Category: Blog Post

October 4, 2014

Our first evening in Ha’ano, while we were having dinner with Iguana, Tim and Jack hatched a plan to take Exodus for a day trip out to the small island of Ofolanga. Ofolanga is about 10 nm NW of Ha’ano, so the obvious question in my mind was if we were going to do that why not stop on the way down? But even though it was an obvious question, it was irrelevant at that point since we didn’t. I quickly got on board with the idea because it would be a fun day trip with Jack and Camille along, and also the guidebook mentioned something about a volcanic vent warming the waters, and I thought that would be interesting to experience.

We were up bright and early, and Camille made coconut balls, soon to be a Gresham family favorite. It was a beautiful downwind spinnaker run on the way there, but of course that only meant that it was a motor bash on the way back. The island of Ofolanga is entirely enclosed in a reef, so we didn’t actually go to the island, but we found a decent spot to anchor outside of the reef on the NW side and from there we dinghied south along the reef to the vicinity of Buhi Rock, where the volcanic vent was supposed to be. The water did seem to be warmer in places, but I’m not convinced we ever did find the actual vent, but the snorkeling was well worth it. The coral formations were amazing and there were holes and crevices for all kinds of critters to hide. There was also a huge underwater cave with an open roof, but I wasn’t brave enough to go inside. My highlight was following a sea turtle around, and all the breaching whales we saw in transit both ways. Apparently, the spearfishing was pretty good too, because Tim speared a nice trevally and Jack shot a huge dog tooth tuna. They said there was a bull shark in the vicinity, but I never saw it, thankfully.

Overall, it was a great day, and we even made it back to the anchorage before dark.

October 3, 2014

In the afternoon of our first day at Ha’ano, s/v Iguana rolled in. Tim and Jack talked and I’m sure Tim told him all about his fish tale. Later, after Jack was finished diving on his anchor, he dinghied over to Exodus with a fish book, and he pointed to a photo of a red snapper and asked Tim if that was the fish he had shot. Sadly, Tim nodded his head, regretting that one that got away… but then Jack reaches down into his dinghy and pulls out a huge fish and asks Tim if he recognizes this one’s face. No way! It was the fish that Tim had shot in the face. Jack found it lying on the sea floor partially under a coral head. I guess the sharks didn’t notice it first. Anyway it was a nice big fish, enough for two meals, and of course we had Jack and Camille over for dinner as a finder’s fee.

And if Tim and Jack weren’t already spear fishing soul mates after diving together in Nei’afu, they certainly were now. We were so fortunate that Iguana showed up when they did, because we ended up buddy boating all the way down the Ha’apai group (and even on to New Zealand) and Tim and Jack would spear fish every day for hours, and their experiences were epic. Someday, Tim will have to write about them. From my perspective, Tim’s partnership with Jack really upped his spearfishing game and we dined quite nicely.

Our first stop in Ha’apai was the island of Ha’ano, the northern most island in the eastern island group. The sun was still pretty low in the sky when we arrived, and turning into the anchorage it was right in our eyes, so we dropped anchor a little far out, had some breakfast and a rest and then when the sun was higher we moved in a little closer among the coral heads. The island very much reminded me of any heavily palmed motu in the Tuamotus, and we had good protection from wind and swell, which was a nice break after two nights in the rolly southern anchorages in Vava’u and then the overnight sail.

The anchorage was beautiful. It was littered with coral and decorated with a single mushroom-shaped rock. Tim and I enjoyed paddle boarding and we also explored some of the beaches and found the way up to the main trail that runs the length of the island. This trail became my running track for the few days we were there, and while I never ran to the village, I did often encounter children playing along the path and they always looked at me like I was a little insane. Oh, and the cows. I shudder at the thought.

While paddle boarding along, from behind me Tims says, “there’s a big fish chasing you.” First, I think, “Yeah, right, whatever,” and then I think, “Oh no, maybe it’s a shark.” Then Tim clarifies that it was a huge TUNA, near shore, chasing me, in shallow water. So, of course, as soon as we were back at the boat, Tim was suited up and in the water with his spear gun. When he came back, he had a tale of a huge fish he shot in the face but got away (read the next post to find out what became of that fish).

October 2-3, 2014

We departed Anchorage #36 in Vava’u at almost 7pm and had a slow, light wind, upwind overnight sail. We had a pretty steady 13-15 kts of wind forward of the beam, but we were reefed down pretty heavily so we didn’t arrive too early. Even still, we had to keep trying to slow down towards the end and then stand off the island until sunrise. Through the course of the passage, we could easily tell we were treading into less travelled waters because we had gotten so used to our AIS display being littered with other vessels and when we arrived in Ha’apai, there were none.

