Vanuatu

Arrived this morning in Port Vila on the island of Efate having spent a night in Dillons Bay on Erramango Island after leaving Tanna Port Resolution. This is the first time we have had internet access since leaving Musket Cove Fiji. The sail from Musket Cove to Tanna Vanuatu was fast and furious with big swells of 3m and 20-30 knots of wind we averaged 7 knots for most of the journey only slowing down when we approached the anchorage in Port Resolution as we did not want to arrive in the dark. We arrived at Tanna while it was still dark on Tuesday 10 July around 5am so spent an hour circling around to wait for daybreak at 6am before entering the anchorage as there are reefs to look out for each side and we wanted to see where we were going! Also it is much easier to choose a good anchoring spot when you can see clearly what other boats are around and how near they are. We dropped anchor in the head of the bay where the water was flatter and less rolly. Tanna is very primative with poor local people who really seemed to appreciate our visit. World ARC had arranged for Customs and Immigration officials to visit Port Resolution and all formalities for clearing in were done at the Port Resolution Yacht Club (not as grand as it sounds!!) which was a open sided building made of local trees and leaves. The following day we visited Mount Yasur which is a live active volcano and as we were there at dusk we could see the burning embers being spewed out of the volcano quite clearly. It was an amazing natural experience! Thursday saw us participating in a traditional gift exchange ceremony where all the boats put together any old clothes or houshold items they could spare and these were presented to the villagers in return for baskets of fruit and vegetables after a speech and songs. A very moving experience. We gave clothes,crocs,pens and crayons for the school and toffees for the children. All the boat donations were divided up by the men of the village to distribute amongst the families. In our gift basket we were given christophene, squash, papaya,limes, passion fruit, taro,sweet potatoes and giant green beans. Later that evening we had a Feast which was prepared by the local villagers for everyone to enjoy and included a roast pig, curried chicken and a beef and fish dish along with lots of local vegetables including Taro which is like potato. Friday morning we left Tanna and sailed 50 miles north to the island of Erramango and anchored in Dillons Bay. Once we had dropped the hook we were approached by a local man David who invited us all ashore to visit the village. We now have Bob an extra crew member who was on Serendipity and as they are leaving the rally at Tanna he is just sailing with us to Port Vila where he will catch a flight home to England. The following day Saturday saw a number of boat crews go ashore to do another gift exchange with the villagers there in return for more fruit! We were given Grapefruit, clementines, limes and passion fruit plus some very ripe bananas! We decided to have an early dinner that night and leave before it got dark so at 5.30pm we were lifting the anchor to do an overnight passage to Port Resolution on the island of Efate. It was a very bumpy ride with big seas again and winds to 35 Knots so it was good we had Bob to do a watch which meant Peter and I got to have a real sleep! We arrived here in Port Resolution this morning and were taken to a Mooring Buoy so we were all tied up by 8.30am in time for coffee and bacon butties! Now catching up on chores before the programme starts tomorrow.

