Tonga

Crossing the International Date Line had me stumped. I knew we would lose a day, on our trip from French Polynesia to Tonga, and thought I had it all figured out. We’d arrive on Friday the 17^th, check in and begin preparations for our 3-day anniversary (19th-21^st). So when we found the customs dock deserted and lonely, I was quite confused to discover it was actually Saturday the 17^th. I’d skipped the DATE but not the day of the week, oops.

Quarantined on Portal until clearance on Monday, we took the opportunity to clean up after a long passage. I re-organised the galley, Charlie re-organised the fishing tackle box.

I scrubbed the hull and topsides, getting so cold Charlie had to revive me with tea and a warm blanket. Our anti-foul bottom paint has held up for almost two years now, and I’ve been very impressed, but finally it’s wearing out and cleaning has to happen more often.

The new week began with all the standard check-in procedures, and despite the low-tide and very high-dock, Portal got away unscathed. Business taken care of, we quickly assembled our bikes and began our real anniversary celebrations. First, a big breakfast at the Aquarium Cafe, a lovely spot with a wide open deck and friendly staff.

Then, off we went around the island on our trusty steeds. We didn’t stray too far – most roads were washed-out tracks, but we saw lots of beautiful vistas, cute pigs, teaming mandarin trees and smiling locals.

For dinner we had a huge feast planned – a three course meal! Cheese and hors d’oeuvres to begin, two big steaks prepared on our barbeque served with roasted veggies and macaroons and ice cream for desert.

The following morning we were still recovering from our gorging, so packed a light lunch and set off on our rowing expedition. Despite the light drizzle, we had a wonderful day in ‘Luck-key’, exploring distant bays and beaches, even spotting a huge whale!

Carolyn, my sister, was joining us in Tonga for the sail to Vanuatu, so we biked our hearts out through the rain to meet her at the airport that afternoon. The flight was delayed, but eventually we were re-united and the endless chit-chat began. Soon our old-friends Jess and Duncan (of Alliance) sailed into town too, and many more nights were spent as one big happy family, eating and drinking around campfires on the beach.

Vava’u, the group of islands in the north of Tonga where most boats pass through, is truly a sailors paradise. Little islands scattered around, all close enough to each other to protect from the winds and swell, means hundreds of perfect anchorages and flat seas to sail through. Alliance and Portal ‘raced’ each other from spot to spot, taking photos as the other cruised by.

Amazing sunsets, deep and colourful caves, coral gardens… it all had to come to an end eventually, and after almost two weeks in Tonga, Portal set sail for Vanuatu. The next landfall would be a much anticipated one, and who better to arrive with, than my darling sister Carolyn, Vanuatu local for 30years?

Aside from the endless paradise-perfect anchorages and our reluctance to leave our friends on Alliance behind, there was another reason it took us so long to leave French Polynesia.

“The dangerous middle” is the stretch of ocean between Tahiti and Tonga. As an omen to seafarers, it is so called because of it’s notoriously shifty winds, weather squash zones, and desperate lack of protection. A spattering of islands that’ll have you hitting the google maps “zoom-in” feature 10 times over are the only hope of a layover, and even then the sailor must keep a constant weather eye on the horizon, lest the wind shift and drag their beloved home onto the unforgiving reefs.

Each island, most of which form the Cook Islands, has it’s unique feature: “Aitutaki” with it’s unnervingly narrow channel and a depth of only 6ft; “Palmerston” with it’s strange history of inbred English/Polynesian families; “Suvarov” with it’s hermit hall of fame; and Niue, a tiny independent country affectionately referred to as “The Rock”. While all have their varying degrees of charm, none were warming my heart as a safe-haven if the seas turned sour. I scrupulously checked the forecasts for weeks in advance, methodically cross-referencing sources and searching for a pattern.

Finally, a week-long weather window opened up, my migraines in temporary remission, and Portal was ready to go. This trip, 1500nm to Tonga would be the first long passage with just Charlie, Pixel and I. We were excited and nervous for what lay ahead. Our less-than-trusty “Gramps” the tiller-pilot could steer for us, and if he failed, we would have to resort to our still-untrialled “sheet-to-tiller” system, in which the boat steers herself.

Leaving the dock at Raitea

There was a brisk breeze forward of our beam as we left Raietea’s comfortingly protected lagoon, and Portal bounced along boisterously. We set our sights for Aitutaki, about four days away, knowing our Cape Dory’s shallow draft could enter the channel if the weather permitted. On the 2^nd day, we caught a mahi-mahi for dinner, breakfast, lunch, and dinner, enjoying the calm seas and now broad-reaching wind.

Even before the small atoll came into view, we knew we wouldn’t stop. Leaving seems to require so much planning and preparation – now that we were on our way, we wanted to maintain our momentum. So we waved as we flew by Aitutaki at our now standard 5kt average, hardening ourselves for another 5days sail onto Niue. And it was a rolly, frisky 5 days. Big swells built and crashed into the cockpit, but miraculously “Gramps” held our course while Charlie and I enjoyed the view from below, dry and warm in our cosy cabin. A half day of calm gave us some respite, and I furiously cleaned and aired our pocket-sized home. Sailors, myself included, often complain of light-airs and flapping sails, but they are as necessary as the trusty trade-winds, if only to let the swell ease and our bodies to settle.

Niue, and it’s obvious ‘rock’ landscape came into view on our 9^th day at sea. Tempting as it was to rest, wash and relax on this apparently lovely little country isle, in true Moitessier style we carried on – like sailors gone mad, destined to the sea forever. Actually, they were far less romantic ideals that twisted our fate – the clearing in and out charges would severely dent our dwindling budget, our 2^nd year anniverairy was just days away, and my sister Carolyn’s flight-arrival in Tonga was fast approaching. All this meant we’d forgo the hot showers, cheap fish-n-chips and beautiful caverns of Niue, but then you can’t do it all, can you? Later we would learn our friends Jess and Duncan were just hours ahead of us, moored by ‘The Rock’ and watching us sail by, willing us to enter…

Our last two days at sea were as rough as the first 9, and late one night, on Charlie’s watch, things took a dramatic turn… Gramps died. I was woken in a hurry, and blearily hand-steered in the cold, while Charlie ummed and ahhed down below – flashlight, duct tape and screw driver in hand. I was reassuring myself we only had 2 days left, that 3hrs on 3hrs off really wasn’t so bad… when Charlie announced he’d fixed our ancient autohelm. Now I know Charlie’s as good a cobble-it-together engineer as the best of them, but I hadn’t expected a bit of duct-tape to work! It did, and after just one hour I was soundly back to sleep. Little did we know, until weeks later, that we were only delaying the inevitable…

Our journey ended the way it began, close reaching, sails hauled in tight and Portal flying past gorgeous tropical islands. Soon, the stillness was overwhelming, our little boat at rest once more. We’d made it to Vava’u, Tonga, a true cruisers paradise.