Last blog of the season

At the Tongan feast



This blog update is coming to you from Tonga where we have spent the past four weeks.. We will be leaving tomorrow to return to Canada for a month long road trip out East and then up at Silver Star for the ski season. Bye bye palm tress, gin and tonics, cruising friends and the South Pacific.

Local dance troupe



Last week I posted from the Ham Radio and couldn’t add any photos, so there are a few more this week than normal. We met up with our friends (and rescuers from the Bora Bora reef mishap) Jan and Elle from Jenny. We went out with them for dinner and a local dance show at the Canadian-owned bar and restaurant “The Giggling Whale”.

Ellen and Jan from s/v Jenny



We’ve spent the last week out at the anchorages and enjoyed lots of hiking, beach combing and visits with other cruiser friends. The highlight was going to a charity Tonga feast put on by the Lape Island community – which consists of only seven homes, with extended families in each of them.

Di with one of the local cutie-pies




They had their wharf knocked out by the cyclone earlier this season, so they were raising funds to replace it. As mentioned last week, Canada Aid was matching 3 to 1, so they were very pleased to have raised about $1,000 at this event, which will mean $3,000 for them.

Wharf that got wiped out – that will be replaced



This was an authentic Tongan feast (as opposed to one put on for tourists) as all the families contributed food, lei’s, coconuts to drink from and the kids all danced for us. They had a Kava ceremony (which Peter loves) and a weaving demonstration. The pig was roasted by a Tongan turning it on a spit, as you can see.

Roasting the pig



The next morning we went to their church, along with other cruisers who stayed for their event. We donated a number of things to the school and took lots of photos which we put on disc for them. The school got its first computer last week, so the kids will delight in seeing photos of themselves.

Photo of the school teacher Daniel and his family after church



We enjoyed hooking up with Scott and Cindy from Beachhouse. We’ve had lots of good times together and we will miss them over the winter, but look forward to catching up with them next spring..

Peter & Cindy at the feast party




We went for our final dive of the season yesterday and it was awesome. I was a little nervous because with my last dive I had a few issues – but the good news is these last two dives went really well, so I regained my confidence. We did a number of swim through caves, saw lots of soft and hard coral and a huge moray eel hiding out in an underwater cave. We also had a treat of seeing a whale and calf on the trip back to the boat. We had to forego our planned whale-swimming trip on Sunday because of high winds and big seas, so this was a nice bonus.

Large banyan tree



As I’m typing this, Peter is busy securing the boat for our departure – fun things like changing the oil in the generator, pickling the water maker, and other necessary tasks. I’m not able to help him with much – but I was able to help packing up the sails on land. The part that my Captain wasn’t too happy about was when we brought them back on board, I accidently let the dinghy get a bit loose – and you guessed it – the dried and packed sail fell in to the water! I think everyone on mooring balls heard him swearing.

View of the anchorage from the top




It is with mixed emotions that we leave the wonderful "Friendly Islands" of Tonga. Our system of spending six months at sea and six months at Silver Star works out really well as we are always a little sad to say goodbye to QuickStar, but we are excited to be heading back to Canada. We are looking forward to getting back home to see our friends and family. We are quite excited about the pending arrival of our granddaughter in November. Also looking forward to having Kylie back home from Australia, even for just the month at Christmas, and meeting the love of her life. Ryan will be picking us up, so we get to spend some time with him. We'll be seeing Tara, Mark and Kieran in Ontario, along with Peter's parents and our friends back east.

Typical rural house on the sparsely inhabited outer islands



We fly out on Friday – spend a night and full next day in the capital city in Tonga– then fly to Fiji to L.A. and then in to Vancouver. We’ll spend about a week there – then up to Vernon to get our truck fixed and then heading out to Toronto for about a month-long road trip. We are looking forward to visiting with friends and family along the way.

Endless beaches



Thanks for following us on the blog this season as we explored French Polynesia, Niue and Tonga. We plan on coming back in April next year and heading to Australia. I’ll start updating the blog again then.

