HEADING SOUTH TO NUKU’ALOFA

After an excellent super last night, we retired early to catch up on some sleep.  During the night, the wind got up and we were swinging and rattling about the anchorage.  Fortunately the holding at Uoleva Island is good in sand, so no worries about dragging and the water is quite calm in the lee of the island.  Just a bit uncomfortable and noisy with the wind howling in the rigging and the rain beating on the deck.

The morning was a dark brooding affair with black rain clouds all around.  The forecast was for strong winds but an update later in the morning had the winds decreasing.  We decided to run south, so with a triple reef in the main and a tiny jib we headed south at a fast pace.  In the end, we had thirty knots of wind, plenty of rain and the wind ride continues.

I was reluctant to leave Uoleva Island.  It’s a truly beautiful spot, I would have liked to explore further and visit the reefs and lagoon pools on the east side.  But – Jessica has a plane to catch so Uoleva will have to wait for another time.

We saw whales again.  The water was too rough to get a good look at them and we were moving fast.  At the rate we are moving we should be in Nuku’alofa by nine in the morning – in time for customs to open so we can check in.