Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
A Tongan Feast
Apparently, we had it all wrong. The best thing about Tonga is not the sailing. No! The true
highlight of this island kingdom is in fact a Tongan feast. This message was continuously
reinforced from the moment we cleared customs. Must go to a feast! admonished cruisers
who had arrived a few weeks earlier. Come to our village feast! called the friendly voice of
a local whose community made a fundraiser out of the event. Such offers were a regular
feature on the morning cruisers' radio net. Have you signed up for the weekend feast?
urged neighboring sailors.
We felt a little disoriented, because we had actually come to Tonga for the sailing, not the
feasting. After thousands of miles of sailing between isolated Pacific Islands, we had fi-
nally reached a compact, sheltered cruising ground. In Tonga's northern island group,
Vava'u, we looked forward to the novelty of short, frivolous day trips. Our sloop became a
hyperactive beehive of activity as we tacked, winched, and trimmed away. We could bask
in comfortable beam reaches, kick back during placid downwind runs, and thrill in wind-
ward beats - all in a single afternoon! On the menu were deep, wide channels, snaking sla-
lom runs between islands, and challenging, reef-dodging routes. We were in Tonga to feast,
all right - to feast on the sailing.
Search WWH ::




Custom Search