Tall Ship Soren Larsen South Pacific Sailing adventure for all ages

V336 Fiji to Vanuatu Voyage Log No. 3

Outer islands northwards from Vila, the real Vanuatu: Maskelyne islands off Malakula

When Søren Larsen left Auckland at the beginning of May we took with us some special cargo. Until now it has been moved around from cabin to cabin, storage spot to cubby hole and finally resting on the deckhouse roof under tight tarpaulin to protect it from the weather. Finally after months and months it was time to discharge this cargo. We anchored in Uliveo in the Maskelyne Islands, Vanuatu on a Friday to much racket and welcome. We heard quite a lot of noise coming from the mangroves along the shore. ‘What weird birds they have here‘, we all thought. That’s when we started to see dozens of brightly coloured t-shirts climbing through the thin branches. The mangroves were covered with school children hooting and hollering, cheering and singing. We like to think it was to welcome us instead of trying to scare us off. Pretty soon half a dozen out-rigger canoes were circling the ship.

Vanuatu - kids

Friendly hellos were exchanged each time they circled. It took us a while to get the anchor to hold in a place that suited the captain. Word came out to the ship that some Kastom dancing would be performed when people were ready to come ashore. Everyone went ashore, save for three crew, and they all came back boasting about how wonderful the dancing was. During the dancing, the remaining crew took the cargo ashore. The black and yellow plastic boxes with rolls and rolls of packing tape were for the school here; containing medical supplies, school supplies and clothes. There were also several boxes of books and a large rug. As the light started to fade and a brilliant sunset played out over the island singing could be heard from the gathering onshore.

The following morning we got the chance to explore the island a bit more. They have a lovely school here with murals painted on the outside walls and all the buildings circled around the field. Sport is clearly the top subject here. When looking at the staff list the order is as follows: Head Master, Deputy Head Master, Sports Master, Deputy Sports Master, Nurse, Secretary and then all the various teachers names. There were posters up with the past weeks sporting event results. Track and field events, football (soccer), cricket and of course rugby.

Vanuatu Map The island has a nice wide path going from one end to the other and various trails leading off in every direction. Monstrous trees loomed on either side with vines creeping and twisting in a chaotic beauty. Butterflies flitted here and there and two dogs decided to make the walk round the island with us. We walked to the main village which was incredibly well kept. Each hut with a bit if landscaping, even the occasional rose bush. There was no litter or rubbish to be seen and it was clear to see that everything that could be was reused again and again. Even the houses (or huts) were well cared for here. There were many different types of building materials used for each dwelling. Corrugated metal, coral, cinder blocks, bricks, thatch roofing, wood, stone, cement and intricately woven mats used on the outside of walls. Nothing was run down or falling apart. These people took the time to care for their homes and island.

We walked past the church and a few shops that were shut. Saturdays are used to prepare for Sundays which means lots of cooking and lots of weaving and fishing and not much else. Next we came to a sign outlining the penalties for catching certain fish (and various other animals) out of season or undersized. This was all written in Bislama. I’ll be sure to put the picture up on the website so you can all try to read it and discover what it says. It’s almost do-able once you get the hang of it.

Everyone here is amazingly friendly. Everyone we pass stops to chat and ask us where we are from and tell us that we are most welcome to walk anywhere on the island. We came across a group of mostly women sitting on the ground having a weaving workshop. It was beautiful and they do good work. There were small children walking around with coconuts and machetes trying to get the hang of the large knife and carefully opening the tough husk.

We returned to the ship for lunch and then for a great snorkel. The water was pretty rough but the coral was top notch. After collecting everyone we sailed off with out horn blowing in thanks to the people of the Maskelyne Islands. We hope to back again some day!

Till next time, Fair Winds my Friends

Marsha Book, Purser