We left our “shelter in the time of storm”
with high hopes of a wind switch, allowing us to get to Vanuatu in relative calm. ‘Twas not to be. I’m tired of whining about passages, so I’m just not going to do it. Suffice it to say, after the first 24 hours of going 2 knots into huge, confused seas and 30-35 knots of wind, we altered our course and headed to Espiritu Santo, one of the northern islands of Vanuatu, instead of the southern one we intended to go to.
We are happy to be here! It has that “back to the islands” feeling here. The water is clear and warm – we can jump in and snorkel without even a thought of donning wetsuits. We are anchored next to a beautiful resort, where they have laundry service, a restaurant, a book exchange and a pool. The resort caters mostly to families from New Caledonia, Australia, and Fiji. It is a very friendly place, and they seem to like having yachties moored in front of their property.
There is no fuel dock on this island, so today we spent the day lugging 240 liters of fuel onto the boat and into the tanks, in 20-liter jugs. That’s a few trips back and forth in the dinghy! The fuel station is close to town, so I scoured the town for supplies. There were many stores, but they all carried the same things. There was an outdoor market, but it didn’t have much variety. Poor Jim was left to handle the fuel situation pretty much by himself. After that job, we brought our boat over to the resort’s dock and filled the water tanks. It was a busy day, but we accomplished what we needed to. It rained off and on all day, so I don’t suppose my laundry will be ready by tomorrow; it has to hang outside to dry.
No matter how small a village is, there are a few items that you can always find: vegetable oil, onions, garlic, rice, and some sort of greens – Bok choy, cabbage, beet tops or taro leaves. Throw in a little meat or pineapple, some soy sauce, and there’s dinner. It is what many people in this part of the world eat every day.
The winds going to Fiji are directly out of the east – the direction we need to go. So, we pretty much have the same dilemma as we had getting to Vanuatu. We will watch the weather for the next couple of days and see if it is going to cooperate. If not, I guess we will just have to go for it. How bad can it be, for a mere 600 miles? Yeah, big talker, Jeanna. It’s easy to think that when you are anchored in a calm little piece of heaven, with stars twinkling from horizon to horizon…
That’s the problem with deadlines. When you really need to be at a certain destination, by a certain date, the wind or the weather will always have the last laugh. It has happened to us every time we have told someone we would be somewhere by a specific date. Maybe this time, though, the seas will be calm and the weather will behave. We’ll keep you posted! ~ Jeanna