Welcome
to Episode 13 of the Hog Blog.
Just to help with the read $1 Aussie = approx. 100 Vatu
At the end
of Episode 12 we were in Port Vila after a
fantastic 3 weeks visiting the Southern Islands .
We were waiting for a new alternator to arrive from Australia and were doing a mixture
of exploring the town, re provisioning and maintenance on Lorelei.
Port Vila - Final Days
In the
last few days at Vila
the weather cleared up after nearly a week of drizzle. We spent some great
times with John and Jenny off Sharkface over a meal or a cocktail or two during
“Happy Hour” at the local Waterfront Bar.
The beach
front at Iririki Resort was popular on the weekends with weddings and Friday
night fire twirling exhibitions. We had the closest mooring and a prime seat to
view the festivities.
Every afternoon we had a large school of these unusual fish swimming around the moored yachts with their heads sticking out. There were 1000’s of them. They were very weird.
On our
last night we went over and had drinks on the catamaran “Cool Change” from NZ owned by Don and Marilyn. The cat is unusual as it has 2 free standing
carbon wing masts that they designed & built themselves and work very well on
all points of sail. Paul had read about her and was very interested in the rig,
much to Don’s delight.
For those
that followed “The Race” in 2000 (a non-stop, no limits sailing drag race
around the world), the rig is similar to the infamous Pete Goss’s Team Philips
cat that sadly never made the start line.
We had a
fantastic evening with Don and Marilyn. We have vowed to catch up with them in
their home - The Bay
of Islands , NZ in 2013/2014.
While in Vila we went to the
Dentist. It is a state of the art facility with Western Specialists. The bill
was A$25 for Paul and A$100 for Lisa who had some previous work done in Brisbane replaced. At that price we’ll never go to a dentist back home in Australia again.
No prescriptions are needed here and its super cheap so we did a major
restock on the boats medical kit.
We sailed
out of Port Vila
on the morning of the 30th Oct – on purpose!
This was
the day for voting for Vanuatu ’s
general election. We wanted to be out of the city by that day. With a few days
to go there was a lot going on in the town and you could feel the tension
rising from rival groups campaigning on the backs of processions of trucks roaming
through the streets.
There was
a lot of trouble in the city directly after Vanuatu elections back in 2004 and
we didn't want to be around if there was a repeat performance this time.
As a note
to that – one week later there was still no decision made and the main
candidates including the former ousted prime minister were demanding a re-vote.
Politics!
– It’s the same the world over…..
We rounded
the corner of the entrance at noon and saw Sharkface anchored up off a beach
and close to “Paul’s Rock” which is a popular diving spot.
With a name like that, we just had to explore it so we anchored up as well and
the 4 of us went for a snorkel. The reef rises from 60m up to a series of bommies
in only 4m. The viz was excellent and so was the fish life and caves. The
charter boats must feed the fish here as they were very friendly and if you
cupped you hands they would come up and look in to see what food was on offer.
Jenny having fun with the fish.
That arvo
both boats made their way further into the bay for better overnight protection.
We had dinner onboard Sharkface and had some of the Mahi Mahi they caught
trolling on the way. It was massive and spanned the width of their cockpit. John
had to use a deck winch to haul it in!
The
following day we took both RIB’s across the bay to Lelepa Island
for a Snorkel on the outer side. On one point was an immense school of bait
fish that would completely engulf you if you swam into it.
That arvo
we said goodbye to John and Jenny (the second time in 72 hours…) as they took
off for an overnight sail north on the full moon.
We elected
to go further up into the Harbour to explore for a few more days.
We had a
great kayak at Esema
Bay . We found a small inlet and creek that we
managed to kayak up for more than 1km. We stopped at a small village and asked
permission to go further up and asked about Crocodiles. Fortunately there are
none in this area. The rainforest was dense and as the creek became smaller the
canopy closed right over the water.
Undine Bay
is a large bay situated right at the top of Efate surrounded by 4 Smaller Islands
with the most northern and largest one being Nguna Island which is based around
an extinct volcano.
