by chris ayres | Sep 2019 | Voyage Logs
After a day to rest and relax at Revolieu I set off for Lamen Bay just 13 miles up the coast. There was a strong wind warning out but reasoned in the lee of the island things would be manageable. As often in the lee the winds were very variable and gusty and it seemed to take forever to round Cape Foreland, perhaps the current was against me. As I neared Lamen Bay the wind really piped up and I had a head wind of about 25 knots. There were about 7 boats anchored here but fortunately anchoring went well, it can be tricky in very strong winds and I dropped the hook in 9m and the holding was good in white sand.
Next day the forecast was not looking good 30 knot winds were predicted for the next few days so I moved a little closer inshore to anchor in 6m, reasoning it would be a trifle more sheltered. Shane & Hannah in a NZ cat “Beachlands” offered & helped me in this as sometime is strong winds it is difficult to maintain control raising the anchor whilst single handed.
“Beachlands” took me ashore for coffee at a lovely little spot next morning as I hadn’t yet inflated my dinghy with the winds so strong but I did later and I took a walk along the beach past the village and airstrip and through the conservation zone right up to the NW point of the island. Apparently turtles lay eggs on the beaches in the conservation zone. I had seen lots of turtles swimming about in the bay, but unfortunately didn’t spot any dugongs for which the bay is famous.
One evening I was invited for dinner aboard “Beachlands” with Shane, Hannah & Allanha. Had a nice curry and drinks, a very convivial eve.
We also had a meal at “Benintoes”, the wife of the chief at her lovely little restaurant all decorated with strings of sea shells. We had previously spent some time collecting shells on the beach with her to add to her strings.
Sea shell collecting
After some day the winds eased and all the boats bar me and the French couple I had first met in Anatom, cleared out. I though I would wait a day to give the seas, which had been forecast for 3m swells, more chance to calm down.
I went for a longish walk inland past another village up a very steep hill and then a little south, nice views in parts and very interesting. I planned to leave the next day after picking up some bread that eve baked by Beni for me.
Lamen island from above Lamen bay
by chris ayres | Sep 2019 | Voyage Logs
Port Villa sunset
I ended up staying longer than intended in Port Villa. Jan & Richard were on their way back from Santo here so I waited an extra couple of days to see them again. Then the weather turned bad and it rained just about non-stop for 3 days. When eventually the rain stopped it was very windy with a strong wind warning out and very rough seas and big waves. So although this was frustrating as I wanted to be on my way, it was better to be here tied to a big strong mooring in a sheltered place than out at anchor somewhere. I could pass the time wandering through the town.
One day it dawned fair and although it was still quite windy the strong wind warning had gone. I had originally meant to hop up to Havanna harbour in the north of the island but a rhinoceros beetle scare was on and the whole area had been declared a no go zone.
In this case it was about 80 miles up to Epi, so another night passage was on the cards. I left the mooring in the late afternoon, giving myself a few daylight hours to clear out of Mele bay and get around Devils point which has a reputation for rough seas.
Leaving Port Villa
It was still windy with the wind at the top end of the forecast level of 15 -20 knots and the seas fairly rough and rolly. I settled for a triple reefed main and the staysail and was still making 5 knots.
It turned out to be a long sleepless night largely on account of other traffic. Just before dusk a yacht past going south. Later the first boat approaching from my stern I was able to resolve as would pass my stern and pass on my port side some way off.
The second set of light seemed to be going not that much faster than me and was always seemed to be in the same place astern. Boats around here don’t seem to have AIS, that most valuable tool I couldn’t relax. Hours later it was much closer, its navigation lights hidden by the blaze of 2 great spotlights and it seemed to be heading straight for me. I took the unusual step for me of trying to call them up on channel 16 vhf but could get no response. Maybe they had heard me though as they seemed to change course slightly went past my stern and passed me on my port side. I was quite relieved. I was kept on my toes by more lights ahead, another boat this time going south and passed some way off and I spotted a yachts tricolour some way off. seemed a busy old night so I prudently decided to forgo my usual naps at night.
Dawn revealed Epi ahead and the Shepherd islands way off to the east. One had the perfect volcano cone profile and I wished I was passing it closer. Off the SE corner of Epi there are some submarine volcanoes, quite active apparently, probably not wise to go that way!
