October 24, 2007 - New Zealand Run, Day 1

With my tooth temporarily patched up, we were planning to leave Tonga on Tuesday afternoon or Wednesday morning. Then Tuesday morning we received notice that a strong low had developed, which would cross between us and New Zealand, and the following routing information from Bob McDavitt:

"Tonga to NZ. If you have left on Monday or are leaving Tuesday and do not stop at Minerva you should miss the strong easterlies near 22S on Wednesday and have just a day or so of squash zone near 33S on your way to NZ. The window then closes and really doesn't open again in Tonga until the squash zone weakens mid-next-week."

That is bad news for us. The 1200 mile passage should take us at least 7 days in perfect conditions, but up to 12 days if the wind dies or if we have to stop at Minerva Reef to wait for a better weather window. If we wait until the middle of next week to leave Tonga we would put ourselves in a jam trying to get the boat on the hard before catching our plane on November 19th. We pulled some more weather files over Airmail and made the decision to leave as soon as possible to try to out run the low coming across at 20-22S. I went into town to clear us out and pick up a few fresh eggs and veggies, while Sten stayed aboard and got Mata'irea ready to go. When I got back from town, I whipped up a batch of macaroni and cheese, while Sten deflated and tied down the dinghy and stowed the dinghy engine, fuel tank and anchor.

Customs required that we come to the dock, which was an adventure as Big Aaron, a large motor yacht, took up the whole front of the quay and we had to tie up along a side with large rubber standoffs. There was a good cross breeze and no one on the dock so it was an adventure. On our second approach, I called out to a local who came and grabbed one of our dock lines for us. Sten hopped off to secure the other lines while I repositioned the fenders. We gave the Tongan all the corned beef we had aboard to thank him for his help. After all the drama, customs didn't bother to come aboard. By 3 in the afternoon we were underway.

We have been reaching along with one reef in the main trying to get as far south as possible, to out run the low pressure system headed this way. At the 12 hour split we were averaging over 8 knots and on track for a 200 mile day, but over the past six hours the wind has backed a bit, and we are now averaging between 7.5 and 8 knots. We will pull more weather files when I post this blog entry. Then we will decide whether to alter course, once we clear the low, to stop at Minerva Reef to wait out the squash zone down near 33S.

October 22, 2007 - Neiafu

With the thought that we might catch the final pennant game between the Indians and the Red Sox on the satellite TV at Mango, we headed back into town in time for the first pitch. Unfortunately, major league baseball isn't as popular as football (soccer to us) or rugby, so the game wasn't picked up. While we were watching Sportscenter, hoping to catch some game highlights, the crew of Bahati, who used to live in Brookline, joined us.

Over the past 4 and a half months we've only eaten out a handful of times, because everything was so expensive in French Polynesia. We are enjoying the low prices here, and making a good effort at sampling the fried food options around town. Sten prefers the fish and chips at the Yacht Club over those at Mango. The bacon cheese burger at Mango was much better than the one at the Crow's Nest.

The most beautiful sight in the South Pacific

After lunch I headed up to the Hospital for my second round of root canal work. We received a weather report this morning that showed a favorable weather window for the jump to New Zealand. Takoko, the dentist, and I discussed my options, and we decided to do another treatment with the medicine and seal the tooth with a temporary filling. I'll have the next step done in New Zealand. For all Takoko's work the fee was equivalent to $60 US. My last root canal, 10 years ago, cost $900. So this is pretty much the bargain of the century. During my first appointment, we had talked about how limited the food options were around here if you weren't into mutton or really fatty pork. So to thank her, I gave Takoko some odds and ends from our stores, including tofu, green tea and smoked oysters. I returned to the boat to the report that the Red Sox had won the league and were headed to the World Series. We headed over to Bahati to celebrate.

We noticed today that for the first time since coming through the canal, there are more east coast boats than west coast boats around us. Also, there are quite a few boats here with younger crews.

October 21, 2007 - Anchorage #7

The main cruising guide for this area is published by the The Moorings charter boat company. The anchorages are all numbered. Over the radio, you hear people saying things like "'ello, Mate. We are leaving Anchorage 8 and moving to 31 this morning. Where are you?" "Good on 'ya. We are staying in town for another day or two then heading over to 11 for the feast." It takes some getting used to, but is much easier than struggling over the Tongan names for different beaches and bays.

Storm Along, Muline, and a few other friends had made plans to go to the Saturday night Tongan feast at Anchorage 7. It sounded like good fun, so we decided to join them. The reservation agent in town hadn't been able to reach the host of the BBQ to tell him that she had reservations for 17 people. After we anchored in #7, we dinked around the corner to pass along the message to the host. He had not been planning to have a BBQ that night, because he didn't know that anyone was planning to come. Unfortunately, it was too late in the day for him to go into town to get the supplies he needed. The cruising season is winding down here, and you could see how dismayed he was at the loss of income this late in the season.

