And on to Vava’u, Tonga   Monday, 09/10/2023

Had a successful voyage west, despite electrical problems which put both my chart plotter and autopilot out of use a couple of hours out from Niue. Fortunately the wind was moderate and helpful – I managed to fly the foresail in such a way that I could hold a westerly course, making quite frequent adjustments. Progress was slower though, so the trip took three days instead of two – a minor matter considering that the sun was shining and sea conditions were quite comfortable. Now all I have to do is investigate the electrical problem – seems that it could just be moisture that’s causing the problem. We shall see. There’s always something going wrong – the reality of sailing. There was such torrential rain in Niue in the 12 hours before leaving that it’s quite possible that water has got in somewhere. 

Sunday morning was sunny and it was a beautiful trip coming around the northern side of Vava’u, close inshore. There are no obstructions: 15 to 20 storey high cliffs plunge into the ocean, with the result that the water can be a few hundred metres deep only 400-500 metres off the coast. What’s interesting about these cliffs is that they’re covered in forest, with only the odd patch of limestone, heavily eroded with lots of caves, showing through. Going down the northwest coast, there are islands, mostly forested too, creating inland waterways. All very inspiring – it made the last part of the journey very pleasant indeed. 

I radioed Maritime Radio, as you are required to do, but (no surprise!) got no response. Well, it was Sunday. So I simply sailed into the harbour of Neiafu, which is really a sound, the village on one side and cliffs on the other, with a very small and impassable outlet to the sea at the other end of it. It was very calm, so I simply stopped and surveyed the scene, looking for a suitable mooring ball. A dinghy was coming past, so I hailed them and asked. A young German couple, who immediately said “Do you want help tying to a mooring ball?” So they selected a ball for me, I simply motored the boat up to them and was connected. Easy! To be honest, it wouldn’t have been particularly difficult because the water was so calm. What was more important was getting the right ball, one that is available for rent rather than belonging to a fisherman or somebody who would suddenly turn up wanting it.

Arriving here feels a bit like being back in civilisation because around 30 yachts are here on mooring balls. There are a few that look very familiar, that I’ve seen in other places. It was early evening and I was decanting a Jerry can of water into the rear tank and a dinghy came up… A New Zealander, who I met in Rarotonga – they were arriving as I left. I then saw him and his wife in Niue, where they spent a few days. They left Niue last Tuesday, the day before me – the first thing he said was: you were very right to delay a day! They had extreme conditions after departing, winds of 45 knots, gusting over 50 knots, so a very uncomfortable trip. By leaving a day later, I was in effect travelling behind this band of heavy weather, while they were travelling in it. The forecast was with them – it was supposed to have cleared – but the forecast was wrong. I had really intended to leave on Tuesday too (as my last blog post says), but that morning I just looked at the weather and thought no. Sometimes (always?) it’s better to look at what you actually have going on around you, rather than the forecast, which can very easily be wrong, especially in the timing of things.

I had to move the boat over to the customs dock late morning today, to check in. They insist that they must be able to come on board (yet they didn’t even bother to look inside). Fortunately it had remained very calm, so there was no problem doing this. And two hours later I came back to my original mooring ball, which no one else had taken.

There’s not a lot here – three or four small Chinese-owned supermarkets, which inside are more like African trading stores than modern supermarkets. Collectively, there’s an almost reasonable range of food. There’s a market where women sell fruit and vegetables – not a great range, but lots of bananas and pineapples to choose from (and I’m very partial to both, so that does me!). There are a few restaurants, largely supported by the cruising community it seems. There’s a deli that sells frozen meals that they make on site, which will be useful – I went in just to see what they’ve got and had a long chat with the Canadian owner. A great woman, who with her husband has been here for nine years (he was busy cooking). I asked her how on earth could she go back home and face the Canadian winter, after living here? Unsurprisingly, she said she couldn’t – so it looks like she’s a permanent refugee.

There’s a good atmosphere, and the setting is perfect. I shall stay here a while I think.