Pursuit

Tonga has been a blast. We have been able to catch up with most of our friends that we have met along the way since starting out this season. Some are heading north, some are heading west, but most are heading with us south to New Zealand. We have done lots of island hopping, swimming, exploring caves and villages. One day we went to Mariners Cave. It is a short underwater swim into a hidden cavern. Once I surfaced, I was in an incredible cavern with a green fog filling the room ever so often. The return swim out was amazing as the afternoon sun made an underwater spectrum of fish and light. The cave diving was great, but when I came out and got back into the dinghy I received another incredible surprise; humpback whales right in front of us. At first it was just the calf playing, flipping and breaching. It was an unreal show. It went on for 15 minutes. We were about 100 feet away in our tiny dinghy, just enjoying the show. Suddenly a huge black form, around a hundred feet long, slowly appeared near us and announced herself with a loud blast from her blowhole. The dinghy suddenly felt very small and I felt even smaller. The mother had arrived and told the baby that it was enough playing and it was time to go. They slowly swam away and as they started their deep dive, they simultaneously showed us their tails as they disappeared. What a show!

We have enjoyed many traditional Tongan feasts and dance shows while here. The shows are incredible; both the traditional and not so traditional. In Tonga, as well as throughout the South Pacific, there is an interesting culture where some families have boys that are raised as girls. In a family where there aren't any girls or enough girls to help out, the mother will take the younger boy and raise him as a girl. They are referred to as Faka Leiti's (faka=fake, leiti=lady). It is an accepted practice here, but a little odd the first time you see them. They are not necessarily homosexual, just feminine from how they have been raised. Well, maybe a little confused too. There is a weekly show at a restaurant/bar called Tonga Bobs, where a group of these "ladies" do a dance show to music and involve the crowd. It's hilarious! It is a good time and many cruisers and locals show up for this alternate traditional Tongan show.

From time to time we hear about a boat that is in trouble, either medical or safety. There was a boat the other day that ran into a squall south of here in the Tongan islands of Haapai, and after trying to reach a safe anchorage, finally crashed onto the reef. It was an all too familiar story. Just a series of bad luck and timing. Sails blew out, motor wouldn't start and they then had to anchor in an unprotected area. Our friends went down to help and protect the boat after they ran aground and the owners had gotten to safety. In maritime law, if you abandon your boat, it is up for the taking. So our friends on Zephyrus, watched over the boat as the owners decided if they could repair the boat and also just clear their head a bit. No luck. It ended up sinking shortly after and it then became a salvage job instead. The owners had just recently done a major refit and did not have insurance. They unfortunately lost everything. It's very sad, but seems to be an all too familiar story. The boat sinks and the owner doesn't have insurance. During that same storm, another boat south of Fiji set off their emergency EPIRB in order to alert New Zealand rescue that they were having a mayday. Sadly when the rescue team arrived they found nothing but debris. It reminds everyone out here that things can get pretty crazy. Safety is everything.

After enjoying Tonga and watching the weather along with all the other cruisers, we seem to have our weather window opening up and it's looks like it's time to go. Next stop New Zealand.