Position: 22 degrees, 27 minutes south; 177 degrees, 31 minutes west

Sea and sky. Never get tired of this view.

We launched our final rubber duckie. It has our blog and email written on it and we noted the Lat/Lon where we tossed it. Fun to see if anyone ever finds it.

A slow day. There’s not much wind right now, so we’re sailing in 6-8 knots of breeze at 4-5 knots boatspeed. Sometimes a little slower. It’s a little ironic that there’s so little wind right now because we’re likely to get plenty of wind in the latter half of this leg of the trip.

There’s talk on the radio of a tropical depression stretching from Fiji to North New Zealand this coming Wednesday. I’m seeing some heavy rain and moderate wind on the GRIB files, but don’t know what this might turn into at this point. I don’t think the water is warm enough yet to develop a cyclone-those usually don’t start until December, which is why we’re all leaving the tropics this time of year. Anyway, a big low won’t be any fun and we’ll hope to be south of it before it comes across this way. We should get a better read on its size and direction in the next day or so but at the very least it’s existence is likely to cause us to skip our planned stop at Minerva Reef and put some more miles in the bank to get further south by the time it’s due to come through.

Oh well, that’s part of cruising. Preparing for the worst and doing stuff to avoid it. We did a lot of work on Charisma in Nuku’alofa in anticipation of some tough weather along the way. We’ve got fresh oil and filters in the engine in case we need it in a crunch and the storm sails are rigged and hanked on all ready for high winds. We’ll take what we get, but seek to avoid the tough stuff if we can.

In the meantime, we’re enjoying some beautiful weather. The sunset was spectacular and the night is clear as can be. Some great stars and a late moon are up for our watches tonight. Here’s hoping there’s enough wind to enjoy them in peace and quiet instead of with the grinding of the diesel engine (although I’m not complaining mind you-life would be much tougher without our trusty diesel).

I almost forgot! We sailed through a pumice patch today. There’s a volcano somewhat around that’s throwing the stuff out. There were a lot of small pieces the size of a potato that alerted me to its existence, but finally I saw the patch. It was about 150 yards long and maybe 30 yards wide. Several actually and we sailed right through one of them. It’s just lots of floating pumice debris, most of which is about the size of pea gravel, but it’s very colorful. On a sunny day like today, the patch turned the water golden. Very dramatic.

Eight more days (more or less) and then New Zealand!

Position: 21 degrees, 13 minutes south; 175 degrees, 42 minutes west

Today was the day. The weather has switched. The wind is starting to come out of the southeast making it possible to sail on a more or less straight line southwest. We’re on a heading of 220 degrees magnetic in 8 knots of wind doing about 4 or so knots. Minerva Reef is hopefully our next stop unless the winds won’t allow it. That would be about two days from now- or around 220 miles.

We got up early this morning and Ed from Quixotic was nice enough to run us over to town to pick up fresh veggies and fruit. Then we took the rental car back and headed back. Ann and I bid Ed and Nila goodbye for this season. They are staying in Tonga and have rented a cyclone mooring which is basically a really strong mooring that is certified to hold in case of a cyclone. They should have fun staying around for Tongan summer. Fewer people/boats, although more rain and the possibility of a cyclone adds a little excitement to the stay. We hope to be able to meet up with them next season in Fiji which is our next step back up to the north come April.

When we got back to Charisma we did some final prep work, and a little cooking (we now have three dinners and a bunch of snacks pre-prepared so all we have to do is warm them). Then a quick trip onto Pangai Motu to say goodbye to Big Mama and thank her for the great hospitality, Once the dinghy was deflated and stored on the foredeck, we hoisted anchor and headed out. It took a couple hours to get out past the reefs, but we’re now in deep water and headed south(ish).

It’s kind of exciting being on the last leg into New Zealand. That’s about 1000 miles and nine days from now.

The east coast of Nuku'alofa and the blowholes

Tonga's version of Stonehenge

Lunch with Ed and Nila from Quixotic

Since we finished most of our boat work, we took a day off today, rented a car and drove around the Kingdom of Tonga with Ed and Nila on Quixotic. Actually, they were nice enough to invite us on the expedition, so Ed drove and we got to sightsee.