Musket Cove

So we arrived here in Musket Cove on the small island of Malolo Lailai in the Mamanuca Group of islands on Wednesday morning and had to pick up a mooring buoy outside the Marina and wait for high tide as there is a sandbar in the entrance which is too shallow for yachts to pass over at low tide. By 3.30pm in the afternoon there was enough water for us to enter the Marina and we dropped our anchor and reversed back onto the dock and tied up with stern lines. There is water and electricity on the dock which means no need to run our generator which saves diesel and it is quiet! The water was much needed to give the boat a good hose down as it was covered in salt from the sailing we had done. Musket Cove is actually a small resort and marina and everything is close at hand. There are even DIY barbeques available on the beach! We were told about the BBQs by Charles and Marie (Dreamcatcher) who came over to introduce themselves to us whilst we waited on the Mooring Buoy. Dreamcatcher is another Hallberg Rassy but 48 feet so bigger than Trompeta and it took part in the last World ARC but had to leave in Fiji as their boat suffered damage in the Tsunami that affected the Galapagos islands. They have spent the last 2 years in New Zealand having work done to the boat and cruising around. So we ordered our BBQ pack from the shop and met up with Charles and Marie at the island bar to do our own BBQ.A very enjoyable night. The following day the majority of World ARC boats arrived and we had the formal rally welcome drinks and a BBQ. It was a good opportunity to catch up with the other boat crews we had not seen for a while. Yesterday (Thursday) there was a Sports afternoon and Trompeta, Piligrim and Royal Leopard joined forces to participate in Volleyball, Tug of War and a water game. Overall we did well winning the Volleyball, Joint 1st place in the Tug of War and 3rd in the water game. The water game was not easy as it involved filling plastic drinking cups with water from a bucket and passing them over your head to the person behind who then took the cup and passed it between him legs to the person behind and so on. The last person in the line emptied the cup into an empty bucket and after a set time the water in the bucket was measured. Anyway it was all a bit of fun. That evening there was a Fijian Feast with a spit roasted pig and local veggies and salad. Peter and I sat with the two Russian boats Piligrim and Royal Leopard and had an entertaining evening. Today we are doing last minute preparations before leaving tomorrow morning for the passage to Vanuatu. Peter has already seen customs and immigration for the clearing out formalities. There is a briefing for the Skippers at 5pm tonight and we will do another DIY BBQ afterwards.

Cruising Fiji

So we are now expert at reading the reefs and navigating around these islands thanks to a local called Curley who gave us a very informative briefing last week in Savusavu. Several crews went along to Curley's houseboat anchored further down the river from the Copra Shed Marina where we were moored and we received good information about where to go and where to avoid along with some useful charlets and waypoints. We left Savusavu on Monday 25 June and anchored near the Cousteau resort that evening just inside Savusavu Bay ready for an early start on Tuesday. Tuesday we upped anchor at daybreak around 6.30am and along with Piligrim headed off to Viti Levu island following the waypoints given to us by Curley. Two other boats Sophie and Peatsmoke left Savusavu Tuesday morning and were a couple of hours behind us. We reached the first anchorage off Makogai Island around 2pm and dropped anchor with Piligrim. Makogai is an old leper colony and they have giant clams and turtles there. Peat Smoke came into the anchorage around 4pm and dropped their hook alongside.Dmitry on Piligrim had caught two Mahi Mahi fish along the way so we all ate fish cooked on our BBQ by Peter with salads and sides provided by Natalia (Piligrim) and Caroline(Peat Smoke). A very enjoyable night was had by all and we were still in bed by 8pm!! The other boat that left Savusavu with us was Sophie and Harold had decided to go a different route. Harold is German and very independent he did not go to Curley's seminar so David (Peat Smoke) advised him about the waypoints and wished him luck. Harold and Kristel(Sophie) are the oldest rally participants in their mid sixties. The following day Peat Smoke left very early before 7am as they wanted to get to the Marina early as they had a night in a hotel to look forward to so chose to skip a stop and go further in one day. Trompeta and Piligrim left around 10am and headed off motor sailing to the next anchorage off Naigani Island. Again we arrived about 2pm and both boats dropped anchor in the bay. Peter was not feeling too good so we had a light dinner and an early night. The following day we were weaving our way around the reefs on the North East coast of Viti Levu and arrived at our destination a little bay called Nananu-i-cake again about 2pm and dropped anchor alongside Piligrim. Dmitry had caught a Tuna fish this time and invited us aboard Piligrim to share his Tuna on the BBQ. There was one other boat in the anchorage with a single handed New Zealander called Shane onboard and he was also invited to dinner. Another very enjoyable night and Dmitry ferried us to and fro in his dinghy which meant Peter and I did not even have to inflate our dinghy which is all stowed on board now. Friday we upped anchor at 8.30am and motor sailed through the reefs on the North Coats of Viti Levu to Vatia Wharf to a little anchorage just past the wharf. Unfortunately another boat arrived just before sunset and decided to drop their hook so close to us we had to share our space! Anyway we turned the generator on and played loud classical music so I am sure they got the message!! They left at sunrise this morning. Today we have arrived in Saweni Bay just outside Lautoka a town where they still have an active Sugar Cane factory which is puffing a plume of smoke out but luckily the wind is blowing it away from our anchorage. Dmitry and Natalia are having dinner with us on Trompeta and Peter has set the BBQ up to cook some steak for a change from fish!! Tomorrow we are booked into Denarau Marina for two nights so we can wash the boat off and get fuel and provisions before moving along to Musket Cove on 3 July ready for the rally rendezvous.

