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!

Niue, yacht capsized, poisonous snakes....

Taking down the Cook Islands flag



We’ve been in Niue a week and have enjoyed many of the outdoor activities this New Zealand protectorate has to offer. When we arrived we thought we got the last mooring ball, but it turned out that the anchorage was full, with a record 27 boats. This meant that we had to anchor and then wait our turn for the first available mooring ball (which came open 3 nights later).

Hoisting the Niue flag



On Saturday night, after a great birthday party onshore with the other visiting yachties, we made it back to our boat, just in time for a huge storm that came out of nowhere. The winds gusted upwards of 30 knots and we had 6 foot swells rolling through the open roadstead anchorage (meaning no coral protecting it like we had throughout the rest of the South Pacific). It was so rough on the boat that we thought we had a couple of knock-downs. Peter tethered himself in to the cockpit and maintained anchor watch all night long, as we had boats on moorings fairly close to us. The sound with the howling wind and our anchor chain was really intimidating as the anchor chain dragged back and forth against the rocky bottom. The boat beside us got its’ genoa sail shredded.

We certainly couldn’t complain too much though, as another cruiser just 120 miles away from us capsized their 57 foot catamaran. Luckily they did everything right for safety purposes. They were able to set off their EPBIRB (which is a devise that immediately alerts emergency stations that they are in trouble). New Zealand sent a plane from one of their bases and they located them and were able to divert the freighter that was coming in to Niue to rescue them. There were two men onboard – when the boat flipped the skipper got thrown in to the open ocean. The crew member was able to get below in the hull. This meant that they were separated. The owner made his way to the dinghy and remained there, cold, wet, and thirsty for 18 hours bouncing around in the rough ocean. The crew member got inside the safety hull (designed for protection when a cat flips over). When they were rescued the crew member inside the boat had to swim through the boat to get out. We met them the morning they were rescued and brought to Niue, and Kelly said the scariest part was having to leave the safety of his airtight bubble and swim through debris (everything was upside down of course) to get out of the boat. The emergency escape hatch could not be opened after trying with hammers, the fire extinguisher, etc. This design flaw may have cost him his life if he wasn’t able to swim through all the debris, sails, etc. to get out. The men were both exhausted and drained when they were brought in, but in relatively good spirits with no injuries. They didn’t have any money, or clothes (other than shorts) or passports, etc. The Niue community welcomed them with open arms and provided everything they needed, including a flight home to New Zealand, which they are leaving on this afternoon. Needless to say a lot of the yachties here have reviewed their safety procedures and checked that their EPBIRB is working properly.

While this is a very sad story for the two men, it also has created a navigational hazard as the boat is still floating somewhere at sea on the direct path to Tonga. This is where everyone is heading from here (a 2 night sail). We’ve been in contact with a couple of boats who have since gone to Tonga, and luckily they did not hit the boat. It would be very difficult, if not impossible to see at night, especially since the hull is a dark blue, which would simply blend in with the ocean. It is also unlikely that radar will pick it up as it doesn’t have that much surface area above the water. We all are just hoping we don’t run in to it on the way to Tonga.

Dinghy dock



The island here is very cruiser friendly. The moorings are owned and maintained by the Niue Yacht club – the biggest little yacht club in the world. They don’t have any local members and no one here has a boat. It is strictly designed for visiting yachts and they certainly take good care of you. They have a little clubhouse with free internet access and a café/bar. When you take your dinghy to the wharf, you need to use a crane to take it out and put it back in. It is a really slick system.

Dinghy dock crane



Because there are so many yachties here, it is quite sociable. You can meet up with others at the club or just wandering through the village. Our friends Rob and Ruth from South Africa invited us for dinner on Albatross II, along with a solo boater who was “bottomless” when we went to invite him aboard and another South African couple, who know our South African friends Ian and Sheri from back home. Very small world.

Birthday Party at Yacht Club - Rob, Scott and Cindy & Peter



We've rented a car for the week with Scott and Cindy. There are lots of walking, trekking and bicycle paths, as well as many caves and chasms throughout the island and we’ve only touched the surface of them.

