On to Tonga
Author: Shirlz
I spent eight days in Raiatea moored off a friendly boatyard. I was relieved to find that it was possible to restitch the sail in situ as it would have taken far longer if I’d had to remove the sail completely. A few other small repairs to the rigging were needed and the usual attempts at repairing the Navik. The main town of Uturoa was a long walk away along a busy road. No public transport but I was usually able to get a lift, at least for the heavily-laden return trip. I was surprised to meet up with Robert and Connie on their yacht, ‘Andiamo’. I had last seen them in 2003 in Mar del Plata when I was with Pete Hill on China Moon. They had access to a car and helped me to transport two jerry cans of diesel which I will use if necessary on the next leg of the trip.
After a week of hard work and expensive shopping for provisions I had a good break on Sunday when I joined Jay, Erwin, Douglas and John from other boats in the anchorage to go on a hike to the top of the island. It was quite a stiff walk at times and I felt the effects of all those months at sea with little exercise for my legs.
The next day, Monday 24th September, the weather looked good and after making my farewells I headed out through a comfortable pass through the reef. It was slow and roly at first in the lee of the island but soon enough we were speeding along at 5 knots.
For three days we made wonderful progress making good nearly 100 nm each day. The sail looked fine and with a steady wind and reasonable seas the Navik was managing very well. As the wind got a little lighter on the 4th day out I cautiously raised the bottom panel with the repaired batten. It showed no signs of stress and I was able to use it whenever necessary for the rest of the trip. I started working on a hand-stitched courtesy flag for Tonga.
Of course it couldn’t last. On the 28th the wind switched to South and strengthened with a series of heavy rain squalls and black clouds. I quickly reefed right down and we were able to keep going with the wind on the beam. The Navik had to be refastened a few times. I was happy that I had been able to replace the broken zip on my rain jacket. I tried to pick up a weather fax but the daytime reception is very poor and there was nothing intelligible. Later at 3 in the morning I was able to get a very smudgy weather fax but there was enough to show that the outlook was not too grim. The pressure stays constant. I was able to get a few hours sleep.
We were passing fairly close to Aitutaki, one of the Cook Islands, and I had thought I might stop there for a break and get get some weather information, but we were moving well, now with 4 panels up, and I preferred to keep going.
Next day we were down to 2 panels and a very rough sea. I didn’t feel like making all the effort required for cooking a proper meal and made do with a big bowl of popcorn.
A few days later we were approaching Palmerston Island. Another possible place to stop and regroup, but the weather was so nasty that I doubted if the anchorage, which is outside the reef, would be tenable. That night I hove-to again and brought the Navik below to replace the washer which had effected such a good repair previously but had now fallen off. The epoxy takes 6 hours to cure so with some luck we should be on our way again in the morning.
2nd October 2018
Moving on with just the top panel. Still many problems with the Navik which needs regular intervention to stay on course. During the night we gybed twice and I eventually realised that the string I was using to tie the vane and hold it at the correct angle to the wind was too thick and at a particular angle as the vane swung on its axis it was jamming against the string. I found some thinner string and it was easily fixed. But when I had a good look at the paddle I was aghast to see that it had developed a serious bend. In it came again and I wondered how I was going to straighten it.
While at Panamarina I had watched the beefy welder clamp the steel shaft in a vice and nonchalantly and seemingly effortlessly, bend it straight for me. I had no big vice on board so I clamped it as well as I could between my feet and bounced my full body weight on the bent section. It worked! Soon it was remounted and back in action, for the moment. Only 560 nm to go.
4th October
I woke up this morning to good sailing conditions again. Hauled up another panel of the sail and we are running dead downwind at about 4 knots, nicely on track. I was able to brew up a pot of real coffee after 3 days of instant. Spent the afternoon putting the finishing touches to the Tongan flag.
Over the next couple of days the wind died completely and we wallowed about on a satin smooth sea. I was grateful for the diesel I had bought in Raiatea and wantonly fired up the engine and attached the electric autopilot to the tiller. What bliss to sit back and let technology do its thing. Of course I couldn’t allow myself to get completely carried away as I only had a total of 30 litres of diesel on board and needed to keep some in reserve for the final approach to Neiafu. We had a favourable current helping us along and by keeping the revs just at the point where the engine ran smoothly with no vibrations we managed 4 knots. After 24 hours there was just enough of a gentle breeze to hold the sail out and I have to admit it was more peaceful without the racket of the engine.
8th October
Wind blowing strongly again but we are moving comfortably along. The sky is a messy confusion of scratchy cirrus clouds which is not a good sign. I hope we get in before the bad weather arrives.
Wednesday, 10th October 2018
Arrived 10 miles NE of Vava’u at 3am. Still pitch dark with strong wind and rough sea. An accidental gybe convinced me that it was time to heave-to for a couple of hours, get some sleep and wait for sunrise. A ship in the distance showed up on the AIS. The first traffic I had spotted since leaving Raiatea.
We started sailing again at first light along the west coast of the island. It was quite spectacular with steep cliffs and wooded slopes. The sea much flatter in the lee of the island. The entrance to the sheltered waters was outstandingly beautiful with small scattered islands leading up to the narrow channel through to the main harbour. Once through the narrow section, I lowered the sail and put out some fenders and ropes as one has to tie up to the customs dock on arrival. When I got closer I saw to my dismay that the dock was very high and very rough and I doubted if I could even reach the top to tie off a rope. Luckily there was a medium sized wooden fishing boat at the dock and they agreed to let me raft up alongside them and helped me with the lines and fenders. I was very grateful.
The yellow quarantine flag was hoisted and soon enough the full contingent of customs, agriculture, health and immigration officials arrived with reams of forms to be completed. All managed to clamber across the fishing boat and negotiate the rather awkward access to Speedwell. It was certainly easier for me than having to track down all the various departments ashore as I have had to do many times before.
After clearing in was completed I moved away from the dock and was obliged to pick up a mooring as there is no anchoring allowed in the sheltered bay. I plan to spend a few days on the mooring and then hope to explore the rest of the island group.
This entry was posted on Thursday, October 18th, 2018 at 01:03 and is filed under Cruising, South Pacific. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
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