LTY UPDATE: Sunday, September 2nd, 2012
Port Villa, Vanuatu LTY time: 15:30 (Vanuatu time = UTC +11)
Location: Port Villa, Vanuatu
Position: 17 44.461 S, 168 18.650 E (you can cut & past this into Google Earth to see on map)
Wind: 0-3 knots (inside the bay)
Seas/Swell: flat
Air temp: 85 F 29C
Sea temp: 85 F 29.5 C
Barometer: 1018mm GREETINGS from WET Port Villa
Made it safe and sound into Port Villa, the largest port and city in Vanuatu. I pulled up the anchor in Dillon’s Bay on Erromango Island just before 8:30pm on Friday night and had the anchor down by 0:930 Saturday morning here in Paray Bay between the tiny Iririki Island and the town of Port Villa. Thursday night had been particularly spectacular with a very full moon and a cloudless sky in Dillon’s Bay and the moon was up for almost 12 hours lighting up the bay and the boat like it was daytime. I almost had to get out the moon tan lotion! So I’d been hoping to have a similar moonlit night for the sail north to Port Villa, but Mother Nature had other plans and kept the moon almost all to herself concealed behind a fully cloud covered night sky. The wind shadow cast by Erramango kept the winds very light until I was over 10nm off the NW coast so I had to motor sail the first two hours but they soon filled in afterwards and ran between 10-22 knots the rest of the way to Port Villa so I made good time. The winds were SSE which meant another almost directly downwind sail and so I put the spinnaker pole out to windward so I could pole out the large front genoa sail and we averaged over 6 knots for the overall trip of almost 80nm which is very good for this big heavy and safe old/new girlf of mine. Once gain I also had following seas, that were large at times up to about 10 feet but gave a nice pitching “rocking horse” type motion most of the time with some good side to side rolls when their angle would change from time to time. The sun tried unsuccessfully to break through for my arrival and entrance into Port Villa but this is a major commercial port so it is well marked and I had a full set of satellite photos plus good charts so it wasn’t much trouble getting in. Quite busy here, as I thought it might be but I managed to find a good spot in some very shallow (only about 8 feet!) of water just off the NE end of Iririki Island in some very clear turquoise water and sand. After a short refreshing nap after the overnight sail I headed out in the dinghy to check the shoreline and mooring fields and then tied up against one of the large walls of the town center wharf to go explore. One of the things I was most wanting to find ashore was a Vanuatu flag to fly on the boat as I had not been able to find one anywhere in Fiji before I left and right where I tied up the dinghy there was a market selling lots of cloths, baskets and the like so I tried there just in case they might have some flags. No such luck so I just asked one of the ladies running one of the stalls where I might find one and what happened next will give you a good example of why I often comment on what a charmed life I lead. I actually asked a group of ladies who were setting out lunch for themselves and one of them quickly responded that she knew of a shop in town that sold flags. Virginia as I learned was her name, asked if I knew my way around town and when I told her I had just arrived on my sailboat she said “Oh, well it is a ways away and rather difficult to explain and for most people to find so I’ll just take you.” I tried in vain to protest and that I didn’t want to interrupt her lunch but she would have nothing of it and said her friends would leave her lots to eat and with that we were off at a good clip. She was certainly correct, I would have never found the place on my own and even drawing a map would have been a challenge as we walked for over 15 minutes up the hills, down alley ways and over many streets. Sure enough though we soon entered a little shop all by itself that sold flags and some clothing run by a very helpful Chinese man who made the flags himself and made ones just for yachts! They were only 700 Vatu (about 7 US dollars) which is VERY cheap for flags as I’ve paid over $70 on a few occasions in other countries but I then realized that I had not yet found a bank or ATM to get some local Vatu currency and had spent what little I was able to get in Fiji on the initial entry fees when I checked in at Aneityum Island. “No problem!” said Virginia, I’ll just pay for it and then take you to an ATM. With my fresh new Vanuatu flag in my pack we were soon off at the same rapid pace to the main ANZ Bank ATM where I was finally able to get some Vatu (it had been almost impossible to find any in Fiji) and I paid Virginia the 700 she had so kindly loaned me plus 300 more as all I got from the ATM were 1000 Vatu notes and she had certainly give me much more than three dollars of value and assistance. Lest you might think this is an isolated example, less than an hour later I was in a shop trying to buy a USB cellular modem so I could get some internet connections during my stay here in Fiji at the main Digicel store in downtown Port Villa. They had them and a reasonable rate on the data packages (about $65 for 2GB) and so I thought I was all set. However for reasons I was never fully able to understand they wouldn’t sell the USB stick to me unless I had my laptop with me and they could be sure that it all worked properly. I had