Our time in The Boatyard was successful and honestly the best haul out and boatyard experience we have ever had. Many boatyards are plagued by restriction. You pay extra fees to work on your boat, You are restricted in what you are allowed to do, and you can’t stay on your boat. The challenges you already faced just got harder and more expensive. While we paid almost double for our parts from New Zealand, the haul out and time on the hard was extremely affordable. We were permitted to live on the boat, there was a real shower and toilet in the yard, and they lent us tools when in need to get the job done. Add to the fact we had a wonderful little cat visit us and even sleep with us one night and it was a win win all around!
To Do List
- Prop shaft seal replacement- The # 1 reason for haul out. Took 2 + days total due to challenges with removing and replacing the shaft coupling at the transmission.
- Navigation lights – These stopped working on the way to Tonga. We replaced them for new ones purchased at the boatyard chandlery.
- Dorade box – The box around one of our dorade vents was rotting. I had been carrying some eastern red cedar to rebuild the box.
- Scrolls – Teak scrolls at the bow needed the old varnish removed which was peeling. They were sanded clean.
- Replace prop – We have been carrying a new prop and decided it was time after inspection. Installed after we completed the prop shaft seal. Old prop donated to yard.
- Antifoul – Even though we did this in Panama and it wasn’t necessary, the grounding in the Tuamotu’s scraped it up and we had no idea the next time we would haul out. Additionally, New Zealand is very picky about bio-fouling. We paid the yard to do this.
- Clean bilge – I’ll spare the dirty details of this, but it’s not nice. It took me an entire day and it still isn’t as clean as I’d like.
- Replace seals in hydraulic autopilot ram. Unfortunately, unsuccessful in fixing the issue.
We were back in the water in 6 days time! It was nearing time for the whale swim I booked. Every year the Humpback Whales migrate from Antarctic waters to the warmer tropical waters of the South Pacific. Tonga is one of few places where they allow humans to swim with the whales, but it’s highly regulated. You must go with a certified guide, and only 4 swimmers plus the guide are allowed in the water at one time. This was something we just had to do. I chose a company that had been doing this since the 90’s, a kiwi couple, that had high ratings, and only did small groups, but in hindsight I’m not sure whether it was the right choice.
A few days prior they emailed offering the opportunity to cancel with a refund because they had seen a decline in the whale population, and recently, had a few days when they saw no whales. I mentioned this to The Boatyard office manager and she seemed surprised, but was also surprised the tour operator we chose was still operating, mentioning the skipper used to fish with her dad and he must be at least 80 yrs old. She said this must be his last year. She suggested she could give me other tour operator suggestions since she had seen many recent social media posts just from the weekend with multiple whale encounters.
We had already booked and paid. I watched the weather. It has been terrible since we have been in Tonga; rainy, cloudy, windy, and not super warm. We thought on it. As the day neared the weather forecast was shaping up to be amazing! It appeared to be one of the best days since we had been here, warm, sunny, little wind and almost no ocean swell. We decided to go for it and while it paid off, it was a little different than expected.
We found whales via 3 other tour boats. The day began with some very playful ones that were breaching and slapping which was really cool to watch. I was already happy! We swam with this group 3 times, each time different whales, but all were extremely short lived. We were competing with the other boats for time in the water. We would follow their movement, get ahead of them and the guide would have us jump in fast, swim fast and it was over in 30 seconds to a minute. It was like speed swimming and the whales were mostly on the move.
Regardless of the chase, it was magical to see these gentle giants up close. The closest encounter was the mom and 2nd year calf and the best one was the group of 3 singing (see Instagram post). The moment we got in the water we could hear them, but we couldn’t see them. Then out of the deep dark depths they rose under us.
We departed this group in search of our own and found another group of whales, but they were on the move. We had one short swim with a group of four that we simply couldn’t keep up with and they didn’t seem interested to interact. It’s nature after all, but some whales like to interact and stick around from what we had been told.
We had heard from other cruisers where they spent an hour in the water with a mom and calf. It seems everyone we spoke to got closer and had more time with them. In the end, we still were so lucky to get to do this and are extremely grateful. I can’t help but thinking how it could have been better maybe if I chose a different operator. Our guide Teau was extremely excited with love for the water and the whales. They stopped at a cave for us to snorkel on the way back. These things definitely helped improve the experience.
We had been watching the weather to move south to the Ha’apai group, but the wind direction was not looking great. It is also required that you clear in and out of the different sectors of Tonga and Ha’apai island group in the middle was different than Vava’u. I made the mistake of asking Customs if we could clear out a few days early and make our way south out of Vava’u. Otherwise we would go south to wait out the weather, and then have to come back to north to Nieafu to clear out. It just didn’t make tons of logistical sense.
Of course not, the customs agent tells me, you MUST clear out the day you are leaving! So we left town and decided to explore Vava’u a bit more before returning 5 days later to clear out and do one last provisioning. The weather continued to be fickle. Wind, rain, and cloud cover were frequent. The temperature, hovering around 70F, certainly not what you would expect. Those days would be the beginning of a reluctance to get in the water, kicking myself for not having a full wetsuit, forcing myself in on any sunny day.
