Sunday morning (15 September) and it rained again, hard! So we just stayed on board down below before heading ashore for sundowners with Chris (SV Sea Bear). We were all feeling a bit miserable and were definitely fed up with the weather. But at least we were safe and secure in a sheltered harbour with access to facilities. The sunset was so beautiful it almost made up for the dismal day.

Monday morning and it was time to make some decisions about our proposed Tuesday departure as Customs and Immigration clearance needs to be done 24 hours in advance. So we ran the weather models again only to find out that the weather window had closed down and we would now be looking at arriving at the Havannah Canal in 25 knots of sustained wind with higher gusts. This area is known to be particularly challenging in high winds so we decided not to risk it. The Go West Rally (which we are participating in from New Caledonia to Australia) had made a special arrangement to check into Lifou in the Loyalty Islands instead (which are not usually a port of entry) and means a shorter passage and the opportunity to visit more islands rather than by-pass them. So we signed up and made special arrangements with the officials to clear out of Vanuatu on Saturday for a Sunday departure. Lots of paperwork to complete but at least we now had a plan. Whilst I was busy doing all this Richard took himself off to get some diesel – the fuel dock is not open on a Sunday so an alongside fill up before departure wouldn’t be possible. Jobs done we later had sundowners on board Morphie with Chris.

Tuesday morning and the sun came out. Hurrah! I worked hard cleaning, waxing and polishing the cockpit whilst Richard did some mechanical jobs and also swapped out our ensign. He also found and repaired our French courtesy flag. During the afternoon Sea Bear left the anchorage but sadly we were down below so failed to wave him off which was a shame. Safe sailing Chris! During the day we had received an email from the Go West Rally organiser who articulated concerns over the updated weather forecast for scheduled departures from both Fiji and Vanuatu but promised to stay in touch. It certainly looked pretty feisty to us! Unbelievable how things change so quickly.

Wednesday morning and I did the washing using the spare 10L jug of fresh water we had stowed in the lazarette. Richard was on a mission for refrigerant gas again. He had found out a few places where he could buy it (allegedly) and walked the town, and walked, and walked only to be turned away from all stores that he visited despite the locals telling him that it was definitely available. Fed up from being given the runaround he returned to Morphie but at least he didn’t come back empty handed as he had filled up the jug with fresh (potable) water. The harbour water here is surprisingly clear and looks clean but, near the main street, there is a warning not to swim because of ‘health risks’ (although they do actually swim off the casino beach near our mooring). Not sure what those risks are but don’t fancy making water (just in case) so we are going to fill up every time we go ashore and use that to top up our tanks. During the day SV Mezzaluna and SV Bla Ellinor turned up in the anchorage having had a rough and bouncy sail down. We all headed ashore for sundowners and ended up in a big crowd having a few cold ones. Was very social.

Thursday morning and the rally was confirmed as postponed with the new date for checking in pushed out to Monday 30 September. This is really cutting down our available time to explore New Caledonia but what can we do?!? So now we are going to be here in Port Vila for another week. As we had virtually emptied the freezer in preparation for entering into New Caledonia (which has strict bio-security rules about food) this meant that we now needed to go shopping. So we headed up to the Bon Marche supermarket for a provisioning run. Back on board we unpacked and stowed our goodies before returning ashore for more water and happy hour sundowners.

Friday we had a lay in and relaxed. At 4.30 pm we headed ashore to meet the gang and bundled into a bus to take us to the Beach Bar in Mele who are the original hosts to the Vanuatu fire show as the performers come from the nearby village. So we took our seats and enjoyed the view along the beach and out to sea as the sun went down.

And here’s Richard with our supplies LOL. Spotted the name tag?!? Yes, Asa decided we should fit in and look like a proper tourist group rather than a bunch of cruisers so made us all wear name tags and even had a little flag to jolly the 10 of us along.

The fire show was amazing and we thoroughly enjoyed it!

Saturday morning and it was cloudy and grey yet again with a bit of rain in the air. A cruise ship had come into the port overnight so there were lots of local boats buzzing behind our stern carrying tourists to and from their various activities. Wish they would observe the no-wake zone though as we get rocked and rolled around a bit LOL.

As we are stuck here waiting on weather we are using our time to get on with boat jobs (today it was varnish keepers on the rail). Was a pretty windy day so looks like the forecast might actually be correct for once! We had a quiet night on board before having an early night.

This morning, Sunday, and I’m blogging very early before the internet speed slows down as more people come on line. Then I’m going back to bed for a while. This afternoon we are returning to the Beach Bar to see their Kustom Karnival which includes live music, kustom dancers from the Banks Islands (remember the snake people from the festival in Malekula?) and even clowns. So looking forward to that.

Bye for now

Jan

Sunday morning (8 September) we had a lazy start and went ashore in the afternoon for our final visit to the resort. We enjoyed a bottle of wine sitting on the deck overlooking Morphie in the anchorage and just chilled for a while. Then we paid our bill and went back aboard for dinner and an early night, having secured everything ready to go to sea the following day.

Monday at 4.30 am in the pitch black we headed away from Aore Island and out into the channel towards Port Vila, Efate. The weather window for going south was very narrow so we had abandoned the idea of island hopping on the way as we realised that we would probably get stuck again. The sea was calm and there wasn’t much wind so we just motored gently along. By the time the sun started coming up we were moving away from the islands. Goodbye Espiritu Santo and Aore, it had been fun.

When we cleared the islands the seas just went completely flat and it was like a mill pond. The wind was very light (around 6-8 knots) but with flat seas and a current in our favour we were making more than 5 knots with all three sails deployed. Was a nice day at sea although Richard lost one of his lures to a very big fish who just hit it and chomped it off – the speed and strength of the take was amazing and we were both grateful that this one got away LOL. The sunset was just spectacular and there was very little boat traffic apart from one ferry and two other yachts also making the most of the calm conditions to run south.

Tuesday morning it was cloudy and cold with rain in the air. The wind picked up to 21 knots on the nose. But we managed to sail into it with just our main and staysail deployed and continued to make good progress. This change, of course, was not forecast yet again. By 6am it was pretty horrible and we had an adverse current so our speed dropped to an average 3.6 knots but we just pushed on. By noon we were approaching the cut into Port Vila having avoided the extended Blue Exclusion Zone because of an infestation of rhinocerous beetles.

We arrived into the outer harbour having completed our 170 mile passage and couldn’t raise Yacht World on the radio (who manage the moorings) so we came through into the inter harbour and stooged around. Eventually we got a response but were told to wait…and wait…and wait. So we anchored until they were ready to assist us. The moorings here have sunken ropes and no pick-up buoys so you have to get help to pick one up. The anchorage is over coral so not good holding and the moorings pretty much dominate the bay here. Eventually, by 4pm, we were securely tied to a mooring. We got ourselves cleaned up and headed ashore for a Jumbo Tusker at the Waterfront pleased to be back.

The Waterfront bar and restaurant is part of Yacht World and have boats med-moored to the wall. It was absolutely rammed and all the moorings were full (we got the last one!) as the Pacific Cruising rally is in town. Was a nice social evening and it was good to catch up with Chris (SV Sea Bear) again. The temperature took a real dip during the evening and we were both pretty cold when we got back to Morphie.

During the night the rain started….it was torrential…..and made a horrendous noise hitting the coach roof above our berth. In a break in the rain on Wednesday morning we went ashore to the big Bon Marche supermarket and re-provisioned. The upside to the overnight rain was that Morphie no longer needed a wash down to get rid of the salt from the passage.

Having got everything stowed we headed back to meet Chris and Craig (SV Crocus) in the rain again. We enjoyed Happy Hour but it was so cold we resorted to wearing jeans ashore and dining down below on our return.

Thursday and it was still raining. So another day down below although Richard did service the generator in the cockpit during the day. This is getting us down a bit but I made myself useful stripping the bed and doing a bit of cleaning then completing the outward documentation for Vanuatu and the inward documentation for New Caledonia (we just need the dates completed once our plans firm up). Apparently the South Pacific Convergence Zone has moved a bit and it is the reason why we are getting unsettled weather and stronger than normal trade winds. This dire weather restricts our movements and has certainly been a major feature of our season this year. Despite the rain, we met Chris and Craig again for Happy Hour and then went on for dinner at a local Thai restaurant (which bizarrely has a massage parlour inside). Was very good food.

