Position           16:26.38 S 167:47.00 E

Date                1050 Sunday 2 August 2015

Distance run    From Lutes towards Avokh then to Port Sandwich

20.7nm over the ground, 21.8nm through the water

Saturday was definitely wet and windy so we hunkered down and had a day off.  Sunday if anything was even worse but at least high water was an hour later and closer to dawn; Uliveo an be a bit difficult when the high water is just before dawn and just on twilight. We therefore left at 0700 and encountered 30 knots on the beam and a fair swell coming into the channel.  Shaken and stirred we got safely away from the reefs and headed for Akhamb, some 12 miles away downwind and to the west.  We have previously had difficulty with the swell rendering the anchorage at Akhamb untenable and the realisation that of we got to Akhamb, found it unsuitable and had to return we would have 12 miles directly into the wind and with a 2 to 3 metre sea.  Turning around and running for Port Sandwich and postponing our visit to Akhamb all of a sudden seemed like a good idea.  Thus we sailed east then north passed Lamap and into the sheltered anchorage of Port Sandwich.

Passing Awei after altering course allowed us to check that our water tanks were still there

We were also able to get a good view of Lamap from the sea as we sailed passed and into Port Sandwich.  Lamap was a colonial administrative centre build by the French with the trademark concrete buildings.  We visited by local boat in June and later diary entry will describe in more detail the state of affairs 35 years after the French, and British, pulled out.

The old French colonial administrative centre of Lamap from the sea

Lamap Health Centre

The anchorage at Port Sandwich, a peaceful haven after some windy days at Uliveo