Ha’apai is the center island group between Vava’u to the north and Tongatapu to the south. And compared to both, tourism is virtually nonexistent. There are approximately 60 islands, 18 of them being inhabited with about a total of 30 villages. While Vava’u can be considered a cluster of islands, bunched together to provide many sheltered anchorages for the cruiser to choose from, Ha’apai is more like two parallel strings of smaller islands spread out with far less protection. The two parallel island chains are the western group extending from Ofolanga down to Kelefesia, and the eastern group, from Ha’ano to Limu. Without tourism, Ha’apai seemed much poorer and more isolated than what we had been accustomed to in Vava’u.

Overall, we found our navionics charts to be OK for the entire Ha’apai group, however there are so many reefs you definitely have to do all your moving around in the daytime with good light.

For maritime history fans, Ha’apai was visited by the icons such as Captain Cook, Captain Tasman, and Captain Bligh. It was, in fact, where the mutiny on the HMS bounty actually occurred.

September 30 – October 2, 2014

According to the guidebook, “These day anchorages should be attempted only in settled weather and during hours of good visibility.” In both cases we had settled weather and we stayed overnight, and in both cases, they proved wonderful anchorages at low tide and then rocky/rolly at high tide.

We mostly went to them for Tim to spearfish and to be a little further south for the jump to the Ha’apai group. To be honest, I don’t actually remember much, and I didn’t write a lot in the logbook. They are both very tiny islands surrounded by coral. Lua’ui (#34) is only about 1 or 2 miles south of ‘Euakafa, and I recall there was some nice snorkeling, and that it was here that I saw my first lionfish. Fonua’one’one (#36) is a bit further south and the reef around the island was a bit more extensive. Spending a couple days at these islands was a nice way to decompress after the last hectic days in Neiafu before heading to Ha’apai.

September 29, 2014

Clearing in and out of various countries can be mind numbingly tedious and time consuming or it can be quick and easy. Tonga tended towards the tedious side for us, and that was exacerbated by the fact that you have to clear in and out when transiting between island groups, and it’s difficult to get the full scoop on exactly what you have to do in order to clear out.

So, here’s what I did: 1) Went to the immigration office and they filled out a form and gave it to us to give to immigration in Ha’apai. 2) Went to port authority to pay our port fees, which is based on the gross tonnage of your vessel. It was right about here that I realized that our registration has the incorrect gross tonnage on it, and the error is not in our favor. So, we paid more, whatever. 3) Then I went to customs and here’s where it got a little confusing. Some countries allow you to get fuel duty free upon clearing out, and Tonga is one of these countries. And I had *heard* that if you intend to do your final clearing out of Tonga from Ha’apai they will let you get your duty-free fuel when you leave Vava’u, because there are no fuel dock facilities in Ha’apai. So, when I went to customs to ask, the guy seemed a bit shifty and told me to come back when the supervisor is there. I came back later that afternoon, and the same guy told me, no problem, you can do it. So, we ordered our fuel to be delivered by truck the next morning. The next morning, we went to the fuel dock, and I walked over to customs in order to get our form for duty free fuel and our final outbound clearance for Ha’apai. Of course, there’s a different guy there, and he says that you’re not allowed duty free fuel until you are leaving Tonga. Of course, I responded that I had been told that we could, and he wanted to know by whom, and at the point I didn’t feel like hanging the other guy out to dry, so I just said I don’t remember. He said, “I’m sorry, there’s nothing I can do.” I’m not sure if he was wanting/expecting me to bribe him or what but I just stood there silent with an obvious disappointed and dejected look on my face, and he could only take this for about 30 seconds and then he said, “OK, just this time. But please don’t tell any other yachties, because we are not supposed to do this.” I have no idea what the real deal was with the duty-free fuel, but we got our forms, got our fuel, and got the heck out of there as soon as we could.

Of course, we didn’t leave Vava’u straight away. We had some southern small islands to visit, and we wanted to wait for the right wind for the overnight passage to Ha’apai.

When we were in Mopelia, the last island we visited in French Polynesia, the local guy Hio told us the story of a guy who had been there just before us and was spearfishing near the pass and had his dinghy attacked by a shark. Then even later when we were in Pago Pago the customs guy told me the story of a boat who left without proper outbound clearance and when they arrived in Apia Western Samoa, they wouldn’t let them in. We also heard from our friends on True Blue V and Lady Carolina, both of whom have Island Packets, that there was this young guy with an Island Packet who had attached ice chests right to his deck for storage.

