Blog June 1
#1 June 9
We are finally cruising, not just getting from A to B, but meandering from anchorage to anchorage when the whim takes us. In the evening we often have drinks with other cruisers and swap notes and stories. It’s taken about seven weeks to get to this point, so thank goodness we have several months here.

After taking delivery of our new dinghy named Atata, after the island where her predecessor was lost, we headed north. It also means “Ah tata (dinghy)” as in goodbye! We did our first two handed overnighter from Tongatapu to Vavau. I was sick the first day but then it was glorious sailing.

On arrival at Vavau we came into a bay full of NZ boats! It’s been very social.
Sitting here at Nuapapu, in the Vava’u group. The sun is just setting and we are drinking pina coladas made with coconut cream we made ourselves. This was no mean feat. We found coconuts in the bush and thought great, heaps of coconut cream..........that is till we tried to husk them. Us palangis are not very adept at these things. After much hacking we managed a few. We have since bought a decent size machete. I bought a local coconut grater that is a piece of wood with a piece of metal with teeth nailed to it. You cut the coconut in half grate out the flesh then squeeze it in a cloth. Divine.

School building at Matamaka Village in outer Vava’u. We spent the night anchored off this gorgeous village and in the morning went ashore to see who we could meet and what we could learn. But, apart from a few reserved responses to our greetings of “malo e lei lei” we failed to cross the divide. I felt a bit uncomfortable, like we were walking through people’s living rooms. Then we spied the school and correctly deduced that the conch blast meant lunchtime, that the teachers would be free and perhaps more willing to chat. The rest of the day was a treat. There were 2 teachers and one volunteer and all very keen to talk and explain things. We met some of the kids and in the afternoon joined in a beach cleanup. We were told about the coral garden they had created by transplanting bits of live coral to areas just down from the school where it had died and later snorkelled through it. It’s a very small enterprise but you can see the result. Impressive.

A couple of the boys zoomed up nearby coconut trees to offer us green nuts to drink. Another lopped off the tops with a machete as big as he was. When I asked the teacher how many fingers were lost doing this he showed me his missing digit. Clearly a regular event. So it seems we have a bit of an entree here and will return in a few weeks when school is back in.


The waterways of Vava’u are very deep close to and there are relatively few dangers.

Soren Larsen. This lovely old girl turns up just about everywhere we go. It could be 200 years ago.

#2 June 13
On arrival in Neiafu, the big smoke of Vava’u, there looked to be debris all over the water but on closer inspection it was flower petals, everywhere. It felt like we had flowers strewn across our path as a welcome.

Spent last night at a bar watching the All Blacks play Ireland with a bunch of kiwis; we could have been in a bar anywhere except the temperature was 26 degrees, there were no walls, fruit bats swooped through the coconut perfumed air, the bay was full of yachts from every corner of the globe and the satellite delivered TV reception was a little intermittent.

We went into town for two days to collect our dear friend Richard and reprovision. We’d been short of water so we filled every available container and have done our first decent loads of laundry. Yesterday I was folding strange things like jerseys, socks and woolly hats. When would we ever wear those?

Friday night we crewed on a boat in a local cruisers yacht race. Very light airs but heaps of fun.
I’m revelling in using local food. We are loaded up with coconuts, pawpaw, pineapple, bananas, cucumber, kumara, breadfruit etc., and the very occasional fish. We caught a small tuna this morning and will have sashimi for lunch. I have made marmalade with local lemons that I picked, and a pawpaw chutney.

Richard arrived with the makings of Margaritas so that’s our sundowners for the next week.
This morning we got email briefly, it’s so lovely to hear from home. Keep emailing and texting.
Off for a swim, again.


June 15
Here’s a typical day – at least we hope it remains typical. A slow start with coffee, a swim, some pawpaw and lime, up anchor and meander out of this bay heading to another anchorage we fancy – number 16 featuring the coral gardens. Trolling along the way yields a small tuna which becomes sushi – yum.

