Checking Out

0800 Position 18-39S 173-59W. At the customs dock, Neiafu, Vava'u, Tonga

I spent a couple of hours yesterday morning aboard Haven with Bruce and Carrie showing them how to use some of the tricker aspects of OpenCPN, the navigation software I use exclusively on Moku pe'a. I had given them my GPS tracks for the two and a half months we spent cruising in Tonga in 2014 and showed them how to make those tracks appear on their plotter. Having the tracks of others are great because if you follow them you can be sure you won't run aground. Carrie gave me the tracks of some cruisers who had visited Fiji's Lau Group, one of our destinations, so that will be helpful when we get there.

I also downloaded the New Zealand raster charts of the South Pacific to their computer. Raster charts are digital versions of the paper charts we used to use. Raster charts are particularly useful because they show all hazards with the detail dependent on the scale used. Vector charts, which are most commonly used on chart plotters, only show hazards when you zoom in far enough. The problem is that you don't know when you need to zoom in. The ability to easily toggle between raster and vector charts, a feature of OpenCPN, provides a degree of safety that is missing on most other chart plotters that use vector charts alone. A catamaran that we met first in the Marquesas and again in Tahiti was lost a couple of weeks ago in fine weather because they weren't aware of a hazard off of Huahine's coast. They hadn't zoomed in far enough on their vector chart and sailed right up on the reef. This kind of mistake happens many times each year to those who depend solely on vector charts.

An executive decision was made yesterday that Van Diemen will be departing Tonga today for Fiji. The winds are starting to drop and we should have two days of trades in the teens, perfect for the 400 mile passage to Savu Savu.

With departure imminent, we powered back to Neiafu in the early afternoon and Rob went up to the Tropicana to send the tedious "notice of arrival" to the Fiji authorities. Yachts sailing to that country must submit a ten page document by email in advance of arrival that includes pictures of the yacht and skipper. Failure to submit the documentation in advance results in a fine of more than $1,000. Greg at Tropicana has helped other yachties through the process many times and was very helpful to Rob in completing and submitting the documents. After a couple of hours of torture Rob returned to the boat worn out but victorious.

At first light this morning we slipped our mooring and moved to the customs dock to clear out of Tonga. The process should take a couple of hours and Van Diemen should be on her way before noon.

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