Having pulled it all together in a rather wonderful way (cat adoption, mega-shop, cooking frenzy, check-out of customs, happy dinners, sad farewells) we were ready to leave bang on time – on the morning of Friday 5 October. The weather forecast had remained fairly steady. Most importantly (for me) was minimal swell – I was […]
Vanuatu
Espiritu Santo.
By the time we arrived on Santo, anchored off Beachfront Resort, I was SO READY for some urban life. That would be a guarranteed fruit and vegetable market and a supermarket. Luganville ticked both these boxes. I’m happy to rough it, but when food supplies get low after six weeks going from island to island, […]
Goodbye Honey…
She landed on all four paws. Honey the BoatCat was my midlife crisis. The Italian man I couldn’t resist, the Ferrari I had to have. So it should not be any great surprise that it didn’t work out. Honey is a gorgeous feisty fuzzbot, but, as it turns out, fundamentally unsuited to life on a […]
Asanvari, Maewo.
Our journey from Pentecost to Maewo was a wet one. The seas were confused and there was wind against tide through the awesomely named Lolvavavana Passage (LOL!). M says it looked a lot worse than it actually was and we expected things to get crazy, but it didn’t happen. Bella Luna sliced through it all […]
Pentecost. Waterfall Bay.
The sail from Ambrym to Waterfall Bay was a little bit woolly. A lot of wind and spray. M and I were both hopeful that we might be able to anchor in Bay Martelli, right at the base of the island. We sailed in to have a look around, but although it was extremely beautiful, […]
The villages of Vutekai, Wailep and Hingal. Then Tahi.
It was a brisk sail – we scooted toward Paama with the main reefed and the jib up. The island’s nearest neighbour is the volcano Lopevi – which used to have around 80 inhabitants – but because it kept erupting, they all moved off in 1960 – mostly to Paama and Epi. Only one elderly […]
Epi Epi Joy Joy. Daisy is Eight.
Revelieu Bay, Epi. Small DB, the sparking fire in the belly of our little family, you are EIGHT. It’s always tricky, the actual birthday DAY. By then you have been counting down for at least three months, ticking off the days. Also conflicted by the fact that you desperately want to be eight, but would […]
Ponusia Bay to Potnarvin
After a few days the swell started making its way into Ponusia Bay. This is flat, you’ll have to imagine the swell… At the same time, we knew that Laewe and her relatives were planning on walking back to Potnarvin. M asked them if they might want a ride on Bella Luna – they said […]
- Anchorages
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Dillons Bay to Ponusia Bay
We left Dillons Bay for a little anchorage that we hoped would be a bit calmer – Ponusia Bay. The sail was fairly craptastic – everything banging around, the Smalls left all the hatches unlocked on the port side ceiling, I left the one above my pillow unlocked. Wet, wet, wet. Gah, gah, gah. Small […]