Tuesday, August 29th

The sun is shining and the wind is light and variable, few scattered clouds, air temp 80 degrees. This makes another perfect day in paradise. The last couple of days we have been hiking ,diving,making new friends and eating other peoples cooking.

Last Monday we headed out of the Blue Lagoon and headed to Ovaka island to go diving. We were on a lobster mission . We anchored in the afternoon and loaded up the digny and headed to and area were the reef drops off to about 100ft. We geared up and exited the dinghy. We were in about 20ft of water we headed north and reef dropped to about 60 ft with sheer cliffs of limestone rock. Lots of cracks and holes for lobster to live. We spent about 25 mins looking deep into these cracks, and found no lobster. I didn't want to get skunked so I went on a fish hunt. The area we were in is good for black grouper. In just a few minutes I spotted a 10lb black grouper. I stalked the fish trying not to spook him with my air bubbles and any fast movements. Grouper are very skittish fish. Chad had a underwater camera and was filming my hunt. I never got close enough to get a good shot with my Hawaiian sling. We moved on and came across a 5ft white tip reef shark. We started to head back and I spotted another grouper, I slowly worked my way, being patient I was able to get close enough for a good shot. I aimed, and released the sling. Direct hit in the gill plate just aft of the head. Chad captured the kill on film . I speared a couple more fish and we had fish for the freezer. The fish ranged from 4 to 7 pounds. More than enough for a couple of hungry sailors.

We got back to the boat cleaned our fish and gear. We pulled anchor and headed back to the blue Lagoon. We made reservations at the Ika Laki resort for dinner. This resort is owned by a Kiwi couple and run a fishing charter business 5 months out of the year. The primary customers are Kiwis and Australian. Word has been getting out about the blue marlin fishing and sail fish and many Americans are starting to make the long journey to Tonga to fish these waters. While we were having dinner one of the boats came in with a 250lb blue marlin. A Kiwi couple caught three and kept one. The couple donated the fish to the local villagers for food. We had another excellent meal and drank some good Kiwi wine. Another awesome day.

Monday, August 28th

Today is Monday the 28th and we are still hanging out on the island of Vava'u. Last Thursday when we arrived we weren't sure what to expect from this island group and we were shocked by all of the cruisers that have stopped here too. When we sailed into this chain of islands the sight was spectacular. We were about 20 miles to the north when we spotted the tall and sheer limestone cliffs that makes up most of the islands of Vava'u. From what I have seen most of the islands of the south pacific are atoll or volcanic type islands. The first island in Tonga was volcanic, 165 mile south the next big island Vava'u is mostly limestone. Vava'u is made up of 60 islands distributed over a sea area of 18nm east-west and 16nm north-south. On average,for every nautical mile a vessel travels in any direction there are 4.8 picturesque islands.

We arrived and set anchor around 5 pm on Thursday, first thing was to find Mike some lobster. We headed to the Mermaid bar and had a rum and coke visited with some folks we had meet on the way and then headed to the Dancing Rooster restaurant. We were told this place rocks for lobster. Well they only take reservations and we were out of luck. We returned to the Mermaid and Mike had lobster. I have seen them bigger in New Orleans and I think they call them craw fish,crawdads. Mike had a smile on his face and he was happy. After dinner we were tired and headed back to the boat.

The next morning we needed to check in with customs and find a place for laundry. We achieved our goals and cruised around the village of Neiafu. Neiafu is the main village of Vava'u. We found a fresh fruit and vegetable market much like a farmers market and purchased some fresh produce. As we walked around we found everything we needed and some. On our tour we found a Mexican cantina, Tonga Bob's. We had to give it a try. The beer was cold,margaritas' freshly made and the food was incredible. home made tortillas and salsa. The couple who owns and works the restaurant are from Oakland, California. They got tired of the US rat race and sold everything and moved to Vava'u. The day we were in they had live music so we stayed. When I said we stayed we did indeed until closing. The next day we all were moving very slow and pretty much did nothing.

The next day after our day of recovery we pulled anchor and headed to Vaka'eitu island. This anchorage was located in a well protected inlet and the depth was 55ft. Several dive spots a dingy ride away. Mike and Chad dove I watched the boat and recovering from a sinus issue. The boys said the diving was ok and the water was cold. I know cold water and 79 degrees to me isn't cold. These boys say they are from Minnesota, hard to believe. I made them hot coco to warm up and we made dinner watched a dvd and called it a night.