We sailed
for 4 hours to get there and had to search along the Nguna Island
shoreline for a suitable anchorage in the NE winds. We found a fantastic sandy spot surrounded
by coral bommies just off a beautiful beach and a small village. The excited villagers
were out in canoes before we even got our anchor down. Their village faces
south and is exposed in the regular S-SE-E trade winds meaning very few yachts
ever come here.
We had a
great snorkel and met a young lady named Tinit who explained that the lack of decent
rain meant the island was very close to being devoid of all fresh water. Their
tanks were almost empty and they were all praying for some heavier rain to come
soon.
Part of our welcoming committee…
Leaving Nguna Island
and the extinct volcano.
Once the wind
swung to the east again, we left to continue north. We decided on a 35nm run
for the day stopping at Emae
Island overnight before
continuing for another 35nm from Emae to Epi on the next day.
On the way
we trolled and on the first day we got a big powerful run on a large skirted
lure but it didn’t hook up. From what we saw it looked like a Marlin but
weren’t so sure. About 1 hour later we got a second run and this time landed a
nice Wahoo which tasted great and got turned into lots of yummy meals.
We trolled
again from Emae to Epi and hooked a Blue Marlin on the way. Once it realized it
was hooked, it came tearing up the side of the boat and put on an amazing
aerobatic show that was the best we have ever seen from a billfish. We just
stood in awe watching the performance.
The Marlin
was big and we both called it in excess of 450lbs. It then took off and within
a few minutes had peeled over 750m of line off the reel and didn’t even look
like slowing down. With only 250m left and still tearing out, Paul had no
option but to increase the 24kg line’s drag on the Tiagra from 8kg up to 12kg
and hope for the best. The end result was the line breaking at the snap swivel.
While Paul wound back in the 900m of line the Marlin decided to come back
towards the boat with a series of wild jumps before realizing it was free.
It was our
first experience with a Blue and it looked awesome all lit up. Paul has wanted
to catch/tag a Blue for a long time as this would give him the trifecta of Blue,
Black & Striped. Oh well maybe next time, and a bit smaller would be nice.
We lost a
$100 Marlin lure but the experience, adrenaline pumping action and grins from
ear to ear for ages afterwards more than made up for it.
There is A$50,000
cash up for grabs for the first boat in Vila
that can catch and weigh a Grander Blue Marlin (over 1000lbs). From what we
have seen it would take a well oiled crew a lot of luck to boat one of these
powerful kings of the ocean.
We did a
couple of great Kayaks in the bay to explore and to try and find Bondas. The
locals said he comes and goes, sometimes for weeks at a time and I
guess we were unlucky not to see him and to be able to have a swim with him.
On the last
night at Epi we were downstairs around 9:30pm when we heard a series of loud
booms that we assumed was thunder. Lisa went upstairs and to our amazement we
could see the 2 active volcano’s on the neighbouring Ambryn Island
spewing red molten lava high into the sky. The eruption lit up the sky and the
underside of the clouds over the island with an eerie bright red glow. The
sight was incredible! We weren’t sure if this was normal, unusual or a rarity
but either way it was a little daunting even if we were about 12nm away.
We had
read the twin volcanos keep volcanologists’ from around the world constantly on
alert. The next morning we went outside to find the decks covered with a fine
layer of volcanic ash (and some flying fish).
We had
contemplated visiting the island but now we are not so sure as the two main
anchorages are downwind of the volcanos.
The day we
left Lamen Bay turned out to be a long testing day.
It started
with an early kayak in glassy conditions and we got some great ½ and ½ photos
of the area.
The wharf in Lamen Bay
After breakfast
the conditions were still glassy and the forecast was great so we set of with
the trolling gear out and started motoring the leisurely 20nm to the Maskelyne
Group of Islands on the south eastern tip of Malekula Island, stopping at 2
reef systems to fish on the way.
With 6nm
to go to the Island , we had an ugly looking
front go over us that brought 30 knot winds and generally ugly conditions. We
were very glad to enter the safety of the passage into the group an hour later.
