Sailing is a very fickle endeavor and our Fiji to Vanuatu sail encompassed the farthest reaches of comfort. The 450 mile sail from Musket Cove, Fiji to Port Resolution, Vanuatu was our best yet. A fast and comfortable reach with 15 to 25 knots of wind off our beam in mostly moderate swells which was ideal for Matilda. We finished in the middle of the pack and could have gone even faster if we hadn’t reefed in an attempt to slow down to make it to land in daylight. Despite our efforts we did what we hate to do and came into the “reef protected” bay at 02:57am. We were guided into Port Resolution by the light of Mount Yasur an active volcano lighting up the night sky.

Mount Yasur Volcano Lighting the sky

The ARC flew the customs/immigration/biosecurity officials to us since Port Resolution, where we anchored, is not an “official” port of entry. This is so helpful enabling us to visit remote places without going out of our way to check into the main ports. We were boarded by immigration the next morning and completed the formalities ashore. Port Resolution in Vanuatu like so many other South Pacific Islands has suffered from double catastrophic events of Covid and Cyclones Judy and Kevin both in 2023.

Mount Yasur by Day

Plans were for us to stay for a few days and tour the volcano and the village before heading to Port Vila, the capital of Vanuatu, 125 miles away. We were just settling in to the lovely anchorage when those who keep an eye on the weather (which is everyone in the fleet) started to notice a rapid change. The wind was picking up to 30+ knots and the waves to 9ft at 7 seconds with predictions increasing to 40 knots and 12ft over the ensuing days. Matilda and her mighty crew decided to hightail it out of there that very day. Things were only going to get worse and would have stranded us there for days.

PredictWind app showing wind strengths

We left at 14:00 with 3 other boats and had a miserable but tolerable passage to Port Vila. Other boats fared worse than we did and some waited it out for 5 days. All have now made it safely to Port Vila.

We have enjoyed our Vanuatu time. Our newest measure of a great place to visit is the availability of fresh food, supermarkets, restaurants and the all important hardware store or chandlery. Port Vila has it all and its starting to feel a lot like Australia. The supermarket is filled with Vegemite, and Arnott’s biscuits, Shapes crackers, Australian cheese and baked beans and quite a few Australians. We enjoyed our land-time riding buggies (ATV’s) and jumping into the Blue lagoon followed by a beautiful waterfall hike.

Buggie

Waterfall

Bio security is apparently very strict in Australia so we need to have enough food for a 1000 mile passage but arrive with no food. Our preparations are in high gear as we make sure our boat is ready for this passage as we will have some squalls and multiple reefs to navigate through on our way to Mackay. Our route takes us through Hydrographers Passage in the Great Barrier Reef which was discovered in 1981 by a commander of the Royal Australian Navy named, believe it or not, James Bond. Taking this passage should save us about two days or 250 miles. Vast areas of the GBR remain uncharted making navigation treacherous.

Hydrographers Passage