Dash to Lamen Bay, Epi

Caduceus
Martin and Elizabeth Bevan
Wed 24 Jun 2015 16:45

Position           16:35.76 S 168:09.82 E

Date                Wednesday 24 June 2015

Distance run    From Awei and via Revelieu Bay 46.7nm over the ground, 47.1nm through the water

 

On Monday evening the wind and with it the swell went around to the south which made our anchorage at Awei very uncomfortable.  Elizabeth was still very under the weather and before I went down in sympathy the prudent thing was to get out, find better shelter and take a day or two to recover.  Firstly we sailed back to the protected Awei Island anchorage.  Seeing that the wind was forecast to move back to the south east / south south east on Thursday which would make our next destination directly into the wind we delayed our days recuperation and took advantage of the favourable wind to get us across to the north of the island of Epi.

 

Akhamb, Awei and Malakula east to Epi

 

Our tasking was to visit a health centre at Burumba, some 10 miles south of Lamen Bay where the nurse had died six weeks ago and not yet replaced.  Having made it to Lamen Bay we therefore decided to motor sail south and make for the anchorage at Revelieu Bay which lies a mile south of Burumba. Not a good idea – the residual swell from the burst of southerly wind made the anchorage look very uninviting and with fading light we made it back to anchor in Lamen Bay where whilst the wind came in gusts the swell did not.

 

As it happens that worked out for the best as it transpired that a nurse had been appointed to Burumba but the nurse at the Vaemali Health Centre, Lamen Bay, was in Port Vila with a sick husband and a retired nurse was holding the fort.  We were therefore in the correct place after all.

 

The wind is proving the governing factor in our travels with strong south east trades and only occasional variations it is necessary to choose an appropriate weather window for passages.