There is a large coral shelf that runs from Neiafu Island in the north to well below Taunga Island in the south.  This shelf separates the eastern islands from the rest of the islands of Vava’u.  But there are two passes through which boats can cross the shelf – the Fanua Tapu pass and the Fonua ‘Unga pass.  The Fanua Tapu pass is marked much better than the Fonua ‘Unga pass, so we chose to cross the shelf via the former.

We have navigational charts for the area as well as three cruising guides.  After studying all of them, it seemed that our anxiety was more than the actual pass warranted.  We were heading from west to east, so we went through the pass in the late afternoon with the sun behind us, and visibility was adequate.  The pass was just as described in the cruising guides, and it was a breeze to navigate.

There are two north-south lines of eastern islands.  There is one line just east of Neiafu which includes ‘Olo’ua, Mafana, and Ofu.  Each of these islands has an accessible anchorage.  Then there is the far eastern line which includes Koloa, Faioa, Umuna, Kenutu, and Lolo.  Of these islands, only Kenutu has an anchorage – the others are too shallow.

We were heading for Kenutu Island, which does require some watchful navigating, and the sun was sinking behind a thick cloud bank.  Our visibility dropped substantially, so we diverted to Ofu Island for a night with plans to make Kenutu Island mid-day the next day.