The next morning I decided I needed to get off of the boat. I took my long board and paddled about 300yards to shore and went for a hike. I found a trail through the jungle and walked about half a mile, The sounds were different and I always felt like someone or something was watching me. I was walking and I felt something crawling on my shoulder, a ugly spider had found my bare shoulder. I did notice many spider webs along the trail but never thought I had disturbed any of them. I brushed him off and pressed on. I was more in tune with my surroundings and notices many worms hanging from the trees. I realized that if you brushed into the worms they would fall on me too. A shirt would of been nice. The trail came to a steep drop of red clay, I made my way down and found myself on a secluded beach. I combed the beach , looking for beach glass and any unused shells. All the shells I liked so did the hermit crabs. I found a couple of shells the crabs didn't get and explored the mile long white sandy beach. I finally made my way back to the boat, a few shells,no spider bites. We pulled anchor and headed to the next spot. The Blue Lagoon.

The Blue Lagoon is in the middle of Foelifuka island. The only accesses is through a very small inlet about 40ft wide. Low tide the depth is 7ft . Once in the Lagoon there are many anchorages and the water is deep and blue. We found a spot next to a reef . The bow in about 40ft of water and the stern the depth drops beyond 100ft. We are surrounded by sandy beaches and lots of coconut palms. We will stay for the night and do some exploring the next day.

Later in the week I will be able to post pictures.

Tuesday, August 22nd

We are just entering the passage for Vava'u. We had estimated a earlier arrival, but last night around 9pm our winds changed from the southeast to the south. We lost about 2 kts and didn't get the southeast winds until 7am this morning. The seas were 3 to 4 ft. In the distance last night we saw several thunderstorms and were able to pass them without a squall. The ride was very comfortable and uneventful. First thing on the agenda, lobster sandwiches. I will update in a couple of days. Thanks Carson, and Mike.

Monday, August 21st

We have left for Vava'u again and we are having a much nicer sail. The weather is forecasted to be good and the winds should remain out of the east for the next two days. We started out with good luck this morning by catching a 25lb Mahi, Mahi. We are in sight of another boat Artic Fox. These folks are from Oregon, husband wife and their 8 year old son. We met them in Pago, Pago and they have the same destinations planned as we do. We are a little faster than them and will arrive about 2 to 3 hours before them. Having another boat near by is always comforting. We have learned that Vava'u is the jewel of Tonga and we will find lots of outdoor activities to keep us entertained. Lobster is very abundant and we were told of a restaurant that specializes in lobster sandwiches. Mike is drooling. I will bet our first stop will be for lobster sandwiches We will arrive early afternoon tomorrow. Perfect time for lobster and a nice cold beer. Hopefully I will be able to find a internet cafe and upload some pictures.

Calm Seas

0730 we pulled the anchor and headed out to sail south to our next stop Vava'u. On our way out of the lagoon it was a perfect morning, light winds calm seas, temp about 80 degrees. We were just outside the inlet to the lagoon when we spotted some humpback whales .They were out about a mile in front of us so we went towards them. When we got close we counted about 5 adults and one baby. Chad shot some video of the whales and we headed south. The wind was perfect from the east 15 kts. We were averaging about 6.5 kts and figured we would be in Vavu'a about 1pm the next day. The weather started to change a little. Some clouds were moving in. Our barometer was reading 29.90 and was not moving lower. We were 20 miles south of Niuatoputapu. The wind started to change and was coming from the south. We tacked to the south west and then we would tack back to the southeast and the further we got the south the winds would change back to the east. This time of year the winds are from the east. This was strange to have wind out of the south. Tacking to the southeast was going to put us into Vava'u the next evening. Slowly the clouds started to increase and the waves were getting bigger. The wind was averaging 22kts. We had seen this all the way down from Hawaii several different days so no big deal. Time passed and we were slowly heading southwest. Just before dark we were 20 mile west of our rumb line and we chose to tack southeast. We were established on our southeast heading and the wind was increasing 30kts and the waves were 15 ft, Again we have seen this and not a big deal,we put on our foulys and hunkered on down for the night. We continued for five hours on our southeast heading, in that five hours we only traveled 4 miles. We were fighting the current, big waves, and winds gusting to 35kts. We checked the weather and a low was moving from the south in our direction. We needed to make a decision, to continue on for a very rough ride or turn around and head back to Niuatoputapo. In the 13 hours of sailing we were only 40 miles from our starting point. It was a no brainier if we turned around we would be in a nice sheltered lagoon in 6 hours.We motored sailed down wind and headed back to Niuatoputapo. We entered the Lagoon at day break and set the hook by 0630. We were all exhausted. After much needed sleep we relaxed on the boat made dinner and watched a movie. Tomorrow we are invited to a barbecue on the island. We plan to leave on Tuesday, the forecast is clear skies with winds out of the east.

Leaving Tonga

Mike and I went to shore to find Chad. We gave some kids some candy for info on our missing friend. We found him in the next village with this funny grin and he was speaking Pete. Our airline friends will understand. Chad claimed that they made him drink Kava , but we think it was the Tonga love machine that took him away from us. We washed him up and gave him some clean clothes and a very cold Coors light. We set sail in the morning and should be in Vava'u the next morning. The diving is to be great and we will run into other cruisers in Vava'u. I will give a position report sometime tomorrow.