Friday morning and it was still raining….. Getting fed up with this that’s for sure. I’m also struggling a bit with my hip and back as the damp seems to seep right into the bones. So Richard kindly left me to rest up while he headed out into town. First stop was a propane fill. We can fill our original US bottles here in Vanuatu but know that is not possible in either New Caledonia or Australia so we needed to make the most of this opportunity. He also purchased some oil and hunted high and low for some refrigerant gas but sadly didn’t find any. When he came back he looked like a drowned rat!

Later on we headed ashore for sundowners again, this time in our Musto foulies as it was raining so hard. We met up with Craig and some other rally members who are heading out on Saturday to the Lifou islands. It was really nice to see Nigel and Amanda (the rally organisers) again too. And, of course, we got soaked getting back to Morphie to have dinner. Look how much water we collected whilst we were out for just a couple of hours!

This morning, Saturday, and it was still raining but by noon it had started to ease. It still remains very cloudy and grey reminding us of sailing in the UK when everything just feels damp and cold. Richard has been very industrious having done an engine oil change; replaced the oil filter; changed the primary and secondary fuel filters; and cleaned out the engine bay. He has also done the engine checks for when we get moving again. He has just gone ashore to top up our internet credit while I’m blogging. I desperately need to get some washing done too when it is possible to get things dry!

Looking forward there is a possible weather window to depart on Tuesday. It will be a shame to leave Vanuatu without having visited many of the islands that we had planned to see but the weather has just made life difficult. And we certainly need to move on if we are to arrive into Australia by the end of October. So the next stop is going to be Noumea, New Caledonia, a passage of around 370 miles. The timing of this passage requires a bit of thought as we are going to be going around the bottom of the island inside the fringing reef so we need to be on a rising tide (to avoid strong adverse currents) and well as arriving at the cut in daylight so we can eyeball navigate through this area. Fingers crossed the weather window holds.

Bye for now

Jan

Sunday afternoon, having got ourselves anchored and settled in Luganville Bay, we headed ashore to the Beachfront Resort. We were pleasantly surprised as it didn’t look much from the anchorage and were particularly impressed that they even had a yacht information pack for us when we registered at reception. We had a couple of cold ones before heading back for an early night.

Monday morning we had a lazy start and I stayed on board while Richard headed into town for some petrol. And the rain just kept on coming through in waves. We eventually made a dash for it ashore where we were joined by Aso, Dan, Jeff, Katie and Mark for our (23rd) wedding anniversary meal and had a fun time together. Aso had been to the market during the afternoon and introduced us all to her crab friends who were facing a boiling pot of coconut milk later in the evening. We did tell her off for playing with her food LOL.

Tuesday morning and we up very early as we had organised to go diving on the SS President Coolidge. This was an ocean liner built in 1931 which served as a troopship in the second world war having been converted in 1942 and assigned to the US Navy. Many of her civilian fittings were removed or boarded over for safe keeping at this time. Guns were duly mounted and she was painted grey. She was sunk by American mines here in Espiritu Santo which was then part of the New Hebrides (two ships were lost to friendly fire as, allegedly, the authorities did not inform the captains of the newly laid minefields). When the Coolidge hit the mines Captain Henry Nelson beached the ship and evacuated the crew leaving all their personal belongings behind, with the expectation that they could undertake a salvage operation in future days.

However a coral reef was in the way and ripped through the hull of the ship and within 90 minutes the Coolidge slipped down the shelf and was completely submerged. When Vanuatu won independence in 1980 they declared that no salvage or recovery of any artifact would be allowed from the wreck of the Coolidge. Since then the ship has been used for recreational diving and it is possible to swim through numerous holds and decks. There are guns, cannons, jeeps, helmets, trucks and personal supplies still left on board.

At 8.15 am we were collected by the dive company and driven to their private site on the shoreline. We were delighted to find we were the only divers that day. We were given our (heavy steel) tanks and proceeded to kit up before having our briefing. We were going to penetrate holds 1 and 2 but no further on this first dive. So ready to go and the dive guys carried my gear into the water for me (as we had requested to avoid stressing my back). Richard had to walk in carrying all of his own gear. Our dive leader was impressively kitted out with side-by-side double tanks and he also carried a spare tank and regulators for safety reasons.

This was important to us as some of the dive operators here have a reputation for taking people into dangerous scenarios with deep penetration of the wreck to decompression depths without ensuring that the divers have the appropriate experience/skills to do such technical diving, and there have been deaths as a result.

We carried on walking out across the reef until it was time to descend. The visibility was not particularly good (because of the recent rains) and, at around 30m, the bow of the wreck came into sight……it is huge! We had a look at the variety of objects (including armaments) scattered around and our dive leader decided to shoot us with a gun and try on a gas mask for good measure. We did penetrate the wreck but not deeper than 33m. We thoroughly enjoyed it.

The safety stops were a bit longer than was strictly necessary on the ascent but again, safety first, and we are certainly not complaining. While we were hanging around in the shallower water on the ascent we hovered around a colony of clown fish who were very protective of their nursery. Have never seen such tiny Nemos!

Back ashore and, again, the guys carried my gear out of the water. They realised that I was good on air (having returned with 120 bar after 41 minutes) so they promised to provide me with a smaller tank for the next dive so that it would be more manageable for me. We were taken by minibus back to the dive operation’s resort, Coral Quays, and enjoyed a very leisurely four hour surface interval having lunch overlooking the rain forest.

Early afternoon we repacked our stuff into the trailer and took off again back up the road for our second dive on the Coolidge. This time we took a different route and penetrated slightly deeper to the medical quarters. Really good diving.

The safety stop intervals were even longer this time and to pass the time we fed the fish while sitting on the sandy bottom.

Arriving back at the surface we cleaned up all our kit and was returned to the Beachfront Resort. We made use of their fresh-water showers to clean ourselves and all our gear up and then had a few cold ones with some fellow cruisers waiting for the torrential rain to pass.

Wednesday morning and the forecast was for more settled weather and for the wind direction to be more westerly – perfect for getting to Vao Island which sits at the top of Malekula. So we weighed anchor and headed out through the western exit of the Segond Channel to get a better sailing angle once we were clear of the island. Well, as we neared the exit the wind was not coming from where it was supposed to be and the sea was building and building and we were getting nowhere into the large breaking waves taking green water over the bow. This was stupid – and at the speeds we were making – it was clear that we weren’t going to be able to make the 30-odd miles to arrive in daylight (which is necessary as Vao is surrounded by reefs and we need to eyeball our way through). So we decided to cut our losses and aborted the attempt. As we neared Luganville we realised that there was a spare mooring ball at the Aore Island Resort – somewhere we had wanted to go to – so took the opportunity of picking that up.

Disappointed not to have left Espiritu Santo but, never mind, we’ll enjoy a few days R&R here. We dinghied ashore, registered ourselves, and had a few hours chilling by the pool before having a pizza supper and retiring onboard for the night. Had been a frustrating day but this lovely interlude more than made up for it.

Thursday evening the resort was providing a show by the women from the northern island of Gaua. They are famous for their water music and dancing. So we had a productive day on board doing boat jobs and the laundry before heading ashore about 4pm. We bobbed in the pool and lazed on the beach before having showers and getting cleaned up in preparation for the show and dinner.

We had reserved a table and they had given us one right on the deck over the sea which was prime position for the show. So we settled down to watch. It was fantastic! How they make the sounds by virtually drumming the sea was just amazing, but it was difficult to get photos as they move so fast! This was then followed by a lovely candlelit dinner, all very romantic.

Friday morning and we were up very early again. We had run the weather models late the night before and there was another weather window to move south. So at 7am we slipped away from our mooring ball saying a fond farewell to the resort, and proceeded out towards the eastern exit of the Segond Channel. The wind was on our nose (as expected) and we knew it was going to be a close hauled sail once we turned towards our destination but all was looking good. Slow going but we knew we could make up time once we were under sail away from the local island effects. Anyway – we turned into the channel between two smaller islands – and the wind increased to 25 knots (forecast at 12-15) and the seas built and we were now punching into the waves hard and our boat speed suffered significantly. OK, local weather effects are often felt in close promixity to the islands and we also anticipated an increased fetch as the sea is channeled through small gaps. But the sea state deteriorated and the wind increased and it was just plain horrible. By now we recognised that we couldn’t possibly make Vao before dark (again!) so we took the decision to return once again to Luganville to await another window. The forecasts are just rubbish here and until you physically get out there it is difficult to gauge what you are going to face. Although we are very keen to move south again now it is not at any price!