I had been planning to invite everyone in the anchorage over to celebrate Sten's birthday on Sunday. Since we all suddenly found ourselves without plans for Saturday night, I decided to move up the festivities. After a quick trip around the anchorage to spread the word about the canceled BBQ, and issue some last minute dinner invitations, Sten went off to try to spear some fish for dinner while I started to bake a cake. 4 hours of intense activity later, including a quick call to Suzy to confirm that dried buttermilk was indeed supposed to be yellow, the dipping sauce, peanut sauce and beef penang curry were bubbling away on the stove, the chicken and beef satays were marinating, the spring roll ingredients were prepped, the boat was tidied, and we were both showered and ready for company.

20 people joined us. Everyone contributed something to the festivities. Nell and Brian from Storm Along brought two massive pots of rice, some wine and and loads of dishes and utensils. Betsy, Josh, Michael, and Hillary on Bahati contributed skewered chicken breast for the satays, several fish, birthday candles and more plates and utensils. Martin and Dirma from Dingo brought over some pineapples and festive balloons. Their toddler Boaz drew Sten a birthday card. Dory and Hans from Happy Monster (www.happymonster.nl) gave Sten a Happy Monster t-shirt, which was attached to a bunch of Happy Monster balloons. Bert from Sea Beryl (seaberyl.waarbenjij.nu) and Peter and Sandy, an Australian couple chartering a Moorings boat for the week, each brought a bottle of wine and Seth and Liz from Heretic and their guests contributed some beer to the bar. I had found mint at the market that morning, and made mohitos until the ice ran out.

Once everyone had a drink in hand, I demonstrated how to rehydrate the rice paper and assemble a spring roll, then everyone sitting around the cockpit table pitched in and rolled spring rolls for the crowd on the back deck. With much laughter we learned that rice paper wrappers and paper plates were never meant to meet - the attraction is instant, and fatal. Meanwhile, Sten was grilling the satays, which were passed around next. Nobody seemed to mind that the peanut sauce was made with extra chunky peanut butter. Then out came Nell's giant vats of rice and the curry. Lastly, the grilled fish were passed around. After the plates were cleared, and the coffee poured, I brought up the cake. Everyone sang Happy Birthday to Sten. He blew out the candles on the first try. Then the Dutch boats (Dingo, Sea Beryl, and Happy Monster) sang a Dutch birthday song, wishing him a long life. Michael from Bahati and Seth from Heretic became my personal heroes when they when they volunteered to do all the dishes (Thank you guys!).

It was a spectacular night. We had such a good time. After everyone headed back to their boats, Sten and I relaxed in the cockpit, finishing off a bottle of red wine while the sound of someone playing the mouth harp floated across the anchorage.

There were many requests for the cake recipe, so here it is.

Scottish Chocolate Cake from Bev Murphy (with my modifications in parenthesis)

Preheat oven to 350F.

#1: 2 cups sugar, 2 cups flour, 1 teaspoon baking soda. Mix.

#2: 8 tablespoons butter and 8 tablespoons margarine (I used 8T salted butter and 8T unsalted butter instead), 4 tablespoons baking cocoa (Valrhona 100% cocoa powder), 1 cup water. Bring to a rolling boil (while stirring).

#3: 1/2 cup buttermilk powder, 1/2 cup water, 2 eggs, 2 teaspoons vanilla extract (I tossed in 1 teaspoon of almond extract too). Mix.

Pour boiling #2 over #1. Add #3 and mix well with an electric mixer. Pour into an 11 x 13 inch greased and floured pan. Bake at 350 F for 40-45 minutes.

Icing: 8 tablespoons (salted) butter, 4 tablespoons baking cocoa, 6 tablespoons milk. Bring to a boil (while stirring). Add one box confectioner's sugar (I used approximately 250 grams). Add 1 cup chopped walnuts.

When the cake comes out of the oven, run a knife around the edge of the pan (so that the icing can coat the sides of the cake), then pour the icing over the top of the hot cake.

October 19, 2007 - Neiafu

Seriously, would you be thrilled about having a root canal here?

As soon as we left Bora Bora, one of my molars began to bother me. Our first priority here is to get it looked at by a dentist. This morning, with some trepidation, I approached the run down hospital where the dental practice is housed. The grounds outside were covered with litter. The floors of the hallways inside had recently seen a broom, but the walls didn't look like they had seen a bucket of soapy water in a long time. I put my name on the waiting list and sat down to wait. After an hour or so, the Tongan dentist came out to ask me about the nature of my problem. She explained that Tongans don't practice preventative dental care, so every patient is an emergency. I was barely listening to her, as I was transfixed by the decorative gold inlays in several of her upper teeth. Not feeling reassured, I sat back down to wait some more.

Finishing one book, and a few chapters into my second, I was really wishing that I had brought a bottle of water with me when the volunteer dentist from Japan came out into the hall and called my name. Breathing a sigh of relief at her lack of decorative gold inlays, I followed her into the office. I was also relieved to see that the walls of the dental office had been washed down more recently than those of the hallway.

After taking x-rays, she explained that I needed a root canal and that she could do the first step that afternoon. It was already close to 5pm, so I asked her if she had time. She reassured me that she did, and we got started. I was really nervous at the start, but she was so gentle and quick to give me additional novicane whenever I started to feel pain, that I eventually relaxed. About 90 minutes and 20 shots of novicane later my rotten root was cleaned out, filled with medicine, and a temporary filling in place.