First impression: A very, very rural country/island. There is very little infrastructure here. It consists mostly of the 8-acre farms that we’ve learned about on other islands. Every adult male gets his 8 acres. We saw lots of those little plots that were being farmed. All of them mostly by hand. There are very few tractors or other mechanical devices here. During the whole day, I saw only two tractors. Most of the little plots looked like they were being tended entirely by hand-including hoeing the weeds. Lots of taro, manioc, some bananas, tomatoes, carrots and sundry other crops. All of the fields also kept their coconut trees for that element of the local diet. In fact, it would appear that the most dangerous part of farming here is the risk of being hit by a falling coconut-and they can be deadly. There is lots of evidence of cars parked under the trees in town. Cracked windshields.

So, a fun day. Now it looks as if there is a weather window tomorrow. Our weather router, Bob McDavitt is sending us a route plan tonight, but he hinted in an email today that tomorrow is a good day to leave for Minerva Reef. This is a spot 220 miles SW of here. It’s an atoll type reef a mile or so in diameter that is hollow on the inside. You can enter through the pass and then anchor in the sand around the periphery. Very much like Beverage Reef where we stayed a month or so ago on our crossing from Palmerston to Nuie. The holding is sand, so it’s a great place to just “camp” while waiting out a blow or better weather for the final 5 or so days to NZ.

Anyway, tomorrow early we’ll go into town and stock up on fresh produce and fruits. Ed (Quixotic) has graciously offered to pick us up at 0730 and drive us to the market and back, then he’ll return the rental car and hopefully we’ll be back on Charisma by 1000 and leave. We’ll see-and we don’t have a final passage plan yet from Bob McD so things might change.

Stayed tuned tomorrow.

P.S. We’ve been listening to all the boats who have left here the last three days or so and they are reporting head winds and seas that are making for a long and bumpy passage. I don’t know what made them decide to go, but am glad that we chose to stay here. Most are well into three days and the voyage with favorable winds should only be 48 hours at most. That’s the biggest thing we’re seeing change-the wind shifting from southwest to southeast or even east, which means going from a headwind to a following wind.

Cross fingers and check in tomorrow to see.

Yep, that's us with Big Mama

Charisma waiting at the fuel dock

The fuel station. "Lincoln" the manager is in the middle.

A run through the market for fresh veggies and fruit

Yes, lots of boat work followed by dinner and cards with Big Mama (and our new friends Nila and Ed on Quixotic).

So, count-down time to New Zealand. Today we went over to the mainland first thing in the morning and fueled up, filled the water tank and got a few groceries. Then back to Pangai Motu and boat projects including Ann cleaning the hull some more and making a batch of cookie dough and Bob changing the filters and the oil. Good thing on the filters as I found about an ounce of water in the fuel filter (Racor). First time I’ve ever seen water in there. South Seas diesel isn’t as clean as we’re used to in the US. We took about 50 gallons of diesel, which was the first we’ve taken since mid-August so we’re doing pretty well in not running the engine much.

We finished our boat projects in the mid-afternoon, so had a chance to walk around the island (Pangai). Nice sand all the way around. Took about 45 minutes. Back to the boat for a Charisma just before sundown and then in to Big Mama’s where we met up with Ed and Nila. We were joined by Big Mama herself as well. We all had dinner together and then played Whist out on the deck over the water looking out over Nuku’alofa. Can’t beat the view and the company.

Tomorrow, it looks like we’ll rent a car and tour Nuku’alofa a bit, then hit the market for fresh produce, then back to Charisma to prepare some food for the passage. We’re likely to leave on Friday or Saturday latest. We’ll make some pasta salad, hard-boiled eggs for late snacking (better than stuff with sugar which makes you fall asleep) and I’ll make a stew in the pressure cooker so we don’t have to cook the first day or so.

Counting down. Ready to go. We’ve done a ton of boat work the last two days and feel really ready for sea. Just waiting for a weather window so we’re going downwind instead of upwind. Right now everyone out there is motoring because of headwinds. Saturday looks like a switch to easterly or downwind weather. We’ll wait ’till then.

