We had a very nasty sail from Samoa to Tonga with 20-30 knot winds, close hauled all the way, fortunately only 46 hours but one of the top 10 worst sails ever. Entered the Northern Vava'u group of islands just as it was getting dark which is always exciting in a strange harbor and since our depth sounder decided to stop working it made the experience doubly exciting. The anchor windlass also worked erratically probably since it was underwater for the last two days making anchoring difficult. Fortunately there were moorings for rent so we grabbed one as darkness fell. We felt secure, drank a fair amount of wine, had some dinner and went to bed. Next day dawned with lots of wind and rain but things were secure on the mooring so we slept late. Some locals come out in dugout canoes selling carvings, fruit, fish and any service they thought you might need, we also learned that this was Saturday and not Friday as we expected. It seems that the International Dateline takes quite a curve around Tonga and even though we were at 174 degrees West, the line had been crossed. This wasn't terribly important except customs was closed and we couldn't clear in and therefore go to shore until Monday. We spent the weekend drying out and cleaning the boat plus a couple of naps so it wasn't all that bad. Monday morning we cleared in, we served the official's cake and cookies after which they smacked and burped for the rest of the intake procedure; we will take it as a sign that they enjoyed it. They still managed to give us a tough time about Hannah and tried to extract medications and magazines from us. Finally done, we went ashore to spend some money. Had a pleasant surprise with dinner costing about 80% of US prices and the dollar worth 1.49 pa'anga so we will be eating out often.
Tonga is divided into four regions with Vava'u group being the largest northern group.
The 170 islands span 700,000 sq. kms with fewer than 50 islands being inhabited due to
lack of water or tillable land. This is an independent nation, which as far as I
know gets no aid from any other country and it shows. The people are industrious,
hard working and proud, they are poor by some standards but the town and homes are neat
and clean. Litter is non-existent which is a welcome relief from Samoa. Even
the chickens seem motivated with the roosters starting to crow at 5 AM about 1 1/2 hours
before sunrise. We have a fair amount of school, medical and dental supplies left and this
is the place where they will all be donated. Found the "Italian Clinic" right in
town, which is run by Dr. Alfredo Carafa who just happens to be Italian of course. He
settled here looking for a nice place and caters to the health needs of the town and not
just Italians. Actually there are quite a few Italians here for some unknown
reason. He graciously accepted our donation and will pass on what he can't use to
the hospital and local dentist. He would also like to form some sort of a
partnership that if I didn't enjoy retirement so much might be tempting. Have a few
things left to donate which we will take to some of the outlying islands which have
nothing much more than a visiting nurse. One of the islands, Hunga, also has a CP
woman about Christianne's age who we will plan to visit.
The supply ship came in today which is always an event since it happens sporadically every
month or so. The most important thing it carries this time is diesel fuel, which the
island has been out of for awhile. This may have resulted in the first thievery we
have experienced thus far; it seems a jerry can of extra fuel we had on deck disappeared
one night. Not a bad record but it's always disappointing and we don't know if it
was a local or fellow cruiser. Finally got the depth sounder looked at, Tongan Time,
and determined it was the control head and not the transducer. These of course are
throwaway items and not fixable so we sent off a quick fax to West Marine ordering another
one. That is the easy part, trying to get it here within the month is difficult so a
convoluted shipping arrangement was devised through Pago Pago, I hope it works.
Experienced a hellava storm the other night, came back from a barbecue at Anna's Cafe with a light westerly wind blowing which is a little strange but all boats had plenty of space and things were quiet. At 2:00AM a heavy rain started which just meant getting up and closing some hatches, but at 4:30AM the big wind came. Now the wind always blows from the east, sometimes the NE or SE but always the East, tonight it blew from the SSW at 30-40 knots with higher gusts, putting us all on a lee shore. Some boats started to drag and others tried to retrieve their anchors and get out into the bay, some just panicked. I thought of all the possibilities as we swung about 200 ft. off the town dock and I could see the waves breaking up and over it. We motored into the wind trying to take some strain off the anchor, which we had buoyed in case the whole thing had to be dropped as we ran out to deeper water. I didn't relish trying to retrieve the anchor since it was in about 80 ft. of water and the chain was usually wrapped around one or two coral heads. We did seem to be staying in the same general spot and the shore wasn't getting any closer despite the groaning and grinding of the anchor chain over the rocks below. A boat behind us decided they wanted out and started motoring out but with the wind and the waves it was difficult to control the boat and as they turned just off our bow their boat snagged our anchor chain and started dragging us forward with them. A lot of screaming got them to stop but as they settled back they caught our starboard nav. light and tore it off as we fended them off all the way back. Anchor was still holding and we stayed with it until about 6:00AM when the wind and most of the rain finally stopped. Kept a watch until 8:00AM and then the sun came out so we made some breakfast and took a nap.
Hunga attracted us partly because of its curious name and partly because it was the most outlying island of the Vava'u northern group. We had heard that Hunga was in need of medical supplies and that a handicapped young woman lived on the island which was of interest to Christianne. We went ashore the morning after our arrival and spoke to Hapi Appleton, granddaughter of the chief, and a modern day Tongan feminist. She spoke of the community needs for medical help and educational materials. We helped her with the materials we had carried aboard for donation and a promise for more when we returned to the States. We dinghied to the town dock, a large pile of rocks, hiked up the steep hill to ask permission for Christianne to meet with Lisita, the young woman with a handicap similar to Christianne. We were taken to her home where her mother said she would be at her cousin's house. I was then taken to see the local tapa cloth and weaving, and of course I purchased a few nice pieces. I wanted to support these women in any way I could; they seemed to be the primary earners. The men are fishermen and seem to sleep quite a bit. We were given a tour or the gardens they are tending with pineapple, breadfruit, tapioka, sweet potatoes and other vegetables and fruits. Christianne pulled on her hiking boots and hiked the mile through the bush to the village to meet Lisita. She was waiting just inside the village gate (gates and fences are necessary to keep the pigs away from the gardens). The two became fast friends instantly. Lisita holding Christianne's arm and helping her along. Christianne giving Lisita gifts she had put in a bag for her. We all went into Lisita's house and sat on the woven tapa mat and talked about our families took some photographs and said many good byes. It was a very friendly and welcoming experience.
We took a short boat trip to Mariners Cave with some friends to do some snorkeling and explore the cave. The area around the cave has 200 fathoms of water so anchoring is impossible so someone has to drive the boat around while the others snorkel. The cave is entered by diving down about 6-8ft., swimming along an underwater tunnel for 14-16ft. and surfacing in the cave. The major problem is the tunnel is dark since no external light enters the cave so the swim is a leap (swim) of faith. One keeps looking up at the ceiling to try to see where the rock ceiling ends and it is safe to surface. Once inside the cave some light filters in via the water and as the swells push more water in the air reaches the saturation point causing a temporary greenish mist to form and your ears to pop from the increased pressure. Legend has it that two Tongan lovers were forbidden to marry because of their tribal affiliations. The prince hid her in the cave and would bring her food daily. The village was in morning thinking she was dead and the prince said that if he could bring her back it would surly mean they could marry. Well of course he did and they did, at least after her hair dried. I went in with a friend first and then went back to take Liz in, who was a little apprehensive about the whole thing. We made it both ways and had a good time. The ceiling of the cave is 30 ft. up and the floor 60ft. down which was easily visible through the very clear water.
We should be here another week waiting for mail and exploring a few more islands. Our depth sounder works sporadically and the hope of a replacement is gone so we will wait till Fiji or possibly New Zealand. The weather is quite nasty between here and Fiji so we will wait until that clears a little and then move on. More from Fiji.
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