Tag: Tonga

  • Day 1: Passage Tonga to NZ

    Wednesday, November 6, 2024:  Passage Tonga to New Zealand Day 1 10:20am and anchor up in Tonga for the last time.  We are out here with other boats taking this weather window.  Today is supposed to be sporty and it’s not disappointing – average winds 23, beam seas 1.5-2 meters, hauling along at 9 knots…

  • Goodbye Tonga

    Back to the Ha’apai Group in Tonga for another week of adventures; this one topped off with 52 knots of wind…read on! Our arrival to the Ha’apai was just after sunset, as we wove between coral bommies at a snail’s pace in the dark, trusting in the track we had created our last time to…

  • Weather & Wanderings in Tonga

    Anchored off Ofolanga Island in the Ha’apai Group in Tonga, we spent a few nights enjoying this remote calm-weather-only anchorage.  A sandy walk around the island, watching a turtle streak through the water on a drift snorkel, and enjoying a beach fire with friends and family.  The Hyer family got to experience the “thrills” of…

  • One Year Cruising Anniversary in Tonga

    Back to Port Maurelle, where we dinghied to a cliff of trees covered with flying foxes (fruit bats); close up photos revealed adorable teddy-bear like faces peeking out from their upside down black wing cloaks.  Chris and I went for a walk to the nearby village – huge solar arrays and a new electrical cord…

  • Arrival Kingdom of Tonga

    Passage from Niue to Tonga On our way from Niue to Tonga; sunny blue skies, the large colorful asymmetrical sail up for downwind sailing.  Cora’s fishing rod whirred and she worked and worked to bring the fish to the boat; it was a large billfish, a marlin.  Decided to let it go and, as we…