Monday, August 14th

Tonga

We made yet another crossing to the Kingdom of Tonga. We sailed for two days and nights and made it to Niuatoputapu Island. The most Northern of the Tonga Chain. The crossing from Samoa was pretty normal we has seas around 5-7 Ft and winds 15-20 kts. We picked up a new crew member in Samoa. Chad Huston met us in Samoa and will be with us for 3 weeks in Tonga. Chad is a pilot for Southwest airlines. We just cleared customs, three gals and one man came out the boat. We have learned that if you give a gift they will treat you very well. One of the gals who was in charge kept eyeing Chad. The customary in Tonga, if someone asks you for something you have to give it to them. The large Tonga woman asked for Chad so we gave him to her and we passed customs with flying colors. Chad went screaming and kicking, all we could see was this large gal carrying Chad over her shoulders like some piece of meat. I guess later we will have to go to shore and listen for Chad's screams to save him.

I will report later tomorrow what we find as we explore the island. I will not be able to post pictures until we get to Fiji which will not be until early October. The last post took about 8 hours to download all those pictures. Samoa's internet was very slow. We are very spoiled with all the high speed internet that is available to us. Please be patient and the photos will come.

Leaving Pago Pago

Today we leave Pago Pago and head to Tonga. We only have a two day sail and then we will explore Tonga. Tonga is located south of Samoa. I have tried to get the tracking site to work and no luck. We will be giving position reports. Thanks for following along and hopefully we will be able to post pictures in Tonga.

Seven Week Diet

Carson and Mike after seven weeks.

Crossing the Equator

Let the hair flow. Sam had the most to lose. Mike and his Mohawk.

Palmyra

The international airport. Mikes new home, a bomb shelter.

Palmyra Island

Mike and Sam Climbing around a Lockheed Loadstar. This aircraft crashed after landing on a cargo charter. The Palmyra Yatch Club.

Palmyra is a group of islands that are just north of the equator and is owned by a nature concervancy. Several government agencies operate this facility for research, private and government funded. The wildlife was incredible from the coral reefs, islands of palm trees and to the lagoons that surround this group of islands. Every animal and plant is protected. We met the staff of the island and a few researchers. Everyone we met was very helpful and friendly. We would of liked to stay longer but we had a schedule to keep.

Fanning Island

Enjoy the pictures of Fanning Island.

Tuna, Tuna, Tuna

Carson's $11.00 Blue Fin Tuna, Mike's Sushi Platter, Biggest fish winner Carson's 65lb Yellow Fin Tuna. Fresh tuna for lunch.

Bone Fishing

Bone fishing Fanning Island. Mike's first fish after 8 hours of casting.

Mike and I traded with some local Fanning kids candy for coconuts. Mike tried his luck climbing a coconut tree too.

Independence day on Fanning Island. Marching, drinking warm beer and coconuts. July 12th

Photos

Morning sunrises and evening sunsets.

Pago Pago

Hello everyone,
We reached Pago Pago and we are really enjoying the cold drinks and the variety of the food. Saturday night after we filled our guts and doused our whistles we were ready for a good night sleep. We slept for about ten hours, what a great feeling. We decided to do laundry first thing on Sunday morning. We loaded up the dingy with 6 weeks of moldy,crusty,and stained clothes. Don't ask Mike where his stains were, and headed to the laundromat. We unloaded our filth into 14 washing machines and started the cleansing process. After 2 hours and one three way cribbage game we had fresh ,clean and dry clothes. While we were waiting for our clothes I noticed a sign on the wall that read hot shower for $1.00. I inquired and yes it was true we rented a shower with hot water for $3.00. We scrubbed, shaved, brushed and q-tipped every part of our bodys. ( seperatly of course) Clean clothes and fresh smelling skin we were ready to find some more food.

The three of us walked around and checked out the town. We found the yatch club and wetted our whistles once again. We looked for food and before you knew it we were eating a sampler plate of fried foods and loving every minute. We had only one problem everytime we would eat we would compete for the bathroom. Our stomachs have shrunk and are not used to so much rich and oily food. Every bite was worth it. Can't wait for dinner tonight!!

I will have a new laptop by the end of the week and I promise the pictures will start flowing. Please be patient the pictures are worth the wait. ( especially my shaved head)

We will be heading to Western Samoa later in the week.

Saturday, August 5th

Today we arrived in Pago Pago, American Samoa at approximately 5pm MDT. The ride in was a rough ride, but with three good hands on board the Sundance arrived safe and sound. We will try and seek out a internet cafe tomorrow sometime and emails will be forthcoming in a few days.