So we turned around, pulled out the genoa, and had a lovely sail back towards Luganville. By now the wind had swung SE (again not forecast) and when we got back to Luganville Bay the chop started to make the anchorage very rolly. But we got our anchor down and then rerun the weather models only to find that the wind was now going to increase signficantly during the night. As we had had to run for cover from this anchorage before in those conditions it looked like we needed to move on again. We got out the binoculars and realised that our mooring at Aore Island was still available so we quickly weighed anchor and rushed over there to claim it again as it is protected by the island from the trades. Phew….19 miles….and we hadn’t been anywhere yet again. Frustrating but at least we are safe and sound and will enjoy just being here for a few more days until this latest unsettled weather system clears.

This morning, Saturday, and Richard is relaxing while I’m blogging. We’ll go ashore and visit the beach later this afternoon…. So I’ll leave you with my favourite picture of Morphie from the Aore resort.

Bye for now

Jan

Saturday night (24 August) the winds picked up and we started nodding into the increasingly large chop in Luganville Bay. By the time we had got up and breakfasted on Sunday morning the wind was still increasing and the anchorage was quickly becoming untenable. So we stowed everything away and weighed anchor. We headed out into the Segon Channel which runs along the bottom of Espiritu Santo. It was horrible, large seas of 2m and wind on the nose. We couldn’t punch into it and make any sort of speed without running the engine very hot so we just had to put up with it and at times couldn’t even make 2 knots. The wind was now howling at up to 30 knots. As we rounded Million Dollar Point the wind thankfully moved behind us and we were able to pull out a reefed genoa and make better way in the rough conditions.

By 13.37 we had worked our way in through the reefs and were anchored in Surunda Bay which was a delight. The bay was large, protected, and with lots of room and good holding in sand.

We joined SV Bla Ellinor and SV Macluska in the anchorage and were followed in by SV Mezzaluna who had just arrived from Malekula. We enjoyed the relative calm of the anchorage and had a quiet night on board.

Monday morning we headed to the beach as we wanted to go into Luganville to re-provision. We asked permission of the landowner, as the beaches are public but the land fronting them is private and we need to go through their grounds to reach the main road. You can see how seriously this particular one takes his privacy – check out his welcome sign LOL.

At the main road, we hitched a ride with a chatty woman who lives on one of the local huge cattle plantations and she informed us of where to find everything in Luganville and refused any petrol money. (Vanuatu is famous for its organic beef and Espiritu Santo is where most of the cattle are reared.) It was very kind of her to take us into town. We wandered the main street and we headed into a local butchers. They had a great selection of beef but not much else so we just bought some steak. Then it was on to the large market for some fresh fruit and vegetables which were all priced up so we knew we were paying the local price and not inflated tourist ones.

I had a look at the local food being prepared by women in the market but didn’t try anything as there wasn’t much that appealed to be honest. The women were quite shy but I managed to get a few smiles out of them in the end.

Moving on we headed to the town’s largest supermarket. We found most things that we wanted including some special goodies as we were hosting sundowners on board Morphie in the evening. Fully laden we got a taxi to take us back to the beach and then dinked back to the boat. The taxi driver wanted V1500 (just over £10) for the 15 minute drive and we haggled him down to V1000 which was fine, especially as we had got into town for free earlier in the day.

Back on board we put everything away, tidied up, and prepared for the gang to descend on us at 16.30. We did an Indian vegetarian platter of snacks plus some cheeses and fresh vegetable crudites with dips. We had one person with a wheat allergy and one vegan so it was a challenge to do an evening which catered for all and luckily the supermarket had a range of suitable products we could offer. We had a lovely evening with Jeff and Katie (SV Mezzaluna – USA), Mark (SV Macluska – UK) and Aso and Dan (SV Bla Ellinor – Sweden). Was fun.

Tuesday was a lovely day with the sun shining (which we haven’t seen much of this season). But sadly the wind was still too strong and in the wrong direction to head back to Luganville. We also found out that the diving on the famous sites is shore diving which is probably too difficult for me to do with my dodgy back – walking across the reef carrying all the weights and equipment would not be a good idea – so we are looking into whether we can find a company offering boat diving. We found one but weren’t able to fix a date in advance as this is so weather dependent. We will continue with our adventure and hope to sort this out for another time later.

In the afternoon we went ashore to have dinner Vanuatu style. We had received permission to use the ‘picnic’ area from the local village and so we gathered wood (with some help from the kids) and built a fire on the beach near the local fishing boats.

We got it going and then put our dishes on the flames. We had good fun and were entertained by Jeff so we had a camp fire sing along. The local kids were enjoying themselves too and stayed the evening chatting and entertaining us. Quite a few other cruisers came over from anchored boats so it was all very social. Before we returned to Morphie at the end of the evening we fed the kids the remainder of our pot luck dishes – and they loved it. The only downside to the evening was that I had forgotten my glasses (as I was wearing my sunnies) so had to stay mysterious wearing sunglasses in the dark like a right plonker LOL.

Wednesday morning and the gang decided to do a six mile dinghy ride to a nearby blue hole but we had decided we were going to take Morphie into Peterson Bay (which was too shallow for the others). So we went back into town for a final provisioning run as we expect to be on anchor for a while now. We managed to hitch a ride again, had a wander around, stopped in a local cafe/bakery for a cold drink and respite from the blistering humid stormy heat of the day. Shopping completed we returned by taxi, this time only paying V500 so that was a bargain!

Later in the afternoon (having done some hand washing) we headed to the beach and went bobbing. This is a lovely bay with sandy beaches and protected waters – definitely the best we have been in for a long time. The village kids were there to join us again and we had catered for them this time by providing chocolate bourbon biscuits. This went down a treat and we had fun with them. They also showed us their climbing skills by sitting in the trees above our heads while we were in the sea. More turned up – so additional biscuits handed out – and Richard really liked the little boy with the wild hair. What a fantastic bunch of pikininis*. They entertained us with their singing so we sang some songs and got them to join in with the actions too (“if you are happy and you know it clap your hands” etc).

[*Before getting criticised by the PC crowd, let me explain. Pikinini is found in Melanesian pidgin and other languages such as Bislama of Vanuatu. This is the usual world for ‘child’ of either a person or an animal and may refer to children of any race. It is not a derogatory or racist term here unlike its potential usage in the UK.]

Thursday morning and we checked the weather again and it was looking good for the run to North Peterson Bay. The entrance pass through this area is very shallow and can only be attempted at a minimum of one hour before high tide. So we checked the tide and double checked our navigational waypoints. Quite daunting but we had an alternative anchorage once through the outer passage if we didn’t fancy navigating through the inner one. So we picked up anchor at 1pm and headed out.

Having travelled just over 5 miles we headed towards the outer pass and then decided to continue through the inner pass with Richard sticking to the route while I eyeballed the coral bombies all around (which wasn’t that easy as the visibility was reduced by heavy cloud cover). It was quite nerve wracking as the route meandered and the reported navigational aides were missing apart from two scaffold poles at the entrance. At one point, we only had 4ft under the keel. By 14.30 we had anchor down in the bay (having travelled a huge 6.86 miles) and were delighted to be here. The anchorage is one of the most protected yet is still open to receiving the breeze – lovely!

Having settled we dinghied ashore to the Oyster Island resort only to find it was closed for refurbishment – which was disappointing. Never mind back on board and we watched three other boats come in although not all of them came through to the upper lagoon. We had a nice dinner (keeping the vegetable peelings for the dugongs that supposedly live in this lagoon) and sat in the cockpit enjoying the surroundings. We spotted two boats further north of us and there were lights on the beach so, on further investigation using Ovitalmap (where satellite images are available offline) we found Turtle Bay Lodge so may try and visit that tomorrow. We had a lovely night on anchor and barely moved despite the strong winds.

Friday morning and we had breakfast watching the local traffic come and go. There must be villages hidden behind the waterside foliage as we have seen many boats turn up with locals laden down with shopping. Our plan for the day was to visit the Mateluvu Blue Hole up the windey river. But we had to wait for the tide to come in a bit to get over the sandbar at the entrance and we took off in dink for our exploration leaving Morphie sitting pretty in the lagoon surrounded by jungle. Just such a shame about this permanently grey cloudy weather…..

We eventually managed to get over the sandbar and were first greeted by cows on the river bank who watched us go through into the river entrance. We were glad we had come through as early as possible as there were lots of hazards (particularly rocks and tree roots) that would not be so clearly visible when the tide came up. We meandered through slowly admiring the scenery and watching the water turn from muddy silty brown to beautiful clear fresh water with a layer of plants moving with the motion of the water.

