June 2014 – Two At Sea

Fluffy Bunnies – Not

June 30, 2014… If from reading our blog, you’re under the impression that our cruising lives are nothing but a big, wonderful box of fluffy bunnies, then sadly, we’ve misled you. We have our fare share of suckage too, along with the bunnies. Take yesterday for example. After a very uncomfortable slog upwind to what one guide book says is the best protected anchorage in all of Tonga (Ken’s Guide talking about Telekivavu island), we shoe horned our boat into a tiny spot with a breaking reef just 30 feet off our stern. We then spent the night rolling in the swell and getting up to the beep-beep of our anchor alarm (which I had set really tight due to that too-close reef). Oh well. We’re off to try to find a better anchorage today. Maybe Fonoifua island? -a very tired Rich

Lazy Morning Departure

June 27, 2014

We’re going to start moving north, away from Tongatapu where we’ve spent a month, towards Vava’u. On route, we’re going to try to spend a few weeks in the Ha’apai group and hopefully swim with the whales again.

Our first stop, 15 miles away, this tiny speck of an island…

Tau Island on the northeast corner of Tongatapu, Tonga.

We won’t have much in the way of internet while in the Ha’apai but we’ll try to send updates when we can. -Rich

Still Here…

June 21 2014

We’re still anchored off Big Mama’s Yacht Club (Pangaimotu, Tongatapu). We were going to leave a couple of days ago to head north but we didn’t for one or more of these reasons:

1. It took 4 trips to the immigration office to get our visa extensions – just got them yesterday.

2. The weather took a turn for the windy.

3. It’s nice here – a great place to live for a while.

4. The longer we wait, the more whales we’re likely to see when we head north to Ha’apai.

5. We’re lazy.

As you can see from the pictures below, life doesn’t suck here.