The seas were calmer once in the lee of the island and before too long I was lining up the boat to go into Revolieu bay to drop the hook and catch up on a little sleep after a passage of 87 miles and 18 hours.
by chris ayres | Sep 2019 | Voyage Logs
The next hop was 50 miles to Dillon bay on Erromango island. I wasn’t sure whether I would be able to do this in daylight hours, there is just 12 hours of daylight here. I weighed anchor just before sunrise and had a nice view of Mt Yasur the volcano “pothering” out its smoke.
Mt Yasur, Tana
The forecast had been for 10-15 knots from SE but it was stronger than that so I was able to keep up a good speed and 11 hours later I had dropped anchor in Dillon Bay. I was very pleased with that.
Dillon bay
David from the village paddled out in his outrigger dugout canoe with a gift of bananas, pawpaw and the biggest lemon I had ever seen. I gave him some flour and rice, the supply boat only visits once a month so they run low of things at times
He has built a “yacht cub” ashore for visiting cruisers. Next day I visited him there, he has set himself up as a guide. He showed me the village, the gardens and a delightful swimming pool in the river where I had a lovely dip. He told me the names of the trees and their uses some as a source of incense (sandlewood) others to use as lamps, and which trees they made their dug out canoes from. I was surprised to learn that there are Kauri trees here and they have created a protected zone for them. Afterwards I had lunch with them, rice , yams, fried bananas, manioc, a stew/soup of beef and cabbage fresh squeezed lemon juice and of course pawpaw. Again I learned a little more off the island. Although it is quite a big island there are just 2 villages and there is virtually no development on the island and it is largely off the tourist track.
the River at Dillon bay
Some strong winds arrived so I stayed put for a couple of days as the forecasts were for 20-25 knots and very rough seas and I didn’t fancy getting beat about.
Supply ship at the beach
It was 80 miles to Efate, the next island and the capital Port Villa, so it was to be a night time passage. Setting off late afternoon once the weather had eased I was hoping for a quiet and peaceful passage, trouble was the wind had eased so much there was virtually none. I had to resort to motoring, at least the seas were calm, shame about 12 hours of engine noise though. Still arrived in Port Villa and was soon secured to a substantial mooring ball.
Port Villa welcome
Ashore it was a bit of a culture shock, shops, banks, restaurants, busy with traffic, all the trappings of a tourist town and the place seemed overrun with Aussies. Well I suppose it’s just a fairly short hop for them, a bit like Brits jetting off to Spain or Greece for their holidays. Still it was good to replenish the stores on things that I had run out of or was running short off. There was a strong French influence about the place, some french supermarkets and the bread was baguette style.
Distant view of mooring field Port Villa
With such a sheltered & calm mooring field here I thought it ideal to clean off the bottom of Sea Bear after all she had been in the water for 6 months now. I was lying in the dinghy, arm in the water scrubbing the waterline when the moorings boatman spotted me and made me an offer I couldn’t refuse to clean the hull for me for a very cheap price. So now we have a nice clean hull again, it makes quite a difference to the sailing performance.
by chris ayres | Sep 2019 | Voyage Logs
Leaving Anawamet bay just after sunrise I was headed for the island of Tana. Calm at first the wind and waves soon picked up and we had 2 mad half hour periods when the wind went from about 15 to over 25 knots and more very quickly raising quite a sea. Fortunately later it eased a little later but the sea state remained rough all day. Rounding point Yewao, the wind was up to 25 knots again but we could head into Port Resolution where although the wind remained strong the seas flattened out and I could anchor in about 6 m. There were about 6 other boats anchored here, the main attraction here being Mt Yasur, an active volcano. Port Resolution was named by that man Captain Cook again, seems like I have been following in his wake for a couple of years now.
Port Resolution
I visited the village ashore and was given a welcoming gift couple of bunches of bananas and a big pawpaw by Johnson.
Port Resolution village
I arranged a trip to visit the volcano through him. In the afternoon we were driven in a 4wheel drive pickup to the reception centre at the the foot of the mountain.
Presentation of flowers
Volcano dance
After a ceremonial presentation and a “volcano” dance by the villagers we drove up the 4wheel drive track to a grey ashy plain. A walk up to the crater rim in the late afternoon and we could peer down into what looked like the pit of hell.
To the crater rim
The crater
Further around the rim the bubbling lava was plain to see and every now and then and explosion would send molten fragments high to splash on the crater walls. As darkness fell the sight was even more spectacular. It was an awe inspiring experience to be so close.