There are
only 2 decent anchorages in the group. We went to the first one and it was
exposed to the south and very rough and windy so we aborted.
We continued
to the second and were just putting the anchor down when an idiot from Tasmania and his mate (who
were “working” with the villagers…) & the village chief pulled alongside in
a dugout.
We had a
bad experience with these guys which resulted in us leaving pretty much
straight away. The chief seemed quite embarrassed about it and asked us to stay
but we declined. We lifted the anchor at 4pm and sailed out of the Maskelynes
with a bitter taste in our mouths. We had planed to stay there 5 days and ended
up being there for less than 2 hours.
We sailed
15nm north and anchored up in Port Sandwich in
a calm bay at sunset with a beautiful outlook. 10 minutes later a group of very
friendly guys came past in a boat to welcome us and invited us to their village
tomorrow if we wanted to.
We were
anchored and safe but completely stuffed after a long day.
Port Sandwich has a total swimming/diving ban as the place is
infested with large dangerous sharks so we didn't bother staying long.
Coming into Port Sandwich
on Sunset
The next
bay north was Banem
Bay which was only a
short 1 hour run up the coast. The bay is stunning with gin clear water,
fantastic reefs and a great village. The main source of income is Copra which
as we found out is damn hard work to collect. Cocoa Beans are another source of
income and we were fascinated to see where chocolate originates from.
We were greeted
by an elder of the village Jon-Eddie who had organized to lead a trip to the
local waterfall that arvo with the people from the only other yacht in the bay that
was from Noumea .
We gladly accepted and made our way into the beach at 1pm on our kayaks. The
villagers were very interested in the kayaks so we offered them to have a go. You
have never seen the kayaks launched so quickly, and one by one they all had a
turn.
We stored
them under a tree before we left to go for the walk and when we returned they were
there – just facing around the other way.
Obviously
they still had some fun on them even after we had left.
The walk
to the waterfall was great and we went through the school, past the gardens,
meet heaps of people and even saw some large wild pigs.
Pumpkin “lap lap” cooked on the
volcanic stones in a fire
Part of the old colonial Copra
plantation. The trees are so tall.
The
waterfall was pumping after yesterday’s rain storms and we had a great swim and
managed to sneak in behind the curtain of water for some photos and fun. There
were lots of freshwater fish in the pool too.
Whilst we
were in Banam Bay we also went spearfishing for a day
on the outer reefs and took the fish into the village for dinner. They were very
appreciative as surprisingly they do not fish and prefer to tend to their
gardens and raise chickens,pigs & beef. They like the fish but they just
don’t get it often.
We feel we
made a real connection with this village and in particular a couple Songi and
Anna and their son Eldin. We are now inducted into his family as new “brother
and sister”.
Songi and Eldin with Lisa onboard
Lorelei
Port Stanley, Malekula
Island
Port
Stanley was our last stop on Malekula
Island .
We had a
downwind 30nm sail before turning through a pass between 2 islands and motoring
up into the port. The guide has 3 recommended anchorages. We tried the first
one which was a small key hole surrounded by shallow coral reef. You would
struggle to anchor a 4m tinny in there it was so tight! We had to do a 3 point
turn in Lorelei to get her turned around and back out. The second anchorage was
not much better and the third was full of bommies and solid coral on the
bottom.
On the
way out of the third we found a small spit/reef that had a sand ledge before
dropping into deeper water so we anchored off the back of that and hoped the
wind would not swing to the north.
Carl from
the local village paddled out to welcome us and invite us to his Island Village
the next day.
We went
into the village twice the next day. Carl was waiting for us on the beach and
took us to meet the chief and a stack of the guys who were building a new house
for him.
We had a look at Carl’s place. It was the best set-up we have seen in a village.
He had a long house with 3 rooms on a concrete slab, lights, solar, generator,
etc. He had a separate cooking house, a fantastic courtyard area with cover, beautiful plants and a large vege garden going up the slope behind the house.
It was private and he built it all himself. Not bad for a 25 y/o single guy with very limited resources.
