Lautoka to Port Villa September 2011
Events at Lautoka generated yet another change of plans.
The part for the outboard engine finally arrived. While I was in Denarau picking up the part, one of our new crew managed to drive the tinny across a chunk of coral, thus destroying most of the clamp that attaches the engine to the transom. Along with that, the new fuel pump didn't fit. I returned the pump and ordered parts to replace the damaged engine mount.
After a Saturday afternoon breakdown in communications with the Mercury dealer, we learned the cost of the parts to repair the engine amounted to about half the cost of a new engine. So we ordered a new engine. We also had to wait another week for it to be flown in from Australia. After some discussion with the crew we decided to skip New Caledonia and sail directly to Vanuatu.
Leaving us here were Shelly a British graphic designer and Kanuk our French Canadian nurse. Both of them have gone to Aust. to work. PNG Pete has returned to Australia and his daughters wedding. And from Nelson 'Copy Machine' Gary has returned to New Zealand.
We cleared Customs at the end of the following week for the sail to Vanuatu. Returning to Alvei I spent the next 6 hours trying to start the main engine without success. Having a dependable engine is essential to the safety of the ship and crew. I had to inform the crew that this would be the best place to make repairs between here and New Zealand.
Dismantling the air start mechanism we found a delightfully simple piece of machinery that was both worn and dirty. The necessary parts went to the machine shop to be fitted with new marine bronze bushings and spacers. During this time I called a special crew meeting while we were waiting for the air start distributor to come back from the machine shop.
We were about halfway through the sailing season. Call it mid-season slump? The disappointment from delays was showing through people's attitudes. Out of the 9 crew, the 3 new people were away on walkabout. The remaining 5 were Kim & Dai the dive people, Franzi, Jay and Meg. I told them they were the best crew I have ever had on Alvei. All of them have worked hard at helping me shoulder the load. Franzi, as provedore, takes care of all the provisioning. Jay, as bosun's mate, keeps the focsle in shape. Meg, our second engineer, runs the generator and is about ready to be able to start the main engine on her own. Kim and Dai are clearly focused on their Castaways; but they provide something for the crew to do when we are delayed.
At that meeting I learned Kim & Dai would be taking next year off to make some money. After we return to New Zealand Jay plans to work with Darcie till she comes back to Alvei the end of January and Franzi will be returning to Germany. Only Meg wants to stay and work on the boat.
When the air start distributor returned from the machine shop Jay, Meg and I put it all back together and gave it a try. It works better now than it ever did. The government of Vanuatu has recently opened Aneityum, the southern most island in the group, as a place to check into the country. So, we set sail for Aneityum, (pronounced an-each-ium).
It was a good 550-mile passage with a couple of 100-mile days and a couple more with light airs. Then within sight of our destination we were headed by a westerly wind. According to the pilot, the anchorage at Aneityum is exposed to a westerly wind and since I had not been there before I decided to heave to and wait for the predicted wind shift back to the southeast.
On the eighth day we anchored in the bay of this beautiful small island. It measures 9 miles east to west and 7 miles north to south and is composed of cloud covered peaks and valleys of lush tropical bush. There is a small village on the fore shore of the half-mile wide bay. Half the crew spent a day trekking up to the waterfall and back. The divers said it was the best soft coral they had seen.
Sailing north to Tanna we found a two-metre swell running through the anchorage and heavy breakers on the beach at LŽnakel. Unable to anchor we were forced to sail on to Efate. We were met with a friendly welcome when we anchored in Port Vila.
Later in that week I spent Sunday morning hauling buckets and the barrel filled with water back to the boat. After several weeks in Lautoka we were almost 3000 litres low. That was until the afternoon breeze got stronger and we started dragging anchor. All the crew were on shore. Started the engine and then made phone calls trying to collect enough crew to weigh the anchor and reset it. After the 4 girls arrived we did weigh anchor. Motoring back to our usual anchorage in the dark I was following the wrong landmark going about 50 metres too far north and went aground with the anchor already hanging 3 fathoms out. With the help from a few friends on shore and eventually the other 3 male members of the crew we slid off the reef and set the other anchor in slightly deeper water. The task for the next morning was to retrieve the anchor in shallow water. However in the meantime our crew and a few helpers from shore had formed a circle on the main deck. A spontaneous party was in the making. By way of saying thank you for their efforts I brought out a fresh bottle of rum, a jug of fruit juice cordial and a hand full of cups. We all talked and drank for a while until Ivan had 4 pizzas sent out from his Nambawun Cafe A second bottle of rum was found. Some time later we ran our helpers ashore. With the second bottle of rum finished. I had just collected and washed the empty cups when I came back on deck. Our dive people asked for more rum. However it was late and we needed to be up early to sort out the anchor on the reef. I refused their request for more rum. My refusal generated a five-minute salvo of verbal assault that came raining in hot and heavy. I was aware they were frustrated by our numerous delays this season; but they had not communicated the degree of their frustration until that time. They had also not made as much money as hoped from their Castaways dive project. The loan for their dive gear was outstanding. They were due to leave us the next day to fly to their new job as dive instructors at a 5-star resort in the Maldive Islands. We hope their expectations will be better fulfilled in their new situation.
