After a late lunch and an introduction to the ship and her crew, we motored around to a quiet anchorage for the night; it had been raining on and off all day so a beautiful sunset was a welcome sight!

A 0700hrs breakfast provided the needed energy for climbing aloft, ungasketing the sails and preparing for a sail off the anchor. We sat looking at the horizon wondering where the much needed wind was, we bobbed along for a couple of hours when what seemed out of nowhere strong gusts filled ourselves and we were off…The ship was coasting through the almost flat sea and we managed to keep speeds between 8 and 9 knots! As I attempted to get lunch out on the table we were heeled right over on our starboard side and the salads almost seem to come to life as they slide off the plate! There were a few whoops and hollers from the crew, we had not seen sailing like this in a very long time and there were permanent grins all around! What started out as a full days sail to the island of Wayasawa was shortened immensely with the speeds we were getting! Upon anchoring many faces that I remembered from last year scampered on board the ship and we exchanged greetings. We made plans for the following day and agreed to come visit the village. With the winds still gusting on deck we assembled below for the evening meal, everyone still beaming from the great sail!

After an early morning breakfast and muster, boats took a group of keen walkers ashore; they would ascend the mountain for a panoramic view of the outlaying islands. Meanwhile Stacey prepared bags of potatoes, kumara, yam, fish and chicken to bring ashore. I accompanied my friend, Navi ashore to his mothers’ home where we sat wrapping the root vegetables in foil. We were being treated to a traditionally cooked meal, a lovo. We supplied the food and a group of villagers prepared it for us, we would return to the village by 1900hrs for the feast! Meanwhile it had been organized to motor around the other side of the small island to the village where Namara School was, a game of soccer or rugby was to be played! As we heaved anchor to head around, a boat load of locals climbed aboard to participate in the match, it would be a lot more fun for them (as us) to get a ride around in the boat rather than climb over the mountain! The rain did not stop our athletes, despite the pools of rainwater in the field the game went on, with cheers from the crowd to encourage the players. A very honorable mention to Vanessa who at one point was our only female athlete and did a fine job of keeping up with the boys, she is a natural goalkeeper!

It was time to head back to the old village for our special dinner, the boat was loaded and within no time we were all back ashore on the other side and seated in a one-room building just big enough for us all! Stacey and I helped three local woman plate up the delicious smelling grub before indulging ourselves…the fish was my favorite, but the taste of ground-cooked vegetables is hard to beat. The food is slowly cooked in an underground “oven” for around three hours, imagine the flavors! The men strummed the guitar and sang a mixture of English and Fijian songs all the while sipping on Kava, they would eat after the kava was done! After our meal the woman were asked to come out and look at the shell and handicrafts the local woman had laid out while the men sat with the local men sipping kava! With not too much persuasion Stacey and I agreed to get a massage from two local schoolgirls, they would use the money to pay for school fees! After our praises of the great massage three or four others waited in line for their turn, Captain Jim included! By 2100hrs the majority of our troop headed back to the ship, the kava drinkers remained. By 2300hrs, Jim, Liam, Nic and I remained the kava was still coming, but I was too drowsy to drink anymore, besides I was on breakfast, haha! The three of us arranged for a boat to bring us back to the ship, but Jim was going to stay until the kava was gone, he sat with eight local men finishing off the grog. With the bowl empty they then dove into the plates of food that had been sitting waiting to be eaten, what a night!

The Tom Hanks movie, “Castaway” was filmed on nearby island, we would stop by the “sacred” place even though the sun was struggling to shine. The enthusiasts ventured ashore for wanders along the white sand and glimpses inside the rock caves. The rain began once again and with that, the dinghy returned with 25 soggy bodies just in time to dry off for lunch!

It is so great to see helping hands at work; the diesel truck sat filling the ship while dry food stores and frozen meat made its way on board. Everyone stuck into helping label tins, bag cereals into plastic for storage, loading meat into the freezer and move crates of Vegetables into their appropriate places. In an hour and half everything was nearly finished, so much done in so little time, THANKS TO ALL! We were ready for Vanuatu….

Now under way with a breeze nicely filling our sails its time for Jim’s excellent navigation talks…it is so easy to grasp the concept when explained so clearly by Jim, a great teacher! We have time on our hands and so the watches are busy teaching knot tying, singing sea shanties or just enjoying the quietness the sea has to offer with a blanket of stars overhead. This trip seems to be the birthday trip…with back to back birthdays, Jos and Karen are sure to get their fill of cake on the 30 th and 31 st, only before two days break and we will celebrate the chippy, Nic’s 28 th Birthday, Happy Days Guys!

We are less than a day away from Vanuatu, because of risk of malaria, Jim (with the help of Dr. Ron) answer questions and provide the much-needed information about the horrible insect that spreads the disease. Many choose to take anti-malarial tablets for the duration of their visit to Vanuatu, a very good idea I must admit, having suffered from it last year it is something that should and can be avoided! The idea is not to scare people but simply make them aware, Vanuatu is a beautiful country and it is unfortunate that the mosquitoes can affect your stay, but with the proper care, the islands can be given the attention they deserve!