Lisa in Carl’s Cooking House
Eating pineapple in Carl’s garden.
The
villagers gave us a stack of fruit and made us very welcome.
That arvo
we came back again for dinner. The chief spent the arvo catching fish for the
village dinner.
Paul went
off with the boys to drink Kava (and got smashed with them…) Lisa went and hung
out with the girls and helped with some weaving. They gave her an island dress &
a woven bag and the young girls loved playing with and platting her hair.
Mincing up the fresh Kava Root.
For dinner
we all went into a large eating house and we sat with the villages around 2
large prepared meals and ate with our fingers.
Lisa made
a chocolate cake for dessert and it was a big hit.
We finally
left after many fond farewells at 10pm.
The fun
then started as we had to navigate the RIB back through the coral reefs to try
and get back to Lorelei. We only ran aground 3 times….
We have
decided we would like to come back to Malekula some day and spend some more
time interacting with the locals from both the villages at Banem Bay
and here. They are all great people.
The
morning we left was an early start as we had a 50nm run to get to Luganville on
Espiritu Santo Island .
We motored
up the inlet and as soon as we rounded the top island the wind kicked in so it
was sails up and off we went – motor off and sailing by 6:30am – Stoked!!
We put the
trolling rods out and put on a small green/gold skirt as that is what one of
the village elders said to do as there were a lot of Mahi Mahi around.
Sure enough
within only 5 minutes the rod with the skirt went off and we landed one by 7am.
We had it filleted, in the fridge and the rods packed away again by 7:15am.
Paul slept
most of the way (something to do with being slightly hung over from too much Kava…).
Luganville, Espititu Santo
We gybed
and sailed into the Skorff Passage at lunch time. It was dead flat in the
passage so we set up the table for lunch in the cockpit as we sailed in past
Million Dollar Point and the wreck of the SS President Coolidge. We were so
excited to be here. A dive boat with a couple of Aussies came up past us as we were
sailing through with lunch spread on the table. We got some funny looks and
comments from them.
We sailed
right up to Aore Island Resort and picked up a mooring
right in front of the main jetty. There were only 2 other yachts in the bay on
the moorings and guess who they were – Sharkface and Just Magic.
It was
great to catch up with them again and we had them over for dinner to eat the
fresh Mahi Mahi and some fresh fruit. Between the 3 boats we could open a fruit
market!
For us
this is where the sailing dream all started and ironically it was 20 years ago
to the day on a dive expedition here back in 1992.
We know it
was 20 years as last week was the 70th anniversary of the Coolidge’s
sinking. The first time we dived it was a week after the 50th
anniversary.
On our
first full day there we went into the resort to have a look around and caught a
ferry into town.
At Aore Resort waiting
for the ferry. Lorelei in the background.
Aore Resort from our mooring.
We spent
the day exploring and going to the dive shops to find the best deal that suited
us. We had lunch with Ben and Wendy in a café on the water’s edge. Meals were
200 vatu each and a freshly squeezed fruit juice 60 vatu. So cheap!
After much
consideration we went back to Mal at Santo
Island Dive and signed up
for a stack of dives starting the next day. He is the only one in town who has
boats (3 of them), so he could pick us up straight from Lorelei and take us
wherever we wanted to go. We could do the Coolidge and Million Dollar Point but
also the USS Tucker wreck, a WW2 plane and a number of great reef dives which
the other dive shops do not do.
USS President Coolidge Wreck
Most of
you reading this will know of the wreck of the USS President Coolidge – but for
those of you who don’t….
Prior to
WW2 the Coolidge was a 660ft luxury passenger liner. During the war she was
commissioned as a troop carrier and fitted with 4 large deck guns. On the
ill-fated voyage she had over 4000 US troops onboard and the holds
were stuffed full of machinery, field guns, jeeps, tanks, aircraft parts,
supplies and a stack of ammunition.
The ship hit a mine while entering the top passage of Santo Harbour.
The captain managed bring the stricken vessel close to the land at the edge of the channel. It listed heavily to port before finally sinking 90 minutes later.
The ship hit a mine while entering the top passage of Santo Harbour.
