Vanuatu - July 2007

Hi Everyone,

We have now had nearly two weeks in Vanuatu and are starting to get a feel for the place. From Fiji we had a quiet crossing, 450 miles motor sailing in light winds from behind with little to no swell. Certainly not a sailor's dream, but easy.

Vanuatu is surrounded in fairly deep water on most islands, so anchorages are few and far between. We had nearly a week at Port Resolution in Tanna. To clear customs and immigration we took a two hour ride on the back of a ute, across rough roads (tracks) to the other side of the island. What a way to see a country. We had struck market day so we were able to stock up on fresh organic fruit and vegetables, and sooo cheap.

Tanna hosts the most easily accessible active volcano in the world so you couldn't imagine us missing that opportunity. Even Daryl was checking the escape routes as the hot, lava boulders were landing within 100ft of us. Most impressive.

In Port Resolution we had opportunities to interact with the locals. Daryl repaired a few stereos and attempted a few torches. I took some family photos for a family, which we printed for them (we now have a printer on the boat). They are such lovely people. We came away loaded with gifts of fresh veges, fruit and hand woven bags.

From Tanna we sailed north to the island of Erromango. Because the wind direction was from the west (unusual) and very gentle, we chose to sail up the eastern side of the island. The village in the bay where we stopped had seen only two yachts this year, us being the second. They were very excited to see us, especially the children. We had caught a big tuna on the way in, so we presented it to the chief as a gift. Probably 50 people came to greet us when we came to shore in the dinghy. The only contact the village of 400 people has is a trading boat visit once every three months otherwise it is a 21 km walk over the hills to the next village. They had dolphins living in the bay which we swam with briefly. The dolphins were very wary of us, which makes us suspicious that they may be hunted by the locals. In Fiji and Vanuatu the locals in the villages were quite open about the fact that they hunt and eat turtle. Sad. Our stay of two nights was far too short but we needed to move on.

In Port Vila we waved goodbye to Debs who has gone back to the UK for about a month and picked up Dynes and Lyn who are back on board for a short 3 weeks. They are fantastic crew and we thoroughly enjoy having them.

Leaving Vila we did 2 day sails to get up to Santo in the north. Yesterday Daryl and Dynes went on 3 commercial dives on the Coolidge wreck, a luxury liner commissioned in the Second World War. They felt it deserved its reputation of being one of the best dives in the world. Daryl took our new underwater camera and is pleased with his shots. They will dive on it again tomorrow.

Today we have had snorkeling and diving at 'Million Dollar Point' where the American forces pushed all the machinery, vehicles, equipment, tanks etc at the end of the war. Santo had seen 500,000 military here during the war - 40 picture theatres. We have enjoyed the history.

We stopped a some remote little islands on our way back to Port Vila. Aitchen Island was very interesting. It is known for the building of canoes - there were hundreds of them. It was relatively highly populated (1000 people) compared with other islands. We do wonder how long since cannibalism has been practised?? The cook houses looked pretty well maintained. Leben, a local school teacher gave us a wonderful tour of the island. He gave us alot of interesting local history and information. There is obviously still much grappling between westernised religion and their old cultural beliefs (custom beliefs). There are still practising witch doctors who can influence the death of an individual. The locals are still using natural medicines more than doctors. Due to isolation the beliefs and practises between islands varies considerably.

I took photos of some elderly people and when I offered them the camera screen it became evident that they had no idea to look for their image on the screen. The children knew however.

It had to happen!! I have had my first unplanned swim while attempting to get into the dinghy from the yacht. The good news is: the bag with the camera in it didn't get wet and my shoes float. The bad news is I clipped my tail bone on the way down and am having trouble sitting down. The good news is: after a few drinks Daryl and Dynes devised a doughnut cushion in the form of a life jacket. If I sit with my tail bone in the head hole there is no pressure. So keen were they to have my company at dinner that Dynes walked into the restaurant with the bright orange life jacket on his arm!!

It has rained a lot up here but we are not letting it stop us. The water is warm and clear.

Cheers for now

Laurel and Daryl, Dynes and Lyn