NIUE TO TONGA

August 26 , 20012

We sailed out of Alofi, Niue on Saturday August 26 around 1200 hrs.  The Trade Wind was fresh out of the SE at 20 to 25 kts.  Well offshore the seas were running 10-12'.  Since they were on our port quarter, occasionally, we would surf down one.  The Valiant continues to amaze me with her seakindliness and seaworthiness.  She is a very dry boat and hardly ever ships water in the cockpit.

The distance from Niue to Neiafu, Vava'u in the Northern Tonga group is about 245 nm.  We made this passage in 22 hrs which is great time considering I was only sailing under reefed headsail.  We could have carried more canvas and made even better time but we were in no hurry to make landfall.  Also, we crossed the international date line which put us one day ahead of the States.  We made our arrival in Neiafu on Tuesday 28 August 2012.

The approach to the Vava'u group in Northern Tonga is spectacular.  The land in the North rises to 500' and is lush green.  Entering the harbor through the many islands is exciting and beautiful.  Neiafu is a small community of expats and Tongans that cater to the yachting community.  Additionally, there is a flight that comes in once a week from Nukualofa which is the capital of Tonga and located in the South on the island of Tongatapu.  The biggest tourist attraction here is  swimming with the whales.  One can take their own yachts out or use a dedicated whale diving operator.  They locate the whales and then let you swim right next to them.  Apparently, the whales don't seem to mind and no one has been killed yet.  We are enjoying our stay in Neiafu and will be here for another week or so.  We have to wait until the end of October before making the trip to New Zealand which about 1000 nm from Nukualofa, Tonga.  There will be some heavy weather sailing involved in this trip as lows and highs are continually coming from the Australian coast.

Over a month ago we had a shipment of medications sent from the States to Tonga via USPS Express mail insured.  For some reason that will always remain a mystery, it was returned from Tonga to our States-side address.  We have had it reshipped via FedEx which provides a tracking number.  Incredibly enough, the most advanced country in the world?? does not have the technology to track a package once it leaves the last US port using USPS.  At least it was returned.  These shipments of medications have been problematical with the exception of Papeete, Fr. Polynesia.

I'll update the blog as we see more of Vava'u and Neiafu.  There are wonderful fresh vegetables and fruit here in Neiafu at reasonable prices.  Fish and meat are plentiful.  The restaurants are serving up gourmet food.  Best of all the Tongan people are fascinating.    Once again we can enjoy Expresso and Cappuccino coffee; not cheap but delicious.  We are taking time to fix up all the minor problems on the boat before we make the big trip to New Zealand.  At this point in time we are looking forward to reaching New Zealand and returning to the States to visit family and friends.