I'll need to see her two more times before I'm patched up enough to make the trip to New Zealand. I'm booked in for another appointment on Monday. In the meantime, I'm taking oral antibiotics from our medical kit, and avoiding chewing on that side of my mouth.

October 18, 2007 - Neiafu, Vava'u, Kingdom of Tonga

By royal decree, the day begins in Tonga. So, even though we have not yet really crossed the dateline, we have shifted our calendar and clocks a day ahead.After two and half weeks of offshore passagemaking and time spent at Beveridge Reef, it was wonderful to see land again as we approached the Vava'u group of islands this morning. The islands' geography is different than that of the volcanic islands and atolls that we had grown used to in French Polynesia. There are steep cliffs, dotted by white sand beaches. It is really beautiful.

After the overbuilt and well maintained navigational marks of French Polynesia, we were amused by the underbuilt, and somewhat worse for wear (this one looks like it came out on the losing side of a battle with a power boat) Tongan marks.

We arrived in Neiafu, the capital of the Vava'u group, midmorning. We picked up a mooring and had breakfast and some much needed coffee. While Sten put the boat to rights, I went to deal with our clearance. Technically, we are supposed to bring the boat to the customs dock. But we didn't much like the look of it, so I went ashore with the hope that we could avoid it. My flimsy excuse was that we had not brought the boat to the dock because we didn't think they would want us to, what with their navy ship tied up there. The customs officer asked me several questions, including why we didn't have children yet. Once I reassured him that we planned to have children when we returned home from our trip, he determined that it was okay that we leave the boat on a mooring. My morning also involved some paperwork with the agricultural officer and a visit to the immigration office and the bank to get some Tongan to pay them all.

The customs, agricultural, and immigration officers, and many of the men that I saw around town wear traditional dress of a long skirt, paired with a button down shirt, and topped off with a woven grass wrap around their waist. Most of the women wear huge oversized t-shirts and long shapeless skirts in drab colors, hiding as many of their curves as possible. The missionaries' influence has been a lasting one here. There is a church on every corner and 22 schools, most of which are affiliated with one of the many sects of Christianity. The school children's uniforms are similar in style to the clothing worn by adults, but they are made of brightly colored cloth, such as red, orange, or blue. The children study English in school, and everywhere I went groups of kids greeted me with smiles and shouts of "hello" and "bye".

After clearing in, we joined Nell and Brian of Storm Along for lunch at the Crow's Nest, which claims to have the best burger on the island. I don't know about that, but they did have a pretty solid book swap, so we all came away full and happy. After a walk around town, including a stop at the ice cream stand, we headed over to the Yacht Club to pick up our New Zealand Border Agencies Information Packet. We had a beer with an Australian couple who had bought a former charter boat in Tahiti to take home to sell in Brisbane. As it turns out, he does CAT diesel generator installations. We'll file that one in the "small world" category. After that, we headed back to the boat for long night's sleep.

October 15, 2007 - Enroute to Tonga

Yesterday morning we looked at the latest weather forecast and decided that we had better depart from Beveridge Reef that afternoon if we wanted to do the 370 mile passage to Tonga this week. So after one last snorkel trip we deflated the dinghy. While Sten finished tidying things on deck, I whipped up some passage food. This time I went old school - chicken casserole made with cream of mushroom soup. It isn't haute cuisine, but it does a nice job of coating the tummy. By 3pm we were underway.

During our six days in Beveridge, we had one fantastic day of light wind and sunshine. The rest of the time it either poured down rain or the wind was piping. Yesterday the 15 knot breeze created moderate seas outside the reef, which leads to current inside the reef at any time other than dead low tide. So, even though it was a sunny day, the snorkeling was difficult because of the heavy current coming over the reef. Beveridge makes you work for your pleasure.

We were talking about it yesterday, and we both agree that having some other people there to while away the rainy days with would have made it a better experience for us. It can be desperately lonely out here. Several times over the past year I have been in tears from missing friends and family. I'm much more extroverted than Sten, and I tend to feel the urge for company long before he does. But then the other morning we were listening to boats check in on the radio net. We heard a boat give a position near us. After the net, we hailed them. Switching channels to chat, Sten suggested that they might stop in at Beveridge to take a break from their squally passage. In the midst of describing the reef and the anchorage, he stated that "it is pretty lonely here." And I had thought I was the only one feeling isolated. The other boat didn't end up stopping - poor visibility caused by the rain made the reef pass into the lagoon too risky. I can only wonder how much different our experience at Beveridge would have been with some company.

The other disappointment was the fact that we didn't find any lobsters. The combination of bad weather and high seas made lobstering on the reef difficult. Sten hunted for lobster several times, but it wasn't to be. We wound up eating a lot of steak instead.

Sten, lobstering on the reef

We are glad that we stopped at Beveridge and that we stuck it out for 4 days of terrible weather waiting for that one good day. We saw some really great stuff but we are disappointed that we did not have better weather or have anyone else to share the experience with.