We left Ouvea at dusk, after walking back from the airport. The passage to Vanuatu was about 200 miles; two nights at sea. The south east trades make it harder to sail east as we’re going into the wind, so we timed out departure for a period of lighter wind; while not ideal, motoring in light winds with the sails up for an extra boost is one of the better ways to cover miles in the right direction.
This passage was a bit noisy as a result, with 28 hours of motoring over two days. Even when the wind picked up on day 2, it was dead on the nose and we needed engine power to make good ground.
As we rounded the southern tip of Tanna island for the final miles before the anchorage of Port Resolution, the volcano came into view. Throwing big black ash clouds into the sky it was pretty dramatic.
We dropped anchor among 8 other boats (including Santana who had arrived a couple of hours ahead of us). Around the anchorage hot steam vents from the cliffs, boiling water streaming into the sea. On the hillside a big plume of steam is rising between the coconut trees. Black sand on the beach. Dense, lush vegetation.
Adventure awaits!
Road and Ocean 