Whale Watching

We've seen humpbacks breaching in the Caribbean and Pacific, sailed past a sleeping basking shark, dinghied past pilot whales frolicking in the ocean close to anchorages and been on a ferry through the San Juan islands that went very near a pod of orcas but we were yet to swim with the beasts, Vava'u offers just that and we couldn't wait to grasp the opportunity.

Humpback whales make the 6 000km journey from Antarctica to winter breeding grounds, of which Tonga is one of them. The whales begin arriving in June and the calves are born between July and September. 

It was one of the best experiences so far on this adventure only second to the engagement (of course!).

The tale of how we came to do the whale watching is worth telling before I continue. Coming into Vava'u we had caught a 20lb mahi mahi that we didn't fancy attempting to demolish by ourselves so I sent Dylan off in the dinghy to distribute to other yachties in the anchorage. One yacht he went to was home for a week to an Australian couple on holiday and they traded the fish for a dozen eggs. Awesome!! But not only did they provide us with the protein they also mentioned a whale watching day that they were no longer going on as they had been already and didn't need a second day. Sooo we took them up on the offer as we had heard you have to book far in advance in peak season and arranged to meet up with them the next day for more details. The next day comes and Chris and Kerry insist on giving it to us for an engagement present. Can you believe it? We had known this lovely couple for less than 24 hours and they were keen to provide us with such a fantastic experience for free! This is another example of what we mean about meeting such interesting, generous, inspiring people that we never would have met were we still in London working our corporate jobs. It contributes to our new philosophy of 'paying it forward' 

We arrived at Dolphin Pacific for 8:30, given a wet suit and shuffled onto a boat with 6 other people and 2 guides. The aim of the game is to keep a look out for whales, if we see one shout and a guide will get in the water to see if the whale is still nearby, if so it's our cue to jump in and swim over to observe the beast. So we were suited up and spent the morning chasing spouts of water with no whale willing to hang around for us tourists. After lunch we were starting to think that this may be a day where the whales just don't want to play when we spotted another spout that turned out to be a surfacing calf. Yay it was hanging around and we were the first group of 4 in the water. 

We swim over and squint into the deep blue, just making out some white barnacles presuming they were making themselves at home on the calf. I start snapping away thinking this may be the best we get…when the calf starts to surface. Woooooow. The shape starts to become very apparent, then the mouth, the fins, the huge eye staring at us. It swims right up to us, giving us a good eyeball whilst Dylan and I just float there, frozen in awe, squeezing each other's arm daring not to move and at the same time wanting to move to back away slightly from this beast of the ocean. It passed an arm's length from us, taking a gulp of air and submersing back into the murky depths.

Now the second time we went in the water, the calf made it even more exciting. Once again it emerges from the deep, comes right up close to us, even closer than the first time so that the left fin was centimetres from us and then it decides it wants to play /fight and slaps it's tail right next to our heads. Like a collection of squid, we all inked ourselves there and then as the water around us turned into a soda stream and we checked each other for all limbs still attached. Nervous giggles were exchanged by all. Phhhheeeewwwweeeee it was amazing. The guide found it hysterical (perhaps he also inked himself) as we just stared at each other jaws to the floor. Absolutely unbelievable, the power of these beasts experienced first hand, 2 tons of flesh raining down right near our heads. Here's a video of our second swim with the cheeky denizen, unfortunately in my shock must have twitched my right forefinger and shut the film off right as the tail comes down but you wouldn't have seen much anyway apart from bubbles and our fins flailing about. Another yachtie had a Go-Pro so will ask him for the footage.

See what I mean about the proximity, this isn't zoomed in, in fact I kept automatically trying to zoom out then realising we really were that close!! Not the best video I have ever taken but the excitement kept taking my attention elsewhere as my eyes tried to take in everything happening in front of us!

An experience not to be missed for all those that find themselves in this part of the world.

What I learnt from Steven Callaghan

Adrift by Steven Callaghan is a true story of a single hander who was lost at sea for 76 days in the Atlantic ocean. It is an awe inspiring story of courage and endurance. 

Without spoiling the plot, it is safe to say that he survived (how else would he have written the book).

What I took away from the story is a few things with regards to abandoning ship.

