Sailing from Uoleva Island in Ha’apai to Neiafu Vava’u

 

Malo e eleli from the Kingdom of Tonga!!

It is now rainy and Cyclone season in Tonga.  This is naturally when i would take the opportunity to learn how to sail .  Yes i was blessed with a group of Australians that invited me to assist them in sailing from Uoleva Island in the Ha’apai Island group to Neiafu in the Vava’u Island Group. Since i had to find my way to Neiafu to “officially” extend my Visa, i decided this would be a wonderful learning experience…..and that it was.

We sailed for 12 hours in 5m swells through a storm, at night!!  It was best to leave at night in order to enter Port during the light hours.  Now that was a learning experience!!! I have the utmost respect for sailors.  Definitely hard and stressful work.  Not to go into much detail I have added some photos below.

This is our Island Puppy “Buddy” eating coconut.  Everyone loves coconut!

Coral Reef photos from Ha’apai. The underwater world is far more magnificent then I ever imagined!!!  The coral here has so much life force, and beautiful beyond words.  Needless to say the majority of my time is spent exploring this what i refer to as a “Mermaids Garden”.

Preparing to sail from Uoleva Island to Neiafu in the Vava’u Islands

High Tech fueling system.  Here I’m trying to put fuel in one of the charter vessels.

Pat preparing out sailing plans…… so much to learn

Max Sea, excellent sailing tool.  Still learning…..

Sailing Plan and learning tools.  I’ve been busy…..

12 hours sailing at night, 5m swells, and tropical rain storms.  What an experience!!! Finally we see land!!!

Sailing into the Port of Refuge by Neiafu Vava’u

Everything is so wet!!  We are exhausted.

What an amazing Port to sail into.  This islands are in a historic volcano.

Two days, no sleep, hard work, and it is all forgotten when you see this.

Ahui Hou Everyone.  Until next time…….