Our hero Alec Miller left yesterday after two weeks of travel on the Wild Tigris from Musket Cove, Fiji to Vanuatu. Alec’s good nature and constant entertainment had everyone wishing he would stay longer but weddings and tennis matches won the day. Back to Switzerland for Alec.
Yesterday we left Port Vila and went to Havannah Bay to the West, anchored near the beach head at the Havannah Resort. Wind blowing around twenty knots we set the jibs on a reach with a pretty good roll from the waves. Once we headed further downwind had to roll them up with a little difficulty since one had a mind of its own and unwrapped itself flogging forward on the furler.
Jeff was fishing with only one strike just outside of the Port Vila harbor. He reeled the line in and to our surprise the leader was partially cut from the teeth of the fish. Guess the fish wanted to eat the fish head first but hit the leader line first. Put the line back out but the speed of nine or ten knots was too fast for fishing.
Day before we left Tanna Island which we called Jurrassic Park because of its virgin forest with perfect canopy from the trees in the forest. Once ashore the villages were from two hundred years ago with the guide book saying people had lived here for five thousand years. A tour was set up to go to a Volcano and a local village for some native dancing. Some dozen or so men came out of a cut in a huge Banyan tree figuring to be four or five hundred years old and danced around for fifteen minutes in the rain. It was cold and we were not prepared for the rain. Then off to the Volcano which was also cold but from our view from the rim the molten rocks being sent up a thousand feet in the air was quite a sight. There have been tourists killed from the molten rocks but we were saved since the molten rocks just blew straight up and came down. Someone said, "I feel very stupid being here." Thinking the next eruption could take us out. The trip back in the rain on some of the worst roads we have ever been on, was a picture from a bad brochure. We all thought Tanna was truly a treasure!!
Havannah Bay is three hundred feet in water depth with Islands around keeping out the ocean waves out. You have the feeling of being on a lake in the autumn, since it is winter in this neck of the woods. We were treated to a sunset with a large pink and red glow over the island to the west. A trip in the dingy to survey the sandy waterfront for miles north and south. A perfect dinner at the resort and off to the Wild Tigris for some long hours of sleep.
- Casey
17.34.396
168.14.824
Posts
