Month: August 2014

August 25, 2014

After a rocketship ride from Tonga – two hours short of three days for a whopping 6.2 knot average – we’re back “home” in Savusavu.  What’s the first thing we do?

That’s right… dumplings at the Savusavu Wok. Life is good. -Rich

August 21, 2014

(The image above is a frame from our whale video, here)

Tonga is the final place on nearly every pacific crossing before making the trip south for cyclone season. Unfortunately, cruisers tend to be pretty exhausted by the time they get to Tonga. The journey from the Americas to the region north of Down Under is long and surprisingly arduous, much more so than most people expect. And still ahead lies one of the most notoriously difficult passages: the tropics to New Zealand.

People arriving in Tonga are often in need of a rest and don’t have much spare energy to figure out and cruise a new and rather large cruising ground, while worrying about the whole New Zealand scenario. And even for those with energy and enthusiasm to spare, there’s just not enough time to really see the anchorages of Vava’u.  Tonga, like everywhere else in the Pacific, requires that you hole up during windy periods which happen much (most?) of the time. So while you might have the month of October to cruise, the wind will be a limiting factor. Then there’s the fact many cruisers want to go south through the Ha’apai and Tongatapu before making the jump. The end result is many of us only get to two or three anchorages in Vava’u before heading on.

This is why we’d urge any cruisers who plan to stay in this area of the pacific for a few seasons to consider returning to Tonga. This area has so much to offer and is worth taking the time to see. Rich and I started our third cruising season here at the end of May and stayed three months before heading to Fiji.

Tonga is a different experience when you start fresh. We loved cruising the islands of Tongatapu, seeing more of the Ha’apai, and then getting to see some of the anchorages we missed our first time through Vava’u. Without a doubt, they were well worth seeing! Plus we got to be here in August when the area is loaded with whales and the new calves are old enough that mom will let them swim with the sea monkeys (aka humans). We enjoyed our time here so much we may even go back again at some point.

I’m so behind on the blog I haven’t yet written about our second visit to Tonga but Rich wrote a few posts during that time, and together we’ve made a list, with descriptions and photos, of all the anchorages we’ve visited in Vava’u and put it in our Cruising Information Pages. For that list, see Vava’u Anchorages. We have some info on Tongatapu anchorages, too. For Rich’s posts you can check out our All-Posts Map–just click if there’s a marker on a spot you’re interested in. –Cyndi

… and we’re not even out of the bay!

August 21, 2014

We’re getting ready to cast off the lines and head to Fiji (Savusavu most likely). We’ve spent three months here and we only intended to stay for six weeks or so but the fun just kept coming. We met new friends, anchored in new bays, ate at wonderful resorts, shared wonderful times with old friends, and swam with whales. Getting to know Tonga better – coming back to Tonga a second time – was one of the best decisions we’ve ever made. We love you Tonga. Be well and happy until we get back next time (and we’re pretty sure there will be a next time).

If all goes well, we should find ourselves in Savusavu Fiji on Monday morning with old friends to see again, new friends to meet, new bays to see, new food to try and more wonderful experiences that we can’t even imagine. See you soon Fiji! -Rich and Cyndi

August 2014 back in Neiafu Tonga

I know I’m supposed to be the one who writes about things that are happening right now, but I’m going to flash back a couple of weeks. Sorry.

A really pretty 24 foot boat sailed into Neiafu harbor and looking like a giant on the small boat was none other than Webb Chiles.

Webb is on his sixth circumnavigation, this time in a Moore 24. He’d just come down from Apia Samoa in pretty rough conditions (if you want a great read, check out his log of that passage here). What an inspiring human!

We were lucky enough to get to know Webb enough to count him as a friend, and enriched by the meeting in a number of ways. A conversation over dinner took 14 hours off our passage to Fiji. I’ll elaborate; he’s been averaging better than six knots in little Gannet, we’ve been averaging a little over five knots in big old Legacy. My shame, and the effort to minimize it by using more sail and less wussiness, got us to Fiji in just shy of three days. I think the additional speed made the passage a little more comfortable too. (Sometimes you just need a friend to tell you when you’re being a wuss.)

Webb’s written a number of books.  I’d read a couple a long time ago when cruising for me was just a far-off dream. (Here’s a link to his page on Amazon.  That’s right – he has his own Amazon page!) I hit the Kindle store to get a couple of his books to read or re-read and found a work of fiction by Webb called Shadows.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Wow! I don’t want to say more about it for fear of influencing your experience with the book (which I am now officially assigning to you as required homework – there will be a test!).

I was expecting a book by a sailor who writes. I found a work of literature by a writer who sails. Ideas and words from this book are still bouncing around inside my skull.

There are also a three short stories in this Kindle edition, one of which is called Sailing to Africa.  Wow again! Webb told us that this is one of his favorite creations. I can understand why.

When you’re done with the above assigned reading, for extra credit, check out his website called In The Present Sea. Webb’s journal, published there, is now on my daily reading list (when we’re lucky enough to have internet access). Here’s a link to his journal.

OK, Enough said.  You know that I am now a card-carrying member of the Webb Chiles fan club.  Thanks Webb for the books, friendship and inspiration.  -Rich

August 19, 2014

One of the big reasons we came back to Tonga again was to get a chance to swim with the whales.  We got a brief yet wonderful swim with them two years ago but we wanted to try for one of the incredible encounters some of our friends have had.  We got it!

We went out with Whales in the Wild in Neiafu, Vava’u, Tonga. We can’t recommend them strongly enough, these professional and caring people. Thanks Phil and Renata for this life-changing experience! Here’s a link to their website.