Another day I walked around the bay and up steep forest tracks to Enpitoka jungle farm. Philimon the chief wasn’t there but his wife showed me around the gardens and showed me some of the crops they grew which included: yams, taro, manioc, tobacco, onions, cabbage (but not the stuff we know, this was leaves of a small tree), kava, lemons, bananas and coconuts. She also gave me some slices of pawpaw to eat.
Enpitoka forest farm
On the way back I stopped for a chat with a young man in one of the small settlements in the forest and he explained how the villagers acted collectively.
Much as I enjoyed staying in Port Resolution the anchorage was a little rolly and there were so many more islands to explore so I decided to move onto Eromanga the next island in the chain.
by chris ayres | Aug 2019 | Voyage Logs
Before leaving Vuda the staff gathered on the dock and sang me a farewell song.
Farewell to Fiji song
It was about 20 miles to Navula passage, out through the reef. By the time I got there it was growing dark, the wind had picked up and was blowing hard I knew it would be rough outside and the smoke from a fire on the hillside was obscuring the leading lights. I didn’t feel like passing through the reef in those conditions, so although you are not supposed to I turned into Momi bay and anchored there for the night. Much refreshed next morning I set out again, the wind had dropped and I had an easy passage out through the reef and could set course for Vanuatu, 450 miles away. I was aiming for Aneityum, the most southerly of the islands. It is not an official port of entry but you can ask for special permission to clear there, which I had done and it had been granted. The great advantage of clearing here first is that you can then work you way north up the island chain without having to beat against the trade winds. The passage went quite well although the 2nd day turned out very windy with rough and at times very rough seas coming from abeam and breaking. Several times waves broke against the boat and into the cockpit. I managed to stay dry in the shelter of the spray hood. We had a full moon for this passage so the nights were far from dark even with cloud cover.
The only other boat I saw was on the last eve, I had just spotted the island about 60 miles a way and shortened sail to slow down to preclude a nighttime arrival when I spotted a sail astern. It soon passed me.
Landfall at Aneityum just after sunrise
Sunrise of the 5th day out found me about 4miles off the SE corner of the island, just about perfect timing I thought. As I skirted the Southern coast and rounded the reefs there I noticed several sailboats leaving the bay. Great it was the rally boats leaving meaning an uncrowded anchorage. I am not a fan of these yacht rallies of which there seems to be more and more. It means a great crowd of yachts in anchorages all at once. With the rally boats left there was plenty of space for me to choose a nice anchor spot in about 7m of water. My noon to run runs for this passage were all over 100 miles which was pleasing.
Anelcauhat
After a brew of tea I inflated the dinghy and went ashore. My luck was in, Customs, Immigration and Biosecurity officers were all still here, they are not on the island full time so clearance was painless quick and friendly. A stroll through the village and along the beach completed the day.
Anelcauhat village
Anchorage
Next day I walked along tracks and beaches to the next bay and village, all very delightful.
No real roads on the island, people live in simple woven huts by fishing and farming. They speak a form of pigdeon English though many speak English too. They are mostly a little shy but friendly and welcoming always with a greeting.
I walked up to this waterfall in the forest.
Sammy
Sammy who I’d met on 1st day took me a village inland from Anelcauhat and introduced me to Ali who guided me there. I wouldn’t have found the way by myself. A vague trail, muddy in places, over fallen trees, under fallen trees, crossing gulleys and across the river on slippery boulders 5 or 6 times and after 2 or more hard hours we got there.
Waterfall
at the waterfall
Ali’s house
One of the river crossings
Track through forest
Had a refreshing cold swim in the pool under the falls. I had taken some nuts with me and offered some to Ali. From his quizzical expression studying a cashew nut I could tell he had never seen one before, but he enjoyed them. Having left at 10 I was back on the beach and my dinghy about 4 just a little tired.
