Vanuatu

SY Ghost
Tim and Clare Hagon
Tue 22 Jul 2014 02:54
17:44.00S 168:18.00E
After a fairly uneventful 3 day sail, through the rain we sighted plumes of
smoke belching from the volcano on Tanna. Our port of entry was Port Resolution
which has a yacht club but no officials for the usual formalities. Customs &
Immigration officials have to be flown in from the capital, Port Vila on Efate
and can frequently be held up for 24 hrs due to bad weather. According to Simon,
our customs official, the plane nearly crashed so had to return to Efate and
wait for better weather. Simon seemed unconcerned. During our voyage, Tim
and Alan fished competitively during daylight hours and were rewarded with 2
skip jack tuna, returned to the deep and a delicious dorado. The advice to leave
24 hours early from Musket Cove was well heeded. Within 18 hours of our arrival
in Tanna, boats still en route were experiencing anything between 50 & 60
kts. We were bobbing around in a pretty roly anchorage but at least our anchor
was well dug in to the mud of the harbour and we were enjoying far weaker gusts
of wind.
Swarms of children from the local village greeted us on arrival ashore. The
ladies of the village were raking the mud path leading from the bay to the
village and laying washed-up coral from the beach onto the path to provide a bit
of non-skid underfoot. We were given a formal welcome ceremony by the villagers
during which there was much singing and dancing. We were treated to two
occasions of dancing and on both the format was the same – 3 dances: a welcome
dance, another, undefined dance and a farewell dance. They are obviously keen
for visitors to ‘move on’. We were encouraged to wander around
the village and sample one of the two restaurants. We made a booking with
Sareh, who ran the restaurant/coffee shop and were treated to a delicious fish
lunch served with lots of local vegetables followed by a baked banana
pudding. We took a cold bottle of white along with us to complete the
dining experience. During our wanderings we spotted the school transport
returning to the village. Health and safety hasn’t reached Tanna – I wasn’t able
to count the number of children aboard but it is definitely standing room
only.
During the traditional welcome ceremony there was an exchange of gifts. The
yachts had put together many items from a supplied wish list although the
request for 32 pairs of football boots in varying sizes was unfulfilled. In
return, we were given local fruits and vegetables all encased in beautiful
hand-woven baskets. This is the third time a fleet of yachts has visited Tanna
and on the two previous occasions, funds have been raised for various projects
for the school. The owner of one yacht with us has kindly offered to donate
school uniforms for all the children and some of the other yachts are providing
funds to assist in the building of further classrooms.
No visit to Tanna is complete without a trip to the volcano. I can’t
imagine there is anywhere in the world where you can stand so dangerously close
to an active volcano – fantastic fun! The volcano definitely did not disappoint.
We were driven around the island in pick up trucks along tracks through lush
vegetation. The return journey was in pitch dark, the island has no electricity
and the only generator seemed to be at the yacht club. The villagers ran the
generator for our last evening which was spent enjoying a local feast laid on by
the villagers and, of course, more singing and dancing. After the meal, the MC
encouraged everyone to get up and dance as he announced the final 3 songs before
the musicians would have to leave. Apparently they were booked to play at an all
night party the following night so needed to go home and rest.
The following morning we upped anchor at 06.30 and set off for Erromango,
an island north, en route to Efate. Once out of the harbour, the fishing lines
were out and the competition began. Lacking wind, we motored the 50 miles to
Erromango. Alan leapt into the lead with a large wahoo from which we took enough
for supper and then dinghied ashore with the rest to present it to the chief of
Erromango.
Our gift was well received and we were given a tour of the village and
surrounding area and presented with a basket of fruit on departure. It was a
truly beautiful island with a crystal clear anchorage. We are only sorry we
weren’t able to stay for longer. Joseph, our guide wanted to take us to catch
crayfish the following morning but sadly we needed to press on north to Efate.
We caught the 04.30 tide the following morning and fished all the way to Port
Vila where we arrived 12 hours later. Three dorado were caught on the way and
Tim won the fishing competition. However, Tim & Alan pooled their catches
and dashed ashore on arrival to negotiate with a local restaurant for the sale
of the fish. A deal was struck and the four of us drank for free for two nights.
Result!
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