Keeping an eye on Xavier

Just wanted to write a quick not to everyone to let you know we are doing well. We are currently in the Haapai group of islands in Tonga. We are slowly working our way down to Nukalofa which will be our final stop in the Tongan islands. We will go through customs and check out of the islands there before heading on down to New Zealand. We are hoping to hide out there while the weather calms down.

A tropical cyclone named Xavier has formed north of the islands of Vanuatu. Here is the info on it as we received it from NADI the Fiji weather service.
Tropical Cyclone Xavier 01F [930hPa] centre was located near 14.4 South 170.1 East at 241200 UTC. Cyclone moving southeast at about 8 knots but expected to gradually curve south. Maximum 10-minute average winds near the centre estimated at about 95 knots.
FORECAST:
12hrs valid at 250000 UTC near 16.0S 170.5E mov SE 08kt with 95kt
close to centre. 24hrs valid at 251200 UTC near 17.2S 169.9E mov S
07kt with 90kt close to centre.

OUTLOOK:
36hrs valid at 260000 UTC near 17.9S 169.4E mov S 06kt with 90kt
close to centre.
48hrs valid at 261200 UTC near 18.7S 168.2E mov SSW 06kt with 80kt
close to centre.

It is a little early in the season for such a weather system but some people predicted this possibility with it being an el nino year. The warmer waters help create such weather systems. The good news is that it is still 900 miles from us at the moment. It is currently traveling in a south east direction and if it keeps it course it would take 5 days to reach us. It is likely that it will run out of steam before it gets to us. It's force can be felt within 300 miles from it's eye. We will keep providing updates for it's location and ours through emails and you can track us online at our web page via google earth or http://www.pangolin.co.nz/yotreps/tracker.php?ident=KE7DQV. You can also find this link on our website homepage www.ohanakai.net and click on "Track Our Boat" at the top right corner. For those of you tracking us with Google Earth Cruising Tracker we will keep that up to date as well.

Though we aren't feeling it's direct effects yet, it is causing quite a bit of active weather in the surrounding waters so we are keeping a close eye on our own weather window for our departure to New Zealand. We do have some dear friends that are sitting right in Vanuatu now, so we are watching it closely and keeping them in our thoughts and prayers. You can follow them at www.thevoyageofbluesky.com. We have a lot of company out here as all these other sailors are heading in the same direction. We have some wonderful nets on the radio that are providing oodles of weather information and we are able to gather our own as well through email. Together we all have a great network that will help us all determine the best time to go.
It has been a wonderful few weeks in Tonga and we have had some amazing experiences including exploring the caves again, watching whales, potlucks galore and even had the opportunity to see the new King and meet one of the Prince's. The boys are well into their school year now and love every chance we get to go to shore and explore. We will write again soon to provide lots more detail about our adventures.
until next time,
Lisa and the boys

Eastern Vava'u Anchorages

September 17th through 30th
We have been continuing to take in the sights and sounds of Vava'u. The open air markets where women sit and work on their weaving has to be one of my favorites. The weaving's become everything from baskets and small bracelets to mats that cover entire floors or their traditional skirts called valas. Taovala's worn by men and kiekie worn by women are tied around the waist as a sign of respect for one's elders and the royal family. The weather has been pleasant with occasional substantial days of rainfall but again we can tell we are getting farther from the equator as is dips down low enough in the evening to occasionally need a jacket and the water is only 72 degrees F.
Below are the next set of anchorages we visited from most easterly back in toward the main town of Neiafu.

Kenutu 18 41.886S,173 55.728W
One of our favorite anchorages, the furthest east of the Vava'u group. Sitting inside an anchorage completely surrounded by coral you view striking cliffs that bear the brunt of dramatic waves from outside on the Pacific. It greatly resembles the northern west coast beaches of California. The shallow waters don't show much for snorkeling but are so warm it is fun to just roll around. There is also a spectacular little cave that again makes you feel like Indiana Jones right hand man as you traverse rocky structures, climb around great vines and roots to make your destination. The destination that day was a dark cold pool of water surrounded by red muddy dirt and the occasional click of disturbed swiftlet birds. We did have one crazy night in this anchorage as 35 knot winds and lots of rain shifted out of the south a bit more and cause our pals on Capaz to slip their anchor hold and back down dangerously close to a fellow cruiser on Scot-Free II. With coral right behind them there wasn't much room to play with so Bruce and Kelly boy from Moorea hopped into our dinghy with flashlights and helped set a second anchor for Capaz to hold them through the night.

Tapala 18 42.518S,173 59.339W
A quiet little anchorage that hosts "the Arc". A floating house boat of sorts, maybe 10' x 15', is home and studio to talented artist Shari and her husband Larry and their charter service. We also found a way to bring cocktail parties to a new high. Due to the fact that boats are rather small and can only hold so many people you move the party to the dinghies. Everyone rafts their dinghies up together with drinks and snackies in tow. Jovial conversation and treats get passed around for everyone to share. Much fun.