The captain managed bring the stricken vessel close to the land at the edge of the channel. It listed heavily to port before finally sinking 90 minutes later.
She now lies on the edge of the channel on her port side
with the bow in 21m and the stern sitting on the channel floor in 70m.
She is regarded as one of the world's best wreck dives and can
be dived by walking in off the beach or by boat.
With the
maximum recreational depth for divers being 40m and standard air being
potentially toxic to divers at 56.66 meters, only the very experienced
technical divers get to see the aft section and the stern.
Some
people struggle to understand our obsession with wreck diving and the greater
element of risk it poses. In reality they are just twisted bits of metal on the
bottom and we can understand their point of view – sort of. For that reason not
everyone will appreciate the pictures below.
A painting of the USS President
Coolidge
Our 2 guides
for our whole time here were 2 funny locals - Simo the dive guide and Jimmy the
boat minder/driver.
The first dive
was a checkout dive and we explored the bow, the anchor winch, the
anti-aircraft guns, the entry of holds no.1 & no.2 and the bathroom on
the old promenade deck before going up onto the top of the ship past loads of
artillery shells. We had a massive Dog Tooth Tuna hovering around us for the
2nd half of the dive.
The Bow
The Bow
Lisa at the starboard deck gun and
artillery shells.
One of 4 of the Deck Guns
The second
dive was great. We were the only divers on the wreck and explored the Holds No.1
& 2 and saw stacks of Jeeps, a tank, field cannons, aircraft long range
drop tanks, flashlight fish and loads of other things.
The Front Grill of a WW2 Jeep
The Front Grill of a WW2 Jeep
The Aircraft Long
Range Fuel Tanks.
Just some of the debris scattered
all over the floor of the holds.
Simo our dive guide during our deco
stop.
Friday –
Dive day no.2.
It was a
quiet day on the wreck, the wind dropped, the rain stopped, and the viz cleared
up.
We only
saw 3 others enter the water for the morning dive and didn’t see them at all
once underwater.
We went to
the most popular location on the Coolidge – The Lady.
This is a
small sculpture that use to hang above the fireplace in the smoking room at 52m
depth. This is where we saw it 20 years ago. When the room collapsed, they
rescued it and moved it to an easier access area that is more secure and is a shallower
depth of 38m.
Lisa and The Lady
After The
Lady we went thru an elevator shaft past some great portholes, down to the
bottom of the wreck, past the port anti-aircraft gun, the massive anchor and
all the scattered debris before ascending past the tonnes of artillery shells
strewn all over the top of the wreck..
Just some of the scores of Portholes along the decks
The second
dive was awesome. We were the only 3 on the wreck (the 2 of us and Simo our
guide). We went to the medical room, the hairdressing salon, the laundry, the
storeroom containing the large egg shaped aircraft drop tanks before exiting
through the second hold. The total dive time was 84 minutes.
Medicine Bottles
One of the chairs in the
Hairdressing Salon
No.2 Hold full of Jeeps, Tanks,
Field Guns, etc…
Simo, Lisa and Jimmy on our own private boat we had for all the dives
Simo, Lisa and Jimmy on our own private boat we had for all the dives
In between
dives and for lunch each day we went to Million Dollar Point. We could snorkel,
walk or just relax and every day we explored a new area.
This is
the place where the Yanks bulldozed all the stuff they didn’t want into the
water at the end of the war. The shoreline and under the water is covered with
loads of debris, machinery and truck, jeep & aeroplane parts. There is so
much glass from soda and beer bottles and now it has all moulded into the reef
and compacted down so it’s OK to walk on.
Paul with a bucket dredge
A radial aeroplane engine.
The glass bottles all moulded into
the reef.
On the
Saturday we had a diving free day as the local guides are Seven Day Adventist
and they wanted to go to church.
We copped
a wild storm that lasted only a short time.
As soon as it cleared, Just Magic left with Sharkface leaving that arvo.
As soon as it cleared, Just Magic left with Sharkface leaving that arvo.
