21: 07.5 S

175: 09.7 W

Distance last 24 hours:             0     nm

Distance since Nuku’alofa:       0     nm 

Distance still to go:                1124    nm                                                 (All distances are in nautical miles:  1nm = 1.8km)

Hmmmm....!  (A dog I befriended on one of the islands....seems to reflect how I feel today...Haha!)

Well, well, well, yesterday, I was so confident that we were leaving, as you can see from our position, we are still on anchor! That final weather check showed that the low pressure I mentioned in yesterday’s posting had deepened AND worse moved right into our course. This news was quite a shock when you are all ready to go, and so took a bit of reality checking before we final made the decision not to go. Unlike most lows which rapidly move east, this one hung around for 3-4 days right on our course, and I guess that sealed it...

This is part of our sailing life world, and unlike missing a flight, and just waiting for the next available one, we just have to be patient and wait, and reframe our lives with the context of probably not being able to leave for another week. Looking at the weather the week beyond our original plan, it doesn’t look like a great window, so it’s Tongan holiday time again! Sorry for the false start......

We have decided to get out the bicycles, go back onto the main island (Tongatapu), and head down to the south coast for a traditional feast and stay out at a simple beach place. I’d wanted to explore the main island by bike, so this will now be a reality.

A major tourist, “Must see” on the island..!

The King’s Palace on Tongatapu. Church is a huge thing here, Sunday’s are essentially closed for everything other than church, and so we went along to the main church and there we saw the King’ in person.... Hmmm, not sure what this Kingdom stuff is all about in a country that wouldn’t survive with lots of outside assistance...! Anyway, all fun and worthy of experiencing!

Given the light winds forecast for next week, after the low has passed, we may pick up anchor on Sunday or Monday and sail the 240 miles to north Minerva Reef, and stay there for the right window to New Zealand. This amazing, almost perfect circle, 3 mile diameter, atoll in the middle of nowhere, is virtually on the path to New Zealand, and has a single navigable entrance through the coral, to apparently a great anchorage in crystal clear water. So that should be fun.... Will let you know....

We arrived back at Big Mamma’s Yacht club, from our town trip, to find quite a few others arriving at the same delay leaving decisions, which always makes one feel better.

One of the many wrecks around here, I spoke about yesterday. This one has become the sign post for Big Mamma’s Yacht Club!

I will update this blog on our return from our cycling trip, and email all those on my e-letter mailing list, the day we REALLY leave...Haha!