Away from town
29 September 2011 | Nuapapu Island, Vava'u, Tonga
Bill Hudson
We dropped the line to our mooring buoy yesterday afternoon after getting a few more errands done in town. I'd stopped by the Tropicana Cafe to have them email Fiji a form about our intended arrival in a couple of weeks. We'd had the folks at the Aquarium Cafe email it two days before and had never gotten a confirmation that it was received. You really want to make sure that they have your information long before you arrive because if they don't have it, they will tear your boat apart looking for anything that they consider illegal and there is a lot that they think is illegal. We didn't want to leave the harbor and head back out to the islands till we had the confirmation as the next time we will be coming back to Neiafu will be to clear out of the country and head west for Fiji. The email went out about 1000 and we had the confirmation of receipt by 1230 so we dropped the line and headed out.
The winds have shifted to be from the northwest so many of the anchorages that are normally occupied are unsafe for boats to anchor in as the wind could blow you ashore if your anchor drags. We looked in our guide book and settled on an island called Nuapapu(18 42.567S 174 04.159W) as the best spot for us. We headed out of the harbor under engine(still working fine) and once clear of the channel we rolled out the Genoa sail at the bow and took off under wind power. It was great to be out there moving with no engine noise to disturb the quiet. Most of the islands in Tonga are so close that many of the boat just motor between them. It's faster but not as much fun as doing it the way sailors are supposed to.
We were in a good northwest wind getting our speeds up to over 7 knots so we were moving quite well toward our destination. About 90 minutes later, we'd covered the 10 miles to Nuapapu and dropped the hook among 9 other boats. The skies were getting filled in with lots of clouds and we could hear thunder rolling through the islands. It's unusual to hear thunder out here. I think it's the second time we have heard it. The clouds got lower and darker and I put my computer in the oven to keep it safe from any lightening that might make it's way anywhere near us. We fastened down all the hatches and closed all the port lights just incase we got nailed with a big downpour. We even rolled out the side panels for the cockpit. Normally when it rains out here, it pours. About 45 minutes later, Mother Nature didn't fail to come through with her downpour. Two other boats had come into the anchorage after us and just got their anchors down and set before the rains came. It did a nice job washing all the dirt and grime off the boat. As the Sun went down, the clouds parted and the night was full of stars.
The winds are still coming from the northwest so we will probably be here just for tonight and then head out to another island in the morning. It all depends on what Mother Nature has in store for us.
One of the other errands we got accomplished was signing up with another weather router for the trip to Fiji. Bob MacDavitt has built quite a reputation as the man to go to for accurate forecast out here in the south Pacific. We've given him our particulars(size of boat, speed we can do and probable course we will take) so he can put together a forecast for us. It's cheap insurance for cruisers as you don't want to get out there and then get clobbered with a bad storm. It can ruin your day as well as your trip. It's only 590 miles for our next voyage but it's through some of the more reef strewn areas of the Pacific. We plan on heading out as close to the full moon as possible so we can have better night vision while out there. We try to not leave anything to chance.
So here we sit. The Sun is out and the winds are still from the northwest at about 10 knots. Not bad as it keeps the boat temperature sort of comfortable as long as you stay out of the direct sunshine.
We'll let you know where we end up next.