At the blue hole we were greeting by some locals who asked us to pay an admission fee of V500 each. That’s fine, someone has gone to a lot of trouble to do some landscaping and put up picnic areas etc. We then wandered around and took some photos, chatting for a while with an English family who were both GPS and had been working in Luganville for a couple of months and the kids were in the international school. They were now coming to the end of their stint here. The kids were fearless jumping from the rope swings but came back a bit blue as the water was freezing! We enjoyed the transquility of the place but didn’t fancy getting that cold…..

We headed back just as it started to rain. Back on board we picked up anchor and edged our way carefully up the lagoon (which is uncharted) staying close to the centre where the depths are deeper. It was quite deep all the way and we dropped our anchor again in 10m and got ourselves settled. The cloudy weather was doing our battery bank no good as the solar gains were so limited so we ran the engine for a little while to give them a top up.

Then we headed ashore to the Turtle Bay Lodge and settled in at the Salty Dog Bar and Restaurant. Lovely little place and very cruiser friendly. But getting ashore was challenging with the incoming tide and we had to tie dink off to a fallen tree in the water (with Richard doing his monkey impression on the trunk) while I tied the stern off to some rocks on the other side of the inlet. Finally ashore (a bit soggy) we enjoyed a few cold beers and had a late lunch. Was very nice.

When we left at 5ish the tide was almost at its height and the tree was partially submerged….it was pretty dangerous to get dink back to the shallows without him surfing onto the rocks either side of the inlet – and, of course, we got completely soaked. Richard was concerned because his tree trunk was now underwater and every time the surge took the dinghy the knots got tighter and he struggled to get it untied without falling in! Back on board (somewhat relieved) we had a nice quiet evening in the cockpit before having another early night.

Saturday morning we debated our options. The high tide here is getting later each evening so we decided to leave that afternoon so that we could get through the shallow pass and back to Surunda before dark.

So we had a lazy day (and no internet access) just reading and relaxing. Then at 15.45 we picked up anchor and motored slowly towards the shallow pass. The first bit was relatively straightforward and we saw 10 ft under the keel. The rest was more challenging and, of course, the clouds returned just in time to make eye-ball navigation more difficult. But we made it through although a bit confused by the depths. On the way in, on a 3ft tide, we saw 4ft under the keel. Following our path back out exactly on a 4ft tide, we saw 3ft under the keel. Go figure!

We motorsailed back to Surunda Bay and got anchored before dark. Had a nice quiet evening on board although had to retreat down below in the torrential rain.

This morning (Sunday) we ran the weather again and the relatively settled weather that had suddenly appeared the day before looked like it was going to persist for about three days. So this could be our chance to go diving! Woo hoo. At 7.50 we picked up anchor and motor sailed out through the reef systems and between a couple of small islands (with a couple of wrecks on the reefs to remind mariners of the hazards). It was still grey and a bit rolly as we came out from the shallow water into the deep blue but it soon settled down and the sun even tried to come out.

We rounded the bottom of Espiritu Santo at Million Dollar Point

and then went through the channel to Luganville Bay (which we had been forced out of last week due to dangerous conditions). It was flat calm with people on the beach fishing in front of the small resort. We’ll be going ashore later to explore and ever hopeful that we may see some sun today.

If the current weather forecast is correct (and that will be a first) it looks like we have an opportunity to start moving south to visit some more remote villages on Wednesday but will obviously keep running the models just to make sure, as we are potentially going against prevailing winds and tides.

In the meantime, I’ll finish with a picture of Richard’s favourite pikinini LOL.

Bye for now

Jan

At 10.30 on Sunday morning (18 August) we left our mooring ball in Port Vila and headed out through the harbour to head north towards Malekula. The winds were very light at only six knots so we motor sailed for a while until around 15.00 when the wind filled in behind us so we went wing on wing making good speed at 6+ knots. We also saw two whales in the distance as we watched the vapour from their blow holes but sadly they didn’t come any closer.

At 21.00 the wind moved forward and we were on a beam reach having a great sail under a nice moon. There was a lot of boat traffic around which surprised us – we were also accompanied by another three yachts who had left Port Vila. By 03.00 on Monday morning the wind eased so we motor sailed again. At 12.25 we had anchor down in Port Stanley, Malekula opposite the village of Litslits. We got ourselves cleaned up and chilled for a while having completed the 132 mile passage.

At 2pm we realised that we were dragging. Damn! The anchorage is listed as average holding and the bottom was very rubbly. So we picked up and got set again. By this time the tide had fallen exposing the coral / rocky seabed near the beach, which isn’t great for landing the dinghy. So we decided to have a quiet night on board, enjoying our first sunset in Malekula.

Tuesday morning we were up early and headed ashore just after high tide. We were met by numerous children on the beach who decided to help us bring the dinghy up the beach – lots of little hands and laughing faces.

We entrusted dink to their care and walked to the main road, got a truck ride into town (which is a form of public transport and I was lucky enough to sit in the cab while Richard climbed into the back). This costs V100 pp each way (less than a pound). We were dropped off at the showground and went through ready for our first taste of the National Arts Festival. This is only held every five years so we were extremely lucky to be in Vanuatu to witness this cultural event.

We took a seat in the stand and listened to all the speeches, including from the Prime Minister of Vanuatu.

We then watched our first Kastom dance – with tribes coming from all over Vanuatu to take part. Each island has its own distinct culture and tribes so the costumes were different and the dances were telling different stories. The men were often wearing little more than penis sheathes…and some of them had less than that with everything on display with them proudly propped up on woven penis shelves! The dancers were predominantly men although there were some women groups too. Interesting public announcements were made during the day primarily focused on hygiene telling people to wash their hands after going to the toilet; before they eat; and after changing nappies. There was also free toothpaste and toothbrushes available in the medical tent.

At lunchtime we headed off to find some local food in the outlets lining the arena and Richard found a fish laplap which is the national dish of Vanuatu. Breadfruit, bananas, taro or yam roots are grated into a vegetable paste which is then wrapped in banana leaves and cooked in an underground oven with coconut milk. Basically it was grilled fish sitting on a gloopy yellow brick with the consistency of wallpaper paste. It was horrible! I just had tiny sweet bananas and pamplemousse (sweet grapefruit) instead which was fine. We both, however, loved the huge sweet doughnut things…..

We headed back to the village after a day of dancing, foot stomping, drumming, magic and other delights .

Back at the village we sat on the beach and chatted to the kids while we waited for the tide to come in enough to get dink afloat. Dink was absolutely filthy and filled with sand, and numerous small handprints kind of gave away the culprits LOL. The village is very poor and living conditions are primitive as the houses have virtually nothing but four walls and they cook outside over open fires (although they do have running water and electricity). The village church was overrun with dancers from other islands who were using it as their sleeping base during the festival.

Wednesday was food day and this time Richard tried shrimps in a coconut paste cooked on a fire inside a bamboo pole. He enjoyed that (and helped the lad finish it all off) and we found out that the origin of this dish came from climate change. They explained that with increasingly frequent El Ninos in the Pacific they have more drought periods which means they can’t grow their staple crops so this simple dish sustains them during those difficult periods (plus crabs and other fish).

Other food tents were set up showing how they prepared traditional meals and it was very interesting to watch the women at work. They were also highlighting other handicrafts such as wood carvings and traditional mat weaving.

Oh yes, and we also literally bumped into the Prime Minister having a bottle of water (having just taken some kava) in one of the tents.

The magic tricks performed by some of the tribes got the best responses from the crowd who rushed to the barriers to watch more closely. The local kids loved to chat too.

Another day of Kustom dances so here are some more photos – most memorable this time was the guys holding the red flowers without realising, at first, that they had black and white snakes attached.

During the day they announced ‘public’ dances where all the locals could rush into the centre of the showground and join in the fun after a Kustom dance had been performed. Vanuatu people are supposed to be one of the happiest in the world and they certainly appear happy most of the time. It was delightful to watch their pleasure and to hear their laughter. Also loved the sound of the TamTams (traditional carved wood poles they use for drumming).

Arriving back at the village and we looked out to see that Morphie was missing from her spot! OMG. We then spotted her behind a catamaran, realising that she had dragged again in the winds that had strengthened during the day. We rushed back to her in dink, picked up the anchor, and dropped it again. Heart stopping moments or what?!? She had dragged back almost 20m (and luckily alongside another boat and not into it). So we had a quiet evening in the cockpit taking readings and continuously checking everything. Thankfully the wind eased overnight.

