Oct 2012
Westward
Ho.
We leave
French Polynesia behind departing from Bora Bora and head for the NZ
protectorate of Niue a distance of 1100 miles.
The breeze has us passing close by a number of small atolls one of which
is picturesque Aitutaki in the Cook Islands group and another NZ protectorate.
We decide to make a small detour to port to make a stop at Aitutaki for the renowned
Friday night festivities but the anchorage is rolling and with current sweeping
round the island we were not happy at the prospect of leaving Musketelle
anchored off the reef whilst ashore. We
drifted around from arrival 0400 in the approaching dawn light until we could
raise the Port Captain at 0800 and get more information. That information
confirms with our deep draft it is impossible to enter the channel to the
shelter of the lagoon so therefore stopping is not viable. We continue on the remaining 570 miles to Niue
having an amazing ride in enhanced trade wind conditions.
Idyllic tradewind sailing
We come
across a massive flock of seabirds the largest we have sighted. The birds are
massing around ducking and diving down to the water with a surprising number on
the surface feeding on bits and pieces resulting from the dive kill activity. In places the water is white with the interaction
of fish and birds meeting. We can only
imagine the size of the bigger unseen fish below causing these smaller fish to
stay on the surface for the lesser evils of the unseen flying peckers from
above. Nature at work on an impressive scale.
Amateur pics’s never seem to catch the excitement and enormity of the
moment like Attenborough would.
Mid ocean seabirds
conducting mad feeding frenzy
Niue Island
Niue open roadstead
deepwater anchorage off Alofi township
We go
ashore to complete quarantine, customs and immigration formalities with locals
that have a cute kiwi twang in their island speech that has us acknowledging we
are nearly in our own backyard again. But
that is jumping forward because landing on Niue involves timing the constant
ocean swells to position the dink adjacent to a crane lift out pulley hook that
you must tie the dink to then jump onto the concrete wharf and push the buttons
to activate the electric motor to lift the dink on to the wharf away from the energised
swells that continually ply the coast.
This is the only way ashore and if the wind decides to come from the
west then it’s time to high tail it off Niue or risk being pummeled on the coral
and cliffs.
The Yacht
Club promotes itself as the biggest little yacht club in the world with 1600
odd foreign members when the island only has 1400 inhabitants. Although in reality it’s not a real yacht
club as it only provides the moorings and the social aspects.
Navigatoress outside
NYC with local member
The NYC is
located below the backpackers lodge and is the nexus for visitors by air or sea
and the central point for guidance and information over a coffee or a
beer. Within an hour we had the
obligatory where how and when questions answered and also a local Kiwi by the
name of Jim from Motueka had offered to run us around the island the following
day to show us the sights.
Next
morning the swells were tame as we came ashore and off we went in Jims clapped
out Mazda Bongo van now accompanied by wife Patricia.
Patricia alongside
their Bongo van……note Port passenger side window
They spend
8 months of the year on Niue running a string of Kiwi style bach self catering
cottage stays and we visited one of the properties in a magnificent situation
with spectacular cliff top reef and ocean views with access to a private reef
swimming spot below plus its own network of caves beneath the grounds. To top
it off paw paw and mango were growing wild everywhere.
Kiwi style holiday bach
“Clifftop Fale” with ocean and reef views
By 1000 Jim
was offering refreshments in the form of NZ brown ale from the chillybin so you
can visualise the laidback style of the island with just 40km to drive around
and only 1400 people including children, and being a midweek morning we seemed
to have the place to ourselves.
Jim with “brown can sandwich”
for morning tea driving us round Niue
Stopped
along the way to walk down some of the ‘Sea Tracks‘ to excellent swimming and
snorkeling spots on the reef with pristine waters, not to mention the numerous
caves. The eastern coast is windswept whilst the west more benign.
Stunning coastal
vistas
On return
to the NYC mid afternoon we were somewhat pooped not just by the physical tour
but by the volume of information we had been given by our enthusiastic hosts
including their take on the current politics, economy, tourism opportunities
and overall future of the little island.
Avatele
Village Show Day…and more
Each of the
6 major villages on the island has a Show Day to exhibit its cultural, cuisine
and handicraft capabilities providing an opportunity to outdo its neighbors. This was the Avatele Village show day at
their village located on the southeast side of the island. We had hired a car so we could make our way
nice and early as recommended for the traditional food. The day dawned typically fine and sunny
although we noted the swell was running as we made our over way to an American
yacht whose crew who we had offered to take along in our rental car. They were anchored closer to the wharf and
had been monitoring the swell situation and they reluctantly declined to come
to the show sighting concern about getting ashore. So we pushed on alone monitored the swells
for a few minutes and then gunned the 15hp Mercury outboard to time the swells
to perfection and get on the crane hook and ashore in a lull in the swells without major
drama, but yes it was a bit hair raising. We get to the show early for the
colourful action……..
Handicraft and traditional food including Uga (big crabs)
Colourful cultural scenes at the Avatele Show Day
We have a
memorable time at the Vaitelle Show until lunchtime when we motored back into
the main settlement to check the dink at the wharf and we were concerned to now
see waves practically breaking on to the wharf which is about 3 meters above
the normal water level.
Waves all but
breaching the top of the landing wharf
We decided
to move our dink up to a higher ramp area above the dock further away from the
wharf proper. Aussie cruisers, Scott and
Karin who we had just met at the show also decided to shift their dink at the
same time.
