well well well

Salsa af Stavsnas
Ellinor Ristoff Staffan Ehde
Wed 30 Oct 2013 02:57
Now we had to leave this paradise island where we have been all by our selves since we came. No wonder, the reefs that surrounded the island would keep most people away. This morning we had a real snorkeling tour by the reef in front of us.The sea has calmed down considerably and it was just amazing what we saw. A never ending chain of fresh pristine coral, so beautyful you could cry. And there in between fish of all sorts.
Deep red parrot fish, something I have never seen before.
Aftre the snorkel tour I took the kayak and paddled on waters so beautyful it is tyring to try to explain.
While I was doing that the kids divided shells they have found into different piles. For the class etc.
Now we are sailing in 8 knots of wind on the nose, very gentle. Ellinor is sitting in the aft bench reading a book. Andres is steering.
The kids are playing the three musqueteers downstairs. They are so funny, they do not care about all the beauty around us, they just keep on playing.
For lunch we wanted to make big white beand with pesto. Ellinor put them in the pressure cooker (thanks Mary!) and I was in charge. A misscalculaion ended with the beans being a white sauce. So we decided to make a soup instead. And that became a success!
Tomorrow we have to check out from Haapai and then set sail for Tongatapu, the capital and most southern island in Tonga.
There Anders and Alexandra will depart and we have to prepare for one of the most adventurous legs on the journey.
Going to New Zealand is known for notorious hard winds and lows passing every third day.
We will use the weather guru Bob Mc Davitt to help us plan our window.
Most probably we will sail to Minerva reef, a reef that makes a circle in the middle of the ocean, no island. You can enter there and be protected from big waves. It is a good spot to wait for a good window to the south.Our goal is Opua close to Cape North on the North island of NZ.