July 15th
Tanna Vanuatu was an absolute pleasure to visit. We stopped with the rest of the fleet in a nice anchorage in Port Resolution. We arrived at about midnight. We had way points supplied at the skippers briefing before we left Fiji which allowed us to safely approach and anchor in the bay at night. Normally it is very risky to attempt this. However with the help of the way points and the other yachts of the fleet already anchored who helped guide us we safely anchored for the night. In the morning we moved further into the bay to a better position that was more protected.
The World Cruising Club have stopped here every year for the last 4 or 5 years and have developed a close relationship with the village.
A couple of years ago it was hit by a devastating hurricane. The rally participants donated several thousand dollars which was matched by the World Cruising Club to help the villagers recover. These funds have helped the village build rebuild the yacht club and some accommodation to continue the attraction for visiting yachts which bring much needed income to the village. The funds have also been used to build a house for the primary school teachers. Without this house it is very difficult to attract and keep teachers at the school.
As soon as we got ashore we felt the warmth and friendliness from the people of the village.
After normal check in procedures were completed we were given a tour of the village. They live in huts made of woven local materials. There we only the odd sheet of roofing iron. The problem with roofing iron is that in a hurricane it becomes lethal when it flies through the air.
The villagers still use dugout canoes with outriggers to go fishing.
The high light for visiting tourists is the Yasa Volcano. Late in the afternoon we were taken by pickup trucks up to the top of the mountain via a VERY rough road. I not sure which was more dangerous, the ride up or standing on the rim of an active volcano. I think the volcano was safer. Erich if you are reading this, it made the road we traveled in the rental car in the Marquesas look like a German Autobahn.
If this attraction was in the USA went we would probably not even be allowed on the mountain. If we were, there would be 8 feet high covered in barriers of 6 thick re-enforced unbreakable glass to prevent tourists from venturing too close to the edge of the rim. On the 500 meter long walking track from the car park up to the top of the rim is a post office box. You can post your post card from there and receive a unique postage mark. Talking to a visitor that was there last year he said that when he visited last year the post office box was gone, it had be taken out by falling rocks also cars in the car park were damaged.
We walked around the upwind rim of the volcano. It would not be a good idea to walk around the downwind rim because you could not see anything due to the smoke nor could you breathe the air.
There is no protective or restrictive barrier to prevent you getting to close to the edge. Within a few minutes our hair and skin is gritty from the volcanic ash in the air. Charles Darwins rule of Natural selection is the rule here. If you are stupid enough to get too close to the edge and fall into the volcano then your genes are rightfully removed from the worlds gene pool.
Spectacular is a huge understatement of what you see, hear and feel. The action starts when you hear a huge rumbling BOOM, your feel the pressure wave and about 5 seconds later the bright red glow of molten pieces of rock the size of a car up to a Mac Truck float into the air like red fluffy candy floss. It then falls to ground on the other side of crater and glows for several minutes before it cools. It was much more spectacular to see this when the sun went down. I had Andria Nikon camera in video mode and hopefully some brilliant records of this. If not most people would not believe that it was possible or be allowed to get this close to an active volcano and live to tell the tale. <.p> After the visit to the volcano we returned to the village for a delicious meal prepared in one of the three local restaurants. The restaurant consists of one large table with a bench chair on each side. To accommodate the number of diners created by the so many concurrent visiting yachts the table was moved from the center of the room so that those who were not lucky enough to score a seat at the table could sit on the grass matt on the floor with their backs to wall.
The meal consisted of fresh fish, rice, about three different types of potatoes, and a salad / coleslaw dish. The texture of the meal was enhanced by gritty volcano ash still in our mouths after the jaw dropping sight of the volcano.
The next day was equally rewarding. The village put on a formal welcome ceremony for us. It seemed like the whole village was present from babies a few days old all the way up to grandparents. We were welcomed by the chief and treated to a traditional welcome dance.
All the captains and crew (news flash Fish On (Jeremy is now a fish catching machine, nice 36 yellow fin Tuna) were asked to pass under an arch where we all received a hat made of woven leaves. Very decorative.
All the captains and crew were then asked to sit in a large semicircle, the villages sat on the other side. We had the local school children sing to us. They then proceeded to bring in hand woven baskets of fresh fruit and vegetables for us. Very generous and moving event.
We then brought in the gifts from the yachts to the villagers. These consisted on many axes, machetes, ropes, nails, spades, shovels, hammers, electrical lights, switches, electrical cable, canned, food, clothes, pens pencils and school material for the children. It was interesting to note that the villages bought all their gifts in hand woven baskets, ours were all in plastic bags.
Later after more thank you speeches were exchanged the leaders of the villagers divided all the axes tools and other gifts onto the ground into pills which were distributed to families based on need. These are a very special people. Talking to the guide we were told that leaders advance in the community not by what they have but by what they give away. Our leaders and Politians could learn a lot from these people. There is no police presence in the village. If someone has an issue or grievance the leaders and the village all meet in a special area and work out the issue. If not resolved the chiefs of other nearby villages are bought in and the process is repeated. Only after this process has failed or for very serious crimes are police asked to come to the village.
Later that afternoon I was lucky enough to have young Sam from Wishanger II give me a kite surfing lesson. This is SO much fun and very exhilarating. Of course I was not even attempting to stand on a board, just learning to control the kite while standing in the water was enough of a taste to get me very interested in getting one of these. Ok Andria do not worry, this will only be AFTER all the maintenance on the house and your long TO DO list has been completed.
My experience with paragliding helped me pick up control of the kite very quickly Sam said. Just after he said that I crashed it … twice. Sam stood behind me and showed me how much pulling power the kite has as it pulled both of us through the water body surfing.
The day was topped off with a feast prepared by the villagers. They were very grateful for all of our gifts. Jacquie said that she saw several of the children of the village running around with the hundreds of colored pens and pencils Andria bought in Costco before we left.
Now came the really difficult part. We had to say goodbye to all of the friends we made on the trip. We were leaving for Noumea New Caledonia in the morning then onto Brisbane they were heading to Port Vila further north in Vanuatu then onto MacKay Australia.
We were invited to some farewell drinks on Wishanger II. It was great to spend that last few hours together with our friends from Paradise Found, Alcedo of Ryme and Wishanger II They have all been invited to come to Australia so we can go cruising in the Great Barrier Reef on Zoom sometime in the future.
Next morning Friday 15th July after replacing and adding more sail repair to the main sail we set off for Noumea New Caledonia. It is about 265 miles away which is two days sailing. The winds are a good 14-18 kts on the port beam. So even with a third reef in the main we are still sailing along at a reasonable 6-8 kts. Going this slow is not so bad because the swell is a good 2m or more giving us a bouncy ride.
Hopefully when I get to Noumea I should be able to get a good internet connection and can talk with Andria before our last leg to Brisbane which is about 800 miles or 6 days sailing. We will wait in Noumea for a good weather window. We are now out of the reliable trade winds and have to watch the weather systems as the march from west to east timing our run between them for favorable winds without getting our bums kicked.
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