Sunday it
was back into it for a week of solid diving. One of the other dive shops had a small
group for the week so we moved the first dive each day to 8am to be the first
on the wreck. It worked a treat and we didn't see another diver for the next 4
days.
Diving
from the boat was awesome when doing the deeper dives. We simply just chose the
mooring line closest to the spot we wanted to go to and dropped straight down
before slowly working our way back to the man made coral reef up in the
shallows near the bow for our deco stops. By doing this it eliminated the long
swim from the beach down to the aft section of the boat to get to the required
spot. It gave us so much more time on the bottom and less decompression time.
We
strapped on a second tank for some deeper diving to 50m and did the engine
room, the control room and through D deck past some chandeliers before heading
back up. It was awesome but sensory overload as we just couldn't take it all
in.
Some Gauges and just one of the 4 Telegraphs in the Engine Room
For the second dive we did A, B and C decks by swimming up and down them in a snake pattern. There were
lots of things to see like mirrors, toilets, phones, gas masks, typewriters,
guns, etc…
Notice Coral does not adhere to Porcelain or Glass
Shell trails on the Mirror
Tuesday
the weather cleared to offshore winds and a flat, sunny day.
We did the engine room again for a second look and another chance at some more photos. We took a different route to the surface and did a run called the Gauntlet through a series of decks (and tight squeezes) to finally come out though the anchor locker hatch. It’s not for the feint hearted and was pretty full on. Thank goodness Simo knew where to go. Lisa pulled the pin at hold no.1 but Paul squeezed right through to the bow.
We did the engine room again for a second look and another chance at some more photos. We took a different route to the surface and did a run called the Gauntlet through a series of decks (and tight squeezes) to finally come out though the anchor locker hatch. It’s not for the feint hearted and was pretty full on. Thank goodness Simo knew where to go. Lisa pulled the pin at hold no.1 but Paul squeezed right through to the bow.
Control Levers and Gauges in the Engine Control Room
Lisa coming thru a passage. There's a Sniper Rifle on the left
The tight squeeze up to the chain locker exit
Lisa coming thru a passage. There's a Sniper Rifle on the left
The tight squeeze up to the chain locker exit
For the
arvo we wanted a shallow dive so we chose to go back to Hold No.1 and just
explore that area more thoroughly. We’re so glad we did as we missed so much the
first time round. We found a great bathroom with rows of sinks and the deck below
that was filled with crumbling crates of artillery shells. We got some great
photos of the jeeps too.
Wednesday
was Lisa’s birthday. We chose to do just one deep technical dive and what a
dive it was! We Dropped down to the stern before going into holds No.7 and 8, into
the swimming pool and back up along the collapsed promenade deck.
Two hours
& 20 minutes later and 3 scuba cylinders each (Lisa only needed 2…) and we
hit the surface.
The holds
were full of more Jeeps and large field guns and we saw a separate room filled
with crockery. The swimming pool still had all the mosaic tiles on the walls
and the ladders.
Lisa had a
swim in the pool for her birthday!
It was an
amazing last dive for us on the Coolidge.
Lisa in the Swimming Pool and Ladder
The bottom of the Pool
A Field Artillery Gun (upside down)
Feeding the Fish using Jim's bread rolls
The following
morning the weather had gone downhill again with rain and overcast skies. There was a tropical depression to the east of Santo and strong winds to 40 knots and 3m seas were forecast. There
was a cruise ship due into Luganville which is not a regular occurance. The locals had gone to a lot of effort with extra staff at most places and
extra food made. The captain aborted that morning as he was worried about the
ships safety on the commercial wharf and that he might get stuck on it with the
wind pushing him on. It was offshore on the wharf all day and the wind didn’t
get over 15 knots. The locals were not happy. I guess the passengers were not
either. Many had pre-booked snorkeling on Million Dollar Point and dives on the
Coolidge.
