Twenty-one yachts of the World ARC fleet have now made landfall on Tanna in southern Vannuatu. The crews will be hosted over the next few days by the village community of Port Resolution. Already the crews have explored the village and started to make good friend with the locals.
The trip to Vanuatu was not the most enjoyable one for many of the participants. There were strong winds forecast for the later part of the trip and as a result the competitive side of the rally was abandoned, allowing those who preferred, to leave earlier to try to miss the majority of the stronger winds. Several boats arriving later reported wind gust over 50 knots and one or two over 60 knots, during the last 12 hours of the trip.
All the crews cleared in at Port Resolution thanks to some special arrangements made for the Rally. This saved anchoring on the west side of the island or making the four hour return trip by road to complete clearances. The officers involved were thorough but extremely efficient and the whole process was completed easily and with a smile!
The unpleasent storm conditions at sea also found their way into the anchorage and so it was a pleasent to wake up this morning to clear skies and sunshine. This has made exploring ashore even more enjoyable. So far members of the fleet have visited the school and village and have also helped fix a generator.
This afternoon the whole fleet will take a trip up the Mount Yasur volcano and watch the erruptions at twilight. Tomorrow, both the two communities will get together for an exchange of gift ceremony and a feast in the evening. Tanna is a special place for the World ARC and its great for the two communities to be able to mix as they do.