Thank you Neil and Gill for a memorable and exciting time spent with you on Silver Lining in and around the beautiful islands of Tonga. You make a great partnership for long distance passages. Also for sorting out the situation we found ourselves in when a sudden bit of bad weather arrived and wrapped the anchor chain around a bommie. We ended up having to disconnect the anchor and return later in the day in good weather to retrieve it. With the help of Luckily there were some very willing and helpful cruisers around who were able to free dive and loosen the chain from the bommie Glorious sunsets with sundowners and delicious barbecues on board. Gill doing her magic by baking fresh bread on board and making home made yogurt too. The highlight of the week was most definitely the whale watching and swimming with the whales. An unforgettable experience . A mother and calf humpback whale within meters of us. What an experience. Diving in the Swallow Cave was another unforg ettable experience . The colour of the water with afternoon sunlight streaming through it was a beautiful aqua marine colour. Deep below was a large shoal of fish swimming in a perfect figure of eight. Other wonderful sights were the odd turtle our and about and many pretty reefs. This is such an unspoilt part of the world. Well worth a visit but l almost feel like keeping it a secret .

The brothers had a good catch up . The sisters in law also had lots of time to chat about family and the grandkids as usual Special times to remember when we are old and grey

The warmth and friendliness of the Tongan people makes one never want to leave.