USS Tucker Wreck
USS Tucker Wreck
We went to the wreck of the USS Tucker which is close to
Malo Island and a 30 minute boat ride from Luganville. The Tucker was a 341ft
Mahan Class US
Destroyer in service during WW2. It was built in 1936 and sunk when it hit a
mine in 1942. It is 1 of only 2 divable US Destroyers in the world. It is
broken into 3 parts and lies upright in only 18m of water on a sandy/coral
rubble bottom. There is a load of fish on it and certain parts are clouded in
glassy bait fish. Very large Manta Rays and Dog Tooth Tuna hover over the
wreck. Viz is usually 30-40m.
The dive
was absolutely fantastic. With 30m viz we could see most of the wreck from just
lying on the surface.
We spent 70
minutes exploring the 3 sections and the scattered debris in between.
We just
cannot believe the wreck is not dived very often. Simo has done it less than 15
times in 3 years. If this wreck was anywhere else but here, it would be a
highlight and dived daily. It’s sad that it pales into insignificance because
of the Coolidge. Most divers that come here don’t even know it exists because 2
of the 3 dive shops don’t have boats so they don’t talk about it or promote it.
If you are
coming to Santo to dive the Coolidge – we’d strongly suggest you look up Mal at
Santo Island Dive (he is the only one diving it) and go for a dive or 2 on the
USS Tucker. You won’t regret it!
That
evening we had Simo onboard Lorelei and stuffed him full of dinner, dessert and soft drinks. He loved it as he had never been on a sailing boat before or had much
experience with Western food.
For our
last few days in Santo we did a light top up and re-provision of food and fuel,
explored the town and kicked back at Aore Resort and on Lorelei.
Luganville Fresh Food Markets
Re-provisioning
with fresh food at the markets was fun.
The ladies
who ran the stalls were so nice and quite funny once you got talking to them.
Food was very cheap.
Want some Bananas?
Only 200 Vatu and better
bring a mate to help carry them out
If you only want one mango, they are 20c each…
We took 2000 Vatu in and got all
this and some change back
Million Dollar Point
We also
did one more dive – this time we took our RIB over and dived Million Dollar
Point on our own. We waited until a flat sunny day and did it just on the top
of the tide. We had to pay Ben the local villager who oversees the site 500 Vatu each to visit the area.
When
snorkeling in between dives on the Coolidge we had seen a few things worth
having a look at on Scuba. It’s only when we got down to 20m+ that we found so
much more. At 30m there was an intact cargo ship with complete engine room,
stern cabins and aft deck shrouded with glassy bait fish. Next to the wreck was
a large bulldozer.
We saw
stacks of trucks, forklifts, bulldozers, boats and other army surplus. It’s sad
just how much they threw away after the war.
Surely the
locals could have made good use of the equipment.
The bow of the ship we found at 30m
That's a big Bulldozer !!
So our
plans are still the same as before.
Spend the
next 2-3 weeks exploring northern Vanuatu before clearing out of Sola in the Banks
Group in mid December.
This
should give us just enough time for the 1000nm sail over the equator to Tarawa
in the Kiribati ’s
to be there for Christmas.
We’ve had
a great 5 weeks since leaving Port Vila
although it has been a little challenging with lack of detailed charts,
marginal anchorages and varying weather conditions. We seem to have winter
trades one day and summer monsoon conditions the next. But it is our choice to
be here so late in the cruising season so we shouldn’t complain. Most Aussie
and NZ boats left the country at least 4-6 weeks ago.
We have no
idea where Episode 14 will be posted from.
Exciting
isn’t it!!!
Hopefully
it will be from Tarawa in the Kiribati ’s
around Dec/Jan.
If not
then Majuro in the Marshall
Islands in Feb.
Either way
somewhere from the Northern Hemisphere in 2013!
So that’s
it from the Hog Blog for 2012.
What a
year it’s been!!
We really
hoped you all enjoyed following our sailing adventure.
It’s snowballed to over 600 hits a month to
the site so we think you are.
Stay tuned
for more next year….
Have a
fantastic Christmas everyone and a safe and Happy New Year.
Cheers for
now
Paul
Hogger
&
Lisa
Hogger
onboard
SV Lorelei
Currently
somewhere in the middle of the Pacific…….