We anchored between a couple small islands on a sand shelf, one that was uninhabited, one with a small resort on it, protected by an outer reef. On the one decent weather day, we went out to the reef for a drift snorkel. Tony decided to stay with the dinghy while jumped in to numb my hands. The highlight was a lobster that was the size of a small dog and a school of cuddle fish that allowed me quite close. It was low tide and the majority of the coral was in the shallows with breaking waves. The end of the drop off brought me to a narrow cut in the sand with some random coral bombies and tons of fish. It’s too bad I was shivering by this point, because this was the coolest spot of the entire area.
That evening the anchorage filled up with 3 other boats, the only other boat that wasn’t a catamaran, was an aluminim sloop next to us. We went out for a short sundowner dinghy ride to soak up the remaining good weather day and on the way back we were summoned to that aluminum sloop, Shiva, by a retired Swiss couple. We were immediately invited aboard. This friendly couple was quite talkative and we enjoyed an hour of socializing. At this point we learned they had “checked out” from Nieafu (Vava’u) earlier in the week and were also headed to Ha’apai. They waved their hand at the response I got from customs and said, “don’t ask, just do”. We “left.” Oh well, I supposed we made it harder for ourselves. They would depart the following day. We preferred to wait for the wind direction to improve further so would and head back to “check out” on Wednesday for a Friday departure.
After paying port fees, we cleared out of Vava’u, but were hung up slightly because all the sudden they wanted my MMSI number. This is a 9 digit code used to identify a vessel’s radio or AIS system, but it’s also unique to the owner. We had one, or two by mistake, but I couldn’t find either in our paperwork and was struggling to locate it on my phone. For some reason this was all the sudden a MUST have, even though they never asked for it upon arrival.
When we purchased the boat this number was a complete enigma to me. It came up during our electronics refit when the electrician asked me for it to assign information to our new AIS. I assumed the past MMSI was the number was it which I found in our old VHF. At some point later, either when we purchased the new VHF or when I registered our EPIRB beacons, I learned I needed to register for our own MMSI via the post office. Technically, the one assigned to our AIS belongs to the old owner. I cannot easily change this because for some reason Garmin requires a PC to update the AIS. What year is this? Are we still playing Mac vs PC games? I guess Garmin is. It’s probably why all their equipment has the worst UX ever…
Luckily, our new VHF has the correct number assigned and I found the USPS email confirmation in my phone as the Customs officer was losing patience. Finally, we were approved to depart. We sailed out to the southern most anchorage in Vava’u, a small island for better staging closer to our destination. I was skeptical it would be protected as the winds were quite high and the swell was 1.5-2 meters. These conditions were expected to last through the night. I had asked the Swiss couple their experience there, which were similar conditions, and they made it seem “ok.” It was not “ok.” It was a very uncomfortable night with no sleep followed by a departure at 3am in the pitch dark. At least the holding was good.
We had a lovely sail to the Ha’apai group with perfect wind & weather. I even caught a glimpse of a few whales breaching in the distance, and a couple closer that showed me their fluke. Because it was Friday, we assumed we couldn’t check in until Monday. We would anchor at the northern island, which had a good snorkel spot and take advantage of another day of good weather before heading to town for a Monday check in. We sailed the 60 miles quite fast and arrived to the anchorage around 3pm. It was calm and glorious after the previous night.
The following day may be the best weather day since the whale swim, warmer (75F max), sunny, calm. we took advantage of it, but I especially was not going to let this day be spent on the boat in the slightest. The snorkeling spot was pretty cool and unique. It was a gallery of underwater rock formations (limestone) coming off the island, creating canyons, crevices and big drop offs. There was some coral growing on the rock as well, but mostly the formations and 3 dimensionality of it was what made it cool. Reef fish hid in the crevices and swam on top in the shallows. We saw turtles, and I caught a glimpse of an eagle ray and a shark at the same time.
After a morning session, we had lunch and I went back out on the paddle board to snorkel more and paddle around the shoreline. It was a glorious day, but unfortunately it would not last. The wind was supposed to shift again, this time to the south, which we know tends to bring cold air. That evening a squall hit the anchorage and it got very windy with waves coming directly in. Even though the rain subsided, that wind and swell never did, and it was not a calm night. The next morning the conditions were poor enough that it was time to go. Off to town we went.
The town anchorage was much more protected from the south wind and we settled into a calm night. The following morning we headed in to check in and check out the provisioning situation in town. Once at customs, which is essentially the agent’s home, we were asked when we arrived. I was honest and said Friday night. She then scolded us for not messaging her on WhatsApp to check in on Saturday. I had no idea this was a possibility. In Vava’u if you want to check in Saturday, you need an appointment and pay extra. When we arrived there we didn’t go that route and just waited till Monday. It wasn’t an issue. Regardless of the unclear processes, we were “cleared in” to the Ha’apai group and welcomed. We spoke to another boat in town, who had actually been anchored next to us Friday and Saturday, and they said they told her the “just” arrived.
