Of course you can’t just ‘take off’ — there is a lot of preparation and education, Sally and James note. “After cruising our new boat for one season in North Queensland — with which we are very familiar — we were better equipped to know how to provision and prepare the boat for six months away from home.” “Sassafras” is a J/45 and is equipped with 750 watts of solar, 450AH AGM batteries, a portable generator, 3000 watt inverter, Spectra T200 watermaker, full suite of Raymarine electronics, IridiumGo, a 30kg SARCA anchor and 100m of 10mm anchor chain, bimini, dodger and full shade awnings. All of this allows us the most time ‘off grid’. Our 6000 nm six-month adventure began when we left Brisbane in late March 2024 bound for Opua in New Zealand, sailing two-handed. The Tasman crossing proved challenging, and choosing an appropriate weather window was difficult: the longer the passage, the less certainty in the forecast. The first two days were to windward with intermittent squalls, after which we were expecting a reaching course, heading SE below Lord Howe Island and moving across with the high pressure system. On the third day the squalls settled, after which the next day was a breezy reaching sail, passing between spectacular Lord Howe Island and Ball’s Pyramid. Unfortunately, the high pressure system remained stationary, resulting in five days to windward — which was not forecast — gotta love the Tasman! Much time was spent under reefed mainsail and staysail. (All our reefing is single-line back to the cockpit which made these conditions easier to handle.) After nine days we were finally able to tack over and head south to Opua for a champagne sail down the northeast coast of New Zealand to the Bay of Islands. After five weeks in the Bay, preparing and provisioning for the NZ-to-Tonga passage and waiting for the Island Cruising Rally to commence, we left Opua with an extra crew member in early May. The first stage was a five-and-a-half-day, 800 nm passage to Minerva Reefs. We passed from the very light New Zealand variables into easterly tradewinds, shedding our woollies for T-shirts. Sassafras’ ability to sail to windward allowed us to put more east ‘in the bank’ so that, as the wind backed north and increased to 25kn, we were able to crack off and fetch Minerva Reefs comfortably in one tack. North Minerva Reef is an isolated atoll in the midst of the South Pacific, accessible only by boat. It provides a comfortable resting place at anchor whilst waiting for the next favourable weather system. Teeming with marine life, crayfish and corals, it provided a stunning interlude. After two days’ rest and swimming, we left Minerva bound for Nuku’alofa, 260 nm to the northeast, with cracked sheets on a 20kn NW which eased to 10kn during the passage. We’re still getting used to the passage planning on a boat which loves these conditions, arriving six hours earlier than expected in the dark so we heaved to and waited for daylight to enter the harbour shipping channel. After clearing Customs and Immigration, which was an easy affair, we set anchor at Pangaimotu Island ‘Big Mama’s Yacht Club’ and began our tropical adventure with the other rally participants. This venue and much of Nuku’alofa was devastated by the 2022 volcanic eruption and tsunami, and the residents have done an amazing job to recover and offer their kind hospitality. Tongatapu is southern- most of the Tongan island groups and has low-lying picturesque, palm fringed tropical islands and turquoise-clear water. Mainsheet 2024 Royal Queensland Yacht Squadron Yearbook 68 South Pacific cruising
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