Maskelyne Islands - Malekula (3rd August)

Mustang Sally Cruising
Mark Lawrence & Dianne Jackson
Wed 7 Aug 2013 00:09
Mustang Sally’s position at Avokh Island / anchorage in the Maskelyne Islands was“16:30.92S 167:47.10E”
 
As the last report was made on a very stressful morning after having to deport Miss Lynda (now known as Lynda – Survivor Vanuatu) we forgot to tell you some of the wonderful things that we saw at Lamen Bay.  Pretty much all day every day we had turtles swimming around the boat – we even had the chance to swim with them during our snorkelling adventure just off the back of the boat.  We also had a few very entertaining dolphin displays put on by the very nimble and agile Spinner Dolphins.  Unfortunately there were no Dugong sightings from the boat but we heard that they are currently over at Lamen Island where the sea grass is a bit more plentiful at the moment.
 
At our spot on the anchorage we also had a great view of the 2 volcano’s on Ambrym (commonly known as the Black Island).  The best views were of a night-time as they have a red loom above them and at times you could even make out the eruptions.  We are hoping to get to Ambrym a little later down the track!!
 
Our first stop in the Maskelyne islands is anchored off Awai Island.  It is a very calm and quiet anchorage and as their is only one small village on the other side of Awai Island it is also quiet of the people front although there are plenty of dug outs around going to their gardens or just out fishing.  Friday morning is spent catching up on our ‘boat jobs’ and also baking a loaf of bread as we haven’t had any for over 1 week now! 
 
On Saturday morning we weigh anchor and head over to Sakao beach for a spot of snorkelling.  It is an interesting anchorage as their is a lot of current running and there are plenty of bommies around.  it was certainly a nice spot for a snorkel with plenty of nice coral and lots of fish around including plenty of Nemo’s.  Our anchorage for the night is off Avokh Island which is the second biggest village in the Maskelyne’s with around 200 residents – a shore party is planned for this arvo.