Peter & I heading out snorkeling on the reef




Until next season……have a wonderful winter and keep in touch!
Hugs … Diana and Peter xoxoxoxoxox

From the Friendly Islands

Good morning. This blog update is being posted via Ham Radio - hence no photos.
We have spent the week at the outer anchorages, enjoying the different islands. The weather has not been favourable - with high winds and big seas, so we have spent more time hiking on land, than doing water activities. Scott and Cindy from Beachhouse are with us in the anchorages and on Sunday we are going out again on their boat, with a guide, to go whale swimming again. The winds are forecast to die down then.

Tomorrow night we are going to a charity Tongan feast at one of the outer island. Their goal is to raise enough funds to rebuild their wharf, which was destroyed in a cyclone. In a case of "it really is a small world", the Canadian government aid program is matching any raised funds 3 to 1.

This is our last week here in Tonga, as we fly home next Friday. We'll head back to town on Monday to get the boat ready to leave for the season. I'll do the final update next Thursday.
Until then.....have a great weekend.

Peter and Di celebrating Peter's birthday



Peter’s 56th birthday week was quite a blast. For one of the celebrations we went for dinner with friends to the Giggling Whale (Canadian owned). They have great food and feature a local string band. The tradition is that the band plays until all the Kava (the local moonshine)is gone. Both the band and guests drink out of coconut shells from the communal bowl.

Drinking Kava with the band. I drink a "low-tide" serving and Peter drinks the "high-tide" size.



After closing it down, we went over to Tonga Bob’s to get a taste of the other side of Tonga where they had their famous “Fakaleiti” show – which translated is a transvestite show. The best part was when one of them dragged Peter up on stage for a dance. Gives a whole new meaning to Peter’s favourite dancing song by Shania Twain “Man, I feel like a woman”. We partied on and Peter pulled a SunDance Saturday night where he was a dancing fool. Luckily we only had to dinghy home a short distance.

Peter strutting his stuff with his girlfriend



Peter's actual birthday on Sunday was spent with Cindy and Scott onboard their catarmaran Beachhouse. We hired a local whale guide who spent the entire day with us. The day was crystal clear, with brilliant blue skies and turquoise water. We watched a Mom, her less than month old calf, and her male escort for many hours.

Topside photos:

Mom and escort



Maternal love



Playful calf



That was awesome enough, however, we found another Mom and her baby that were in a very playful mood and we were able to get in the water with them twice and swim for over an hour with them. I can’t describe how awesome it was to get so close and personal with them, so I’ll let the pictures speak for themselves.

Looking for whales



Di & Cindy getting ready to go swimming with the whales



Under water shots

Our host for the day – Scott getting a good shot - his photos will be a lot more spectacular, as we are only using a little point and shoot.

sharing the water with lots of whale tonnage



swimming alongside us


We ended this birthday day with dinner onboard QuickStar with Scott and Cindy. Great friends! Definitely a birthday to remember.

The famous Swallows cave



On another night we went to a local Tongan feast, where we were joined by the Captain and crew of the French navy who were in port for the day, as well as a couple of local Tongans who very kindly invited us to come for their family lunch on Sunday – however, that was our whale-swimming day. The dance show was local children. Although it was a good show, I wasn’t comfortable with the kids as young as two dancing, and having guests paste money on their oiled skin, which they gave to their Mom’s after they were finished.

local dancers at Tongan feast



The islands within Tonga are wonderful for cruising, kayaking, snorkeling, swimming, restaurants and bar-hopping. We will be spending our final two weeks, before heading home to Canada, enjoying all of it!

Di scaring the fish away with her Austin Powers skinsuit



Until next Friday….happy birthday Caroline

Tonga - Long live the King

View of church



Peter walking with ladies in traditional dress after church



We spent the weekend in the main town so that we could take in the Saturday morning market and also to go to the catholic church. We had heard that it is an experience not to be missed, and we were certainly glad we went. The church was overflowing with over 3,000 people in the pews, sitting on the floor and standing wherever they could squeeze in. The singing was incredible, and fortunately it lasted for about 45 minutes of the entire one hour service.

