September 2007 Vanuatu
The 18 metre catamaran Augustina arrived in Luganville with 7 medical volunteers for the Project MARC September expedition at Santo. Also joining us here was the Kiwi doctor Peter. Dr. Hanna and students Dominique and Steven would stay with Augustina to do a medical survey of Big Bay on the north side of Santo. Alvei would take 5 people to the west coast of Santo. Three people for Jungle Mountain Clinic and 2 more to do TB screening and general health at villages along the coast. Stacks of medical supplies and equipment from Project MARC’s container had been brought aboard Alvei earlier in the week.
Friday was provisioning day on under the sun sail on the main deck. Our doctors and medical students used the afternoon to stock up on the medicines and equipment they would need the following 3 weeks. We were also carrying tons of construction materials for the new school at Wusi. The next evening we had a Welcome Aboard dinner on Alvei for everyone working with Project MARC. The following morning we had a quick orientation session and muster stations drill for the new crew. We were underway for the west coast by midmorning; anchoring at Lisburn anchorage just before sunset. Up again early the next morning we sailed north along the west coast of Santo. By early afternoon we anchored off the small village of Wusi. The first shore boat was greeted by Chief Puha. After several hours of discussion we learned there was a funeral which would occupy the last two days of the week. There was to be a formal greeting on Friday evening. Saturday and Sunday were for church. Monday we could start work at the clinic. We were also told the site of the school was a mile south of Wusi.
The next day we landed the 3 JMC team members, Dr. Heidi along with students Sarah and Sophie and a boat load of supplies on the beach at Sauriki for the 2 hour treck to the clinic. Then we re-anchored Alvei off the beach where the school is located. I was not looking forward to unloading 20 kg. Sacks of cement through a breaking surf. However, with the help of 15 young and strong Ni-Van lads the cement nearly flew out of the hold on to the deck. Five boat loads later the cement was high and dry on shore. Another few loads had wood, nails and paint safely ashore as well.
Dr. Peter and TB nurse Jan went back to the clinic at Wusi to assess the situation. Seems the clinic had a concrete floor and woven bamboo walls, but still needed a thatched roof. What supplies they had were kept in the clinic worker’s hut. So, they moved to the Nakamal/Community Centre to set up a temporary clinic until the proper clinic had a roof. (A Nakamal is the place where the men go to drink Kava.) This one apparently doubled as a community centre.
After a rough afternoon rolling and pitching off the beach we started to drag anchor. So, we weighed anchor and moved farther off shore to a shallow area off Remarkable Point. The sea wasn’t any smoother, but there was plenty of room to drag anchor. An open roadstead anchorage is like being at sea with the anchor down. There is no need to set and trim the sails, but the boat is always rolling and pitching. Alvei is big enough to dampen the motion in lighter wind. However, when the wind freshens, the motion is very much like being underway without the steadying effect of the sails. On one particular night the running sea smashed the small boat on the davits and tore the big cleat off the bow of the Tinny. By the middle of the following week we learned there were no suspected cases of TB. The clinic found it’s roof and was stocked with supplies. The JMC team came down the mountain to restock antibiotics and scalpel blades.
After nine days of rocking, rolling and flies we moved south to the anchorage at Lisburn to give aid to the villages of Tasiriki and Pollmell.
Our second evening there we were visited on board by 2 canoes, one was carrying a very sick five year old girl and her father. Dr. Peter diagnosed the illness as Valciparum Malaria, the most dangerous of the 3 types. We took the girl and her mother to the clinic that evening to await transport to the hospital at Luganville the next morning. It was sad that the little girl died of the illness that night. Malaria kills about a million people a year world wide.
A week later the line of patients dwindled to a few. We went back to Sauriki to fetch the Jungle Mountain team. The next day we had everyone back in Luganville. The catamaran Augustina returned from a very successful exploration of Big Bay. They found villages where the people had not seen white people before much less female doctors. They interviewed 200 people and assessed the population at about two thousand. There appears to be much need for eye screening, malaria prevention and scabies treatment.
We finished the week with debriefing sessions and a party for everyone on Alvei. We loaded more medical supplies from the container for the motor/sail down to Banam Bay. After waiting a week for the trade winds to ease, the passage south was an expensive exercise in frustration. Despite a
favourable weather forecast we were met my a fresh head wind and a diabolical two and a half metro head sea slightly longer than Alvei. About the time she wound bury her bow into the face of one wave, she would sit down hard on the back of the previous wave. As the prop churned out blue bubbles and foam, our 5 knot speed was reduced to less than one knot. After midnight the wind and sea eased and we finished the passage in 29 hours.
With diesel prices currently at $1.56 a litre it costs a bit over $14 dollars an hour, or $350 dollars a day, to run the engine. The weather eventually moderated. We made the 60 mile passage in 29 hours with a fuel cost of over $400 dollars. In Banam Bay we delivered medicines and supplies. Then
we did a thorough survey of the newly repaired water system there. Some of the villages and a school still don’t have water. Dr Henk offered to fund the needed supplies. If YCI or Alvei could find the volunteers and the leadership enough to come up with a workable plan. We may be back in Banam to finish the water job next season.
