Tonga Passage

The epic voyage to Tonga finally has come to an end!

What should have been 275 miles from Minerva Reef turned into 425 to Neiafu in the Vava'u Group at the northern end of the chain of islands in Tonga. Once again we had the wind in our face, with up to 40 knots at times. The steep seas stopped Blue Moon each time she launched out of a wave, with the resulting 'crash - bang' jolting us from our bunks and "rattling the worms out of the planking", as Rob described. So we were unable to make our course to Nukualofa in the Tongatapu Group but having arrived now in Neiafu instead, we are very pleased to have made it here.

At first glance it appeared that the town was almost as we left it 9 years ago. But the waterfront is being transformed, with cute new bars where there were only grass thatched huts, a 'coconet' internet café, and a new marina just being built. There is a restaurant advertising a 'Swiss chef', another offering fresh pasta and one selling home made ice cream. You can now get a cappuccino there! It is still all very low key, with 'sepia' (mutton flaps) being the main meat for sale, chicken thawing on the footpath outside the shop, and the lazy island feel we love about it here. The air is thick and humid, laced with the scent of coconut oil and wood smoke. The sounds of a local band are drifting out to our boat, although we heard that Edwardo and Maria are back in town with a new restaurant, no doubt still providing their own brand of entertainment that has to be experienced to be believed. Roosters still crow all night, and the bells ring at 4:00 AM.

Statistically this has been our worst ever passage. And probably one of our hardest, despite having Chris on board with us to lend a hand. It took us 29 days from Sydney - 2500 miles. We did stop one night in Lord Howe, four nights in Norfolk Island and two at North Minerva Reef. This is an interesting spot, a perfect three mile circle of reef in the middle of the ocean, with one gap to pass inside where a good anchorage is available. However, the entire time we were in Minerva Reef it was blowing 25 knots and there was no land to offer protection. So we were unable to explore much and only had one unsatisfying snorkel. This was disappointing, compared to the memory of our previous stop at South Minerva reef, 25 miles away, on our trip from New Zealand to Tonga in 1995. This was a fantastic stopover, with daily reef walks and snorkels in a placid lagoon under sunny skies. It was made even more unforgettable when a large crayfish landed at my feet while I was exploring the reef, surfing in on a wave and getting caught in a tide pool. I simply bent down and picked him up! We could not stay longer at North Minerva Reef because another depression was forming which would bring even worse conditions, so we set off knowing we would be beating the sea all the way to Tonga. Four days later we were laying at anchor in tranquil Port Refuge in Neiafu, drying out the boat as nearly everything aboard was wet or salty, sleeping and generally enjoying life without interruption from violent and unpredictable lurching.

We have no real plans at this stage, but hope to spend a month or two in Tonga.

Thanks to all our friends and relatives for all the email we received when we arrived here.

Wishing you good health and fair winds!

North & South Minerva Reefs

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