Tag: Port Resolution

Awesome Volcano
2022, Port Resolution, September 2022, Vanuatu

The Awesome Volcano

Life is a fragile balance of daily tasks and events.  Most of us have had many uneventful days occur during our lives and some of us have received the lion’s share of excitement.  For the thrill seekers out there, the words, “I can do that,” are always poised at one corner of your lips ready to fly out into the world.  But, for many of us average individuals we make decisions that have had lengthy internal debates over assessment of risk factors.  Then there is the Awesome Volcano at Mount Yasur in Vanuatu!

If I said, “Wow,” once and said, “goodbye” it would be enough.  However, that isn’t happening this time.  Which begs the question, Why?  We’ve made it to the sultry shores of the country of Vanuatu.  Our first stop was in Port Resolution to clear Customs and Biosecurity.  This was a calculated point of entry for us.  We heard there is an active volcano on this island that you can hike to and stand on its rim peering down into the caldera.

Yes, tor those of you with weak constitutions or those helicopter moms and dads out there, just skip to the end as you probably won’t want to read more.  After clearing into the country, we did a bit of walking around the small village.  We watched part of a cricket type match among the women from two different villages.  We strolled through the empty schoolyard and met a few prominent locals that operate the Port Resolution Yacht Club.  

Port Resolution Yacht Club
The Fancy Port Resolution Yacht Club

Before getting all excited about becoming a member of this exclusive club, you have to meet two items of entry.  Have a boat and anchor in Port Resolution Bay.  So, basically there is an open air building with a few yachting and country flags draped around the rafters.  BYOB because there isn’t a bar to belly up to.  As you regale the other yachties with your sailing lies, I mean stories,  you will be interrupted several times by the sound of a loud whack!  Another mosquito didn’t make it.  For those of us long winded story tellers we throttled back the details and skipped straight to the point before moving out to avoid anymore blood letting.  Actually, the number of those little flying teeth monsters wasn’t as notable as their size.  

Jilly & Stanley

One of the local hosts of the club is Stanley.  He is an engaging individual and his job is to help facilitate any local activities such as volcano dancing, village hermit crab races, etc…. He will also arrange driving trips to Lenakel on the other side of the island to get supplies.  That is about a two to three hour trip depending upon the condition of the road.  He will also organize transportation for the volcano tour.  For you more eager thrill seekers you can hike to the volcano if you desire.  It’s a long uphill hike to the base of the loose cinder and rock covered slope of the volcano.  It’s about a four hour round trip hike.  The return trip is in the dark so don’t forget your lantern and plenty of bug spray.

Enter the Storm

We had made some tentative plans for the volcano trip the next day after our arrival.  The next morning brought a lovely storm that pelted the anchorage with a deluge of rain and winds gusting and sustaining in the 25-35+ knot range.  Somehow, the words of Forrest Gump come to mind, “Life is like a box of chocolates…”  I guess you could say the weather is too.  Obviously we didn’t jump into Sparkle during this event or even after as we weren’t sure if there was more on the way.  No volcano trip today.  

Later that evening the sky opened up again and dropped even more rain.  I know because I had to bail 3-4 inches of water out of Sparkle both times.  Here is a bit of trivia for you.  When the only road from the village to anywhere else is made of graded dirt/mud/rocks and there is a sustained amount of rain in the area, there is gonna be some damage.  The rain did just that.  Apparently there was a mud/landslide, a washed out section of road and a large sink hole that formed.  All of which had to be repaired before any transportation could be utilized.  Long story short, it took the local officials three and a half days to make the road drivable.  Not too bad for a third world country.  

The Day of the Awesome Volcano Trip

We received word from Stanley that Wednesday was a go for the volcano trip.  The VHF static was a buzz.  Almost everyone in the anchorage wanted to go.  Eleven all totaled.  The instructions were to arrive at the Port Resolution Yacht Club around 1500 hours.  Me being who I am, we arrived early.  In fact we were the first tender to breech the shore.  Shortly followed by others.  We were giddy with excitement.  Well, at least I was. Jilly had a few hesitations, but was still curious enough to press onward.

Our Chariot

We had opted for the no frills package where we were transported to base camp and then hiked up about 100 meters along the crumbling concrete path upward to the rim of the volcano.  Actually it was the only transportation available.  Let me set the scene for you a bit.  There were eleven of us yachties eager to climb into the Toyota Hilux 4×4 short bed pickup truck.  It was a crew cab, so there were a few interior seat selections.  This is one of a few times being a lady in this country has an advantage.  There were three ladies and one lucky guy that staked claim to the interior seats.

The short bed of the pickup had narrow 2×8 planks fashion into benches along the sides and the forward part of the bed.  Three on the front bench and two on each side.  There were no seat belts, handholds or butt pads.  After everyone had climbed onto their perch we were off for an adventure.  

