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Firefly - Squall in Port Resolution Bay



Firefly dropped anchor in Port Resolution, Tanna, Vanuatu at 0730 on Tuesday 7th July after 3 days at sea on passage from Musket Cove, Fiji. The wind had gradually dropped away during the final night at sea and the weather was poor with rain. We had decided to wait unto first light to enter the anchorage and had a comfortable night at sea with sails reefed down despite a reducing wind speed - trying to keep the speed low.

As it happened the wind died away completely and we motored the last 30 minutes but this is always useful in order to arrive with the batteries charged. Having been to Tanna before we knew to expect but the contrast to Musket Cove, with its modern resort facilities and sunshine compared to Port Resolution in the rain was still surprising. The local villagers here use dug out canoes for fishing in the anchorage and with steam vents billowing on the hillside it felt like a different world.

Due to the weather the planned late afternoon trip to the volcano was postponed and instead we had a guided tour of Port Resolution village. Subject to a direct hit by Cyclone Pam in March, we really did not know what to expect in terms of the status of the village. It was in fact very good to see that despite some obvious damage that most buildings had been re erected or repaired and the lush vegetation had weathered the storm reasonably well. Apparently immediately after the cyclone had passed nearly all the village buildings, apart from the few that are built of stone or block, were flattened and all of the leaves had been blown off the trees and the usual green surroundings were brown. Overall there was not a great deal of difference from what we had seen in September 2014 to now.

The following day the volcano tour was again postponed and this seemed wise as it was raining and at that time we had a northerly wind of about 10 knots blowing into the bay. Deciding to use the time to do some work on the watermaker, we were both down below and with the engine running we could not here the radio that clearly - but there was a lot of calls. Thinking something may be amiss we looked out into what was now torrential rain and a squall from the south east was ripping through the anchorage. The first thing spotted was that Hugur, the Icelandic WARC yacht had dragged and was heading off with the wind with a relatively short distance to go before converging on a reef. After a short while we could see action been taken on Hugur and the same on Aretha who were also dragging out to sea but with no hazards in their path.

In the middle of the anchorage there was chaos as Aquillon, a 45 foot Lagoon catamaran had dragged and collided with Makena, a larger Lagoon. Aquillon was now behind but its anchor had ridden up along Makena's chain and was firmly jammed up under their forward beam. Another Lagoon, Impi, not a WARC yacht, was also in Aquillon's path and became tangled up for a while but eventually managed to weigh her anchor and move away. Having made sure Firefly was safe and extended our length of chain we went to help the catamarans and after a while Aquillon's anchor was back on the bottom freed first from the deck beam and then Makena's propellor where it had also lodged. Despite the impact the hulls of all 3 boats showed little signs of damage, Makena's stern gear was still intact and as the wind dropped away everything settled down again.

Despite rain again the next day the decision was made to go ahead with the exchange of gifts with the villagers, the volcano tour and the feast. The gift exchange is a regular event when the WARC visits Tanna. However, due to relief efforts resulting from the the cyclone the cargo that was off loaded from the yachts was very considerable and the villagers were delighted with the cooking pots presented from each of the 16 yachts, all filled with items such as enamel plates, flip flops and exercise books for the children. The villagers offerings in exchange were a combination of banana leaf bags filled with local fruit and vegetables (some recognisable and some not and all very precious this year as crops had been damaged) and some other woven items such as bags and fans. Each WARC participant also received a woven hat and we were treated to much singing and dancing.

The volcano tour ended up being even wetter than when we visited previously in September 2014. The hour long journey there in either the cab or the back of the pick up trucks on the unmade roads was really sporting and as much fun as the volcano itself. Wearing our full oilskins we were comfortable on the top of the rim looking into the caldera and were enjoying the spectacle when we noticed that everyone else had taken a quick look and headed back down because of the rain. So after a much shorter time than we spent at the top last time we visited we had to head down and try and find space in a vehicle to get back to the village for the feast. Under the cover of the fairly ramshackle Port Resolution Yacht Club the villagers provided a buffet and we ate off plates made from woven banana leaves and lined with another type of large leaf.

By the next morning the weather had finally cleared and at 0730 Firefly and Brizo upped anchor and headed out of Port Resolution together bound for Dillon's Bay on Erromango some 55 miles to the north east. The wind was up around 30 knots and it was dead run most of the way. With a very confused sea due to the current heading in the opposite direction to the wind. Fortunately, with the wind strength it was very fast and we hung on with lifejackets and harnesses in place while Firefly delivered us to the surprisingly calm anchorage off the village at Dillon's Bay by 1500.

We had visited Erramango last year and befriended David, a local man from the village who with the help of his extended family are building a yacht club here too. Further progress had been made on this excellent project that will eventually become the focal point for visiting yachts. They hope there will be an increasing number of tourists to Erramango - this island does not have a volcano to draw in the tourists but there is a huge, intact Kauri forest for which they are trying to develop access and expect this will bring in tourists.

Dillon's Bay is very exposed to the south west and took an incredible beating from Cyclone Pam. The trees here all look green but have many branches broken off giving the appearance that the whole place has been 'strimmed'. Initially the Australian and New Zealand Navy's had arrived following the storm and helped to rebuild the village and provide immediate shelter. Since then the villagers have done a brilliant job to rebuild everything and we were massively impressed by the numerous well tended 'allotments', full of vegetables and the overall tidyness of the village. During a two hour visit ashore we witnessed most of the adults in the village attending to work of some kind. They were very diligent and its not something one comes to expect in the remote islands of the South Pacific. David came out to Firefly in his dugout canoe as we had offered to give the villagers the vegetables we got in Tanna, as he said that they were short of food. We rifled through various cupboards and gave a few other items too, such as milk powder and also some Vatu to go towrds t

Today is Saturday 11th July and we are screaming towards Vanuatu's capital, Port Vila on Efate Island. The 80nm passage started before light at 0530 and we are trying to arrive before 1700 in order to be able to tie up the dock at the 'Yachting World' base. Its blowing up to 25 knots and we are on a very broad reach surfing in big waves at speeds in double figures, Brizo is 400 metres to leeward going at the same speed and has been there the whole passage. Having shaken the reefs out earlier in a lull, based on the forecast predicting the wind would drop - we are now hanging on for the last 12 miles and should have no problem beating the deadline.

Paul and Susie

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