After a wonderful 4 month visit in cold rainy California, I returned on March 17 th to INTENTION in Tonga for cleanup, doing new projects, and repairs and maintenance. Sometimes A little, sometimes a little more each day eventually creates accomplishments. I was informed by my Tongan friend, Sifa, INTENTION had been robbed and the thief had been caught and most of the stuff returned. The weather is sunny & warm, in the low 80′s, so requires at least one swim a day to keep cool. It cools off to the 70′s in the nights and evenings and sometimes it’s more comfortable using a fan to keep the air moving if the air is still. Humidity is present but not oppressive. The first box has not arrived so no windlass or refrigeration. Have been cleaning the boat and throwing away old/spoiled food in lockers to have space to store new stuff.
There is very hot new beachfront property available from this newly erupting volcano and it is fun to watch from a distance this newest island in Tonga being formed. Sifa & I could see off in the distance from onboard INTENTION in the harbor lots of large billowy clouds of smoke and steam almost due North & small 3 foot waves after the earthquake this morning but all is well here in Nuka’alofa. There is about 200 yards of very hot new island next to the deserted and now devoid of green and devastated island of Hunga about 30 miles north of Nuka’alofa.
I’ve received my first box and have INTENTION’s refrigeration working but the windlass installation is going much slower as the daily rain showers are holding up having things dry enough to do the epoxy reinforcing of the deck where the windlass is. I always want it to be as strong as possible. I’m still not certain of exactly how to go about repairing the problem with the jammed variable pitch propeller. I hope I do not have to sail up to Va’vau to get hauled-out although it would allow me to get the welding done to repair the muffler too.
I introduced Patti to Melaia, a Tongan friend who lived and raised her children for 30 years in the US, in Nuku’alofa. They hit it off right away. Today Tuesday, Melaia flue on the local little puddle jumper, they call Chathem Air, to Ha’pai, Pangi and Patti’s. She is going to visit & see Patti’s newly opened Resort, now called Serenity Beach, and to counsel/advise her how to do business in Tonga. While there Melaia met Kelly and they became good friends. Had great fun watching the sunset having drinks at Fish Club one night and a delicious fish dinner the next night just before Kelly was flying to Auckland and then back to LAX/US.
April 6, 2009
I’ve been busy preparing for and cleaning up after the category 2 cyclone we had yesterday. LIN is my first tropical cyclone experience in the Southern Hemisphere and I was thankful it had a small diameter. INTENTION and I are just fine even with the winds blowing at 65 knots sustained and 85 knot gusts during the worst. Winds Changed direction almost 180 degrees after the lull in the eye of the storm came over the top of us. Rain blowing at that speed stung like needles as I was crawling around the deck checking lines and chafe gear. In the gusts INTENTION was leaning over at 35 to 45 degrees just with the force of the wind against the hull. I had 3 anchors on the bow, 1 plow straight ahead with 275 feet of 5/16 chain and two Danforth anchors with chain & rope rode out at 45 degrees on each side of the plow. The six stern lines I had tied to the breakwater kept INTENTION safe. It is a good thing I stayed with INTENTION the whole time as I put out many fenders when another boat came within a meter of INTENTION after one of their lines let go, and the port bow anchor broke loose from the bottom just before the eye came through. During the lull another line to shore got the other boat stabilized. The winds subsided to 10-15 knots and I watched a beautiful sunset with red and pink billowy clouds while drinking a cold beer thankful to be alive and feeling blessed.
On the Friday before the Sunday cyclone I realized that $100 TOP was missing from my wallet and upon further inspection another $25 US had been removed too. I then went aboard INTENTION to look in the my passport pouch to discover the $2,000 US I had put away for business start-up and emergency funds were totally gone. Sifa asked everyone and all denied knowing anything. They removed themselves from the boat before I had an opportunity to call the police. The next day I went to the police station and filed a report. At times I can let it go, see it as perfect, and chalk it up to another learning experience. Some times I get sucked in and need to immediately begin meditating to get back to my inner love, peace, & calm. I opened my heart to include them, was buying most of their food, and providing a place for them to stay.
I’m still installing the windlass. It needs another part from Port Supply. I will be working on the engine controls and if I can use a fellow cruiser’s dive equipment hopefully carefully examine and repair the jammed propeller this week. The boat is still in front of the Fish Club Bar and I won’t move INTENTION until after the end of this month when cyclone season ends. There’s Lots of wind today with occasional showers. They didn’t get my second box trans-shipped in American Samoa so it did not arrive last week as scheduled. Next ship from American Samoa is due 4/25.
Love, Jim