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Tanna after Cyclone Pam



17 Yachts from the World ARC fleet sailed from Musket Cove, Fiji to Port Resolution on the island of Tanna in Vanuatu. The first yachts in fleet had a fast and bumpy passage in the strong ESE trades but the later arrivals had lighter winds on approach stretching the fleet out. The first night in the anchorage was particularly rolly as the bay is open to the north and the easterly swell rolls in but as winds backed more to the south conditions settled in the bay making for a comfortable stay.

Port Resolution is not an official port of entry for Vanuatu however special permission for the World ARC fleet is kindly granted by Vanuatu Customs for the fleet to land here. Customs officials travel across the island from Lenakel to meet the fleet and clear them in on arrival. All of the officials from Vanuatu Customs, Immigration and Quarantine are super friendly and enjoy working with the yachts and World ARC.

Port Resolution is a community of 6 local villages in an impossibly remote location. Tanna is a small island in southern Vanuatu and by land Port Resolution is a 2.5 hour slow trip by 4WD across the island on some very bumpy dirt tracks. World ARC have now been coming to Port Resolution since 2008 and over that time have built a strong relationship with the community here and in particular the Port Resolution Yacht Club. Yacht Club is probably a generous name but with the help of World Cruising Club a few modest buildings have been erected that enable the communities to host visiting yachts. There are also a few small accommodation huts through which the community can generate some income that is shared evenly among the six villages.

The island of Tanna was one of the hardest hit by the recent Category 5 Cyclone Pam. Many of the local villages, their homes and the accommodation huts of the PRYC were severely damaged and are currently in the process of being rebuilt. What was once a picture perfect village now shows many signs of the devastation caused by the cyclone with many fallen trees and damaged buildings. Understanding the effects of the cyclone the World ARC fleet have very generously purchased many practical goods such as rope, tarpaulins, tools and other items that can assist the locals rebuild their communities and homes. In additional to those items so generously donated by the fleet World Cruising Club also made a significant contribution of goods specifically for the rebuilding of the PRYC so that the community can continue to benefit from this important income stream.

Presenting gifts from the fleet takes place during a formal gift exchange ceremony, an occasion where the fleet is officially welcomed into the village with speeches by some of the elders and celebratory song and dance. The villages presented each crew with beautiful hats woven of green palm fronds, decorated with bright hibiscus flowers and pink bougainvillea. Each skipper then introduced themselves and their crew before presenting gifts to the community. In appreciation the villagers presented the skippers with woven baskets full of locally grown fruits and vegetables. Accompanying the ceremony was some wonderful singing and dancing by the villagers and students of Port Resolution School. It is touching for each crew to see how genuinely the community appreciates our visit.

Unfortunately our time in Tanna was a wet one, it rained most days and while this played havoc with the program crews were still keen to get ashore and make the most of their time here. Crews enjoyed exploring the villages ashore, meeting and chatting with the friendly locals. On one day the fleet even formed themselves into a volunteer working party and assisted some of the locals in clearing land in preparation for a building project sponsored by the University of Australia.

During the stopover participants normally visit nearby the Mt Yasur Volcano which always proves to be a genuine highlight of the trip, this year the tour was cancelled two nights in a row due to rain and when some brave souls did finally visit the volcano on Thursday evening they were greeted again by cold winds and rain but the smiles on their faces on returning proves that Mt Yasur is still a remarkable experience. A number of yachts in the fleet choose to stay in Port Resolution another night so they could take advantage of the clearer weather on the Friday evening. Crews climb the volcano at sunset and stay until after dark, the volcano is very active and it is spectacular to watch the molten lava explode out of the mouth of the volcano and hear the thunderous accompanying booms.

The fleet are now on a brief free cruising period before coming together again in Port Vila on the main island of Efate in two days. Along the way some yachts will overnight in Dillons Bay on Erromango Island. The program in Port Vila commences on Tuesday.


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