Passage from Vanuatu to MacKay, Australia

We are about halfway through this passage timewise , although more than half of the miles have been covered. The wind and seas have stayed high in the right direction so we have made some record breaking distances for us. For us that is a yesterday traveling 46 nm in 6 hr. The rocking was more than I like at the beginning but comfortable enough now to get some work done.

It has been a treat that there is a full moon this week. Despite the cloud cover it is not very dark on night watch. We have settled in to our watch schedules. I sleep 8 to 11:30 in the evening and again starting about 5:30 am. Rob can then sleep 6 hours in the middle and a morning nap later. We always sleep better after the first few days.

The work onboard has been mostly cooking and cleaning. Australia is very strict in their boat inspections expecting it to be clean of all pests and fresh food. Rob scrubbed the bottom scraping off barnacles before we left. I have been emptying cupboards and washing shelves. One dead insect wing, we've heard, is enough to require an expensive fumigation. We're eating all we can but will still have to throw some food overboard. Milk, butter, nuts, canned pork, cereal, are on the banned list.

Tomorrow, Sun, the forecast is to lose all the wind. What little there may be will be varying directions. It would have been a better plan to leave a few days sooner. We will motor that day and hope we can get some travelling under sail in the next days of light winds. Rob and I got the spinnaker up for the first time yesterday with just the two of us so will need to do that again. It is one of the few jobs that involve going on deck.

There have been a number of boobies travelling along with us and the other boats. They keep trying to land on the boat, wind generator, mast and cockpit cover. Three have been injured in the blades and there are lots of droppings on the solar panels and canvas. We were sharing tips on the net last night to scare them off.

The afternoon before leaving Luc took us through the schedule for Indonesia. We will leave Thurs Island, near the Torres Straight, mid Oct for that trip. That will be the next time we have Luc with us. It was exciting to look at the places we will be stopping at. But new challenges as well.

We expect to be in to Australia at least by Thurs. That will seem like a big accomplishment.

Espiritu Santo

Some of the rusted equipment left at Million Dollar Point by the Americans after WWII

Makeluvu Blue Hole - beautiful blue fresh water

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Snorkelling in the blue hole

Dan preparing to swing off the banyon tree into the blue hole

Espiritu Santo

August 23, 2015

Today, Sunday, Dan took a cab to the airport at 7 am. We are anchored off the Beachfront Resort near town so that it was convenient for the airport and town. It is quite exposed to the weather we are having. We are usually dunked in salt water by the time we get back to the boat in the dinghy. The rest of the yachts are off Oyster Island. They are in a more sheltered spot but we were not comfortable getting in there with a depth that only works at high tide. Instead we took a cab there for the afternoon yesterday to sightsee, hike and snorkel and have lunch. There is a blue hole nearby which was really worth seeing. It is fresh water and the color is a deep blue and very clear. We did some snorkelling there. There was also a ladder up a tree with a rope to swing and dive from. Dan, at least, gave that a try. For me it was more fun to watch.

On Frdayi we visited Million Dollar Point which has remnants from WW2. The Americans had a base here for fighting in the Solomon Islands to the north. When the war was over they dumped everything in the sea, all the ships, vehicles, weapons, supplies. You can snorkel over the sight or just visit at low tide to see a lot of the remains. Lots of coke bottle pieces are imbedded in the coral. Today we are working on the boat to be ready for the next passage.  Monday we will take a cab to Oyster Island again for our skippers' meeting. We will spend a few hours going over info for the trips to Australia and Indonesia. It is hard to believe they are coming up so soon. After customs Tuesday morning we will be off on the 1080 nm trip to Mackay, Australia..

Back to my Roots festival on Ambrym Island

Enjoying a warm Tusker beer at the Sunrise Yacht Club, in Olal

Carol and Dan enjoying a coconut drink at lunchtime

"Kastom" dancing

Killing of the pig by the chief

Local kids are captivated by the festival

Back to my Roots festival on Ambrym Island

August 21, 2015

August 19 to 21 there was a festival in a village on North Ambrym to which we and other cruisers were invited. These festivals are primarily for the villagers themselves. There are ceremonies involved in raising your status towards being a chief. The older folk want to make sure that their children do not lose touch with the customs, dances, songs, and ceremonies of the past. This event is a yearly one. In Vanuatu the original customs have not been lost. After watching many songs with dances, I was wishing that we had a translation. I know they each had a different meaning but sounded much the same to us. The drumming rhythms are more complex than we are used to. And the musical scale used is different also. (maybe pentatonic?)