never run into this before in any other country so I hadn’t bothered to lug my laptop with me and I assured them I had set up these USB cellular modems many times before, but they remained unwilling to let me do so unless they were sure it all worked properly. The problem was that it was now almost noon, which is when they close on Saturday and they don’t open on Sunday so I wouldn’t be able to bring my laptop in until Monday morning and I was hoping to spend what looked to be a wet and rainy weekend catching up with my online backlog. So I did my usual routine of just looking perplexed and helpless (I’m quite skilled at this!) and sure enough, as is almost always the case, the lady behind the counter said, “Just a minute, let me go see what I can do.” She returned a few minutes later and said that she had spoken with her manager and unfortunately they could not sell me a new USB modem unless I had my laptop there and they were sure it worked. However, she handed me a USB modem and said, “Here, take mine, use it for the weekend, and just bring it back with you when you come to see me on Monday morning.” Again, I tried to politely refuse this as being far too kind and generous and again she would have nothing of it. Getting the idea of how my life seems to work and why I feel like I lead such a charmed life? As it turned out the data modem she loaned me did not in fact work when I got back to the boat and installed it. Apparently the SIM card is missing, but that’s not the point now is it?! Plus I’ve been able to find several strong WiFi signals here in the bay and one that will let me buy some time using my credit card (most require that you purchase pre-paid vouchers ashore) and so I’m able to get online for today and I’m sure I’ll have a working cellular modem tomorrow morning when I take my laptop with me to the Digicel store in town. The weather has socked in even more as the day has progressed and its been raining off and on all day (Sunday here) which makes for the perfect day to rest up, catch up on some reading, some Emails and to remind myself how fortunate I am to have great sunny hot weather most of the time. Ruby also likes these kinds of days as she gets to do one of her favorite activities; snuggling! I’ll head ashore in the morning to check out the town a bit more, do some provisioning for the coming weeks and then I’ll likely head north to meet up with Philip and Teri on Blu Bie and spend about week together in some of the more remote and idyllic spots in the Maskalyne Islands about 80nm NNE of here. I’ll keep you posted as I explore Port Villa more and on the passage north. Till then, thanks again for coming along for the ride! Wayne & Ruby the Wonderdog
Port Villa, Vanuatu LTY time: 15:30 (Vanuatu time = UTC +11)
Location: Port Villa, Vanuatu
Position: 17 44.461 S, 168 18.650 E (you can cut & past this into Google Earth to see on map)
Wind: 0-3 knots (inside the bay)
Seas/Swell: flat
Air temp: 85 F 29C
Sea temp: 85 F 29.5 C
Barometer: 1018mm GREETINGS from WET Port Villa
Made it safe and sound into Port Villa, the largest port and city in Vanuatu. I pulled up the anchor in Dillon’s Bay on Erromango Island just before 8:30pm on Friday night and had the anchor down by 0:930 Saturday morning here in Paray Bay between the tiny Iririki Island and the town of Port Villa. Thursday night had been particularly spectacular with a very full moon and a cloudless sky in Dillon’s Bay and the moon was up for almost 12 hours lighting up the bay and the boat like it was daytime. I almost had to get out the moon tan lotion! So I’d been hoping to have a similar moonlit night for the sail north to Port Villa, but Mother Nature had other plans and kept the moon almost all to herself concealed behind a fully cloud covered night sky. The wind shadow cast by Erramango kept the winds very light until I was over 10nm off the NW coast so I had to motor sail the first two hours but they soon filled in afterwards and ran between 10-22 knots the rest of the way to Port Villa so I made good time. The winds were SSE which meant another almost directly downwind sail and so I put the spinnaker pole out to windward so I could pole out the large front genoa sail and we averaged over 6 knots for the overall trip of almost 80nm which is very good for this big heavy and safe old/new girlf of mine. Once gain I also had following seas, that were large at times up to about 10 feet but gave a nice pitching “rocking horse” type motion most of the time with some good side to side rolls when their angle would change from time to time. The sun tried unsuccessfully to break through for my arrival and entrance into Port Villa but this is a major commercial port so it is well marked and I had a full set of satellite photos plus good charts so it wasn’t much trouble getting in. Quite busy here, as I thought it might be but I managed to find a good spot in some very shallow (only about 8 feet!) of water just off the NE end of Iririki Island in some very clear turquoise water and sand. After a short refreshing nap after the overnight sail I headed out in the dinghy to check the shoreline and mooring fields and then tied up against one of the large walls of the town center wharf to go explore. One of the things I was most wanting to find ashore was a Vanuatu flag to fly on the boat as I had not been able to find one anywhere in Fiji before I left and right where I tied up the dinghy there