Church overlooking the harbour



Traditional church dress for men



Sunday is considered a “holy day” and it is written in their laws that it will be “forever holy”. This means that a Tongan is not allowed to work, go fishing, go swimming, play sports or anything other than attend church services and visit with their family. There are the odd exceptions to this and that is for those few cafes and restaurants that stay open for the tourists.

Saturday Market





This Sunday, for Peter’s birthday we are going whale-watching in a friend’s sailboat (Scott and Cindy on Beachhouse). The nice thing about the Sunday rule is that there won’t be any commercial vessels out, so if we find the humpback whales and the calves we will be swimming with them all by ourselves. What a great way to spend a birthday!

Overlooking the mooring area downtown



Tonga is a Kingdom, and the King has divine rights. All the land is owned by the King. Private citizens lease the land from him. His word is law and it is illegal to say anything negative about the royal family, so it is hard to get a feel for what the locals really think, although there is a movement towards more of a democratic representation rather than appointments. This initiative is actually coming from the King, so it is likely to succeed within the next few years.

Signs throughout the town



The country is quite patriarchal and woman don’t have too many rights. A friend of ours from another sailboat has her PhD in Biology. She and her husband went to a local Kava ceremony and Elizabeth got relegated to serving all the men. I won’t bore you with my feminist rhetoric on this.

In the morning – the full moon still blazing away



On Monday we had a lovely sail to one of the out-anchorages where we spent three nights before coming back to town to take care of some business where we needed to use the internet. We met up with Scott and Cindy from Beachhouse and went for a dive with them. My dive wasn’t as good as normal as I had water pouring in to my mask, but I managed to last the whole dive, although I could hardly see out of my salt-soaked eyes. The colourful coral was the most vibrant since the Tuomotus.

Walking on the beach in one of the anchorages



We are heading to a Tongan feast tonight and then back out to the anchorages tomorrow. There are almost 30 anchorages, all without a few hours of each other so it is easy to rendezvous with friends and also find private anchorages for ourselves.

Peter and Scott getting ready for the dive…don’t tip over



Until next week…..Enjoy the last days of summer.

Malo e Lelei from Tonga

Rainbow coming in to Tonga



We arrived in the lovely village of Neiafu, in the Kingdom of Tonga, an archipelago of 170 plus islands, shortly after sunrise on Wednesday. Tonga is just west of the international dateline so is the first pacific nation to greet the day!

Putting up the Tonga and quarantine flag



Tonga is one of the poorest country economically in the Pacific because it doesn’t have a parent country (i.e. Cook Islands have New Zealand – Tahiti has France, etc.). The Tongans are, however, rich in culture, family values and community – the more important measurement of quality of life. It reminds me so much of when the kids were growing up and I would tell them “we are rich in love”. The additional upside of Tonga being independent is that most Tongans stay throughout their life, so the island is full of extended families, instead of the other island countries where the young people move as soon as they can to the larger countries, leaving a huge gap in the population.

The main street



In addition to their local language, the people here speak English fluently and are the friendliest of any island we have been to. We have met many Americans who sailed in here in the last decade and never left. They have moved here and started businesses and are active in the community. We can certainly see what the attraction is. We are in the Vava’u group of islands which is considered one of the best cruising areas in the world, because the anchorages are all close together, and the entire area is encircled by a reef so the water is like glass. It reminds of quite a bit of Desolation Sound in B.C. with so many choices of pristine and private anchorages.

School kids walking home



Checking in was kind of an adventure and the first reminder that this is a third world country. We arrived early in the morning after the 2-night sail, so were a little tired. We docked at the fishing pier and were visited by the four different officials – customs, immigration, quarantine and health. Each of them came on our boat over the course of two hours and each one stayed at least long enough to have two beers each (which they repeated on the other 5 boats they were checking in, so they were in rare form by 11:30 in the morning when they were done!). They each asked for a “gift”, which we had already been forewarned about by the cruisers that went ahead of us, so we gave them each a bottle of wine and some frozen tuna that we had caught on one of our crossings. Needless to say this is how they supplement their government earnings.

