Crossing an ocean without sails (but with a budget)
Discussion
As there has been quite a bit of lively weather around the SPacific recently we thought we had better do something about a cyclone hole just in case.
Currently when we go into Ne'afu harbour (once a week or fortnight) for provisions we use a mooring owned by Kraken bar.
Although it would probably be strong enough for us in cyclone conditions the same cannot be said of some moorings nearby and the last thing we want is to get T boned by a 25t steel yacht that has broken loose (yes I am thinking of one in particular).
Soooo, we asked around and have been offered the use of an actual cyclone mooring further up the harbour. It is on its own at least 250m away from any other boats/moorings and can only be accessed at high tide as its surrounded by reef.
We have been out to it in our dinghy but need to go again with gloves and tools to properly check and clean the ropes/chain. Its not been used in a while and would supply enough shellfish for a family meal currently.
In other news I spent approx 8hrs underwater over the last few days scraping and scrubbing the hulls and replacing anodes.
Our cruise speed is back to normal and exhaust temp has dropped slightly now we have a clean bum.
DO NOT USE RESENE AF4000 ANTIFOUL IN S PACIFIC
Currently when we go into Ne'afu harbour (once a week or fortnight) for provisions we use a mooring owned by Kraken bar.
Although it would probably be strong enough for us in cyclone conditions the same cannot be said of some moorings nearby and the last thing we want is to get T boned by a 25t steel yacht that has broken loose (yes I am thinking of one in particular).
Soooo, we asked around and have been offered the use of an actual cyclone mooring further up the harbour. It is on its own at least 250m away from any other boats/moorings and can only be accessed at high tide as its surrounded by reef.
We have been out to it in our dinghy but need to go again with gloves and tools to properly check and clean the ropes/chain. Its not been used in a while and would supply enough shellfish for a family meal currently.
In other news I spent approx 8hrs underwater over the last few days scraping and scrubbing the hulls and replacing anodes.
Our cruise speed is back to normal and exhaust temp has dropped slightly now we have a clean bum.
DO NOT USE RESENE AF4000 ANTIFOUL IN S PACIFIC
GreatGranny said:
Superb thread OP.
Saw on another thread you are putting Lazy Sunday up for sale.
Going back home or buying something else?
Will miss tales of the fishing
Thank you, I've enjoyed writing it and will finish the story.Saw on another thread you are putting Lazy Sunday up for sale.
Going back home or buying something else?
Will miss tales of the fishing
My wifes boss has been hassling almost since we left and has been putting more pressure on recently with the offer of a BIG role in the new Australian division so thats where we are heading.
I'm not so keen on snorkelling in shark/croc infested waters so will rely on game fishing charters (or purchase a fishing boat) to get my kicks
Sooooo, my wife happened to look at her passport and saw that her extended visa (that we paid 70TOP per month for) had been crossed out by immigration at the airport when she came back from NZ and she had only been issued with a new 30 day stamp.
That had just expired so, on Friday, we popped into immigration to extend both of our visas.
It turns out I had the bigger issue.
The max stay anyone can get in Tonga is SIX months, not the twelve we were told by the same office when we both extended our original one month in August.
S's OK as her clock was reset when she flew out/in but mine can only be extended until 26 Jan which means we will be forced to leave Tonga slap bang in the middle of cyclone season.
Admittedly we are heading to the reasonably safe zone of Samoa then Wallis & Gromit (Futuna) and, apparently, I could become a legal overstayer by paying the 'fine' of 1200TOP before my visa expires.
Our buddy boat is in a worse position as his visa expires on 6th Jan, he is going to see immigration (before xmas shutdown) to plead for a few more weeks so we can leave together. He is a 70yo solo sailor so hopefully they will take pity and see that it would be better/safer if he travelled with us keeping an eye on him.
I suspect they will as they let an elderly couple leave on a yacht a couple of months back and neither they or their boat has been seen or found since.
In other news, we are currently anchored in Blue Lagoon (it seems every SPac country has one) scoping it out as a potential xmas day venue. It is incredibly beautiful and, on the charts, looks well protected by reef on three sides BUT at high tide the swell in here is pretty uncomfortable.