was a market selling lots of cloths, baskets and the like so I tried there just in case they might have some flags. No such luck so I just asked one of the ladies running one of the stalls where I might find one and what happened next will give you a good example of why I often comment on what a charmed life I lead. I actually asked a group of ladies who were setting out lunch for themselves and one of them quickly responded that she knew of a shop in town that sold flags. Virginia as I learned was her name, asked if I knew my way around town and when I told her I had just arrived on my sailboat she said “Oh, well it is a ways away and rather difficult to explain and for most people to find so I’ll just take you.” I tried in vain to protest and that I didn’t want to interrupt her lunch but she would have nothing of it and said her friends would leave her lots to eat and with that we were off at a good clip. She was certainly correct, I would have never found the place on my own and even drawing a map would have been a challenge as we walked for over 15 minutes up the hills, down alley ways and over many streets. Sure enough though we soon entered a little shop all by itself that sold flags and some clothing run by a very helpful Chinese man who made the flags himself and made ones just for yachts! They were only 700 Vatu (about 7 US dollars) which is VERY cheap for flags as I’ve paid over $70 on a few occasions in other countries but I then realized that I had not yet found a bank or ATM to get some local Vatu currency and had spent what little I was able to get in Fiji on the initial entry fees when I checked in at Aneityum Island. “No problem!” said Virginia, I’ll just pay for it and then take you to an ATM. With my fresh new Vanuatu flag in my pack we were soon off at the same rapid pace to the main ANZ Bank ATM where I was finally able to get some Vatu (it had been almost impossible to find any in Fiji) and I paid Virginia the 700 she had so kindly loaned me plus 300 more as all I got from the ATM were 1000 Vatu notes and she had certainly give me much more than three dollars of value and assistance. Lest you might think this is an isolated example, less than an hour later I was in a shop trying to buy a USB cellular modem so I could get some internet connections during my stay here in Fiji at the main Digicel store in downtown Port Villa. They had them and a reasonable rate on the data packages (about $65 for 2GB) and so I thought I was all set. However for reasons I was never fully able to understand they wouldn’t sell the USB stick to me unless I had my laptop with me and they could be sure that it all worked properly. I had never run into this before in any other country so I hadn’t bothered to lug my laptop with me and I assured them I had set up these USB cellular modems many times before, but they remained unwilling to let me do so unless they were sure it all worked properly. The problem was that it was now almost noon, which is when they close on Saturday and they don’t open on Sunday so I wouldn’t be able to bring my laptop in until Monday morning and I was hoping to spend what looked to be a wet and rainy weekend catching up with my online backlog. So I did my usual routine of just looking perplexed and helpless (I’m quite skilled at this!) and sure enough, as is almost always the case, the lady behind the counter said, “Just a minute, let me go see what I can do.” She returned a few minutes later and said that she had spoken with her manager and unfortunately they could not sell me a new USB modem unless I had my laptop there and they were sure it worked. However, she handed me a USB modem and said, “Here, take mine, use it for the weekend, and just bring it back with you when you come to see me on Monday morning.” Again, I tried to politely refuse this as being far too kind and generous and again she would have nothing of it. Getting the idea of how my life seems to work and why I feel like I lead such a charmed life? As it turned out the data modem she loaned me did not in fact work when I got back to the boat and installed it. Apparently the SIM card is missing, but that’s not the point now is it?! Plus I’ve been able to find several strong WiFi signals here in the bay and one that will let me buy some time using my credit card (most require that you purchase pre-paid vouchers ashore) and so I’m able to get online for today and I’m sure I’ll have a working cellular modem tomorrow morning when I take my laptop with me to the Digicel store in town. The weather has socked in even more as the day has progressed and its been raining off and on all day (Sunday here) which makes for the perfect day to rest up, catch up on some reading, some Emails and to remind myself how fortunate I am to have great sunny hot weather most of the time. Ruby also likes these kinds of days as she gets to do one of her favorite activities; snuggling! I’ll head ashore in the morning to check out the town a bit more, do some provisioning for the coming weeks and then I’ll likely head north to meet up with Philip and Teri on Blu Bie and spend about week together in some of the more remote and idyllic spots in the Maskalyne Islands about 80nm NNE of here. I’ll keep you posted as I explore Port Villa more and on the passage north. Till then, thanks again for coming along for the ride! Wayne & Ruby the Wonderdog
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