On Monday, May 26, we left the Anatom anchorage about 4:30 p.m. with the spinnaker pole out on the port side. We pulled the jib out with the sheet running through the pole, and motored for about three hours before the wind came up. Then we put the other jib up, with the sheet through the end of the boom, and ran downwind for about 75 miles.
The next day, we continued running downwind, and it was a pretty pleasant sail. When the wind shifted, we took down the second jib and put up the main, thinking we could reach. But that didn’t last for long. We took down the main and ran with just the one jib on the pole. We were way ahead of schedule, so going at about 4-5 knots was good. We ran that way well into the night. Eventually the wind got stronger and we needed to furl in the jib, which meant taking it off the pole and putting the pole away.
During this second night, our wind-speed indicator quit working properly. It only intermittently provided the wind speed and angle. Also, a cast-aluminum fitting on the end of the boom sheared off, so we had to wrap the boom topping lift around the boom. The preventer was attached to the fitting that sheared off, so we moved it to a boom bale.
AT 8:30 on Wednesday morning, we arrived in Port Vila on the island of Efate. It’s the capital of Vanuatu. We had moderated our speed so we wouldn’t arrive before the marina opened at 8:00 a.m. A marina worked guided us in his tender. We picked up a mooring ball on the bow and then backed toward a seawall, where two other workers were ready to catch stern lines. They gave us a gangplank so we could walk from the stern of the boat to the seawall, which was right in front of the marina restaurant.
I put on some decent clothes, and with the paperwork in hand, walked across the gangplank to check in with the marina office. I was wearing flip flops with no traction and I promptly fell off the gangplank into the water. I held up the paperwork for Jeff to grab before it got wet. Then Jeff helped me climb back onto the boat. I changed shoes and walked to the marina office soaking wet. Several people watched this little fiasco with concern, and the marina staff worked with Jeff on making the gangplank more secure. Meanwhile, I nursed my several wounds from hitting the gangplank in a few different places as I fell.
After we checked in, I showered and changed clothes and we had lunch at the restaurant, not great food but very convenient. Then we started to get acquainted with Port Vila. We found the ATM, the Digicel phone office and the big supermarket.
On Thursday morning, we took our laundry to the marina office. Then I walked to the Digicel office to get a SIM card and phone number for Vanuatu. Next, I walked to the welder with the cast-aluminum cap that goes on the end of the boom, but it was a public holiday, so they were closed. When I got back, Jeff went up the mast to take down the wind indicator for inspection. After doing as much as he could to get it to move more freely, he went back up the mast to reinstall it. And I ordered a new bearing for it that Johno could bring when he arrives in August.
On Friday, I walked back to the welder to drop off the the cast-aluminum boom cap, and stopped for a few things at the supermarket. When I got back to the boat, we took 8 jerry cans over to the fuel dock to fill with diesel. Then I defrosted the freezer and cleaned the boat a bit. We picked up our laundry at the end of the day.
On Saturday, we defrosted both refrigerators and did other boat chores. Ian and Laura arrived from Erromango and we stopped at a nice little breakfast/lunch place behind the marina. We had dinner that night with RaLa and Rhapsody at Lalala, a restaurant that we had come to like very much.
The next day, Jeff made a broccoli salad and I made a black bean soup. Rhapsody and RaLa came over for dinner. After we ate, Jeff and I and Ian and Laura walked into town to the movie theater. We saw Mission Impossible, which was pretty bad, but it was fun to go to the movies.
On Monday, I went to the welder to pick up the boom cap. Back at the boat, we reinstalled it and it fit perfectly. Then we stood around the marina office for a long time, waiting for the Customs and Immigration officials to arrive to help us sort out some of our paperwork. The office had flagged an issue because the officials in Port Resolution had used the wrong process for our cruising permit. Once that was taken care of, Jeff and I joined Ian and Laura for lunch and then Ian and Laura and I caught a taxi to check out the marine chandlery. Finding very little of interest to us, we stopped in to see the diesel mechanic that Ian had been working with. I stayed a while and then got a taxi back to the marina on my own. While I was away, Jeff reinstalled the boom cap and reran the reefing lines.
The next day, Jeff pop riveted a new fitting on the boom for the preventer, so it didn’t have to be attached to the boom cap, which was not designed for that kind of stress. We did a few more chores, washed down the boat and had dinner with Ian and Laura.
On Wednesday, we walked to the national museum. The guide demonstrated sand art, where he drew in the sand while telling a story. He also told us several Vanuatu origin stories and showed us around the museum. Afterwards, we walked to a fruit and vegetable market and then to the supermarket, getting final provisions so we could take off again.
An example of sand art. The guide drew this while telling us a story.
On Thursday, June 5th, we checked out of the marina and sailed out of Port Vila and around to the north side of Efate. RaLa and Pole Pole did the same. We ended up anchoring off of Lelepa Island. The snorkeling was good and we all gathered for tea on RaLa in the afternoon. At the end of the day, locals from the island came to tell us that we couldn’t anchor there. We protested that it was too late in the day for us to move. So we were all given permission to stay until the next morning.
On Friday morning, we got up reasonably early and pulled up anchor to go out the northern pass. As we exited the pass, we were hit with lots of wind and huge waves. It was hard to control the boat. RaLa was a head of us and anchored in a small bay. We motored around them and decided that it was too dicey to anchor there. We kept going around the top of Efate and found an anchorage that was better protected. RaLa arrived a bit later. Pole Pole also came around to that back but anchored in a different spot. We took RaLa’s dinghy to shore to walk around for a bit, then went back to our boats.
No Comments