Pastime of Sydney- 2006 Adventures

0957 Thursday 18th of May

The log read 1,450NM when we anchored at Tanna. Total days at sea were 13.25. We had almost three days becalmed. Overall, this was our best passage to date and we thoroughly enjoyed it. Time went quite quickly and we only got wet by the ocean on the last day (and on the way to Lord Howe). The decision to go via Lord Howe Island was vindicated by the direction of the winds and bad weather further West. The Lord Howe section also shook out some cobwebs as we had not had time for a decent sea trial first

We haven't yet told you about Customs, Immigration etc except to confess that William had been (illegally) taken ashore on the Sunday and given a tour of Peter's village and met lots of people. On Monday morning, Paul & Dave went ashore & discovered the local Policeman at the market. Of course, a 20min chat was obligatory! He told us the Police Station was "just up the road". We had also read in a cruising guide that we needed to go to the Police Station. Well, we walked up the road and were directed down a further road, then another, and another and another. Indeed, we walked to the next town (Called Iskangel) which was uphill, 4Km away and took a little over an hour. There we learned that the Immigration man had gone to our boat (or at least to the shore near our boat). So, we waited under the mango tree.......... Then Quarantine turned up. After that, the immigration guy appeared and we did the paperwork. "No problem" that Will and Penny were absent- you can sign the forms for them! The the police gave us a lift back to the boat, stopping on the way to introduce us to his mother. The police also introduced us to someone who would take us to Yasur, the "world's most accessible active volcano")

We met plenty of people and bought well at the markets (bananas are only one cent each or less- about a quarter of market price in Vila).

Next day was volcano day. Yakka turned up in a beat up old 4WD ute with one front seat (for Penny). The rest of us sat in the tray of the ute (ouch) for the 2hr ride to the volcano. Charlie, who we had fixed things with the day before, had a nicer 4WD with real seats but he had given the job to Yakka. When we saw (experienced) the road, we could see why you would only take a beat-up vehicle on it. The volcano was very impressive. We drove across ash plains and climbed the windward side of the volcano. Several times, there were huge explosions which threw rocks up to half the size of a car hundreds of feet above us. The strong Trade winds were a comfort for us as they blew the red hot rocks and molten lava in the other direction. People in 1995 and 1996 were not so lucky with three killed. It would have been even more impressive at night, but the dinghy trip to the boat was impossible at night. As it was, when we took Yakka to the boat for a bite to eat and to see it, we hit a rock and sheared off the outboard propeller shear pin (we carry spares).

Peter and his kids (plus our washing, vegetables and fruit) visited the boat on the day before we left. We said farewell and many people ashore said goodbye as did some at 6am on the day of departure. Of course, everyone ashore knows exactly what one is doing at all times.

We are now anchored at Dillon's Bay on the Island of Erromango (means "Land of mangoes"). We have already had visits from one canoe and also from a Ray boat which was out fishing. From the latter, we traded and received some excellent Wahoo. This anchorage is much more satisfactory than Lenakel where we had the rocker stoppers out the whole time, which made life bearable aboard. We needed two anchors out as holding in the volcanic rock and thin sand was tenuous.

Yesterday we had a fast 52NM trip from Tanna to here. Our timing for leaving Lenakel "Harbour" was good as the water where we were anchored was lashed into white foam from big seas lashing the reef. We had a wet ride with squalls every 20 minutes for the whole trip. Finally, the Watermaker functioned perfectly. It turns out that there was a factory defect in the assembly of the hydroplanes which has been there since we bought it and probably responsible for all the grief it has given us! This was resolved when we emailed a photograph to the UK. Yesterday, it made about 35L of water which is great. Now, our water will last until Vila where we will refill. It's a pity that the Watermaker was not working earlier as we could have had full tanks when we arrived at Tanna. Oh well, at least it is finally fixed, even if the towline is a bit kinked. We don't dare fish when the Waterlog is deployed (imagine a fish dragging the line into the Waterlog propeller...)

That's all for now. Shortly, we will visit the local village and perhaps organise dinner for tonight and tomorrow.

Regards,

The Crew of Pastime