Voyage Preparation in Vavaâu
22 August 2023
Teddy
Good afternoon from the sailing vessel Rover! Weâre still tied up in
Vavaâu, but our minds are all on Tongatapu and the 160 nautical miles
weâll need to sail to get there. We have tomorrow to do some last minute
tasks in Vavaâu (Ericâs doing more trip planning and passage prep, Iâm
getting the last of the provisions we need and doing some shopping,
Peteâs swimming with the whales), and then on Thursday morning weâre
leaving the island as soon as we can clear customs!
A couple notes on the geography of Tonga: Tongaâs divided up into three
main island groups, and two of the island groups are named for their
largest island, which can make things kind of confusing (Vavaâu Group
vs. the island of Vavaâu). The southernmost group of islands is called
the Tongatapu Group. On the island of Tongatapu is the city of
Nukuâalofa, which is the capital and largest city in all of Tonga.
Thatâs our destination. The next group of islands up, the middle group,
is the Haâapai Group (not named for its largest island): itâs the
smallest both in terms of land area as well as in terms of population.
Weâll be skipping the Haâapai group and sailing right past it. The
northernmost island group is the Vavaâu group (named for the largest
island), and the biggest city on the island of Vavaâu (and in the island
group) is Neiafu. Neiafuâs harbor is called Port of Refuge. Thatâs been
Roverâs home port for the past four weeks and where Iâm typing this up
from right now.
So! On Thursday morning weâll check out from Vavaâu, sail out of Port of
Refuge, exit this archipelago for the open ocean, and sail 160 nautical
miles south to Tongatapu. Roverâs averaged about 100 miles a day
(measured noon-to-noon) in its past passages, but Pete and I are going
to be off shore on Rover for the first time ever, so weâll be taking it
slow at first. Tongaâs a very religious country and takes its Sundays
seriously, so if we arrive after the customs office closes on Saturday
we may well be S.O.L. until Monday morning when they reopen. All in all,
our time between ports will be anywhere from two to five days, and weâve
had to plan and provision for all of the possibilities.
The pantryâs stocked, the fuel and water tanks are full, the sea stowing
is (mostly) done, and morale is high! Onward to Nukuâalofa!
--
Sent via OCENSMail satellite email service.
www.ocens.com