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Chartering Zuben
 Zuben, a Beneteau Cyclades 44.3, is available for charter in
Vava'u Tonga, the Hauraki Gulf and Bay of Islands in New Zealand through the
Moorings Charter group.
If you are interested in chartering Zuben:
The Moorings
PO Box 33729, Takapuna, Auckland
or 17 Beaumont St, Freemans Bay, Auckland
Phone: 0064 9 378 7900
Email: info@moorings.co.nz
Web: www.tongasailing.com
Vava'u - South Pacific Jewel
One of the South Pacific’s most precious collection of jewels has to be the islands
of Vava’u, the northern group of the Kingdom of Tonga’s 171 coral and volcanic islands.
The 60 islands of the Vava’u (Var-VAH-oo) group lie scattered on a volcanic
and coral plateau that rises out of the deep blue of the Pacific around the
position of 18 degrees 40 minutes South, 174 degrees West,
400 miles east of
Fiji and right in the warm zone! They
cover an area of approximately 300 square nautical miles and, along the eastern
edge of this plateau, runs a reef which conveniently protects the group from the
swells generated by the SE trade winds that blow usually 15 to 25 knots during
the months of May to September. The
majority of the other islands are also well protected from ocean swells by
further reefs across the group’s southern boundary, and islands to the west
and north.
All
this protection makes the area a wonderful sailing arena where the calm sea
conditions do not match the higher wind speeds.
 Vava’u is famous for the humpback whales that make the
6,000km voyage from the Antarctic to breed in the warm (30 Celsius) Tongan
waters. If we were not seeing
whales, we would often hear their songs while snorkeling, and it was a highlight
to be able to swim with a mother and calf in a totally azure blue sea.
Real magic!
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