1. A satellite phone of some sorts is almost essential as no one would know that you are lost until many days after your expected arrival date in the next port. Imagine abandoning ship 1 week into a 4 week passage that could take up to 6 weeks. There are at least 5 weeks before people would start to wonder where you are…

2. EPIRB used in conjunction with the sat phone to help with pinpointing your position and notifying the authorities.

3. A handheld VHF is very useful as 9 ships passed him by and did not see his flares.

4. Handheld GPS to let the world know where you are. 

5. Some form of solar still should be included in your grab bag (and jerry cans of water available to take into the life raft with you)

6. A small speargun proved very useful for catching life sustaining fish (line and hooks included in the liferaft kit bag less so)

7. Good book on survival at sea and how to cope would probably also be high on my list of what to stuff in the grab bag.

If the right people know within hours that you are in your life raft, the chances of rescue increase significantly.  

I would walk 10 000 miles...

"and I will sail 10 000 more". As The Proclaimers might have sung had they been sailors. 

Yes, we have reached the 10k mark on Orion in less than 18 months. We worked out that if one drove all this way in a car (at 60mph) it would take about 7 days of continuous driving. 

In this time, we have received our 25th stamp in our passports (which are running very low on pages). 

We have another 2000miles to Australia where we plan on selling the boat and going back to work. All good things must come to an end eventually i suppose. 

Who is our audience?

We often wonder who is actually reading our blog posts. We started doing it for friends and family (mainly to avoid writing long individual emails to all and sundry). Call us lazy!

You can imagine our surprise when we were in a restaurant in Tonga when someone asked if we were from Orion. They had recognised us from the pictures in the blog. We were quite chuffed when they thanked us for our blog post on stocking up in Panama. It is always great to hear that our posts are of use. 

We try to put as many photos as possible on our blog but with the majority of internet signal being poor, it often takes hours to do.

Mariner's cave - Tonga

Imagine an under water cave. One that you have to swim down (under the water) in order to get into it. To be exact, you have to swim about 10 ft down in order to get in. Once inside the afternoon light provides an eerie glow to the cave. 

As a swell / surge occurs, the water vapour in the air (inside the cave) condenses and it appears like your vision has gone blurry. The haze in front of you turns a misty blue / green colour. Just as quickly as it occurs, so it disappears. 

Fantastic natural phenomenon. Well worth doing when in Vava'u. If you go whale watching, they will probably take you there on the way back. 

There is another entrance about 30+ feet down. Dylan enjoyed swimming down and through, much to the amazement of the Japanese tourists we were watching whales with. 

Emerging from the cave

Looking out

Inside the cave

One potato, two potato, three potato, four

Arriving into Niuatoputapu (New Potatoes as many lazy cruisers refer to it) after a 2 night sail was quite an experience. The CMaps we were using were not accurate and we crisscrossed land and reef in a number of places. Mildly disconcerting! What with the tsunami that hit a few years ago (2009), maybe reef and land mass has shifted somewhat... A recently caught big eye tuna hung from the stern like a scalp on the belt of a American Indian.  We proceeded to parade it around the anchorage before dropping the big metal thing that stops us floating away. It is Friday in American Samoa, but we have just leapt into the future to Saturday morning. We are still nowhere near 180 degrees east...

Our friends on Murar's Dream received some of the tuna, as did another French boat in the anchorage. Sally and I love our fish. but not 5 consecutive meals of it...The lovely French couple invited us to dinner on Sunday. We arrived on time and they said "we thought you were not coming..." to which we apologised for being late (by 5 minutes). A few days later we arrived an hour late to a pig roast on shore and twigged that we had changed our clock back an hour, when actually we should not have. Never did get to apologise to the French couple, they probably just think we are rude English (new stereotype in the making?).

As it was a Saturday, we had to remain on board until Monday when apparently Customs and Immigration would descend upon us with reams of paperwork. The convergence zone sat on top of us all Sunday, like a large incontinent grey beast. Monday came and almost went when we decided to dinghy in and find them ourselves. 