The next morning, after it was light enough to see, Jay and I took the tinny to find the anchor. We found the chain wrapped around several coral heads and the anchor firmly wedged in another. We went back to Alvei to pick up Bob to help with the lifting. We used the mizzen preventer tackle, rigged off the bow of the tinny, to lift the 250-kilo anchor off the coral head and drag it into an open space. Then we picked the chain out from between 3 different coral patches, dragging it to deeper water. When our ground tackle on the bottom looked retrievable we went back to Alvei to start the engine and wake the crew. By the time we weighed the port anchor Ivan sent out 3 German guys and a couple of ni-Vans to help on the windlass. Using the tinny as a bow thruster we managed to pick the anchor off the reef and get anchored in deeper water. That day was considerably better than the previous one.
The divers left without saying good-bye. It felt like a weight had been lifted. Most of the crew said they wanted to stay another week in Port Vila so they could tour the island and see the volcano we missed when we couldn't anchor at Tanna and to pay visits to the dentist and optometrist. I ran the idea past Henk and Nelleke the founders of Project MARC. I knew they were not in a hurry. This was mostly a farewell tour for them. They easily agreed. The three young German lads who helped us weigh anchor returned to stay the night with us. They told us about their plan to lease a small island and create a utopian community with the family who own the island.
By the weekend we plan to sail for Sakau, Banam Bay, Ambrum, Norsup and Luganville. After mid-October we will begin the return voyage to New Zealand.
Evan
The part for the outboard engine finally arrived. While I was in Denarau picking up the part, one of our new crew managed to drive the tinny across a chunk of coral, thus destroying most of the clamp that attaches the engine to the transom. Along with that, the new fuel pump didn't fit. I returned the pump and ordered parts to replace the damaged engine mount.
After a Saturday afternoon breakdown in communications with the Mercury dealer, we learned the cost of the parts to repair the engine amounted to about half the cost of a new engine. So we ordered a new engine. We also had to wait another week for it to be flown in from Australia. After some discussion with the crew we decided to skip New Caledonia and sail directly to Vanuatu.
Leaving us here were Shelly a British graphic designer and Kanuk our French Canadian nurse. Both of them have gone to Aust. to work. PNG Pete has returned to Australia and his daughters wedding. And from Nelson 'Copy Machine' Gary has returned to New Zealand.
We cleared Customs at the end of the following week for the sail to Vanuatu. Returning to Alvei I spent the next 6 hours trying to start the main engine without success. Having a dependable engine is essential to the safety of the ship and crew. I had to inform the crew that this would be the best place to make repairs between here and New Zealand.
Dismantling the air start mechanism we found a delightfully simple piece of machinery that was both worn and dirty. The necessary parts went to the machine shop to be fitted with new marine bronze bushings and spacers. During this time I called a special crew meeting while we were waiting for the air start distributor to come back from the machine shop.
We were about halfway through the sailing season. Call it mid-season slump? The disappointment from delays was showing through people's attitudes. Out of the 9 crew, the 3 new people were away on walkabout. The remaining 5 were Kim & Dai the dive people, Franzi, Jay and Meg. I told them they were the best crew I have ever had on Alvei. All of them have worked hard at helping me shoulder the load. Franzi, as provedore, takes care of all the provisioning. Jay, as bosun's mate, keeps the focsle in shape. Meg, our second engineer, runs the generator and is about ready to be able to start the main engine on her own. Kim and Dai are clearly focused on their Castaways; but they provide something for the crew to do when we are delayed.
