Originally posted on November 8, 2014, by cruisingrunner
We arrived in Nuku’alofa, the capital of Tonga, a week ago Thursday, and we figured it would take us about a week to prep for our passage to Minerva Reef and then to New Zealand, which will take us out of the tropics just in time to avoid cyclone season. A week was the perfect amount of time, because our visas were going to expire. Our goal was to be all cleared out of Tonga and ready to leave this weekend. And for once, we made it, we met our goal. Engine inspections? Check. Rigging Inspection (Tim up the mast)? Check. Steering cable inspection? Check. Hull clean? Check. Sails repaired? Check. Propane and gasoline? Check. Provisions? Check. Cleared out of Tonga? Check. Duty free diesel? Check. Beer/rum? Check. Weather window for departure? … *crickets*
So, we are ready to go, along with about 30 other boats anchored here with us, but the weather simply isn’t cooperating. As I type this, the wind is blowing 20+ kts and it’s pouring rain. A low pressure system is approaching and will pass us just to the southwest. After this ugly stuff passes us today, we will see further effects of the low by way of light westerlies, which means if we left for Minerva, we’d likely have to motor most of the way. Since the entire trip to New Zealand is over 1000 miles, we’d prefer not to use a bunch of our diesel on the first 250 miles to Minerva, which is a passage that we should be able to find a good window to sail the whole way. So, we played the hurry up and wait game, and we will likely not leave until next weekend. However, over the past year and a half we have developed a solid appreciation for waiting for a good weather window, so we understand that this waiting is just part of our lifestyle now. We’ve developed the ability to wait without frustration. Mostly.
Patience extends pretty much to all aspects of life now. For example, yesterday I decided to go for a run in town rather than run on the sand here at the island where we are anchored. Gone are the days when I could just lace up my shoes and step out the door. For this run I had to catch a ferry to the mainland. Although there is a schedule for the ferry, it can never be counted on. Most of the time it leaves late, but just often enough it leaves early so that you can’t just assume it will be late and plan accordingly. So, I drop our dinghy, grab my shoes and water bottle, head to shore, tie up the dinghy, and…. wait for a half hour for the ferry to leave. I made sure I made it back from my run in plenty of time, and… then I waited for another half hour for the ferry to leave for the return trip. So, an hour long run required in total about a 2.5 hour process. Not every run requires so much overhead, but at a minimum it requires a paddle or dinghy ride to shore, and in most cases it involves an advanced shore scouting mission to confirm there is an appropriate road, trail, or beach to run on.
The run in town was a magnificent one, though. There is a sidewalk path along the waterfront that stretches for, well longer than 3 miles anyway, so it was reminiscent of my runs along the La Paz Malecon back in Mexico. Near the wharf where I disembarked the ferry it is quite industrial and crowded. The “malecon” is lined with vendors selling everything from fish to fruit and veggies to clothes and electronics. Since it was Saturday, everyone was out of the woodwork, and I was weaving back and forth to avoid all of the other pedestrians. Once I passed the city center area and the royal palace, it thinned out rather abruptly. All of a sudden I was mostly alone along with the occasional group of kids playing in the water. One thing is for certain: For the entire distance, 3 miles out and 3 miles back, I was the ONLY person running.
My running in general is also taking patience these days. I’m still not running often enough to make any sort of progress in my pace. Yesterday, when I turned around and headed back, I *felt* like I was running quite a bit harder, but upon return I looked and saw I had actually run back 2 minutes slower. I didn’t take my garmin, so I’m leaving room for the possibility that I made an error in my mental accounting of the minutes (I did go far enough to have runners mush brain, after all.) I am trying to extend the aptitude for patience that I’ve developed in other aspects of my life while cruising to my personal expectations for my running. And I am mostly successful. Mostly.
-D.
Gresham Family Exodus 