Vanuatu N

We finally managed the 60nm daysail to Lamen Bay, seen here, on the NW coast of Epi Island. Note the little boat is using a sail made from palm leaves; the natives in the boat live on the small island of Lamen and go to gardens they tend on Epi, i.e. this is afternoon rush hour.

We wanted to see and swim with the friendly dugong (sea cow) that lives here, but we were anxious to leave for a more secure harbor, so the next morning we departed for the Maskelyne Islands, which are south of the large island of Malekula.

We decided to visit the island of Sakau, which the guidebook said was uninhabited. Wrong! There's a village there now, with chief Willie in charge- that's his house on the left. He's planted a number of moorings, which were very appreciated as the water is quite deep. Note the thing sticking out of the water in front of the beach. The guidebook said it was a car wreck: wrong again. It's a shipwreck. The round thing is a large gear and the "ribs" are cylinder head studs. You can see some dugout canoes on the beach. We wanted one but discovered they're way too heavy.

Here's a shot of a native using a sail on his outrigger dugout. Chief Willie founded a sailing school for natives so they're not so dependent upon outboard motors.

We were so impressed we donated an old genoa so they could make more sails. Chief Willie is on the right with his wife and daughter in the background (they live in the background). The admiral wanted to donate half the supplies on the boat, mostly to clean out lockers. The humble captain felt they would be needed in the near-future.

A meeting of minds. The girl on the right lived under the dining table and liked being scratched behind the ears but would not pose for a picture. We suppose they're cute pets (they have names) until they become bacon.

Here Capt Hub does some tire-kicking. This canoe is way too heavy to lift. Note the subtle blue racing stripes on the sides.

We took a number of underwater shots here which you can see on the Watery Wonders page.

After spending 5 days here we decided we needed to push on to Luganville on the island of Santo. It was getting too late in the season and we didn't want the weather to get even worse than usual. So, we took off for Ambrym.

Here's a shot of Ambrym. There are 2 active volcanoes off to the right, but they were hidden behind clouds. We couldn't visit the volcanoes because it was yam season and the locals made walking on the volcanoes tabu, so as to keep the yam spirits happy.

While we plotted our next move, nature decided for us in the form of a cyclone, viz Tropical Cyclone Xavier. At this point it was a couple hundred miles north and weak at only 45 knots. Ambrym has no real shelter so we took off for Espiritu Santo.

At this point the cyclone is still 200nm away but winds are up to about 95 knots: note the sky. We were sailing downwind with a following sea about 12' high and winds over 30 knots. We wanted to go to Luganville but no moorings were available, so we ran for Pelikulo Bay, the entrance to which is seen above. The forecast was not good: the cyclone was predicted to increase to over 100 knots and would pass within 35nm of Santo, with possible local winds of 60 knots - bad!

The next morning we managed to get a mooring off Aore Resort in Luganville, so we motor-bashed our way there in 35 knot winds and 15' seas. This is the sky that evening off Aore. Those familiar with hurricanes will find it chillingly familiar.

At that point all the boats caught there began the laborious process of stripping canvas and other sources of windage. Here's a rare shot of the tub minus the usual canvas shelter. The capt is checking for details the admiral will note in her inspection.

The stripping process worked in that Neptune noted the effort and sent the cyclone off to the southeast, i.e. it was all a big waste of time. Winds here never exceeded 35 knots, which seemed like typical weather during the time we'd spent in Vanuatu.

This is an empty Quonset hut looking out towards Aore. During WWII this place had the cute name of "Buttons" and was the biggest supply base in the S Pacific, with 12 airfields and 40 movie theaters. Now you mostly see rusted junk, along with the anomaly of a 4-lane Main Street that's deserted some hours of the day.

One of the attractions of Luganville is diving on the wreck of the "SS President Coolidge", a troopship that struck a friendly mine and sank with 5000 troops aboard, along with all their equipment. The troops escaped but the ship is now a tourist attraction, which Luganville has very little of. You can see some shots on the Watery Wonders page.

The cyclone was earlier than expected and the weather for the S Pacific had forecast cyclones to the east, as in French Polynesia. So, we decided not to spend any more time in Vanuatu. This was a shame, since at least half the time we had been there the winds had been over 25 knots and the seas often upwards of 10', not pleasure sailing by any means. So, the admiral ordered us to depart for Guadalcanal with all deliberate speed. We hope to come back next season, but now we're off to the Solomons!

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