Ha'apai Group - Tonga - Back to atolls and palms

An overnight sail took us down to the next Tongan island group, Ha’apai, which is renowned for its pristine marine ecosystems and traditional villages. Our first stop was with Nick and Anna (Dolittle) at the uninhabited Ofolanga Island, where we did some great diving around a huge natural arch in the reef.


We then met up with Conversations in the group’s main town of Pangai on Lifuka Island. Bob MacDavitt, NZ’s weather guru, had announced “The Perfect Weather Window” for running the gauntlet to NZ, so all the yachties were in a departure frenzy. We debated the situation and eventually parted ways, Conversations bound for NZ and Demelza bound for further exploration of this amazing group.

We hooked up again with Dolittle at Uoleva Island, which borders a major tidal channel to the south. The Uoleva Channel is known as one of the best dive sites in Tonga and did not disappoint. We were particularly blown away by the diversity of soft corals clinging to the walls in the strong tidal currents and HUGE fish as we drifted along the north side of the channel…unbelievable!

On our next hop to the western side of the group, we stopped mid-ocean to spearfish on a pinnacle, which was quite rough in the big swell. Once we got to the anchorage at Ha’afeva Island, we hauled in the “meat hook” and found a huge mahi mahi (dorado) being trailed closely by a hammerhead shark!!

We dived on the entrance the next day with Dolittle, but didn’t see the shark. To our surprise, Sergio and Caroline from Ummagumma (photo above) pulled into the anchorage as well and spent some time on board Demelza to debate weather/passage strategy for NZ...again (photo below). Fun-filled days were spent with them and John/Heather (Dancyn) spearfishing, hunting for shells and exploring the small village.

Vava'u Group - Kingdom of Tonga - A Sailor's Paradise

At first light, we snuck in a quick breakfast on Conversations in an idyllic anchorage with Paul and Krista before making our way to clear formalities in Neiafu (the main town). We were so happy to see everyone! P had caught a bug in Tongatapu and was still sketchy, but slowly recovering. After the comfort and fantastic hospitality they received from Cress and Irena, we were afraid that we’d have to pry P and K off Conversations. After some convincing (yes, Paul, you can wear the Captain’s hat, yell “ARRRRGGGGGGHHHHH me matey!” and steer the boat as much as you want), we set off to explore the island group.


Vava’u is a sailor’s paradise, with amazing anchorages and few hazards in the water. Travel time between anchorages is about an hour or two, so the days are usually pretty laid back. P and K easily adjusted to the frenetic pace of life afloat. We met up with Speedbird, Ummagumma and Conversations at various idyllic spots around the group.


As per our typical coastal agenda, we spent most days sleeping, eating, drinking, swimming, reading, snorkeling, spearfishing, and beachcombing. Paul had fun taking funky photos with his digital SLR and fisheye lens.

Lo and I grew accustomed to Paul being the morning barista and eating Krista’s fantastic ginger cookies. Yes, a tough life indeed, but someone has to do it! After a week of sharing Demelza with P and K, we were sad to say goodbye.

The "Plan"

Some of you have asked about our overall plan for this Pacific tour. Our plan, and we use that word loosely since the remainder of our trip seems to be ever-changing, is to head to New Zealand for the southern hemisphere cyclone season (December to March), and continue on in the spring. We plan to launch off for the 10-14 day crossing to NZ from southern Tonga sometime in November, whenever a good weather window opens up. Over the winter months (summer down here), we'll be in NZ, South Africa and possibly Australia. Both Gary's Mom, Lolah, and Lo's parents, Don and Edie, are meeting us in New Zealand at different times. We can't wait to see them!

The return trip home is still up for debate, the strongest contender so far is to do the long, cold passage east from NZ to the Austral Islands, then north to the Societies, Hawaii and home. We'll keep you posted.

Niue to Tonga - The Midnight Express!

On October 7^th, Demelza departed Alofi Harbour, Niue, and literally sailed into the sunset, setting a course due west for the Vava’u Group, Kingdom of Tonga. We had even stowed some live lobsters, with the hope of sharing them with Paul Kennedy and Krista Knight, who were joining us in Tonga from Vancouver. Unfortunately they died on the passage, so Gary forced Lo to have a Lobster Omelette for breakfast and Lobster sandwich for lunch to eat the whole lot in one day! NINE LOBSTERS! As we raced over the Tongan Trench (>10 km deep), we were excited with the anticipation of seeing the Kennedy/Knight clan…our first direct link to home since February. Luckily we had made contingency plans for them to stay with Cress and Irena (Conversations) in case we were delayed. Light winds and that pesky International Date Line slowed us for 12 hrs, just enough to require putting those plans into effect for a night.

