Author: Di Fitzgerald

“Slow down you move too fast,you’ve got to make the moment last…” Well, it seems that someone wanted to send us that message. After boarding the Vava’u – Opua one-way express and finding ourselves rocketing along for three days, that same someone decided to throw a switch and we came to a grinding halt.

It’s a strange mixture of emotions – on the one hand disappointment that our forward momentum is seriously curtailed, but on the other a kind of relief to be able to get some respite from the slamming and banging and bouncing and cursing.

So here we are on Day 5 of our passage to New Zealand, doing the equivalent of a sedate trot in a horse and carriage, both iron sails working and nary a breath of wind to be seen. It’s a big blue wasteland out here, and it’s a bit lonely being at the back of the pack. No other ships, no dolphins, no whales. just the occasional jellyfish floating past and the odd basking shark on the surface. Even the radio is silent, with the SSB net operators hanging up their headphones for the season. Geez, it’s not much fun coming last!!

Last night before the wind completely died we worked hard trying to get any kind of decent angle to sail – the fickle wind danced around the compass, giving us plenty of work. I particularly hate the graveyard shift from 2-5am, and true to form last night it was miserable. I spent the whole three hours gybing to and fro, furling and unfurling the jib, tweaking everything I could, all in miserable driving rain. But today the sun came out and the wind died completely so we had an enforced day of rest with no sail trim to worry about. We spent the day reading, doing small boat jobs, blowing out the fresh water hoses of all the sediment that got stirred up during our three days of bashing and crashing, marvelling at the sea birds swooping and soaring over the water like slalom skiers, and generally being happy to be out here on the water. Oh, and having a long overdue shower!

Bob has told us that the wind should return in the early hours of tomorrow morning, so we’re hoping he’s on the money because the drone of the engines is starting to get a bit wearing…

with any luck we should be making landfall in New Zealand late Fri 11th or early Sat 12th. I’m starting to get excited about all the goodies we’ve been missing – fresh orange juice, green vegetables, any kind of recognisable meat, decent cereal…the list goes on. Oh, and we may need to stock up on some more wine and beer, the ships’ stores are getting perilously low….”warning Will Robinson, warning”….

Everywhere you look in Neiafu there are chickens. In front yards, running across the road, in backs of trucks. And where there’s chickens, there’s eggs. Lots of ‘em. So we have to be very careful to avert our eyes in case we surreptiously start counting them. No sir, not us, we’re not counting chickens….or eggs…or anything remotely poultry-related. Continue reading “Chickens? What Chickens? – Neiafu, Vava’u, Tonga”

We like Nieafu, we really do. But we’d rather not spend any more time back here than we need to. We have a date with New Zealand that we don’t want to miss, but it seems it’s in the lap of the gods. It’s been a testing week, in both senses of the word. Continue reading “The Waiting Game – Neiafu, Vava’u, Tonga”

Well, the good news is that George, our autopilot, is back on duty after downing tools for a while. Maybe he just needed a rest after working hard for the last 10,000NM. The other good news is that we’re having the best time in these wonderful remote islands.

The only slight cloud hovering over us is that we don’t know exactly what the problem was with George, and whether it’ll occur again. We were motoring between islands when the message “No Pilot” popped up on the control unit. And indeed, just like that, he’d gone AWOL. Searching through the manuals the only scrap of information we could find indicated it could be a problem with the course computer. So Bruce checked the fuse – no problem there, unplugged the connections and checked them – all OK. checked the voltage to the unit, all OK. Re-connected the wires….and hey presto he was back! We’ve taken him out on a test run and he behaved impeccably. Without knowing exactly what caused the problem, it’s pointless trying to get spare parts. So we hope and pray that he can stay on duty and get us safely to New Zealand.

Meanwhile we’ve become a herd of cats, enjoying the company of Phileas and Rehua, and spending our days diving, snorkelling and beach-combing. It’s going to be hard to tear ourselves away from these magic islands but we can hear the clock ticking and we’re checking the weather gribs daily. There’s an opportunity coming up this weekend that may give us a weather window to NZ, and we’re waiting for confirmation from the weather guru, Bob McDavitt, who we’ve engaged to do a passage plan for us. In the meantime we’ll make the most of our time here in this special paradise, and who knows, we may even get to catch ourselves some lobster for the barbecue. Life is good.

 

 

 

As you probably know by now, we like getting off the grid, exploring those more remote parts of the world, and the Ha’apai group of islands just south of Vava’u (still part of Tonga) are beckoning to us, holding the promise of beautiful uninhabited islands with sandy beaches and plentiful reefs for snorkelling and diving. A bit like the Tuamotus, historically they’ve been avoided by cruising sailors because of the navigational hazards, but with the advent of GPS and more accurate charting, they’re becoming an increasingly popular destination for cruisers enroute to New Zealand. Continue reading “Off The Grid – Ha’apai, Tonga”

Wow, what a difference a week makes. The sun came out, the wind settled and we set off to play amongst the 60 islands comprising the cruising grounds of Vava’u. What’s great about this place is that the islands are all within a few hours’ sail (or motor) of each other, and there’s always somewhere to find shelter if the wind kicks up. Continue reading “The Playground – Vava’u, Tonga”