A water baby!
I’m doing this blog update a day early, since we will be leaving in the morning (on Canada Day in this neck of the woods). We will spend one night at a remote anchorage after checking out, taking on fuel, doing final provisioning, etc. The good news is we have picked up a crew member for this 4 – 5 day crossing, which is reputed to be the most dangerous in the South Pacific. This is because of the multitude of uncharted reefs. Hopefully we won’t be discovering any brand new ones.
Our new crew member is named Anja – she is a German national (about 40) who hitch-hiked a ride over here from New Zealand. Her trip over was the crossing from hell, so we are hoping to improve on that record. I went diving with her one day and we hit it off well. She is not only a dive master , but also a sailing instructor. I can’t wait to learn a few things from her, since Peter isn’t exactly the best kind of teacher for me. Something about not learning from your spouse!
Kids at the feast learning to dance from the sidelines – magical smiles
Last week we had good intentions to spend our final week out at the gorgeous anchorages and do some diving, however, we had a huge storm, so had to come back to the safe harbor. It was fun though to declare a “snow day” where we tucked in and hunkered down for the day while the driving rain and 40 knot winds kept us below. Luckily we didn’t have any problems, but there was quite a bit of damage including the dinghy dock and boats having their anchor drag and moorings breaking loose in the middle of the night.
The boys are equally as photogenic
We entered QuickStar In the Friday harbour race, but unfortunately we missed the start (miscommunication – so Captain Joe don’t let him forget this okay?) so we managed to come across the line with only one other boat behind us. We had Mike (the owner of the moorings here) and a young fellow cruiser join us as crew. It was humbling for Peter, but we had a good time regardless of the finish.
The race crew (notice the one boat behind us)
The highlight on the two days that we were able to be out in the anchorages was having a very traditional Tongan feast. We ate everything with our hands and sampled the real food of the Island (as opposed to the tourist restaurants who cater to a North American appetite).
Peter & I at the Feast
It was delightful, especially the kids who love having their photos taken and love to have the “palangis” play with them.
Hanging out in the bushes
The best thing that has happened this week, happened earlier today. Taylor, Kylie’s fiance got his two year working Visa to come to Canada. YAHOOOOOOO! They have already booked their flights back to Vancouver to come via Fiji for 10 days to stay on QuickStar on July 25th. Lucky, lucky us!
So tonight we will have our final night here in Tonga and are celebrating Canada Day early with friends.
I will update the blog each day while we are out at sea, starting on Saturday from our Ham radio, so if you want to join us for our blue water crossing, we invite you to come along for the virtual ride. Here’s hoping we have smooth seas and following winds.
Until next time….Have a wonderful Canada Day weekend. Celebrate with friends and family!
The table at the feast before we all descended on it.
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