Admittedly there is a particular spot we want to try and anchor in for more protection but it is very overcast today so cannot see/navigate round the reef to get there.
So its out of here and into Hunga lagoon for a day or two until a sunny day or we blast over in the dinghy to check it out.
BTW its still 30C+ and water temp 28.5C
That had just expired so, on Friday, we popped into immigration to extend both of our visas.
It turns out I had the bigger issue.
The max stay anyone can get in Tonga is SIX months, not the twelve we were told by the same office when we both extended our original one month in August.
S's OK as her clock was reset when she flew out/in but mine can only be extended until 26 Jan which means we will be forced to leave Tonga slap bang in the middle of cyclone season.
Admittedly we are heading to the reasonably safe zone of Samoa then Wallis & Gromit (Futuna) and, apparently, I could become a legal overstayer by paying the 'fine' of 1200TOP before my visa expires.
Our buddy boat is in a worse position as his visa expires on 6th Jan, he is going to see immigration (before xmas shutdown) to plead for a few more weeks so we can leave together. He is a 70yo solo sailor so hopefully they will take pity and see that it would be better/safer if he travelled with us keeping an eye on him.
I suspect they will as they let an elderly couple leave on a yacht a couple of months back and neither they or their boat has been seen or found since.
In other news, we are currently anchored in Blue Lagoon (it seems every SPac country has one) scoping it out as a potential xmas day venue. It is incredibly beautiful and, on the charts, looks well protected by reef on three sides BUT at high tide the swell in here is pretty uncomfortable.
Admittedly there is a particular spot we want to try and anchor in for more protection but it is very overcast today so cannot see/navigate round the reef to get there.
So its out of here and into Hunga lagoon for a day or two until a sunny day or we blast over in the dinghy to check it out.
BTW its still 30C+ and water temp 28.5C
MAIN STORY - CONT
Friday June 2 and we pulled out of the beautiful (haha) port of Suva heading to Beqa (again !), an uneventful trip and we decided to head for a different anchorage for a little variety. We crept slowly up an inlet, past an abandoned resort, a few local fishing boats and, finally, a small village. We dropped anchor whilst in 16m and let out 60m of chain.
That night we had torrential rain and strong wind gusts. We were pulling hard back on our chain so let out another 10m, looks like we will be here for at least another day.
Sunday and off we went, or tried to but it took a while to get the anchor up as it was well embedded in thick mud. Conditions were not looking great but we had been in worse so off we went. Rounding the corner of the inlet and we could see the sea state outside of the reef, hmm weather prediction may be a little out but ‘he who dares, etc’.
We crashed out through the reef passage into some horrible conditions, on we went thinking once we change course past the tip of Beqa the wind would be behind us and the swell should ease. Getting thrown around when suddenly a big crashing noise from behind, our dinghy had tipped and was being dragged on its side through the waves (whilst still loosely attached to the dinghy arch). I ran down to the stb sugar scoop and started trying to manhandle it back in place. I shouted up to S to slow down, heard the revs drop so tried again – better. Pulling hard on the lift ropes the rear of the dinghy was starting to rise, water was rushing over the sugar scoops doing its best to wash me into the water. I think we both knew if I went in here that was it, game over. More pulling and it was now level so I rushed to the other side and pulled it up higher (much easier that side as no outboard weight to contend with). Back to stb and another few pulls got the dinghy back to where it should be. I did up the ratchet straps again that should have stopped this in the first place then secured an additional rope over the middle of the dinghy arch and through a grab handle on the dinghy. Obviously I don’t want to overplay this situation but I am a bloody legend .
Mission aborted, we turned round and headed back to the pass. When we turned we could see another boat coming out of the pass, another motorboat approx. 70’ long that we had seen moored previously. It came out into the open water and got tossed around like a rag doll, it was a mono hull and the motion from side to side looked horrible. We passed them and entered the pass, the difference was like night and day, so calm once inside the reef. I looked back through binoculars to see how they were getting on but it looked like they were stationary apart from the sickening to and fro, I remember wondering if their stabilisers had stopped working (it looked flash enough to have such things).
