A sunny day finds lots of boats in Port of Refuge. Many of our cruising friends whose paths have crossed ours since Panama have shown up. This is probably the peak week for yachties waiting for a weather window to New Zealand. We get daily reports and the winter storm weather still lingers there. One friend used to sail on the USA east coast and says this bunching up of yachties reminds him of May in the Bahamas. Crews sit around discussing the weather and selecting the right time to cross the Gulf Stream on their way to the north for the summer. Some wildcat will go for it only to radio back that he is hammered by big steep seas caused by northerly current combined with a stiff southerly wind. It is kind of like the Donner Party huddled in their covered wagons waiting to cross the Sierra Nevada, but they didn't have weather satellites in the 1800s.
At around 8:30 every morning on VHF radio channel 16 Port of Refuge conducts the NET for yachties and port businesses to share information and advertisements. Each morning a different business controls who gets to talk; this morning it is Lisa from the Aquarium. Friday in Tonga is much like Friday in an American city. The work week is over and its time to let loose, relax and have fun; it's time to party. Lisa says The Aquarium will have belly dancers courtesy of a visiting female yacht crew. Every Friday night they have a "beer can yacht race" starting and ending in front of the Mermaid Bar and Restaurant. The race starts with a captains meeting at the Mermaid at 4 PM.
This being the first sunny good weather, John and Ant set out to repair the outrigger canoe John bought in Tahiti. It was lashed down to tight to the deck on passage. The fiberglass hull is almost paper thin and it suffered a hairline crack on passage. A trip to shore for sand paper is called for so I prepared to go ashore to get Tonga Dollars, go to the pharmacy for my cold, buy a Tongan tee-shirt and eventually have lunch. On the way we stop to talk to a friend who is sailing around the world with his two young, 5-8, daughters. His wife had died in a tragic boat accident two years ago. He decided to home school his girls himself and continue to sail. Other families and friends will join him to help on passages.
The town is buzzing with activity. The farmers market is in full swing. So many cruiser friends stop us to talk it seems to take us for ever to get the one block up the hill to the bank. The Tongan locals are extremely friendly. You have to spend time with them to see the friendliness. They seem to ignore you as they never look you in the eye and talk in their native tong among themselves. They don't look you in the eye because to a Tongan you only look into the eyes of another person when you want to show aggression. If a Tongan wants to talk to you he will stand near to you and wait patiently until you have time to address him. The Tongan speaks very good English as it is taught in school and often spoken as a second language. They are extremely polite and warm in how they address you. Little children say younger than 6 or 7 are quick to wave, look you in the eye and greet you often with a hello; they haven't picked up the adult ways yet. As you talk more to a Tongan you feel like you have almost an intimate relationship that normally takes a lot of time - days, weeks or months - to develop in our culture. The Tongan can accomplish this without becoming vulnerable. I think their deeply religious nature and traditions make this possible.
God Bless Bella Donna
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