Big Mama's from the outside

Inside the Big Mama's

View of Big Mama's from our anchoring spot. It's on the left tip of the island. Note the sunken ship. There are about seven sunken vessels visible from where we're anchored. Most were driven up on a reef and holed.

More inside Big Mama's

The bar at Big Mama's

Our two favorites! Of course, John and Lisa from Orcinius, but now Big Mama. What a delightful surprise tonight to have Big Mama come and sit with us. We heard so many great stories about Tongan life. Too many to mention, but the one I’ll relate is that Earl (Big Mama’s husband) was given the island that their establishment is on by the King of Tonga. In fact, Pangai Motu, which is the name of the island, means “royal island” in Tongan.

Such a fun evening and we scored our Big Mama Yacht Club shirts as well. We’ll wear them with pride.

Other than sitting on the deck over the water on Big Mama’s island watching an amazing sunset, our day was pretty pedestrian. I took the dinghy into town and found some better parts for the propane stove. Hopefully they will work and we won’t blow up. Ann spent two hours in the water scrubbing the waterline gunk off the hull so we can pass bio-security in New Zealand; we both cleaned out and repacked the forward cabin and then Ann did some general boat cleaning while I spent an hour or two in the lazarette fixing a couple things. There was a broken ground wire to the engine, a disintegrating raw water filter and the stuffing box needed tightening as it has been leaking too much. All have been fixed for now and some are added to our NZ list as things for more complete fixes.

Tonight’s dinner with Orcinius was a going away dinner. They are leaving tomorrow for Minerva Reef. We’ll be ready to leave by Thursday. Tomorrow is fueling day and I have to change the oil and filters (I think-I’m going to look up the recommendations on engine hours and see if I can wait ’till NZ). After that all we need to do is shop some fresh veggies just before we’re ready to go and we’re off. It’s a 7-9 day trip, made longer by however we decide to stay at Minerva, so we have to pay attention to our stores.

So a work day, but a fun evening with Big Mama and the Orciniacs. How often can you say that?

PS – We thought about titling this blog “Drama on the fuel dock” due to the time delay in getting fuel. As we said in last night’s blog we thought we would go get fuel today. Knowing that a few boats were also planning to be there as the dock opened we decided to hold back and wait until the afternoon. This is how life on the fuel dock went today: The first boat pulls up to the dock to fuel at 8 am. The pump isn’t working. 11:30 the call goes out on the VHF that the first boat has completed fueling and is leaving the dock. Two more boats pull in. The fuel dock runs out of fuel and they call for a truck to bring more. At 3:30 we get the call that the fuel truck has arrived in case we want to head that way. Knowing that another boat is anchored just outside of the fuel dock, we wait. At 4:30 we see the second boat that fueled today sail away. Yes, they weighed anchor at 8:30 am and were done by 4:30. Ouch. We decided we could be much more efficient at anchor (and were much more efficient ) so we will try to do the fuel dance tomorrow! Tonga = a lesson in patience.

From Ann – a special note to my siblings, nieces and nephews on this special day – it is the 30th in Tonga and the moon is full and Mom is smiling! Love you all!

Hard to leave a spot like this, eh?

We’re not leaving yet, but we checked out so we are ready to go when everything else is done. Actually we checked “in” and “out” at the same time. Since we got in late on Friday and Customs, et al are closed on the weekend, today was our first opportunity to check into the area. And, since it’s such a hassle to check out-it takes almost half a day of walking around-we checked out at the same time so we can just leave when the weather window says, “Go!”

Checking out is always an adventure and checking out of Tonga is no exception. Lots of paperwork, three different locations, but at least the officials are very nice.

First you go to Immigration. It’s about a mile and a half walk from the wharf. We got there and there was a line of locals at least 20 people long and most looked like they had been there for quite a while. Fortunately there were two windows. One for passports and one for visas. Our need was visa, all the locals were there for passports. There was no one waiting at the visa window. It was our lucky day (Lisa from Orcinius waited two hours last week). However, there was no one inside at the visa window. We finally got their attention and a nice official came over and said for us to come inside. Once there we had a nice chat about the weather, our boat name-he really liked it and wanted to talk about what it meant. We have a hard time explaining the meaning of charisma to the Polynesians. Ann has finally come up with the solution. They are very religious and she just says, “Jesus had a lot of charisma”. They get it right away and like the name even better. So the nice immigration guy looked at our passports and glanced at our papers and fired up his stamp. Everyone has a stamp to stamp stuff with and they usually need to fire it up. This means look carefully at it, then run it a couple times to make sure the ink works well, then very carefully set the stamp straight and POW! stamp stuff. It’s very impressive. Our good luck here was that we’re about a week over our allowable visa, but he either didn’t notice or gave us a break. I didn’t mention anything since it’s $60/person for an extension and depending on who you talk to might also have a substantial penalty. Dodged a bullet (and don’t ask why we went over-stupid error on my part).

