Wending our way through some of the islands of Vanuatu

After our friends left to fly home to NZ from Port Vila, Denise and I stocked up with more food supplies, water and diesel ready to sail further north. Just before we left a large 52 foot Scottish Wharram Catamaran arrived called Calagorm and we had a great time meeting up with the owners and seeing their boat. It had many excellent features and innovations.

We left Port Vila on a sunny day with a favourable wind forecast. We were unable to visit Port Havannah first as the area was still closed due to the rhinoceros beetle infestations ashore. Instead we set sail for Nguna Island but, as often happens, after a good start the wind swung around and we were beating into winds up to 30 knots to make Matu bay at the northern end of the island.  It was worth all the effort, a sheltered bay backed by three imposing volcanic cones. We thankfully relaxed with a cold shandy from our fridge! It had been a hard hot afternoon’s sail!

Next we skirted Cooks reef as we sailed to Emae island.  Again a bush clad Island with several small villages scattered around the shores.  Beautifully clear water and plenty of coral. 

Arriving in Emae Island

Sunset at Emae Island

We particularly enjoyed our contact with the villagers at Revolieu Bay and Lamen Bay on the west coast of Epi Island.  We spent 2 glorious weeks on Epi. The villagers were very welcoming and keen to show us around and share their culture with us. We spent many happy hours chatting with them.  The villagers lead very basic lives and most lived in thatched huts, but they are very well tended, neat and tidy with well maintained gardens.

Denise with Chief Baron, Revolieu Bay, Epi

Chief Baron demonstrating use of his tam tam drum to summon the villagers to a meeting

Outside Chief Baron’s house

Some of the children we played ball with in Revolieu Bay - they were thrilled to see this photo of them on our iPad

Schooling is available on many of the islands but not every family can afford to send their children. Every family has a garden, usually set away from their home, in which they grow vegetables and fruit, and their diet is supplemented by fish, chicken and other delicacies like flying foxes (a type of bat). Pigs are slaughtered especially for important feasts and ceremonies.Together with Ted and Steve, we had purchased household items, fishing gear, machetes and balls, books and pencils for the children as we had heard that the villagers in these outer islands were very poor.  We were able to deliver these to the some of the people of Epi….they were so grateful and it was delightful to see the pleasure and excitement on their faces.

 One of the villagers in Lamen Bay delighted with her new machetes

This young man was over the moon with his new fishing lures

A gorgeous little boy in Lamen Bay playing with the new ball we gave him

We were fortunate at last to spot a Dugong one day in Lamen Bay although as we were ashore at the time we only managed to see this strange creature cavorting in the shallows from a distance.  We also saw numerous very large turtles.

Lamen Bay was very busy with boats, both cargo and ferry, coming in each day. The locals buzzed around in their small fishing boats and some cruised by in their simple outriggers. 

Don by our dinghy on the beach at Lamen Bay

A cargo vessel being unloaded with necessary supplies in Lamen Bay

A local outrigger - lots of these are still in use in Epi

There is no longer a functioning pier in Lamen Bay - this one was destroyed in an earthquake

There was great excitement one day in the village. The Prime Minister, the Australian High Commissioner and other dignitaries were flying in to farewell the Australian forces who had been on the island for 2 weeks working with and training the local police and forces in disaster relief procedures. They also signed a memorandum of understanding committing to more joint ventures.  School children and villagers lined the dirt road in the village and the guests, local chiefs and other dignitaries were welcomed with a stamping dance and singing, all very exciting.  A small contingent of the Australian navy had been camped nearby for several days for the training exercise.

Schoolchildren of Epi lining the street at Lamen Bay to  welcome the Prime Minister and other dignitaries

A group of locals performing a rousing dance as part of the welcome ceremony

These lovely ladies spent hours making these leis from local flowers to present to all the honoured guests - the Prime Minister, dignitaries and members of the armed forces and police of both Vanuatu and Australia

The islanders laugh and smile a great deal and enjoy a good joke, an example of which we experienced at dusk one evening in Lamen Bay.  A coastal supply ship arrived and much to our alarm appeared to be steaming straight for us where we were anchored.  As I was standing on our aft deck waving my arms and flashing a light they suddenly came to a halt behind us and dropped their anchor.  I could hear peels of laughter from their fore deck as they watched my alarm.  Apparently they always stopped in that position to unload into small boats which they proceeded to do.

View from our cockpit of the supply anchoring behind us - we were enjoying a sundowner drink at the time

The wind has been very strong of late and we needed to sail south from Epi to Port Vila so that Denise could catch her plane back to New Zealand on 30 September. At last a very brief weather window looked promising and we were off at 5 am on 24 September. It was a fairly fast, if boisterous passage, but an unfavourable wind change later in the day prevented our arrival in daylight into the harbour, so we hove to until daylight.