We are slowly we are learning, “we leaving now” and “we have arrived now” is always what you say no matter when you actually “leave,” or have “arrived.” This is a sailboat, not a car or plane. Weather and other unforeseen issues can ALWAYS delay you. Customs isn’t open every day. Procedures are never clear. Sometimes the procedure is different based on who you talk to. It seems to be the consensus among most of our fellow cruisers.
After check in we headed back out to an anchorage in front of a group of islands, an uninhabited one front and center, with a pass on either side and an outer reef on the ocean side. There were supposed to be some decent snorkel spots here. The not so ideal weather continued. It was windy, cloudy, and chilly. It seems the sun would only ever come out for a few hours a day. We went to the uninhabited island and circumnavigated it by foot. It was a beautiful spot, but without the sun
I forced myself in the water again on the north side of the island pass because it was more protected than the spot by the outer reef. There were large bombies here. The sun disappeared the moment I got into the dinghy. I forged on, anchored and snorkeled along until my hands were numb again, about 15 minutes. The structures were neat, but the coral was suffering. It wasn’t the worst we had seen and the following day at the other spot we would see some of the largest live staghorn structures we have ever seen, only to see massive completely dead skeletal structures of an unknown coral species. This made me realize this spot was in better shape than originally thought. Had the sun been out, I probably would have enjoyed it more.
We went to the larger island that afternoon to stretch our legs and walk to town to see if we could obtain some onions and sugar. We had a nice walk through 3 small villages. The island was clean and lush with lots of mango trees and other farming operations. The kids in Tonga, similar to the Tuamotu’s, are always saying hello and asking your name. We met multiple groups of kids that were extremely interested in us. We would all introduced ourselves before continuing on. We scored the onions and sugar from a tiny shop where you obtain your goods from a window.
On the way back at the beach we saw the couple from Full Circle III, the boat we transited the Panama Canal with. They said the drift snorkel from the outer reef back to the pass was good and we should certainly do it. Now only if the sun would come out, and even better if the wind would calm. I decided that no matter what we would try tomorrow, as the weather was about to get even worse with rain and higher winds incoming for multiple days.
The next morning the sun was peaking out and I wasted no time to push us into the dinghy after breakfast. I was sure it would disappear mid-day. It was windy and while it wasn’t rough in terms of large waves, there were some whitecaps in the lagoon. As we motored out to the buoy into the wind, the spray wasn’t making it inviting. It was chilly, and it seemed this drift snorkel would be long!
Prior to entering the water Tony said “Ok so we’ll swim as fast as we can to the pass right?” I agreed and unfortunately I swam too fast and he was not happy with me when he finally caught up. The pass was of interest because I had heard leopard sharks frequent there and was keen to see one. So I trudged on even though my hands were numb half way through. I had kept an eye on him and thought he was nearby, but apparently I was wrong. Oops. Next time he’ll trail the dinghy…
In hindsight, the best part of the snorkel was out by the buoy where there were massive structures of staghorn coral and a few other nice structures of other corals. While drifting all the way back to the pass would have been nice in warm weather, it was unnecessary and didn’t lend much in terms of things to see in between. It would have been better to split them into two different ssessions, but there was no way once I was out of the water, I could get back in… I did get to see that leopard shark. It’s probably what distracted me from Tony trying to get back to the dinghy!
We decided to be pro-active and after the snorkel we moved before the weather changed to a much more protected anchorage. We knew we wouldn’t be the only one with this idea so decided to get there early. The trend continues as we sit here, some rain, wind, clouds and cool weather.
We made the best of the weather and hiked across the island and around the south end. We saw these strange things on the ocean side beach, which is protected from an outer reef. They were clear dark blue weird shaped ballon looking things, lots of them. A few appeared to have long tenticles, but most didn’t. We poked at them, not the tenticles of course, but the weird balloon like portion. One we tried to put back in the water as it moved when touched. Later we learned through google these are Portuguese Man O War! Guess we should be more careful where we put out fingers! Apparently even after dying the tenticles can deliver a severe and painful sting.
Yesterday morning when the sun came out briefly, I forced myself into the water again, but the wind was intense, making it for a tough paddle back to the boat. It doesn’t appear the weather will improve much in the near future. Maybe it’s the strong El Nino influence, but this is not how we imagined Tonga… To put it in perspective, we are in a similar lattitude in relation to the equator in the southern hemisphere, as the eastern Carribean (i.e Antigua) is in the northern hemisphere. The temperature difference, however, is drastic. We are here for at least 2 more weeks, at which point we will “check out” of Ha’apai and sail to Tongatapu and “check in” again just to provision before heading to Minerva Reef on our way to New Zealand. I didn’t think I’d have socks and slippers on just yet….
