Photo: Randall at the end of the sand spit on the northwest side of Kelefesia Island
In the middle of another pretty rolly night, Randall and I rose at 2 am on Thursday (July 27th) to leave Malinoa. If we could maintain 5 knots of speed, our intention was to arrive later in the morning at Kelefesia, at the southern end of the Otu Tolu Group of islands (a sub-part of the Ha'apai Group). With the sun high at that time, the visibility into the water would be good for spotting coral-heads as we entered the small anchorage. Also if staying there was untenable (too many other boats or too rolly), then we still had time to continue northeast to Lalona Island, where it would be easy to anchor even if it was getting dark.
We left Malinoa the same way that we had arrived, so we had a good trail to follow on the chart-plotter which was essential in the dark. However, I stayed on the bow with a flashlight for the first 15 minutes to make sure that all went well as we passed quite close to waves breaking on the reefs on either side. Once in deeper, reef-free water, although the 12 knot wind was adequate for us to sail all the way, we ended up motor-sailing downwind to keep our speed up to 5 knots. With the jib full of wind and the motor at relatively low rpms, we were also able to charge the batteries and run the water-maker, so use of the engine satisfied several needs.
In the dark, we probably passed by many whales because when Marisa and Bavo followed our route later in the day, they reported seeing 25 whales during their passage. Once daylight arrived, we started to see distant whale-spouts and before reaching Kelefesia we had a couple of fairly close encounters with humpback whales. Passing one going in the opposite direction, we noted the wide area of white on its abdomen and flanks that is characteristic of the Australian form of this world-wide species. Another whale startled us a little by appearing within a couple of boat-lengths of the right side of our bow. We quickly put the motor into neutral to slow down while the whale gracefully dived under us. We held our breaths for a few moments until we were sure that we were well past the whale's path but it must have dived deeply because we did not see it come up again.
On arrival at Kelefesia around 10 am, we were very pleased to have the small anchorage on the island's west side to ourselves. After circling around several times, like a dog preparing to go to sleep, we found a good spot where we could drop the anchor in sand and where the chain would not come in contact with any coral on the bottom. A very shallow part of the reef was quite close behind Tregoning (less than 100 m) but we felt comfortable with our anchor-set, had plenty of scope, and were not expecting very strong winds. The reefs to our northwest and southeast and the island to the northeast protected us from waves in all directions except southwest. The wind was from the southeast so there was no wind chop but there was a residual swell from, of course, the southwest (perhaps left over from the preceding day of southwest winds or coming up from the Tasman Sea). With the wind keeping us pointed to the southeast, we were mostly sideways to the swell which made it very rolly. Still, we hoped that the swell would subside and while it was annoying, it was not intolerable, so we decided to stay.
Looking over the sand spit to the Nuku Islands to the northwest of Kelefesia
Inevitably, it was not long before I jumped off Tregoning to go snorkeling. Having satisfied myself that the anchor was firmly set and the chain was not damaging any coral, I visited the reef behind Tregoning then circled around the edge of the anchorage. The water clarity was better than Malinoa but I found that there were neither as many fish nor as much impressive coral as I had expected. However, the underwater architecture was very interesting, with sheer walls capped by flat reef that was exposed at low tide, isolated pinnacles in the sandy bottom reaching or approaching the water surface, and scattered low rocks islands in the sand. This topography made for plenty of features to swim around and between. As I returned to Tregoning, I noticed half-a-dozen squid (about 30 cm or 12 inches long) hanging under her keel keeping their eyes on me and slowly rotating so that they kept their tentacles (and potential ink clouds) pointed in my direction.
A tiny fishing boat anchored in the shallow lagoon by the northern bluff on Kelefesia
At low tide, late in the afternoon, we rowed the dinghy through a narrow gap in the reef and pulled it ashore on the sand-spit that stretches northwest from the island. According to the chart, Kelefesia is a trapezium shape with the long axis on a northwest to southeast orientation. The west side of the island has yellow sandstone cliffs at both ends, with a distinctive, pyramid-shaped bluff about 90 m (300 feet) tall at the north end and a broader, 110-m high (360 feet) cliff at south end. On top of, and between, these bluffs were palms and other trees, and a narrow sand beach separated the lush vegetation from a very shallow, coral-filled lagoon that lay between the beach and the anchorage. The island, sand-spit, lagoons, surrounding ocean, and distant islands looked absolutely gorgeous in late afternoon sun and clear sky, and it was evident why Dean on SV Local Talent and others had been so fond of this place.
The cliff at the southern end of the beach on the west side of Kelefesia
With the camera shutter frequently clicking, we strolled from the sand-spit to the northern bluff. The water lapped at the foot of the cliff and a small fishing boat was anchored in the shallow lagoon nearby. I peered around the edge of the bluff and saw what looked like a small, tarpaulin-covered fish-camp or fale just inshore of the beach. I did not want to disturb anyone there so we kept walking along beach to the foot of the big, southern cliff. A black or brown noddy (it was dark like a black but large with a heavy bill like the brown) perched on a ledge on the cliff and surveyed us for a while.
Brown (or black?) noddy at Kelefesia
As we started to wander back, a Tongan man called Esse came from a trail in the woods to meet us. He explained that he lives there with his wife, presumably at the fish-camp but maybe there was a house elsewhere, and at the moment they had three friends visiting. He was hoping that one of the cruisers would be a mechanic who could help to fix his chainsaw so we were sorry to disappoint him. Esse was soft-spoken so he was not always easy to understand but he explained that he has, or hopes to get, a lease for the island from the King. One of our 15-year old cruising-guides noted that the King had given the island to a Tongan family many years ago so we were not sure if Esse was of that family or if this was a new arrangement. Either way, he said that visitors in yachts were welcome to anchor and he would be happy for us to look around the island and meet his wife. However, it was getting late and we had not secured the dinghy on the sand-spit which would soon disappear under the incoming tide. So we thanked Esse for the very kind invitation and told him that we planned to return the next day when we would explore the whole island and meet his wife. Although I intended to bring a gift of food when we returned, luckily, I did not promise this.
Looking north along the beach on the west side of Kelefesia
As we returned to the dinghy, we met Marisa and Bavo coming ashore so we stopped to chat about our respective trips from Malinoa and all of the whales that they had seen. They had arrived in the middle of the afternoon and Devocean was anchored inshore of Tregoning. Last to arrive and sandwiched between us was a boat from San Francisco, SV Carola, which was heading south. Their crew did not disembark and with at least five people aboard, we guessed that they were heading towards the airport on Tongatapu.
The anchorage at Kelefesia with (L to R) Devocean, Carola, and Tregoning
Returning to Tregoning, we found that the frustrating southwest swell was only a little diminished from when we arrived. So it was another rolly night, with all the clanks and creaks that Tregoning bestows upon us under such conditions.
Postscript: A search for Kelefesia Island online shows that it is for sale (at least the leasehold is) for US$6,000,000 by Private Islands, Inc. So if you are feeling rich, check-out: https://www.privateislandsonline.com/south-pacific/tonga/kelefesia-island