When the US military left Vanuatu after the end of World War II, they left behind a lot of stuff. Airstrips, buildings, and roads they couldn’t do much about. Can’t take a runway with you, after all. But they also had tons and tons of stuff like Jeeps, tanks, building … Read More
SS President Coolidge
As mentioned in the last post, the SS President Coolidge hit a couple of “friendly” mines as it came into port here on Santo, and the captain then ran it up onto the reef along the beach. When it sank, it slid backwards on the steep slope, settling with the … Read More
Aore Island
We spent a couple more days in the lagoon anchorage just hanging out and taking afternoon trips up the river to swim in the fresh water. Ali and a couple of others headed over to the village to catch a ride back into Luganville to get groceries and keep us … Read More
Riri Blue Hole
Another day, another blue hole. At the other end of this large bay we’re in was another river. Just like with the Matevulu Blue Hole, we were able to dinghy up the river a mile or so to another beautiful blue hole. The water clarity up the river was incredible. … Read More
Matevulu Blue Hole
We moved from Luganville to the Oyster Island Lagoon anchorage because, one, it’s a pretty spot, and two, because there are two blue holes up different rivers there that can be accessed by dinghy. The river up to Matevulu Blue Hole was about a mile long, shallow, clear, and incredibly … Read More
Luganville
It was just ten miles around the corner to Luganville, the second largest city in Vanuatu, sporting a whopping 18,000 people. It’s a very convenient place for cruisers, as there are basically no other supplies to be found outside of Port Vila, a day or two sail away. We anchored … Read More
Ratua Private Island
Port Stanley is a beautifully sheltered bay along the northeast side of Malekula Island. It was also an easy day sail from our previous anchorage on Ambryn. One of the really nice things about the islands of Vanuatu are how conveniently spaced they are. Twenty, thirty, maybe forty miles tops. … Read More
Lonwolwol Yacht Club
It seems everyone in Vanuatu calls themselves a Yacht Club. It’s their way of showing us that they are cruiser friendly and we should visit them. Today we were anchored in a small bay off the northwest corner of Ambrym Island. There is literally nothing in this entire area except … Read More
Pentecost Land Diving
We left our friends behind in Port Sandwich and spent the day motoring in calm seas over to Pentecost Island. Since early on in researching Vanuatu we’d been finding things about the Pentecost Land Diving, and it sounded like something we couldn’t miss, even if (or perhaps because) it was … Read More
Port Sandwich
After the headache of the Australian visa application process (many hours were committed to that project) it was a pleasant surprise to get an approval notice almost immediately. At least now we can arrive there and not be on any sort of schedule. We also aren’t in any hurry here … Read More
Back and Forth
Spent a couple of beautiful days anchored in this spot behind a reef in the Maskelyne Islands. We’ve decided to head to Australia from here. Twenty years ago Australia was a welcoming place. Show up, get a six-month visa on the spot, and get it extended pretty much all you … Read More
Lavrisi Yacht Club
A short overnight sail north of Port Vila brought us to an anchorage at Lamen Bay, on Epi Island. There, we caught up with friends and celebrated another boy’s birthday, this time a thirteenth. A beach had been scouted out where we wouldn’t be posting ourselves right in front of … Read More