pos 8:31.30S 158:4.14E

Telina Island

Wedensday the 3rd of June

 

Tuesday we left early for the 60 NM crossing to the New Georgia Islands. No wind until about 2 pm meant motoring. When we finally got the wind we were a bit late for getting in through the reef with enough daylight to see. It is necessary to go in by daylight as the charts don’t match reality.

We were lucky to catch 2 medium sized Barracudas on the crossing, which were later made into a nice fish curry that lasted for two meals.

We managed to get in through the reef with the last light and anchored on the side of the first little island. The alternative would have been to stay out to sea until the next day.

Wedensday morning we could not get the anchor up when we tried. The chain had rapped itself around a coral somewhere in the deep. Where the boat was it was 40 meters deep but the reef with 2 meters of water was only a couple of boat lengths away. I tried to pull the anchor free from all directions by with no success. I had to put my scuba gear on and go down to clear the chain. At 32 meters depth a found the chain hooked around a coral head. Problem solved we started our exploration of the Marovo Lagoon, considered the best in New Georgia. The only way to navigate here is by eyeball. There is reefs everywere and they are not on my charts. With three people on lookout we slovly made our way avoiding the turquoise water that ment shallow depths. For lunch I spotted a couple of small islets with a beach and we decided to go there for snorkeling and lunch. The only problem was that none of the islands was on my charts. We therefore promptly named them Sanna Island and Ewe Island. When we were anchored there a small boat came over with 3 wood carvers on board. Soon the cockpit table was filled with beautiful wood carvings. Ewa and Sanna could not resist and soon bought a few pieces. They came from Telina village on a nearby island. We were persuaded to come and visit their village, so the rest of the day we were visited by many more carvers and we also went ashore and looked at more bits. The carvings are very beautiful and made of different hardwoods like ebony and others that I don’t know the name of.

 

All is well,

Lars and crew