| Mālō ē lelei and Hello from Nuku’alofa, Tonga! |  |
Freewind is now safely anchored near the small boat harbour overlooking the waterfront of Nuku’alofa, the capital of Tonga.
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| Boat harbour in Nuku’alofa, Tonga | The Royal Palace, Nuku’alofa, Tonga |
After an 8-day passage it was nice to see land again and drop anchor in relatively calm waters off the island of Tongatapu, and get a good night’s sleep. The trip was a mix of ‘too much wind’, ‘not enough wind’, and a bit of ‘just right wind’. At the beginning and the end of the trip the winds blew up to 25 knots and gusting even higher at times, so the sails were reefed. This means folding, or rolling part of the sail, so that only a small part of the sail is actually exposed to the wind, which keeps the boat speed and motion under control. On Tuesday and again on Saturday the wind died to about 5 knots so we started the diesel engine and motored along until the breeze was strong enough to raise the sails again.
As we approached Tongan waters the northerly wind was not making it any easier to keep sailing north, and we decided to stop in Tongatapu, which is the largest island of the Tonga group, and the first island you encounter when sailing from the southern Pacific Ocean. Nuku’alofa is the port of entry, where you clear customs and is also the capital of Tonga. One of the big attractions of the town is the lovely Royal Palace, which stands close to the waterfront. It is not open to the public, but you can get a good view of it from just outside the compound.
The wind has been blowing strongly for a few days now, with some rain accompanying it, but at least it is warm – a nice change from the cold New Zealand weather we left behind. Scott, our third crew member joined Freewind on Monday night and will be sailing with us to Savusavu, Fiji. Unfortunately, as he is on a tight schedule and has to fly back to NZ next week, we won’t have time to stop in Vava’u as planned, but will be going straight to Fiji. The weather forecast looks good – moderate easterly winds, which should make the passage to Fiji a comfortable one. We’ll be stocking up on fresh fruit and vegetables from the local market in Nuku’alofa before clearing customs and setting off on yet another ocean passage to yet another tropical island.
Nofu ā ē, goodbye, Tonga!
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| Fresh produce in the market at Nuku’alofa | Tongans wear a finely woven mat around their waist as part of their formal dress |
To follow Freewind’s position on the passage, please check www.skipr.net and click on ‘Freewind’.
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