We sat there until Tuesday, prediction was less than 10kn of wind, 1.5m swell with 12 second gaps – pretty good. And so it was, exactly as predicted so we made good progress and arrived within the Astrolabe reef system at lunchtime. According to Navionics there are marker buoys indicating numerous passes around here, oh no there aren’t ! Apart from the lack of buoys the charts were very good, add to that the excellent visibility at that time of day and it was an easy entrance.
We anchored in a protected spot, although quite deep at 20m, and jumped into the water to see an amazing collection of sea life. After checking the tides we hopped into the dinghy and headed across to a smaller island where we had been told there was a manta ray ‘cleaning station’. The current was strong here (perhaps the reason it’s a cleaning station?) so I stayed in the dinghy while S jumped in and swum with three or four of these majestic creatures. Unlike at Manta Ray pass in the Yasawas where they just swim through on their way to the breeding ground, here they swim around and around the same area, presumably cleaning themselves. Not huge like some we have seen but still a good 2 to 3m wingspan, if that’s the correct term.
The next day we upped anchor and moved on, we knew from social media that another boat we had met previously was heading towards us so thought we could have drinks. Well, we hadn’t long anchored when there was a surprise entrance in the bay, our good friends on KNOCKANDO were here ! As they were anchoring HANK arrived with FUSIO and soon they were all on one dinghy heading over. When they were close I started to hear they were singing Happy Birthday – yes it was mine !
That night was a belter, great food, plenty of drinks and lots of laughter. When it was time to all go ‘home’ (we were on KNOCKANDO) we found one of our dinghies was missing ! We quickly worked out it was FUSIO’s, a brand new RIB and outboard. The guys jumped into the remaining dinghies and off we went scouring the area with spotlights. Of course we were all pretty munted so hadn’t thought to take VHF’s with us or organise any signals, etc so after 10 minutes or so the wives were getting pretty nervous about us.
Now I know you wont believe this as it seems unlikely that the writer would also be the hero (polishes medals, irons cape, etc) but, just as FUSIO said ‘I give up lets go back’ I saw something and told him to shine the spotlight back round. Sure enough, over on the beach of a small island, was the dinghy. By now we were about 2 miles from the anchorage if my memory is correct so it must have come untied from KNOCKANDO a while ago. We got close and Warwick jumped in the water and waded over to it, dragged it off the beach and it started first pull (only ever buy YAMAHA outboards !) so we raced back. Now the problem was no one knew where the two other dinghies were and their wives were v nervous now, so much so that they had stopped drinking (which is serious in the cruising world).
It wasn’t long until we heard a high revving motor closely followed by another, we were all back safely now with the correct amount of dinghies. One of them whilst searching had come across a sailboat entering the pass, it was our old friend PATANJALI, he had given up trying to organise his birthday bash at Vuda marina and detoured to meet us as his was the day after mine – another lovely surprise.
Friday June 2 and we pulled out of the beautiful (haha) port of Suva heading to Beqa (again !), an uneventful trip and we decided to head for a different anchorage for a little variety. We crept slowly up an inlet, past an abandoned resort, a few local fishing boats and, finally, a small village. We dropped anchor whilst in 16m and let out 60m of chain.
That night we had torrential rain and strong wind gusts. We were pulling hard back on our chain so let out another 10m, looks like we will be here for at least another day.
Sunday and off we went, or tried to but it took a while to get the anchor up as it was well embedded in thick mud. Conditions were not looking great but we had been in worse so off we went. Rounding the corner of the inlet and we could see the sea state outside of the reef, hmm weather prediction may be a little out but ‘he who dares, etc’.
We crashed out through the reef passage into some horrible conditions, on we went thinking once we change course past the tip of Beqa the wind would be behind us and the swell should ease. Getting thrown around when suddenly a big crashing noise from behind, our dinghy had tipped and was being dragged on its side through the waves (whilst still loosely attached to the dinghy arch). I ran down to the stb sugar scoop and started trying to manhandle it back in place. I shouted up to S to slow down, heard the revs drop so tried again – better. Pulling hard on the lift ropes the rear of the dinghy was starting to rise, water was rushing over the sugar scoops doing its best to wash me into the water. I think we both knew if I went in here that was it, game over. More pulling and it was now level so I rushed to the other side and pulled it up higher (much easier that side as no outboard weight to contend with). Back to stb and another few pulls got the dinghy back to where it should be. I did up the ratchet straps again that should have stopped this in the first place then secured an additional rope over the middle of the dinghy arch and through a grab handle on the dinghy. Obviously I don’t want to overplay this situation but I am a bloody legend .