Piggies patrol the land and shores like hostile natives. Once near them they become altogether shy and dash off to snuffle elsewhere. Pigs seem to outnumber people about 3 to one.  We met Sia who is a tourism liaison in Niuatoputapu. She helped us check in and made herself responsible for our stay. Talk of pig roasts and fishing trips all sounded very good. As did the imminent arrival of the recently crowned (2012) King of Tonga! A number of other yachts arrived and joined us for a pig roast at Sia's house, where we met her husband Nico. It was great to find a community that was not polluted by television as no one owns a TV and very few a phone. A skinny little piggie was the main course and all the food cooked in an umu (or underground oven). A very clever way of cooking as the food cooks in banana leaves but does not burn. We even tried kava. It was a very interesting narcotic drink that tastes of muddy dishwater (similar consistency too) and leaves a mild tingle on the tongue and lips after a single coconut shell full. I declined seconds as I was driving the dinghy. 

Due to the tsunami the snorkelling and fishing is not amazing, but I was encouraged by Sia to bring them any fish that I caught while snorkelling. Awesome! Every day thereafter I would go out spearfishing and caught fish that I would not usually have selected for my own pot then trailed them back to the village to be met by excited locals with wide smiles. 

On a few of the mornings I went out and trolled, picking up a large cuda and a giant travally (jack).

Another occasion nailed a good sized snapper. 

Give me a kiss!

Nico and Sia arranged to go fishing on a Saturday on the little motu (island) near our anchorage. We met them there and were soon cooking fish island style, searching for clams in the rocks, net fishing on the flat reef. Coconuts provided us with liquid refreshments. 

Sally and I went out snorkelling outside of the reef. When we submersed, you could clearly hear whales singing to you. Deep sounds of the males and high pitches of mothers and calves. Beautiful. You can see why people buy CD's of the stuff and pretend they are Nemo. A large jack cruised past me and I nailed it with the speargun. Being a large jack and none too impressed with being shot, it proceeded to shoot off. Unfortunately it took my spear with it! Bloody line snapped. I was spitting and cursing at losing A) a great fish and B) a good spear. Fortunately I had another onboard! 

Each morning, the bells ring at 5am to wake up the anchorage (I am sure a few locals wake too!).

This is the call to be at church for morning services. These begin promptly at 5:30am. Early birds are still dreaming of worms at this stage.  Having heard about the amazing singing that South Pacific islanders (Tongans) do, we were intrigued to listen to a service. Sia invited the yachties to her Roman Catholic church for Sunday service. The "umu" / post event lunch also helped to encourage a few infidels to attend. 

I must admit the singing was very good. Service lasted at least 1hr 30…all in Tongan with the odd English word mixed in. I think I caught an "Amen" every now and then. I counted that there were about 120 in the congregation all dressed in their sunday bests. I worked out that if we had kept the service to a brief 30 minutes and utilised the other hour for the betterment of mankind, we would have 120 hours of actual deeds each week (or 6200 man hours per year). Just an interesting calculation…nothing more.

As Niuatoputapu was devastated by the tsunami a few years ago; a lot of people lost everything. The aid and generosity of others has ensured that the island remains inhabited. As such we (the cruisers) arranged a "distribution run" to take food, clothes, tools and school stuff to the people on the island. Aided by Sia and her truck, we went around and delivered goods to people in most need.

Lucky recipient of some of Sally's old clothes (and a tin of corned beef)

The main event was the arrival of the King of Tonga. For days the islanders had been cleaning their island in anticipation for the arrival of the new King. He had been crowned a year before and was touring his kingdom. He had been to Niuatoputapu before as a marine, but never as king. We watched him arrive and we went to the Agricultural Fair to see the festivities. 

Wind arrived and we left. 

Sia informs us that dog (aka man's best friend) tastes a little like goat...

The village was hard at work preparing for the king

American Samoa

Sailing into the harbour of Pago Pago, we were greeted by a golden arch, a giant stamp interrupting the landscape, proof of how far the 'American dream' has reached. McDonald's seemed to be the hub of the community, always full, always super size, always free internet available. Now you can't complain about the last observation!

