Anchored at Ai Creek. S 17 degrees 36.3 min. E 168 degrees 14.6 min in 15 meters of water.
Hi ho,
INTENTION set off today on her Vanuatu adventure, Skipper Jim with crew Cathy and Pam from Australia, but first we need to backtrack as the last entry on this blog. It had Intention half way between Fiji and Vanuatu with Skipper Jim and friends and crew Paul, Daniel and John.
As this entry is being written by Pam and Cathy we weren’t aboard for the passage, but by all accounts the passage ended uneventfully on the 22 May when Intention anchored in Port Vila’s quarantine anchorage at 4.30 am.
Somehow Jim wangled permission for all his crew to go ashore that night without having Customs Clearance and the old crew and the new crew met up at the Waterside Bar (the main yachtie watering hole in Port Vila), excellent food and wine was consumed while the old crew and the new crew sized each other up. The evening must have been a success as Jim and the new crew agreed to cruise on together. The old crew had to fly back the USA in a couple of days.
Jim told us (Pam and Cathie) that the definition of cruising is “fixing boats in exotic places”. That saying proved all too true and a veil should be drawn over the next few days spent organising repairs of equipment such as the head and stove (nothing that would affect our safety but do have an impact on our comfort).
During the time based in Port Vila we did do a short sail over to Mele village and anchored off Hideaway Island Resort for a couple of nights. We enjoyed the snorkelling although the reef is still recovering from a cyclone in 2004. One evening you could have found the trio enjoying a decadent sunset cocktail at – pretty special.
Back at Port Vila we picked up a mooring just in front of Iririki Resort, some of our friends plan to take part in the ocean swim around Iririki Island soon – all I can say is take care to dodge the poos from the large yacht anchorage (just joking I am sure that on the day all yachties will be asked to cross their legs during the race).
That brings us to this morning when we set off under jib and engine to charge the battery and headed out of Port Vila with Havannah Harbour on the west coast of Efate as the destination. We both had a ball and started to fantasize that we really are sailors as we rolled around in a bit of swell of Devil’s Point. All too soon we were back in calm water and dropped the hook at Paul’s Rock for lunch and a snorkel – sighting 2 turtles a small shark and a graceful dolphin surfacing around us. We enjoyed the wonderful variety and colours of the coral reefs. Really idyllic and the ambience was enhanced by a local fisherman in a dug out canoe singing melodiously. We hoped he would paddle over with fish for dinner but we weren’t that lucky.
Then it was on again for an afternoon sail to Ai Creek and now we are anchored between a multi million dollar gin palace lit up like a Christmas tree and a modest trimaran enjoying another beautiful red sunset. Jim is cooking his special spaghetti sauce and Cathie Garlic & chives bread in the oven for dinner while I type this blog. Who knows what tomorrow will bring, but Cathy and Pam can honestly say that we are taking to this life like ducks to water. Jim might almost turn us into sailors – Cathy is getting pretty nifty with her bowlines and clove hitches but where she really excelled was playing the figurehead on the bow pulpit.
Really special sunset of Fuchsia pinks and red and blue horizontal streaked sky enhanced once again cocktail hour of red wine for Pam and vodka & Tonic for Cathie & I. The crew is doing great with no signs of seasickness or even queasiness in the washing machine waves around Devils Point today. Cathie even managed to produce coffees and vegemite crackers at the onset of the big swells without spilling a drop. They are also gaining anchoring, hauling on halyards, and sail trimming skills. We will be adding new skills as needed.
Jim, Pam & Cathie