Our next stop was the Sky Tower where we had booked a jump from the observation deck. Ben and Helen didn’t feel it would be thrilling enough to justify the cost so it was down to Sam and I. With perfect weather the view from the top (and on the way down) was perfect. Stepping off the rim of the tower was quite intense. We were left dangling for about 10 seconds before the brakes were removed and we plummeted to the ground. Something to remember. We both received a free pass to take a ride to the observation deck which we gave to Helen and Ben.

Sam did a little more busking to help rebuild his entertainment kitty. Sam and Ben left us oldies to go back to Richard and Krista’s apartment near Ponsonby where they were due to meet up with Ian from Sea Mist and go out for the night. Helen and I had a meal out and watched the fireworks at midnight from a spot near the Sky Tower. There were fireworks from the tower and down on the river. We’d been told by a taxi driver that the river fireworks would be a long way away which turned out to be wrong advice. But we were able to see both which was quite good. We returned to the hotel to share a bottle of bubbly to celebrate the New Year.

Happy New Year to one and all.

On arrival we saw Sea Mist and Leu Cat here with Kamaya just raising their anchor. Behind us Sara 2 was arriving. The Sea Mists having been here 24 hours were just going ashore at the same time as we were so we ended up hiking the road across the island to the village together. In the village we found a chap who sells lobsters and agreed to pick up two each the following morning.

Later on during our walk around the village we were greeted by Miimi who invited us over to lunch the following day. We’d heard about this before and were half hoping this would happen. The custom is they invite us to lunch and we bring gifts from the boat. She promised us sea food, including more lobster.

On the way back we bumped into another local called Peter who I think wanted to invite us to lunch but on discovering we’d been invited by Miimi he offered us (probably to sell) some mangoes. We were interested but suggested we’d bring some bags the following day when we collected the lobsters.

Back in the dinghy we dropped by Leu Cat to say hello as we hadn’t spoken to them since Tahiti although we had seen them in Nieafu. As we eventually arrived back at Dignity we were offered a generous chunk of Wahoo from Griffon 2 who’d also just arrived. They’d caught a 36lb fish and had too much for themselves. That was turned into a delicious curry for the evening.

Right now I’m downloading the day’s weather forecasts while I wait to go ashore with John from Sea Mist to get our lobsters and mangoes.

Having exhausted the thrills of Euakafa (the hike was the only good thing) we moved the boat to Avalau around midday.

Here there are vast expanses of turquoise waters making the area look quite pretty. Ben was soon out spear fishing and caught a couple of fish. I joined him but I think the word was out and no decent fish were presenting themselves.

Both Imagine and Jackster were in the anchorage so we invited them over for dinner – particularly because Stuart is still single handing and probably needed the company. Over the evening the weather picked up and the anchorage became quite swelly. Overnight things have not improved and we woke to a grim, gray morning. The poor conditions make this a less desirable stop so we may move on today.

Some news on the charger front. I was passed (I suspect without reading) an email which revealed that the charger was at UPS but awaiting on someone to pay. There was no indication that anyone was doing anything nor was there any indication that my requests to prevent it being sent to Nieafu (and hopefully onto Tongatapu instead) had been heeded. That email got a quick response. The delivery has been canned and now it’s going to New Zealand. Given the poor show so far that’s probably about the only thing that will work for us. The resiliency of the system is not letting us down so we can get about ok. If we’d been told up front that sending the replacement to Tonga was impractical and could we have waited til NZ I would probably have accepted it. Instead our expectations were set and then the comedy began. In Aitutaki I had to cycle miles to get an internet connection to research delivery options. In Niue I had to make several trips ashore to use the public phone (mostly to full voice mailboxes) for a dialog which would have been simple over email. I’ve had to make several (almost always completely ignored) calls a day from Tonga to chase. We’ve wasted time and money on all these fruitless phone calls. I’m sure the real reasons for the delays and frustrations are being concealed from us but the result, which is all that matters, is a big zilch. What a load of bollocks.

Shortly after this failed effort we raised the sails and set off. The winds were so light we motor sailed all the way to Euakafa threading our way through the pass. With our GPS track and memories of the features it was a lot easier this time.

Euakafa is listed as having great snorkeling on the south side and a pleasant walk up to the summit where one can find the tomb of a princess. We arrived around midday to find Tim from Kamaya and Paul from Callypso working with Stuart (Imagine) on his four stroke engine. They’d all been out on the south side earlier in the day and had been tipped by a wave flipping the dinghy in the process. They’d had a bit of an adventure retrieving what they could from the flipped dinghy and even recovered some parts from the bottom at 70ft. I offered to help and lent some ignition fluid I’d acquired all the way back in Bequia when our hookah flipped. Stuart turned out to have some of that but I was ultimately able to help by giving some spare oil to allow another flush.

In the afternoon Stuart (Imagine), Paul and Maureen (Callypso) and we all headed ashore to ascend the trail to the summit. It was quite a pleasant walk. We reached the site of the tomb first. Typical for Tonga there was no information. Just a series of slabs partially covering a deep hole now empty of deceased princess. The trail continued onwards to a bluff overlooking the anchorage giving us a great view to the north.