Thursday morning and the wind remained light so we were comfortable about leaving Morphie again in the anchorage. Heading into Lakatoro it was more of the same. Only this time one of the Kustom dances took a darker turn when it turns out a pig has to be killed every time this dance is performed. So they dragged this tiny piglet across the grass by his legs and one of the dancers came out of the troop and bashed him over the head so he was left twitching on the ground to die. All very brutal but it appeared to be to the delight of the crowd, including the children. I guess the pig would have been cooked for food later so can’t criticise just was a bit surprised as we weren’t expecting it. But then there was a lighter side to the show with a specially designed dance done by a cultural group who called it the tourist dance and showcased lots of photos being taken and bums being wiggled – the crowd (and us!) were in hysterics. So funny….. Also loved the gull headdresses that flapped their wings as they danced around.

In the afternoon we visited the large town market before heading back to Morphie. Lots of lovely fruits and vegetables on display and all carried in leaf baskets – no plastic bags here.

Back in the anchorage we went for sundowners with Asa and Don (SV Bla Ellinor) and Jeff and Katie (SV Mezzaluna). We talked about the weather as it was forecasting strong winds of around 30 knots on Friday night and into the weekend. Well, with our experience in the anchorage, there was no way we were staying put. So we decided that we would leave early Friday morning (sadly missing the last day of the Festival) and we all looked at possible anchorages on Espirito Santo. Back on board we moved the outboard onto the rail, raised dink onto the arches and got ready to go to sea.

Friday morning by 6.10 we had weighed anchor and were motoring in light winds away from Malekula north towards Aore Island. This is opposite Luganville (which is the main town on the bottom of Espirito Santo) and has a resort with a few mooring balls which are sheltered from the prevailing winds. So we motor sailed there being joined by a large pod of dolphins for a while, which always makes us smile.

We arrived to find no mooring balls were available (operated on a first come first served basis). But during the trip we had downloaded the spot weather forecast again to find that the strong winds were now not due until later on Saturday. So we headed across the pass to Luganville Bay and anchored down after another 43 mile passage, relieved to find a sandy bottom with good holding. But in the cloud and gloom it certainly wasn’t inviting.

Bla Ellinor, who also left Malekula that morning, decided to continue around the corner into a more sheltered bay on the east coast of Espirito Santo when it became clear that Aore Island was not an option. We planned to move to join them there in the morning if the winds started to fill in.

This morning, Saturday, however, there was hardly any wind at all and it looks like the sun might even come out. The anchorage is quite comfortable and is opposite a cruiser-friendly resort, Beachfront, with easy bus access to Luganville (so that we can re-provision). Later on the wind did pick up – but nowhere near the forecasted strength – so we plan to stay here for a little while (if the weather permits). We want to go diving on nearby famous dive sites (the wreck of the President Coolidge and Million Dollar Point where the US army dumped all their equipment after WWII) so this is as good a place as any to do this from. Fingers crossed for settled weather for a while.

So, to finish, here is my favourite costume and dance of the whole Festival. We had an amazing time and feel that by seeing this spectacle we understand a little bit more about Vanuatu culture and their customs. It is truly an absolutely fascinating place.

Bye for now

Jan

Friday morning we were up bright and early and packed our overnight bag. We headed ashore, dumped our rubbish, dropped off our laundry in the Yacht World office (they do a wash, dry and fold service) and then walked into town. We stopped at the pharmacy to buy malaria tablets which are available over the counter here (unlike New Zealand or Fiji which required a doctor’s prescription). We then went for a hearty breakfast in Jill’s cafe and started our course of tablets. By 11.15 we were sitting on a wall above the Waterfront bar and restaurant awaiting our transfer to the airport.

This turned up promptly, we met our fellow tourists, and drove to the airport. We passed two prisons on the way which looked pretty grim (to say the least) and lots of industrial activity. We arrived at the airport domestic terminal and were met by the Air Taxi crew who sorted out where everyone would sit and weighed both us and our luggage. We met the pilot and waited patiently to be called once we had paid our airport departure tax of V200 pp (less than £2).

We did wonder how we were all going to fit in as the trip advert said they had eight and nine seater planes and there were 11 of us. But they had two aircraft readied and a family of three went in one small plane while the rest of us were in the other. Here we are with our plane, a view of the cockpit from our seats and heading down the runway as we took off towards Tanna.

We had hoped to see Erromango island en route but the low cloud cover was dense so we travelled across the top of the clouds at 9,500 feet. Got quite chilly up there too. As we arrived over the island we were flown over and around Yasur volcano (whose crater is 400mx700m to give some idea of scale). It was absolutely breathtaking.

After a 75 minute flight we were approaching Tanna airport.

The White Grass Airport was small and with no officials around we just walked through to the lounge to meet our ongoing transport.

We were given complimentary baguettes and water before we drove across the island for about two hours enjoying the sights with most people waving at us along the route. The road was often unmade and very uneven and then suddenly you would come across a concrete road which wound up and down in hairpin bends around the mountains. We saw lots of sights but the funniest one was the bread delivery truck!

We stopped to admire views of Yasur volcano in the distance. We also drove across the ash field and saw the volcano rising above us while we got covered in dust from the plains in the wind.

Arriving at the bottom of the volcano we were met and given transport numbers for our lift to the top of the volcano in 4WD trucks. But first we had to pick out our country name and take it to a welcome area where all the tourists congregated sitting on tree stumps.

The presenters talked through what was going to happen in English and French and then the main guy Max had to choose a chief for our tribe. And, yes, you guessed it, Richard was chosen even though we were sat down amidst the middle of the 100+ crowd of tourists. So he did the ceremonial giving of the kava root to the chief and sat back down.

Then the dancing started which was reminiscent of Africa particularly the women who were jumping like pogo sticks which looked very similar to the dance of the Masai warriors. There was a lot of noise with whistles, chanting, jumping and stamping of feet. The ground vibrated beneath us. And at this point one of the guides came over to us and told us to listen carefully to what they were saying – and they were thanking Richard for bringing his tribe to visit them in this special place.

Afterwards we were taken to the trucks and we all squeezed in – it was pretty tight to say the least, all wearing hard hats.

We then arrived at the bottom of the path going up to the first lookout point so we trekked up there. It was much steeper than it looked so we did have to stop for a few breathers along the way.

As we arrived at the first point we were told we could carry on towards Point 7.

At the top there was a barrier but it was rickety and not to be trusted. One slip and you were tumbling straight down into the lava.

It was decided that the volcano was playing nicely so the guides started to take people to Point 8. But this was up a very steep narrow ledge to the rim being buffeted by the strong wind where one wrong step and you were toast. So we decided that this was a step too far for us and stayed put.

That decision actually did us a favour as the crowd thinned and we had ring side seats. The clouds of sulphur were growing and there were groans and loud explosions from the earth beneath us down into the centre….then it glowed red….and then the lava exploded into the air. It sort of came out in slow motion – hit the mountain slopes just below us then slid back into the hole. Was pretty spectacular and awe inspiring.

To stand on the rim of an active volcano was way up there in our bucket list of things to do but we never thought it would be possible. This is one of the few places in the world where it is allowed. And what an experience. The smells and the noise of the power of nature as it erupts are truly awesome.

We then waited for the sun to go down. The eruptions increased in size and intensity and, of course, we now had a light show in the dark. Wow!

Finally it was time to go, although it was difficult to pull ourselves away. We picked our way carefully back down in the dark to the trucks, returned to the bottom of the volcano across the plains, and then picked up our transport to our overnight stop. The road was largely unmade and a few times the driver had to have a few runs at it to make it up the steep rutted road. Finally we arrived at Rockwater Resort and were met by the owner and his staff. This resort has all been hand crafted over the last few years and remains a work in progress. We had a lovely simple room and enjoyed a quick shower to get off all the dust off the day. We then went to the restaurant for dinner and enjoyed a nice cold bottle of wine.

Throughout the day we had been chatting to fellow sightseers and they were from all over the world – with two Brits, two Spaniards, two Australians, three Turkish American, one Norwegian and one Swedish in our group. We thoroughly enjoyed chatting to them all and listening to their travelling tales. We also bumped into fellow cruisers at the volcano who had come up from Port Resolution the nearest anchorage. We had a lovely night’s sleep in a bed that didn’t rock and felt huge. It had been a very long day but OMG what an experience!

