I did the 7pm to 1am shift last night, it was calm and steady, I woke up at 4am to a terrible banging and slamming noise, we had hit the winds and sea full on. Poor Rowan had a 4am phone call and played dumb about the terrible noise the people on the other side of the line could hear! This bouncing banging into the wind and waves continued until midday when we got to the lee of Vava’u island around 2pm. It most probably breaks the record as our most bouncy sail, but all things considered PolePole dealt with it all like a dream. Some of the bangs and crashes of waves were dramatic, but always felt safe. Not a single boat out at sea, which makes it slightly easier. We were going at quite some speed with the whole main sail up and the jib, 9 knots down the waves, no wonder it wasn’t relaxing. Rowan just announced that we have clocked thirteen and a half thousand miles on this PolePole!
Meanwhile I managed to have a messaging conversation with Han and her opening night of Mama Mia went really well, as did her Friday night performance. Noah sent the sweetest message and a brief clip of the performance. Han said I should put on the blog some phots of Marina and Monty at the Leavers ball, the last time we saw them, I was slightly reluctant as I was looking like I was having way too much fun! So to keep Han happy I will put them in the blog and also the clip of her singing in Mama Mia that Noah sent!!
What a relief to get into Tonga before the wind got any stronger and in daylight. We can’t check in as it is the week end, so we have come to a well protected anchorage where there are a few other boats and will behave and not leave the boat until we go into town on Monday to officially check in. Our anchorage is idyllic, most of the island looked like cliffs going straight into the sea but here we have a beach, we are totally sheltered, and the environment looks totally unspoilt. No sign of habitation here although we can hear chickens, no sign of invasive acacia trees, and loads of wonderful bird noises.
What a relief to be safely here in this amazing archipelago. We arrived and did a bit of washing the boat to get the sea salt off which was caked over everything. It is pretty cloudy, so refreshingly cool, amazingly the sea temperature has dropped from 29.4 degrees Celsius to 26.3 degrees. Rowan had a bracing swim to check on the anchor, all was good, which is a great relief. We are pretty exhausted from our passage …… our sunset drinks tasted delicious! We had lamb chops on the BBQ and a big salad, we can’t wait for a peaceful night’s sleep.
We finally see land
Loads of little islands, a real archipelago
Big caves in lime stone cliffs
Navigating our way through the islands
Interesting caves
Head phones on and prepared to anchor
Our gorgeous protected anchorage
The island and vegetation look totally unspoilt
The cutest message from Noah …….. and Rowan!
A video clip of Han’s Mama Mia show in Maun …..
The last time I saw Monty and Marina at Hannah’s leaver’s ball ……… I look like I am having way too much fun! Hannah in blue, Marina and Monty behind her
How embarrassing!
Discover more from sailingpolepole.com
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
