Vanuatu

We left Levuka, Fiji on 18^th July after making a three day chicken stew in the pressure cooker. The first 30 miles were a beat south and it was a very uncomfortable and wet ride. We motorsailed. We had to go round the east and south coasts of the big island, Viti Levu. Once we turned the corner, we could set the sails for a beam reach. We had one reef in the mainsail and a small genoa The sea continued to be lumpy and the grey skies produced rain to add to the water that the waves had already dumped into the cockpit.

Floating helicopter in Port Vila

The wind shifted from SSE to SE  to E to NE to ENE over the first 24 hours. Once we’d cleared Viti Levu, we were able to change course for Vanuatu and sail goosewinged with the mainsail on a preventer on one side of the mast and a small genoa poled out on the other side. The sun came out on Day 2.

Children's Day

Jeremy and I both had urinary infections. He started taking antibiotics and I kept mine under control by drinking lots of cranberry juice. The heads were visited regularly.

We had to motor for a while in lovely sunshine but dark clouds were looming ahead. The squally weather hit at night making the sea boisterous and causing more waves to break into the cockpit. We made good progress clocking up 130 miles in one day. The squally weather continued interspersed with bouts of sunshine and gentle winds, until we reached the island of Efate, Vanuatu on Monday 23^rd July.

Waiting for lunch

Jeremy called Port Vila Radio on VHF 16 many times, eventually being answered. We were to anchor near a yellow quarantine buoy in Port Vila Harbour and wait for Biosecurity and Customs. Another yacht from Australia, called Golden Cowrie, anchored nearby. The officials arrived about two hours later. We were cleared to continue and go ashore but we had to report to Immigration and other offices to pay our fees. It was too late to do this on our arrival day and the next day was a public holiday for Children’s Day, so we had to wait until Thursday. We had contacted a marina called Yachting World and managed to tie to a mooring buoy there just before they closed.

There was a lovely, family atmosphere in Port Vila on Children’s Day. We wandered around the many shops and were able to change our Fijian dollars into Vanuatan vatu.

The first stop on Thursday was Customs. We took the dinghy past the cargo wharf to the cruise ship wharf, a trip of about 15 minutes.  After Customs, we went around the corner to Immigration and paid 4800 vatu (approx. 48USD). Biosecurity were located at the opposite end of the wharf. Here we paid 5550 vatu. Great, we were cleared in. Later, in town, we bought a Digicel SIM card and did some food shopping. The marina had a laundry service, so we dropped off our washing.

Eating lunch at Rossi's

It was very busy at the marina as the World Arc boats were in port. Now that we had access to the internet, we saw the weather was going to start with easterly winds on Saturday and then turn southeasterly and southerly. Well, you can guess the direction we wanted to go so that we could visit Erromango and Tena on our way south to New Caledonia. Sadly, it would not be possible to go to the two islands and might be a hard sail to New Caledonia. After a few days, the winds were going to strengthen, so we need to leave as soon as possible.

Yachting World office

Our last day was Friday and this time we caught a bus to Customs and Immigration to clear out. The Customs Officer told us we had to pay port fees of 8200 vatu but no-one from the port was at work as it was Public Servants’ Day. The money was put in an envelope and the officer told us he would pass it on to the Port Authority. Round the corner at Immigration there was no-one there. Our friendly Customs Officer helped us again by suggesting we telephone the numbers on the door. There were three telephone numbers. I left a voicemail on the first call and spoke to an officer on the second. Ten minutes later, an Immigration Officer arrived, our passports were stamped and we were cleared to go.

Yachting World mooring field

Last minute shopping followed and lunch in town. In the afternoon we went on board Golden Cowrie and met Steve, Carolyn and Danielle. They are from Adelaide and gave us useful information about anchorages in Sydney and South Australia. They also gave us a SIM card for New Caledonia.

We left Port Vila on Saturday 27^th July bound for Noumea, New Caledonia, a passage of 3 or 4 days.

Fiji

Copra Shed Marina, Savusavu

 The weather on the passage from Samoa to Fiji was a mixed bag. We expected big seas and we had them. We decided to sail north of the Samoan islands to give us some protection from the 4 metre swells. The strategy worked until we turned south and set our course for Fiji. Although the swell was set to decrease, it was still big. The wind began to rise after dark as squalls came over with constant rain and wind speeds from 8-24 knots. Lightning flashed around us.

SD moored in Savusavu Bay

The second day was much the same with squalls shifting the wind from SE to N and deluging us with rain.  By the third day we were motoring, sailing, motoring with wind speeds only 1-8 knots. Day four was very calm with the light wind going all round the compass. It was hard to believe we were in the SE Trade Wind belt. In the evening, the wind picked up and we had two days of good sailing all the way through the Nanuku Passage to Savusavu on Vanua Levu Island, Fiji.

About to explore the beach, Namena Island

We called Copra Shed Marina on VHF 16 and we were directed to a mooring buoy. Two hours later, four officers arrived representing Customs, Immigration, Health, Quarantine and Biosecurity. Jeremy parted with 170FJD in fees for  two of these departments. On the next day, we obtained the Cruising Permit which was free, except for the 10FJD administration fee. We walked to the Health Department to pay their fee of 163.50. After food shopping, sorting out yet more SIM cards and taking on water, we both took advantage of the hot showers provided by the marina. A drink of local beer in Savusavu Yacht Club completed our day.

SD moored off Namena Island

We paid our marina fees of 93FJD for three nights and Jeremy went for diesel after we had eaten a hearty lunch at Waitu Marina. This was followed by course planning for the following day.