Fiji

Arrived in Fiji very late Thursday night and the wind was blowing strongly with rain and it was pitch black when we tried to anchor at the mouth of the river where the Copra Shed Marina is based in Suvasuva. All very dramatic with gusts of up to 30 knots but we made it OK and got to bed by midnight. We were following Peat Smoke as they have better electronic charts than we do and we did not wan t to make any mistakes and end up on a reef!! The following day was spent clearing in with Health, Customs, Immigration and Bio security(foods and garbage). After the health officer had given us our Pratique we were moved to a Marina mooring Buoy just outside the Marina Office so very convenient!! Lunch ashore with David and Caroline (Peat Smoke) which was very cheap. We also had dinner ashore later in the evening and that was also cheap - £30 for the two of us to have a two course meal with wine! Suvasuva is lovely, everyone is so friendly and nothing is too much trouble. The population seems to be mainly Indian here (actual statistics are 60% Indian and 40% Fijian). There are a lot of cheap shops in the main town and cheap internet access and services. We have just left our oldest computer with a very helpful Indian called Firoz who is cleaning the PC up and putting Windows 7 onto it all for F$70 or about £24!! Today we are hiring a car for a couple of hours to do some exploring around the island of Vanua Levu which is one of the two main islands in Fiji. Also we have booked to attend a seminar run by a local cruiser here called Curley who has sailed the Fiji waters for years and apparently gives good information about the passes reefs and anchorages, the seminar lasts 2/3 hours so good value we hope at F$10 or around £3.30! We expect to stay in Savusavu for a few days before moving on next week to the main town of Nadi to do some provisioning before heading off to the World ARC rendezvous at Musket Cove Marina (one of the most exclusive yacht clubs in the world!) on 4 July. The rally departs for Vanuatu on 7 July. Weather is pleasantly hot and sunny during the day and cooling down at night so trousers and long sleeves for evenings.

Drama in Tonga

Yesterday a sail boat which had left the anchorage the day before put a May Day distress call out on the radio about 1am and a lot of people were involved in an extensive search and rescue operation including planes from New Zealand. Unfortunately they have not been able to find the two men that were on the yacht just a lot of wreckage from the boat. The life preserving aids were found unused and the dinghy is still missing so the search is continuing today. It was not a World ARC boat.

It makes you painfully aware how vulnerable you are in rough weather and you do need to take sensible precautions like wearing life jackets at all times in bad weather. The yacht involved was a standard charter boat so not built for ocean cruising like Trompeta in which we place our trust.The weather forecast had predicted strong winds for Thursday and Friday so we chose to remain in the anchorage until the system passed over. Our plan is to leave on Monday when the weather will be back to normal trade winds of 15-20 knots which is ideal for sailing Trompeta.

Had a visit to the local market this morning to buy fresh fruits and vegetables for our journey to Fiji. Lots of nice fresh salad as well! Today the weather is changing and we have just had a sharp rain shower.

