#65 NOW July 16, 2005 1130 Zone Time UTC +13 hours (Tonga Time) Niuatopatapu, Tonga (S15’56.5 W173’46.2), Temperature 84.2, Wind from SE 10-15 Greetings from Tonga, I always re-read my previous NOW prior to writing the next one. I think I will fire my proofreader. Sorry about several wrong words that got through the spell checker. Computers are wonderful, but they cannot tell the difference between from and form or poem and pome. Maybe I have dyslexia. Anyway, bear, or is it bare, with me. Asau, Samoa was once an up and coming place until Ofa, a 1990 cyclone, hit and destroyed the reef airport, as well as messing up the dredged channel into the Bay. The airport has never been rebuilt and the channel has silted in with many of the markers missing. In addition, a heavy swell was breaking over the reef making the channel very rough. However, with daring and maybe a little skill we fooled the fickle finger of fate again. Once inside the bay we proceeded over to the large dock, which has not seen a ship in some time and tied up to one of the bumpers. A man came out and asked for our papers. He said we could stay at the dock. However, we felt that it would be safer to anchor out in this lovely bay rather than being crushed by a bumper or the concrete of the dock as the tide came in. The next morning, we had planned to let down the dinghy and explore this remote place. Once we stepped outside, we soon changed our minds. It was around 90 degrees and the humidity was terrible. In addition, the tide was almost at its peak and the sun just right to see the color differences (depth) of the water. A quick departure was the decision, and we proceed back through the channel without incident. Next stop, Niuatopotapu, Tonga, 170 miles almost due south. During the night, we lost Wednesday! Tonga, although almost directly South of Samoa, has opted to align itself with the Eastern Hemisphere. Thus, each new day begins in Tonga, and they use UTC +13 hours. We are now 20 hours ahead of you on the West Coast (PDT). http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/tn.html http://gohawaii.about.com/od/tongaphotos/ I had expected this run to be rough, as we would be heading into the trade winds all the way. With 15 to 20 knots on the port bow, we made our way through 8 to 10 foot seas arriving at Niuatopotapu, affectionately called New Potato by yachties (yachties is a name used by most of the South Pacific Islanders to refer to the crew of any foreign boat from 20 to 150 feet). Entry into this harbor was straight forward, but not a good idea at night, which is exactly what a 100-foot yacht did and ran onto a reef. It is a rather sickening sight to see a lovely yacht tilted 30 degrees on its side. Happiness is being safely anchored by 1600 with plenty of daylight to spare. The next morning I received a call from the shore to come pick up the customs personnel. Arriving at the dock in my dinghy, I was greeted by four very large Tongans. They piled into the dinghy and I took them back to Done Dreamin'. We filled out the usual papers for customs, immigration, quarantine, and health. By then they had eaten a large portion of our trail mix, drunken half a gallon of lemonade, and whipped through a box of candies. They asked if we would take their pictures and print them out. This proved to be a great way to make friends and a chance to learn more about them, their country, and customs. Life is a Cruise, Larry and Carol -- Larry Rick Done Dreamin' Nordhavn 40 #33 Site: http://gricknet.homedns.org/ Email: donedream@pacbell.net