Now we are back on a mooring readying for the voyage to NZ in October. It is a noisy bustling place Port Vila but we like it here, and have just come back on board after a great meal ashore with a bunch of other yachties, including our Calagorm friends whom we also met in Lamen Bay. Denise flies back to NZ tomorrow (30 Sept) and Ted, the crewman flies in next week.

Rhinoceros coconut beetle, chocolate & Nous fruit

Before coming to Vanuatu I read with some concern the presence of mosquito borne diseases - Dengue Fever, Zika Virus, Chikungunya and in the northern islands Malaria.  The good news is that so far we have only seen one mosquito since arriving - and we killed that one!   Also from a general health point of view we have noticed that very few local people seem to smoke cigarettes and do not have the obesity problem seen in Polynesia.

Denise and I came back into Port Vila a few days ago to drop off two friends Liz and Dave, who had flown up from NZ to spend ten days with us on Katipo and have now returned to the cold in NZ.  We had a good time together and a lot of laughs although the original sailing plans were thwarted by a serious infestation of Rhinoceros Coconut beetle in the Havannah Harbour region where we had hoped to sail.  The whole area was closed to cruising boats and on shore the army manned road blocks to ensure no potentially infected produce was moved out of the region.

However we instead spent some time in Mele Bay, a delightful spot with a marine reserve nearby with great snorkelling and diving. There was also a small beach bar where an excellent fire dancing display was shown most Friday evenings.  The performers were all local village residents and they even set up a trapeze frame supported by a couple of palm trees on which they performed acrobatic feats.  A very impressive show.

We hired a car for one day and drove around the whole of Efate Island.  The road was not too bad but one had to keep a weather eye out for potholes.  We visited the Reef Zoologique which had a turtle conservation and breeding programme.  In addition we saw native iguanas, flying foxes, crabs including the very large amazing coconut crab which starts life in the sea for about ten years before moving onto land in the bush near the beach.

The Secret Garden is a place worth a visit, not too far from Port Vila.  Besides the plants there is much information about the history of Vanuatu from the earliest days of the contact with Europeans and the old established customs.   To our surprise they also had a snake about two metres long, one of the two species native to Vanuatu, which was amenable to being handled. It is like a Boa constrictor. We were told when holding it that it just likes the warmth of your skin as it slides around your neck and means no harm!

We enjoy snooping around the Port Vila market, which has a vast array of local produce on sale.  We recently bought two new fruits which we had not eaten before.  The chocolate fruit, like a giant persimmon, has a dark paste inside when ripe which the locals spread on bread. It looks like chocolate and has a slightly similar taste. The nous fruit is like a mango but better - we will be buying both again!

We plan to set sail for Epi Island over the next 2 days in search of the dugong. More news later.

Hazy Emua island seen in the distance during our drive around Efate Island

The acrobat on the trapeze at Mele Bay

The delicious 'chocolate fruit ' sliced in half showing the paste inside

Denise holding Iguana at Reef Zoologique

Photo Turtles

Totally harmless I was assured !

Denise wearing her Pirate Grandma T shirt

The rhinoceros beetle causing havoc in Havannah Bay Area

Coconut crab

The long sandy beach lined by coconut palms at Mele

Star fish seen in the shallow water during a reef walk

Friends Liz and Dave who recently came to join us onboard Katipo for ten days

Mele

Port Vila

It has been an interesting time moored in Port Vila.  After our last two voyages where we tried to cover many miles and see many places we decided this time to slow down and see less places in more detail!

There are quite a large number of Cruising boats here taking advantage of the moorings available for a fee in the sheltered bay adjacent to the main part of town. The last few days the ARC Round the World Rally Boats have been here too, large, expensive, mainly 45 to 55 foot keelers and catamarans lined up moored stern to along the dock frontage, only a few steps away from a couple of handy bars and restaurants. They are having a quick break before rushing on round the World!

Port Vila is a small town, fairly compact and spread largely along the edge of the harbour.  It has a slightly run down look but then this is a poor country and what is lacking in affluence is more than made up in the cheerful, friendly, honest people. They have little but no one hassles you and no beggars are to be seen.  The fruit and vegetable market has a huge variety of produce and a constant bustle of laughing, joking locals, except for Sunday when the large roofed area is empty and all cleaned. In contrast, to cater for the growing number of tourists, some boutique gift shops, duty free stores, coffee shops and bars and bistros have opened in between the large number of $2 type shops and general stores. There is also a very good supermarket where all manner of imported and local foods can be purchased.  So we are not short of supplies.  A couple of local delicacies in the restaurants are coconut crab and flying fox - we fancy trying the crab but think we will give flying fox a miss!Transport is by a large number of aged diesel minibuses. Flag them down and squeeze on for a ride to anywhere in the town and suburbs for a fixed fee of approximately NZ $2.10. 

