Heading for Tonga day 8 at sea 18:31.165S 165:57.464W

South Pacific Familyadventure 2008
Claes Brodin
Mon 31 Aug 2009 05:28
Only one day in Palmerston,but a day to remember.As a part of the Cookislands,we had to clear in(and out) which was done onboard Tarita.We were then brought to the island and invited for a coffee,before being brought out on an island tour (by Edvard Marsters a 4th generation descendant of William Marsters).Having told already when contacted on VHF that there were 2 medical doctors onboard(people on this remote atoll need all help they can get from the few cruisers passing by.Aware of that we decided to offer any medical help we would be able to provide),we then had a full clinic in the afternoon with lots of patients were Martin took care of all the children,and I took care of all the adults.Assisted by the islands only nurse,the panorama of diseases was surprisingly similar to what you see in Sweden.
In the evening we were brought back to Tarita,and left in strong winds just after dark.
We have now sailed 24hrs with winds from ESE of galeforce around 30kts, and very lumpy seas.The skye has been totally dark and it has been raining since early morning.We only have a small jib up,but still circumstances onboard can best be described with the word "rock´n roll".There´s around 450NM left to go,before we reach the northern Tonga island group Vavau.At least we are moving fast under current weather conditions.