At that meeting I learned Kim & Dai would be taking next year off to make some money. After we return to New Zealand Jay plans to work with Darcie till she comes back to Alvei the end of January and Franzi will be returning to Germany. Only Meg wants to stay and work on the boat.
When the air start distributor returned from the machine shop Jay, Meg and I put it all back together and gave it a try. It works better now than it ever did. The government of Vanuatu has recently opened Aneityum, the southern most island in the group, as a place to check into the country. So, we set sail for Aneityum, (pronounced an-each-ium).
It was a good 550-mile passage with a couple of 100-mile days and a couple more with light airs. Then within sight of our destination we were headed by a westerly wind. According to the pilot, the anchorage at Aneityum is exposed to a westerly wind and since I had not been there before I decided to heave to and wait for the predicted wind shift back to the southeast.
On the eighth day we anchored in the bay of this beautiful small island. It measures 9 miles east to west and 7 miles north to south and is composed of cloud covered peaks and valleys of lush tropical bush. There is a small village on the fore shore of the half-mile wide bay. Half the crew spent a day trekking up to the waterfall and back. The divers said it was the best soft coral they had seen.
Sailing north to Tanna we found a two-metre swell running through the anchorage and heavy breakers on the beach at LŽnakel. Unable to anchor we were forced to sail on to Efate. We were met with a friendly welcome when we anchored in Port Vila.
Later in that week I spent Sunday morning hauling buckets and the barrel filled with water back to the boat. After several weeks in Lautoka we were almost 3000 litres low. That was until the afternoon breeze got stronger and we started dragging anchor. All the crew were on shore. Started the engine and then made phone calls trying to collect enough crew to weigh the anchor and reset it. After the 4 girls arrived we did weigh anchor. Motoring back to our usual anchorage in the dark I was following the wrong landmark going about 50 metres too far north and went aground with the anchor already hanging 3 fathoms out. With the help from a few friends on shore and eventually the other 3 male members of the crew we slid off the reef and set the other anchor in slightly deeper water. The task for the next morning was to retrieve the anchor in shallow water. However in the meantime our crew and a few helpers from shore had formed a circle on the main deck. A spontaneous party was in the making. By way of saying thank you for their efforts I brought out a fresh bottle of rum, a jug of fruit juice cordial and a hand full of cups. We all talked and drank for a while until Ivan had 4 pizzas sent out from his Nambawun Cafe A second bottle of rum was found. Some time later we ran our helpers ashore. With the second bottle of rum finished. I had just collected and washed the empty cups when I came back on deck. Our dive people asked for more rum. However it was late and we needed to be up early to sort out the anchor on the reef. I refused their request for more rum. My refusal generated a five-minute salvo of verbal assault that came raining in hot and heavy. I was aware they were frustrated by our numerous delays this season; but they had not communicated the degree of their frustration until that time. They had also not made as much money as hoped from their Castaways dive project. The loan for their dive gear was outstanding. They were due to leave us the next day to fly to their new job as dive instructors at a 5-star resort in the Maldive Islands. We hope their expectations will be better fulfilled in their new situation.
The next morning, after it was light enough to see, Jay and I took the tinny to find the anchor. We found the chain wrapped around several coral heads and the anchor firmly wedged in another. We went back to Alvei to pick up Bob to help with the lifting. We used the mizzen preventer tackle, rigged off the bow of the tinny, to lift the 250-kilo anchor off the coral head and drag it into an open space. Then we picked the chain out from between 3 different coral patches, dragging it to deeper water. When our ground tackle on the bottom looked retrievable we went back to Alvei to start the engine and wake the crew. By the time we weighed the port anchor Ivan sent out 3 German guys and a couple of ni-Vans to help on the windlass. Using the tinny as a bow thruster we managed to pick the anchor off the reef and get anchored in deeper water. That day was considerably better than the previous one.
The divers left without saying good-bye. It felt like a weight had been lifted. Most of the crew said they wanted to stay another week in Port Vila so they could tour the island and see the volcano we missed when we couldn't anchor at Tanna and to pay visits to the dentist and optometrist. I ran the idea past Henk and Nelleke the founders of Project MARC. I knew they were not in a hurry. This was mostly a farewell tour for them. They easily agreed. The three young German lads who helped us weigh anchor returned to stay the night with us. They told us about their plan to lease a small island and create a utopian community with the family who own the island.
By the weekend we plan to sail for Sakau, Banam Bay, Ambrum, Norsup and Luganville. After mid-October we will begin the return voyage to New Zealand.
Evan