It was reported that the road grader and a bulldozer had worked on the road.  My idea and their idea of a graded road are vastly different.  But, I tried to keep in mind that I’m not in a first world country that has more road construction supervisors than actual workers and it takes much longer than the second coming of Jesus to complete any project.  Nope!  I’m in a third world country where diesel is scarce, graders haven’t been claimed back by the jungle yet and are lucky to be in operating condition.  Not to mention that the guy that drives it likes orange soda.  Let’s just say the road still looked like an abandoned firebreak road on Santa Rosa Mountain in Southern California.  Complete with washboard groves, deep gorges and ruts to challenge even the best off roader.  Yep this “well graded” road still had all that and large puddles of mud to boot. 

After about forty-five minutes of being jolted around worse than that old wooden rollercoaster at Coney Island we made it to basecamp.  Jilly and I thought it appropriate to bring our orange drink to share once we got to the rim of the volcano.  What’s that?  You don’t remember or know of the significance of the orange drink.  Well, it’s from the cult classic movie with Tom Hanks, Joe Verses the Volcano.  

Dan has his orange soda just like the Waponi Woo

Just to add a little more atmosphere, I brought my kazoo and played when Johnny Comes Marching Home Again on our trek up the crumbling concrete path to the Big Woo.  It was a fitting accompaniment to the adventure.  Some of the other adventurers got it and some just thought I was crazy.  Only time will tell… We did watch the movie the night before our big adventure just to get into the right frame of mind.

Once we crested the rim the deep crater was revealed.  Just a big deep hole and at the north eastern side of the pit with a large cloud rising into the air from the depths of the crater.  After a few photos and some ooo ahhhhh eeee eye eeee eye ooooo, we followed our guide further up the rim of the volcano.  The sun was just setting over the western rim and the orange glow from the depth of the pit was becoming more visible.  

Being from Southern California I have lived through many earthquakes over the years.  Some with major destruction and some regular ordinary everyday temblors.  This volcano had repeated rumblings, major gas expulsions and several upward displays of molten rock being spit into the air above its churning pits of hot liquid magma. Thanks for letting me use that word Dr. Evil!

Note how close we were to the edge of the beast.

I’ve had big rig trucks and other freeway traffic drive within meters of me while I was conducting business on the shoulder of Southern California freeways.  I’ve heard explosions at EOD ranges, participated in live fire exercises and lived to tell the tale.  There is just something entirely different about standing on the rim of an active, living, breathing volcano.  Yes, we get to check this item off the list of things to do.  

On a side note, we have all heard or been taught that hell is a place that consists of fire, brimstone, molten rock and in general just not a nice place to be.  I am here to tell you that the rim of the volcano was not hell,  but we could see it from there and it’s not someplace for the faint of heart.

It will be hard to top this day of adventure but, we will give it a try anyway.  Until next time, when your guide draws a line in the sand on the rim of a volcano and tells you not to cross over it.  You don’t cross over it.  I’m not sure you’d survive the fall into the abyss, but if you did make it to the bottom you’d be rewarded by a large puff would cease to exist.  Stay behind the line my friends.  

Cheers!

Captain Dan

P.S. There weren’t any hand rails, safety belts, belaying harnesses or jokers on the rim.  Just a huge dose of respect and humility for the natural world.

P.S.S. Once we get to Australia in a few weeks where internet is a little more available and not so expensive we will be sharing our video of the volcano so stay tuned.

Click here to read about the Crazy 35+ Knot Morning Storm at Port Resolution.

NEXT STOP, PORT VILA…LAND OF KASTOM VILLAGES AND VOODOO WHERE WE’RE HOPING NOT TO BE EATEN BY THE CANNIBALS.

September 2022, Vanuatu

35+ Knot Crazy Mornig Storm

I awoke on our first morning in Port Resolution, Vanuatu to the gentle sound of rain tapping on the rainfly above the hatch in the forward bunk. Dazzler’s gentle rocking side to side had made for a delightful night of slumber after our passage. While it was still pretty early I was feeling quite rested. As I slithered from the bunk and made my way into the salon I noted that the skies behind us were black as night. It was obvious we were in for some rain but what we didn’t know is that we were in for a 35+ knot crazy morning storm.

I got my morning soda and sat on the settee to download emails and then do a little light reading about this interesting country in which we find ourselves. I found a wonderful book about it called “Getting Stoned With Savages: A trip Through The Islands Of Fiji And Vanuatu” The author is quite humorous but also offers a very informative account of what one can expect here.