Henk and Nelleke had a hard week in Banam. The alternator on their boat seized a bearing, disabling the main engine. We took it apart, cleaned things up and got them running again. Then there was inter tribal politics to mediate. There were disputes about money and authority that turned to shouting and accusations. One evening we hosted another pot-luck dinner for the 8 yachts in the anchorage. Henk and Nelleke arrived late saying, Thanks for this, we could use a drink. We escorted them for the short passage to Sakau in case the alternator seized up again. They arrived without incident.
Their mooring in Sakau had been dragged out into deep water during a gale when they were there the previous month. So we picked it up with Alvei and moved it back into the shallow water near the shore. We took the supplies ashore that afternoon and departed the next morning.
The passage back to Port Vila was with light to moderate weather and also took 29 hours. With only Kat, Seamus and myself on the crew since July; we put up Crew Wanted notices in bars and hostiles around the area.
The first Saturday in port Kat complained of flu symptoms, aching ovaries and a sore knee. Three days later her knee was inflamed and temp was rising. Henk diagnosed an ovary infection and gave us a dose of Zithromax that knocked the fever out. The next day I invited some local expats Adian and Danielle, out to the boat, they inturn invited several of their friends. It became an impromptu social event with a barBQ and swimming. Dan is the Australian Volunteers International coordinator here in Vila.
Turned out there were two doctors, two EMT’s and two pharmacists from the hospital in the group. Predictably, Kat told me not to mention her condition. So, I discussed it with the pharmacists first. They were a very nice couple, Petra from Germany and Marcel from Switzerland. They ran it past the doctors, one of whom was a gynaecologist named Jason. After some consultation they diagnosed septic arthritis. An hour later they had Kat packed up and off to the hospital. All in all it was a remarkable series of events. An American Dr. Fred operated on her knee the next morning. During the consultation I asked Dr. Fred about the costs. He put a serious look on his face and said, “It will cost you. The nurses in the operating theatre like chocolate… (Okay, we can deal with that.)
After two days there was no further signs of infection o the drain tubes were removed. The sterilizing machine broke down right after Kat’s operation. Finding the $900 dollars to repair it was stuck in the bureaucracy. They don’t have a pathology dept. for a proper diagnosis.
After a few more days Kat’s leg began to get worse so we put her on a plane to Auckland. After 6 more days in hospital and another operation Kat was discharged with leg brace and crutches. There was also a bill of $7,461.14 dollars. A box of chocolates didn’t get us through that one. It took two weeks to find three more crew for the passage back to New Zealand. It is interesting to note that we often receive letters from people commending us for our aid work here in Vanuatu; however very few have been willing to come help.
Would like to be in Bay of Islands before the middle of November. Hope to be in Nelson before Christmas. I am looking forward to summer in Nelson.
All the best,
Evan
Friday was provisioning day on under the sun sail on the main deck. Our doctors and medical students used the afternoon to stock up on the medicines and equipment they would need the following 3 weeks. We were also carrying tons of construction materials for the new school at Wusi. The next evening we had a Welcome Aboard dinner on Alvei for everyone working with Project MARC. The following morning we had a quick orientation session and muster stations drill for the new crew. We were underway for the west coast by midmorning; anchoring at Lisburn anchorage just before sunset. Up again early the next morning we sailed north along the west coast of Santo. By early afternoon we anchored off the small village of Wusi. The first shore boat was greeted by Chief Puha. After several hours of discussion we learned there was a funeral which would occupy the last two days of the week. There was to be a formal greeting on Friday evening. Saturday and Sunday were for church. Monday we could start work at the clinic. We were also told the site of the school was a mile south of Wusi.
The next day we landed the 3 JMC team members, Dr. Heidi along with students Sarah and Sophie and a boat load of supplies on the beach at Sauriki for the 2 hour treck to the clinic. Then we re-anchored Alvei off the beach where the school is located. I was not looking forward to unloading 20 kg. Sacks of cement through a breaking surf. However, with the help of 15 young and strong Ni-Van lads the cement nearly flew out of the hold on to the deck. Five boat loads later the cement was high and dry on shore. Another few loads had wood, nails and paint safely ashore as well.
Dr. Peter and TB nurse Jan went back to the clinic at Wusi to assess the situation. Seems the clinic had a concrete floor and woven bamboo walls, but still needed a thatched roof. What supplies they had were kept in the clinic worker’s hut. So, they moved to the Nakamal/Community Centre to set up a temporary clinic until the proper clinic had a roof. (A Nakamal is the place where the men go to drink Kava.) This one apparently doubled as a community centre.
After a rough afternoon rolling and pitching off the beach we started to drag anchor. So, we weighed anchor and moved farther off shore to a shallow area off Remarkable Point. The sea wasn’t any smoother, but there was plenty of room to drag anchor. An open roadstead anchorage is like being at sea with the anchor down. There is no need to set and trim the sails, but the boat is always rolling and pitching. Alvei is big enough to dampen the motion in lighter wind. However, when the wind freshens, the motion is very much like being underway without the steadying effect of the sails. On one particular night the running sea smashed the small boat on the davits and tore the big cleat off the bow of the Tinny. By the middle of the following week we learned there were no suspected cases of TB. The clinic found it’s roof and was stocked with supplies. The JMC team came down the mountain to restock antibiotics and scalpel blades.
