Gresham Family Exodus

We said good-bye to Tonga in the morning on Tuesday 31 May. We departed with mixed feelings. We were so happy to be going back to Fiji and that we would once again be meeting up with True Blue V and Fluenta. But at the same time, we were sad, because we knew that it was almost all over.

Here is an email I sent to friends at the time:

“We have finally hired a yacht sales agent, and we’ve also dropped the price so maybe we’ll have a few bites soon. But our biggest news is that the boys and I are flying back to California on July 4, while Tim stays with Exodus in Fiji to get her sold. The reason we are coming back a little sooner than we originally thought is because Andrew is moving to Minnesota, and we HAVE to see him before he leaves. Of course, Tim thinks this means he gets to keep cruising while I go back to work. We will splash on Monday and then depart for Savusavu, Fiji on Tues (all subject to change, of course). We will fly out of Nadi, Fiji, because there are direct flights from Nadi to LA. Our time on Exodus is drawing to a close, and it’s bittersweet.”

The next post will be Fiji 2.0 – The Final Chapter.

The main reason we came to Tonga this time around was to haul out and give Exodus a fresh bottom painting. A new boatyard had opened up, and I think it will end up being a very popular place for people to leave their boats on the hard during cyclone season. The yard has a great protected location just to the NW of the main town of Neiafu. You can see the location of the ramp and the yard on the satellite image below.

http://www.boatyardvavau.com/

So far in our journey, we had hauled out twice: once via a sled on rails (La Paz, Mexico) and once via a travel lift (La Cruz, Mexico). This time we tried yet a third way: on a sled pulled by a tractor. We went in on a Monday morning at slack tide, hoping to be back in the water by Friday afternoon, so it was off to the races. We had the power wash, sanding, and props removed in no time flat.

Approach the sled at the boatyard

Up and out of the water.

With the lift points being on the undercarriage, Tim took extreme care to make sure everything was done perfectly. I never worry about these sorts of things, because he always has everything under control. So, it was a bit disturbing that as we were being lifted out of the water, he had the boys get down in the salon and instructed them to yell out if they heard any cracking!

Exodus being deposited for her short rest in the boatyard

Not a bad view for a boatyard!

Even better at sunset

Being in a boatyard is always fun, and by fun, I mean painfully rushed and tiring, because it’s a mad dash to finish all the tasks that have to be done while you’re out of the water. And then there’s the fact that you have access to unlimited fresh water, so that means there’s another long list of cleaning jobs that you also need to rush to complete. So, while he and the boys cleaned and buffed the hulls, I was cleaning moldy corners in the cabins, flushing out bilges, and washing every blanket, sheet, and piece of clothing on board.

As usual, Tim made friends with the Tongan guy who worked in the yard and helped up with Exodus. His name was Pila, and he and Tim had some long conversations while they worked, mostly about the U.S. Pila wanted to go to the U.S. to work because he knows that wages are so much higher there, but Tim kept trying to tell him that it was much better there in Tonga. Meanwhile, the boys were working their butts off, and Brenden told me today he would much rather have been doing school. It was a good opportunity for me to tell him to get good grades and go to college so he can get a desk job, so he never had to work so hard, but he responded by telling me he’s only going to work long enough to go live on an island somewhere where he can spear fish every day.

We were rushing to get out of the yard by Friday, and Tim was killing himself. So, I suggested we just stay for the weekend, and once we let that sink in, we were able to relax just a bit. It took the pressure off a bit and Tim used the free time to go to Pila’s to help him fix some electrical issues in his house.

The boys worked hard in the boatyard…

But there was always time for a puppy break

Before and after propspeed

We went back in the water on Monday afternoon, 20 May. We made it out to anchorage #6 to decompress, check weather, and stage for our imminent departure to Fiji. Anchorage #6 is not very well protected at all, but the conditions were calm, and it was a good place to be for our final night in Tonga. The weather forecast was holding, and we had a window to leave for Fiji the next morning.

While moored at Hunga Haven we were visited by a man named Vaha in a small outrigger canoe. As usual, Tim struck up an easy friendship, and Vaha invited us to come visit him sometime in the village.

Hunga village was just north of Hunga Haven and easily accessed from inside the lagoon by a concrete small boat dock and a steep concrete road/ramp up to the village. You can see the location of the village on the previous satellite image. So, one afternoon we dinghied over, and after so many of our very positive, welcoming experiences in many villages in Fiji, Tuvalu, Kiribati, and Marshalls, we were a little surprised to be ignored and avoided by the people of Hunga. There was a group of young adult men smoking at the top of the ramp and they quieted down as we approach and did their best not even to make eye contact. Tim usually has a way of making people at ease, but after asking where we could find Vaha and them responding that they didn’t know, we just moved on. We walked around the village a bit, and it was neatly laid out in a grid of dirt roads, and the houses were modern-ish, certainly not fales of palm fronds. We did eventually find Vaha, but he told us he wasn’t feeling well and that we probably shouldn’t stay. So, we quickly gave him a gift of fishing hooks we brought, and he gave us some coconuts.

Later, when we were back at Exodus and the local ferry boat (which was just an overcrowded small fishing boat) passed us on the way to the village someone yelled at us to “go away.”

