Niuatoputapu, Tonga Oct 2008

Another special place in a land of special places; Niuatoputapu ( Neewa-topu-tapu). We arrived around eleven AM, day two of the passage from Apia, Samoa. Since Tonga drew the dateline around themselves, it was also a day later... same time. If you're the King in a Kingdom, I guess you can do anything you want.

The resort owner, Laura, usually sees cruisers coming in through the pass and calls the officials who come to the wharf, toot their horn. You then ferry them out to your boat for formalities. Immigration, Health, Customs, Agriculture and Laura, who acts as the unofficial/official minister of tourism.

Once we're cleared in, we were free to wander. We were met on the wharf... Me & Liz and the crew from Wind Dancer: Chris, Richelle, and two kids, Grant & Grace... by Sia in her van. "I saw you coming ashore. Would you like a ride to town?" Damn glad she did as road and town are loose terms for what we would call a rough track and a small collection of shacks. There is no bank, but you can exchange money at the 'Treasury'. The money is kept in a box full of smaller boxes with whatever type of currency you want. No one would ever rob the place. With a population of 600 everyone knows everyone, there is no way off the island and nothing to buy anyway!

Sia turns out to be a self appointed cruiser resource. She and her family and extended family like socializing plus she makes a few bucks in the exchange. We had a pot-luck at her house the first night (free) and a pig roast the next at a grand total of $T20 each, or $10 US. Roast piggy, Taro leaves & bacon, Taro root, Papaya salad, Chow Mein, her husband's (Niko) moonshine and a big bowl of Kava. We asked her brother-in-law why the women were drinking Kava - usually Tabu. Loved his reply: "When you walk through that gate, you can do whatever you want." Amen. Grandma showed up , had a snort and started dancing with the boys. So much for tales of religious ferver. Just as the do was wrapping up, a van pulled up out front. Sia sent out a handful of bills... dinner was a fundraiser for the church and I caught one of the teenagers pouring a double shot of my rum into a cup and filling it with mango juice. "Is he allowed to drink that?" I asked. "It's for the priest." Came the reply. Double Amen. I'm liking this place more and more.



To Vava'u
We left 7 AM 11/02 in the company of Hannah, a Mason 44. The wind was a light Easterly. Perfect, since we weren't expecting a lot of wind. We were making water and battery charging so it was no big as well as making way; expecting the predicted 25kt Southeasterly to fill in behind the front and give us a push into Vava'u. It didn't quite work out that way.

The front hit around three in the afternoon. Behind the rain band were the twenty five knots, but from the SW. As we'd been making easting in anticipation of the predicted wind, we're able to sail close to our rumb line on starboard tack. As the hours wore on, the wind backed to SSE. Now we can't lay our course on either tack but we pinch up still anticipating the Southeasterly to fill in. It didn't, and the waves were growing out of proportion to the wind strength.

By 4AM we're pounding into five foot swell; occasionally dropping of a crest and into the trough with a 'Bang'. This isn't fun anymore. It's becoming obvious that we can't lay our course. We're motor sailing at two knots and can't tack directly into the swell. It's getting worse. At first light we took stock and decided to give up all the ground we'd gained and run back to Niuatoputapu. Heaving-to wasn't an option. We'd be out there getting bashed for days. The safety and comfort of the lagoon we'd just left was begining to looki like paradise.

It was rough going, with seas now running twelve feet... the occasional one breaking over the stern into the cockpit... the wind gusting into the thirties. Don't even mention the scary post sunset entrance! Once we were in the lee of Niuatoputapu all we had to contend with was wind waves and the darkness until...the shift linkage took this opportunity to jam, the GPS went off-line entering the pass and I tripped the windlass breaker preparing to anchor! Liz is down below shifting manually, with the engine box and companionway ladder off. I'm following a lit tender in as I have no waypoints at this point and Liz can't anchor and shift at the same time. Niko finally climbed aboard from the tender and took over shifting duties so Liz could get the hook down. We have a cockpit switch but someone has to go forward to 'tip' the anchor and you have no way of knowing how much scope you have out. All's well that ends well. We're hanging on our hook, snug, dry and warm while the gale rages outside. Wind Dancer and Eagle's Wings to starboard, Tracen J. to port and Luigi on Sundance ahead of us. The gale has been raging for three days now with squalls one after the other pouring rain and shaking the rig. I can't imagine life for anyone caught out at sea without a place to hide. Like us...

Weather note: I'm having a hard time getting a handle on Southern Hemisphere weather. The North Pacific is dominated by a semi-stationary high pressure system while the highs are migratory down here. Fronts up there tend to blow through in a day but It can blow hard down here for days. Big highs up north mean great weather. Big highs down here bring high winds. I don't get it.