Heading out to sea again

As we were leaving Neiafu port and Vava’u, Vai was waving from the pier. We felt fortunate and grateful for our stay in this incredible place, for Vai’s hospitality and for her sharing her home with us these days.

Not far from the port, we headed straight into stronger winds. The sails were set, and we gained good speed. This was exciting sailing, keeping us sharp as we made our way out of the Vava’u islands. In the afternoon we passed the uninhabited cone-shaped volcanic island Late, rising 1500 meters up from the seafloor and reaching 540 meters above the sea surface. In the twilight of the early evening, we could glimpse the reef Home Reef, a fleeting island that has risen above the sea surface and been eroded away several times. In September 2022 there was a stronger eruption here, and since then the island has lifted out of the sea, now reaching 70–80 meters tall and 1 km across. In the evening after 8 o’clock, we could discern some smoke above the island in the darkness, and some of us had also seen some slight glowing in the dark. And then the smell of sulphur passed us with the wind. Excited about this special sighting, we carried on into the night.