Tonga and Pacific Islands 2025

JTCanuck
- 17m Hylas 54
- Tonga
- Checked in 5 hours ago

Tonga and Pacific Islands 2025

Crew Wanted Tonga and Pacific Islands

I’m looking for crew with some experience to join me aboard “True North” my Hylas 54 foot (16.5 metres) sailing yacht. True North is currently in Vava’u, Tonga. I plan to cruise the islands of Tonga until mid July and then likely sail to Fiji to continue cruising the region.

The Crewing Opportunity

You should have some sailing experience and enjoys the cruising lifestyle. You would be expected to actively participate during offshore passages and coastal / island cruising. You should have enough sailing experience to feel comfortable standing watch while on passage.

You will have your own private cabin aboard True North. No smoking is allowed and all illicit drugs are strictly prohibited aboard. Moderate social drinking is ok when moored or if conditions allow. You will be responsible for your travel expenses and shared expenses while aboard.

The Yacht

True North is a very well equipped and maintained 2006 Hylas 54 centre cockpit cutter rigged grp sailing yacht. She has been rigged for safe offshore short-handed blue water passaging and equipped with desirable amenities to make long-term cruising comfortable. The yacht is equipped with Starlink satellite internet which provides almost continuous internet and cellular-over-IP access while underway and in remote anchorages.

My background

I’m a vigorous 64 year old Canadian with over 20,000 coastal and offshore cruising miles. Over the last 5 years we have circumnavigated Australia and crossed to New Zealand. In NZ we cruised the Abel Tasman and Marlborough Sounds regions before slowly heading north up the east coast of the North Island as far as the Bay of Islands. May 1 2025 we sailed from New Zealand headed for Tonga and are currently anchored at Minerva Reef. A crew member is departing later May leaving a new cre opening.

In my youth I gained extensive sailing experience including high-level dinghy racing and working as a certified sailing instructor. I enjoy hiking, scuba diving and exploring the regions and cultures I visit.

I plan to cruise the Pacific Islands and Oceania region for several years and a long term crewing opportunity is available for a compatible person.

If you are interested in more information about joining me in this adventure, please respond so I can provide more information and also get to know more about you.

Position

Crew positionCompetent Crew
Availability Available now for the foreseeable future
Expenses to/from vesselPaid by crew
Expenses onboardContribution on a shared basis
Team / SoloNot important

Vessel

TypeSailing Yacht
Make/modelHylas 54
Length17 metres
Berth3
Sailing from Tonga , Vava’u, Tonga
Sailing to Fiji , Savusavu
Language spoke aboardEnglish
Boat descriptionTrue North is an exceptionally well built blue water performance cruising yacht. She was built in 2006 and has been well maintained since new. She is cutter rigged and setup for easy short-handed sailing. Sails are all roller furling with a Leasurefurl in-boom furling mainsail and Furlex line-curlers for staysail and genoa. All sail trimming is performed with powered winches. Safety equipment includes a six person offshore liferaft, EPIRB, VHF and HF radios, Starlink satellite internet and a legacy Iridium Go. When offshore we rig jack lines bow to stern on both sides and utilize safety feathers when out of the cockpit. True North has tall solid stainless steel tube lifelines around the complete deck. All Hylas 54s were constructed with solid (non-cored) hulls with multiple layers of Kevlar included in the layup. A watertight bulkhead separates the sail and anchor lockers from the rest of the hull to maintain positive buoyancy after a major collision. Navigation instruments include current model Raymarine chart plotter, autopilot, gages and Vesper AIS. Yacht instrument data is available over the yacht wifi network for use by tablet based navigation systems. Yacht position is broadcast in realtime over the satellite connection to an on-line yacht tracker system. True North is equipped with a 70 gallon per hour water maker, a 9KW genset, 13KW inverters, 780 watts solar panels and 12KW LFP battery bank. Other amenities include large seperate refrigerator and freezer, gas and induction cooktops, gas and electric ovens, icemaker, washer/dryer and reverse cycle air conditioning. True North has three cabins, the aft centreline queen master cabin with on-suite toilet and shower stall, a midship double berth cabin and a centerline queen forward cabin. The forward cabins share a head with seperate shower stall.

Skipper

NationalityCanadian
Age65
GenderMale
Fluent languages English
Qualifications CYA Advanced Cruising
CYA Coastal Navigation
ICC Power/Sail
Senior Instructor
International Certificate Of Competency (ICC)
IYT - Bareboat Skipper
PADI - Open Water
Restricted Operators Certificate (Maritime Radio)
Sea Miles 10,000+

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Quiet achiever

I crewed aboard SV True North from NZ to the three island groups of Tonga, via Minerva Rf, in April 2025. Owner skipper John is a very experienced and confident yachtsman. Crew enjoy a welcoming atmosphere, where you are encouraged to make cruise itinerary or menu suggestions, and contribute generally towards a fun experience for all. If want, John is willing to share his wealth of knowledge on many subjects, such as world travel, engineering, and how to cook a typical Canadian breakfast. If you have an IT question or want to learn about the latest electronic nav aids and weather routing John is your man. Exploring remote islands, trekking, and socialising with other yachties are some of his interests, so be ready. True North is a beautiful vessel in tip top condition, with all the tools and safety gear ( including first aid) you'd hope to have at sea. If you are fisherman/woman, John will be appreciative of a seafood on-deck BBQ & quiet ale. I'd sail again with John.

3rd Jul 2025