Having cleared Vanuatuan Customs we were free to explore. Vanuatu is a chain of 13 large and 70 smaller islands. Tanna, the island we had arrived at, is not quite the most southerly of these islands. The country has an interesting, if somewhat bleak history. Archaeologists believe the islands to have been inhabited since around…

Sailing, and by extension cruising, is an activity self regulated, to some extent, by the wisdom and dire warnings of a legion of sayings, proverbs, and aphorisms. One of these maintains that ‘the most dangerous thing to have on a boat is a schedule.’ This alludes to the view that the safe sailor only sails…

After a bit of a nervous sail from Vuda, waiting to see what the mast would tell us we had done poorly or forgotten to do, we anchored in a familiar spot off Denarau. We had returned so that we could catch up with our friend Eugeni, who we might not see again for some…

With Christine, Cara’s mum, visiting, our cruising experienced a change of tempo. Wanting to take Christine out on Taurus we sailed to Mala Mala Island, an island resort which we could visit for $30 a head. The price was pretty reasonable as it meant that we could use the resort’s facilities. The snorkelling around the…

We left Kia Island with a nice easterly breeze that allowed us to sail for most of the morning. Alas, later in the afternoon the breeze slowly died away and we ended up motoring in very hot and humid conditions. During this time we were joined by one of the largest pods of dolphins we…

After three days anchored off Also Island, two of which we were confined to the boat because of the weather, we had a window to move on. Rather than try what seemed a fairly sketchy entrance through a shallow reef we backtracked and left via the same reef we had entered by. It was a…

We spent six days in Nawi Marina, catching up with friends, restocking the boat, and getting a few boat jobs sorted. Savusavu, the town across the river from the marina, was great for re-provisioning, but other than buying food and eating food, there isn’t a whole lot to do there. Indeed, the local geothermal streams,…

We left Vava’u on Monday the 17th of June, two days before our thirty day visa was due to expire. Exiting the country was straight forward, the only complication being the number of yachts trying to leave, or enter, so that the short customs dock ended up being two yachts deep. We were fortunate, once…

A short sail of about two hours brought us from Pangai to Fau at the northern end of the island of Nafuka. We had heard of a place called Matafonua Lodge, located just off the beach there, which has a reputation for being cruiser friendly. Anchoring off the island was a bit of a game…