The government officials….notice the beer cans



The average earning of a Tongan is only about $40 Canadian a week. They don’t drink beer or wine, because it is too expensive for them. Instead they drink Kava, which is a local alcoholic drink that Peter says doesn’t taste too bad! The community all helps one another, and they have successful fund-raisers (the Library just raised $7,000 last week) so there is no “begging”, nor does anyone hassle tourists. The Tongans are a very proud people and even tipping is something that is not encouraged, nor expected.

QuickStar on the mooring



We are currently on a mooring ball outside of the main village, where we will stay until Monday. We’ve spoiled ourselves by going out and visiting with locals and cruisers alike at the many bars and restaurants that are along the waterfront. Prices here are very affordable – we had an incredible lobster dinner, with drinks, while listening to live music for only $40 for both of us. It was great to catch up with Roger and Bobbi-Jo from Hipnautical, who we met in the Sea of Cortez a couple of years ago. They are “playing gigs” as they sail along to keep their cruising kitty topped up.

Bobbi-Jo and Roger from Hipnautical




This is one of the few remaining countries in the world where there are no McDonalds, or any other international chains or franchises of any kind. There is a large outdoor market that runs every day by the local farmers. This morning we spent less than $8.00 on onions, sweet potatoes, mandarins and a coconut. A very nice change from the outrageous prices of Polynesia. We are looking forward to going to a Tongan feast that includes a full floor show and dinner for less than $20 per person.

Aquarium Café – our local hang-out



Cindy, from Beachouse arrives back tonight after two weeks in New Zealand. We’ll be going diving with them over the next couple of weeks to explore the many caves and famous wall dives. The visibility is almost unlimited! The highlight right now in this area is the majestic humpback whales. It is at this time of year that they come here to mate and to calve. We hope to be snorkeling alongside them at the outer islands.

Dinghy dock is a bit sketchy, but it works



P.S. By way of follow up - the sailboat Anna, that capsized, did manage to make its’ way here, so it is no longer a navigational hazard. It was found and claimed by a Canadian named Steve on the sailboat Mary Powell. The owner of the freighter company, who will be taking it back to New Zealand for the insurance claim, is fighting over the salvage rights with Steve, and since this is a “kingdom” run by royal decrees, Steve may not end up winning. It will be interesting to see how it ends up, because it sure would be a nice bonus for him to get all or some of the $300,000 finder’s fee!

Raising a toast for Danny’s birthday



Until next week….wishing Danny a great 26th birthday. Still can’t believe the kids are getting older, when we still feel like teenagers!

Malo e lelei

We are currently just entering the pass in to Tonga. We had a good sail last night, with a few rain squalls, but other than that, it was a nice crossing all in all. It is now Wednesday here. We'll spend the day with officialdom getting checked in, giving our bribes, (we've been told they like wine and beer) and then grabbing some sleep. Thanks for coming along with us on the ride to Tonga. I'll update the blog, as per usual on Friday.
Cheers...Diana and Peter

Hello from 18.55 South 171 49 West

Good morning. We left Niue almost 24 hours ago, with a hump back whale breaching and escorting us out of the anchorage. It was the first one I'd seen during our two weeks there. Not more than a hour later we saw another one playing in the ocean. Double bonus! We are having a very pleasant motor-sail and are buddy-boating with Scott on Beachhouse. He is single-handing because his wife Cindy is in New Zealand for two weeks.

Light winds, small seas and almost clear skies. Just before sunset, after a little squall, we were treated to the most amazing rainbow I've ever seen. It blazed for almost an hour with QuickStar as the "pot of gold" at the end of one of the arcs. We could almost reach out and touch it! During the night watches, the sky was jet-black with thousands of stars twinkling and one shooting almost every 10 minutes.

Fortunately, is looks like the last 122 miles will be more of the same. I love these calm passages, although it would be nicer to be sailing without the engine - but I'm not complaining.

At some point during the day, we will be crossing the international date line. Then, not only will we be seeing the same southern constellations that Kylie is seeing, but we'll be in the same time zone. (Doesn't make me miss her any less though!).

