2010-10-October 2010

Lofanga is a small island, with a population of 163. Unfortunatley, we never had a chance to go ashore. We thought we would go into the village in the morning however we were rudely awoken at around 0600 with swells coming into the anchorage and our stern was now facing the reef. We were totally unprotected as there was nothing to prevent the waves from coming into the anchorage, the fetch was getting bigger and bigger because this side of the island iscompletely wide open. So in a big squall we hauled up anchor and left. These are the times when you are very thankful that your boat is in good working condition and you know that the windlass works and the engines work etc. otherwise you can get into trouble real fast.

October 17, 2011 Lofanga to Ha'afeva Island, Hapaii Group - 12.09 nm

The squall ran it's course and by the time we arrived at Ha'afeva the weather was calm again. We walked around the village (lots of spiders through the path of trees but there are not supposedly poisonous, they sure look hideous!!!) and met the man who runs the local store. He had visited the States at one time and could talk English quite well. He invited us for lunch the following day.

That evening we were having a sundowner on our friends Nikita's boat when we saw three whales slowly make their way into the anchorage. They swam around for quite some time before they disappeared, what a way to end the day. Unfortunatley, I didn't have my camera so couldn't get any pics.

October 20, 2010 Ha'afeva Island to O'ua Island, Hapaii Group - 11.59nm

The weather was turning again so we decided to tuck into the O'ua Island lagoon anchorage. We didn't get there in time before a big dark squall hit, so we had to float around for about one hour until it passed so we could see enough to get in. The anchorage was very protected. This is the first time that we found our charts not to be accurate in this area.

The villagers were on the dock when we arrived sorting sea urchins, they told us that they eat them when they are low on meat. They asked if we wanted to try it - raw!, we all did (except me) and everyone reported that it was very tasty! One of the ladies who spoke good English gave us a giant clam. These people who really don't have much and here they are sharing what they have with us!

The village was no more than a mud pit, maybe if it hadn’t just rained it would have been different. There was one phone for the whole village in a little room on the road. It was a bit of a shock to us actually.

A couple of boys came by the boat and we gave them some stuff like a t-shirt, a baseball cap, some cinnamon buns and candy. They brought us some coconuts and pineapple which were so good. But then they kept coming back and asking for things over and over again.

October 22, 2011 - Ou'a Island to Nomuka Iki - 21.86nm

All the islands around the Hapaii are so close together that it is very easy to go from one to another in a short day sail. Nomuka Iki is a small uninhabited island just off Nomuka Island. Also on this near shore is the remains of an old prison and the wreck of the Takuo. The Takuo was a fishing vessel that foundered on Hakaufisi reef during a storm, and some of the men on board were lost. The hull later washed ashore on Nomuka Iki where it remains as a reminder of how treacherous these reefs can be. During the squall that blasted through while we were in Loganga, one of the cruising boats here ended up on the reef, not sure what happened but I think they anchored too close so when the wind spun around, they hit it, Luckily there were lots of other cruisers around who helped pull them off).

There is a nice beach on Nomuka Iki and you can go and check ou the Takuo on shore, there is good snorkelling here as well. It is so windy! The weather is getting worse and worse all week. The kids went out in dingy to retrieve a bag that we saw flowating by and almost couldn’t get back, very bad idea! It was still getting windier and wavier that I didn't even want to go out in the dingy, forget about it! So we decided to leave, what is the point?

October 25, 2011 - Noumuka Iki to Kelafesia - 18nm

We couldn't decide whether or not to go to Kelafesia as the guide book says to only go in settled weather but it would break up the trip to Tongatapu so we along with Anthem and Nikita decided to go for it. This was one of those memorable passages. The wind was blowing, the waves were big and there were these huge breakers that we had to negotiate close to the anchorage. However once we did get into the anchorage, things calmed down considerable, thank goodness as we were not sure how protected it was going to be. It was not a large anchorage, and surrounded by reefs. The three of us fit in quite nicely but not sure how many others you could safely get in.

Another really haunted thought in all of our heads was the sinking of La Tortue not just 10 days before. We met this young French couple at the regatta in Vava'u. They headed down to Tongatapu to pick up some friends who were going to stay with them for 2 weeks. As soon as they picked them up they headed back towards the Vava'u Group. Lucie on Tyee III has written about the whole story as they along with some other cruising boats went directly to Kelafesia to try to salvage the boat. Read about it here: http://www.sailblogs.com/member/tyee3/?xjMsgID=151889. It is a good reminder of how things can go wrong terribly fast.

We could see the mast of poor La Tortue sticking out of the water by the reef. We went over in the dingy to look at it and suddenly the motor died!! It was very windy and we thought that we were going to be the next ones on the reef. Luckily we got it going again and headed directly in the opposite direction to the beach!

Kelefesia is a privately owned island. It was a gift from the king to a Tongan family a few generations back. The owners do not live on the island year-round, but they graciously welcome boaters to anchor here year-round and roam about on shore at will. The first thing one notices about Kelefesia is its dramatic prominent bluffs. There was a fisherman staying on the island when we were there and he was very welcoming. He showed us around and explained what happened to La Tortue. He even gave us some of his fish that he was drying, all I had in my pocket was some rockets (Halloween is coming!) so I gave him about 10. He seemed happy enough, but I need to remember to carry around a bag with things that I can give away to the locals.

Although Kelefesia is a beautfiul island I didn't feel particulary comfortable in Kelefesia because of all these factors, so we stayed one night and the next morning took off for a different spot!

October 26, 2011 - Kelefesia to Nuka'lofa, Tongatapu- 47.8 nm

Well this is a busy anchorage 14 boats and counting, all waiting here for the weather window to go to New Zealand. We anchored in a anchorage called Pangaimotu near the establishment called "Big Mamas" run by a lady called Big Mama. We really loved it there, usually our most important parameter is how kid friendly is the place? And Big Mamas was a jewel. She loved having kids around to start so it was very relaxing for us. The floor inside is sand from the beach, there are puppies and dogs to play with, swings over the beach, an outdoor ping pong table; an indoor dart board, pool table, a beach. Also, she had good wifi and decent food. A win win for everyone!! One afternoon Big Mama organized a Halloween party for the kids and they had a blast.