Nuku'Alofa

So where did I leave off?
Last Thursday waiting for a part? Picking up what we thought was a fixed rebuilt starter/solenoid?

Well the part did arrive in Tonga on Friday, sadly we could not pick it up until Saturday. Spare Parts zone guy promised it would be ready first thing and that he would then call the guy at the Ministry of Industry to put the bearing into the housing. The waterpump fix was a bust, so we collected our parts to bring back to the boat. The solenoid/starter was ready from Phoenix electric. So we headed back to the wharf to wait for the ferry. Dennis was able to get packing gland material from Johnny, the engineer at the place that fixes boats at the wharf. Nice knowledgeable guy. And then, Lo and behold, who did we see there but our new friends on Double Trouble, getting ready to head to Big Mama's as they had just finished checking in. So, we hitched a ride with them - sweet deal for us. They had a crap run up from NZ too - same winds on the nose plus rain.

Back at the boat Dennis replaced the engine raw water pump with the spare - working like a charm. Rebuild kit ordered from NZ for Josh to bring when he comes in July. - wow can you believe it's June already!!
Starter/solenoid, not so much.

Saturday we were up and on the way to town on the 0900 ferry. We divided up - I went to the market and Dennis and Paul went to pick up the part and a solenoid (yay they had the one we needed) and go to MOI (ministry of industry) to have the rudder parts put together. Let me stop here to give a plug to Razak (head guy) at Spare Parts Zone - he was very helpful. He let us take the solenoid and the bearing (at varying times) to try before we paid. Very cool. That place has tons of parts. The guys picked me up and we headed back to the boat.

Saturday afternoon we installed the new rudder bearing - was not totally straightforward, but it is back together and working great. The solenoid went onto the starter and after some fiddling is working well too.

Sunday - rest day and a walk around the Island followed by cold beer at Big Mama's. AHHHHHHH......

Monday - back to town to pick up our visa's, get our money back from Phoenix electric. No go to both of those - Visa's not ready until the afternoon, so we decided to head back to the boat.

Tuesday - back to town - Visa's ready, starter money returned, jerry jugs filled with diesel - oh and did I mention that Sunday after everything was all back together and running - then the refrigerator thermostat fully died. Sigh. Fortunately we were able to pick up a thermostat (for free) from a place next door to the Total station (which takes credit cards)by the Small Industries Park. Next up was provisioning. There is a place out by the Hospital called CostLow - you guessed it - imports from Costco. I swear I got things here cheaper than in New Zealand. Lol - don't get me started. Anyway we stocked up from a variety of places - veggies and fruit from the market, dry goods - costlow and meat from the place next to Cowley's (which is a bakery - sweets and only white bread when we were there). A busy day ended with an 1.5 hour wait for the ferry. The digicel tower is right there, so we called and talked to Josh.

Wednesday - beautiful sunny day. We checked out of Tongatapu -don't forget to pay the Port Authority fees. Headed to Ata for a head start jump to the Ha'apai. We are having to remember how to navigate through coral and reefs again - yuck! Hard on the stomach. We had good light, so getting in was not too bad. It is coming back to us how the color of the water changes indicating depth and presence of coral heads close to the surface.

Yesterday we left early in flat light to head to Kelefesia Island. Had a great day of beam/behind the beam sailing. As we approached Kelefesia, the swell got big and then - breaking waves in the distance. Looking at the chart and the guide and the view in front of us - yeah - not so much. They are not kidding when they say the anchorage is only good in calm seas..... Pretty sure it would have to be absolutely flat calm before I would even attempt that entrance. Being smarter than the average bears, we did have plan B and hence the reason we chose to leave so early in flat light. 15 miles further to Nomuka and still lots of daylight. And here we are. Its a pretty rolly anchorage, but no breaking waves at the entrance. Lots of them that you can see, but that comes with the reef. I am sure it would be awesome here in calmer weather. We haven't even put the dinghy in the water, and won't unless it calms down. Poor Dennis - borderline motion sick. No internet. We were spoiled in Nuku'Alofa.

Another work day today. Dennis fixed the freezer - the hard ride up to Tonga from NZ, created a few leaks. He also installed the new thermostat for the fridge and worked on the water pump. I shudder to think about how it would be if Dennis was not so handy. Electrician, plumber, mechanic, captain........
Paul has now completed seal replacement on 4 port holes. I did my usual cooking and cleaning and general assisting where ever needed. Cockpit looks pretty good - I have to say.

Okay - all caught up. Hope you all had a good three day weekend (in the states) and are not freezing to death in NZ.

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