On 1 May 2004 Nicola and I left Opua with 24 boats in the ICA rally bound for Tonga. Two days of good sailing gave way to rough, confused conditions. We called at both Minerva Reefs, taking a short rest in smooth water within the coral atolls amid the open-sea weather.
Tonga
After landfall the rally boats gathered to trade passage stories and then went their separate ways. We provisioned near Nuku’alofa, and the crew visited Eua Island by ferry for walking and local hospitality. We sailed onward through the Ha’apai group, where wet, windy days were balanced by snorkelling, dinghy races and beach barbecues.
After about two months in Tonga, I headed downwind towards Fiji. We adjusted our arrival to reach the outer reef in daylight and cleared in at Savusavu. When the electronic charts failed for part of the passage, paper charts took over until the system returned.
