our toes in the sand. We've visited a lot of coral "rocks" in the Pacific.
The coconut palm that provides our shade..
Robin relaxes in the shade reading her book. Life is good.
The view down the beach at Nuku (looking northeast). There is a small village just a short dinghy ride across the way, and Port Maurelle is only a half-mile to the north-east of here.
Robin sits up to enjoy our picnic on Nuku.
The Whale Report
Tonga is a "frolicking ground" for humpback whales mating or calving their young conceived last season. Hundreds of whales frequent the main channels between the many islands.
The Vava'u group of Tonga is a large circular area that encompasses dozens of islands of all sizes. Vava'u sits on the continental shelf, just west of the three mile deep Tonga Trench. The water depth is 200-500 feet between the Vava'u islands, and the ocean currents and tidal flow ensure a daily fresh flow of ocean water across the group. There are over 40 anchorages in Vava'u, the water visibility averages 60-80 feet, the snorkeling is decent, and the opportunity to dive and whale-watch makes Vava'u a cruiser's paradise.
Our only whale encounter so far is when a group of four humpbacks made a wrong turn and came right into our anchorage at dusk. They passed Whisper less than a boat length away. At least one of these whales was HUGE! Its breathing caused the air around us to shudder and reverberate like a giant sub-woofer! We could barely see them because it was just after sunset, but the experience of four whale passing so close to Whisper was very cool. We would have been "spumed" (kinda like slimed) if not for the wind direction that carried their blowing breath away from us.
The Underwater Review
One of our main objectives in Vava'u is to do lots of diving and snorkeling. We've done very little snorkeling since Mopelia, and only two dives in Niue. We were very anxious to check out the snorkeling and diving in Vava'u.
Coral destroyed by cyclones and/or bleaching within the last 20 years has started to re-grow. The deeper water (20-40 feet) corals are still in fair shape -- most have been spared. The new shallow water growth (when we find it) is more colorful than anything we've see thus far -- even the Tuamotus! Our snorkeling trip near the Port Maurelle anchorage revealed hard and soft corals of bright red, fluorescent orange, pale pink, turquoise, brilliant green, brown, yellow, deep purple, and lavender. Beautiful!
The tropical fish are many and varied. Here in Vava'u, we have seen every type of tropical fish previously seen only sporadically in either the Tuamotus, Marquesas, Societies, or Niue. We have also seen many new tropical fish that we've not seen before. The anemones and clown fish are thick here and we have a blast when we're out "Finding Nemo" on the reefs. Although not the exact "Percula" species as Nemo, we have seen several different species of Anemone fish. It's amazing how well the movie "Finding Nemo" captured the shy behavior of an anemone fish!
There must be many lobster here because of all the restaurants serving fresh lobster, but we've only seen a few, so we won't take them off the reef. The locals must know where to look. There are many interesting new invertebrates, including giant cushion or pillow starfish, brittle stars, and interesting feather stars - or Crinoids. Many urchins varieties are also present, including the colorful and cool pencil-spine urchins. Vava'u is just a huge aquarium.
Although we probably won't make it to the Ha'apai group this season, we have reviews of the Ha'apai that indicate the underwater world there is dramatically better than Vava'u! Okay, enough on the dive/snorkel report...
Robin swims down the cool wall off Ava island' North west shore. The visibility is decent, and some of the outcrops have colorful live corals.
Lots of coral and fish (above), and a sleeping white-tip reef shark (below).
This cool angelfish was not in our fish identification books. We'll get better books in New Zealand so we can ID some of the cool fish, coral, and creatures we've seen.
This feather starfish is a Crinoid of some type. There were tons of these around the reef. This is the first place we've seen these.
A blue-green Chromis and a small bird wrasse peek out from the coral at Duncan.
Tons of these brilliant blue starfish covered the reefs and shallows. This guy was extra pudgy.
Another shot of the colorful coral.
An orange-fin anemone fish. We generically called these guys "clown fish", but that isn't really accurate. The Clown Anemone fish (i.e. Nemo) is of the family Percula and so far, we have not seen any in these waters.
Robin swims down the wall off Ava Island.
A different view of the interesting coral formation that appears at the lower right of the previous picture.
More coral and a feather star.
A silhouette shot of a feather star.
And even more beautiful coral. This is off the tip of Kapa island near Port Maurelle.
This cool coral has all the animals (polyps) out during the day feeding. It is unusual to see them out during the daytime.
Robin surfacing near the end of our Ava island dive.
Can we snorkel again? Can we dive again? Robin is ready!
Dinghy raft-up in Swallows Cave
Ben and Lisa on Waking Dream thought it would be fun to do a variation on a dinghy raft-up snack-cocktail hour. Lets all meet in Swallows cave near sunset. Sounds fun, so off we went.
The size of Swallows cave is more apparant with a dinghy in the entrance.
Since some of the participants are climbers, they took the opportunity to explore the inside of the cave.
Annika and Guy on Street Legal (foreground), with Ben on Waking Dream (behind). Gee, I wonder if we could climb all the way up there?
Yup. If you look carefully, you can see three people among the stalactites -- Guy, Ben, and Cuyler (Wind Rose) are around the center of the photo.
Sunset plays with the shadows on the cave walls.
Nancy and Roger on Equanimity joined up with Shout. We had not seen them since Bora Bora.
Denis and Shari on Bobulona made it too. The crew of Bobulona was also last seen in Bora Bora.
This ketch, a freighter, and a whale watching boat all passed the cave entrance close enough to shout and wave.
We enjoyed a great bonfire in the sand.
Nuku Beach Bonfire & Potluck
Ben and Lisa on Waking Dream organized the big motu party in Fakarava, and they were in the mood to have another. Nuku island seemed the ideal place, so we joined the crew of about 10 boats for a potluck on the beach at Nuku. The island caretaker stopped by and invited us to a Tongan feast on the island and he brought the group a bowl of fresh ripe bananas. It was a great evening and we enjoyed catching up with several friends.
Island Sonata, Billabong, and Whisper all dinghy'd over from Port Maurelle. Stardust, Waking Dream, Wind Rose, Bobulona, Equanimity, and Street Legal were all anchored at Nuku.
Although we'll spend a few more weeks in Tonga, we will wrap this log up now. Our next update will be from New Zealand. We love Tonga, and hope to someday see the Ha'apai group of islands. All for now, wish us fair winds for this next big passage! See you in New Zealand
As the bonfire burns down, so does our time here in Tonga. We'll spend the next few weeks getting ready for the big Tonga to New Zealand passage.
A last photo of the beach sand-spit on Nuku island. Tonga has been a wonderful South Pacific cruising ground and one of the highlights of our three years of cruising.