Dick's 60th at Anelghowhat anchorage on Anatom (or Aneityum)

Trust
Richard Martin
Sun 17 Aug 2014 03:21
We finally got into Port Resolution on Tanna Island. The south easterly wind of 20 to 25 knots when we left Erromango made for an excruciatingly long 55 nm bash with the motor directly to windward in very lumpy seas, but when we finally made it, the anchorage was good in the prevailing wind without the roll that had been predicted. The weather was clear and we got up to the volcano the following evening, courtesy of a little business a couple of the locals run to transport yachties up to the mountain. The price seemed to move around according to ability to pay - I guess that in true capitalist style they realised that we were a captive market and after all the difficulties in getting there, they could charge pretty much what they liked.
The trip up was over a very rough track that was bone jarring for those sitting in the tray of the ute. As the oldest in the group going up (with a combined age of 186 years we won that one easily!!) we seemed to have first dibs on the seats inside the cab - which we gratefully accepted. On the way the driver picked up a young mother who was taking her sick 12 month old to the nurse - a round trip of 8 kms or so. She would have been home well after dark even with our lift.
The volcano was spectacular. There were 2 vents spewing smoke and molten lava in giant belches all accompanied by appropriate sound effects. We were able to stand on the rim of the crater and from there we could see one of the vents. You can understand why the ancients thought they had glimpsed the gates of hell when they looked down on such a fiery yellow chasm. As darkness fell, the colours of the molten lava became evident. It glowed red and yellow as it was tossed up like pieces of confetti often as high as the rim we were standing on.. Obviously health and safety measures to protect the tourists weren't a huge priority - there were no fences and one misstep would topple you over the edge, and there would be no stopping until you reached the hot part! We took lots of movie pictures of the explosions to prove to those back home that we weren't making it up and then came back down in the dark. It was late when we got back and Dick produced an amazingly fast meal in response.
The next day, Dicks 60th, was an early start and another upwind bash to Anatom, 50 miles away. Thankfully the wind was just off the port bow and we were able to motor sail with the staysail which steadied the motion a little. Once we reached Anelghowhat around 4pm, the challenge was to produce a birthday dinner worthy of the occasion. We had canapés in the cockpit as the sun went down over the sea, washed down by a French sauvignon and then the main action was lamb rumps accompanied by Yorkshire style oven chips, green beans and bok choy and a mushroom sauce, accompanied by a Mud House Merlot. Dick expressed his appreciation in his usual non verbal way by eating his meal twice as fast as either Chris or I.
This is our departure point for Auckland, so we will stay here until we get a suitable weather window that will get us comfortably to Auckland by August 31. We expect to be at sea for 8-9 days so our departure date will likely be on or before August 22. I am expecting some input from a meteorologist back home some time today which will give us some idea of likely dates. We will keep you posted.