Mission aborted, we turned round and headed back to the pass. When we turned we could see another boat coming out of the pass, another motorboat approx. 70’ long that we had seen moored previously. It came out into the open water and got tossed around like a rag doll, it was a mono hull and the motion from side to side looked horrible. We passed them and entered the pass, the difference was like night and day, so calm once inside the reef. I looked back through binoculars to see how they were getting on but it looked like they were stationary apart from the sickening to and fro, I remember wondering if their stabilisers had stopped working (it looked flash enough to have such things).
We sat there until Tuesday, prediction was less than 10kn of wind, 1.5m swell with 12 second gaps – pretty good. And so it was, exactly as predicted so we made good progress and arrived within the Astrolabe reef system at lunchtime. According to Navionics there are marker buoys indicating numerous passes around here, oh no there aren’t ! Apart from the lack of buoys the charts were very good, add to that the excellent visibility at that time of day and it was an easy entrance.
We anchored in a protected spot, although quite deep at 20m, and jumped into the water to see an amazing collection of sea life. After checking the tides we hopped into the dinghy and headed across to a smaller island where we had been told there was a manta ray ‘cleaning station’. The current was strong here (perhaps the reason it’s a cleaning station?) so I stayed in the dinghy while S jumped in and swum with three or four of these majestic creatures. Unlike at Manta Ray pass in the Yasawas where they just swim through on their way to the breeding ground, here they swim around and around the same area, presumably cleaning themselves. Not huge like some we have seen but still a good 2 to 3m wingspan, if that’s the correct term.
The next day we upped anchor and moved on, we knew from social media that another boat we had met previously was heading towards us so thought we could have drinks. Well, we hadn’t long anchored when there was a surprise entrance in the bay, our good friends on KNOCKANDO were here ! As they were anchoring HANK arrived with FUSIO and soon they were all on one dinghy heading over. When they were close I started to hear they were singing Happy Birthday – yes it was mine !
That night was a belter, great food, plenty of drinks and lots of laughter. When it was time to all go ‘home’ (we were on KNOCKANDO) we found one of our dinghies was missing ! We quickly worked out it was FUSIO’s, a brand new RIB and outboard. The guys jumped into the remaining dinghies and off we went scouring the area with spotlights. Of course we were all pretty munted so hadn’t thought to take VHF’s with us or organise any signals, etc so after 10 minutes or so the wives were getting pretty nervous about us.
Now I know you wont believe this as it seems unlikely that the writer would also be the hero (polishes medals, irons cape, etc) but, just as FUSIO said ‘I give up lets go back’ I saw something and told him to shine the spotlight back round. Sure enough, over on the beach of a small island, was the dinghy. By now we were about 2 miles from the anchorage if my memory is correct so it must have come untied from KNOCKANDO a while ago. We got close and Warwick jumped in the water and waded over to it, dragged it off the beach and it started first pull (only ever buy YAMAHA outboards !) so we raced back. Now the problem was no one knew where the two other dinghies were and their wives were v nervous now, so much so that they had stopped drinking (which is serious in the cruising world).
It wasn’t long until we heard a high revving motor closely followed by another, we were all back safely now with the correct amount of dinghies. One of them whilst searching had come across a sailboat entering the pass, it was our old friend PATANJALI, he had given up trying to organise his birthday bash at Vuda marina and detoured to meet us as his was the day after mine – another lovely surprise.
NNK said:
Today we are off to meet the owners of a small resort (closed as off season) on its own island. They need to go to NZ for medical stuff and are looking for caretakers/pet feeders for a few weeks.
Amazing the things you can get up to whilst floating around
Sounds fun for a change of scene!Amazing the things you can get up to whilst floating around
Merry Xmas to you all.