So now, we walk all the way back to the wharf and about 1/2 mile the other way to the harbor master. More paper to fill out and more stamps. We want to get the duty free price on fuel, so there were two more people we had to go to and more paperwork for that. One of the forms was from the harbor master department to notify the people downstairs that they could let us fill out the other forms which we give to the fuel guy. So, we filled out forms and got them stamped. On the way out, we both noted that no one actually looked at the forms. I could have written “Falalalala” for my name and no one would have noticed.

OK, two down, one to go. The Customs office. “Down the street just before the security gate” was the direction we’d been given. Yup, that worked. It was a tiny office with two desks and a bench. “Have a seat” was the direction we were given. This was my first hint there would be a bunch more paperwork to fill out. I dutifully filled out 8 pages of forms. Again, he didn’t even glance at them, just took his and put them aside, then took ours and added a stamp (after it had been carefully adjusted and positioned just so). This set of papers also came with a cool decal that they stick on and then staple through. I guess that makes it more official.

So, that was half our day. The rest of the day was more sail repair. We hauled the sewing machine up on the deck, unfurled the jib, dropped it to the foredeck and Ann sewed several spots that were worn and/or torn. She’s getting pretty good at the sail repair.

Tomorrow I’m going to try again to find the right parts to repair the propane fixture on the stove. While it’s working, it won’t be safe to use at sea. Ann’s going to clean the hull while I’m on shore, which means she’s in the water scrubbing the hull. Nice. Then we’re going to get fuel, now that we have such official looking duty free paperwork. Then some more boat projects if we have time. We’re almost ready. If the weather’s right, we may leave for New Zealand by Thursday. If not, this isn’t a bad place to be and we’ll wait here for the right conditions.

Patience. That’s the Tongan way.

Some sail repair. Getting the sail to go through the machine was a real challenge, but the result looks pretty good.

Nice to be in smooth water anchored off Big Mama's on Pangai Motu (note full moon on upper right)

Ya gotta love a place called; Big Mama's Yacht Club

Big Mama and Ann enjoying the evening

Big Mama's yacht registry. Note we are the last name to fit on the 2012 list (upper right)

Yes, we’re anchored at Pangai Motu, just off Big Mama’s. More about her later. She could be a character out of the movie South Pacific (and her husband Earl).

But you’re probably wondering; “So, what about that big storm?”. Well let me tell you, we met gale. And she wasn’t nice.

We’ve been feeling pressured to go south for about a week. Everyone knew there was some weather coming. What no one knew was how big is going to be? Most, including us, thought it would be some rain and some wind and that the wind would clock around on the west side of the dial which makes 90% of the anchorages in the Ha’apai Group untenable. So we were planning to stay as long as possible and then use the north and west shift to get south. What we didn’t count on was the convection-or in plain speak-thunderstorms. Basically, the SPCZ, or South Pacific Convergence Zone paid us a visit. It’s like the ITCZ that we experienced back in April coming across from Mexico through the equator. It is always roaming around here but is usually a bit more north and west but sometimes drops down into these parts. Like on Friday. I have to say, it kicked our butts and a number of others. People have been dragging in here for the last 24 hours who stayed out because they were a little behind us and couldn’t quite get in by dark. So…like we almost had to do, they hove to all night and rode out the end of the storm. We stayed pretty close to the entry through the reef and as soon as there was a break, we blasted inside. Once in, there were more squalls and heavy rain until late in the night, but for us it didn’t matter. We were anchored and in the bar at Big Mama’s. For others, not so fun.

