svbeachhouse

Category: 2011 New Zealand – Fiji – Vanuatu – New Caledonia to Australia Voyage

  • New Caledonia – a most interesting history…..A most interesting future……

    Dear F&F, October 13th – 16th, 2011 (Eastern Hemisphere)

    Of all the places I\’ve visited in the Pacific, New Caledonia is perhaps the place I knew the least about.

    It is an absolutely beautiful island, 300 miles long by 30 miles wide. Located about 900 miles East of the north central Australian Coast. The Western side of the island has classic barrier reefs replete with beautiful anchorages and surf spots. It would be our last stop before \”Beach House\” would spend the Austral Cyclone season in Brisbane.

    The people of New Caledonia are called Kanaks. They are distinctly Melanesian like the Fijians and the Vanuatuans.

    For a condensed history, about the geography and land of New Caledonia, copy and paste this link into your browser:

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Caledonia

    What we discovered and did not realize before our arrival is the recent history of New Caledonia has been quite tempestuous. The French, much like all Colonial nations from the age of discovery simply \”took over\” without much regard to the local peoples direct interests. Tourism at one point was the primary industry here but that has now been well surpassed by the local nickel mines. New Caledonia has 1/3rd of the world\’s proven nickel reserves and as such, the companies and first world nations involved have made the Global Financial crisis a non event here. Unless….you\’re a local. The local people are not so much suffering as not really participating in the wealth of their nation. A brief history can be seen at the absolutely gorgeous Jean-Marie Tjibaou Cultural Center. (See the photo gallery of New Caledonia from the home page).

    Copy and paste this link in your browser to see about the center: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jean-Marie_Tjibaou_Cultural_Centre

    For information on the Independence movement in New Caledonia, copy and paste this link into your browser: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jean-Marie_Tjibaou

    At the Tjibaou Cultural center we learned of the many diverse tribes on New Caledonia and the 28 separate languages that are spoken here.

    Tjibaou in many ways is the Father of his country. Trying to arrange a path to Independence, he was sadly assassinated by one of his own countryman for being to yielding to French interests in 1989. This was right on the heals of a massacre reportedly carried out by French authorities of 29 locals. At first, the locals kidnapped several French Policeman and civilians but then thought better of it and were going to surrender. Whether things went wrong by design was largely proved and enmity has remained between the locals and the local French ever since.

    Noumea is strictly \”first world\”; a mini French Riviera. Prices are quite European and this is where the problem arises for the locals. They\’re on the outside, looking in. Tourism has suffered during the Global Financial Crisis and Noumea does not seem overly crowded. This too is not helping local interests get ahead.

    We were also able to recieve great insight from Nathalie of s/v \”Na Maka\”. Nathalie spent 14 years here and was intimately familiar with the politics of the island. In a few years, there will be a vote again on Independence, but like many such events, the politics and economics are fraught with inner workings that will have to play out.

    Despite the difficulties, foreigners, including the French (from France) are well received. The local French and the Kanak\’s of New Caledonia still have a bit of a distance that will need to be overcome…..

    Enjoy the photo gallery. Our next and last stops will be the Baie de Prony en route to the magical Isle of Pines…

    Stay tuned, Scott with Kay

  • Sailing to New Caledoinia…..

    Dear F&F, October 8th – 12th, 2011 (Eastern Hemisphere)

    This would be Kay\’s first ocean crossing. We went to the local markets, cleared customs and immigration and prepared \”Beach House\” for sea. The journey would be a short one, but potentially a bit more up wind than normal as we had to go around the south side of New Caledonia to check into Noumea. Noumea is New Caledonia\’s Capital and really the only official \”Port of Call\” to enter the country.

    A personal story is in order here. Years ago, when I first met Cindy, she\’d told me she\’d met a French Policeman who fell in love with her instantly while on a Club Med vacation. Trust me, he wasn\’t alone. He wanted to whisk her away to New Caledonia to be his paramour. She declined, he was crushed. We had always planned to come here and pick up where he left off. We always kidded about it. Alas…another lifetime perhaps.

    The weather window was pretty good, but with the wind a bit forward of the beam initially, a bit bouncy and Kay had a bit of \”mal de mer\”. To her credit, she recovered quite quickly. We both discovered that we were truly serious when we told each other that neither of us were much use in the galley. We managed and Kay did the lion\’s share sparing me much embarrassment. Having some prepared meals before departure is always helpful. Microwave to the rescue yet again!

