Mahi Mahi

We hooked this meter long beauty as we pulled into Nuku’alofa this afternoon. She was our second mahi mahi of the day. The first snapped the fishing line just as Dominic was about to pull him into the cockpit. This lady put up a good fight once she got onboard—she required a fair amound of bludgeoning and knifing to subdue before Dominic was able to slice up some delectable fillets we’re going to roll into sushi this evening.

We left Uonukuhahake on Monday morning. We decided to split the passage to Nuku’alofa, the capitol city on Tongatapu, Tonga’s main island, into two days so we could get a good night of sleep instead of doing an overnighter.

Our first day underway was upwind and choppy, but we made excellent time as Dominic had spent the weekend cleaning our hull. Our average speed was about seven knots, flying! We arrived at Kelefesia, a small, southerly anchorage in Ha’apai, in the late afternoon. Getting into the small anchorage required navigating a pass with breaking waves and reefs on both sides. It was intimidating to approach, but ultimately wide enough to enter and exit safely.

We woke to a second day of gray skies this morning (which was actually ok…things had been so amazing in Ha’apai we were digging our feet into the sand and hoping we would never have to leave), but the winds shifted northeast making for an easy, downwind day sail to our final destination.

So now we’re anchored outside Big Mama’s, the local yacht club in Nuku’alofa, planning for an evening of popcorn, sushi, and brownies aboard our buddy boat Hapa Na Sasa, and gearing up for a few days of chores, chores, chores as wait for a weather window to head to New Zealand.