Finally, in Tonga, we caught up with the infamous Iguana. While we were at the Lape Island Tongan feast, Tim and a young man, Jack from Iguana, started talking. It turns out that Jack had also already heard of Tim and his spearfishing and was interested in going out with him. So, the next time we were in Neiafu, they went out to free dive the wreck in the harbor. Here’s what I wrote in my status email at the time…”When we were still in Neiafu, Tim went spearfishing with a kid, and by kid, I mean he’s probably in his late 20s or so, on the shipwreck there in the harbor. Tim had previously dived on it with the hookah, because it’s at 70-100 feet deep. Well, I guess when Jack (the kid) suggested it, Tim couldn’t resist the challenge, and off they went. Yes, Tim can still keep up with the youngsters. They came back with 5 fish between them, and we had trevally last night for dinner, which I can’t say any of us enjoyed very much. Except Brenden, that kid just loves fish.

Our next Exodus potluck, we invited Jack and Camille, but only Jack came. At the time I thought it was weird that Camille didn’t come, but spoiler alert, Camille is awesome, and we end up having a lot of fun hanging out together. It turns out we are pretty similar in that sometimes she just needs her me time. I can relate! At the potluck Theo and Wanda (Et Voila) brought some really good steak that had been vacuum sealed and brought from California. What a treat! But no one enjoyed it quite as much as Jack. I think they eat fish even more than we do!

Imagine our excitement when we were sitting in anchorage #11 for Brenden’s birthday and then we hear Chara on the VHF radio! For any who don’t remember, Chara is part of our family of cruisers from Mexico, and they are one of the four of us that left Banderas Bay together when we set out across the Pacific (the other two being True Blue V and Lady Carolina). We hadn’t seen them in five months, since we were in The Marquesas, so we rushed back to Neiafu the next morning in order to have dinner together and catch up. It was fun to be back with Bob and Joyce, and with Joyce around, we were instantly part of the Neiafu cruiser social scene.

One evening I enjoyed a ladies’ night out and Tim went to guys poker night with a bunch of people we didn’t know at that time. The ladies’ night out included me, Joyce (Chara), Sara (Lochmarin), Amber (Rockstar), Tina (Caminante), Catherine (The Southern Cross), Gwen (A-Train), and Wanda (Et Voila). It’s funny to me to think back and think of Tina as someone I didn’t know, because fast forward a year and Caminante is part of our close group of cruising kid boats, although we didn’t really get to know Tina and Gustav until late into our stay in New Zealand.

Originally posted on September 25, 2014, by cruisingrunner

My smallest, my youngest, my baby turns 12 years old today. As I search my emotional state of being this morning, I am pleased to observe that I’m not feeling sad, not yearning for that sweet small person who loved Dora the Explorer and used to ask me, “Mommy, why you o-ways caw dem smooches?” when I tucked him in at night. He’s growing up, just as they all do, just as they all should. When my oldest, who is now 22, was growing up, my mommy friends with younger children would ask, “isn’t it so strange to have a son who is taller than you?” Or who has a girlfriend, or who doesn’t need your help with schoolwork, or whatever. When you have small kids it’s hard to imagine them more grown up than they are. My response was always, “no it’s not strange, it’s as it should be…” or some other equivalent phrase not nearly so succinct. Whatever stage Andrew was at, was the stage it seemed he was supposed to be at. It always seemed normal, and I rarely, if ever, mourned for the phases he left behind.

However, when Andrew was growing up, I had two other small ones to keep me busy, so I used to wonder if I would have a harder time when it was their turn to grow up.

That turns out not to be the case. They, like their older brother, each seem to be exactly where they are supposed to be. I suppose being out here cruising with so much time to share together helps a bit, and I’m able to cherish the people they have become and the people they are becoming. I speak from experience that it’s easy to make the false assumption that since your pre-teen/young teen is so independent that they don’t need us parents anymore. On the contrary, they need us as much, if not more, and it’s a trickier proposition. They need us to guide them without directing. In so many ways it’s easier to be an effective parent of a two-year-old than a 12- or 13-year-old.

So, I celebrate that my baby is 12 today. That he can spear fish and free dive down to 40 feet, and that when he sees me dive to about 25 feet he gives me such a proud look and tells me, “good job, mom!” That he can drive the dinghy and go to town with his friends on their own in to get ice cream. That he can drive Exodus when we are raising and dropping the anchor. He’s not quite taller than me (even though his 13 year old brother already is) but that will come when it’s time.

Fortunately, I was able to get in a good run today, even with the birthday and all. This is because 1) He didn’t want a party because “all the kid boats left here are girls!” 2) All he wanted to do was go spearfishing, so while the “men” were all out doing that I had some time on my hands, and 3) He wanted snickerdoodles as his birthday treat and he wanted to make them himself because it’s so much fun. So, that left me with very little manual labor in prep for a birthday celebration, so out for a run I went. I finally figured out the complete loop around Kapa Island from the anchorage of Port Maurelle. It’s about a 6-7 Km loop, I think, and it seems to me to be a slight uphill most of the way and then a very steep downhill at the end. So, it’s a bit of slow run. Maybe next time I’ll run it in the opposite direction.

-D.