23 May - Niuatoputapu

0600 position 15-57S 173-46W. At anchor in 32 feet, sand bottom,
Niuatoputapu.

It is never easy. Over the previous twenty four hours the wind backed
from east to north to west to south, and this morning it continued backing
and ended up coming out of the east again as we made our final approach to
Niuatoputapu. Down wind in light air, just like our final approach into
Christmas. It delayed our arrival a bit as we tacked downwind, but we
were off the channel entrance at noon and were anchored off of the
island's pier at 1230. This is a wonderful anchorage. Great holding in
the lee of the island, very protected from all directions, and beautiful
with the views of Tafahi, a high volcanic cone island five miles to the
north, and the island and motus of Niuatoputapu. The anchorage could hold
hundreds of boats easily and safely, but this time we are the only boat
here. Google "photos Niuatoputapu" for an idea of what it looks like
here.

After relaxing and having a celebratory beer, we cleaned up the boat,
launched the dinghy, and Rocky took me ashore where I assembled one of our
folding bicycles so I could go chase down some officials to get us checked
in to Tonga.

I had a very interesting bike ride the mile and a half into town. There
are at least a dozen free roaming pigs in all of the yards here. They are
often out on the street and appear quite tame and happy as they graze and
forage for food. I also passed some horses on the street that appeared to
be wandering free. What I didn't see was any human productivity of any
kind. I saw some people, but they weren't doing anything at 2PM on a
Thursday. I missed the turn off for customs and immigration so had a good
tour or the south half of the island. I never saw any kind of a store
either. Strange. I eventually backtracked and found the officials who
decided that 2:45 was too late in the day to check us in so we have an
appointment at 9AM tomorrow.

Many thanks to all who responded for the excellent advice on my electrical
issues. I am still trying to figure things out here, but have much better
handle on the problem. At anchor things become less critical because I
only have a single significant load - the refrigerator. Autopilot is off
and the computer can be shut down when we aren't communicating or watching
a movie. Last night we watched "Anchorman 2". You might want to skip it
if you haven't seen it.

A good night's sleep makes everything seem better. Wish us luck with
Customs, and after that we are talking about a bike ride around the
island.