In the morning we were up very early for breakfast just after 7 in preparation to be collected at 8. We wandered the resort and enjoyed looking over the ocean at the impressive coral and the beautifully clear sea below us on the cliff. Loved the steps taking swimmers down to the cave and the sea below. The resort is simply amazing – so glad we chose to stay there.

We headed back to the tiny airport again, paid our V200 departure tax, and took off to return to Port Vila on Efate. This time we travelled at only 2,500 feet so we did have a good view of the ocean below us and Erromango. Only 50 minutes later we were approaching Port Vila and were down on the ground in Efate, loaded back into the bus to be dropped off at the Waterfront.

We headed into the office and collected our laundry and then took off back to Morphie. We then dropped our bags and headed back into town to go provisioning as we had no fresh produce or hardly any meat left on board. Town was busier than usual because there was a cruise ship in but they didn’t get in our way as, let’s face it, going to a local butchers, the supermarket and the fruit and veg market is hardly cruise-ship passenger activities LOL.

We failed miserably in our task. The meat in the butchers looked awful and the guy serving in his wellies and blood-covered overalls didn’t inspire! So we decided not to purchase meat from him. No doubt the organically-produced beef, in particular, is stunning but the hygiene standards looked somewhat lacking. So we walked back to the Waterfront – I left Richard having a cold beer keeping out purchases safe – and I walked up the hill towards the larger supermarket. And, of course, their meat counter was great so I was able to get most things I wanted.

Reunited we then returned to Morphie and unpacked everything. Richard did boat jobs while I blogged before having dinner and an early night.

This morning, Sunday, we are getting ready to leave Port Vila on an overnight passage heading north towards Malekula Island. The local arts festival is being held there and involves lots of traditional dancing. This festival is a very important cultural event here in Vanuatu and is not something that is put on for the tourists – so really looking forward to it. Not sure about the black magic bit though LOL. Not sure about internet access going forward as we travel to more remote areas but will post updates when we can.

And I have to leave you with a final shot of the Yasur volcano doing its thing at night. An incredible sight to witness up close.

Bye for now

Jan

Thursday night we headed into the bar at Vuda marina for the last time and bumped into Craig from SV Crocus whom we had previously met in Musket Cove. So we had dinner with him and enjoyed our final Fijian sunset. Shortly afterwards, we were joined by Chris (SV Sea Bear), JP and Julie (SV Eleuthera). And a good time was had by all. Leaving the bar for the last time we had hugs from all the staff when they realised we were leaving for good this time.

Friday morning (8 August) we were up early and got Morphie ready to go to sea. We headed into the cafe for coffee at 10 to meet the customs and immigration officials to get officially checked out of Fiji. We requested a 1300 departure which they accepted. Documents in hand and when we were finally ready to leave we chilled out for a while down below. Then we were asked to come up on deck as the staff were there on the dock to sing us a farewell song. OMG what lovely people the Fijians are. We have had such a special time.

At 1300 we were ready but the fuel dock was busy so we had to wait….and wait… Eventually around 14.15 we were fuelled up and departing Vuda Marina bound for Port Vila, Efate, Vanuatu. The passage was a good one – apart from the initial blip with a water leak to the engine – and we thoroughly enjoyed it. The wind was lighter and more fickle than anticipated so we had to motor more than we would have liked and the sailing was slower when the wind finally filled in strong enough to sail. The last 12 hours were particularly uncomfortable with a short chop and rolling seas from all directions pushing us around all over the place. And, of course, the wind picked up to a lively 18 knots during the last night when we had to slow down to 4.5 knots to ensure a daylight arrival – never mind! The island of Efate was definitely not inviting as we neared in the gloom.

We arrived into Port Vila at 9 on Wednesday 14 August (as planned) having completed the 555 mile passage and we were weary but very happy to be here. We anchored in the quarantine anchorage and awaited the officials to come on board, with our nearest neighbour a little helicopter sat on a floating pontoon.

Customs had been pre-warned of our arrival by SV Mezzaluna (who had been in the quarantine anchorage overnight having arrived late the previous day) so they came out around 10 to see us both. Having dealt with Mezzaluna they came on board Morpheus. We gave them drinks and chocolate biscuits and had a chat. They didn’t even bother to check down below just took our word for it that we were compliant (which we were of course). We were then given an invoice to pay biosecurity and instructions to come to the customs office at 2pm that afternoon. We took down our yellow Q flag and replaced it with our Vanuatu one and then proceeded under the overhead power lines (grateful for it being low tide so we had more clearance room) as we headed into the inner harbour.

We were shown our pre-booked mooring ball and tied up. The harbour is full of mooring balls (at £11 a night) and there is very little room to anchor as a result. The moorings themselves are huge and regularly maintained so we were happy to trust Morphie to them.

We then headed to the dinghy dock and walked through town. Our immediate needs were to buy a SIM card for the phone to get online and to get some cash from the ATM as we were unable to get any Vanuatu Vatus in advance of our arrival. Mission was accomplished easily although data packages here are quiet expensive when compared to Fiji, which was a surprise. We also found a hairdresser so I made an appointment for the following day before we headed back to the dock. We then took the dinghy through the channel to the customs office. We had to tie to a large tug and clamber on board so I waited in the dinghy while Richard went and dealt with the officials. First was customs (a free service in regular hours) and we were granted our inter-island clearance allowing us to move around freely in Vanuatu. Then he headed to biosecurity to pay our bill from the morning. Then to immigration to complete cards, get our passports stamped and to pay their fee. As Europeans we got three months on arrival but our friends Geoff and Katie on SV Mezzaluna only got one month as Americans. Makes us wonder what will happen if the UK does actually leave the EU later this year.

All formalities completed with both of us feeling a bit land sick and finding the heat a bit much we took ourselves to the Waterfront (which is part of the Yacht World set up) and had our first taste of Tusker lager, the local brew. And very nice it was too…. We stayed for happy hour, being joined by SV Messaluna, SV Bla Ellinor and SV Ice Bear, and so we ended up having a nice social evening. But we were too tired to stay out and retired back to Morphie, had a quick cheese on toast supper, followed by an early night.

This morning, Thursday, Richard dropped me off into town to go to the hairdressers. And I had a good time chatting with the locals finding out a bit about them. Was a great experience and the hair cut was pretty good too LOL.

Returning to Morphie I admired the beautiful flowers and the huge selection on offer in the vast fruit and vegetable market. I also spoke to a couple of older ladies wearing their traditional dresses, which are a bit Mother Hubbard, and apparently were forced upon them by the missionaries a long time ago.

The locals speak Pidgin English to each other (of which there are many different dialects according to the village they come from) and their main languages in school are both French and English. We spoke to a few people whose main language (other than their own local dialect) was French so needed to listen hard and try to remember my limited vocabulary again.

Back on board and Richard is doing a few boat jobs while I’m blogging. We’ll probably head ashore for happy hour again later. Tomorrow (Friday) we are becoming real tourists as we are taking an Air Taxi trip to Tanna Island. This scenic flight will take us over Mount Yasur which is an active volcano and then we’ll be driven up the volcano itself by 4×4 to see it in all its glory. This is one of the few volcanoes in the world that you can stand on the rim and watch the lava bubble and explode inside. Very excited about seeing this especially as we will be there for dusk. We recognise that this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and the price reflects that (especially as we are staying in a resort on Tanna overnight) but, as it is our 23rd wedding anniversary in a couple of weeks, we are making the excuse that it is our joint present to each other!

Bye for now

Jan

Thursday evening we headed to the marina bar for sundowners and enjoyed the spectacular sunset.

Friday we did a few boat jobs and generally just got ourselves organised to go back to sea. We got our clearance documentation for Fiji from the office and started the task of filling in all three forms (by hand, in duplicate without carbon or course) in preparation for our departure. We also started completing the numerous Vanuatu arrival and cruising permit documents.

In the late afternoon we went to the bar for sundowners and enjoyed watching the boat movements in and out of the narrow entrance to the marina as well as listening to the live music before heading back to Morphie.

When we got back to Morphie we couldn’t climb on the bow as the tide was too high and the width of the boats stopped us from pulling the boat forward towards the small dock. So we ended up climbing on our neighbour’s boat and crossing over instead. This was quite tough for me to achieve so we definitely need to take notice of the top or bottom of the tide when we leave the boat!

