Lots of discussions on plans the last couple days, with an eye on what the weather would let us explore. After downloading the files it was clear that going to Rano, where SV Nimrod had an incredible traditional dance presented by the Smol Nabas in 2016, was not in the cards. A huge bummer as it was the highlight of their time in Vanuatu. In reviewing the plans, Pentecost, where the draw was land diving, (men basically bungee jumping from a tower with vines strapped to their ankles) was also ruled out. Double bummer. We came to the decision that we would end our time in Vanuatu with a cruise up is island of Espritu Santo and then back down to Luganville in the south before checking out in two or three weeks.
Decision made, we headed for an anchorage near Luganville. A few hours motoring to start (and make water) before the sailing began. There was a discussion over reef 1 or reef 2 and midway into raising the main we decided conservative was better and went to reef 2. That turned out to be the right call, with winds varying widely from lows in the 15-16 knots to highs in the mid-twenties. Not the most comfortable passage as there was a significant swell on our starboard bow and it was hot with the windows closed.
All was relatively benign and I was reading in my cabin when we came up to the island of Malo. Due to the shallowing waters of the island and the large swell the waves were amplified. Still it wasn’t terrible until there was a massive crash. I rushed up to the saloon seeing things in the galley tossed. A large wave had broken over the top of Sky Pond, wrapped around the boat and seawater splashed through the port helm window and onto the chartplotter and radio. Ugh, what a mess. No real damage but a lot of clean up ensued. The waves were still huge and the dinghy needed attention so I donned my lifejacket, clipped in, and headed for the exposed stern to better secure it.
With the clean up finished the waves were diminishing to a more reasonable size and we continued sailing along. Thankfully the remainder of the passage was low key and we managed to sail to within a mile of the anchorage before starting the engine and dropping the sails. It was a tricky spot to anchor with two spots where we had to go above shallow areas of coral, one probably reaching about a meter below our keels. Reaching a spot another boat had anchored we let out the anchor. It looked sketchy at best, so Roxy swam around quickly identifying a bommie close by. Up came the anchor and we moved to a second spot which turned out to be just fine, if a little tight in 4 meters of water.
The boat washed, I jumped into finishing the bread I started before we left this morning. Into the oven along with two types of yams. Then it was on to making a homemade pizza for dinner. All of the food turned out excellent, albeit much later than planned (6:10pm dinner at dusk). It was an early night for this guy after an exhausting day.
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