Moving on to Uoleva

Sunday, May 27

Since it looked like the weather was getting worse and not better, we decided to move south to Uoleva. It is only a few miles away, but seems far far away in character.

The entire 6 mile circumference of Uoleva is a beautiful sand beach lined with palm trees. After the mostly-volcanic-rock of Vavau, this seems more like 'home' (the Bahamas). Lots of deep sand to anchor in, too!

There is no civilization on Uoleva except for 2 or 3 small 'backpacker' 'resorts'. Each has a few small bungalows with people lounging in hammocks. No electricity or running water, and no direct access from the 'mainland' of Lifuka. The only way that people can get here is by boat.

Because of its wide, protected bay, beautiful beaches, and proximity to Lifuka, this is a popular cruiser stopping place. But I had to laugh when I read Ken's Cruising Guide to the Kingdom of Tonga--he didn't like this anchorage because, with 3 or 4 boats, it felt too crowded. There is about a 2 mile expanse of beach to anchor off of--you could put 50 boats in here before it would be truly crowded. But that's why we're cruising in Tonga--4 boats in an anchorage truly is a crowd.

The wind has picked up here and is forecast to blow for a couple more days, 20-25kts SE. Today it is truly nasty--squally, overcast and rainy. And cold! It might even be below 70 degrees F (absolutely freezing for us'ns who stayed in Tonga for the summer). Fortunately, this is a great anchorage for SE winds--we can tuck in close to shore, and the holding is great.

We were hoping to get a dive in tomorrow, but the high wind forecast has stretched out, and there's no way it will calm down by tomorrow.

At 05/25/2012 6:25 PM (utc) our position was 19°50.95'S 174°24.81'W
http://svsoggypaws.com/currentposition.htm