    The wind was a close reach, then a beam reach and finally on day two; aft the beam. The second day was really gorgeous, flat seas and lovely winds. Approaching the \”Loyalty Islands\” (the small outlying group off the south side of the main island). We were treated to some really interesting views that could have been anywhere in the world. PINE TRESS were the dominant feature, specifically the \”cone pine\” (not to be confused with pine cones). These are very narrow and tall (see photo gallery \”New Caledonia\”). These trees were a dominant feature of much of Southern New Caledonia and really a striking contrast to the South Sea setting.

    The weather in New Caledonia to my mind was some of the best in the Pacific. The island is tropical, but at this time of year (Winter/Spring) the night time temperatures were in the mid 60\’s deg F/17-20 deg C at night. Day time temperatures were still tropical, but with less humidity than many places in the tropical Pacific.

    We arrived through the Havanah Pass and continued north up the Canal Woodin. As New Caledonia is part of French Polynesia, French is the language of the local population, but English is widely spoken. We arrived at Port Moselle and had enough time to check in with Customs and Immigration and then just relaxed.

    En route past Port Moselle, we spotted old friends Jerome and Nathalie (and kids) aboard s/v \”Na Maka\”; sister ship and our buddy boat from last season.

    It was great to see them and they had Kay and I over for dinner our second night at Baie O\’rphelina (The Bay of Orphans). The name of the bay is specifically in reference to all the cruising boats that anchor here. We had around 100 boats around us. We are all \”orphans of the sea\”, for me a most poignant and personal life note.

    The next day, we were joined by old friends Jim & Pat Whiting along with Sandy Zaslaw and Chuck Cohen aboard s/v \”Wetnose\”. The Rugby World Cup was on the TV that evening and we all went to the New Caledonia Yacht Club where the French defeated the Aussies in the semi-finals. As we were in a French territory, you can imagine they were more than a bit excited.

    Next, some touring, a history lesson and off to the Isle of Pines….. Stay tuned, Scott with Kay

  • Tanna Island Volcano Trip…..

    Dear F&F, October 5th-6th, 2011 (Eastern Hemisphere)

    I\’d made arrangements for Kay and I to fly to Tanna Island, about an hour flight. Despite assurances that the drive upon arrival would be fairly easy, it was anything but! I would have to say that the 20 minute drive to our hotel was exciting, but nothing prepared us for the immediate check in and off we went for the 2 hour drive to the volcano. The idea was to get there just before sunset to see it during the day and then watch the sunset and see the volcano at night.

    The drive was second in wildness only to when Cindy and I did Copper Canyon in Mexico. We finally arrived at the base of the volcano just as the sun was setting, the view was a beautiful moonscape. Mt. Yasur isn\’t very tall, but it is one of the most active volcanos in the world. First, we had to check in with the park rangers who would tell our guide which of the view spots would be safe. You view this volcano based on two things. First, it\’s activity level (rated 1-6) and second, where the wind is blowing!

    We were told which viewing area to park at. Unfortunately we missed the sunset experience, but the excitement was about to begin!

    I thought we\’d see a bit of a glowing caldron, a few bubbles and a bit of \”boil\”. However, half way up the walkway, I heard what I only could describe as a jet airplane engine. Then an explosion followed by fairly intense heat. It was actually quite cold despite our elevation of less than a 1000 feet (300 meters). Of course, not knowing how often this explosive experience occurred gave me pause. Either it was going to be really exciting or \”you missed it, should have been here yesterday\” sort of experience.

    Once we arrived at the viewing area, our guide explained that the volcano was at level 1-2 out of 6. He then gave us a safety briefing. \”IF\”, he said, \”you see lava shooting up over your heads, do not run. Just keep your eye on it and you\’ll easily be able to move out of the way as it approaches\”. NOT KIDDING!

    Apparently, if the wind were to shift or the volcano goes to level 3-4, this is a common experience. Though they do not like to talk about it. People have been killed here. Fortunately, not many and not for several years. If the level goes to 5-6, no one is allowed inside the crater area. They say that happens about one week per year. It had happened about six months prior to our visit. This volcano has been in a constant state of eruption for over 25 years.

    Trust me, you didn\’t miss anything if you were there at level 1-2. Amazing is not an understatement. I took lots of photos (see Vanuatu Gallery) and about 30 minutes of HD video which I hope to edit and post once back in the USA. I\’ll do about a three minute highlight show. It IS something to see.

