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Firefly - Vanuatu



The Lonely Planet Guide says 'Tropical weather brings light and life to sandy beaches and azure waters. Throughout the islands, strong communities show off their countries attributes to a soundtrack of drumming and dance'.

The lat/long for Efate (where Port Vila is the capital) is 17 degrees 45 minutes south, 168 degrees 18 minutes east - or about 1200 nautical miles due east of Cairns in Australia. Aneityum, the southern island in the chain is about 175nm from Port Vila and we have chosen to clear in there. Its upwind of the other islands and from there we can most easily visit all of the main islands over the next 4 weeks before we head off the New Caledonia.

Vanuatu lies right on top of the 'Pacific Ring of Fire'. It is on the edge of the Pacific tectonic plate that is being forced up by the Indo-Australian plate - causing frequent earthquakes and volcanic eruptions. Its the first region since Panama that has malaria so we have already started taking malarone - the mosquitos are the only dangerous creatures. Dugongs are rare marine mammals that sometimes frequent Vanuatu waters and we hope to swim with one called Bondas, who resides in Lamen Bay on Epi island.

Diving off Luganville on Espirito Santo should also be a highlight due to the accessible wreck of the USS President Coolridge a luxury liner and nearby is Million Dollar Point where at the end of the WW11 the US Armed Forces dumped massive amounts of equipment into the sea - both dives are accessed from the beach. Pentecost Island is the home of land diving - a tribal ritual marking puberty - the forerunner to Bungy Jumping and although its not the right time of year they do put on events for visitors sometimes. Similar to Fiji, Vanuatu is a hot spot for Kava, however here it is said to be much stronger and drinking it is a way of life for many of the men in the most remote and mysterious tribes and cults.

Firefly continues to make good progress towards Aneityum. The wind has dropped a little but not as much as forecast. Its has backed round to the ENE and we are now running goose winged in about 16 knots of wind. We can't quite make the course directly to Aneityum so will be pushed a little south of the direct course and will gybe over as the wind backs further. We expect to arrive on Thursday morning and will enter the large lagoon off Anelcauhaut, the largest village on the south west of the island.

Paul and Susie

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