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.