So, the trip itself leaving the Ha’apai Group started out a little tense and then went downhill from there. Most of the night in our anchorage we had 20 knot gusts and it was clear the wind was shifting north, which meant our anchorage was becoming very exposed. We got up at daybreak (0530 around here) and got ready to go. We were anchor up around 0615 or so and just getting the anchor up was a chore. With that kind of wind, the manual windlass isn’t strong enough and we have to motor up on the anchor. This requires a lot of coordination between me on the foredeck and Ann back at the helm. Fortunately we’ve gotten pretty good with our hand signals and knowing what each is doing, so as some others can occasionally be heard screaming at each other, we usually do some signals that “go forward”, “go right”, “go neutral”, etc and the anchor comes up quietly.

Once up, we motored our way out through the reef and shortly thereafter set the main with a double reef. Once set, we bore away to a very broad reach and set the jib with a deep reef. Even at 0700, it was blowing 20, gusting to 25. We were downwind doing 7 knots. This was going to be good since I planned the trip for 6 knots. As we got further south and later in the morning, the wind increased until it was mostly 25 to 30 knots, gusting to 35. I considered taking down the main and putting up the storm trysail, but was enjoying the 7-9 knots of boatspeed. I should have listened to myself.

We got 28 miles down the line when it was time to gybe for a more favorable angle on our destination. With Ann on the helm and me managing sails we furled the jib (it won’t gybe or tack across the stays’l stay and needs to be furled to go around it) and then pulled the main in to center the boom. Textbook perfect, the boom came in, Ann turned the boat and as the leech of the sail flipped over from one side to the other (in about 30 knots of wind), one of the seams just “zippered”. It was its time. We later found some rotten thread and apparently that’s what let go. Before I even let the boom out, I saw the damage and said to Ann, “We’ve lost the main”. It was still up, but split in two right across a seam about halfway between the second reef and the top of the sail. Bummer. So with bare poles (the jib was still furled) we were driving downwind in the building seas and 30+ knots wind doing 3-4 knots. I went up to the mast to pull the main down, but it was plastered to the rigging. “Head up!” I shouted to Ann, who immediately turned into the wind, which freed the sail from the rigging and down it came. I did a quick sea furl of the main to the boom and retreated back to the cockpit. Did I mention I had a PFD and harness by this point? You betcha!

So, no main, but no biggie. We often sail downwind with just the jib, so we rolled it out about 50% and were soon doing 6-7 knots. The problem at this point was the wind was up to 30, gusting 35 and the waves were rolling us such that the stove/oven was slamming from side to side. Turned out that action broke the propane line, but we didn’t find out about that until later when we were anchored and trying to cook something. Good thing we religiously leave the propane line turned off when we’re not cooking or we might have just blown up!

OK, so fast forward about 20 miles. We’re getting to our waypoint that lets us turn into Nuka’alofa. Problem was I’ve never been in there before, there are reefs all over the place, and the GPS in these parts can be off by ½ a mile or more. That’s all fine when the visibility is good, but just as we got within a mile of the turning point that would commit us inside the reefs, a huge, black cloud came up behind us. I told Ann, “We’re not going in there with zero visibility-I don’t trust the GPS route without some visual confirmation”. Neither of us were happy with that option, but such is cruising sometimes. So we set the storm trysail and hung on as the big, black, cloud hit. It was monsoon time. Rain so hard you couldn’t see and the wind just went up and up. I saw over 40 knots when I had a chance to glance at the wind gauge. We later spoke with some other folks who were in the area and they said they saw 48 knots. It’s safe to say, the wind was strong. Fortunately the main had already ripped and was secured and we had the storm sail up, so we just hove to. We were sitting comfortably doing about 1.5 knots sideways. It’s amazing how the seas just aren’t a problem. We spoke with another boat who was out there in the area at the same time but not hove to. They were taking waves over their stern and having a much worse time of it, so our technique seems to be working well as we were pretty comfortable.

Fast forward a bit more and while we were wet and windy, we were stable and rode out the stormy weather until the wind turned westerly. Funny how it went from stormy north to mild southwest in about ten minutes, but we were very happy when it did. I was getting ready for a night at sea, hove to south of Tongatapu in order to stay clear of the reefs, but when the wind change, the visibility also increased and we sped toward Nuka’alofa, through the passage, inside the reefs and in a couple hours were securely anchored. Whew. A little beat up, but better now than on the passage to NZ.