I'll update the blog tomorrow morning (Wednesday for us - Tuesday back home). We will plan to arrive in Tonga just after sunrise. Cheers...Peter & Diana

Our second week in Niue

Happy Friday the 13th. Our second week in Niue has been an interesting week of exploring inland, taking care of business and socializing at the Yacht Club.
Cindy and Diana out for lunch


Niue has a population of just over 1,000 and continues to decline due to young people immigrating to New Zealand to make a living and raise their children. The number one employer here is the government, with more than 60% of the population employed in the public sector. They don’t export anything, (with the exception of a small amount of Noni juice and vanilla) and rely on the imports, financial contributions and aid from New Zealand to keep the island going.
One of many caves and tunnels


In another case of “what a small world it is”, I went out for lunch with AnnMarie, who is an Australian expatriate, who works at the New Zealand high commission, and is the cousin of one of our Silver Star neighbours, Faye, who put us in touch with one another. Ann Marie explained that the N.Z. government is working hard to improve the school system and to encourage increased tourism as a major industry, since Niue has so much to offer naturally.
The primary school which was badly damaged by a cyclone. Canadian dollars were donated to help repair it, and the school gratefully announces this fact.

Niue coastline

The island is full of caves, lots of inland walks, magnificent coastlines, small intimate beaches, good diving, etc. and it is a great stop-over for cruising boats with the Yacht Club facility here. The major tourist draw is whale-watching from August – October.
Peter and Di exploring the island


The whales are a little late in arriving this year because the water temperature is about four degrees higher than last year. During the season last year, many cruisers actually complained that the whales and their calves were too noisy in the anchorage, along with the males who were singing their whale songs throughout the night. We’d love to have this problem. Peter did see a humpback breaching, while they were out for a dive (and I had a magical day to myself).
Perfect island look-outs to view whales

There is a crew of whale researchers here, that were meant to go out daily with Anna, the boat that capsized enroute here two weeks ago. Instead, they have been going out with various sailboats here, but they haven’t spotted too many whales yet. We attended a whale information presentation that they put on earlier this week, and it was interesting to learn that each year the whales create a new song and all of them learn it and sing it for the season. We are hearing reports from Tonga that they are there in abundance, so we are waiting for a weather window to get headed that way.
Many caves along the coast with violent waves crashing in

discovering the inland caves

so much to see and do

In the following picture, can you spot what is wrong?

This was a boat that limped in from Tahiti, where they did an accidental jib when they had a preventer line on (meaning that the wind grabbed their main from behind and tried to flip it to the other side). They couldn’t release the preventer fast enough (a preventer holds the boom over to one side, to “prevent” a violent jib -. the boom from being thrown to the other side) and the result was that they broke their boom during the storm. You’ll notice from the picture that there is no boom for the main sail. They have made arrangements to have it repaired in Tonga, but they have to make the sail over there with just their genny (their forward sail).
Did you figure it out?


The anchorage has been rough this week, with heavy swells rolling in right on our beam. Fortunately we can sleep sidewise in the “princess cabin” so that has made sleeping more bearable. We spend most of the days onshore – while those that stay on their boats are taking seasickness pills! The dinghy landing has proved to be a major challenge for bringing the boat in and for getting it back out. I’ve gained more bumps and bruises on my knees, ankles and legs from being caught between the dinghy and the pier as it seems the waves raise the level of the dinghy right at the moment I’m half-way in or out.
Dive boat getting in to the water


they made it in without too many bruises


The winds are forecast to continue to increase for the next couple of days, so we are anticipating that the earliest we can set out will be Monday. We will be sorry to leave Niue as we have thoroughly enjoyed being here. Our sail to Tonga should take two nights and I will update the blog daily while we are underway. The news that we have received is that many cruising boats have had to make some detours to avoid pods of whales. How fabulous is that?
a hiking we will go…

whew…made it to the top

The capsized sailboat Anna, is still floating and is a hazard to navigation, particularly with its dark blue hull (which is all that is above the water). It is expected that Anna will have drifted outside of the path to Tonga though, so we don’t expect it to be a problem. Have a good weekend.
one of several intimate and cozy little beaches

Until next Friday…smile often!