Finding Tonga, where life is beautiful

Bill Manclark

“Where’s Tonga?” so many of our friends asked when we told them we

were going to go bareboat sailing there in December. (Bareboat means

no captain or crew -- we sail the boat.)

Tonga is a tropical paradise in the South Pacific, a group of

islands south of Soma, north of New Zealand and near Fiji.

I can only imagine how beautiful Hawaii was 100 years ago, before

all of the tourists. To me, it must be what Tonga looks like today.

One of the most wonderful things about these beautiful islands is

the people. It seems rare to go anywhere in the world where you

really feel welcome. In Tonga, they not only like us and welcome us,

but you almost feel their love for us.

There is no envy, no jealousy, they are totally happy with

themselves and pleased we can come visit them.

The majority of people are Christian, and on Sundays the dirt

roads and paths are crowded with people heading to church. We

attended church a couple of times on our two-week vacation -- when

these people sing, they sing with their heart at the top of their

voices, and it is absolutely beautiful. I’m sure God smiles when he

listens to them.

I could spend 400 words talking about these people, but a little

about our sailing. The winds are steady and strong. There are

hundreds of uninhabited islands where we anchored and went looking

for shells and whale bones.

On our first day out, we sailed up to two whales and a baby whale.

The baby had calved late, and they were fattening up for their return

to Antarctica. The whales allow you to swim with them -- it is quite

a thrill.

We have been scuba diving and snorkeling in many places in the

past, but the reefs in Tonga are pristine. All the coral is alive and

healthy with layers of all kinds of tropical fish, turtles, sharks

and octopus. I feel that, wherever I dive again in the world, the

reefs will look dead compared to our experience in Tonga. The water

is crystal clear, with visibility over 100 feet. Beautiful.

After being anchored for a night, we woke up one morning to a

raging hurricane. We were being blown toward a reef, so we pulled the

anchor and headed for the lea side of some islands.

We weathered the worst of the storm there, but it was no place to

spend the night. Fortunately, we had rented a 38-foot catamaran,

which is far more stable in heavy winds, so we hauled anchor again

and sailed in 50-plus knot winds through treacherous reefs until we

found a protected bay and spent the night.

My daughter Heather is an excellent sailor, by the way. She was

the first woman skipper at USC and one of the fastest women under

sail on the West Coast -- dad’s bragging.

All ended well, and the next day it was absolutely beautiful. It

seems hard to improve on perfect weather, but the weather did just

that.

If you are thinking of going to Tonga, go soon. This paradise is

almost too good to last.

* BILL MANCLARK is a Balboa Island resident.

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