Friday, 2 November 2007<\/p>\n
Yesterday morning the rain stopped and we left Uoleva
\nheading for Ha’afeva Island in tandem with Risho Maru. The
\nconditions were perfect, with winds out of the northeast at
\naround 15 knots and the seas relatively calm behind the reefs
\nand small islands. As we neared Ha’afeva we decided to take
\nadvantage of the conditions and continue on to Nomuka Iki in the
\nNomuka group of the Western Ha-apai. We arrived at 5:15 to find
\nYara already there. Yara left Uoleva for a different island,
\nUiha, at the same time we left for Ha’afeva but they too decided
\nto continue on given the fine sailing weather. The anchorage
\nwas a bit rolly but very beautiful and the water was crystal
\nclear. As the sun set, we could see the very large bats that
\nspend their days on Nomuka Iki fly overhead on their way to the
\nbig island of Nomuka to eat whatever it is that they eat.<\/p>\n
I hooked a fish on the way to Nomuka but lost him within 50
\nfeet of the boat as I reeled him in. But I put the line back in
\nto try again. As we got closer to Nomuka, which is set away from
\nbarrier reefs, the ocean swell finally made itself felt. It
\nseemed too rolly to deal with landing and gutting a fish, so
\nLaura decided to reel in the line without handling the rod —
\nshe just left it in the rod holder. Laura never handled the
\nfishing gear before. When she had about half the line reeled in,
\nthe reel suddenly made its whirring sound and began to unspool
\nquickly, and the rod bend back. Laura had hooked her first
\nfish. Unfortunately, this one took a leap out of the water when
\nit was 50 feet behind the boat and unhooked itself. That meant
\nchicken curry for supper rather than fish curry.<\/p>\n
We got up at 6:30 this morning with the plan to sail to
\nNuku’Alofa, the capitol of Tonga and our last stop before New
\nZealand. It was windless and raining hard and after a quick
\nconsultation with Risho Maru on the VHF, we all went back to
\nbed. By 9:30 the rain had stopped and a nice breeze had come
\nup. It was too late to sail all the way to Nuku’alofa, instead
\nwe sailed to Kelesia Island, which brought us about 20 miles
\ncloser to our destination. I hooked another fish soon after
\nleaving Nomuka Iki but this one did not get away. Laura is stir
\nfrying the small tuna as I write this.<\/p>\n
If the conditions are good tomorrow, we may finally make it
\nto Nuku’alofa. The forecast is for very light winds so we may
\nstay in Kelesia one more day. We need to get to Nuku’alofa no
\nlater than Sunday since we may leave for New Zealand as early as
\nMonday evening. A weather window may be opening and if it does
\nwe want to go through it. We need Monday to do the customs
\ncheck-out and provision. Sabbatical III is currently in
\nexcellent condition and she and her crew are fit for the passage
\nsouth.<\/p>\n
M.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Friday, 2 November 2007 Yesterday morning the rain stopped and we left Uoleva heading for Ha’afeva Island in tandem with Risho Maru. The conditions were perfect, with winds out of the northeast at around 15 knots and the seas relatively calm behind the reefs and small islands. As we neared Ha’afeva we decided to take … <\/p>\n