Aug 28 - Sep 1, 2015 Aneityum

We have really been enjoying the tranquility of Aneityum. The people are very friendly and laid back. Sam has explored most of the village and has many friends. He has even frequented the kava bar a few evenings.

One of Sam's friends, Nils, guided everyone but me on a long hike to a waterfall (more than 6 hours). They all loved the hike, but unanimously said it was a little too far. On the way back they stopped at the local bakery, a guy that bakes bread sometimes out back from his house. The bread was delicious.

I have found the scenery stunning. The paths are neatly manicured, garden well tended, and beaches picturesque. The traditional houses are quaint, but look like they may not withstand cyclones too well. I love all the traditional canoes. Many people fish daily with these vessels.

Mystery Island, the small island that the cruise ships visit, was beautiful, but had a few tacky items.

My favorite was this sign.

Gigi and Axel liked this soup caldron.

Gary's favorite part is the fishing. The water outside the reef is teeming with good size eating fish. He speared his biggest fish so far, a coral trout. It probably weighed more than 60 pounds. He also speared a smaller coral trout, sweet lips and a grouper.

He took his fish to show the local to make sure they are safe to eat. They agree that the big coral trout was too big and might have ciguatera, but they have a way to cook it that eliminates any poisons. So it was a very easy decision to donate that fish to them. They were really excited to get such a large fish, but they also realized the potential dangers.

We gave some of the other fish to the Chilean guys on the boat next to us, and Gary is super excited to go out and get more fish tomorrow. After fishing we will probably head out for another anchorage on this island, then the next day off to Tanna to see the active volcano. Can't wait!

Calm winds and fair seas,

Julie

It appears that this did not load from the satellite phone, so here it is, albeit a little late.

August 29, 2015 Aneityum Island, Vanuatu

On August 24 we checked out of Lautoka. After visiting the customs and immigration office, we did our final provisioning. Sam got to experience the uniqueness of the markets in Fiji. It takes many visits to many different types of stores to locate all the items you need. Plus we had a delicious meal at a vegetarian Indian restaurant.

Grocery shopping is always a lot of work, not only do you have to locate the different foods, then you have to haul it back to the dinghy, bring it out to the boat trying not to crush it or get it wet, load it onto the boat, get it all down below, then pull the boat apart to stow it beneath practically every bunk. By the time we were done, we decided it was too late in the day to leave, so we headed for Saweni Bay for the night.

After some final boat preparations in the morning, we started our passage around 11 am. It was 15 miles to the reef pass, so we had some time to finish final stowage and the kids could finish some schoolwork. As soon as we got near the reef pass we could feel what was ahead of us. The pass was quite rough with 5 meter waves and 25-30 knots of wind on the beam, but we knew that would die down soon. We were wrong, although the steepness of the waves did abate, the size did not, nor the poor angle at which they hit the boat and the wind actually picked up. Most of the waves reached our aft quarter, surfing the boat, but every few minutes a big one hit square on the beam, rolling the boat pretty hard. We were sailing with the 3rd reef in the main and the jib, and going about 8 knots.  Sam went into the cabin as I was making dinner and came back on deck quickly. The food smell and the rolling of the boat got the better of him. He didn’t get sick, but we got some Dramamine into him right away, and he kept those close by for the rest of the passage.

As night approached we took down the jib and slowed down a little. Fortunately after dinner we stopped seeing 35 knot gusts, making sailing a little less tiring. Due the waves hitting us on the beam, the autopilot was having a hard time, so we had to hand steer. This meant that Gary and I did 3 hours on, 3 hours off, and couldn’t put Sam on night watch as it was too hard for him to steer in these conditions. We were both exhausted by the end of the first night as even when we did make it into the bunk to sleep, sleeping was hard with the periodic violent roll of the boat.

The wind lightened all night and by the morning we saw about 12-18 knots, so we shook a reef out of the main and sailed with the 2nd reef and jib. The seas had dropped to 2-3 meters, although there was still the occasional wave hitting us square on the beam, rolling the boat significantly. While preparing some food in the galley, a wave knocked Gary right off his feet and I saw him lying under the chart table in pain. He took a hard hit to his hip, fortunately that healed up quickly, just as his knee decided it didn’t like being jostled so much. He is doing fine now that we are at anchor. Later that day I saw Sam splayed out under the chart table, a wave got the better of him also.

The third day out the wind picked up again, but only into the 18-25 knot range, we were sailing along at 8+ knots, but decided for the night to reef down to the 3rd reef. We hardly slowed down, but it made steering way easier. By this point Auto decided it had had enough and was refusing to steer for more than about 5 minutes at a time. Gary thinks the hydraulic seals had started to leak, so we now had to hand steer. Starting the second day, we had Sam practice driving during the daylight hours with one of us nearby, so by the third night he was able to take a short watch, letting Gary and I get a little longer sleep. Sam is learning quickly, although he expressed shock at all the different words we have for everything on the boat.

We arrived at Anelghowhat, Aneityum Island, Vanuatu around noon on Friday. We dropped anchor and were all relieved to stop rolling. After a little food and showers all around, we headed to shore to check in with the police department. The police office was closed and we couldn’t find any police officers. Later we were told that they had all left to deal with a death on a nearby island, we would have to wait until Monday to check into the country.

Anelghowhat is a small village, but has one of the cleanest, most modern banks we have seen anywhere. Changing money was super easy and they didn’t limit how much you could change. We went looking for the store that sold ice cream, but it had closed at noon and would not reopen until 6:30 am Sunday. We found 2 other stores, but they didn’t sell much at all, mainly canned meat. The houses of the village lined the waterfront and were manicured with hedges and flowers. Even the walkway/road had flowers planted along the edge and was raked clean by the nearest resident. Every house had a bountiful garden, and those further from town had good size plantations. We walked quite a way, but everyone was too tired, so we are looking forward to go back and explore more of this beautiful island.

Back in the village we were totally surprised to find one of the stores sold Digicel SIM cards, but the lady that knows how to activate them was out of town, so we need to come back in a day so she can set it up for us, then we should have some internet.

On the south side of the anchorage is a small sandy island that cruise ships visit. This is the main source of income for the village. Fortunately the cruise ship tourists never come to the main island, so it has been untouched by western influences.

After some school and boat work, we plan to go ashore today for a big hike. We haven’t decided how long we will stay here, but the people are very friendly, and it is really beautiful, so none of us are eager to go anywhere fast.

Cheers,

Julie