Vanuatu - Santo to Vila 2006
The challenges of the trip south -Deckhand Nick tell us his tale...

"Greetings from the foc'sle.

It looks like the foc's'l but there is something slightly different. Instead of the usual litter of wet clothes, empty bottles and left overs, there are sails, life jackets and spare timbers stashed in every conceivable space. Why? Because there was no where safe to stow them on deck. What do you mean no where safe? Well apparently there is a cyclone on the way. A cyclone that bears the awe inspiring and knee trembling name of Xavier. Thats right readers, the Søren Larsen is currently on cyclone watch. Be assured thou we are safely tucked away in the most cyclone proof anchorage of Vanuatu, Pt Sandwich. We are anchored with not one, not two but four anchors! And five shackles of chain either side, thats ten shackles in all! Thats one hell of a flake! But as we all know, no matter the number of shackles each flake is still worth only one thumb print on the wall chart! So, as I was saying the brave Søren is preparing for fun and games!

That’s where we are now but where were we before? Shall I start from the start? Lets. As usual, the voyage crew joined on a Monday morning full of hopes and dreams and as usual for the first day they actually fell for it when we told them we knew what we were doing. It didn't take them long thou to realise we were making it up as we went along, but they did still believe us when we told them that it would definitely stop raining soon (luckily for us they believed that the whole voyage, or at least pretended they believed it).

First stop was Asanvari on the island of Maewo, which should be noted as the home of the most potent Kava we have come across so far. So after exploring the island and snorkeling the seas we put on our glad rags and rocked up to the Asanvari Yacht Club for an evening of pig eating, Kava gulping and custom dancing watching. The locals put on an energetic and hectic show with bright costumes and fearsome gestures

Ambrym was next and as we arrived it was almost as if they didn't want us to arrive. The bold Søren plowed through gale forced winds and with staunch determination dropped five shackles of chain and decided this was the place to stay. The weather tended to disagree. Within half an hour of dropping anchor the ominous rattle of the chain in the hawse pipes confirmed that we were dragging, so within a blink of the eye the Lister was started, the windlass engaged and the anchor weighed. Thirty seven hours later (well it felt that long) the anchor was free and then dropped again with the hope it would hold this time. It did. That is until 4:30am when the all to familiar rattle resounded again and sent the foc’sle leaping out of their bunks to battle stations.

After this incident we decided fine, lets not even bother anchoring any more. Lets just motor up and down. Which is exactly what we did. The brave voyage crew were still keen to brave the weather and view the sights that Ambrym had to offer, so it was decided that two competent crew should accompany these stalwart souls, two agents who could handle themselves, two braves who knew the local ways and could speak the language, two guardians who would ensure the safety of the voyage crew. The deckhand and chippy were chosen, and everyone had a good time despite being wet 125% of the time, and despite not seeing the volcano everyone made it back safely. Celebrating this particular event must have been the main reason why some voyage crew didn't get to bed until 6:30 the next morning.

On to Banam Bay, Malekula. What a ride that was! Finally the winds were in our favour so full sails were set and sheets were hauled taught. The voyage crew were exultant, this is what they had came for! We felt like we could have kept going right round the world with these winds, some of us wanted to, but we did have an agenda so we reluctantly handed sail and pulled into Banam Bay.

Again the rain, again the courage of the voyage crew in defying the elements to step ashore and experience mysterious Vanuatu. Again the plans were made but didn't quite work out. We were invited ashore for an evening of music provided by the local string band, but as rain obscured everything further than five meters away it was decided to call it a night. The locals understood the next day but as they conversed in their local language to each other it some how sounded like they were saying “bunch of white wimps, what’s a bit of rain?!”

We went ashore the next day and were treated to some of the most spectacular dancing we'd seen yet. We were lead into a sacred area and the men performed four traditional dances which are usually reserved for special events. Once the men's performance was over we were once again lead into another sacred area and two rows of local women in grass skirts performed a number of tradition women’s dances. After the performance we all introduced ourselves to the dancers and they invited us to a meal of laplap which is the Ni Vanuatu version of nachos with cheese. Basically it is a meal of local bread on a platter of leaves and dish of vegies and chicken which you dip your bread in. Once everyone had eaten their full we waved goodbye and headed towards our cyclone hide out at Port Sandwich.

So despite being told that a cyclone was on its way, the voyage crew were undeterred and obviously resolved not to let this get in the way of a good time. How did they have a good time? They pitched in and helped us prepare the old girl for the coming weather. Well done guys, well done! And didn't we prepare. The top gallant yard was detached and lowered to deck, four anchors were laid out, the deckhouse roof and deck squared away and a fresh supply of beer has been purchased. We're ready! We hope to arrive into Vila, pending Xavier, on the weekend. As if we wouldn't, we've got three days off owing us there!"

Nick S. of the Foc’sle

[Footnote - As it turned out Xavia veered east of Vanuatu, was downgraded to a depression and fizzled out. Not that that doesn't mean its not still a good story..- Ed.]

See Janet's comments here

Soren Larsen will be visiting these destinations again in 2007 -