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Cleone - in Vanuatu - Part 4, Espiritu Santu



Diving and Sails pre-occupy us in Port Vila.
 
It is a hundred and sixty miles or so from Port Vila to Espiritu Santo, and our voyage was, inevitably, more like a forced march than a gentle cruise - we had no time to enjoy the islands where we made our short over-night stops.  We did not see Harmonie again until our arrival in Luganville (and Lady Kay has now left the Rally), the Capital of Espiritu Santu and the second largest town in Vanuatu.  It was a windy night, but our anchorage in Crab Bay on the island of Malakula was perfectly sheltered, and we slept soundly.  As we drank our early morning tea in the cockpit whilst waiting for the dawn sun to give us enough light to see the reefs, we cast our minds back and realised that this was the first ever anchorage where we had been entirely on our own.  There were no other boats and no sign of anyone to be seen on the shore of the enclosed bay.  All we could see was a little palm-thatched hut on the point.  This provided shelter from the sun and rain and not much else - it had no walls - and was presumably there to shelter any local fisherman.  In the next bay up were Talulah Ruby, Blue Flyer and Northern Sky.  It was light enough to go at six am, and as we left we could see the other three yachts making a similarly spirited departure.  During the exchange of "good mornings". it became apparent that we'd chosen well; despite the brisk breeze that blew all night, our little anchorage was as flat as a pancake, whereas their, much more open, bay was described as "slightly swelly".
 
The anchorage in Luganville was a sharp contrast to our peaceful little cove.  Although protected overall by an off-lying island, there was a long fetch across which a strong breeze blew all night, and the fleet was very uncomfortable.  Luckily the holding was good, but with no dinghy-dock or even a little jetty, landing was perilous.  Refuelling and getting water and stores back on board the next day was a nightmare, and at least three of our fellow ARCers ended up immersed!  More by luck than good judgement, we escaped with little more than a soaking every time we went ashore.  Our Skipper chose to travel in his bathing trunks and his clothes in a dry-bag.  He was accused of arriving in his underpants, but nevertheless had the satisfaction of quaffing his beers and enjoying the farewell party in dry kit.
 
Yesterday Elizabeth went and dived the famous wreck of the SS President Coolidge, Will went and snorkelled the equally famous Million Dollar Point and the Skipper fixed things on the boat.  Nothing looked different on his return, but the new shrouds were tighter and so on.  And we've managed to top up with fuel, to buy some fresh food and do a bit of laundry.  We're as ready to go as we can  be.  We leave for Cairns in a few hours; we'll keep you posted on progress.
 
All well with us, and best wishes to everyone.
 
James, Elizabeth and Will
Yacht Cleone
Luganville
Espiritu Santu
Vanuatu



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