    After watching \”the show\” for 45 minutes and feeling wave after wave of heat from the explosions (which happened about every 2 minutes!), we got so cold we had to retreat to the car. The two hour ride back was just as painful as the ride there…and, in the dark. The experience was well worth it.

    The next day, we took advantage of our very nice hotel, chilled out and relaxed. After the previous nights explosions, it was necessary!

    Next, getting ready to go to New Caledonia, the last and most Western vestige of French Polynesia in the Pacific.

    KIT, Scott with Kay

  • Port Vila….Goodbye Anja, Hello Kay!….

    Dear F&F, October 3rd, 2011 (Eastern Hemisphere)

    As lovely as our time together was, Anja had met \”someone\” while we were in Fiji. They decided on a rendezvous in Brisbane, Australia and far be it from me to hold back young love…:-)) I don\’t want to embarrass Anja, so I\’ll just leave the details for her to tell. After all, this blog is PG!..

    So, on October 3rd, Anja left for Brisbane but had time to meet our newest arrival, Kay McNamara from Brisbane, Australia. Kay was keen to see what the \”cruising life\” was about. We connected on one of the websites for finding crew and we did so on fairly short notice. Kay arrived on the two and half hour flight from Brisbane to Port Vila, she would be my final crew and help me escort \”Beach House\” back to Brisbane via New Caledonia. (See photos in the Vanuatu Gallery).

    Anja and I gave a big hug to each other and she promised to KIT (keep in touch). Anja you were terrific and I know you\’ll have a wonderful finish to your year long sojourn around the world before heading back to Germany.

    Kay teaches English as a second language and was taking some time off herself. A sort of mid career break. As you can imagine, for a single gal to come aboard the boat without much knowledge of not only the boat, but her skipper (me!), is a pretty big act of faith. Both Kay\’s \”Mum\” and her beau in Holland wanted some re-assurance. Anja even sent a letter of recommendation which made the family at home feel better. Jan, Kay\’s BF even emailed me; sort of guy to guy.

    Right after Kay\’s arrival, we prepared for our next adventure…..visiting a real live ACTIVE volcano. Lava shooting fireworks an all. But this time….it would be by a quick airplane trip to Tanna Island about 150 miles south of Efate Island (Port Vila).

    More soon! Scott and now with Kay!

  • Santo to Port Vila……

    Dear F&F, September 30 – October 1st, 2011 (Eastern Hemisphere)

    We left our mooring at Aore Island with a favorable weather report to motor south against the dormant trade winds. We weren\’t sure how far we\’d get, but wanted to try and keep the trip to two days. As such, we ended up going down the East side of Malakula Island. En route we passed the final resting place of USS Tucker. Having read the story of the vessel and watched a lovely presentation by a local hotelier, I could really get a sense of the day she was lost. The currents in the channel were so strong, a 3-4 foot standing wave was created which must have aided in guiding Tucker to her final resting place. Though there is not much left of the wreck after nearly 60 years, it is dive-able in only 30-60 feet of water.

    Malakula Island – just south of \”Santo\” has several items of note.

    First, it\’s home to the \”Big and Little Nambas\”. This refers to the size of their cod pieces and I\’ll just leave it at that! Though now done mostly as tourist shows, the \”Nambas\” dress in their traditional outfits of \”not so much\”. As we would be moving along to get to Port Vila; we unfortunately didn\’t have the time to explore this most interesting aspect of Vanuatuan culture. Also along the way was Port Sandwich. This spot has a bit of a checkered history for cruisers. The main pier has a warning about shark attacks. Do not swim here! There seems to be a semi-resident Tiger Shark that has attacked swimmers and a few cruisers. At least one life has been lost. It seems that there used to be a meat packing plant here which has been closed for years. Unfortunately, no one seems to have sent the memo to the Tiger Shark! Lastly, we anchored after a long day at Gaspard Bay. It is a lovely spot in a well protected bay; immediately adjacent to the Maskerene Islands on Malakula\’s southern tip. There is reported to be a family of Dugongs that live here amongst the mangroves. Alas we did not see them. Dugongs are related to the Manatee\’s of South Florida. They are very friendly and quite endangered. These are the creatures that early sailors mistook for Mermaids. They can get over 7 feet long and look a bit like a cuddly walrus.

    After a calm evening at Gaspard Bay we again took advantage of a nice weather opportunity to make Port Vila, Vanuatu\’s capital. Coming into Port Vila was pretty exciting, the city appeared to be fairly modern. The inner bay was extremely well protected and offered great moorings. We waved to several old friends already tied up here ahead of us.

