Vanuatu Port Vila

2/10/2011 Port Vila was a good site as we rolled in early evening, after an absolutely great sail down here from Port Sandwich. We anchored near the quarantine mooring as most do until the next day where we moved onto the wall. (bow to stern tie up to cement wall) With support from Bundy Shore Station my tickets were all booked and sorted, so I just need to make sure Screensaver was safe and I would be off in a day or so by plane back to Sydney.

Now days its getting harder to fly one way into these Islands which is what I will be doing on my return from ozy, so I needed to obtain ministerial clearance and of course pay a fee, to allow me to come back from ozy.

Crash gets off here as I’m unsure how long I will be away and she wanted to go back and see the parts we raced by to get here.

On the first night on the Wall a squall comes through, bringing a wind and dumping heaps of rain. As I extract myself from the Waterfront Bar and Grill to check if all is well , Screensaver is pushing hard on  our fenders and boat next door. You can imagine with only one mooring line on the bow  and a cross wind she was barging her way around. Eventually after playing in the rain, rigging up winch system, and fishing in the dark I found another mooring line and secured Screensaver on two lines.

3/10/2011 The next few days turn into a bit of blur, but on the morning of my departure after double checking Screensaver for the first time in about 6 months I put on a pair of Jeans in anticipation of the colder weather back home only to find they are way to big. But there was no time to do the girl thing and change 3 times so looking a bit like Earl I left. So why am I telling you this, basically I later found out I have lost just under 20 Kilo’s, in spite of “keeping my fluids up”. 

A week or so later I was stepping off the plane back in Vanuatu around midnight. The yacht club had the keys, so I had to stay in the Casino in a water front room, life is tough but someone has to do it.

Over the next few nights the Casino gave me money back and bought me a few more dinners and drinks as I collected  between 30,000 and 80,000 each night, oh thats Vatu so don’t get excited.

Mollie turns up  on their way through heading back to NZ, Crash also passes by for a day or so and we all get to say good by over dinner as we go our different ways (thanks Ken & Louise). During the course of dinner I get to meet a few local and friends of Ken and Louise.

Over the next weeks I bump into a number of interesting people from all walks of life including  Ministerial, Political, Federal, Millionaires and so forth.  Trevor manages a few boats here the one he lives on is a small (110ft !!) Motor Yacht with about 3000 more horse’s than Screensaver

 

I help with a few electronic and navigation issues and we share a few jobs, a few beers, a dinner or 2 or 3 or actually I have lost track, and we become friends.

22/10/2011 Birthday time just wasn’t right this far away from home, and so disconnected, so I buried myself in maintenance tasks. Come about 6:00pm it was time to stop and take 5. After a few drinks and a bite to eat   Leesa, Trevor and I  went  to a local club, the Voodoo Bar where they found out it was my birthday.

Well around 3:30am  well under the weather I was helped home. Haven’t been that pissed for many years,  (in fact since Nic was to be married)  But I bounced between supporters walking me home. At Vanuatu on the wall one must walk the plank to get on board your boat, and let me tell you its not easy, and  really hard if you have had to many.

Around midnight it started, sitting at a table  we could see the bar light up, like I mean fire real fire about 5-10” high and the flames rush along the full length of the bar about 30+ feet, surrounded a glass at the other end in a circle. Everyone claps and cheers yells etc, and someone drinks a shot in the middle after the flame dies down. Well I thought we have  to have one of them there thingies, trouble is we or actually I  didn’t stop at 1 or 2 or 3 . It was called a  Voddoo shot, not a clue what was in it but it was pretty strong. Every time someone ordered one they would get the zippo fluid  out run  squeeze down the full length of the bar and make a circle with the fluid around the shot. Then at the other end of the bar where it started they would light it and flames would race down the bar and then around the circle where the shot was placed. Well of course we had to have a few to watch it, very cool. Just imagine work cover in AU or NZ…anyway that was just one of a few things that happened in this night club. By about 3:00am it was clear, the beer and scotch which started about 12hrs earlier in late afternoon  and shoots were catching up with me, and while I could actually walk, it was necessary that I had supports on either side so I didn’t stray onto the road (not that it would mater here at that time), and not that I entirely remember the last bit. Somehow I also end up sharing cigarettes, and  I  collected a neat hat and yea well a big mother hang over, which I never normally get, and I still felt pissed the next day which is another first, and wont be repeated.

24/10/2011. Trevor and I take Screensaver to  the slipway, and after some 3 hours of vary careful work by the locals she is out of the water and sitting on dry land where I breath a sigh of relief. Almost everyone here has told me bad stories about The Boat Yard here, and I pondered whether to proceed or not. Their contract, which one must sign is probably the most hostile I have ever seen, with cash payment in full before the boat is returned to the water and  rights to sell the boat if the bill isn’t fully paid for any reason in  2 weeks. They exclude everything including there own negligence.

