A Week Aboard S/V Sabado: 6/08/2025 – 6/15/2025

Hello and Happy Sunday! Did you see our latest YouTube video? We had a blast making this one. 🙂 Let’s jump right into this weekly recap:

We felt fantastic after our first uninterrupted night’s sleep since completing our 9 day + 7hr, 1357.4nm passage from Bora Bora to Tonga. There was a consistent cool breeze coming through our open hatches and no alarms going off every three hours for watch shifts. The other boat that was here when we arrived had left, leaving us alone in the anchorage with zero swell and blue skies. I could see pigs roaming the coastline through our binoculars. I made a coconut cake in our bread machine while we drank our coffee. The sweet, tropical aroma filled the boat. The government officials here board your boat to complete the check-in process, and I’ve read mixed messages about whether or not you should offer them something to eat/drink. We plowed through our snack stash during this passage and hoped to make our remaining fresh items last, so I figured I’d bake something to have ready, just in case. It turned out perfectly tender, moist, and sweet. I cut thick slices into thirds to have out as finger food. 

No one on the island has a VHF radio, but we got the contact information of a local woman and reached out over WhatsApp. She told us to keep an eye on the wharf. When we saw a van, the customs agents were ready for us. The van appeared around noon, so Ray took the dinghy to shore to pick them up. Three officers boarded Sabado, and we sat in the cockpit, eating cake and filling out paperwork. They were very friendly and excited to see us! One of the female officers asked to see our food stores, so I took her inside. She did not confiscate anything. The other female officer came in and asked for a tour— they were very impressed that we had multiple “real” bedrooms and bathrooms! I got the sense they do not see many catamarans. The male officer told Ray that during their high season (now), they see one or two boats per month, and they hadn’t seen an American-flagged vessel in a very long time. We paid USD 115 cash for quarantine and customs fees for two people, and they ate the entire cake I made. 🙂 

We lounged around on the boat the rest of the day, slowly tidying up all the extra clothes, safety gear, etc., we had strewn about during the sail. The next day, we ventured ashore. The Kingdom of Tonga is incredibly conservative, and women are expected to have their shoulders and knees covered in public— the women here even swim fully clothed. In this heat, I’d rather be in shorts and a tank top, but seeing as we were the only tourists here, I decided it was best to abide by the local customs. Plus, there is a current outbreak of Dengue fever, so covering up is in everyone’s best interest. 

It was low tide, and a handful of women were walking along the beach. We watched as they took what looked like palm fronds, but we later learned were pandanus leaves, submerged them in the shallow water, and secured them with rocks. This is a traditional method to prepare the leaves for weaving by using salty and slightly alkaline seawater combined with heat from the sun to soften and bleach them. They will retrieve the leaves in a few days and use them to make mats, fans, and other ceremonial textiles. 

As we wandered the partially paved street, every passing car stopped to greet us. We saw lots of wild pigs and chickens running around, children playing, and adults lounging in hammocks. Once our legs grew tired, we returned to the boat just in time for an afternoon rainstorm. 

We couldn’t help but roll our eyes at the memory of the many two week long stretches of gloomy, wet weather we had in French Polynesia. To our delight, the sunshine and blue sky returned the following morning! 

Two monohulls arrived later in the week, a busy month for the local officials. We watched as they brought them aboard to complete paperwork— following the same procedure we did. One of the boats was a solo female sailor, and the other housed a family of five. The solo sailor came by in the afternoon to invite me over for a ladies night. I hadn’t had any girl time in a while, so I came over just before sunset, and the three of us sipped gin and homemade kombucha cocktails in her cockpit and chatted until dark. We pulled our anchor the following morning and followed our tracks out of the pass, setting sail for Vava’u. 

Although we enjoyed our time at Niuatoputapu, we were eager to get somewhere with a bank, grocery store, snorkeling spots, etc. Our primary motivation for stopping there first was to avoid the mandatory check-in dock at Vava’u, which has damaged many boats. We will still have to complete domestic clearance in Vava’u, but you can do that without docking. 

It was a rough 1.5-day upwind sail. Sabado bashed into the wind and waves, with our jib and main reefed. We did our best to stay positive: the sun was shining, it was pleasantly cool, and this would be a short passage. 

The full moon rose during my first night watch shift. I was in awe of how much light it cast—it resembled a sunrise! Thank goodness, because nothing is worse than being tossed around in the dark. 

The sea state began to calm down the following morning. As the wind died, we dropped the sails and started our engines. A pod of dolphins paid us a quick visit as we motored between the islands.

We had reached the island group by noon, but it took nearly two hours to get to the town mooring field. Upon arrival, we were shocked to see how many boats were here— AIS and no foreign land did not reflect reality. We took a few laps around the mooring field and couldn’t find any buoys available. We didn’t want to get caught trying to anchor elsewhere in the dark, so we left while we could. The visibility declined as the late afternoon sun reflected off the water. We didn’t feel comfortable navigating the bommie-filled anchorages nearby. So, we dropped the hook near where we entered just before sunset. The anchorage was empty, with a clear sandy bottom and incredible view; a perfect “roadside” stop— this will do for a night! 

We ran the generator and the watermaker for a couple of hours before passing out from exhaustion. We woke up the next morning and decided to give the mooring field another shot. It was full when we arrived, but several boats left while we hovered in wait with a few others. We swooped in and grabbed one— letting out a sigh of relief. Here, we had easy shore access to visit an ATM, complete our domestic clearance, reprovision, and dispose of our garbage. But first, we visited the closest restaurant for some well-deserved pizza and beer. 

We’re looking forward to this dose of civilization for the next few days. Everyone thus far has been welcoming and friendly; most speak English, the bays are calm, and prices are a fraction of what they were in French Polynesia. We look forward to exploring more of this slice of paradise! I spent the rest of the afternoon catching up on our logbook. In addition to recording when we’re underway, Ray made me a section to write notes about the ports we visit.

I jot down our favorite restaurants/stores, relevant local news, anchoring conditions, tape photos and business cards in… Let us know if you’d like to see these— maybe we should start sharing them for those of you headed this way?

I hope you had a great week. ❤️