Drama Time
Later that
afternoon we were having a beer at the
NYC when the Commodore came rushing in to say there was mayhem at the wharf, which
saw everyone scarper the 500 meters to the wharf to witness kids body surfing
on waves surging across the top of the wharf and one of the 2 dinks plus the
club’s trolley gone. And yes it was
Musketelle’s dink that was nowhere to be seen. Phew what a calamity....until a local lad Oscar who turned out to be the local dustman informed the Commodore that he and two other local kids (children of the Government Treasurer) had rescued a dink from
the foaming surges and wrestled it over the reef to a rocky cove beyond the
surging waters. In no time we all
scampered after Oscar and we were
reunited with the sad sight of our half inflated dink full of water with the
15hp Mercury outboard slumped inside the hull but still padlocked by chain, the
fuel tank floating and oars still lashed.
Sad sight of Musketelle’s beached dink and
removal of outboard motor
Within 30
minutes we had the outboard and tank up at the yacht club and a combined effort
had the motor flushed with freshwater, plugs removed and cleaned and the
carburettor stripped and cleaned and in no time the engine was running
again.
Resuscitating outboard
back at the NYC and getting sprayed in the process
The rescue
of the actual hull was left until next morning when conditions had moderated
somewhat with Scott and Karin giving us a hand to retrieve the damaged but
repairable now leaking hull. The clubs
launching trolley was also recovered the following day. We made a contribution
of $50 and the Club $25 to the young people who had helped out. Thanks to Oscar
and friends and to the NYC.
We observed
that this all happened on the 13th, we were tied up to buoy 13 and
it was the skipper’s birthday !!!
Next Stop
Vavau Tonga
We head off
west on the 250 mile passage to Vavau Tonga and for once it’s a magic sail in a
stable 15 knots Southeast in 1 meter seas that has us reaching at 7.5 knots the
entire way with the only hiccup being the fact our autopilot is still not
holding course on a port course when it holds perfectly on starboard. We have another request for information and
help into the Raymarine Tech Desk.
Westing to
End
17 Oct was
our last full day sailing east to west so we savoured our last Sunset on the
bow, for from this point on we turn to Port and head south for NZ which will
see us with sunsets on starboard. Likewise dawn 18 Oct we have our last Sunrise
over the transom before we arrived off the entrance to Port Refuge at the
northern tip of Vavau, Tonga.
Last westbound Sunset
over bow and last Sunrise over transom before turning South
Big 360
Achieved
0700 18 Oct
2012 off Port Refuge, Vavau, Tonga after sailing over 28,000 miles Musketelle crossed
her outgoing wake from 2007 so completing her circumnavigation. Done Deal !!
It was a perfect
morning and following a congratulatory peek on the cheek we took pics to record
the event which is momentous for us as a sailing couple although looking at the
half asleep faces in those pics you would never know.
Vavau Tonga at dawn
The 360 Moment
We had both
been up all night both willing Musketelle over that line and silently worrying
something might stop us even though we were in clear waters in benign tropical
conditions. Ironically the last 20
miles were self imposed tough because we
were running dead downwind with the prospect of gybing challenging ourselves to
not change course to ensure we got around the northern tip of Vavau, and we
did.
When got
into the protected waters of Vavau we proceeded to anchored in the hurricane
hole of Neiafu town and completed the same old border control formalities which
in Tonga include Customs, Health, Quarantine and Immigration all of whom work
independently of each other, without any changes since 2007. With in excess of 400 yachts coming through
each season coming up with a simplified system would be a good PR exercise. The following morning we tuned into the vibrant
local cruisers VHF radio net and when the coordinator asked for any new
arrivals B still excited got on and announced Musketelle and added our
circumnavigation milestone here at Vavau.
A few listeners said congratulations and that was that. We are not normally big on such public
consumption stuff like but it’s not every day you circumnavigate….but so
what. However since then numerous
cruisers have rocked up to us to say wow! Congratulating us. Most of these cruisers are seeking the same
outcome and we wish them well telling them it’s a breeze……all you need is time
and a bank balance that can live with negative gearing for the duration.
Circumnavigation
Cake
Its a time
for momentary reflection as we revisit what we have achieved on this loop of
the orb readily recalling the good times and experiences and conveniently
forgetting the not so good. Looking again
at those pics as we arrived off Port Refuge we are reminded we respectively had
a 4 and a 5 in our ages when we were last in Tonga, and now we decidedly do
not !!
We have had
a celebratory Kiwi roast lamb dinner swilled with a nice Turkish White followed
by peach melba dessert. To continue the
celebration B has promised a ‘Circumnavigation Cake’ and Cookies.
Vavau
Worklist
Celebratory
reflections aside the near landlocked lagoon of Neiafu is the perfect place to
cull the worklist in sheltered conditions without the Pacific swells.
JPG.jpg)
Musketelle at anchor early
morning calm off Neiafu town, Vavau
We currently
have a short list with the dink repair
following the Niue incident now the most pressing so we will try to hire a dink
whilst we repair our dink on the aft deck.
Three or four days should see us sorted. Then we have to drop the
mainsail on the deck to repair the section damaged on the top spreader before
we head south into more boisterous conditions. Finally on the mechanical side
its change engine oil, filters and anodes.
Sadly
October is the last full month of our voyaging, in fact the 66th
month of the voyage and as if time has momentum of its own this month has
literally flown more than most. Musketelle has a sniff of the finish line, not
to mention WiFi who says enough is enough is enough.
We unashamedly acknowledge we have been chilling out swimming, reading, imbibing and dining and savouring our remaining days in the tropics in the knowledge of our pending return to more the volatile temperate climate of NZ.
We unashamedly acknowledge we have been chilling out swimming, reading, imbibing and dining and savouring our remaining days in the tropics in the knowledge of our pending return to more the volatile temperate climate of NZ.
Yes the end
really is in sight as October closes.