Luckily though, the 250 miles went by painlessly with the light breeze blowing steadily from the east to southeast for the majority of the passage and star-filled skies at night… especially in comparison to our previous passage. On the second night, Lo was washing up some dishes at the sink while Gary was sleeping when she heard a strange noise “Pfhhhhh”. Gary? Nope. She listened again but heard nothing. Then it came again. And again. She couldn’t place it – was something leaking? Or shifting? It wasn’t one of the usual noises. It sounded like it was coming from outside so she went out and sat in the cockpit, listening for it. Then it came again. Louder this time as she was now outside sitting right beside the Humpback whale that was surfacing and breathing in the night air less than 10 m from Demelza’s cockpit. Truly magical.

After talking to Paul over the HAM radio from Conversations, we heaved-to overnight off the NW coast of Vava’u awaiting sunrise to safely navigate the aidless waters of these islands.

Niue - The Rock of Polynesia

Located 250 nm east of Tonga out on its own in the middle of the South Pacific Ocean, this island is a raised coral atoll with beautiful, steep, dramatic cliffs lining the shore and crazy coral formations that resemble a miniature version of the US Badlands. The indigenous population has dwindled down to 1700 inhabitants after Cyclone Heta caused massive devastation in 2003. It nearly wiped out the whole island, but the friendly locals have been slowly piecing it back together. And on “island time” slowly means SLOWLY…. In Alofi, the main town, we had a tough time finding the supermarket that is housed in a warehouse building as the sign is still missing. Derelict houses are everywhere, abandoned after the cyclone.

We took up one of the free mooring buoys next to our friends on Ummagumma and Speedbird. The 6 of us had a fantastic day touring the island on rented 125 cc motorcycles. Gary actually let Lo drive! ... and he was a great passenger.

Our first stop was the Togo Chasm, where the sea has eroded the raised coral into a bizarre formation with a sandy beach in the belly of a huge chasm. You can see Morgan climbing a palm for a fresh coconut. Gary's up on the right cliff helping out. In the second photo, Gary's standing on the jagged coral formations on the way down to the Togo chasm. Such as bizarre but amazing place.

Next, we hiked 20 minutes into the forest to find the Vaikone Caves, normally visited with a guide. We saw why at the entrance, where we scrambled down a dicey series of ledges to a small cliff that overlooked a deep freshwater pool…surrounded completely by walls. We knew that there was supposed to be a route that led through various chambers all the way to the ocean, so we pushed on. Finding the next chamber, however, meant searching all the walls for an underwater exit…quite the maze! By free diving under the wall, we found our way into the next, very dark chamber, and so on deeper into the cave system (don’t worry, we brought flashlights). It was a very cool experience to be in the pitch dark, watching the light of the flashlights move around underwater as the guys took turns looking for the next passageway in the crystal blue water. We did manage to get off route by the second chamber and proceeded to explore two more before acknowledging that pushing on wasn’t the most prudent course of action (with no tracer line, the number of permutations for the correct return route was starting to rise above our comfort level).

We made a special effort to fit in some burger tasting in the three days we were there. In the harbour, in addition to free mooring buoys, they also provide free wireless internet access from a series of antennas along the coast (thanks to the NZ government). The techno geeks among us were thrilled when we called home using Skype (over the internet) while sipping sundowners in the cockpit!

Night after night, the excitement of the days events didn’t diminish the exuberance Gary, Morgan and Sergio had for MIDNIGHT LOBSTER HUNTING! The local lobster fishing regulations forbid diving on air for lobster which seems, in addition to the ubiquitous cavernous habitat preferred by these nocturnal creatures, to have maintained a healthy lobster population. Free diving at night in shark and poisonous sea snake infested water keeps the local lobster hunters away. Hence, the guys never came home empty handed...lobster with butter and homemade aioli…BBQ lobster…boiled lobster…lobster salad….WE FEASTED!

Niue was a beautiful place to visit. Although our stopover was short, we loved it!