That's me in the rigging conning our way through coral shoals to a delightful spot among a few other yachts some of whom we know.


Wander along beach to check out the coral gardens which are exposed at low tide so no swimming.

On our return we find the path which leads to the ruins of a resort abandoned perhaps after cyclone Rena last year but lush now with limes, pawpaw, banana palms and hibiscus. We gather a bag of fruit and return to the boat for a quick swim and margaritas as the sun goes down on yet another glorious day.

#3
June 22
In Neiafu to drop Richard off but coincidentally to greet the 3 traditional waka that have sailed up her from NZ via Tahiti and Samoa. They were glorious vessels and got here solely on navigating by the stars.

We spent the last two days in a lagoon, a crater perhaps, on the island of Hunga.

The entrance

was very

narrow.

We visited a local village where the people, in particular the children were very welcoming. We bought some local vanilla pods and the children picked us a bag of real limes. Excellent for the margaritas. They invited us to watch the rugby, NZ vs. Wales on their generator powered communal Sky TV. Alas when we arrived we found that someone had died and a funeral was under way.

They sang through the night and from our yacht we

saw the funeral procession going to the graveyard in

the morning.

That night we visited a nearby fishing lodge for a drink and got a lot of interesting local information, including fishing tips, which greatly improved our catch yesterday. We trawled on our way back and got two tuna. We had sashimi, then seared tuna with tapenade, kumara baked in coconut cream and local beans.

Still at Tongatapu. We are hoping to head North to Vava'u tomorrow. We now have a local phone at much much better rates than the Telecom ones. It doesn't cost us anything to receive calls now and we can reply to your texts. The number is 00676 8798280. We are having a lot of trouble with getting onto our email.

I caused our delay here by the simple expedient of losing the dinghy - oh yes, the whole dinghy, motor, oars, gas can and pretty much all my self esteem. I am more chagrinned (is that a word?) than I can recall. There is, of course, a story to this sad and very costly event but, there's no way around it, I miss-tied it while on another yacht having drinks.

We were anchored opposite the lagoon entrance with a steady wind blowing directly out to sea. It was pitch black by the time we discovered the empty space where the dinghy was supposed to be. I have never before seen so empty a space. I realised then and there just how much I loved that dinghy. It was our connection to the shore, other boats and people, our method for exploring shorelines, lagoons and secret places, our vehicle for fishing and gathering supplies. Without it we were marooned.

We did scan a few metres of sea with a search light but it was rather obvious to us all that our dinghy had an unassailable head start on us of at least a couple of hours and was, in all probability, well on it's way to the Lau Group of Fiji.

The VHF station here has kindly broadcast this loss in the slim hope that it will be sighted but, apart from letting everyone in Tonga know that it was me that has done this fantastically stupid thing, we have had no good news. I spent a sleepless night berating myself - Janet is just so relieved that it was not her fault - and wondering how we were ever going to find a wee dinghy suitable for our yacht. It seemed we would have to have one flown up from NZ or Australia. But, to our amazement we've had several offers of 2nd hand inflatables and have gone with having a fibreglass one made. And more amazingly, it has taken just two days to complete.

We hope our trustly little dinghy will bob across the sea and be washed ashore into the arms a Fijian family who will love her as we have.