The costumes were different from what we had seen so far. The women wore grass skirts but nothing on top. The dancers were the older villagers so not too exciting to watch. But there were more men dancing. They wear a grass band around their waists with various plants tucked in. The only other article is a  "penis sheath", which is dyed leaves wrapped around it with the testicles hanging out. Their beautiful dark skin looks much better like this than most North Americans would.

The choosing of a chief involves the giving of money and a pig. Also the candidates stood on a high platform dancing and dodging coconuts thrown up at them. They also killed a pig for roasting by hitting it on the head while it was tied on the spit. Not a pleasant thing to watch! I know there was more to all the procedures than we were understanding.

The  women had prepared lunch and snacks for each day which were very tasty. There was a "yacht club" along the water which was basically just  a bar with a few flags hanging up. We were anchored further down the shore by another village so got in some long walks. On Wed it was Janet's birthday. Chapter 2 crew treated us all to a dinner at the village near the anchorage. It was in the chief's home and was based on a roasted pig. It was a celebration not likely to be repeated. They gave her a "mother hubbard" dress as a gift. It is a loose gathered dress with puffed sleeves worn by most of the women past a certain age. As in most places the younger ones dress like we do and have cell phones.

The sailing in Vanuatu has been more work than in Tonga. It took 2 day trips to get to Ambrym, one of which was motor sailing to windward in rough seas. From Ambrym it was an overnight sail to Santo. We chose a light wind forecast, but except for a few hours we had 20 to 25 kn.  There are 2 volcanoes on the island and they were glowing orange after dark, a beautiful, unusual site. It would have been fun to hike up for a closer view. Most of the hikes are a full day return trip, or an overnight.

Port-Vila to Malekula, Vanuatu

Carol being welcomed to South West Bay, Malekula

Dan munching on coconut during a taxing climb to the village garden

Kastom dancers

Port-Vila to Malekula, Vanuatu

August 18, 2015

August 14, afternoon and overnight, we sailed from Port-Vila to Southwest Bay on Malekula. It was also our 44th wedding anniversary. Another celebration underway. Dan is really getting a taste of rough water. He has spent a fair amount of time sleeping. Hope that means he arrives home well rested. We are hearing of more things to see in NZ in Sept. I know we will not have enough time.

On Saurdayt Luc had arranged a day's visit to Labo, one of several villages on Southwest Bay, to see what life is like in their village. In the morning the men did several "kastom" dances with drum accompaniment. The rhythms are very complex, and each dance tells a story. The costumes are very elaborate and harken back to the war and cannibal days on Vanuatu. A longer explanation would have helped me. The women performed "watermusic" which surprisingly is done in the water by clapping the hands in various positions to create the rhythms.

Lunch was prepared by the women. All local dishes, mostly vegetables, were served. We met a 100 year old man and were thinking that the fresh food diet, fresh air, and climbing home are all good for your health. In the afternoon we toured their village. The homes and gardens extend up the hillside. With the thatched roofs and well tended gardens and property, it was quite beautiful. We continued on to a waterfall where you could swim in fresh water or dive from a height above. A number of our group, including Dan, did that. It has been quite cold and rainy this week so passed on that myself. The local kids must love it. The end of the day was a chance to snorkel on the reef. It has been good snorkelling everywhere here.

On Sun we visited another village on the bay. Historically each has spoken a different dialect. But today the national language is Bislama, which is a pidgin English with a bit of French. Both English and French are taught in school and most adults can speak them. If learning more languages is good for your brain, these children will be quite smart.

