Kenutu Island, Vava'u, Tonga
Harmonie
Don and Anne Myers
Sun 21 Jun 2009 17:28
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18:42.055S 173:55.762W
Last Wednesday (6/17) we left our convenient
overnight anchorage in Port Maurelle and continued on to one of the easternmost
anchorages in the Vava'u area off the west coast of tiny, uninhabited Kenutu
Island. Getting there was another exercise in eyeball bow navigation
skills through a series of reefs and coral heads or 'bomies' as the Kiwis call
them. This time with Don on the bow and me in the driver's seat.
Scary, but true.
As we approached one particularly hairy zig-zag
pass through several reefs, the boat was pointed toward the GPS waypoint
recommended by the guide book. When we reached the waypoint, I diligently
turned the boat to a heading of 50 degrees magnetic per the instructions and
almost immediately noticed the water depth dropping at an alarming rate.
'This doesn't look right!' I yelled up to Don while he stared at the ugly brown
water directly ahead. 'It's not! Back off!' That's all the
instruction I needed to throw the boat into reverse in a big way before the
depth meter read less than one meter beneath the keel. We backed off into
deeper water while Don reassessed the situation. 'Do you want me to take
the wheel?' he asked. I handed it over without complaint and went
back to my normal position on the bow. I'm a strong believer in the
concept of the captain at the wheel in times of trouble. His
reactions are faster than mine and besides, I don't like the potential
liability associated with grounding guilt.
Our second try at the pass went more
smoothly. We ignored the guide book and just went with what looked
right. They always say when in doubt, go with what you can see.
After that the reef navigation was easier and we found Lady Kay with about five
other boats at Kenutu Island. This is one of the problems with the Vava'u
group of islands. The anchorages are all so conveniently close to the big
harbor of Neiafu that more often than not the secluded anchorage you
anticipated is not so secluded by the time you arrive. It's not
like it's filled with strangers though. Generally, there are only a couple
hundred (or less) boats circulating around the South Pacific at any given
time so it's not unusual to see the same boats over and over.
Six boats in the anchorage didn't make it any less
inviting. We stayed only one night because we had to get back
to Neiafu on Thursday for the Fiji rally briefing. Otherwise we would
have liked to stay longer. We did have a chance to hike to the windward
side of the island with Michael and Jackie (not a big feat given it only
took us about ten minutes). Below are pictures.
Picture 1 - One of the many rocky inlets on the island's eastern coast.
There wasn't much wind at the time so the surf breaking on the rocks
wasn't as spectacular as it might have been. Still pretty
though.
Picture 2 - Don walking through Kenutu Island's
enchanted mangrove forest. Moss covered coral rocks combined with the
crazy roots of the mangrove and long droopy green needles of some kind of
evergreen made the forest seem like a place where elves might hang
out. We didn't see any.
The next day we made our way back to Neiafu for the
third time.
Anne
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