Soon, however, the light rain turned into something a bit more ominous as it began absolutely pouring. Within minutes the winds went from a light breeze to 20 knots and climbing. Our gently rolling anchorage began to look like a whitewater river suitable for all sorts of dangerous sports like whitewater kayaking and rafting. And, we noted quite quickly that the new yacht that arrived in the middle of the night was sliding on its anchor. My mind quickly went back to the morning at Musket Cove in Fiji a few months ago when boats started dragging and we were hit by one while we were securely tied to a mooring. The only good thing here is there were just three of us in a large bay and we were all a good distance apart.

Dan immediately fired up Yanmar San just in case we needed to move, re-anchor or just try to hold station. We noted that our new neighbors were both on deck with their engine running as well. This is how any good Captain and crew behave in a situation like this. Hiding below out of the rain is only likely to put you, your vessel and those around you in more danger. No one likes to be standing in the cockpit getting drenched by the driving rain but it’s all part of the deal. When the weather comes you have to be ready.

I immediately started closing port lights and hatches which is not fun in this environment that is so hot and humid. Talk about feeling like a lobster in a steamer pot, that’s exactly how it feels when everything gets closed up. The fans do nothing more than stir up hot, moist air making it feel more like a sauna than a yacht.

Dan’s in the cockpit and I, now dressed, am standing in the companionway. There’s nothing for me to really do at this point so I start taking pics and video. After all, someone on board has to document the mayhem right? After a few minutes Dan has determined that our anchor has slid about 11 meters. With the winds now reaching a fevered 38 knots we cannot even think of re-anchoring. No, we will have to try to maintain station and wait for the storm to pass.

Looking back toward Mt. Yasur it doesn’t appear this storm is going anywhere fast. It’s still as black as midnight back there and the rain is still coming down in barrels, not buckets. In fact forget cats and dogs it was clearly raining elephants and hippos. Meanwhile the anchorage is getting more churned up and the swell that is natural here is ramping up too so in addition to be spun in circles by the ever changing wind we are rolling side to side and bouncing up and down.

Where’s The Water Coming From?

About the time we’ve decided the anchor has dug in and stopped dragging I’m down in the salon where I see a puddle of water on the floor near the compression post. We have a deck stepped mast which means our mast actually sits on the deck rather than going through the boat all the way down to the keel.

The compression post goes from the deck to the keel and as is what the mast sits upon. It sort of looks like a shiny stripper pole going from floor to ceiling in the salon. Anyway, it appears we have water draining down the mast and compression post into the salon.

Whenever we have any water ingress in the boat I always go back to what my dear friend, Roger Sutton, told me. Rule #1….”Keep the boat in the water and the water out of the boat.” Well, Roger, sometimes that’s easier said than done. So, I call Dan in from the cockpit to see what he wants to do about it and if he thinks it’s serious. While he assesses the issue I go outside to monitor things there. I just can’t tell you how nice it is to be sitting in the cockpit with rain pelting you like tiny poison darts being shot from a reed at the hands of a cannibal who is looking to serve you up for afternoon tea. It’s such a joyous and pleasant experience. LOL

After a few minutes Dan has determined that we may have a clogged drain at the mast or that the rain is just driving so hard that it’s causing an overflow. For now he’s put a plastic container under the leak and will monitor it until after the storm has passed. It’s nothing we need to worry about. Most important at the moment is making sure we stay securely anchored and that no other boats come banging up against us.

Just when we’d think it was over and the winds were dying we’d look up and they’d be back up in the high 20’s again. The rain would turn to mist and then come down like a waterfall over the decks. It was not like a squall that, as Captain Ron says, “comes on ya fast and leaves ya fast”. No, this was much more reminiscent of a good old Florida thunderstorm complete with thunder and lightening.

At one point we are even certain we heard the volcano belch. There’s thunder but then there’s the sound of the volcano and there simply was no mistaking it. It was so loud and ferocious sounding that it seemed the world was going to come crashing down upon us. The steam vents along the shoreline and up in the jungle were putting off more steam than we’d seen since we arrived. I couldn’t help but think that in a hut somewhere in the nearby village there was an elder telling the children that the Gods were angry today. Heck…I was beginning to believe it myself.

After an hour or so the rains stopped, the winds died down and the anchorage was back to its gentle rolling swell. I even peaked out to see that the sun was peering around some clouds as if to see if it was safe to come out from hiding. Of course over the volcano we could see nothing but thick steam and puffy, grey clouds. I guess this is not the day to go for our tour up to the rim. No, we’ll let her settle down a bit and consider going another day.

For the rest of the day we enjoyed a peaceful afternoon just floating on the hook. Dan pulled out the ukulele and regaled me with his repertoire of songs including his favorite song that he wrote just for me called, “Junkyard Wife”. Don’t even ask. Maybe one day I’ll get a video of him singing it for you.

Well, once again we escaped death. This time in an anchorage during a 35+ knot crazy morning storm. Let’s hope this trend continues as we stand on the rim of an active volcano.

Until next time,

Jilly