    The next day, Anja and I went exploring and had a nice lunch at the Cafe \”Nambwan\”. (Number One). The local language, \”Bislam\” is a combination of many of the dozens of Vanuatuan dialects, English and a bit of French. \”Beach House\” blong me. Blong being the Bislam for \”belong\”. And so it goes.  To see a condensed history, about the geography and  culture of Vanuatu, click this link:  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vanuatu

    Stay tuned… Scott and soon to leave Anja:-(

  • Luganville – \”SS President Coolidge\”……

    Dear F&F, September 27th – 29th, 2011 (Eastern Hemisphere)

    We arrived at Luganville\’s \”Segond Channel\” just about 8 pm local time. It was completely dark and all the navigation lights on the charts either were not working or had changed their light patterns! Welcome to navigating in the \”back of beyond\”!

    We came in through this very famous body of water in nice calm conditions. It was here that Admiral McCain (Grandfather of U.S. Senator John McCain) flew over this island and declared it would become the forward base in the Pacific to halt the Japanese advance in early 1942. This channel once had over 100 Allied ships anchored including Air Craft Carriers and Battleships. Over a half a million Allied personnel came through here during the war years. It is home to two famous ship wrecks; both lost to \”friendly fire\”.

    \”SS President Coolidge\” struck two mines while entering the channel and has become a diving/tourist Mecca for this remote island nation in the Southwest Pacific.

    The Coolidge is in between 65 feet (20 meters) and 200 feet (60 meters) of water and offers potentially days of diving to completely explore her.

    See: https://svbeachhouse.com/photos/09-10-2011-vanuatu-underwater-topside-tanna-island-volcano/

    The \”USS Tucker\” was also unaware that mines had recently been laid (24 hours before her loss, two weeks before the loss of \”Coolidge\”), violently exploded and sank at the opposite end of the channel. Two men were lost on Coolidge and six men on Tucker. Due to the loss of equipment being shipped on Coolidge, it caused a several month delay in resupply and rotation of U.S. Marines at Guadalcanal in the Solomon Islands; about 700 miles north of here.

    Anja and I did the first dive as a \”check out dive\”. Despite our experience and advanced certifications, the dive operator is very prudent on a first dive on Coolidge. Divers have been lost on this wreck! Our second dive would also be our last as we do need to move on to Port Villa 150 miles to our south starting tomorrow. We passed on the other famous dive here, \”Million Dollar Point\”. This site and point were so named as departing US troops shoved millions of dollars of mostly heavy equipment into the ocean before departing at the end of WW2.

    On our second dive on Coolidge, we entered the ship\’s forward cargo holds #1 & #2. Here we saw small tanks, air craft fuel tanks, heavy equipment, gun shells and lots of military equipment.

    These dives are all decompression dives and guides are required. A decompression dive is an advanced dive where to remove excess nitrogen build up from our bodies, we have to wait at set depths for a period of time to \”out gas\”. This prevents us from getting \”the bends\”. I had a required 10 minute stop on both dives, more than sufficient air and no worries. My dive computer is extremely conservative. Some of the divers had NO required stop times on their more liberal dive computers. We were quite tired after our sail here and I wanted the next day off. Anja used the time to do some land touring which I\’ll hear about later tonight.

    We had a lovely gathering of M/V \”Oso Blanco\”, M/V \”Mystery Ship\”, S/V – can\’t remember, will add later! and S/V \”Beach House\” crews. We all had drinks and puu puu\’s aboard \”Mystery Ship\” and dinner at the local Aore Island Resort.

    Today I\’m getting \”Beach House\” ready for our last 150 miles to Port Villa where we will start out tomorrow via Malakula Island and perhaps Havana Harbor on Efate Island before arrival at Port Villa. Port Villa is the capitol of Vanuatu. A mini surprise will then be revealed!….

    Stay tuned, Scott with touring Anja!

  • Luganville – \”SS President Coolidge\”……

    Dear F&F, September 27th – 29th, 2011 (Eastern Hemisphere)

    We arrived at Luganville\’s \”Segond Channel\” just about 8 pm local time. It was completely dark and all the navigation lights on the charts either were not working or had changed their light patterns! Welcome to navigating in the \”back of beyond\”!

