Waetman get up too late
[Sometime between 24th May and 29th May . . . ] Finally, we had an excellent sail to Epi. No squalls and only one tiny rain shower. We did 7kts most of the way and it was great! This is what tropical sailing is SUPPOSED to be like.
The anchorage at Epi was excellent and we met many of the locals. Most yachties seem to gravitate towards Tasso, who runs a guesthouse there. However we spent quite a bit of time with the family next door; the husband is Tasso's brother in law.
Saturday morning was Market Day. David was up just before sunrise and went for a 1hr snorkel around the bay. He was looking for the tame, gentle Dugong ("Sea Cow" of 420Kg) which frequents the bay. There was no sign of the dugong and we later learned that he had not been seen for "some time" which seemed to mean an indeterminate period of at least two months, but maybe much longer. Still, we did get to snorkel with giant sea turtles.
After David's swim, the crew was just stirring from their slumbers. David took a string bag and headed off to the market around 0800. Alas, the market was finished, apart from a few scrappy bits and pieces (which David bought). Everyone was very friendly, but there also seemed to be a lot of mirth. A lady called Bennington (named after the nurse who delivered her) explained "Waetman up too late. Market start 0530 and all finis long 0630"). Waetman=Whiteman. Kindly, she offered to get us some bread and veggies/fruit from her own garden. We gave her several kilos of Wahoo. Later on, everyone came ashore and there was much Tok Tok (talk) and we collected lots of goodies.
They are Pentecostals and when they found out that Paul was a Catholic Priest, they asked us to their service the next day and for Paul to give a sermon. They also invited us to Kai Kai (lunch).
That evening, a 100ft yacht came into the bay. Wow, what a monster! It made Pastime look like a toy. Their tender (dinghy) had a 50HP engine which is twice the horsepower of our yacht engine. Onboard were four crew and 8 American guests of the owner (who was not there).
Epi was an excellent place with one temporary drawback. There is an island called Lopevi about 10NM away. This has usually been Vanuatu's most dangerous volcano. Last year, it hit the world news when the adjoining island of Paama had to be evacuated. Since then, it had quietened down somewhat. It must have heard we were coming because a few dfays before, it roared into action again. So, during our stay at Epi, we could hear explosions and rumblings. But the worst was the layer of black volcanic ash which rained down on us day and night. One day, we completely washed the boat twice and it was still ashy. It got into everything, including bedclothes, clothing, pillowws, the autopilot......
On Sunday, we attended the colourful service and Paul gave a great sermon. This was as much appreciated by the locals as the eight Americans. Teh Americans declined an invitation to Kai Kai, saying they had to set sail. They did not actually set sail for hours. This was not lost on the locals. Perhaps the Americans were afraid of local food or wanted hamburgers (my apologies to the Americans reading this!)
Anyway, we had a fantastic time and the food was superb.
After Kai Kai, we decided to walk to the other side (of Epi) for a better look at the volcano. Five local kids (aged 8 -> 11) took us and Apia's and Bennington's 21 year old son (who had struck up a friendship with Will) followed later. We had a great view of the volcano from about 8Km away. The volcano is 4,500 ft high and the ash was going the same again or higher. We were lucky to see it because the next day, when we sailed past it, the whole lot was shrouded in cloud.
We were able to equip Bennington and Apia with reading glasses and sunglasses for the soccer-mad Eric plus some magazines kindly donated by the Holmwoods. We parted great friends and will be in touch when we return home as they are starting a guest house and we can help with advice etc. We were sad to leave and wanted to stay, but the volcanic ash was becoming a real pain.
Luckily, we were able to fill up our water from the Kenneth's excellent well. Unfortunately, the rotten watermaker has developed major cracks in one end and is again unuseable. What a lemon it has been so far!
All the best,
The Pastime crew
