20 July - Winter

0800 position 18-42S 174-02W. At anchor in 28 feet, sand bottom, Port
Maurelle, Vava'u, Tonga

Sonny up at the Neiafu auto parts store was checking on the availability
of deep cycle batteries for us and would have the answer on Tuesday
afternoon so we could only stay in Hunga for a couple of nights. By
Tuesday morning the wind had backed around to the northwest as another low
passed, and we had a pleasant broad reach back to Neiafu. It turned out
that the battery Sonny could get for us was ridiculously expensive and
wouldn't get here until after we had planned to depart for Tahiti so we
declined, and instead purchased an automobile battery. This was not the
route we wanted to go, but we are hopeful that it will get us through the
trip. By Wednesday morning it was installed and our power problems were
resolved.

We are not hanging around Neiafu much these days. It is noisy with all
the dinghies powering around and music from the bars and restaurants, and
we prefer the tranquillity of isolated anchorages. By Friday morning the
wind had died completely. I wanted to get the batteries fully charged up,
so we powered for an hour or so back to Port Maurelle which has become
our go-to anchorage when we are coming or going from Neiafu. It is on the
way to just about everywhere, is protected from all directions but the
west, and is beautiful. Friday night was glassy, and we could see
individual fish swimming above the bottom thirty feet below us in the
moonlight.

We had heard that there was a dirt road circling Kapa, Port Maurelle's
island, so yesterday we rowed the dinghy ashore and set off to explore.
We had a lovely two hour hike and managed to find our way back to the
boat. We even discovered a quarter mile long lake high up in the middle
of the island, certainly not what you would expect to find on an island
made of coral.

We've been in Tonga almost two months now, and it is remarkable how much
colder it has become in that time. It is the middle of winter now, and
it is blankets at night and sweatshirts morning and evening. The water is
colder too. We often wear double wet suits when we snorkel, and sometimes
just stay in the dinghy. The water is so clear we don't have to get in
the water to see what's there. We see humpback whales every time we move
the boat now, and humpbacks mean visitors to Vava'u. The area has morphed
from a sleepy little village into a tourist town. For the next three
months it's tourist season while the humpbacks are here. The once empty
hotels have folks in them now, the open market has more and better
produce, restaurants are opening, and the streets are crowded. The super
yachts are arriving daily now. Last night there was one, perhaps 150 feet
long, anchored outside of us in Port Maurelle. It was lit up like a
cruise ship. One of its two RIB tenders with inboard diesel jet drive
motored by us yesterday. I remarked to Lori that the tender cost far more
than Moku pe'a did.

All the locals are trying to get a piece of the "Tongan Feast" market too.
When we arrived there were just two, the Lape Island feast Lori and I
attended and another on the north end of Vava'u. Now every village (and
even individual families like David's on Vaka'eitu) is putting on a weekly
Tongan Feast for visitors. When we rowed ashore yesterday there was a
sign posted on the Port Maurelle beach about another new weekly feast
across the island.