Brisbane to Vanuatu

We made it!

This was a long trip of 11 days, 1323 nautical miles (2000 odd km), 56 hours at anchor for an average passage speed of 6.5 knots. Top wind speed of 38 knots and maximum boat speed of 10.8 knots. The weather for the passage was not the most comfortable with approximately 50% being ahead of the beam and a short wind wave crossing the swell that would cause the boat to pound when sailing close to the wind. We were able to reduce the pounding significantly by cracking sheets just a bit to be sailing 40 to 44 deg apparent. Still making good headway but at a much more comfortable motion for the crew as well as the boat.

Evan working on the anchor windlass

We made it safely to Port Vila arriving at 8am on the morning of the 13th May to a beautiful sunny day. After contacting Yachting world marina we were directed to the quarantine buoy to await quarantine inspection and then I was off to complete Customs and Immigration paperwork while Evan, John and Paul tidied up the boat at the marina wall. It was a fairly painless exercise with all the officials being helpful and friendly. 13,300 vatu later the process was complete and we had officially completed our first entry process for a foreign port.

John and Paul (still relaxing) on watch

Paul and Evan relaxing on watch

The highlight of the trip was our 48 hours at Chesterfield reef. The diving and snorkelling was amazing. The coral in the lagoon looked as if they had been constructed for a private aquarium at the cost of millions of dollars. They were picture perfect with an abundance of hard and soft corals with no signs of damage from boat anchors or other human influences. It really was an amazing experience.

Willo 1 and the Skipper anchored at Chesterfield Reef

The view up from the coral at Chesterfield reef

The low point of the trip was the last slog to windward to Port Vila. We knew it was inevitable that we would have to sail directly into the wind at some point. It was just that this came at the end of the trip and a combination of tiredness, no sun to dry the wet weather gear between watches, persistent wet throughout the boat due to a "someone forgot to close the through hull and flooded the boat with about 500 litres of salt water" incident and a confused and uncomfortable sea state.

But it was worth it. The sights on the way over here combined with the friendly locals and sites of Vanuatu have made it all worthwhile.

Passage Update

We have been a bit slack with updating the blog lately. This is because we are enroute to Vanuatu. Our passage so far has been a 600 mile sail from Manly, Brisbane to Chesterfield reef. Where we spent 2 days diving and exploring the island and surrounding reef. Then another 300 mile sail to Huon reef for more diving and some running repairs on the boat and system. We departed yesterday evening from Huon reef bound for Port villa, Vanuatu and are currently 140 miles into our 360 mile route. This leg is all upwind and we are currently beating our way into a 22 knot East South Easterly. Not very comfortable but we are making good progress with slightly cracked sheets to prevent pounding. We are hoping to be tied up in Port villa on the 13th May all going well.

Leaving Oz

It's a grey and wet day in Brisbane. It seams that all the big events in my life start with rain.

We have finished all the needed jobs, cleared customs, filled the tanks / jerry cans, converted the dive compressor to run off a Honda engine and left the dock.  Now bound for a stop at Chesterfield and Huon reef on route to Port villa, Vanuatu. As a result of the delay we will be clearing in further south in the Vanuatu Islands before heading off to Fiji.

Here is our current position. The boat sped is slow due to a short steep chop as well as a current that is not cooperating with us. We can't wait to get over the top of Moreton Island before heading east.

This will be the last post with images until we have an internet connection in port villa.

Filling the jerry cans with duty free fuel prior to departure

Don't forget you can track where we are through the "where are we?" Tab at the top of the page

Updated departure plan

We've been working hard to get the boat ready and have come up against a few delays in getting all the extras sorted out. As a result we have delayed our departure to tomorrow morning.