Neiafu, Tonga

Our second day of sailing was fairly uneventful. The wind did gradually drop putting us into the edge of the zone where we could raise the Code Zero. We waited a long time before raising it not wanting to have to bring it down again soon, losing a few miles in the process. We did eventually raise it and took off at a much faster speed for a few hours. Shortly after dark the wind picked up rather quickly and we had to bring it down with a little bit of a struggle.

At dawn land was sighted. As we passed the north end of the islands the wind again dropped. This time we raised the main only to find it had torn – probably during the storm when we struggled to lower it. Fortunately there is a sail maker here who we’ll have look at the sail and patch it up ready for our trip to NZ.

Around noon we were tied up to the wharf here in Neiafu. Within moments we had three officials aboard (immigration, port captain and quarantine I think) to have us fill out practically the same information into separate forms. I was then asked to go ashore to get some cash to pay for their services. Leaving Ben and Helen aboard I took the short walk to the bank and obtained cash – and an ice cream for my troubles. I’d passed a fruit market so before going to the officials I let Helen know and funded her for a trip.

Back with the officials I met the customs officer with whom I had to again return to the boat to complete paperwork. Then it was off to pay them all their various fees.

Once done and cleared into Tonga we found a spot to anchor amongst very many boats moored / anchored here. We soon were in touch with a few friends, quite a few of them leaving today/tomorrow for ports west.

We were keen to go ashore and were soon in the dinghy and on our way. We headed to the nearest bar, calling themselves the Vavau Yacht Club and tied the dinghy there. Our first stop was the Moorings base where we met the sail maker and agreed to drop the head sail off there the following day. Next it was the Aquarium Cafe where, with great delight, we picked up our water maker part.

We walked the main street to see what was there. We learned that the Giggling Whale had a string band and dancing that evening and booked a table. Feeling hungry with had a bite to eat further down the road. We discovered that the cell phone rates to the US were incredibly cheap so I bought a SIM card for our phone so we can sort a few things out soon. Neiafu is not huge but there seems to be things going on each night of the week so we won’t be short of things to do here.

We headed back to the dinghy and had a beer at the bar there before returning to the boat for a couple of hours. By the time we had returned to the Giggling Whale the place was packed. We managed to get the last table. The music was already playing. For a tip one could sit with the musicians and would be offered some cava – a local drink containing no alcohol but some mild narcotic which leaves the tongue a little tingly. Again there were a number of cruisers here we knew and we spent some time catching up.

The dancing turned out to be the young kids (4 til teens) from a nearby village who were raising money for their education. They did a number of pieces which were all very entertaining – especially the little kids. The dances were somewhat familiar with their hand movements for the women and more energetic dancing for the men. Noticeably, the bum wiggling apparent east of us was missing.

We all ended up having steak which turned out good. Around 9:30pm (very late for us, especially after a passage) we headed down the road to Tonga Toms to watch the (pronounced) Faka Ladies although I understand it is spelt ‘Fake’. We met Shirley, Taffy and Colin from The Road here – another boat leaving Thursday. The ‘ladies’ took their time to start their show so we enjoyed the atmosphere and a few more beers. Ben found some folks his own age and was able to get away from us for a bit. The show was a series of individual acts by large chaps frocked up. Their antics made the crowd wild with more than a little wondering around the audience. It was a lot of fun.

It was nearly midnight by the time we were back aboard the boat and it took us only seconds to sleep.

Today, once our headaches subside, is a work day. We have to remove the mainsail and take that to the sail maker. The we have to fix the water maker which could be a small or large job depending on ease of access, etc. We’ll see. There are other small bits and pieces to sort out too which we should get on with.