Squall
Clouds have been gathering all day to the west promising some wind. At evening they began boiling up and standing high, some darkening black. Lots of rain, maybe some wind. Now they are gathered close to us and hurling lightning among the clouds in huge flashes, wide, amphitheatre blazes and concentrated super bright explosions. The night is very black until lit up like an aerial bombardment - then the cloud mass looks less threatening. To the north, ahead of us, another battle among the gods rages, although the sky is less dark.
Every now and then the wind picks up and I think ‘here it comes’ but then it settles back to a sedate 10 knots and the lightning continues without thunder. Perhaps it will eventually come and settle on us but equally it might just pass us harmlessly by. At the moment it’s just empty gestures, a show of might, a war of words. I can see the dark cloud leaning over us and clear sky ahead – a sort of tunnel and the light at the end is near – surfing a slow motion curler that might, at any minute close in over us but maybe, just maybe we will surf clear while the water crashes in on itself harmlessly behind.
Now others have joined the battle. There are skirmishes off to the south and several others in the north west. It’s an almighty conflagration. Enough energy to light up Wellington for days. And now deep rolling thunder. Yet it’s all so quiet. No deafening thunder claps, just deep throated distant growls. There’s the gentle burble of our wake and the swoosh of each wave as our bow advances across the sea. A light lean to the breeze. All very calm and gentle in contrast to the largely silent shaking of fists among the clouds.
An hour later.
Well that was all rather dramatic. Just after that last sentence we got a few drops of rain and a different feel to the wind. Two more minutes and we were in 35 knots of wind, sheets of rain, wild lightening directly over head and the deepest, loudest thunder. I rolled up half the headsail and called Piet to help put another reef in the main. It was so dark and such a wild ride in big seas. We doused the mainsail all together and clung on. And then it was gone. Just like that. One minute a tempest, the next we were jilling around in 6 knots, sails slatting, wind vane steering not responding. Here comes Janet on watch. Its bedtime for me.

The landing place at Raoul Island. Look for the yellow rope hanging down the rock face.

Raoul Island, Kermadecs, Pacific Ocean.
We arrived in the night on the tail end of a storm, to this chunk of land 1000 km from anywhere. We hove to till morning and went on in to check out the access. Initially it was too rough to land and we thought we might not get on to the island. We contacted the DOC staff there who suggested anchoring in the lee of the island and waiting. After a good breakfast and a swim we again motored around to the landing.
Landing consisted of motoring in the dinghy up to a dark, forbidding volcanic bit of rock with a rope hanging down it, waiting for a gap between swells and surging into the rock face. The passengers then leapt onto the rock, hauling themselves up the rope. Meanwhile the rock threatened to chew up the side of the dinghy. All very exciting, not that we needed any more excitement.
On arrival I lay on the ground and absorbed its solidness. It is the most solid piece of ground I have ever experienced. And it was warm and dry; we’d been cold and wet for weeks on and off. The DOC hospitality was fabulous. Mike met us and drove us back to their base. The land was so lush and green, abounding with parakeets, tuis and pukekos. We were given a cup of tea, a guided tour of the weather station, orchard, verge gardens and even a small brewery. They gave us a bag of Raoul Island oranges, another story in itself, and fresh salad stuff from their garden. We had Raoul Island salads for the next two days. We saw the crater and headed back to the boat.
Raoul to Tonga. 6 days. 1000km.
Back to see at sunset. We started the journey with David hanging over the stern retrieving a critical bolt on the windvane. And then back into the fray. We got caught up in a storm with winds up to 65 knots (64 is hurricane force), and crashing seas. Once again we hove to. Thank goodness Navire is such a seaworthy boat.
We motored through our last day, timing our arrival at Piha passage, the entrance through the reef to Tongatapu, for dawn to have the sun behind us so we could see the coral. We navigated the coral rimmed passage into Nukualofa, arriving very tired but happy.
Nukualofa
Our challenges weren’t quite over yet. We had to moor Mediterranean style which requires a tricky combination of anchoring, backing and stern lines, combined with sleep deprived brains and a cross wind. Customs, immigration etc was a very leisurely process, nothing like an airport, my passport was stamped on the front of an old car.
We then headed to “town” and had our first alcohol in two weeks, a cold beer at Friends Cafe. I revelled in the market place buying fresh crunchy stuff. After a cold shower, our fist in two weeks, we headed across the bay to a classic Pacific island, sandy beaches, palm trees and a beachside bar.
Pangaimotu
So here we are anchored with a bunch of other yachts, all recovering from the journey and doing the inevitable, perpetual boat fixing, before we head north to meet our friend Richard from Wellington who is coming to cruise in Vavau for two weeks.
Piet leaves us today. He has been a spectacularly good crew member and now dear friend. He never really lost his cool in all the tough times; he was innovative and clever at fixing things. He was honest and relentlessly cheerful. In the roughest conditions he’d be saying now on this watch I’m going to wear this outfit. He is an excellent navigator and a pleasure to feed. A HUGE thank you to you Piet..
Communication. Phone calls are expensive to make and receive, so don’t call us except for emergencies. Texts are free to receive so send us lots but don’t be offended if we don’t reply. We get excited whenever the phone makes its text beeps. We should be able to get to email once a week or so PLEASE send us emails and texts. It’s so good to hear news from home.