Denise and I have visited the National Museum and a variety places in and around the town.  The museum had an interesting array of artefacts on display and was a good introduction to The Customs and history of Vanuatu.  We were entertained by the guide in the art and importance of sand drawing and their use of hand crafted musical instruments. 

Constant activity on the waters of the harbour mean there is always something to watch when on board and many interesting conversations to be had with other cruisers often over a beer in the waterfront bar. Large cruise ships come in also, in fact one is here today. Port Vila has a very deep area at the far end of the harbour where the cruise boats can come in fairly close and then the local boats ferry those passengers wishing to come ashore.There is a lot of foreign aid coming into the country.  A promenade has been established along the waterfront with pleasant landscaping, a market displaying and selling local handicrafts and a fancy playground for the pikininis  (children). Currently under construction are improvements to the market which will greatly improve the sanitation.

Yesterday was a National holiday - Independence Day from the British and French rule which ended 39 years ago. There was a huge gathering in Port Vila in a large park area.  There were speeches by officials, a music festival and many food stalls. It was great to see so much family fun, everyone dressed in their best colourful clothes and many with small national flags on sticks poked into their tight curly hair.Denise and I will be shortly sailing off to explore further afield over the next few weeks.

Anchored on arrival in Port Vila

Port Vila. The walkway along the harbour edge.

An example of a sign in Bislama, English and French

Independence Day

Independence Day. A happy waitress in a local restaurant with the national flag on her cheek and a flag in her hair !

The edge of the huge fruit and vegetable market

Update from Vanuatu

I must apologize to all for not keeping up entries in Katipo's Voyaging log until now. 
Looking back over the voyage so far everything overall has been going fine.
Our intended departure from Howick was delayed by high winds ( gusting to near 50 knots at one point ) and also an adjustment that had to be made to the hydraulic drive controls.  The next day Sunday 11 June brought very light winds as we dropped the mooring lines and headed  North for Opua to check out of customs.  It was a great stroke of luck that this short passage up the coast revealed that the engine alternator was not charging the batteries correctly and we were able to have a new alternator installed in Opua and also replace some batteries with ones which came off Shay's trimaran and were dropped off in Whangarei.  Crewman Ted was kindly taken to collect them by his brother who lives in Opua. Burnsco chandlery in Opua allowed us to place all our frozen food from our freezer into their freezer until we had made our repairs.
So within 48 hours all was well, we topped up the water and diesel and were away on the tide and out to sea.
Crew
There were two crew Steve and Ted, both retired from teaching and both having sailed on Katipo on other voyages at different times. We shared the watches and had some overlap at night since these are the most tiring and sometimes difficult.  But especially on nights clear of clouds the stars were magnificent, so many thousands more  than one would see in Auckland at home. We had some great conversations and lots of friendly banter and joking.  Steve took on the role of chef and did a marvelous job serving up great meals whatever the conditions.
Ted the master helmsman was always busy and made sure the log was kept up to date.    Everyone worked together as a great team and I am most grateful to have had such good crew.
With regard to the victuals on board many thanks to Denise for organizing everything along with Ted's wife Deirdre and Steve's wife Sarah.

Communications 
Despite his busy life at work and at home with a young family, son Shay received our position reports daily and sent through weather and route advice  - many thanks.

Sailing to Vanuatu 
It was a fairly unusual mixed bag of weather mainly light winds and at one point we were trapped between different systems in a huge area, probably 200 miles across, of calm. It was a little like the ancient Mariner poem, with not even a ripple on the glassy ocean. This was not all bad news however as it gave us a chance to dry out wet clothes and gear and have some longer spells of sleep.
The worst weather occurred one day near Erromango Island,  we were sailing along slowly in light winds when with little warning the wind suddenly veered through 90 degrees and was gusting 40 knots with rain for much of the rest of the day.  we were approximately on course and ran off under bare poles with the self steering vane taking control.
we saw a couple of albatross , north of New Zealand , a few ocean petrels and later tropic birds and the amazing looking fork tailed frigate birds when nearing the islands of Vanuatu.  We saw no whales or dolphins at sea, and Steve caught no fish on the lure he trailed behind Katipo.
The trade winds usually reliably blow from the South East, however they chose to blow up from the North West within the last two days as we approached Efate Island and Port Vila.  Time  was becoming a little short as Ted had to soon fly out from Port Vila to Australia and the USA and we had already been delayed by light winds and calms.   the decision was made to start up the relatively small, noisy diesel engine and motor to windward all night, heaving to near the entrance to Port Vila bay about two hours before dawn to await daylight before going in.  
We were motoring only about three miles off the southern coast of Efate on a  pitch black night , so while Steve and Ted in rotation did a great job steering  a compass course I kept a close watch for small fishing vessels or other dangers.

