Monday 27 September Return to Nieafu

Nieafu post office

Many of the boats which had sailed from Nieafu town on Saturday had returned to continue the party. We took a more leisurely time and drifted back mid morning. Our priority toady was to get the torn headsail down and into the sailmaker for repair.


The torn strip hadn't furled neatly and David had to go up in the bosun's chair to unwrap it as I unfurled the forestay. Fortunately the wind was very light so we got it down on deck without too much ordeal but it's a big sail and heavy to carry. In it's sail bag it filled the dinghy. The sailmaker is Ross, a kiwi who comes up for 2 months each year. In NZ it's winter and no work. In Tonga he has most of the boats that have crossed the Pacific and are preparing for the final leg into NZ. It's been a hard 6 months cruising for our sails and many people are needing repairs. Including us. Good news is it is repairable and will take a couple of days.