Last night was drama-free; the wind was steady, and although it was rolly, we were happy with our speed and newly quiet boom. We reset our sails in the morning— one reef in the main + jib on a barber hauler. It was another beautiful, sunny day! 

We turned Starlink on so I could complete and send in our Advanced Notice of Arrival form via email. A customs agent acknowledged that they had received it shortly thereafter. I’ve been reading about our destination and look forward to experiencing something new! Here are three interesting facts I’ve learned: 

• The five island divisions of the Kingdom of Tonga are comprised of over 170 coral and volcanic islands, but only 40 are inhabited. 
• The Kingdom of Tonga has never been colonized by a foreign power and has retained its indigenous governance. 
• Most Tongans are Christian. It is said that Tonga has more churches per head than anywhere else in the world. Cruisers must observe Sunday as the day of rest and should not play loud music, work on the boat, or even hang their laundry out to dry (if you do, you might be visited by the police!). 

The wind and waves began to build, so Ray reefed again in the afternoon—two reefs in the main and a reefed jib. The change didn’t impact our speed, and we happily cruised for the rest of the day. It has been really nice to sail this entire trip after having to motor way more often than we expected in French Polynesia. 

The waves reached 9ft, and the wind hung just below 25kn (pleasantly less than what was forecasted). Cloud cover increased throughout the day, and some squalls were on the horizon as we ate dinner, so we will stay alert overnight. Ray reeled in the fishing lines to reveal we had lost both lures. We’ve had terrible luck fishing out here! We hope to replenish our lure inventory in Tonga before our next big offshore passage to New Zealand. I miss having tuna in the freezer. 

This evening’s sunset was partially blocked by thick grey clouds, but it might be the last one of this passage. We have about 100 miles to go, so we should make landfall tomorrow! 

I’m looking forward to a quiet, full night’s sleep on anchor and being awake at the same time as Ray for more than 3hrs a day. The downside to doing these passages with just the two of us is that it can get lonely. We’re used to spending every minute of every day together, and then suddenly, we only see each other during meals and in passing at shift changes. Anyway, I’ll let you know how it goes tomorrow. Thanks for joining us virtually through these daily posts! Goodnight. 🙂