Tonga’s Vava’u group of islands lies about 50nm to the north of the Ha’apai group. Despite the geographic proximity and the cultural similarities, the two archipelagos couldn’t be more different.
Where islands in Ha’apai are low and sandy, the shores of Vava’u are largely rocky and steep. Where the islands of Ha’apai are laid out more or less in a long straight line, Vava’u’s islands sit in a concentric spiral, with the center at Neiafu’s port of refuge.
The layout of the islands of Vava’u ensures that there are plenty of well-protected anchorages for nearly any wind direction, and the multitude of islands knocks down any appreciable ocean swell. Both the flat-water conditions and the line-of-sight navigation make Vava’u a very easy place to sail – perfect for the charter business.
And charter boats proliferated from the mid-80s until the start of Covid, at which point international travel became difficult enough that the charter bases closed. But many anchorages are still called by their numbers on the map for charterers – it’s common to hear on the radio “We’re leaving eleven and heading over to seventeen; see you there!”
After a few months with plenty of big winds and big seas, a few weeks of peaceful cruising in Vava’u is a perfect respite!