After nine days of rocking, rolling and flies we moved south to the anchorage at Lisburn to give aid to the villages of Tasiriki and Pollmell.
Our second evening there we were visited on board by 2 canoes, one was carrying a very sick five year old girl and her father. Dr. Peter diagnosed the illness as Valciparum Malaria, the most dangerous of the 3 types. We took the girl and her mother to the clinic that evening to await transport to the hospital at Luganville the next morning. It was sad that the little girl died of the illness that night. Malaria kills about a million people a year world wide.
A week later the line of patients dwindled to a few. We went back to Sauriki to fetch the Jungle Mountain team. The next day we had everyone back in Luganville. The catamaran Augustina returned from a very successful exploration of Big Bay. They found villages where the people had not seen white people before much less female doctors. They interviewed 200 people and assessed the population at about two thousand. There appears to be much need for eye screening, malaria prevention and scabies treatment.
We finished the week with debriefing sessions and a party for everyone on Alvei. We loaded more medical supplies from the container for the motor/sail down to Banam Bay. After waiting a week for the trade winds to ease, the passage south was an expensive exercise in frustration. Despite a
favourable weather forecast we were met my a fresh head wind and a diabolical two and a half metro head sea slightly longer than Alvei. About the time she wound bury her bow into the face of one wave, she would sit down hard on the back of the previous wave. As the prop churned out blue bubbles and foam, our 5 knot speed was reduced to less than one knot. After midnight the wind and sea eased and we finished the passage in 29 hours.
With diesel prices currently at $1.56 a litre it costs a bit over $14 dollars an hour, or $350 dollars a day, to run the engine. The weather eventually moderated. We made the 60 mile passage in 29 hours with a fuel cost of over $400 dollars. In Banam Bay we delivered medicines and supplies. Then
we did a thorough survey of the newly repaired water system there. Some of the villages and a school still don’t have water. Dr Henk offered to fund the needed supplies. If YCI or Alvei could find the volunteers and the leadership enough to come up with a workable plan. We may be back in Banam to finish the water job next season.
Henk and Nelleke had a hard week in Banam. The alternator on their boat seized a bearing, disabling the main engine. We took it apart, cleaned things up and got them running again. Then there was inter tribal politics to mediate. There were disputes about money and authority that turned to shouting and accusations. One evening we hosted another pot-luck dinner for the 8 yachts in the anchorage. Henk and Nelleke arrived late saying, Thanks for this, we could use a drink. We escorted them for the short passage to Sakau in case the alternator seized up again. They arrived without incident.
Their mooring in Sakau had been dragged out into deep water during a gale when they were there the previous month. So we picked it up with Alvei and moved it back into the shallow water near the shore. We took the supplies ashore that afternoon and departed the next morning.
The passage back to Port Vila was with light to moderate weather and also took 29 hours. With only Kat, Seamus and myself on the crew since July; we put up Crew Wanted notices in bars and hostiles around the area.
The first Saturday in port Kat complained of flu symptoms, aching ovaries and a sore knee. Three days later her knee was inflamed and temp was rising. Henk diagnosed an ovary infection and gave us a dose of Zithromax that knocked the fever out. The next day I invited some local expats Adian and Danielle, out to the boat, they inturn invited several of their friends. It became an impromptu social event with a barBQ and swimming. Dan is the Australian Volunteers International coordinator here in Vila.
Turned out there were two doctors, two EMT’s and two pharmacists from the hospital in the group. Predictably, Kat told me not to mention her condition. So, I discussed it with the pharmacists first. They were a very nice couple, Petra from Germany and Marcel from Switzerland. They ran it past the doctors, one of whom was a gynaecologist named Jason. After some consultation they diagnosed septic arthritis. An hour later they had Kat packed up and off to the hospital. All in all it was a remarkable series of events. An American Dr. Fred operated on her knee the next morning. During the consultation I asked Dr. Fred about the costs. He put a serious look on his face and said, “It will cost you. The nurses in the operating theatre like chocolate… (Okay, we can deal with that.)
After two days there was no further signs of infection o the drain tubes were removed. The sterilizing machine broke down right after Kat’s operation. Finding the $900 dollars to repair it was stuck in the bureaucracy. They don’t have a pathology dept. for a proper diagnosis.
After a few more days Kat’s leg began to get worse so we put her on a plane to Auckland. After 6 more days in hospital and another operation Kat was discharged with leg brace and crutches. There was also a bill of $7,461.14 dollars. A box of chocolates didn’t get us through that one. It took two weeks to find three more crew for the passage back to New Zealand. It is interesting to note that we often receive letters from people commending us for our aid work here in Vanuatu; however very few have been willing to come help.
Would like to be in Bay of Islands before the middle of November. Hope to be in Nelson before Christmas. I am looking forward to summer in Nelson.
All the best,
Evan