Position           17:32.97 S 168:16.91 E

Date                1530 (UTC+11) Friday 5 June 2015

Distance run    9.5nm over the ground, 9.5nm through the water

This morning I at last organised myself enough fire up the SSB and listen in to the Vanuatu Cruiser Net at 0730.  This told us that the Ocean Cruising Club boat Darramy, Brian and Sue Wallace, was anchored in Esema Bay, Havana Harbour.  They had been working with Sea Mercy carrying aid to the outlying islands and it seemed a good idea to meet up with them and get an update on the various islands they had visited.  We therefore had a brisk sail up Havannah Harbour.  It is easy to see how it made a good base for US ships preparing for assaults through the Pacific islands during the Second World War having two easily defended deep water entrances and a reef covering the third.

Brian and Sue came on board for sundowners and we spent an excellent and informative couple of hours exchanging experiences.  The weather was starting to show the requirement of a change of itinerary as there were a couple of days of south and south westerly’s forecast which would make the anchorages in Emae, the Shepherd Islands and Epi untenable.  We may therefore have to reverse our itinerary and visit South Malakula and the Maskelyne Islands first.