Lots of oceanside caves where local canoes are stored



We went for a fabulous dive with Scott and Cindy (and the local dive company). The dive is famous for thousands of poisonous sea snakes in all different sizes. These snakes are highly toxic and one bite would kill you. Luckily they aren’t aggressive and they haven’t bitten any divers so far. The coral is alive and well here and making the dive really interesting is the variety of caverns and underwater caves that you can dive in. In between the two dives, when you need to have a necessary surface interval before you can dive again, we went in the dive dinghy to watch the spinner dolphins. There were hundreds of them and we were lucky enough to get in the water with our snorkel gear and swim with them. (Deanna and Shelby you would’ve absolutely loved this – I was thinking of you both the whole time!!!!!) Also, while the dive master drove the dinghy while we held on to the outside, so that we were pulled in the water alongside them as they dodged under the dinghy, swam and dove in front and did lots of playing and spinning on the surface. It was such an incredible experience and most certainly the best surface interval ever! Scott took some great photographs and some video, so I’ll try to post that next week.

A local flower on the ground while hiking



On a sad note, we learned of the passing of Peter’s Uncle Don. We send our love and condolences to the entire McRobert family. Uncle Don was a wonderful man and he will be greatly missed by all of us.

Yeah....fresh lettuce



Until next Friday…..hug someone special.

Our bizarre stay at Palmerston Island

Palmerston Island is a two-day sail from the mainland Cook Islands and yet it is a million light years different. Palmerston was founded by a European who settled there in 1886 with his three Cook Island wives. There are approximately 65 inhabitants on the island and they are all direct descendants of William Marsters.
(Remember the movie Deliverance?)

The man who started it all



They fiercely protect their island and their heritage, to the point where you are limited in what you can see and who you can talk to. Upon arrival, one of the two designated hosts will meet you at your boat and assist you with mooring. You can not leave the boat unless you are accompanied by your host, who basically organizes your schedule and escorts you wherever they allow you to go.

Heading in for our Stepford Wives experience



Before we barely had time to get organized from our 2-night passage, Edward came and picked us up with everyone else who was aboard the other four yachts. We were taken to his family home, where we all ate a lovely lunch prepared by Edwards wife. Afterwards they entertained us with local folk songs (which seemed somewhat contrived) and then they took us on a walking tour where they introduced us to the families that they are friendly with. There is lots of local feuding going on and you really don’t get a feel for what the island is truly like because your experiences are all manufactured.

Strong Christian influence



What was really interesting is the successful school system. There is a New Zealand principle who is married to a Palmerston man. She has worked hard to develop the school and is quite proud of the fact that all of the children (about 35) all attend school. Because they are all different ages and abilities, they are on the New Zealand home schooling program, so the teachers and the principal basically supervise their work.

The primary classroom



This allows everyone to work at their own pace and provides the answer keys to the teachers, so that everyone benefits. Once the kids grow up they generally move to New Zealand to find a spouse and to make a living, (if they haven't married a cousin locally - another subject they didn't want you talking about).

The highschool set up



Your Palmerston host does not charge you for the mooring, or for entertaining/feeding you during your visit. You are expected to reciprocate by giving them supplies, boat parts, etc. We had already arranged with the store in Aititaki to take a number of supplies for one family, which we were happy to do. In addition we brought our own box of supplies for our host, plus gave them clothes, shoes and items from the work room (that they strongly hinted that they were more in need of after they invited themselves aboard our boat). Some other yachties called them “modern day pirates” for their trading system.

The Main Street - it even looks like a movie set



Palmerston truly had the feel of the “Stepford Wives” since everything that we were shown gave the impression that it was “set-up”. It is also a very male-dominated society. The clincher for me was when our host announced that the next day we were all going to an island – the men would fish and the women would cook the meal. Peter tried hard not to burst out laughing, when he looked over at me and I mouthed “we’re out of here!” I wasn’t comfortable with the “groupie” thing and being scheduled all day, or the idea of being relegated to the cooking and cleaning, so we decided to just spend the one night and we were out of there at first light. We’re really glad we went though, just to experience it. It truly felt like we were leaving the “Twilight Zone” behind when we sailed off.