A pack mule good-bye and fixing things in Oyster Island (again), Vanuatu
Harmonie
Don and Anne Myers
Wed 16 Sep 2009 02:23
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15:22.452S 167:11.407E
Note: Scroll down to see the picture and
description.
Early on August 26th, we left Port Orly and
motorsailed 5 1/2 hours southeast back to Oyster Island and
semi-civilization. Most of the ICA rally boats were gone by the time we
arrived back after being away nearly two weeks, so the anchorage that looked
like a mini floating city with more than twenty-five boats clustered in it
when Billy and Tracy arrived, looked almost empty with only ten or
twelve boats. We positioned ourselves as close to the Oyster Island Resort
(which is really only a handful of bamboo bungalows and a small open air
restaurant and bar) as possible in order to pick up the wifi signal that
sporadically emanates from the aerial mounted on the resort's office roof.
It was less than ten seconds before Billy and Tracy, armed with I-Phone and
mini-laptop, were scrambling around the deck trying to lock in the wifi
signal. The sight was not unlike watching one of those documentary films
where the UN supply truck arrives in a ravaged village and all the starving
people descend on the truck, jostling for position with their hands up begging
for food. Yup, that was exactly the way Billy and Tracy looked - after two
weeks cut off from the communication collective, they were internet starved and
would have done anything (short of jumping in the water with their water
sensitive electronic devices) to get a better signal so they could re-connect
with the world. Maybe we've been cruising too long, because although we
are always happy enough to re-join civilization, we never feel desperate to
re-connect. With Billy and Tracy it might have been more the need to
reconnect with their own generation (rather than the world in
general) after having spent what must have felt like a lifetime with a
bunch of old, retired boat people.
That night we had our last dinner together at the
resort restaurant (curries all around). The next morning at the very
ungodly hour of 6:30, we dinghied Billy and Tracy and their large luggage to the
resort, where we then transferred ourselves and the large luggage to the
resort's small aluminum boat, which took us the short distance to the shore of
Espiritu Santo Island where a taxi was waiting for us. We loaded the large
luggage (which was lighter without the collection of boat parts) and
ourselves into the tiny taxi and bumped over the rutted road twenty-five minutes
to the Lugganville airport. We stayed long enough to ensure that the plane
to Port Vila was on time and that there was no trouble with check-in, and then
we said our good-byes. Two weeks with the Pack Mules and it felt like it
was over in a flash. It's amazing how time can move so slowly and so fast
all at the same time. A space/time conundrum for sure. Later, when
we got back Oyster Island after visiting the market and 'supermarket' in
Lugganville, the boat felt very empty - like some of the life had been
sucked right out of it. We very much enjoyed having Billy and Tracy on
board and hope others (hint, hint) will be adventurous enough to follow in their
footsteps and come to this side of the world for a couple of weeks to experience
the odd world of boating with us.
Now on to the boat fixing
report. Throughout Billy and Tracy's visit and the few days
following their departure, Don managed to fix everything on the list and then
some...
First and foremost, the washing machine was
fixed. As Tracy reported in her first blog entry, it took several tries
and a relatively high level of frustration in addition to a slight
bout of hyperventilation, but the washer was fixed and now spins like a
top.
Second and almost as important, the new base for
our toilet was installed. For reasons that probably don't need to be
explained, this is a very good thing.
Third - The autopilot that malfunctioned on the way
to Vanuatu from Fiji during the night of ugliness was fixed.
Fourth - The bulb was replaced (again) in the
anchor light at the top of the mast.
Fifth - One of the electric winches decided to
keep turning even when the switch and one of the breakers was shut
off, causing mild panic since we were sailing at the time and feared the winch
would pull the head sail sheet so tight that something would break. It
didn't occur to us immediately, but we could have simply
removed the head sail sheet from the winch and rolled up the sail to avoid any
damage. We did do this eventually, but not until after mild panic had set
in and yelling occurred. Luckily nothing was damaged. After
some investigation while lying in the cockpit locker (necessary in order to get
at the underside of the winch), Don discovered that the contacts are worn out on
the solenoid. He put a temporary fix in place that should hold us until
Australia where we plan to a big chunk of boat maintenance next
year.
Sixth - The exhaust elbow. It hasn't been
replaced yet because the fix Don and John put in place in Fiji seems to be
working. Installing the new exhaust elbow is something Don
decided would be best done when tied to a dock in a place where
some supplies and services can be found in the unlikely event that something
goes wrong during the operation. So we will wait until we arrive in Port
Vila before installing the new exhaust elbow. It has been painted
though. Don took care of that while were anchored in sunny Port
Orly.
Seventh - Rebuilt the main engine water
pump.
Eighth - There probably was more, but isn't
that enough?
We stayed at Oyster Island for four
nights. Lady Kay met us there on the third day and then we left them on
the 30th to meet Storyteller in the next bay to the south. Michael and Jackie
stayed behind to wait for Jackie's daughter Kerry to arrive from the UK for a
two week stay (they plan to retrace their steps to the islands in the north with
Kerry). Our plan was to travel with Storyteller south to Port Vila, taking
about two weeks to make the trip. More on our trek south
later.
Picture 1 - Don resting comfortably in the
cockpit locker while he investigates the electric winch
problem.
Anne
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