Leanne
10/31/2009, 25 13.95'S:167 36.36'E, Day 2 approx 226m from Noumea

Migaloo & crew travelling well - SE still 15-20 and sailing into 2-3m most of the night & day, sea has eased a little 1-2m swells now & less sea on decks. We have a few boats from ICA travelling close by & have been in Radio Contact. We are Motor Sailing ,managing 6-7+knts most of the day.cheers x

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Leanne
10/30/2009, 23 19'S:166 52'E, 78.94m from Noumea

We cleared, fueled & departed Noumea yesterday, anchored out Ilot Matre & continued on approx 5am this morning. We past Amedee Lighthouse 0825 and decided conditions ok to continue. 15-20knts SE punching into 1-2m swells - motor sailing. Expecting wind to turn E later this evening or tomorrow. We are all settled and comfortable. love to all!

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John
10/26/2009, Port Moselle Marina

Hello everybody,
We are back in New Caledonia and beginning our preparations for the NZ passage. We will watch the weather but it appears we have just missed a suitable window so we don't expect another for at least 5 days.
Frank and Jane have settled in and we are enjoying their company. They are fantastic crew members whose knowledge of sailing and practical skills seems endless. I am learning lots and am grateful for the opportunity to do so.
Photo Gallery:
It has been a while since we have had high speed internet access so there are a lot of new photos in the gallery. If you read the below before visiting the new albums in the photo gallery you will probably enjoy the photo's more as they will have some relevance. When you visit the gallery you will see the following new albums;
1. Mele Village; this was a tour we did with Frank & Jane whilst in Port Vila. It was a glimpse into the culture of the local people and their dances and customs but most importantly a kava ceremony where we all got to sample a cup (or 3) of kava, numbs the lips mind & senses! The brew we had was very mild and as such we had several cups before we felt the effect. If you want to get some idea of what it tastes like next time you are doing the dishes at home after you have finished but before you empty the water down the sink take a cup and fill it with the dirty dish water then drink it.......mmmmmmm, yummy !
2. Exorcism ; as many of you know we have had our share of challenges with Migaloo since we bought her , and many of these defy logic so,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, I decided Migaloo might have an evil spirit living on board! Having shared this theory with Frank & Jane and them then having experienced some of the phenomenon on board we decided an exorcism was in order. Frank wrote a chant and then he and Jane dressed up & performed an exorcism. The chant went like this;
YOU HAD YOUR TIME WITH BILLAROO
AND WE HAVE ONE THING TO ASK OF YOU
OUR KARMA LIES WITH JOY & CALM
OUR KARMA TAKES A DIFFERENT PATH
NO MORE TEMPESTS, NO MORE STRIFE, FIND YOUR LIFE
AWAY FROM MIGALOO
This was delivered with gusto and much noise directed into every corner of the boat with all lights ablaze, followed by an effigy made from bananas, palm leaves and weeds which was cast overboard, then we had lots of drinks!!!!!!!! .
3. Erromango Island; Situated aprox 100nm south of Efate. I have spoken of Erromango in our previous blog entitled Tanna Volcano Safari. We arrive at 6.30 am after a challenging windward leg from Port Vila .Every-one struggled to find their sea legs and Frank & Jane got acquainted with Migaloo under sail so the shelter and calm of Dillon's Bay on the western side of the island was a welcome respite. We were greeted soon after arriving by two young, very polite, boys in a dugout canoe. After chatting with them a while we gave them some gifts, caps, books and pencils for the school and some scrunches for their sisters. We asked if they had any drinking coconuts, they said yes and that they would bring us some out to the boat. Later in the day we were visited by another canoe and the owner introduced himself as David and presented us with pawpaws, beans, pumpkins & chokos. Home delivered free groceries, pretty cool! We invited him aboard and shared a cool drink and some biscuits with him and learned about his people and his village, a very humbling experience. After a tour of Migaloo (during which he found the washing machine to be very interesting) David told us he has a dream to start a yacht club at Dillon's Bay, he has named it WO-WO Yacht Club (after a rock which is a local landmark.) David was keen for us to come and see what progress he had made and invited to come ashore but we had an early start planned and declined. We did give him an Aussie flag which we signed as Migaloo to hang on the wall of the clubhouse as well as one of my brothers "Hembrow's" caps, and a skirt for his wife. In the quietest of voices he responded "Thank-you very much, would you also be able to spare any rice and some milk for my daughter?" Again we were humbled and happily gave him the rice and milk along with some coffee & a bottle of cordial for the kids. Would love to spend a week with David and the people of his village so we plan to return next year.
4. Janes Birthday. Whilst at Erromango we also celebrated Jane's birthday. Jane's birthday is somewhat of an occasion back at home and is an event that many Yachties get together for. Last year there were 20 dinghies on the beach at Cid harbour in the Whitsunday's for a beach BBQ and tropical beverages. Well we didn't get 20 dinghies but we did have the tropical beverages thanks to Frank and the Erromango drinking coconuts which were enjoyed (an amount of rum was added) for sundowners, and what a sunset we were treated too made more magic by the distant sound of singing coming from the village. We then had a feast of crumbed chicken, local sweet potatoes and chocolate birthday cake (thanks Leanne). So sorry to all the regulars that missed Jane's birthday this year, we hope it was a memorable one for her and maybe you can ask her about it next year!
