Tonga Vavau group 28/10-5/11 2016
Saling from Apia Samoa to Neiafu Tonga Vavau
Time used 4 days 4h, Distant 428.3 NM, SOG 4.4 avg, 7.3 max, TWA 209, TWS in knots 11.6 avg, 25.5 max
24/10 Stay sail, motor and jib with main sail
25/10 Dolphins on Maria´s watch
26/10 Main down, main with a reef, reef out, run motor for power, reef out again
27/10 Tack to BB. Broken steering cable. Lars set up a new with kevlar cable and wire clamps from Hans Boserup, thank you so much Hans! Start motor and took sail down. A lot of swells and very uncomfortable to sail. Sat stay sail with motor so now little better.
28/10 Stay sail down and for motor threw the sound and in to Neiafu, Vavau. We docket on the concrete key close to check in. The quarantine man came and gave us some papers to fill in and we were allowed to take the Yellow Flag down. We got a very good advice, from Sandie on the US catamaran Gipsey Hart, to check in on The Golf Harbor Radio, when sailing down to New Zealand. Thank you so much for good information. Now we could go and fine a yellow boy that belongs to one of the diving clubs, but should clear ind with immigration, custom and health the next day.
29/10 Beautiful morning in the cockpit overlooking the bay, with a can of tea and fresh baked bread, enjoying the site of land. After another deal with the custom, immigration and a not showing up health we could hit the WiFi cafe Trokumara in the small town Neiafu. Also enjoy and shop at the fruit market and checking out the souvenir market for the cruising ship.
From now we had until 5/11 to enjoy Tonga Vavau and get thinks done. We hope that filling up with hydraulic oil to the autopilot will solve the problem. Lars made a smart filling system and got the autopilot to run. We took the dingy to the close by bay were the wharf was situated and had a talk with the mechanic, Kevin, who later on came by, with a local assistant, and looked at our Yanmar. He shift one of the feeding pumps and, lucky us, we had two extra. It turned out later that I did not solve the problem with diesel in the motor oil. The assistant took Lars for a ride in his car to a motor oil dealer who was much cheaper than the one in Neiafu. Lars changed oil before we left Tonga. We had to get a formula scanned and sent to custom in New Zealand and that could be done on Trokumara.
It was very special to walk around the little town with pigs and hens moving around on the street. Provisioning for the passage to NZ was not easy because of the supply in the chine’s supermarkets. Meat was frozen chicken and bacon and that was it. No goat and sheep cheese for Lars, only cow but that we have been used too after FP. We could get good food at the restaurant though and taco evening with Marguerite was great at Tropicana.