Luc has a blood brother, Esrom, in this village .He spent a fair bit of time with them 4 years ago and did much for them, including bringing cruisers ashore for tours. Esrom has built him a bungalow and planted a garden for him. Of course, he has also inherited a whole family. A challenge for us visiting was getting our dinghies up the river to the village. There are several sand bars that are too shallow for your motor to be down. But in the deeper sections the currents is too strong to get across and upstream without a motor. So we were in the water pulling the dinghy through some parts and hopping back in to motor some.

In the morning we took a long hike up into the hills to see the garden areas. With the rain it was a slippery challenge climbing. Our 2 guides hacked away the underbrush with their machetes. As well as seeing the plants grown we were given food for the boat. There is an inland fresh water lagoon that we were taken a boat ride tour on. The women here also made lunch for us. Afterwards we did eye testing on the children living there. We also checked the adults for reading glasses. We have a collection of various strengths to distribute. It was also a chance to give away things that we have collected for gifts. We would have enjoyed staying longer but our time in Vanuatu is limited. We want to get to a festival, Back to my Roots, on Ambrym Wed to Fri. It will be a 2 day trip.

Trip from Fiji to Vanuatu

Dan trying out our newly acquired paddleboard in Port Vila harbour

Wreckage from Cyclone Pam, a category 5 cyclone that hit Port Villa in March of this year.

Dan enjoying his reptiles!

Vanuatu is known for its sanddrawings - amazing drawings where the artists finger never lifts from the sand. The story is as important as the drawing itself, which usually is gone soon after it is made.

  Trip from Fiji to Vanuatu

August 13, 2015

We are now safely tied to a mooring ball in the anchorage off Port-Vila in Vanuatu. This is the capital of the country and on the island of Efate. Dan flew in here last Sat and stayed at a small beach resort. We left Fiji on Sat and arrived Wed am. The first day out was rougher than I would like and the seas stayed high but it was generally a good passage. The winds were on the beam for a change so could travel 7 to 8 knots. The last night we had to reef right down to wait for a daylight arrival.

It has been great to see Dan after about 2 years. We are enjoying just chatting about their lives in NZ. He also could tell us some things about Efate. On Tues he rented a scooter and toured the whole island. The resort had some serious damage from the cyclone in March, but the snorkeling was still good. The storm was one of the worst for the country in a long time. (420km/hr recorded) Behind us in the bay here are numerous boat wrecks along the shore.

So far, we have met with Luc about the schedule for here, cleaned up the boat and ourselves, reprovisionn



ed, done laundry, visited the museum and the market. Rob bought us an inflatable paddle board today. He has been out on it briefly. Dan and I will have to try tomorrow while we are in a such a flat water spot. There is a BPO dinner tonight. Then tomorrow evening we will be sailing overnight to Malekula. There is a weekend festival that we want to take in. The rest of the fleet will be there on Friday.

Weather Changes The Plans Again

We had really been looking forward to get moving to Vanuatu this week. Dan is flying in to Port-Vila on Efate in Vanuatu tomorrow and we are waiting to check out from Fiji the same day. If all goes well it will be a 4 day trip .He has booked into a hotel/resort so hopefully still has a good holiday. Chapter 2 's son, John, is also flying in there.

The hold up has been because of a low pressure system moving from there to Fiji. It had developed into a tropical storm that had a low to moderate chance of becoming a cyclone. Not something we wanted to be a part of. Winds were in the 45 to 65 kn range but it is now starting to dissipate. Two of our fleet have been skirting it to the north and are doing ok to be in Santo soon. But they both have some damage to their boat. What is unusual is that this is supposed to be the "non storm season".

We have been anchored in Musket Cove most of the week so can't complain about the location. On the windy days we were getting wet and salty in the waves on the dinghy, but it was worth it to get to shore. You can pay a nominal amount to join the Yacht Club and then use the resort facilities. There is a 6 foot tide so it makes for an unusual beach and reef.

We can pick up one radio station which has English news and older American music. This will be our last night of internet until we get a new sim card in Vanuatu. The closest government check out location should have taken us 2 hours today to sail to. But the wind and waves were high and right on the nose so it landed up taking us over 4 hours tacking with the motor and sails. Because this is the first chance to leave in a while there is a big group here to get through customs including a rally. I hope it doesn't take all day. We are anxious now to be on the seas again.