30 May - Port Maurelle

1200 position 18-42S 174-02W. At anchor in 28 feet, sand bottom, Port
Maurelle, Vava'u, Tonga

Clay Hutchinson, who told me about it, was right. Port Maurelle, named
for the first European to make landfall in Vava'u, is a gem. Located just
six miles from Neiafu, it is a gorgeous protected anchorage with a
beautiful white sand beach ashore, great diving, and fantastic views in
all directions. I think I could stay here forever. The cruising guides
say that it is one of the best spots in strong trades, and that's what
we've got going now so we were surprised to find it empty when we arrived
this morning at 1130. Shortly after we put the hook down we were in the
water exploring, and now we are back in the boat warming up.

It is cool here as we enter the Southern Hemisphere winter. A bit cooler
than it would be in Hawaii at this time of the season. We are wearing
sweatshirts at night. The water, however, is warmer than it is in Hawaii
which makes getting in it a lot easier. I still get cold easily in the
water, even here, so about fifteen minutes of snorkelling is all I can
take before I start shivering. I suppose I don't have enough insulation.

We plan to spend the next 5 nights exploring different dive spots and
anchorages before returning to Neiafu to meet Lori when she arrives on
June 4th.

Tonight's big experiment will be with the frozen mystery meat we found in
one of the local stores that they called "lamb". It didn't look like lamb
to me, but we bought some anyway and will be trying to make a meal of it
tonight. If you never hear from us again, blame the lamb.