We were greeted this morning (6am) by a huge downpour but only for a short time and the sun is now blazing.
The first bottle of Prosecco is open but we will be going steady as need to motor for 45 minutes to get to Blue Lagoon to anchor for the day.
Hurrah for us !
Have fun
We were greeted this morning (6am) by a huge downpour but only for a short time and the sun is now blazing.
The first bottle of Prosecco is open but we will be going steady as need to motor for 45 minutes to get to Blue Lagoon to anchor for the day.
Hurrah for us !
Have fun
NNK said:
Merry Xmas to you all.
We were greeted this morning (6am) by a huge downpour but only for a short time and the sun is now blazing.
The first bottle of Prosecco is open but we will be going steady as need to motor for 45 minutes to get to Blue Lagoon to anchor for the day.
Hurrah for us !
Have fun
Merry Christmas! And I hope the New Year pans out happily for you both.We were greeted this morning (6am) by a huge downpour but only for a short time and the sun is now blazing.
The first bottle of Prosecco is open but we will be going steady as need to motor for 45 minutes to get to Blue Lagoon to anchor for the day.
Hurrah for us !
Have fun
Cheers!
So when we left Fiji we were supposed to have a couple of days shopping in Suva but didn't as weather window was good .
I have now remembered one of the things that was on that list , a bathroom sink waste (or whatever it's called). I say remembered but reminded would be a better word. I wondered why my feet were getting wet when brushing my teeth earlier - damn !
I have now remembered one of the things that was on that list , a bathroom sink waste (or whatever it's called). I say remembered but reminded would be a better word. I wondered why my feet were getting wet when brushing my teeth earlier - damn !
A weather window has appeared so we will be leaving Tonga sooner than expected.
We will head into harbour today, check out Wed morning and have fuel truck booked (haha) for 11am so we can get duty free diesel.
Then a quick visit to the liquor store with our checked out docs and we can get 2L of spirits each for a fraction of Tonga/Fiji price.
We will then head back round to Port Morelle and hideout there til Thurs 5am and slip out into the big blue.
We should have 10kn of wind pushing us and the swell heading in same direction hopefully giving us a pleasant 2 day passage to Suva (yay, cheap drinks at RSYC).
New lures goin on rods today, expect fish pics galore on arrival .
We will head into harbour today, check out Wed morning and have fuel truck booked (haha) for 11am so we can get duty free diesel.
Then a quick visit to the liquor store with our checked out docs and we can get 2L of spirits each for a fraction of Tonga/Fiji price.
We will then head back round to Port Morelle and hideout there til Thurs 5am and slip out into the big blue.
We should have 10kn of wind pushing us and the swell heading in same direction hopefully giving us a pleasant 2 day passage to Suva (yay, cheap drinks at RSYC).
New lures goin on rods today, expect fish pics galore on arrival .
So, when reading the post above you may wonder why the (haha) after 'fuel truck booked' well I have just spoken to fuel co again and the truck (only one on island) is awaiting repair, fuel pump f**ked.
Expected return to functionality is Thursday.
Our mate Andrew here is trying to organise 205L drums of diesel to be delivered to dock tomorrow instead, we shall see
Expected return to functionality is Thursday.
Our mate Andrew here is trying to organise 205L drums of diesel to be delivered to dock tomorrow instead, we shall see
Things you couldn't make up - part 143
Fuel trailer on its way to dock so we left our mooring, I pushed the starboard throttle up, heard a 'ting' but nothing more.
I know motor is in gear but only at tickover, push throttle further and ...... nothing
We have snapped a throttle cable on a Volvo Penta motor in Vava'u, Tonga - I immediately fear v expensive DHL freight from NZ or worse UK.
F**k it, ill just cable tie throttle in position once underway, it will be fine.
Obv at that point S stepped I'm with her thoughts , 'why don't you speak to someone else and bounce some ideas around?'
So I went ashore to find Amazing Andrew (as he shall now be known) , we went to LS and looked and his opinion was a little different.
'It's only a Morse cable, we'll find one easy'
Two phone calls later and no joy so across we dinghies to his workshop where he dug out four different Morse cables, some new some used.
