Nov 14, 2014 Nuku'alofa Tonga

So after about 1 week of waiting for a good weather window to leave and sail to New Zealand, it looks like tomorrow will be a good departure day. We have really enjoyed Big Mama's Yacht Club. There are about 30 boats waiting for the weather window together, so there has been great camaraderie.  There is a gang of about 40 kids that have run wild, and both Gigi and Axel have made some good friends.

So tomorrow we will leave and sail to Minerva reef, which is about 260 miles from here. It is a fringing reef in the middle of the ocean with no land. You go inside and anchor and are protected from any wind direction. Although if the seas get rough they can roll over the reef especially at high tide. It is a great resting spot, but you can get trapped inside if the seas and wind get too high as it would not be safe to leave the pass in those conditions. There is great diving, snorkeling and fishing and we can't wait to see it. We will have plenty of company since about half the boats intend to stop. I also expect to be celebrating my birthday there. Well at least I hope we will be stopped for my birthday, otherwise we may have to postpone any celebration until we get to NZ.

Below are a bunch of photos from our time here at Big Mama's. She did a cooking class that was interesting, and boy was the food good. Then the next night she had a pig roast for all of us. Gigi and some of the girls, with Harrison accompanying them, sang Mama Mia, slightly modified, for Big Mama. She loved it! We will all miss this place.

Julie

Cooking lessons with Big Mama.

Ingredients for cooking class.

Ingredients for cooking class (tuna and parrot fish).

 Harrison and the girls preparing for their song.

Performing their song.

Gary's plate at the pig roast. Can you identify these parts?

Harrison cooking one of the pigs.

Harrison playing guitar for the kava ceremony.

Axel on the rope swing with some of the kids.

Morning rush hour at the dinghy dock with the sunken wreck in the background.