Poisonous sea snake on the beach at Namena Island

We had a fast sail on a beam reach to Namena Island. Submerged reefs surround the lagoon, so we were cautious as we went through the unmarked pass. There was one mooring buoy and it was free in both senses of the word. We spent two lovely nights there swimming, snorkelling and exploring ashore. In the evening a private motor yacht anchored a fair distance away, but we had the whole place to ourselves during the day.

Fijian sunset

Naturally, there was more course planning to do for our passage to Vanuatu. We decided to clear out at the historic, World Heritage Site of Levuka on Ovalu Island, where the British had set up their headquarters many years ago. We motored all the way on a flat, gentle sea with the sun shining down from a blue sky. Ah yes! We really were in the tropics.

Inside the Roman Catholic Church, Levuka

There was a Dutch yacht anchored in Levuka Bay. We dropped our anchor inshore of it and spent the evening catching up on emails and other messages.

The lounge of the Royal Hotel, Levuka

Today is 17^th July. The Dutch yacht has gone. We have been ashore several times and provisioned for our next sea passage.

Street view, Levuka

Diesel has been bought, water tanks have been filled, the museum has been visited and Customs and Immigration have cleared us out of the country. We set off tomorrow for a six day passage to Port Vila in Vanuatu.

Samoa

"...Home is the sailor, home from sea,
And the hunter home from the hill." RLStevenson

Apia's new cathedral

On Monday 24^th June two boats left Pago Pago, American Samoa, bound for Apia, Samoa, 86 miles away. They were a catamaran called The Lucky One and a sloop called Sal Darago. It was rough at the entrance to the harbour near the aptly named Breakers Point. The short, overnight passage required several sail changes as we passed between two islands and made our way along the northern side of Upolu to the port of Apia. At midnight, we lost a complete 24 hours as we crossed the International Date Line. Bye bye Tuesday. Hello Wednesday.  It was light when we arrived. The catamaran had threatened to overtake us but it stayed about half an hour behind us.

The tomb of RLStevenson

Apia Port Control told us to go to the marina. We tied up with the help of other yachties but had to move half an hour later, so The Lucky One could have a double berth. Our second berth was next to another British yacht called Serafina. I called Port Control on VHF 16 and asked them to inform Customs and Immigration of our arrival. Four hours later, we had been boarded by Health and Customs. We had to take a taxi to Immigration in town and clear in at their office. At the marina, we met friendly Sharon, the temporary manager, and arranged to stay for a few days.

The easy walk down

One highlight of our stay was our visit to the Robert Louis Stevenson’s house, which has been preserved as a museum. First, we walked up a steep path to the top of Mount Vaea, to see the tomb of RLS (those initials sound very familiar!) We took the gentle path down, which was quite a rough track in places, but lovely and shady. Afterwards, we had a guided tour of the museum led by Fina. She sang the epitaph on RLS’s tomb beautifully.

RLStevenson's house

We caught a local bus back to Apia. All the schools had just finished for three weeks’ holiday and the bus was full. No problem. Perhaps twenty of us squeezed on the full bus , with many sitting three to a seat and the rest standing. Polite teenagers offered us their seats. Others smiled and giggled.

The bad weather continued

Back on SD, there was an overpowering smell of dead fish. This was coming from the anchor locker. The fish canning factory in Pago Pago empties its waste into the harbour and the seawater on the anchor chain was festering in the heat and humidity. The whole 50 metres of chain had to be hauled out and soaked in a solution of bleach. The locker had to be scrubbed. I was happy to let Jeremy do this job! Then the weather turned nasty. Strong winds blew, heavy continuous rain fell and the swell beyond the harbour rose to 4.5 metres. No-one was going anywhere. Our short stay had to be extended to 10 days.

Making and wearing a lava lava (skirt)

A local taxi driver called Tai is usually around to help the visiting cruisers and take them on island tours. He took two of our cooking gas bottles and had them filled for us. We took our laundry to a local woman who lives about 10 minutes walk away and we found a decent supermarket called Frankies close by. There are also a number of restaurants.

There was much to do. Jeremy made new covers for two of our saloon berths while I researched entry requirements for Tonga, Fiji and Australia. Most of the Pacific islands require 48 hours’ notice of arrival by private boats, Australia requires visas as well. Fortunately, we had bought 3gb of WiFi from Sharon and I bought a local SIM card for my phone. We filled in all the required forms online and sent them off. We booked our flights from Brisbane to London and contacted The Boatworks near Brisbane to have SD hauled out and stored for three months while we return home.

As time passed, we realised we would have to change our plans so we emailed Tonga Customs to tell them we were no longer going there and we emailed Fiji Customs to say we’d be arriving later than previously stated. All time consuming stuff.

A taste of Samoa

We did find time to go to the excellent Cultural Village Show at Tourist Information, where we saw traditional full body tattooing, tapa cloth being made, food being cooked in an umu and we weaved palm leaves to make our own plates. We sampled fish, breadfruit, taro and coconut cream and were entertained with singing and dancing.

Traditional dancer with a full body tattoo

In the afternoon, we attended the official opening of the Clock Tower Boulevard and Waterfront, funded by grants from New Zealand and China. After the speeches, we were fed again and given drinking coconuts to refresh us.

The bar at Aggie Grey's

One evening we walked to the famous Sheraton Hotel, Aggie Grey’s. We had drinks in the spacious bar and had a look around this historical site.

On Sunday, 7^th July, the South Pacific Games 2019 begin here in Apia.

Today, Friday 5^th July, we cleared out with Immigration and Customs after paying our marina fees. Tomorrow, we leave for Fiji, a passage of 600 miles.