Hello to Vanuatu

Mustang Sally Cruising
Mark Lawrence & Dianne Jackson
Mon 24 Jun 2013 22:42

Mustang Sally’s current position at the 23/6/2013  is anchored in Angalawat Bay in Anatom is "20:14S 169:46E".

 

We departed Noumea as planned on Wednesday 19th June and did an overnight passage straight through to Mare in the Loyalty islands.  We had a very pleasant day at Mare sunning ourselves and enjoying a lovely snorkel in the wonderfully clear water.  The anchorage at the north of the island is really pretty and would have been nice to spend a few more nights here but not to be on this trip so after a morning dip on Friday morning it is up anchor again and we are not off to Vanuatu *Very exciting*. 

We weighed anchor and were out of the bay by 9..00am.  To get to Anatom is around 130NM so we can get along at a very comfortable pace as we do not want to arrive until mid-morning on Saturday to make sure we have reasonable light for our arrival.

 

We had a very gentle sail with winds of around 8-12knots from the south east for most of the trip and had a very comfortable night at sea although we did have a really big southerly swell running.  As hoped we arrived at the entrance to the bay / lagoon at around 10.00am and may a very safe arrival as the lagoon is very well charted and has a wide entrance.  For those that have travelled on cruise ships we are anchored right next door to Mystery Island.

 

Not long after our arrival we were greeted by Keith who came out on his dug-out canoe to greet us.

 

Angalawat Bay at Anatom is very beautiful little spot with palm trees, lush green forest, white sandy beaches and breaking waves on the nearby reef – just a little different to your average view at New Caledonia!