Today, we got the sewing machine out and spent most of the day repairing the mainsail. To be fair it’s 25 years old. I think it might be reaching itss endpoint and I’m going to look into a new sail, but we need to get to NZ with this one, so we spent all day on the sewing machine (actually Ann did-I helped maneuver the sail around so it would fit through the machine). The tough part was the seam that ripped. We had to tape the seam back together and then it gets triple stitched back together. The seam is probably 15 feet long, so fixing it wasn’t trivial. Once that was done we had to repair the leech line (the outside edge) which tore apart. Then we went through the entire sail and stitched every spot where there was any sign of broken thread. Took all day.

Now we’re sitting (and yawning from fatigue) watching the almost full moon right out back of the cockpit marveling how lucky we are to be here and experiencing such beauty and adventure.

Last night we had a spectacular time at Big Mama’s Yacht Club. Big Mama and is a wonderful Tongan woman who is as big as her name. Her heart is also big. When I spent some time with her I found her philosophy wonderful. As she puts it, “You cruisers are my family and I just want to make you feel at home”. She does indeed do that. Last night she put on a feast that was free to all the cruisers. Some of the best Tongan food we’ve had (picture a roast pig on the table, as well as taro, marinated raw fish, octopus, seaweed ,breadfruit and much more) along with a 10-piece Tongan band. It was a night to remember for sure. And for some of the folks present, it was a night they will never remember if you know what I mean. So fun! I should also add that they are so nice, almost before we settled in for a beer at Big Mama’s after we were anchored and dinghied in to say “hi” to all our friends, Earl came over to our table and said, “I heard you were having trouble with your stove. I have a portable one you can use if you want”. Wow-we don’t even remember mentioning it to people and Earl and Big Mama were already working on solving our problem. That’s the kind of pure kindness and hospitality you see down here.

So, a bunch of us are anchored here waiting for the right weather window to start our final leg of this season from Tonga to New Zealand. It’s so fun to be all gathered in the same place at the same time with people who we have now known for the last year. It’s also interesting as this leg is known as the “tough” leg. Gales, storms, cyclonic depressions and all kinds of terrible stories, so everyone is a little on edge trying to decide the optimum time to leave. The reality is that many will have a great voyage to NZ, but because of the timing of the low pressure/fronts that sweep through the area just north of New Zealand, many will also confront at least one full gale on the way since it’s a 7-9 day voyage and the fronts come through on a schedule that is more like 5 or 6 days. The strategy is to sail through a weakening front somewhere around 30 degrees south where it’s weakest and then “scoot” into NZ before the next front hits. More on that as our story progresses.

That’s it for now. We’re done with dinner. I can hear Ann yawning from up in the cockpit (she’s been working her butt off) and she just handed me a bunch of her ginger cookies- that by the way have become so legendary among “the fleet” that everyone either wants the recipe or just to try THE ginger cookie they have heard about.

Life continues to be good despite blown mainsails and broken stoves.

Position: 21 degrees, 07 minutes south; 175 degrees, 09 minutes west

We’re in Nuka’alofa in Tongatupu. A very wild ride. Blown out main (ripped across a seam from leach to luff) gale force winds at up to 48 knots, heavy rain, hove to, you name it, but we finally got in after leaving at 0700 and arriving at 1730 for a 53 mile leg. Finally anchored in a sheltered spot behind Pangaimotu. A nice relaxing evening at Big Mama’s. It’s everything it’s cracked up to be (as is she).

More tomorrow. We’re exhausted.

Position: 20 degrees, 30 minutes south; 174 degrees, 44 minutes west

Kelefesia. A beautiful island.

Such a shame we couldn't stay here longer.

Here we are at Kelefesia Island after a 33 mile, 6 hour trip today. 15-20 knots made that possible. We have to jump out early tomorrow to make it to the main Tongan island of Tongatapu, which is still 50 miles south-and we have to get there before the weather goes bad sometime tomorrow night. At least we’re hoping it waits that long.

