Tanna Island cont.
Vega
Hugh and Annie
Sun 19 Aug 2018 11:37
Going ashore in Tanna we were able to try out the outboard with new hydrofoil. The real test will be when we are loaded up with dive gear but at this point we seem to be planing with less throttle and the wake is much more crisply defined at lower speeds. So far so good.......
We have also been using the new bow roller for the snubbing line to the anchor with great success! Only one line required now, no twisting and less chafe.
The more astute of you will have noticed that our position as given by the reference above is not Tanna but Erromango island to the north. We have now moved on and I can continue the equipment theme by reporting that we used the cruising chute on the way up there. I was able to rig it single handed, unfurl it from the cockpit and then furl it again when no longer required. We might previously have motored much more of the way but with the new top down furler it is little more difficult to rig and launch than just unfurling the genoa. It flew perfectly dead downwind and was easy to gybe when the wind shifted. The furler is proving to be a good investment.
Less good news about the new navigation light. All four of the spot welds holding the mounting plate on the back have failed and it hangs unattached. Sadly we don’t have welding equipment on board (or a piece of steel for a new bracket). I saved the tube of Sikaflex bonding and sealing compound used for the bow roller - I was told to seal the top with cling film and store it in the ‘fridge rather than throw the still almost full tube away - so we will see if this has worked and the Sikaflex will hold the light onto the mounting plate.
Back on Tanna our highlight was a trip up to the rim of the volcano. Although we have been on “active” volcanoes with steam and hot water bubbling up from the ground we have never seen one active enough to be producing molten lava and ash. It really is one of the great awe inspiring sights (and sounds). No wonder people come to Tanna just to see the volcano. I’m not sure what the Asian lady in her white wedding dress was all about but to get up close to geological forces at work seemed a fitting practical culmination to all the past theory. Vanuatu is a line of volcanic islands associated with a tectonic plate boundary and an opportunity to see geological forces at work on a timescale that we can readily comprehend.
Village life on Tanna is a glimpse of how things might have been for all of us not so long ago. Take away the tee shirts and shorts (replacing them with tops and skirts made from long dried leaf strips), mobile phones and the village pick up truck and you still have traditional timber framed houses with palm leaf roof and woven raffia walls, seafood caught from traditional dug-out canoes, fruit and vegetables from the forest garden and inter village tensions that might be reminiscent of something more sinister in the past. There are 26 languages on the island (one for each village community) and one common Vanuatu language plus English and French. Each islander might well speak several languages. And yet, notwithstanding superficial appearances, everywhere we have been on this voyage we have found that five minutes of conversation reveals a common humanity that religion, politics and ignorance seek to deny.
Granted independence from the UK and France in 1980 there is a celebration every July in Vanuatu. There seems to be a sense of national identity and an environmental awareness - plastic bags have been banned and there is a move towards self sufficiency in food production with no importing of foods that can be produced locally. However, according to a recent report covered by the BBC Vanuatu is one of a number of tax haven countries that funnels money into illegal fishing, without the regulation or infrastructure to monitor or control this.
One noticeable difference between here and Fiji or Tonga is the ability to derive income locally from yachties and tourists. For a pre-determined price (or sometimes a barter but no vague request for a gift at your discretion) you can be transported around, taken on tours, stay in locally run accommodation and eat at locally run restaurants - no menu, one set meal, all local produce cooked to order. The prices are not cheap; the trip up the volcano is around £70 per head and is run through a local company. We prefer to see business on a more transparent level with services offered in return for a clearly stated price. It doesn’t rule out haggling, bartering or gifting but we feel that income should be derived for the local communities directly from visitors and not only indirectly through foreign owned investment. Maybe this is just our western perspective.
Tanna from the sea with volcano in the middle foreground
Sunset over the volcano
There is a blonde gene in the Melanesian population
Fruit and vegetable market in Lenakel, Tanna
Sweet potatoes cooking in a boiling spring
The Yacht Club, Port Resolution
Transport Vanuatu style
