Off (May be) to Vanuatu!

We checked out of Lautoka yesterday with all the dire warnings that we need to leave immediately from Immigration. We got last minute provisions (pre-mix Gin & Tonic, Cokes, veggies, eggs, fresh bread, etc.). We had wanted to go see the latest Harry Potter movie but it stopped the day before so that was out. We also got more soot on the decks from the burning of sugar cane fields and from the nasty dark smoke billowing out from the sugar mill just a mile away. It was time to go somewhere. Ranger and Winbird both checked out that morning and left before us and kept on going as the Grib file forecasts were good. (Grib files are weather maps you can order over SSB email that give you wind speed and direction, pressure bars, rain, waves, etc. for a selected area. Very useful.)

We decided to go ahead and just go to Saweni Bay and hide out for the night as it was too late to get to the pass to the open ocean before dark. The passes are not real narrow but it is still more comfortable to go in daylight. Saweni is just 4nm south so we settled down there. Then we heard Winbird on the VHF. They had just got outside the pass and had 30+kts of wind and rough seas. Not much fun but doable. They had double reefs in all sails and were not happy campers. So we dodged that bullet. We talked to them via our scheduled "private" net at 8am today and the winds and seas had moderated from last night. They had over 35kts last night but it was only 20-25 this morning. The Gribs still forecast only 20kts and dying over the next day so we are going to go south to the pass and poke our heads out to see what it is like. If it is too uncomfortable we will turn around and hunker down in Momi Bay or Musket Cove (illegally) for another night. White Swan and we think we will go ahead and go but we may not. The pass is two hours away.

Cindy and I made an excellent beef stew from local meat and veggies last night and will freeze it for having on our passage so we don't have to cook any big meals, just heat and serve. We had some excellent steaks with corn and a fresh salad, accompanied by some Indian homemade chutney that Cindy got with White Swan at the market. To sample it, the vendor just picked a jar (reused jam jar) off the cart, opened it, and told Cindy to just stick her finger in it to taste it. It was good so she got it but we laughed and wondered at dinner how many other fingers had gone in to that one jar before we bought it. In any case it was a tamarind chutney with a very spicy undertone and excellent with the steak.

So life goes on. We have 470nm to go to the island of Tanna and should be there in 4-5 days. We may have a couple of slow days per forecasts with light winds so it may take 5-6. We are excited about seeing the people and volcanos there but will miss Fiji and the Fijians. The political scene here is totally messed up with the military coup from December and now there are big strikes by nurses, teachers and other public employees. Along with the drop in tourism and the lower prices for sugar, the economy will be hit hard for months and may be years to come. That is a shame as the people are extraordinarily friendly and fun (with the usual bad apples).

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