We learned on the walk that Callypso had some TV Series we needed and we had some they did so after the walk we were able to exchange DVDs, etc.

We spent the evening watching one movie and one episode of Top Gear which has become a recent routine. Now that we have a complete collection of Prison Break we could well get into that soon.

No meaningful progress on our charger. We have received one forwarded communication which confirms the charger has reached the UPS office but is awaiting payment by some named individual presumably in someone’s finance office somewhere on this planet. No suggestion that anyone was doing anything about this nor any hint that our recent requests to have it sent to Tongatapu (instead of here) have been heeded. Certainly no tracking reference which would be a solid assurance that it’s on it’s way somewhere. We first requested assistance on the warranty replacement on August 18th. Anyone impressed?

Back to the party. At the beginning of the week we had to option to purchase passports which encouraged us to visit places around town and the island gaining points for each visit and even more if we bought things. We gained points for the events we joined in and more if we won any of them. The party included a prize-giving ceremony for the top 11 scorers. As we had stuck together most of the week (and we got Ben’s passport stamped while he was working on the Full Moon Party) we had similar points. Not only did we all make the top 11 we placed near the top gaining a good selection of prizes. Ben and Helen each won two tank dives. I won a 45km 2 person kart ride around the island which I’ll do with Ben. We each earned secondary prizes amounting to a free pizza, a map and a desert for 2 people. All in all this was quite a valuable haul – but very much the icing on the cake for a fun filled week.

The party had some local dancing and a live band. We stayed on till nearly midnight when Helen felt too tired to continue. On the way back to the dinghy it seemed she had a new burst of energy causing her to invite Brian, Brady & Erin from Delos, Jenny from Callisto and Steven and Dorusha back to the boat to carry on the festivities. We didn’t get to sleep until 1:30 – normally (but not recently) quite late for us.

We had planned on scooting out of Neiafu today and seeing some of the outer anchorages. We still don’t have the tracking number for our charger which is getting comical. The Delos crew have invited us to dive on a wreck in the bay here today and we have to sort out and book our prizes so maybe we won’t be out of here after all.

In the afternoon we all went out to the nearby motu to walk all the way around. As we approached the outer reef Ben and I were assessing the place for possible places to go lobster hunting after dark. We made it all the way around the motu and back to the dinghy. We next went to the pass to let Helen swim around looking for the mantas but she had no luck. Final stop was to head out to near of the mouth of the pass to look at the reef opposite to were we had been walking. Ben and I thought this was more promising and waypointed the cut through the reef using the hand held GPS.

After dinner and movie that evening Ben and I headed out in the dark. Finding our way through the reef in the dinghy was a little trickier than we’d anticipated but we made it. We had no luck hunting for lobsters though and thoughts of a banquet gave way to hopes for perhaps just an aperitif. But that was not to be.

This morning our fortune turned. We woke to find almost no wind and almost flat waters. We first attacked our much postponed project to tart up the ragged bits of our head sail. Once this was done and the net was over we headed out to the pass to look for mantas. And mantas we found. The were a few circling a particular rock seemingly unconcerned with snorklers around them. At times we were able to swim down to the bottom at 25ft or so and just hang out while they swam over us with their mouths gaping wide. The largest was about 8ft across which makes for a big beastie – all the more impressive when they appear to be all mouth.

Just before lunch Ben spent an hour giving some of the boat kids from Kamaya, Tyee and the nearby French boat a maths lesson. All about Pi. I think they enjoyed it – particularly having a change from their parents as teachers.

This afternoon we’ve been cleaning the hull ready for our departure. The key thing is waiting for the right weather window. Oddly the downloadable GRIB weather forecasts have been remaining remarkably consistent and tomorrow (Saturday) looks to be the right day to go. We’ll start with southerly winds which may make exiting the pass tricky. This will allow us to push west before the trade winds reestablish themselves giving us a better line to Aitutaki. That’s the plan. We’ll see how it plays out. If all goes well, next blog will be at sea.

Back aboard we made final use of the internet before grabbing a bite to eat and then moving south to the anchorage behind the motu by the pass. Tyee were anchored there with a couple of other boats. Sea Mist and Kamaya were just arriving. Endless Summer had also arrived but were coming up to the town. We waved and chatted as we passed each other.

Lucy from Tyee had organised a beach party – mainly for the kids – but also for the adults. At 5:30pm we all started heading ashore. The folks on the French catamaran had gathered firewood and had already started a fire – an essential part of any beach party. We brought beers to quaff. Costa Rican beers. Although we’re still in French Polynesia we feel reasonably safe breaking into one of our bonded lockers to access our treasured supplies there.

We ended up staying quite late on the beach chewing the cud as usual. The stars were out and it was supposed to be a good night for watching the Perseid meteors. When we returned to the boat Ben and I spent some time stargazing but saw very little sign of increased meteor activity.

