Tonga – it’s not all plain sailing!

We had anticipated a fast sail with winds from the ESE and a point of sail that Cerulean enjoys, so left early with Freya a short distance ahead as we motored out of the harbour.   The wind stayed light until we rounded the western most point of the island when a beautiful easterly wind welcomed us and we put out our full sails and headed as far east as we could.   The conditions were perfect and I enjoyed hand steering for a few hours with a wide grin as we watched the miles melt away and even discussed the possibility of having to slow the boat down if this speed continued.   At around sunset we put a reef in the main, followed about an hour later by a second reef as well as a couple in the jib as the wind increased and swung more to the south with building waves.   When night fell conditions were worse and the sea had started to build, with waves crashing over the boat as we slammed into the rolling surf.   It was a horrible night.   I was seasick and we were slowly getting pushed further and further west.   As day dawned and conditions continued to deteriorate I suggested we give up on Tonga and head straight for Fiji.   Our weather router informed us conditions would remain the same for the next few days so we would be better continuing to our original destination.   As the day progressed we realized we were not going to make Niutoputapu in daylight, so we tacked and, as evening fell on our second night, we hove-to under the shadow of Tafahi, a perfectly proportioned island with a triangular shaped mountain rising up from the sea.   As we hove-to and stopped the boat, peace and quiet reined down!   It was almost magical how we gently rocked, instead of slamming, in the waves and the wind seemed to abate as we very slowly drifted.   We took it in turns to sleep and both of us had good solid rests between keeping an eye out for Freya who was doing the same as us a few miles west.  

As it started to get light, the sea had calmed and we continued sailing towards Nuiatoputapu which we could see about 7nm away.   As we drew close we started to see lots of whales – just the puff of water from when they breathe out, at first and then more of the whale’s body until we saw a pod of about seven heading straight for us.   I altered course so we cut infront of them and then changed back to our original track so they continued on their way behind us.   All of a sudden one of the humpbacks lept out of the water, twisted onto its side and splashed down sending a cascade of water over us!  

The entrance into the harbour is well marked but quite narrow and large rolling waves were breaking on either side of the pass as we entered.   Once in though, the waters are protected and sheltered with a large bay where one other boat was already anchored.    Shelly and James on SY Carina came over to introduce themselves and let us know about the check in process.   Shelly kindly made a phone call to arrange for immigration, health and customs to come at 3pm as well as organizing a sim card to be delivered to us on the dock the following morning.   As there is no ATM or means to exchange money, on the island we were asked to offer goods in exchange for the SIM card.    Promptly at 3pm we saw a couple of cars pull up on the dock as Steve and Todd headed out in the dinghies to collect the four officials.    Apart from one of the health workers, all the visitors were on the large size and helping the three women onto the boat, wearing long black skirts and woven overskirts as they hauled themselves out of the dinghy onto our small stem platform and then climb the steps to get into the boat was an interesting exercise!   All the officials were very formal until documents were completed and papers stamped and then they became warm and friendly smiling widely, showing their gold capped teeth.   We were asked to pay 200 pa’anga to cover the cost of the health workers visiting the boat, which we reluctantly paid, handing over US$70.   As the two officials had done nothing more than get a ride in our dinghy it was quite perplexing what we were actually paying for!    Needless to say, we completed the process and were now officially in Tonga.  

The next morning we met Shelly and James at the dock and went to meet Tiu who worked for the local mobile phone company, at her house.   As we walked along the road, pigs greeted us as they roamed freely each sow having numerous piglets chasing after her as she foraged for food on the beach, in gardens and on the roadside.   Thin, unloved dogs also scavenged for food being chased by hoards of painfully thin puppies – it seemed like every female dog we saw had a brood of puppies and we heard that, like the pigs, these often end up on the dinner table, making me very glad I don’t eat meat!   

Tiu lived in a home with a cluster of small shacks – one for sleeping in, one for cooking and one for eating in.   The dusty yard housed an outhouse and washing line where pandanus were drying in the morning sun.   Pandanus are the long leaves used to weave the traditional and formal clothes worn by Tongans, as well as the beautifully woven bowls and mats seen in markets around Tonga.   The leaves are cut from plants grown on the island, wrapped in bundles and taken to the beach where they are left in the sea to be bleached for a week.  The women then collect them, leave them to dry in the sun before cutting them to size and coiling them into packages to be sold in Nu’kulofa when the supply ship arrives.    

Tiu was a happy, hard working woman with two young girls she was raising on her own while her husband worked in Australia on a fruit orchard.   She exchanged a SIM card and 10GB of data for some items of food and a few old tee shirts.   She was happy with this trade and we were happy to be plugged in to the World again!    Tiu drove us to the dock and, on learning they had never been on a boat, invited them to jump in the dinghy and join us on board.   The children were very excited about being on board and looked all over the boat, asking lots of questions as they opened doors and cupboards with eyes getting wider as they took in everything!  

Later that day the dinghies from the three boats were dispatched to collect our BBQ hosts from the dock.  With Madam O in SV Carina’s dinghy, her niece, Fahia perched with Freya in their small wooden tender and Fahia’s 11yr old son, Mal in our dinghy, we headed in convoy for the small uninhabited island close to the reef.   We had to negotiate a number of shallows to reach a small beach, haul ourselves and all the food onto the beach and set about finding firewood under instructions from our hosts.  With Mal swinging a large machete, Steve was worried about how many limbs he would return with as they collected coconut leaves to weave our plates and food platters.   The fire was lit and lobster, crab and sausages loaded on to a grill while Madam O sat weaving a large platter from the fresh coconut leaves in between sipping from a can of beer mixed with rum!   It was a lovely afternoon spent in good company with the occasional whale making an appearance on the other side of the reef!  

We spent a week on Nuiatoputapu enjoying the company of the very friendly and generous locals. We spent a lovely afternoon at Fahia’s home being taught how to weave and later headed to Tiu’s home to teach her how to make pizza. I shooed the pigs and puppies out of her kitchen and, using the limited ingredients available, showed Tiu and her daughter how to make a simple pizza dough, topping it with anything available! Her only kitchen knife was so blunt the onion was more squashed than cut! I returned to the boat as it was put in the oven – a very old gas one that didn’t seem to get very hot! I left strict instructions to wait until it started to get brown on top, but it appears this was lost in translation as the photos Tiu sent me showed a very undercooked pizza that she shared with family and neighbours, all who seemed to love it and were still alive the next day…! It was a fun experience with various members of Tiu’s large extended family coming to watch. We later prised the blunt kitchen knife out of Tiu’s young daughter’s hand and sharpened it, giving it back to Tiu but fearing we had just left them with another potentially lethal situation!

It was a wonderful week and we felt privileged to have had the experience on this small Tongan island.   When it came time to leave Madam O came down to the dock and checked us out of the island while Tiu gave us a large parcel of pandandus we had offered to deliver to her cousin in Neiafu, our next stop.   We waved goodbye to Tiu on the dock and pulled up the anchor in the morning, following Freya out of the pass.