We departed on Monday at 6pm, 15 minutes behind SV Javalot and SV Fanny Fisher and motored out into the evening sky which was cloudy. Motor sailed for about 2 hours and since there was enough wind we hoisted the mainsail and genoa. We have been sailing ever since with 15-25 knot winds on a beam reach. The seas have not been very rough but every now and then a wave would come out of nowhere and splash into the cockpit. Jim got soaked thrice on his watches! You could hear the wave break, the splash of water and the swearing that came after. One wave broke into the cockpit while the generator was running to charge our depleted batteries. It wouldn’t run after that so it’s another thing we’ll have to fix in Fiji. The cushions in the cockpit are soaked with salt water, the footwell has an inch of water in it as it doesn’t drain well when we’re heeling and the driest place to sit is the top of the stairs of the hatch, not too safe when you’re half asleep.
Our bed got wet as we left the window in the foot well open. So Jacintha and I can sleep sideways in it but Jim has to sleep on the sofa in the living room. We’re all tired and cranky and I’m tired of having wet feet!
We’re approaching the first reef system in Fiji in the Lau group and we have to turn north and head to Suva Suva where we’ll check in.
The clouds have disappeared and the sun has risen and it looks like a sunny day so hopefully we’ll be able to dry out a little. But after having a lovely rain wash the boat out with fresh water everything is salty again and with the sun little salt crystals will form all over the boat – I should start my own Pacific sea salt farm!
While back in the village of Neiafu, we checked out with customs and immigration and topped up the tanks with duty-free diesel. We then headed back to Port Maurelle to wait for a good weather window to depart on the 450 nm passage to Fiji. A strong weather system was still west of Fiji and moving east, creating strong winds and high seas between Fiji and Tonga. A high (counter-clockwise system) north of New Zealand and a low (clockwise system) to the north of Fiji caused what is known as a “squash zone” or “enhanced trades”. Not wanting to sail in 12′ seas with 25-30 knot winds, and since we had a flexible schedule, we decided to wait. We ended up spending 10 days in Port Maurelle as the system moved through slower than expected. Legally, when you clear customs you have to depart within 24 hours. Port Maurelle is an outlying island away from Neiafu, so we (along with 2 other boats who checked out with us) decided to wait there for a better weather window for the passage. While talking on VHF, Apropos became “Green Pirate”, Fanny Fisher became “Fishermen”, and Brahminy became “Blue Moon”–our aliases just in case customs was listening! During those 10 days, we enjoyed potlucks, card and board games, walks to remote villages, and paddling around the bay. Jacintha was happy since Javelot was around for most of that time and she got to hang out with Ivan and have sleepovers. For a change of scenery we up-anchored and sailed to another bay (anchorage 11) for an evening, stopping along the way to snorkel and an unsuccessful search for manta rays. Another day we hopped aboard Javalot and again searched for manta rays but ended up snorkeling around a shallow reef, then sailing back to Mariner’s Cave for another swim into the submerged cave entrance malavoi3.martinique.univ-ag.fr. While motoring back to Port Maurelle, we spotted 3 humpback whales who gave us a nice show. We stopped near Swallow’s Cave to try to catch dinner with a spear-gun but saw only small reef fish. It was the first time I sailed aboard a catamaran and witnessed how fast they sail without healing over! Other fun activities included swinging into the water on a halyard, and Jacintha and the boys from Javelot enjoyed being hoisted up in climbing harnesses and swinging around the mast. One day it rained so hard that our 8-gallon buckets positioned to catch water draining off the bimini filled up withing 30 minutes. During the downpour, we filled up our aft 60-gallon water tank by opening the deck port and using a towel to dam the water and direct it into the tank opening (this was after it rained for a few hours so the water running in the gunwales was clean). After 10 days the weather system moving east finally weakened enough to provide us with a better opportunity to depart to Fiji, and we followed 2 other boats out of Tongan waters just as the sun was dropping below the horizon.
Jacintha launching on the halyard……and flying into the waterKaren launching on the halyard……and flying into the waterJim launching on the halyard……with a twist at the endIvan swinging in the riggingJacintha climbing the ratlinesJacintha swinging in the riggingJacintha and Ivan6″ of water in dinghy after downpourIvan and Jacintha helping clean another cruiser’s tenderJim searching for manta rays with dinghySmall village near Port MaurelleA local gathering octopi at low tide