5. Tanna / Port Resolution. Another bumpy windward passage but only 50nm and we had all found our sea legs so we did enjoy the most part of it. The scenery as we approached the Northern tip of Tanna was awesome, with caves and crevasses carved into the sheer cliffs of the island. If you have been keeping up with our blog you will know that Tanna is home to Yasur, the volcano, active volcano that is! As we bounced our way south towards Port Resolution we could see Yasur smoking away to the west, hard to describe how the sight of this volcanic mountain captures and memorises you! Soon enough we were entering the shelter and scenic bay of Port Resolution with its high cliffs and thatched roof huts set amongst the rocks and tropical vegetation. Not long after anchoring we were greeted by several men in dugout canoes who welcomed us and explained where everything was and that Stanley was waiting for us at the Yacht Club and would help us to arrange for customs and immigration clearances. To obtain these it is necessary to take a ride in an open back utility across the island to Lennakal on the western side of the island, a round trip of about 5 hours over some very bumpy dusty tracks that pass through many villages. After we talked for a while with the guys in the canoes we lowered the tender into the water and proceeded into the village to find the man called Stanley who would make all the arrangements for us. Just as we were told Stanley was waiting for us and we made arrangements to do the trip to Lennakal the next day. We also arranged for a trip to Yasur, Frank and Jane had not visited Yasur before and Leanne and I were both keen to do so again, so with all the formalities and our excursion arranged it was off to the yacht club for a Tusker or two. Now when I say yacht club most of you will envisage something very different to what we were to experience. A yacht club on these outer islands consists of a thatched roof hut with open sides and what ever furniture that can be either made from local timber or that has been donated by some passing yachties. This one was no different however it is a very special sort of place. Hanging from the roof are the flags of many countries and yachts along with caps , hats , sarongs, in fact anything that visiting yachts care to donate. These donations serve to decorate the "clubhouse" and create a very warm and friendly atmosphere. For a look at the clubhouse and the cabins that are for rent visit www.portresolutionyactclub.vanuatu.vu . During the night it rained very heavily and the morning dawn reviled a heavy grey sky and threatened more rain, not what you hope for when planning to spend most of the day in the back of a Ute! Fortunately the gods were kind to us and we did not get any rain and as a result of the overnight downpours the roads were not very dusty at all. Frank, Jane, Leanne & I along with 4 French people off another yacht all piled into the Ute at 8.00am and we were off. About 1 hour into the journey we passed another vehicle that turned out to be the customs guy. We stopped and advised him we needed to clear in and he informed us that he had to go to Port Resolution (where we had just come from) on business and that he would be back in Lennakal about 1.30pm. This meant a delay of about 2 hours for us but we didn't mind as we were keen to explore Lennakal however we were a little concerned as most of the Pacific works on this thing called Island Time. Island Time basically means that it won't happen before the stipulated time, it is likely to happen sometime after the stipulated time but there is no telling when! We enjoyed the ride into Lennakal and were waved at and called out to by most all of the locals we encountered along the way. By 11.30 we had been to immigration and walked around town. We were taken to a "restaurant" for lunch where we had fish, rice & salad for 350vatu each (about $5.00 Aussie dollars). It was now 12.30 so we headed back to the customs office to wait for the return of the customs officer. Without going into details I can confirm that Island Time is alive and well in Tanna. We left Lennakal at about 3.00pm after a nap on the lawn outside the customs office, which created much interest and served to amuse many of the passing locals. We arrived back at Port Resolution at 5.30 with very sore backsides and feeling just a bit worn out! , but no rest was to be had as we had just 30 mins to change and be back at the yacht club to board the same Ute for our trip to Yasur ,,, our backsides were not impressed ! Once again the trip to Yasur was excellent, and whilst it wasn't as active as our first visit it was still and awe inspiring experience for us all (if you haven't read the blog from our previous trip to Yasur please do and be sure also to visit the photo gallery for some cool shots of it erupting.) We had a lazy day the following day , visited the village , walked (& climbed) around the headland, swam in the crystal clear waters of the bay and enjoyed yet another afternoon in the cockpit having sundowners.
So that's It , your all up to date with our adventures , I hope you enjoy the photos and thanks to all of you who take the time to put comments on the blog , we get a kick out of reading them , please keep it up ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,till next time stay safe and happy , J,L,F,n,J.

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