Voyage Log 2002 Tallship Soren Larsen

14th August 2002 - Malakula, Vanuatu

Soren Larsen is now in Vanuatu on V168 having departed Lautoka with new Voyage Crew from the Coopers Company & Coborn School in the UK for their 18 day adventure voyage Fiji to Vanuatu.

After spending a couple of days in the southern Yasawa group with our new Voyage Crew we returned to Lautoka for our Customs clearance and formal departure from Fiji and picked up more fuel oil and some galley supplies. Several voyage crew gave families back home the memento of a reverse charge phone bill and then we cast off and made sail from Fiji. It takes 3 to 4 hours to navigate south west to the edge of the lagoon that protects this flank of Vitu Levu and negotiate the narrow pass in the reef. Once through the pass the ocean floor falls away steeply and immediately we felt the ocean swell beneath our hull.

The forecast of fresh but favourable south east winds prooved correct. Eric had already organised a reef in the mainsail and covers over the hatches as the breeze strengthened to 25-30 knots. The new Voyage Crew had to adapt to the 4 hour watch system quickly as they were placed on their deck duties, each taking a 30 min. stint on a rather wet bow watch and half hour turns on the helm.

Soren Larsen is an ocean going square rigger in the best tradition and with the strong wind on her quarter she revel in these conditions. With the rig taunt and humming, even with reduced sail aloft she flew along. On each hourly round the Voyage Crew filled the ship's position in the deck log and soon we were plotting and calculating the miles run over each watch. Being on the helm with such sailing is an exhilarating experience and a rare one in this world, and with the wind to our backs we surged westwards towards Vanuatu.

Two days running we made over 200 miles between noon positions, which is good going for a 300 ton brigantine of Soren's length. In fact our passage time to Port Vila was a little over three days, which is the fasted crossing between these ports.

Dropping anchor at 1630 on Sunday 11th inside Port Vila harbour we settled down to an evening aboard a surprisingly quiet ship. First thing the next day the Captain and Purser organsied Immigration and Customs and everyone when ashore to explore and spend the day seeing Vila. Tuesday 13th we plan to depart here and sail to the east side of Malakula and visit a village there - after that its planned to spend a day trekking to the active volcano on Ambrym...

more follows.