21 October 2024 –Tonga -Tongapatu
Before I start I should say thanks to my network but I think I may have found crew for the New Zealand to Sydney leg in early January 2025 -so that is great.
Sean and I came on at 11.00pm until 2.00am. I had set the course for the others to follow and the waypoints before I came off watch. The wind was still very strong 21 -29 kts so we had a full staysail out and about 3 or 4 reefs in the main. We were sailing fast but the sea state meant it was a bit uncomfortable and we rolled a bit. As I handed over at 2.00am we set the course for the next section of the route and we were due on again at 8.00am.
I managed to sleep a bit but got up about 6.30am as it was now light. Keith and Joyce were on and they took down the staysail and put up the genoa as the wind had started to drop. We had made good fast progress overnight and we were now well on our way and were heading for the southeast side of Tongapatu which is the main island in Tonga.
As we took over at 8.00am Joyce made some scrambled egg on toast which was nice. We were watching the wind which declined a bit but was also moving more from North to west which made it challenging to stay on our course to where we wanted to go. We then saw land initially to the east of us which was Eva Island. As we continued we saw some of the islands around Tongapatu and then we were in luck as there was a wind shift which meant we could tack and head directly up the east channel for a number of miles. However, the channel began to narrow and so I took the sails down and we then motored. As we did so we saw a whale about 50 yards off to our left but it must have heard our engine and it raised its tail and dived and was gone. It was a nice welcome.
We had to navigate up the channel and round a small island and reef and we looked out for the identified marker buoys. We came round the island and could see Pangamuto Island where most yachts anchor. However, we had to check in with customs and to explore and find the right supermarkets etc. There was another anchorage off the wharf and there were two boats there already. The distance from Pangamuto Island is about a mile.
We anchored and went ashore in the dinghy and entered a small harbour. I went to check in with customs and had to go to three different buildings before I found the right official who just wrote on my papers. I will have to go back there again when we check out. We had travelled about 180 nm in 24 hours.
We had a quick beer at a local bar and then found a restaurant. It was Trafalgar Night -so we all toasted Nelson. When we came back to Stormbird the pilot boat came out and said we will have to move before 6.00am in the morning. We will therefore have an early start.
We will explore further tomorrow but there was quite a lot of evidence of flooding from the recent floods.
The picture of the day is our arrival at Tongapatu.
Opportunity Year Two
In year two I will be going from New Zealand in early January 2025 across to Sydney and up the Eastern Australian Coast, Indonesia and then through Bali, Singapore and on to Thailand to end year two about the end of November 2025. I will need some more crew.
If there is any interest do email me at hine.nick9@gmail.com
The blog will continue as we move through French Polynesia and beyond. If you have any comments or suggestions about the blog then do email me on hine.nick9@gmail.com