Whangarei to Raoul Island. 1000km.

David, Janet and Piet go to sea. I felt quite nervous about leaving the Whangarei River and not heading up the coast to anchor over night in some gorgeous Northland Harbour, but heading directly out into the ocean and whatever it held for us.
On this journey we crossed from eastern to western latitudes, an important distinction we failed to make in our original passage planning. However in the dead of night Piet had a flash of realisation and corrected the error saving us a few hours and miles of error.
Alas I was sick a lot on this journey. We had some good weather days and a 35 knot gale with really sloppy seas crashing. As it was dead on the nose we hove- to and rode it out. That piece of ocean is now like a place we visited for a while.
However we continued to eat well and our fresh food lasted all the way to Tonga. Many thanks to Lily for her delicious baking and Janey for the fabulous fruitcake that cheered up many a midnight watch.

Blog May 30
We made it! Five weeks after we finished work and numerous weather delays we are in Tonga. We have endured storms and calms, seasickness and sleep deprivation but it’s all worth it now we are in this island paradise. Its 27 degrees, the sea is gloriously warm, palm trees on the shore and cocktails at sunset....

Photo: Piet doing what he does best!!

Whangarei
We enjoyed the hospitality of Whangarei for a week due to a persistent dirty little low pressure system parked on the northwest of NZ, which I believe plagued you for a week or more after we left. At the gorgeous marina in the town centre we caught up with sleep, re-provisioned, socialised with the other waiting international cruisers - us ready to join this exclusive club of hardy people who sail offshore. We saw David’s mum and I revelled in seeing Mandy and my dear nieces and nephew.
Finally the wind started to abate and we headed back down the river on a gorgeous day to clear customs at Marsden Cove.

Napier to Whangarei

Blog May 9 Whangarei
Yahoo leg 1 completed! We arrived last night at Whangarei Heads and fetched up at Marsdon Cove Marina for much welcomed showers, and to wait the night to get a high tide to go up the river into Whangarei.
We spent two days in Napier, dropping off Simon and picking up Piet. We got everything dried out, reprovisioned and did some of the inevitable fixing of things. We walked Aruhiri Wetland Walkway and had fish and chips on the Napier foreshore.
Feeling somewhat recovered we set out from Napier and headed up the coast. The first three days we had good weather and had to motor quite a lot. We rounded East Cape in the dark and headed across Bay of Plenty. Caught a good size tuna out there and gorged ourselves on sushimi and Poisson Cru.
Fortunately we managed to sustain a degree of our sealegs that were so hard won on the Wairarapa Coast, so after that enforced fast we dined well on our way north, enjoying the fruits of Janet’s cooking and freezing TV dinners. Thanks to all who lent us freezer space.
Our last day, reaching across the Hauraki Gulf, dawned cloudy with up to double the 15 knots of wind predicted. An uncomfortable north easterly swell buffeted us all day but we enjoyed the sights of Great Barrier Island and the Hen and Chicken Islands.
Piet has proved to be an excellent addition to our crew. He reads boating electronic manuals for bedtime reading! He is figuring out all the technology and fixing a few things along the way. He is a capable navigator, can play the guitar and harmonica, and has a wicked sense of humour. Even the birds like him, a swallow alighting on his lap on watch one night.
We face the prospect of several days here in Whangarei as there is a deep slow moving low pressure system sitting off the west coast with accompanying strong easterlies, quite the wrong wind for us.