Author: Di Fitzgerald

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”

What’s this? Rain and wind in the tropical paradise of the Kingdom of Tonga? Not exactly what we were expecting, but I guess we’ve been very spoilt with the weather so far, so we can’t complain. Most of the week we’ve been hunkered down on a mooring in the main anchorage, with occasional forays into Neiafu (the main town of the Vava’u group of islands) when the rain lets up. Much as we’d like to get out and explore the islands, it’s given us a bit more insight into the Tongan way of life… Continue reading “The Kingdom – Tonga”

It’s known locally as ‘The Rock” – the largest uplifted coral island in the world, and home to the smallest island nation. Niue (pronounced New-ay) has only 1200 residents and is self-governing, although closely affiliated with New Zealand which provides significant financial aid to the country. It’s a gem of a place and we’ve had a great time exploring and getting to know this unspoilt island for the past 10 days. Continue reading “The Rock – Niue”

We’ve now been travelling across the Pacific Ocean for six months, covering 6000NM. And for most of those 6000NM we’ve been bitching about the ‘un-pacific’ nature of this huge expanse of water. Instead of a lazy, fat, rolling labrador of a sea, we’ve often encountered something more akin to a pit bull terrier – strong, pugnacious and unpredictable, with a nasty bite occasionally. So it should have come as no surprise that Neptune eventually got fed up with our griping and gave us what we wished for, in spades. This is about as pacific as the Pacific could possibly get…. Continue reading “Dead Calm – Passage to Niue”