September 22, 2012
A few days before we left for Tonga, someone told us we’d be arriving during the big Regatta for the cruising fleet of 2012. We were surprised as we hadn’t heard anything about it, and we weren’t sure if this would be a good thing or a bad thing. We were afraid it might be crowded, and most of the people we knew were still behind us and wouldn’t be there. On the other hand, there would be some representatives there from New Zealand giving talks and advice. This alone would be reason enough for us to go as we could use all the advice we could get for the intimidating entry into New Zealand!
After some provisioning in town and some last-minute chores, we headed out of Apia and into unpleasant 20 knot winds and choppy seas to begin our 3-night passage to Tonga. The passage overall was uneventful. It wasn’t especially comfortable, nor was it especially uncomfortable. We had a lot of overcast skies and drizzle, and some squalls our final morning.
Our destination in Tonga was Vava’u, the main island in a group of islands also referred to as Vava’u, (or the Vava’u Group). This island looks a bit like a large misshapen hand hanging down, with islands dripping from its fingers. There are 61 of these islands and over 40 anchorages, all within a few miles of each other. Many of these islands are surrounded by reefs, and all these reefs and islands block the ocean’s swell, making the whole area feel like being in a giant atoll, or a mid-ocean lake. With all this going for it, it is one of the top cruising destinations in the world, a “cruising mecca.”
Up in the “hand” area of Vavau is the main town of Neiafu. To get there, you go up a long channel to probably the most protected harbor in the South Pacific, nestled deep between two “fingers” of the “hand.” It is very large and deep, and because it’s too deep for most people to anchor, there are over 100 moorings available for the cruising boats to use.
We hadn’t had a chance to study Tonga and didn’t know much about it aside from the fact that there are lots of eateries in the main town and that it’s a pretty festive place for cruisers. We had planned on staying in Samoa for a good month, and that hadn’t worked out so well. We hoped this would be a place where we could get comfortable, relax, and stay awhile. It was!
Heading into the Vava’u group from the open ocean was both surreal and a little overwhelming. It was gray, windy, and dreary as we made our way into this strange world of flat-topped islands. They weren’t actually flat as may of them were pretty high: it was just as though they’d all had their top halves trimmed off. Had we not been so tired or had the weather been more friendly, this would have been terribly exciting, but in our state it just felt like a strange dream to sail in amid those (seemingly) dark, hulking islands.–Cyndi