28/10/2011. Screensaver now has a clean bum, and her top sides look  like she’s ready to party at the best boat show in town. The deck looks a mess with foot prints everywhere. The Boatyard in Vanuatu who did the work seemed to have done a good job and the local’s took great care with there work, so it only needed a little bit of fanatical guidance. However the estimate went up some 40%, which equated to the cheaper end of Sydney prices, and there was some argument about the acceptance of direct deposit from CBA. But after a few choice words they eventually saw the light of day, and Screensaver was returned to the water.

 

Stats as at 29/10/2011 @ 10:00 am

   Fuel 100% (30 days since last)  476 @ $174 Vatu

   Eng Hours Total 1555 Hrs since last fuel 131 hrs   

   Genset Hours Total  723 – Hrs since last fuel 48

   Combined burn rates 2.6L/hr, or 15.8L per day, or 0.56L/nm

   Ground Log 7924, Trip log (since leaving OZ)/2365nm, Aver 28.2nm/day

   Temp   Sea 28.1         Inside 28.   Outside 30

   Water 100 %

 

29/10/2011 The day started with trying to clean up outstanding issues with the ATO from afar, progressed to drinks with  X Prime Ministers family  at the Casino, and dinner at the Harbour View a Chinese restaurant, with some friends of Trevor’s.  We discussed the problems of the world solved a few,and perhaps generated some disharmony among our dinner guest. I finished up at the Waterfront Bar and Grill, where a local band played Lionel Ritchie songs, and I had yet another beer as the rain dumped its lot on us. As Cyclone season looms the need to move on becomes stronger, however I will miss this place and he people whom are fast becoming friends.

30/10/2011 4/11-2011. Still doing a few maintenance tasks, got the main sail back on, this is about its 4th repair. I have nearly finished polishing the stainless, and tracing a few water leaks (top side). Restocked food stores today as best I could except for the meat. I have a fun race to do on Sunday and soon after I will  leave for New Caledonia when  there is an appropriate whether window, as its starting to get near the cyclone season.

 

Grand final, well anyone who knows me, knows I’m not into any of the conventional sports, but I guess when in Rome, and for some entertainment I went to watch the Kiwis thrash the French. You could have been sitting in an NZ or all black stadium with about dozen French and every Port Vila resident was out in force to support the Kiwis. The bars were full to brim and overflowing so were the streets. After NZ won (all be it only just and a pathetic game/effort by the All Blacks ), the locals were out in force on the streets driving the circuit as some of us (not me of course) might have done in our youth around Queen Street ( Mark)  or George street for you ozy’s. They were hanging on the roof out the windows, on the bonnets ( of there own cars) having a great time. This went on till at least 2:00am when we called it quits.  Not one beer can, bottle was thrown, no fighting, no people so drunk they could not stand, not more than a couple of police (who all so had All black flag up). Clearly in Solomons there has been trouble, but I never saw any there or here. They are generally all happy, I have not seen or herd any domestics going on, no fights outside the clubs. No doubt these things do happen, but I guess all I’m saying is I haven’t seen any.

The difference: Australia 10 years ago, Gyspy and I walk down a street with our Samoyed dog. Aboriginal says what’s wrong with black dogs , you trying to say something…. etc, he was referring to our white Samoyed. Today Vanuatu buying food, the local girl tries to give me someone else’s change and food. The owner of the change and food says, hey that’s mine, what all us white people look a like I know, and everyone laughed, including & especially all the locals girls serving. You can image what would happen in ozy. The locals will talk openly and refer to black people just as they refer to white people, not a race statement or denigration, but as a matter of factual reference, very refreshing.

 

06/11/2011 Race day was about to get underway as we head out to give the locals a bit of run for their money. With about 10 yachts from a Hobby Cat, large  racing Trimaran, through local pleasure yachts  the scene was set. Screensaver got a handy cap of 1.4 but I had no idea what that meant.

With the start boat in position and the crew on Screensaver ready to leap into action we awaited the start gun, which came after a few delays, and ran in accordance with Vanuatu time, which is eventually when their ready maybe.

We got off a reasonable start and were soon passing other yachts but some confusion with race instruction left us following the leader who also had it wrong up until the 11th hour of the first race. No matter we wouldn’t want to win by too much anyway as they said they would adjust handicaps in each race.

The second and third races saw us take a position as we crossed the line, so now it all depended on the handy cap and who put up the biggest bribe. Clearly that wasn’t us.

We worked hard sweeting over the strain of pushing the electric winch buttons, and struggling with these aluminium cans which just didn’t seem to last.

We paid lots of attention to what we were doing never stoping our vigilance for a moment to take in the sites.

Finally we traded Aluminium cans , for bottles and then found even bigger bottles which seemed to give us a rightful position somewhere, a least in our mind.

Alas it was not to be, Screensaver was robbed of any position and the crew drowned there sorrows

10/11/2011. As the cyclone season looms I’m stuck here fighting the flue. The weather window is not ideal, but as time goes on if I don’t get further south it will get worse. Each day now I hope to leave, but the germs have a hold, and it now becomes a battle between the flue, the timeline, and the weather window such as it is. Thanks to all those ( to many to name) who made me feel so welcome to your homes, families,friends, bars, boats, restaurants.