Saturday morning we were in the cockpit having breakfast when we heard Sea Bear on the radio. Luckily a few boats had already left so there was room and, by lunchtime, he was safely secured. Later on we met up with Chris for a few beers and enjoyed catching up. He had taken a completely different route around Fiji to us so it was nice to exchange experiences. Look how he is dwarfed by his neighbours!

Sunday and we had a lazy start before heading to the garden early afternoon and met Chris – so we sat out in the sun enjoying the live music and some late lunch. Was a really fun afternoon. We then had a quiet evening onboard.

On Monday we took the day off. Richard had twisted his knee climbing on and off Morphie the day before and my hip was also playing up so we just lazed around reading, resting up and stayed on board all day.

Tuesday we did some more jobs like filling up the water tanks and doing some hand washing. In the evening we met Chris for pizza night to find that the staff had been decimated by a Fijian flu bug and the service suffered as a result. We were later getting back than expected (thankfully we were still able to climb back on) as it took a while to get our bill. But was fun anyway.

Wednesday morning our large neighbour left so we pulled across to their position next to Chris and closer to the little stubby dock that sticks out. And, at last, it was easier to get on and off the boat. Very happy we settled in only to be asked to move again as they needed a big space for a catamaran. We agreed to move but only after we had taken the opportunity to get the outboard firmly on the rail in preparation for our departure for Vanuatu. We then moved and ended up next to a scruffy boat which is occupied by a single older woman and her baby rescue kittens. By now we had been busy for hours and hadn’t even had a cup of tea. So we headed to the cafe for breakfast.

Returning to Morphie (grateful that we could get on and off at will now) we had a wander around and visited the boat yard behind us. They dig ‘graves’ for boats here for cyclone storage so we had a look at this set up. Not sure we’d fancy it! What amazed us, though, was how many of them were still sporting canvas and sails. If you have left your boat for cyclone season in a grave, surely you would have removed all this stuff? Interesting though that this marina had been hit by a Cat 5 Cyclone Winston and the majority of the boats had come through unscathed (we assume they tie them all down to the ground as well).

We also looked at the marina’s expansion plans which will destroy the reef outside as well as reclaiming some land so that superyachts can visit but can’t see this happening in our lifetime!

Anyway, back to Morphie we spotted some great looking birds almost parakeet like but really small only about the size of a sparrow.

When we got back on board we found the kittens had been visiting us. They are pretty cute but they kept trying to go down below so we closed the hatches and we kept returning them to their own boat. But this game carried on and on and they obviously enjoyed it as every time we picked them up they purred with delight! Here are some pictures of them looking cute, requesting permission to stay, and asking for a share of our chicken salad dinner LOL.

During the day JP and Julie turned up on Eleuthera so we caught up with them and arranged to meet for sundowners later. We were also joined by Chris. Was a fun evening.

This morning, Thursday, and finally the weather models had aligned so a Friday departure is on the cards. So we got up early, informed the office we want to check out with customs in the morning and then headed into Lautoka for a final provisioning run. We came back and I’m now sitting outside the cafe blogging while Richard is doing engine checks, general cleaning and stowing our stuff ready for going back to sea. Here’s the last picture of Morphie in Fiji squeezed into her marina space

The passage to Port Vila, Efate, Vanuatu will take us about 4 1/2 days based on a 5 knot average and, with some light winds forecast for the first 24 hours, we may well be slower. So we’ll be offline for a while but will blog during the passage to keep you posted on our progress – and don’t forget to follow our tracker on the ‘Where are we now’ page.

Bye for now

Jan

Friday afternoon we headed to the NZ business event and caught up with Paul from Bay of Islands Marina. We enjoyed a few hours in the Rhum Bar chatting before we headed upstairs to the formal reception with free drinks and nibbles that Paul had kindly invited us along to. We also caught up with Nigel and Amanda from the Sail Pacific Circuit Rally and a fun time was had by all. We even saw the Deputy Prime Minister of New Zealand who said a few words.

Leaving the party behind we headed to Lulus for a pontoonie and enjoyed the live music before calling it a night.

Saturday morning it was pouring with rain….and it rained…and it rained cats and dogs all day and night. We bailed out dink and put him back on the arch so that he wouldn’t fill up again. It was so miserable we just had a quiet damp day and evening on board.

Sunday morning and it was still overcast although did clear up later. At 5pm we went ashore for happy hour and then got a taxi at 7pm to the venue to see a show called Fiji Untold which was billed as a “Broadway-style dance performance showcasing traditional Fijian concepts and stories in a modern and innovative way”. Well, the taxi driver had never heard of it. So we had to give him the telephone number so that they could give him directions. We turned off the main road at a sign and then headed inland along a dirt track – this can’t be right surely?!? Anyway, the taxi driver wasn’t convinced either so he phoned again and they talked him in.

We arrived into a muddy field with a circus-like big top tent. We were given our own VIP badges, complimentary soft drinks and a big tub of popcorn. We then were escorted inside to take our seats. Hang on a minute…where is everybody?!?

There was no-one there at all, perhaps we had got the time wrong? So we checked and were told that we were the only VIPs so could sit wherever we liked this evening. Seriously wondered whether we have been sold a pup we were relieved when another single tourist turned up LOL. Then a few people filtered in behind us but they were clearly friends and family of the performers. So just three paying customers then for a whole show!

The lights went down and the dancing started. We had a brochure explaining the story of Lagi the Chief’s daughter. Well, we could’t read anything else because of the darkness so we just sat back and watched. The high energy dancing and singing was amazing but we really didn’t understand what was going on as there was no commentary whatsoever and it was quite dark (almost evil) in places.

That said, we still enjoyed the experience, and it was nice for the three of us to meet the dancers afterwards.

We got our taxi driver to come and pick us up (in the rain again sigh….) and made it back to the marina just as there was another deluge. No point getting even wetter so we took advantage of the BYGOF late night extra happy hour at the Hard Rock Cafe and sat it out and read the show programme properly. Brief synoposis is that the Chief’s daughter, at her coming of age, was ready for her first dance in a ceremony to mark the continuation of the bloodline and the survival of a community through dance. But Lagi refused to be constrained by traditional barriers and the elders could not allow this adventurous spirit so she was banished to the bamboo forest. This then takes her through a journey of daring self-discovery into the mystical underworld where there is an Octopus God, Giant Women and a shape shifting Iguana Spirit who is adorned with the lost dance sticks of Lagis village which are eventually returned to her as the rightful royal owner and she is able to return to the village as a heroine. Phew! Would have made much more sense if we had known all that in advance LOL.

Eventually the rain stopped and we headed back to Morphie quickly before the heavens opened again.

Monday we headed into Nadi the nearby town and visited the Sri Sivasubramainya Swami Temple. We were given floor-length wraps to wear as shorts as not allowed and dropped our shoes off so headed barefooted into the temple to have a look around. Very pretty and serene place but not helped by the huge lorries sounding their horns for such a long time at a ear-splitting volume that we actually wondered if it was a town-wide alarm or something!

Moving on we headed into the centre of town and found a place to get some photographs printed and a post office so that we could send them to Chief Joe as we had promised. Job done we then had a look around before deciding to come back to the marina. It was still overcast and cloudy and really humid so we got hot and bothered pretty quickly and Nadi is really really busy with lots of traffic and more caged shops so didn’t feel the need to linger.

Back in the marina we did some shopping in the small grocery store and then had a couple of cold ones in the Rhum Bar. Whilst there we saw the beautiful sailing superyacht (Maltese flagged) head out of the marina. We had watched the crew meet the guests and walk them down the dock – couldn’t believe that it was just a bunch of teenagers – guess someone has a very rich Mum and Dad!!! Later on, back on board, we enjoyed watching the rainbow lighting up the superyachts on the dock, we are definitely in the cheap seats LOL. As the sun went down the mountains lit up beneath the clouds which was absolutely stunning.

Tuesday we thought it was our last full day in Denarau so we dropped off our rubbish, got our petrol cans filled and I went to the office to pay for our mooring ball. Well, they had it down that we were leaving on Thursday not Wednesday and didn’t charge us at all for the first night on the dock as they had mucked us around. Result! We returned to Morphie and had a lazy afternoon. In the evening we went out for dinner at the excellent steak restaurant Cardos and enjoyed the live music having first been entertained by the Hard Rock Cafe staff doing their version of YMCA during happy hour.