Port Vila  
The passage in is clearly marked, in fact we followed a large gas supply ship as it passed through the narrows after they had  picked up a pilot who came out from shore  in a small boat.  
The quarantine area for yachts was clearly marked on the chart where  we awaited customs and rang them to no avail on the VHF phone.  We eventually learned that one had to report to their office at the far end of the bay, about 25 minutes away in our small dinghy with its  2HP motor and only room for two people.   We re anchored Katipo in a  more secure spot and Ted and I took off.  I must say that everyone we have met here is very helpful and friendly whether officials, shop keepers or people inn the street.   English and Bislami seem to be the most common languages spoken locally.
Once Customs and immigration had been tended to we were free to move onto a mooring near one of the yacht service companies called Yachting World.  It is a great spot and  only a few minutes row in our dinghy  to the shore where we have shower facilities and washing is done for you, all washed, dried and folded for only $15 NZ for a large bag - fantastic !

Ted flew out two days ago. Steve and I are exploring locally and have found an excellent supermarket which stocks all the basics and more. 
Yesterday we went snorkeling in a coral area a bus ride out of town along the coast. Steve who is a diving expert thought it the best he has seen. Steve flies out next week and Denise flies in on 18th July.
The time I spend here alone  will be a good chance to catch up on routine maintenance on Katipo.

Equipment 
A few more notes about Katipo and her equipment for the Voyage for those who would like more detail.
Over the last two years I have have spent much time making improvements and installing new equipment.
The electrical anchor winch has saved me heaps of energy after 30 years winding on a manual anchor winch.
New boom and improved mainsail reefing - much quicker and easier.
Furling Genoa sail. this has made a huge difference on this voyage, so much easier than changing sails !
Another 100 watts of solar panel -  a great improvement but still not enough on cloudy days.
Garmin wind, depth and speed instruments working well - the old Navman instruments had died some while ago.
A  large Apple Ipad in a waterproof case with Inavx and Navionics charts.  The clarity and ease of use is fantastic. It is also linked to a Brookhouse Imux which enables the data to be shared and overlaid from other instruments like the AIS . 
Many thanks to Wout from Shelly park Cruising Club for helping to set this all up. 
The AIS is a very valuable instrument and well worth buying. 
Satellite Phone   - is not cheap to use but a  great communication device both for voice and Text.    Emails can also be sent and received via Sail mail from your laptop via the Sat phone, and weather grib files downloaded.

Self Steering      I am  still using the Bill Belcher designed wind vane I built in 1994, it has done at least 13,000 miles now and is still working.  It is not perfect , is not so good in very light winds or in high winds with very rough, confused  seas and needs to be built lighter in carbon fibre to be improved -  perhaps I will.

Engine   -  ideally a larger more powerful one would be much better, may have to await a lotto win.

Photo of Ted and Steve

Minor Problems
 It is strange that problems  seem huge when you have not slept for ages and ages, it is dark, raining and a rough sea !
We suddenly lost the ability to recharge the lap top   - at the time alarming , I thought the old lap top battery had failed.  This would have meant we could not send emails or download weather grib files.  - turned out to be a poor electrical wire connection !

Suddenly I could not download Sat phone messages - it was fairly easy   -  a full memory that needed deleting !

Could not contact sail mail to send   or receive messages - I  needed to turn off and try rebooting the system , some times six times !

So hopefully the above updates will you some idea about what has been happening.   I am looking forward to the next phase of the voyage when Denise arrives and we carry on to explore some nearby islands - we may even see a Dugong !

Update from the passage

(From Shay Brazier)

I've been receiving the daily reports from Katipo since their departure from Howick on the 9th of June. As you can see from the map they left just after the high winds in Auckland and took 2.5 days to get to Opua.

On route they discovered that the engine was not charging the batteries and that the batteries appeared to have lost quite a bit of capacity. A couple of days in Opua allowed a new alternator to be fitted and batteries to be replaced.

They departed on the 14th of June had a good run for the first 3 days before entering an area of low pressure around 29° S on the 18th of June. The various weather models had different views on how long this would last... the most pessimistic was correct, with the SE trades only just filling in now. I believe this is a fairly unusually weather pattern. If they had been a little further east, perhaps on a run line to Fiji they would have picked up the trades earlier. Fortunately they assure me they have little else better to do and have been thoroughly enjoying themselves.

A steady SE wind is predicted to fill in tomorrow which according to the latest weather models should see them into Port Villa in the next 5-6 days.

Below is the weather routing recommendations from OpenCPN from the 16 of June. Compare this to the same from the 20th further down the page. The later suggests going much further east to avoid the lighter winds that developed.

Departing for Vanuatu

After a delayed start on Saturday 8 June due to high winds Katipo departed on the first stage of her voyage to Vanuatu to clear customs in Opua.