    We came in through this very famous body of water in nice calm conditions. It was here that Admiral McCain (Grandfather of U.S. Senator John McCain) flew over this island and declared it would become the forward base in the Pacific to halt the Japanese advance in early 1942. This channel once had over 100 Allied ships anchored including Air Craft Carriers and Battleships. Over a half a million Allied personnel came through here during the war years. It is home to two famous ship wrecks; both lost to \”friendly fire\”.

    \”SS President Coolidge\” struck two mines while entering the channel and has become a diving/tourist Mecca for this remote island nation in the Southwest Pacific.

    The Coolidge is in between 65 feet (20 meters) and 200 feet (60 meters) of water and offers potentially days of diving to completely explore her.

    See: https://svbeachhouse.com/photos/09-10-2011-vanuatu-underwater-topside-tanna-island-volcano/

    The \”USS Tucker\” was also unaware that mines had recently been laid (24 hours before her loss, two weeks before the loss of \”Coolidge\”), violently exploded and sank at the opposite end of the channel. Two men were lost on Coolidge and six men on Tucker. Due to the loss of equipment being shipped on Coolidge, it caused a several month delay in resupply and rotation of U.S. Marines at Guadalcanal in the Solomon Islands; about 700 miles north of here.

    Anja and I did the first dive as a \”check out dive\”. Despite our experience and advanced certifications, the dive operator is very prudent on a first dive on Coolidge. Divers have been lost on this wreck! Our second dive would also be our last as we do need to move on to Port Villa 150 miles to our south starting tomorrow. We passed on the other famous dive here, \”Million Dollar Point\”. This site and point were so named as departing US troops shoved millions of dollars of mostly heavy equipment into the ocean before departing at the end of WW2.

    On our second dive on Coolidge, we entered the ship\’s forward cargo holds #1 & #2. Here we saw small tanks, air craft fuel tanks, heavy equipment, gun shells and lots of military equipment.

    These dives are all decompression dives and guides are required. A decompression dive is an advanced dive where to remove excess nitrogen build up from our bodies, we have to wait at set depths for a period of time to \”out gas\”. This prevents us from getting \”the bends\”. I had a required 10 minute stop on both dives, more than sufficient air and no worries. My dive computer is extremely conservative. Some of the divers had NO required stop times on their more liberal dive computers. We were quite tired after our sail here and I wanted the next day off. Anja used the time to do some land touring which I\’ll hear about later tonight.

    We had a lovely gathering of M/V \”Oso Blanco\”, M/V \”Mystery Ship\”, S/V – can\’t remember, will add later! and S/V \”Beach House\” crews. We all had drinks and puu puu\’s aboard \”Mystery Ship\” and dinner at the local Aore Island Resort.

    Today I\’m getting \”Beach House\” ready for our last 150 miles to Port Villa where we will start out tomorrow via Malakula Island and perhaps Havana Harbor on Efate Island before arrival at Port Villa. Port Villa is the capitol of Vanuatu. A mini surprise will then be revealed!….

    Stay tuned, Scott with touring Anja!

  • Another Sea Story!….Old and new…..

    Dear F&F, September 26th, 2011 (Eastern Hemisphere)

    Today marks 4 years since \”Beach House\” left Marina del Rey, California. Needless to say, much has happened.

    Two days ago, we were having a brilliant spinnaker run which lasted 16 hours. At 4 a.m., the wind started to pipe up to 25 knots so prudence dictated dropping the spinnaker. For those of you who don\’t know, a spinnaker is the brightly colored sail that is used to go down wind…..fast!

    We were making excellent time, averaging around 9 knots and occasionally getting into the low teens. When we went to lower the spinnaker, it wrapped up like a package on the staysail. We were able to sort this out pretty quickly but I had my hands full (literally) with the sail. Anja took the control line (called a sheet) and tied it to the lifeline as I instructed her to do. The only problem is, I didn\’t tell her to pull it up tight first. It looped under the starboard (right) hull and wrapped itself in the propeller seizing and stopping the engine. This cannot be fixed without going under the boat to clear it out. I often have the engines on at a very slow speed to aid in giving us quick maneuvering ability while making a big sail change. Next time, I\’ll not have the engines \”in gear\”.

    After we got the spinnaker down, the wind calmed and we could have flown it another full day (which I wish we had!). Yesterday was slow because we were under powered using only the genoa instead of the spinnaker. It\’s 1/3rd the size and we were a bit under canvassed.

    This morning at 5 a.m., I realized we were going to be lucky to get to Luganville today before dark. We motored on one engine and headed to \”Home Bay\” on the southwest corner of Pentecost Island.

