From Matangi Tonga Magazine, Vol. 15, no. 4, January 2001.

If the dawn can tell us what the rest of the day will be like, then the dawn of the 21st Century indicates that the new century will be bright and sunny for Tonga.

Waiting for the dawn on Monday, 1 January 2001, was a contingent of photographers on board the MV ‘Unga, floating in the Nuku‘alofa Harbour, watching the stars slowly disappearing from the sky, while to east, just above Talafo‘ou, at about 7.01 a.m. a nice round bright sun shone between the two masts of Tonga’s Millennium Kalia, floating to the east, in the hands of Captain Lupeti Vi.

The Kalia project started with the objective of sailing out to meet the dawn of the year 2000. However, the large 100ft Kalia was not ready in time and a smaller version was used last year.

This year it was a magnificent sight with its sails catching the dawn glow (pictured). However, there is still more work to be done to improve the efficiency of the sails and to install a steering mechanism.