Nuku/Kapa 18 42.035S,174 02.225W
Nestled between some smaller islands and coral is this little gem of an anchorage. It is host to the picturesque beach on Nuku. Beautiful white sand, small island of palm trees surrounded by crystal shades of blue. We snorkeled there and found all sorts of creatures new to us. We are on the hunt to find a brand new species of nudibranchs (small colorful looking slugs of sorts) they have discovered here in Tonga. We took a hike over the island which consists of a small dirt path through the few inhabitants homes on the island and their 2 churches. Early Sunday morning one could hear the competed voices and church bells of both. We were also able to search out and explore another cave mistakenly named Swallows Cave as the birds are swiftlettes. Visited in the afternoon the sunlight streaming in offers a beautiful view of the under water part. Bring along a good flashlight and hike back into the land based cave for more exploring.

All in all life is moving along swimmingly in Tonga. We spend most of our day getting the hang of a school routine again. When in the Neiafu anchorage, the afternoons are often filled with a swim at the local pool at the Paradise Hotel with all the kid boats. A very worldly group of children, we celebrated a couple birthdays yesterday and realized just what an amazing experience this is for them. The crowd of kids each took turns singing Happy Birthday in their natives tongues, English, Dutch, German, Portuguese, Cantonese, and Norwegian. Most of the children come from families with two different nationalities thereby speaking 3 languages right of the bat. Feeling inadequate? Luckily for us the smile is universal.
until next time,
Lisa and the boys

The Kingdom of Tonga

Neiafu, Tonga coordinates 18 35.179S,173 59.098W

October 2, 2006

The saying is that "The day starts in Tonga". Though elsewhere in the world the international date line sits at 180 degrees longitude, it cuts back in somewhere around 173W and includes Tonga among other islands as the start of the clock on each new day as we know it. When we crossed it we jumped ahead in time which now puts all of our west coast friends 20 hours behind us. It takes a while to wrap your brain around it, don't worry. Matthew thought this was the greatest invention ever as it brought his birthday one step closer with no effort at all.

We have already spent a month in the Vavau Island group of Tonga and had to renew our visas. Clearing customs in itself could be an entire journal entry but suffice it to say that 4 large Tongan men, though friendly enough, can board your boat, eat a lot of cookies, drink a lot of coke and say almost nothing at all for one hour while you fill out 6 pages of redundant information.
It has been a fun filled month and full of interesting discoveries. Tonga is one of the final destinations that cruisers make before heading to New Zealand to hide for cyclone season. There are a total of 170+ islands (they keep growing new ones) divided up between 8 major groups. Many of which are uninhabited. Each island is very close and the water between them very calm with great wind which makes for some of the most beautiful flat water sailing we have seen since we left the Pacific Northwest. It also makes for a great place for reunions with other cruisers as we all explore the islands while waiting for the right "weather window" to make the dash to New Zealand in November. Our pals on Lawur have caught up to us and at the present date we have seen 30 kid boats come through the anchorage with at least 5 more on the way. The kids and the parents both love that.

Tonga is also largely a vacation destination for Kiwi's and a big chartering community meaning there are a lot of people renting boats and sailing around. A lot of boats period as we counted approximately 70 in the anchorage of Neiafu alone. Luckily with just a couple of hours sailing you can reach even the outer most islands and find some peace and quiet. In the Vavau group the main town of Neiafu has been transformed into cruiser mecca with plenty of little restaurants, a wonderful outdoor market and small shops for trinkets or provisioning. It is very convenient, maybe too much so as we keep finding ourselves here a day longer than we expect and spending more money than we certainly need.

The most interesting bit of information from Tonga, the last remaining true "Kingdom" experienced the death of their current King on September 11th. He had been ill for quite some time and receiving medical care and life support in New Zealand. Upon his death the Kingdom of Tonga went into mourning and respectfully are restricted to wearing black for one month and no loud music or celebrations are aloud. We haven't felt the impact of it much beyond that. One of his brothers will take over the throne next.

Outside of the main town is the real fun and best discoveries. We have covered a lot of ground and done quite a bit so I will try to break it down simply. This week I will write about the Western anchorage and events first and cover the Eastern ones next time.

Vakaeitu 18 43,251S,174 06.016W
As soon as we got settled into the town of Neiafu we quickly heard that there was a Full Moon Party to be hosted by the local Aquarium Cafe run by Native Californians Ben and Lisa. Great for internet service, yummy snacks, go-cart rides about the island and always great company. They are amazingly efficient and friendly. In honor of the full moon they hosted a great big party/BBQ complete with DJ music for dancing and a bouncy room for the kids. In the well protected anchorage we found a great stretch of beach for hosting potluck parties each night with all our friends and of course celebrated Matthew's 8th birthday survivor style. With a couple dozen of our closest and or newest friends adults and children alike we divided up the tribes and competed with tug-of-wars, 3 legged crew races, and a coconut-stacle course. The kids even created their own fort out of palm leaves. Survivor Aitutake has nothing on us, which we hear is starting up just about now. Many cruisers tried to catch a glimpse of this Cook Island as they passed through this year. A delicious and amazing tug boat cake was provided by Diana on White Swan complete with dried mango cut into the shapes of sea creatures and a blue white frosting ocean. Spectacular!

Blue Lagoon 18 42.696S,174 59.339W
A beautiful anchorage on the west side of the Vavau Islands. A day of snorkeling and a great trip to Mariner's Cave. Mariner's Cave is special in that you have to dive about 5 feet under water and travel about 12 - 15 feet forward to arrive into a cave hidden inside. A little daunting at first but not too difficult, everyone made it in to enjoy the view. The pressure of the swell creates a bit of pressure on the ears and a misty fog cloud appears with each surge.
until next time,
Lisa and the boys