Sat, 7 6 December
More on Vanuatu and on to New Caledonia
We last wrote while in Port Villa, Vanuatu. That was five or six islands ago and one country back. Seems like a long time as so much water has passed under our keel.
Leaving Port Vila we sailed through Havannah Harbor, a large, protected bay used by the US Navy during World War II for a field hospital and as a base for repairs of damaged ships. Havannah Harbor is long and slender with two narrow entrances providing excellent protection for the fleet. With numerous members from Suzette’s family serving in the Navy and Marines during WWII, it was an interesting place to see.
An overnight passage brought us to Epi Island. When the sun rose we entered Lamen Bay and dropped anchor with six other boats. Paul was in the water right away to join the group waiting for the local Dugong to make his appearance. Bondas is about seven feet long and weighs about 350 pounds; he looks like a manatee but has a tail like a whale. This particular male is quite friendly and doesn’t mind a few humans swimming along as he feeds on bottom grass ten feet down. We spent an hour or so on two different days swimming along and scratching his back as curious humans are want to do. His skin has a thick, almost plastic feel with wide spaced bristle hairs. It was quite an experience.
The weather changed after a couple of days, which made the anchorage very rolly and uncomfortable. By 10 a.m. waves were breaking on the beach so we sadly had to up anchor and move on canceling plans we had for dinner on shore with a local family. That afternoon after a boisterous sail, we put the hook down in Banan Bay on the island of Malekula. We were greeted by the chief’s son and told that the village would like to do a dance for us. The following day the crews from five boats went ashore and were greeted by children who gave us each a coconut. At the trail head the chief greeted us and showed us to the entrance of his village. One of the young men spoke English and showed us on to the sacred grounds used for dances and ceremonies. Soon the men emerged from the huts wearing nambas, sporting tall hats and rattles on their ankles. Nambas are the traditional penis sheath that literally wraps the penis with the end tied to a “belt” around their waist. They surged forward stomping their feet with the leader threatening us with his bow and arrow. Dust was stirred up and the ground shook with the rhythm of the 40 dancing warriors. It was incredibly dramatic and they all seemed to put their heart and soul into the dancing and did not seem to be just a performance for the yachties. The men seemed to express real joy in their dances, especially the one celebrating the birth of a son.
They did five dances and our interpreter explained each in turn, then we moved to the outer grounds where 40 women wearing only grass skirts danced two dances as well. Our women were invited to dance in the last dance and all enjoyed it very much. It is the custom to greet each and every person after the dancing with a handshake so we made our way around the circle of women, shaking each hand and offering our words of thanks. We then went back to the men’s area and the chief asked us all to introduce ourselves and tell what brought us to his world. They all listened intently and seemed genuinely interested in learning more about us. We were then given a drinking coconut and invited to sit and eat Lap lap, the national dish. Bananas and root vegetables such as yams, taro and manioc are grated, then kneaded into a paste, to which coconut cream and aromatic leaves are added with chicken, pork or fish served on top. It is nice that the Ni-Vanuatu people can share their culture with us and earn some money for their village as well as we each paid a fee of about US$15. There is a tremendous amount of work that goes into each performance making the decorations, the lap lap, etc.
In most of the anchorages we were visited by dugout canoes with ready smiles, we dubbed them “floating grocery stores”. They would offer us fruit or vegetables from what they had on board or take orders for what we wanted and bring it by later in the day. We traded t-shirts, fishhooks and matches for bananas, papaya, mud crabs, grapefruit, cabbage, watercress and for some lucky people, lobster. Bananas seemed to be the most readily available and all the boats became very creative with using them for each and every meal. It was a great way to go shopping.
Perhaps the most beautiful anchorage we’ve found to date is Asenvari on Maewo. A waterfall with a large pool at the base just 50 yards away on one side and a friendly village with white sand beach and a yacht club on the other. The creek at the base of the waterfall is damned into several small pools that were excellent for doing laundry or a refreshing swim. At around 6:00 each morning ‘Columbus’ would knock on the hull selling hot, fresh baked bread from his dugout. This became a greatly anticipated treat each morning. The village was planning to host a regional soccer tournament and festival in the weeks to come and this year there was going to be a string band competition, so each day and into the night we would be serenaded from the shore as the various bands practiced. The Yacht Club put on a dinner and traditional dance performance for the three yachts (with 10 people) in the bay one evening. We had no more money so we put together a bag of trade goods and took it in to the chief to make our offer in trade for the evenings festivities. There were a few tense moments for us as he looked it all over, but in the end he agreed. The Kustom dancers were good, the Kava was strong and the Coconut Crab main dish was delicious!
At Luganvile on Espiritu Santo we caught up with some great friends and went for a snorkel at the US military junk pile "Million Dollar Point". There was a large US military presence here during WWII. In May 1942, more than 100,000 American servicemen arrived to construct an instant city complete with telephones, radio stations, movie houses, hospitals, bridges, airfields and wharves. Three bomber airfields and two fighter strips were here and a major dry dock functioned as well. Even today there are many Quonset huts still standing and the main road in town is incredibly wide for the small amount of traffic. Luganvile is vastly different from Port Vila, much smaller in terms of size and especially sophistication. Chinese own almost all of the stores and each carries a wide variety from groceries to hardware and clothing. It made for great exploring as you never knew what you would find inside a store.
Our last two nights we were on a mooring bouy off the very nice Aore Resort on an island across from Luganvile. Crews from all of the boats were welcome to use the pool, bar and restaurant which made a refreshing afternoon treat from boat projects. We had an impromptu farewell gathering in the resort pool our last night as boats were heading different directions for the coming cyclone season. Some were bound for the Solomons, most to Brisbane in Australia, and Altair for New Caledonia and Sydney. We gave the bar some good business that evening with over 16 people having drinks in the pool.
On the trip from Vanuatu to New Caledonia we saw a variety of conditions. The first two days we motored with a bit of sailing in light winds, but then got reports of 30 to 40 knots of wind ahead. We took a look at the charts and decided to put in at a sheltered bay on Erromango Island. We waited for three nights for the winds to moderate. From there it was is a close reach in 20-25 knots with water over the decks and launching off waves to windward. Not our favorite angle of sail. We entered Havannah Pass in New Caledoina just after dawn with three reefs in the main and the 95% jib. Altair was flying through the opening in the reef with the last of the incoming tide making over 8 knots. For those non-sailors we generally make about 5-6 knots and three reefs in the main reduces the sail to about one third of it’s full size. Generally more sail area means you go faster but there is a fine line between going fast and being under control. Needless to say it was an exhilarating ride.
We were harbor bound by reinforced trades (SE 25-30 knots) for almost two weeks after our arrival in Noumea but we were really enjoyed the French culture so it seemed not to matter. It is rather expensive, but we live on baguettes and cheese and splurge on French pastries. Noumea is a cosmopolitan city and there are ample museums, great beaches, and a good aquarium so there is a lot to see and do. We finally did get a break in the weather and were able to escape to the fabled Ile des Pins for a week but more on that in the next edition.
We are currently getting ready to head to Australia, hope to get a good weather window and be off early next week. The cruising season is growing to close and there are few boats left so it is a bit lonely. No one to discuss weather with which can also be a good thing. It must be time to go as we are almost out of film and sunscreen. We will write again from Australia, the really big island.
All for now………Altair -- Paul & Suzette