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Approaching
Kelefesia Island, which is owned by Olioni's family to whom the King gave
the island to many generations ago.
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Google
Earth view of Kelefesia Island with our anchorage coordinates plotted.
We have software that saves Google Earth caches so that we can view them
without the internet. We use the caches to help us navigate
around the coral reefs and shallow ground. We can view our position
on the cached photo using our handheld GPS connected to the computer.
The next photo will show why this method is so useful...
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In
Ha'apai the government navigation charts have not been corrected to standard
GPS coordinates. Our chart plotter told us that we had anchored on
the beach! This is when our Google Earth cache came in very handy.
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Views of a
sandy beach and limestone cliff on northern Kelefesia as we approach.
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Views of a
sandy beach and limestone cliff on northern Kelefesia as we approach.
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Our dinghy
landing on the west side of Kelefesia with Larabeck (tiny) in the
background. We spent two mornings on this beach, hiking, snorkeling,
and listening to the roar and rumble of the swells crashing over the outer
reefs. One day Olioni visited and brought us a bag full of delicious
oranges.
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The Larabeck
seen from Kelefesia with a little unnamed islet in the background.
Not sure why this one doesn't have a name, but it has two nearby older
siblings, Nuku Island and Tonumea Island.
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Volcanic
rock washed ashore.
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West
side of Kelefesia looking southeast.
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Michael's
footprints in the sand.
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Sharon at
the southern end of the beach.
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Looking
northwest, back from whence we came.
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Sunset
behind the swell rolling over the reef surrounding our anchorage at Kelefesia.
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Sunset behind
the swell rolling over the reef surrounding our anchorage at Kelefesia.
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Snorkeling
at Kelefesia.
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Snorkeling
at Kelefesia.
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Snorkeling
at Kelefesia.
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Clownfish
hiding in the coral. These fish were in the same place both days
we snorkeled here.
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A
really big clownfish (Sharon).
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Leaving Kelefesia.
Sailing Vessel Riga II can be seen in front of the right side of
the island. They anchored very near where we had been. The
white line in front of Riga II is caused by swells breaking
over the reef.
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Sailing by
the unnamed islet that was visible in photo #7.
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Michael and
Mo'ale, who hitched a ride with us from Kelefesia to Nomuka. He told
us all about his family and friends in Nuku'Alofa, Nomuka, and the San
Francisco area of the U.S.
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Sharon and
Mo'ale. Mo'ale had been visiting his cousin Olioni, the owner of
Kelefesia. The boat that was to pick him up was overdue, so he came
with us.
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We flagged
down a fishing boat returning to Nomuka and asked them to take Mo'ale ashore
(it wasn't a good place for us to anchor). They gave us a couple
of fish for dinner. The village on the larger Nomuka Island can be
seen in the background.
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Google Earth
view showing our anchorage on the NE side of Nomuka'Iki (Little Nomuka).
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On the trip
from Kelefesia to Nomuka, the seam in the jib (the front sail) burst open.
The next day Michael arranged the sail in the cockpit so he could reach
both sides to hand sew it back together.
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Michael spent
a whole day working on the jib, and towards the end of the day worked out
a more efficient system with Sharon handing the needle back to him from
the other side of the sail. It will take a few more days of this
kind of work before we can use the sail again.
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Gabi and Richard
on Riga II (sailboat on the right) caught up with us at Nomuka.
On the left is a fishing boat that ferried a group of women to Nomuka'Iki
for the day.
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The women
riding on the fishing boat stopped by to say “hello” on their way back
to Nomuka village (seen in the background) .
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Nomuka'Iki
is in the background, including the wreck of the Takuo. To
the left of the wreck on the beach is a straggler they went back to fetch
before returning to the village on the big Nomuka Island.
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