On Passage South - Day 1
Macushla
Mark & Sue Owen
Sat 14 Nov 2015 22:08
All is well on board after a fast and boisterous first 24 hours.
We had a great time cruising Tonga and, whilst anchored off Pangaimotu, enjoyed catching up with cruising friends on sv Saraoni and sv Oceanna. The Big Mama's Yacht Club was a funky place to hang out and have a beer and we liked very much what we saw of the town of Nuku'alofa.
We'd been monitoring the weather for the last couple of weeks, looking for an opening in the complex systems that regularly seem to build and work their way across New Zealand. After a long period of little or no wind, which allowed us to explore the Ha'apai islans at our leisure, we at last saw a weather window to get us on our way. So it was time to bid Tonga farewell.
Our course takes us past North Minerva Reef. Depending on how the weather systems further south develop over the next 24 hours, we may well make a pit stop here.