We do enjoy second visits to places that we liked the first time. There is none of the slight anxieties about arriving in a new country and needing to get all the check-in paperwork completed, the wondering about what facilities and provisions will be available, and not being sure which mooring balls are open for rent. Instead, there is the joy of seeing places and people that are familiar and the excitement of finding out what is new.

We had a reasonable overnight passage from Pangai on Monday night (September 4th) using only the jib and averaging just under 5 knots. This brought us to the outer islands and reefs of the Vava'u Group at dawn which was exactly what we were aiming for because it was much more comfortable to weave between these hazards when we could see them. The open ocean part of the passage had not been particularly comfortable thanks to 6 feet (2 m) swells from more than one direction but with the wind coming from the starboard side of the stern, at least the predominant waves were behind us, not on the bow. We easily found a mooring ball in Neiafu Harbour, which was very satisfying, and after a long nap we took the dinghy ashore.



Part of the waterfront in Neiafu with the main mooring field further to the right

We have completed our paperwork (checking-in to Vava'u and extending our visas for another month) and stocked-up with food (there is a much greater selection here than in Pangai) so after three nights on the mooring, we will head out to one of the many anchorages today. Yesterday, we caught-up with Gail and Dean on SV Local Talent which was great fun. Since we last saw them at Tongatapu, both of us had read Gail's excellent and incredibly original allegorical novel (Wild Times with Granite - published in 2016 and available on Amazon, plug, plug) so we peppered her with questions and comments about it. Of course, as all cruisers do, we also traded stories of places visited, people met, and anchorages to be recommended.



Alison, Gail and Dean

Tomorrow, we hope to catch-up with SV French Curve. We have not seen Cheryl and Mark since Mexico and while talking to each other on the VHF radio we were invited, by their friends on another boat, to join them all at a birthday party pot-luck on Saturday. That should be fun and we look forward to hearing all about the two years that Cheryl and Mark spent in French Polynesia.

We have good cellphone (hence, internet) coverage here in Neiafu and hope to get it at other islands too. This has enabled us to get updates on the shocking toll of Hurricane Irma as she races through the Caribbean. I am very relieved to have already heard from my school-friend Louise, who lives on Antigua, that she is safe and her own house has not been badly damaged. I am sure that she will be very busy helping others recover from this mess and preparing for the onslaught of Hurricane Jose which is close on Irma's heels.

We await news from my other school-friend Clare, who is currently back in Britain, about how well their cruising boat survived Irma in Puerto Rico. It may take several anxious days for them to get a report but they had done everything possible to make the boat safe, so we are very much hoping for the best for them also. And, of course, we are hoping for the best for the people of the Dominican Republic, Haiti, Cuba, The Turks and Caicos, The Bahamas, Florida, and Georgia. Even Gainesville may get a strong dose from this powerful, fast-moving storm so we are keeping our fingers-crossed for all of our friends, and our own house, in Florida. What a terrible, terrible storm this proving to be.