The bay is open to the West so one morning when the waves started into the bay and a gentle at first west wind, it was time to move out. Francoise the Frenchman in the other boat at anchor came across with some query about english words in descriptions of other anchorages on the island. We decided to head up to Anawamet bay on the North coast, this should give some shelter from the west. It would also be a handy spot for jumping off heading north
Anchoring here, the village chief paddled out in his dugout canoe to say hi and welcome us and I had quite a long chat with him about his village and the island.
by chris ayres | Aug 2019 | Voyage Logs
It was fairly cloudy when I weighed anchor in Suva harbour but i hoped it would clear later. Approaching the leading marks for the passage for the reef I had a bit of a scare when a big tug that had been on station headed straight for me. I turned the boat around and he altered course to still point at me. Transpired that he just wanted to warm me there was big tanker heading in to the channel and please pass starboard to starboard. I suppose he had tried to reach me on the radio but mine was off, I reason that I can’t be below to respond to the radio and on deck steering and looking out at the same time! The channel through the reef is pretty wide so there was no problems passing the inbound tanker. Once out I could set the yankee, the main was already hoisted and set a course for the start of the Beqa channel about 20 miles away. It was grey and drizzly but the sea was pretty calm and fairly gentle wind of 10 – 14 knots from astern wafted us along. Gradually the weather cleared and the afternoon turned out fine. The narrowest point of the channel between the mainland and the reefs of Beqa is about 1 mile wide, there was a marker on the reefs of the mainland but none on the outlying rocks of the islands. It’s a case of trusting the plotter plus of course careful eyeball navigation. Once through I could shape a course to give me a good offshore clearance before evening. The Coral Coast has a bad reputation for yachts and I wasn’t about to flirt with it too closely at night. I kept a careful eye on a boat far ahead but heading my way. Judging it would cross my bows I was ready to alter course when it was obvious that the Chinese fishing boat was just going to plough ahead seemingly regardless. In the end it passed about 200m ahead of me, I didn’t see anyone in the wheelhouse and no-one on deck and no AIS signal. All rather worrying for the passage at night. With dusk I put my customary precautionary reef in the main and settled down for a long night. Later an increase in the wind called for a 2nd reef in the main so i was glad i already had the 1st in. I saw the lights of a couple of ships one bound west the other east but they were well clear of me.
Just before the dawn I spied the light on the SW corner of the mainland. It was light when I rounded it and gybed to head for my waypoint at the start of the Navula passage. The wind was increasing, now 25 knots and the seas quite nasty so in with a third reef and now just a scrap of the yankee. I was a little concerned about passing through the reefs in these conditions but the entrance is wide and well marked with two massive beacons. As I drew near, now with the boat close hauled, I sailed into the lee of the reefs which calmed the seas considerably and I was pleased I could hold the correct course. Once through I continued on the same line to arrive in Momi bay. It was still blowing strongly but I anchored at 10.20 am in about 8m in the shelter of the bay. 26 hours for the 96 mile passage. Time for cuppa then a short nap.
Momi bay
I stayed here the rest of the afternoon and the next day whilst the wind still blew strongly.
My friends Jan & Richard on Morpheus were in Vuda marina so I made my way there, mostly motoring as no wind. The entrance is a channel cut through the reef, it doesn’t look its supposed 25m wide at low water and with the depth showing as 2m at it’s shallowist I entered with due caution. The marina is in the form of a circle with boats Med moor style bows pointing to the wall, stern lines attached to buoys. The staff help you moor thank goodness. To disembark means climbing over the pulpit to step onto a wooden platform, how hard or easy this is depends on the state of the tide.
Jan on Morpheus, Vuda marina
Much as I try and mostly avoid marinas it is good once in the while, pretty easy shore access, unlimited fresh water, showers ashore and of course a bar and restaurant. It is relaxing and was good to catch up with friends, not have to cook for a few meals and listen to some live music.
Sunday afternoon band at Vuda
Monday and from the road junction I caught the bus into into Nadi, Fiji’s 2nd town. Here I visited the Sri Siva Subramaniya temple, built in Dravidian and Vastu Vedic traditions, it is stunningly decorated and painted. I ate a nice lunch in the vegetarian restaurant there. A wander around the town and market completed my visit before catching the bus back.
Sri Siva Subramaniya temple
The rope cutter on the propshaft had been making funny noises for a while and I knew that I would have to dive on it to sort it out but conditions at various anchorages had not been ideal, too windy, choppy seas or filthy water with no visibility. Time to do it, I arranged a canvas bag underneath and after repeated dives dismantled the rope cutter. It was badly worn for some reason so I wont be refitting it. The water wasn’t the cleanest here but at least I could nip for a hot shower as soon as I had done.
Vuda sunset
Whilst here I also took a bus to Lautoka, this is the sugar capital of Fiji. There is a big sugar refining factory here with trucks and little railway carts loaded up with cut sugar cane. It is a very Indian town, busy and bustling.
Sugar cane train from bus
It is time for me to leave Fiji so in a couple of days I will check out and make for Vanuatu.