Yesterday morning I was inside the yacht and felt a weird bumping motion. Not the usual rocking caused by waves but something that felt like the yacht was on a trailer going down a bumpy road. I wondered if it was an earthquake, so logged onto the net to check for tsunami warnings. Vanuatu has a number of active volcanos and one in particular at Santa Maria Is has just in the last week shown signs of more activity. The internet search turned up a report of the earthquake I had just experienced, indicating that it was magnitude 8 and about 300Km north of here. The report also issued a warning of potential tsunami waves that were predicted to hit here in a matter of minutes. Hell!! I was able to broadcast a warning to other yachts in the vicinity and alerted the nearby resort. However there seemed to be little change in water level. The resort quickly evacuated all guests to Santo Is and higher ground. In the next couple of hours more earthquakes were felt, but still no significant effect on water level. There were 11 yachts in the bay at the time, each with slightly nervous skippers planning how to deal with a tsunami wave should it come into this sheltered bay. The water level was being keenly watched as an indicator that something was going to happen, but apart from a few small rises and falls nothing really occurred. A few hours later the tsunami warnings were withdrawn. A few after shocks are predicted.

So I am back to preparing the boat for the return voyage back to Australia with my brother Damien who will arrive in Vaunatu on Sunday. Also with internet access here I am following Simon's progress in the mini Transat. He is nearly one week into the 3000 mile second leg from Madeira across the Atlantic to Baie de Salvador in Brazil.