Oyster Island is the Pearl
The Adventures of the Good Ship Equinox
Cate and Chris Galloway
Fri 12 Aug 2011 20:23
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Hi All,
We are presently enjoying the "pearl of Santo" ,
which is what the glossies refer to Oyster Island as. The anchorage is about the
size of four football fields and there are now 30 yachts and motorboats crowded
into the anchorage. Fortunately the shallow draft and tide-bound nature of the
anchorage limits the maximum size of yachts to about a 2m draft, so there are no
behemoths in the mix!
Customs clearance went well yesterday, with the
Customs, Immigration and Quarrantine Officers sitting at the long picnic
tables under the thatched Bure-style roof of a shelter in the resort
garden. John and Lynne from ICA had arranged for the officers to come
up from Luganville to clear us in,. The process was essentially one way - the
provision of cash and large volumes of paperwork in return for small receipts
and a sealed customs clearance envelope. All up it cost V10,000 (about $110
Aust) for about 45minutes effort. The process was much easier than it would
otherwise have been, as we would have had to spend the day wandering around
Luganville while we visited each department to get their clearance. Yet another
good reason why we joined the rally!
Socially things have been quite excellent also -
the resort here is a quite pretty place and has made a big effort to welcome the
fleet. The owners are ex-ICA rally participants, who apparrently purchased the
place from the previous owners over dinner when they visited here with the
rally. There is a full program of social and cultural events planned, including
a NiVani water music where local ladies perfom music by splashing in the water.
Should be interesting!
Anyway, a busy day and we will let you know how it
all goes!
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