The passage between Suwarrow (Cook Islands) and American Samoa was pretty awful. We chose a weather window, expecting consistent 20 knots and a fast sail but Mother Nature had other plans for us. We spent the 5 days at sea in squall after squall, poor Orion getting absolutely soaked, towel after towel used to stop the torrential rain coming down the companionway and drying our soggy bodies. The waves tossed us about like a cork and the wind was 30 knots or more for the whole time. Tiring, sickening and not fun although we were squeaky clean after getting power washed. With our experience of the South Pacific Convergence Zone behind us, we were most excited to sight land!

To be honest, we wouldn't have bothered with this island if it weren't for a parcel expected from the US. With American Samoa having a US zip code, shipping is the same price as internal US postage. We took full advantage and to our delight, it took a mere 4 days from when the parcel was shipped in Virginia to arriving in the post office of this remote Pacific island! Impeccable service at a fraction of the price it would have cost to get sent to Fiji so in our opinion, well worth the detour.

The anchorage was similar to what the guides say, marginal holding and murky water. It took us two attempts to set the anchor but apparently the average is 6! A tsunami hit the island in 2009 and people today are still pulling up deck chairs, parasols, even a lawn mower from the harbour floor. Most boats in the bay looked a little sorry for themselves, a place where boats go to die with the odd long term yachtie thrown into the mix. The tuna canning factory provided an interesting aroma but also a source of fascination for Dylan who's favourite programme of all time is Deadliest Catch. He was rather overwhelmed as his previous fishing experience was using a hand line with a 15HP engine in Suwarrow then he witnesses these beasts, with kilometres of nets and their own helicopter on board to spot the schools. I left him to it and preferred to wash every piece of clothing and linen we had in the cheap laundromat ($1.25 per load!) whilst Dylan stood and stared at the ships, hoping to get invited onboard for a tour (he didn't succeed).

Clearing into the country was a lengthy process involving the Harbour Office, Pier Control, Customs and Immigration each in a different office with very similar paperwork. You pay nothing when clearing in but clearing out of the country costs $150. An expensive trip as we only stayed for 4 days.

Four words to sum this place up, 'Food Stamps Accepted Here'. This country is poor yet they have developed the wants of a first world American society. Consumerism and cholesterol have found their way to this Pacific island. The average Samoan is fairly large, they drive big beefy vehicles, have and use the latest technology, yet it would appear, can't afford to buy the basic food stuffs. We saw in quite a few areas adverts for a national nutrition programme yet the associated looking people were definitely in the minority. 

On the subject of food, there is a Cost U Less. We still have a lot of food left from our provisioning in Panama so didn't need much but for those yachts running low, this would be a great place to stock up and a bus can take you straight there from the dinghy dock. It's a long ride but you get to ride on a funny looking plywood bus and see the pretty windward side of the island.

I had been eyeing up the lovely woven baskets the fruit and veg ladies use to store bananas. After another compliment on how beautiful they were, one seller offered to give me one…for free! It only takes them 10 minutes to make so I bought some bananas so I didn't feel like I was taking advantage and made a hasty retreat lest they change their mind and want to charge me for it. On our way back to the dinghy, Dylan wanted to check out a tool shop so I sat outside (tolerance for hardware stores has diminished since Panama) admiring my latest find. With Dylan gone for no less than 5 mins, I had 4 different locals stop by for a chat, sitting next to me on a step and telling me about their day. The people here are so friendly…OK it does help being a blonde female sat alone rather than with a hairy male next to me! One guy saw me trying to take a photo of my latest acquisition and came over to pose with the basket for me, kneeling on one knee and providing me with a toothy grin whilst his friend giggled away out of shot. Brilliant. 

With our mission of collecting the parcel complete, we were keen to get moving to Tonga so as soon as a weather window came up only 4 days after arriving in American Samoa, we took it and upped anchor just as dusk fell. As warned, upping the anchor was a little traumatic as it fouled and took a good 15 mins to dislodge from the bottom, great sport for the yachties on surrounding boats.

We're a nosy twosome so sailed Orion right up close to the huge tuna boats anchored near the mouth of the harbour, waving at the crew (yep we were that close), they were loving it, blowing us kisses and calling more of their friends to come on deck. All warm and fuzzy, we pointed Orion for New Potatoes (part of Tonga) and settled down for a 210 mile sail. Easy peasy lemon squeezy.