Today we plan to swim with the manta rays that are supposed to be easy to spot here.

We sailed around the north side of the island despite it being the longer passage principally for the sightseeing. Bora Bora emerged majestically from behind Taha’a offering us promise of great hiking to the summit and relaxing times ahead behind the reef.

We found a spot near where Kamaya and others were anchored by yet another of those hotels with rooms out over the reef. The main attraction at this spot was a passage between a couple of the islands/motus called the Coral Gardens.

Once we’d settled in and felt secure on the anchor we dinghied over to the pass north of the island with the main section of the hotel. We tied the dinghy to a tree on the north side of the eastern end of this passage then made our way along a vague path to the west end of the pass. With our snorkel gear on we entered the pass and drifted through in the knot or two of current. Most of the pass was just a few inches deep with living coral below. The current had forced a passage to be created down which we weaved in the current along with many fish along for the ride too. It was so much fun we did the trip three times.

The dinghy ride back to the boat was a trial as we were now pushing into the 20 knots winds that had yet to subside. With a long fetch the waves were up so we had to pound through and over them with each wave bringing more water into the dinghy. We kept the drain plug open so that we could lose the water as it came in. If was at all possible we felt wetter on arrival than when we’d been swimming the gardens.

Back aboard we dried off and spent the rest of the afternoon relaxing. Dinner was curry which never fails to be good when Helen makes it so Ben and I were stuffed and happy.

This morning we made the decision to head for Bora Bora. We left our anchorage about 9:30am and are now outside the pass and on our way. Chances are we’ll anchor outside of the main town this evening and head out to the east reef in the morning.

At the same time I wanted to complete the topping up exercise started a month ago. Therefore the first order of the day was to manufacture more battery water by rerunning product water back through the water maker to get water at around 3-4 parts per million. This was not without mishap. One of the steps involved in doing this is to remove the tube going into our fresh water tank and use it to fill the bottles destined to contain battery water. Normally I remove the rubber seal from the end of the tube to avoid losing it. This time I forgot to do this. Half way through the exercise I saw the rubber ring ping off the end of the tube. I thought it had dropped under the water tank where it would be difficult to find. I was very angry at myself for this.

When I’d made enough water to fill one bottle I switch over collection bottles. Placing the full bottle down I accidentally placed it on top of something else and it tipped over. Reaching over to stop losing the battery water every where I dropped the output tube. When I picked it up again I saw it tipping water over the rubber ring that had not, after all, fallen in the bilge but landed on top of the water tank. Only problem was now was that the water coming from the output tube washed the ring into the bilge. I was doubly angry at myself.

Once two gallons of battery water had been made up we switched off the water maker and I set about finding the ring. It had made it into the bilge but not where I could reach it. I managed to move it into the deeper water by the pump and then reach down to retrieve it. Seconds after I had it in my fingers the bilge pump went off. Had it gone off before it would have sucked up the ring and pumped it out to sea. I would not have been a happy bunny if that had happened.

Fortunately, after that there were no mishaps. We transferred the batteries in stages minimising downtime to the system. I first isolated six of the house batteries which meant the house supply was off for a minute or two. These were all removed. We cleaned all the anti corrosion gunk off the nuts, washers and terminals and sanded the battery terminals clean. We topped up the batteries with water and cleaned them off. Next we swapped them with six batteries from the port bank similarly cleaning all the pieced and topping them off. Then the batteries from the port bank were put in the house. The whole process was repeated for the final six house batteries and six from the starboard drive bank. Along the way we marked all the batteries so we’d know next time which came from where.

By the end of this all Ben and I each had a very stiff back from all the lugging and bending over. We creaked like old men.

We’d already had sandwiches along the way so we quickly fired up the generator and motored into the next anchorage. We had enough power to go in on batteries and head sail but I wanted to stir them up after the addition of more water. Everything looked good. We ended up anchored near Kamaya and Victoria near the town of Haamene.

Soon after arriving Tim and Ruth passed us by and let us know that the locals were playing the finals in some five aside football nearby and that it seemed a lot of fun. We were planning to go ashore any way and were soon on our way in. We went up to the enclosure in which they were playing but the place was packed and crowds were round the two doors in so it was hard to see. There was a lot of cheering and shouting so there was indeed a good atmosphere inside. Outside they were setting up food stalls presumably for the end of game and down the road was a roadside food stall similar to the ones on Huahine. After the hard work of the day Ben and I were drawn to the smells. After a quick walk around the town we caved in and bought a beer each and order a chow mein each. The portions turned out to be huge and too much to eat. We ate what we could before leaving the rest.

Back on the boat we watched the movie Alice in Wonderland together. Ben and I were not too tired so we watched Naked Gun together before we retired.

Incidentally, it has been mentioned that the Tahitian’s use a lot of vowels in their place names. We saw one road sign today that beat them all. Bearing in mind we’re on the island of Taha’a, the sign we saw was to the town/village of Faaaha. We think they must have been named by someone visiting the dentist.