Yesterday it was Dmitry's birthday so we were invited to his party on Piligrim and Natalia had prepared lots of delicious salads including a Russian speciality called Olivia which is basically a potato salad with added bits and pieces. The evening started with Vodka shots (Peter had one but I declined!) and some marinated cucumber slices which had been steeping in a salt and garlic marinade so no vinegar and the end result was quite mild but apparently the thing to have after a shot of vodka! There were crews from Sapphire and Beatoo and the other Russian boat Royal Leopard too. At the end of the evening one of the Royal Leopard crew Eugene played his guitar and sang soft songs which were lovely.

World ARC event

We had the prize giving dinner last night at the Mango Cafe in Vava'u for the last leg from Bora Bora to Suwarrow and Niue to Tonga. The evening started with a traditional Kava ritual which involved some local children and crews all sitting cross legged around a circle with the King at the end. The Governor was invited but as he had not arrived for the start then Paul from World ARC rally control took his place. The Kava was then mixed by a girl (who has to be a virgin) and then little cups are passed around to drink. It apparently makes your tongue go numb but as we already had drinks in our hands we were not passed the cups to drink! After the Kava reception we then took our places for a traditional buffet of raw fish marinated in coconut milk and cooked chicken and pork with taro and some salad followed by ice cream and cake.

The Governor did arrive later and took his place in time to assist Paul with the prize giving. We had been invited to join the top table so were treated to wine courtesy of the World ARC as well as our buffet dinner. So onto the prize giving and guess what? Trompeta was awarded first place for our group for the last passage!! Peter was so amazed he dropped his spoon back into his ice cream!

Tonight we have a BBQ at the Aquarium Cafe.

We have had some t shirts printed by Tropical Tease and have some cute Trompeta logos now. It was time Peter had some more shirts as his old ones are getting very worn now.

Looking to stay here for a few days before setting off again for Fiji.

Tonga now!

Later than envisaged we are now on a mooring buoy in Tonga in the Vava'u group of islands off the main town of Neiafu where funnily enough there is a Moorings charter base just up the road from our World ARC office!

We left Bora Bora on 16 May for our passage to Tonga via Suwarrow then Niue. The first leg of the passage was around 700 miles to Suwarrow and not much wind so a lot of motoring. When we arrived in Suwarrow the weather advice was that a depression was forming and a weather system delayed our departure by two days. The anchorage is deserted as no one lives on the island and it is a National Park but the wardens do not arrive until 1 June so it was very quiet and unspoilt. The sea was flat calm when we arrived but the anchorage did get really swelly and the boat was like a bucking bronco so much so that we decided to re anchor away from the shore. It was a tricky operation lifting the anchor as it was stuck around several coral heads so took us about an hour to free ourselves!! Just before Peter was threatening to cut the anchor chain with bolt croppers! Anyway after re anchoring in the dark in very deep water we had a bumpy night with not much sleep. The next day we moved and anchored again this time in shallower water so when we came to leave there was not so much chain to get up. Even so we still had a struggle to free the anchor which came up with a lump of coral attached ...ooh not good.

After Suwarrow we sailed or rather motor sailed to Niue. Niue is lovely and rugged it is a independent New Zealand territory. The island is small enough to tour around in one day. We hired a car with Dmitry and Natalia from Piligrim the Russian boat and spent. Good day visiting all the limestone caves and chasms. The Niue yacht club advertises itself as the smallest yacht club in the world. The Commodore Keith is chatty and friendly. The only drawback visiting Niue is the rolly anchorage and the electric dinghy hoist! So we just stayed two nights in Niue and left for Tonga on Sunday lunchtime. A fantastic good sail to Tonga which is around 240 miles and we managed to sail all the way with no motor.

So now we are in Tonga for a period of free cruising until we meet up with the rally in Fiji on 3 July.

We did lose a day sailing to Tonga as we crossed the date line. Tonga is 13 hours ahead of UTC. So now we have the Skippers briefing at 5pm tonight for Fiji. Tomorrow is the Prizegiving for the last leg and group rendezvous.

Anyway off to the ATM to get sone Tongan dollars so we can go shopping!!