Clearly, there is some resentment harbored by the locals to their western neighbors and visitors. We asked Barry about it, but he said he knew the elders of the village well and never had any trouble.

Walking back down the ramp from Hunga Village

After we had spent a few days in Neiafu and had made our reservation for the boatyard a few days later, we decided to join Del Viento for a little getaway in Hunga Lagoon. We had been there twice before, once with Lady Carolina when Yi and Johnny were visiting and once with Dad and Karen. Both times we had anchored on a small shallow patch on the south side of the lagoon (near the Google logo on the satellite image below). This time around we snagged one of the new mooring balls at Hunga Haven.

Hunga Haven wasn’t really a resort yet, but they have big plans, and they already had a couple Tongan fales in place. We knew of the owner Barry because he does the daily weather report on the morning VHF radio net. Barry had a problem, though, and that is the old sailboat mast that he uses to elevate his VHF antenna was blown over in cyclone Winston. So, Exodus and Del Viento came to the rescue and helped him hoist it back up. Mostly just Tim and Mike helped while Alex played photographer.

We had a great couple of days there, and Barry and Cindy from Hunga Haven were very hospitable. There was also another resort nearby called Fofoa cabins (call sign Happy Appy on VHF) and they have kids who invited our gang over one afternoon to play.

Hunga Haven

Satellite image of Hunga Lagoon

Del Viento and Exodus on the moorings at Hunga Haven

Brenden and the girls from Del Viento find a kitty to play with

Hoisting Barry’s VHF antenna at Hunga Haven

Giving the Portland Pudgy a tow

No, I wasn’t calling Mike “Portland Pudgy,” that’s the name of their dinghy!

Last time we were in Vava’u we were saying goodbye to good friends (Lady Carolina) but also making some new friends too (Iguana). I’m glad to say we made some new friends this time too.

There was already a kid boat in Port Maurelle when we arrived, and after dropping anchor Tim made the boys go over and say hi. For some reason they have to learn the same lesson over and over again: 1) Dad tells them to go say hi to a new boat 2) They complain and don’t want to 3) Dad makes them 4) They have fun. The boat was called Del Viento, and they had two girls aboard and were from California too. And although this was the first time our paths had crossed, we found out we knew a lot of the same people (Lumbaz, Lady Carolina, Kenta Anae, just to name a few.) The ice was really broken the next morning when they were trying to retrieve a piece of their prop that had broken off at a depth of about 50-70 ft. Tim and Brenden tried their best to help find it, but unfortunately without luck. But after that we spent the day dinghy surfing and then having happy hour on Exodus. And after that we two boats were pretty well inseparable until we went into the boatyard. We taught them resistance and had some of the most epic games since the Iguana era.

Oh, and it turns out they are kind of famous. They co-wrote a book about cruising with kids and they have a very popular blog. And since they wrote about us, that makes us famous too. Yeah, we’re hardcore. Del Viento Blog: Link

Dinghy surfing in Port Maurelle (photo by Del Viento)

A kid boat caravan of two on the way to Neiafu

Coming to Vava’u was like coming home. When we pulled into Port Maurelle, our common staging anchorage for arriving or departing the main town of Neiafu, we had six previous anchor waypoints to choose from on the chart plotter. As often as we find ourselves in new places, there’s still something somewhat comforting to be somewhere familiar.

Exodus looks good back in Port Maurelle

After two lazy days anchored at Port Maurelle, we motor-sailed down to the main town of Neiafu, picked up a mooring, and knew exactly what to do. Since we had already cleared in, we didn’t have to go tie up to the precarious customs dock, which was a relief.

After 2 years, very little had changed in Neiafu. It was all the same cast of characters on the daily VHF radio net with their passive aggressive exchanges and their super long commercials for their local businesses. It was the beginning of the cruising season, so it wasn’t nearly as crowded as when we were there before, and you could tell there was fierce competition for the attention of the cruisers and their money. We already knew which restaurants we liked and where to buy Marlin rum at 25 Pa’anga per bottle (about $12US). Best value rum in the world, I’m pretty sure, and made in Tonga. When we were in New Zealand, I went to a liquor store once and asked if they had Tongan rum, and they guy’s response was, “Oh, God no!”

We had so many good memories of this place, like Johnny getting slapped by a whale, rum and whiskey tasting competitions, cart safaris with Nana and Papa, and bar hopping with Lady Carolina. We had dinner at The Rooster Bar, and I knew to avoid the spicy chicken burger, and we spent the late afternoons sipping Vonu beer at the Mango Bar. The Aquarium Cafe had changed owners, and since we didn’t really like it before and had only patronized it because the previous owner Mike was so helpful, we skipped it entirely this time.

I went running and my legs rebelled against something called hills, which they hadn’t experienced in some time. Just like last time, the dogs were a bit aggressive, but we knew how to deal with them now by shouting them down and showing them who the real alpha dog is.

One thing that was different this time was that they had rolled out 3G internet, so we no longer have to sit in a restaurant suffering painfully slow wifi. Instead, I stood in a painfully long line to buy a Digicel hotspot that we could use with all of our devices. The speed wasn’t as good as Fiji or Samoa, but it was huge improvement since the last time we were there.

The familiar channel on the way into Neiafu