    Good thing I used my head on this one. I\’d thought of trying to free the stuck spinnaker sheet out on the \”high seas\”, good thing I didn\’t! I would have been pummeled under the boat bouncing around in the 6 foot (2 meter) swell.

    Home Bay was flat as a pancake. It took 3 minutes to get 90% of the tangle out. I started with snorkel gear. Clearly, it wasn\’t going to be easy for the last 6 inches (15 cm), (is it ever? LOL).

    So on went the scuba gear (to the rescue yet again!). I took a 6 mm allen key and removed the bottom screw on the propeller zinc and used a marlin spike to lever out the stuck piece between the front of the propeller hub and the zinc anode. I pulled it out, put the zinc screw back in and away we went. A local pulled up in a handmade canoe, wish I\’d gotten a photo. Anja may have snapped one. He wanted to help! Another local boat went by and waved. Anja was her usual terrific self and handed me the appropriate tools and kept the boat from drifting around.

    All in all just another \”sea story\” with a happy ending. My favorite kind!

    Pentecost Island is where the original bungee jumpers (vine jumpers) come from. Did you know about these crazies? They jump off a 100 foot (35 meter) tower with a vine around their legs….head first! The idea is to touch the mud at the bottom of the tower with their heads! It\’s a coming of age manhood ritual of some sort. I\’ll stick with the lunnie things I already do, like jump in the ocean to remove tangled lines from propellers!…ha.

    KIT, Scott

    54 miles to go, ETA local time around 9pm.

  • En Route….mini boo boo…..

    Dear F&F,

    September 25th, 2011 (Eastern Hemisphere)

    Day 2 run: 180 nm Position: 16 deg 29.5 min South 170 deg 48.2 min East

    Speed: Ave = 7 knots Wind: 21 knots, ESE Swell: 6.5 feet (2 meters) Air: 81 deg F/ 27.2 deg C Baro: 1015 steady

    Yesterday was so nice out here, we set the spinnaker at noon, the wind was about 18 knots. We carried it with one reef in the main till 4 a.m. and it started to blow 25 knots. First we got a wrap (around the furled up staysail) while taking it down, that cleared easily and then we discovered we\’d gotten the spinnaker sheet wrapped around the starboard propeller. Ah, the cruising life! Currently, we\’ve a full main and genoa poled out to port, running before the wind right on course. We should see Ambryn Island to port and Pentecost Island to starboard at day break tomorrow. Once we get inside the islands, we\’ll drop sail and motor on the port engine into the lee of Pentecost and I\’ll get to go for a swim to free up the line from the propeller. It\’s happened before, but not on a passage. No worries, it\’s all just part of the game.

    This has been an extremely pleasant sail with very moderate seas and nice normal trade wind conditions from the ESE. The prediction is for more of the same. The new spinnaker pole has been yet again a blessing, keeping us headed right down the waves and on course. This makes the passage very comfortable and our efficiency at keeping a course with good speed has dramatically increased.

    We\’ll be pressing a bit, but hope to make Luganville, Espiritu Santo Island before dark tomorrow (Our Monday).

    KIT, Scott with off watch, sleeping Anja

  • Nanuya-Sewa, Fiji to Espiratu Santo, Vanuatu…..

    Dear F&F, September 24th 2011 (Eastern Hemisphere)

    End of Day one: 175 nm 312 mile to Pentecost Island Passage, 380 miles to Luganville, Espiritu Santo Island – Vanuatu 16 deg 41 min S 174 deg 21 min E

    A lovely first days sail, we put the spinnaker up mid day today, winds are SSE at 12-18 knots. 5 foot (1.5 meter) seas from the SSE. Air is 79 deg F (26.1 C) As we are headed almost due west, we\’re getting a nice push.

    Calm, comfortable and really nice so far. As usual, on these longer passages, Anja and I don\’t see much of each other. She is currently napping \”off watch\” and I\’m minding \”The House\”, listening to music and watching this incredibly gorgeous day progress.

    I\’ll check in with the Pacific Seafarer\’s Net (via amateur radio) at 0330 GMT. This is a \”safety at sea\” net which monitors voluntarily any boats who wish to participate. I\’ve done so ever since we left California.

    Of note, a minor fridge issue which I know I\’ll be able to resolve in one of our next ports.

    I just caught the \”ship\’s log\” up to date and it should be posted on the home page at: www.svbeachhouse.com

    Feel free to drop a note anytime! Scott with sleeping Anja!