Sovereign Sailor on Nostr: We’ve been in Vava’u Tonga for three days now. Arriving here was amazing. There ...
We’ve been in Vava’u Tonga for three days now. Arriving here was amazing. There was a 95% full moon and as we sailed around the northern shore of Vava’u we spotted three whales that were about 500ft or ten boat lengths away that were swimming directly at us. I shouted to my wife to start the engine, no I yelled furl the staysail, no I yelled again just watch the whales and tell me what direction they’re heading in then one whale broached about five boat lengths away in the moonlight is was something so surreal.
Frightening at first as you are worried about colliding with them then after my racing mind settled we bear’d away to head in the same direction as they were swimming minimising the chances of coming into contact with them.
In the end we got the engine started and also the watermaker. The watermaker is loud and as the pump on it is high pressure it makes a lot of vibration thru the hull. This we hoped would allow them to hear us and to keep away.
It’s something people don’t think about much but colliding with objects at sea happens a lot and it can be fatal to the boat especially if the boats a monohull and if it’s something hard like a shipping container.
In the end we arrived safely spending the first day anchored off the customs dock cleaning the boat up from the long passage to get here. Yesterday Monday we cleared in and became legal.
Over the next few weeks we’ll explore this paradise and hopefully we’ll get to swim with the humpback whales that migrate here yearly to give birth to their calves.
View over Neiafu harbour below 👇 and at sunset
Frightening at first as you are worried about colliding with them then after my racing mind settled we bear’d away to head in the same direction as they were swimming minimising the chances of coming into contact with them.
In the end we got the engine started and also the watermaker. The watermaker is loud and as the pump on it is high pressure it makes a lot of vibration thru the hull. This we hoped would allow them to hear us and to keep away.
It’s something people don’t think about much but colliding with objects at sea happens a lot and it can be fatal to the boat especially if the boats a monohull and if it’s something hard like a shipping container.
In the end we arrived safely spending the first day anchored off the customs dock cleaning the boat up from the long passage to get here. Yesterday Monday we cleared in and became legal.
Over the next few weeks we’ll explore this paradise and hopefully we’ll get to swim with the humpback whales that migrate here yearly to give birth to their calves.
View over Neiafu harbour below 👇 and at sunset