A Dinner Party in Tonga
The Burnetts and The Intrepid Jerry are acclimatizing to New Zealand, where Jerry will be located until cyclone seasons ends, hopefully in April next year. A taste of gorgeous New Zealand is forthcoming! Mel however realized that in the frenzy of prepping for the passage, she did not post her thoughts and photos on Palmerston and Tonga. So here they are! To spice things up, she will do this via a transcript of a conceptual dinner party, assembled from bits of conversations shared during multiple sundowners, get-togethers, and WhatsApp conversations over the last several weeks.
The setting: A large catamaran on a mooring ball near Neiafu, Vava’u, Tonga, shortly before sunset. A few sailors are on the transoms, ready to escort visitors onto the boat and find a spare cleat for their dinghies. Aboard are 30-75 year old cruising sailors from all over America, Canada, England, Germany, Poland, and Australia. Oops! Almost forgot France! (The French don’t mingle as much because they have to stay downwind so they can smoke.)
First, in a corner, the Americans quickly do some conversational maneuvering to feel out opinions regarding Trump. If opinions differ, they abide by the unspoken rule to avoid talking politics in mixed company, although it takes significant restraint. Usually the opinions do not differ, and they are then free to apologize for their country before talking to the Europeans.
The mingling ensues. Spoken words in the wind:
“You look familiar! Where did we meet? The Gambiers? Tahiti? Aitutaki? What’s your boat name? Oh yeah, we met in Shelter Bay!”
An accounting of any Pacific crossings ensues, with tales of breakages and how things were fixed. Many discuss their relief at the good outcome for the boat that lost their forestay and required an offshore fuel delivery from cruisers to get to the Galapagos.
Greg and Mel recount their saga of hand-steering for 13 days with a crew of 3 but quickly pivot to talking about uncommonly-visited Pitcairn and the Gambiers, which are more interesting anyway.
Everyone shares their favorite, and least-favorite, memories of French Polynesia. Encounters with the French end up in both categories. Islands are listed by difficulty in disposing of trash.
The positives and negatives of the Outremer catamaran is discussed, along with speculation regarding just how fast a fully-laden cruising Outremer can go. All non-Outremer owners reassure each other that “cruising is not a race, right?”
Those of us who went to Aitutaki in the Cook Islands reminisce on what it was like to help everyone med-moor in a construction site made of mud, with the reward being magnificent whales and that gorgeous lagoon.
Mel: ”The happiest, most welcoming people we have encountered so far in the Pacific were in the Cooks and Gambiers.”
An American: “Speaking of the Cooks, you guys went to Palmerston! What was that like?”
Mel: “Another unique experience! Young humpbacks attended school around our boat every morning and we handed out grades for breaching and tail slapping. It was fun being hosted by Eddie and Juliana, and we returned the favor by hosting them for a night aboard our boat. Julianna made the most amazing coconut rolls!
We found that with just 38 island residents, the social mechanics were surprisingly complex. William Marsters, the original settler of the island in 1863, divided the island into three parts, one for each of the families of his three wives, and it was interesting to see how that decision continues to influence local politics.”
(Greg would join in, but he is at the helm of the catamaran with the owner, discussing the clutch layout.)
“So what does everyone think about Tonga?”
Mel: “It is interesting to visit an island nation that was never colonized by Europeans. English is an official language, but the vast majority of people spoke chiefly Tongan, which sounds a lot more like Hawaiian to our ears than the other Polynesian languages we have heard. Their traditional dress and dance is delightfully different from what we saw in French Polynesia. They have amazing produce. The islands are gorgeous, dotted with cool caves, and populated by gnarly and bizarre trees we have not seen before. The Tongan land seems to delight in being sculpted by the sea. Unfortunately, coming here from the Cook Islands, things seem a bit run down outside of the resorts, and we were saddened by how much plastic trash was strewn around.”
Everyone agrees that kava must be an acquired taste.
Some of the Australians discuss Tonga’s winning rugby team, and the Americans learn new vocabulary words.
Mel wanders off and explores the galley and covets the amount of countertop space.
The latter half of the party is dominated by two streams of conversations. In one, the quartermasters are sharing their knowledge of the New Zealand biosecurity rules, speculating on why some things may be banned, and swapping ideas on how to use up all of the beautiful produce purchased in Tonga. If anyone was ever fined for bringing in anything to New Zealand, that story is shared in detail. People who have cruised in or originate from autocratic nations discuss the Excel spreadsheet of their provisions that they now have on hand to give to any inspector. The French are horrified.
Misinformation is spread about chia seeds.
In the other group, the navigators are discussing the impact of El Nino on PredictWind, the relative merits of the various weather routers, and possible trajectories down to New Zealand.
Overhearing this, the quartermasters discuss their plans for a stop at Minerva Reef on the way to New Zealand. A conversation regarding Minerva Reef party provisioning results in the sharing of a number of ham, egg, and fresh-vegetable-related appetizer recipes.
As the night proceeds, a multi-national huddle begin to debate the merits and future of AI and Starlink. The nature of the upcoming apocalypse is speculated upon. Mel decides to diffuse the tension by showing them her pics of Palmerston and Tonga.
The crowd realizes that this means it is time to go home. They disperse, weaving their dinghies back through the dark mooring field.
As the partygoers sleep off their G&T’s, Mel corners you and makes you look at her pics anyway. Aren’t they pretty?
Palmerston Atoll
Tonga
