Day 355, Year 1: A Visit to Mariner’s Cave
Date: Sunday, October 8, 2006
Weather: Partly Cloudy Day
Location: Vaka’eitu Island, Vava’u Group, Tonga
The weather continues to be partly cloudy, but there are parts of each day when the skies clear and sun shine brightly. It remains cooler than in the Samoas, but it is certainly warm enough and we are enjoying “not so sultry” Tonga. Last night the full moon was spectacular here in the anchorage, but tonight it is hidden by clouds. At least we got to see the light dancing on the water last night.
This morning we got up and listened to the radio net. We heard Windcastle checking in and saying that they were leaving Niuatoputapu and would arrive in Neiafu tomorrow morning. We’ll be anxious to see them. Before the radio net was over, Kathleen from Quantum Leap came over to invite us for a day aboard Quantum Leap. They planned to pick up anchor and take a bunch of us with them around the island to Mariner’s Cave. This underwater cave has a wonderful love story associated with it and anyone sailing to Tonga has read about it. The cave has been known to Tongans for centuries, but it is named after William Mariner, the first European to have knowledge of it. You have to dive down about six feet and then swim underwater for about twelve feet to get into the cave. Once in there the surf coming in and out changes the pressure so much that when the surf goes out the water level goes down creating lower pressure in the cave. This results in a fog being formed. And then as soon as surf comes in again, the pressure increases again and the fog clears. Quite an interesting phenomenon.
So at 10 am, cruisers from Jade of Hong Kong, Blue Marlin of Norway, Iron Bark II of Australia, Zephyrn from New Zealand, Windbird (that’s us) from the northeast US, all boarded Quantum Leap from Mobile, Alabama, USA. There were six children with us, all under the age of 10. Quantum Leap is a big catamaran and it held all 20 of us with no problem. We had a great motor and then sail around to the cave. The only way you know the cave it there is the darker water near the surface. On the first trip in, Mark manned one of the dinghies and Kathleen the other. When they returned with the successful cave explorers, it was time for Mark and I and Tom and Bette Lee to go. I decided to man the dinghy and only go in if Mark, Tom, and Bette Lee had a successful go at it. They went in and then Mark was the first one out. He had actually had trouble holding his breath long enough to get all the way in and Bette Lee said she had a mild panic attack about coming back out, so I decided that I could skip this one. The waves were surging against the rocks and I really didn’t want to take any chances with my leg. At least, I’ll use that as my excuse. The only child to go in was Dominic, the grandson of Sandi and Joan on Zephryn. There were other adults who did not go as well, so I don’t feel like a complete ninny.
On our way home we started looking for whales. The Humpbacks from Antarctica come here to Tonga for breeding and calving between July and November of each year. It didn’t take us long to spot our first Humpback and the afternoon went uphill from there. We were able to watch the mothers and their calves as they frolicked in the water. It was quite a sight to behold and I’m not sure if the adults or kids aboard Quantum Leap enjoyed it more.
We returned to the anchorage and all of us went to our respective boats. It was a beautiful day. Tom and Bette Lee of Quantum Leap are very gracious hosts and I know all of us aboard appreciated the opportunity to enjoy the exploration with other cruisers. Since I really didn’t get to snorkel in the coral gardens today, that’s the main event for tomorrow.
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| 061008 Day 355 Tonga, Vava'u–Mariner's Cave and Whale Watching |
