22 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.

We woke early about 5-5.15am as we had to move from our mooring due to large ship movements. Keith, Erika and I got up and made a cup of tea and waited until it became lighter. We then upped the anchor and headed toward Pangamotu  Island which is where the majority of yachts are anchored. It was a nice calm morning and we eased over to the island slowly as it was about a mile away and lots of boats were anchored there with their anchor lights still on.

We anchored a bit off from the other boats and the island looked a bit like a San Blas Island although bigger. After we had settled I had an extra sleep and then got up and we all had breakfast of porridge and fruit. 

Sean was packing up as he was leaving today and Keith Watson was joining today in his place although he may not join until tomorrow. I set about checking the requirements for New Zealand and there are all sorts of forms to fill out and I did as much as I could but it took me a number of hours. Once done Keith, Joyce, Sean and I went ashore. We said goodbye to Sean as he headed off to the airport. Sean has been great to have on board and I hope he may return at some point. Keith, Joyce and I then provisioned and Carolyn and Erika stayed behind and made a number of prepared meals for our voyage to NZ. The trip was a mile to get to the little harbour so it is not that close.

The shopping was not easy and we had to go to several shops to get what we needed. However, we did well and headed back to Stormbird which took a little time and then we were able to pack the food away including all that needed to go in the freezer.

Carolyn and Erika were keen to swim and so I took them and Joyce to Pangamuto Island where they could swim. There were some wrecks of boats with bows out of the water which are good snorkelling points. I left them to it and returned to Stormbird with Keith and we had a quiet hour before I returned to collect them. They had spoken to the man on the island who said many boats were about to depart for New Zealand so this gave us confidence that our proposed departure was correct.

Keith and Fiona had flown in and ironically they were staying at the Waterfront Lodge which is where I suggested we met for dinner. We met them at 6.00pm and had a drink and a catch up and then we had dinner It was a great evening and it seemed everyone enjoyed themselves. The picture of the day is of all of us at dinner.

When I got back to the boat our specialist Bob, the weather man, had our plan for our trip which I then looked at carefully and inputted all the waypoints. When I did this it all made sense and it looks a good passage subject to the wind. We will see what tomorrow holds.

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