Wednesday morning we took it easy. We had been constantly watching the weather searching for a window to leave Fiji bound for Vanuatu. And the weather gods are not looking down on us too kindly at all. So we are probably here in Fiji for about another week based on the latest download. We were not able to extend our stay in Denarau as the place is rammed and everything is fully booked so we had to decide what to do. In the recent cloudy and rainy conditions we have had to use our standby generator to keep the batteries topped up as the solar panels are not keeping pace with our consumption. So we decided, in the end, to return to Vuda Point Marina so that we can plug into shore power. Later in the afternoon we went ashore for our final Happy Hour in the Hard Rock Café and enjoyed some snacks before returning to Morphie.

This morning (Thursday) we got ourselves ready and Richard did his engine checks. Then, with all things flexible crossed, we called Vuda to see if they had space for us. This is a first-come first-served marina so not a certainty, especially as it is high season here. Thankfully they could accommodate us so we got our fenders and lines ready for our arrival. At around 10 am we slipped away from the mooring ball as a boat came in behind us clearly anxious to pick it up. Bit naughty really as, officially, we didn’t have to depart until 12 noon. Never mind…. We left the superyachts behind and headed out through the pass. Our stay in the tourist hub of Denarau had been a lot of fun.

By 12 noon we were safely in Vuda tied up, secured, and plugged in after a feisty few miles in strengthening winds. The guy on the boat next to us looked familiar and it turns out we knew him from Guatemala. What a small world. This is the view from Morphie’s stern this afternoon.

Bye for now

Jan

Friday night we headed ashore to the Sand Bar for sundowners before returning for dinner in the cockpit. Overnight the wind picked up, it poured with rain and the temperature dropped quite a bit.

Early on Saturday morning the conditions remained pretty horrible – raining, cloudy and a lot of chop in the anchorage. So we decided to abort the diving again. There was absolutely no point paying top dollar for a lesser experience. So decision made we returned to bed and enjoyed a lay in.

Later on we headed ashore (it was still raining) and enjoyed a BBQ dinner with Craig (SV Crocus) and Steve and Mike (SV Kiwi Time). We had come ashore just a little bit earlier to use the showers so I had cheated by purchasing half a rotisserie chicken and some salads from the cafe to take along LOL. Put me to shame when Mike starting sharing home-made smoked fish pate for appetizers and banana fritters with honey for desert. Here’s us with Mike.

We had a very social time of it and then we left the Kiwis to head off (carrying their huge NZ flag) to watch the return match between the Maori All Blacks and the Fijians. We decided not to go with them as we were worried about Morphie out in the anchorage in the worsening conditions and wouldn’t have been able to relax.

Sunday morning and it remained nasty although the cloud cover wasn’t so intense so we hoped it would clear later. We pottered around doing boat jobs and later in the afternoon we headed over to the pool and enjoyed some bobbing time although felt pretty cold afterwards so was disappointed by the lack of hot water in the shower block. Oh well, never mind, at least we were clean. We then headed back to Morphie for a quiet night in.

Monday morning and it was brighter. So we did the same again enjoying our time lazing around the pool, working on the tans, walking the beach and admiring the hotel accommodation as well as bobbing in the water and keeping Ziggy, the pool bartender, busy.

After showering we headed to the Sand Bar and caught up with the crew of SV Exocet Strike so enjoyed chatting with them before heading back (and yes Brexit featured as they are also from the UK). Oh yes and here is Va our favourite bartender.

Tuesday morning we headed in a bit earlier as, thankfully, it was a lovely calm sunny day. So we went to the pool and managed to snaffle a cabana to ourselves…..this is the life. We even had lunch in the hotel restaurant which was very tasty. Was a beautiful day.

After more lukewarm showers, we returned to the Sand Bar for sundowners with the other cruisers and chatted with some participants on the Pacific Rally (who left New Zealand for Tonga on the same day as us). We were pleased to hear the news that SV Squander who had suffered major gear and rigging failure on their second attempt to reach Tonga (the first aborted due to damage in 50 knot squalls) had, thankfully, now been salvaged and was in an Auckland boatyard. They had been airlifted from their liferaft off the NZ coast – it is hard to imagine how distressing that would have been to make the decision to abandon ship.

Wednesday morning we had a lazy start and then went ashore to the resort for a quick lunch in the resort cafe. Then we waited for a small launch and headed out, like proper tourists, to a floating bar called Cloud 9 which sits just inside the reef near the world famous surfing spot. Well, of course, the weather decided to be fickle again (despite the forecast for a fine day) and the wind picked up so the journey out there was pretty bumpy.

And this is what it is supposed to look like in flat calm conditions.

We arrived, managed to get onto the floating bar, and settled down to people watch. As the sea was running with a strong current affecting the visibility we decided not to snorkel either although some brave souls did jump off the top deck.

The music was a bit trancy and irritated us after a while but the horrendously expensive bottle of wine helped! It reminded us of the Willie T in the BVIs without the rude bits LOL. The funniest sight was the young women struggling with their fake eyelashes in the blustery conditions. Seriously do you need to wear them combined with full make up when you are only wearing cossies and cut off shorts?!? Was a fun way to spend an afternoon and we chatted to an Australian family who were in Fiji (in our resort) for a wedding the following day.

On our return to Musket Cove we paid our mooring ball fees, showered up and headed to the Sand Bar only to come across the wedding party who were having quite a raucous time of it downing cocktails and tequila shots. Hope they recovered OK for the wedding the following day LOL. We also enjoyed Craig’s company and hope our paths will cross again, perhaps in Vanuatu.

Thursday morning we got ourselves ready to head back towards the big island Vitu Levu the destination this time was Denarau Marina. We had, amazingly, managed to get a reservation for one week on a mooring ball within the marina. This apparently is pretty unheard of so felt quite smug! Of course the wind was stronger than expected – the forecasts really can’t be relied upon in this area – and it was pretty cloudy so spotting reefs wasn’t as straightforward. On the journey we came across the superyacht Senses doing some sea trials at 28 knots even with the helicopter on board.

We arrived around 1pm and were told to go around in circles as the boat on the mooring ball had not yet moved off (despite the deadline being 12 noon). OK so we stooged around and had a sandwich while we waited. The anchorage was actually pretty nice – wide open with only 15 feet of water in sand.

At around 2pm we were told to come into the marina and to come alongside a floating pontoon while they tried to resolve the problem. Well, the people on the mooring ball were not answering their phone and were off the boat. So we waited…and waited….and waited. This was frustrating as I had wanted to make use of the facilities in the afternoon to do the laundry etc but as we couldn’t leave the boat this wasn’t possible. We also knew that we could not stay on this floating pontoon overnight as it was where the tour boats docked. Finally the people on the boat came back and then there was an argument as they said the office had double booked the ball as they weren’t leaving until Friday. So then there is the question of what to do with us? Well some of these docks have permanent owners/residents and one of them had just headed out for a trip so we were moved over there for the night.

We were grateful to be finally secured so headed in for (lovely hot) showers and then walked the waterfront and also visited the shopping area. Port Denarau is a major tourist hub with many people being transported from the airport to here and then onto their tourist resort by ferry. So it is pretty lively.

We also watched some entertainment while we were having a look around.

We had happy hour drinks in Hard Rock Cafe (BYGOF) followed by a fantastic curry in the Indian restaurant. Was fab food but phew was a bit spicy, glad we had only ordered the medium varieties, as our lips were numb by the time we had finished LOL.

Moving on we were hailed from a table at Lulus, another hostelry on the waterfront. To find Paul (Bay of Islands Marina Manager), Nigel and Amanda (organisers of the Pacific Rally) who were in town to do a talk to cruisers on Friday about cruising to New Zealand. So we joined them for a beer before saying farewell and headed back towards Morphie. We had a final pontoonie in the Rhum Bar which overlooks the docks and then straight to bed. Had been a long and tiring day.

This morning, Friday, and I was up early and headed to the laundry room to snaffle the machines before anyone else turned up. I got lucky and managed to get both of the washers. I have just finished the laundry and we heard that we can’t stay on the dock but that the mooring ball will be vacated for us by noon today. So just after 12 we slipped from the dock and moved across and picked up our allocated mooring ball, our home for the next six nights.

This afternoon we will probably attend the cruisers chat and then take it from there. We hope to do a bit of exploring of this area before heading off towards Vanuatu. Port Denarau is closest to the shipping channel to leave Fiji and also has a customs presence so it makes sense to re-provision and leave from here. We are now watching for a weather window so this is potentially our last week in Fiji.

Bye for now

Jan