Kelefesia is a fantastically beautiful island. Such a shame that we have to leave so soon, but we’re really racing the weather right now. There’s a front due through here that will bring rain and reduced visibility and then leave in its wake no wind for three or four days. Normally I would say, “Fine, just wait it out”, but the other problem is this front will bring westerly winds. Down here in the Ha’apai Group, the normal wind is out of the east, and there are very few anchorages protected from the west. When the west wind comes through you just have to get out and wait it out offshore. Up north in Vava’u there are protected anchorages and in Tongatapu it’s protected, but these islands we’re in are very small and most anchorages are just up against the west side of a little island tucked into the beach. They are very exposed in other than easterly winds.

So, we’re tucked in here behind the island and surrounded by a reef with waves breaking within 150 yards on both sides of us. It’s a little eerie. We explored a bit this afternoon after we got in. Now the dinghy is stowed and everything’s ready to head out. In case, the wind shifts tonight, I have a “route plan” programmed into the GPS so we can head out in the dark if absolutely necessary-although that’s a bad idea as attested by the yacht that sunk here on the reef a couple years ago. Its mast is half buried in the sand on the beach and the yacht lies out on the reef. Some folks we met a few days ago, scuba dived into it and retrieved the ship’s log from the bookcase! Cross fingers we can wait until sunrise when we can at least see where the waves are breaking. That’s when we plan to leave anyway since we’ll need the whole day to get down to Tongatapu. We’re looking forward to pulling into “Big Mama’s” on Pangaimotu. Big Mama is a local Tongan who has developed a restaurant and bar that caters to cruisers. I for one will be looking to get a “Big Mama’s Yacht Club” tee-shirt. And the timing could be perfect as we have heard that tomorrow is Big Mama’s birthday and a big celebration is planned!

So-once we get to Tongatapu we start preparing for the final leg from there to New Zealand. It’s the time of year when everyone has to get out of the islands before the cyclone season starts in December and most boats are in the process of migrating down this way. We’ll spend a week provisioning and otherwise getting ready (oil change, filters, winches overhauled, etc, etc) for the 7-9 day voyage. The “buzz” on this leg is that you are almost sure to hit a gale somewhere along the way. The trick seems to be in timing it so you hit the tail end of one, when it is the weakest and get into NZ before the next one blows through. We’re going to use a weather router for this trip. A weather router is a professional forecaster who knows these waters and can provide local knowledge to help time the trip.

We’ll also use as much of our own common sense as we have left.

Here's Ann checking out the hull

The bow. This was a fishing boat that went up on the reef and sunk

The foredeck. You can see the anchor windlass

Position: 20 degrees, 02 minutes south; 174 degrees, 42 minutes west

We had a fun this morning snorkeling a wreck on the reef about ½ mile from where we were anchored. It was a Korean fishing boat-about 90 feet long and looked like it had been in the water for a couple years or so. We had fun taking turns swimming across the deck and looking into the hold. Lots of fish are now using it as an artificial reef. It’s certainly a sobering experienced to see what happens when you make a mistake out here and there are quite a few wrecks on the reefs. There’re no second chances. It took a little effort to get up the momentum to jump in the water so early in the morning, but we had to move on to the next island and as we were motoring back to Charisma we both commented that while we were ambivalent about going, it turned out to be a lot of fun.

Our sail to the next island took a couple hours in 15-20 knots on a beam reach. Just the big jib, so very easy and fun. We’re now at O’ua. You have to love those multi-vowel names.

This is a cool spot. We’re anchored over sand and coral in about 25 feet. There is a reef around us that extends 270 degrees and is a mile across except for a couple of little islets upwind of us. There’s nothing else here, so it feels a bit like we’re floating on air. On the way in we got a nice show from some spinner dolphins. Wow, makes me dizzy just thinking about them.

I took a nice long nap this afternoon and Ann is making cinnamon rolls for tomorrow morning. I say “making” because she’s been working on them for a couple hours now. They have to rise a couple times and then you make them into rolls, so there’s a lot of work involved. For my part, I’m cooking some of our Mahi tonight with a green curry sauce-maybe with mangoes, I’m not sure yet. All over rice.

So there you are. It was a wreck of a day and we had fun!