One was only a metre/3ft longer than mine. Yeah that will work !
So 3 hours after the red mist had descended over my day we were all sorted !
Even better I have just seen the fuel truck driving up the road so we won't be using gravity feed trailer to take on 1200L tomorrow.
Hurrah for us ! Again
Fuel trailer on its way to dock so we left our mooring, I pushed the starboard throttle up, heard a 'ting' but nothing more.
I know motor is in gear but only at tickover, push throttle further and ...... nothing
We have snapped a throttle cable on a Volvo Penta motor in Vava'u, Tonga - I immediately fear v expensive DHL freight from NZ or worse UK.
F**k it, ill just cable tie throttle in position once underway, it will be fine.
Obv at that point S stepped I'm with her thoughts , 'why don't you speak to someone else and bounce some ideas around?'
So I went ashore to find Amazing Andrew (as he shall now be known) , we went to LS and looked and his opinion was a little different.
'It's only a Morse cable, we'll find one easy'
Two phone calls later and no joy so across we dinghies to his workshop where he dug out four different Morse cables, some new some used.
One was only a metre/3ft longer than mine. Yeah that will work !
So 3 hours after the red mist had descended over my day we were all sorted !
Even better I have just seen the fuel truck driving up the road so we won't be using gravity feed trailer to take on 1200L tomorrow.
Hurrah for us ! Again
And I waited and waited, truck eventually turned up at about 2pm , it had been fixed 'island style' so the pump didnt work and took an age to fill us but hey, what else were we doing ?
1166L later (at a bargain duty free price of 2.42TOP per L) we could take receipt etc to customs who would now check us out completely and the duty free liquor we had selected at shop could now be handed over to us.
Its a chaotic system but ........
The customs guy enquired why we had extended the 'boat visa' but now werent staying for rest of cyclone season, when advised immigration had given us wrong info about how long we could stay he just shuffled papers and changed subject.
1166L later (at a bargain duty free price of 2.42TOP per L) we could take receipt etc to customs who would now check us out completely and the duty free liquor we had selected at shop could now be handed over to us.
Its a chaotic system but ........
The customs guy enquired why we had extended the 'boat visa' but now werent staying for rest of cyclone season, when advised immigration had given us wrong info about how long we could stay he just shuffled papers and changed subject.
NNK said:
And I waited and waited, truck eventually turned up at about 2pm , it had been fixed 'island style' so the pump didnt work and took an age to fill us but hey, what else were we doing ?
1166L later (at a bargain duty free price of 2.42TOP per L) we could take receipt etc to customs who would now check us out completely and the duty free liquor we had selected at shop could now be handed over to us.
Its a chaotic system but ........
The customs guy enquired why we had extended the 'boat visa' but now werent staying for rest of cyclone season, when advised immigration had given us wrong info about how long we could stay he just shuffled papers and changed subject.
That last sentence made me chuckle. Classic example of talking yourself into trouble.1166L later (at a bargain duty free price of 2.42TOP per L) we could take receipt etc to customs who would now check us out completely and the duty free liquor we had selected at shop could now be handed over to us.
Its a chaotic system but ........
The customs guy enquired why we had extended the 'boat visa' but now werent staying for rest of cyclone season, when advised immigration had given us wrong info about how long we could stay he just shuffled papers and changed subject.
Safe travels, good fishing and look forward to seeing more photos!
32 hrs into our passage to Fiji (yes , Samoa got canned) and we are in the middle of the Southern Lau group, the Oneata passage.
We left at 6am Friday in lovely conditions which turned into torrential rain and lightning storms but almost no wind ????
Surfing down big swells at 12kn was fun and I pulled fishing lines in so we would not get slowed down by catching.
Today has been glorious despite the forecast of more rain.
Slightly slower than yesterday but we are still making good time, averaging approx 8kn .
We left at 6am Friday in lovely conditions which turned into torrential rain and lightning storms but almost no wind ????
Surfing down big swells at 12kn was fun and I pulled fishing lines in so we would not get slowed down by catching.
Today has been glorious despite the forecast of more rain.
Slightly slower than yesterday but we are still making good time, averaging approx 8kn .
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