Welcome to the Maunie of Ardwall blog

This is the blog of Maunie of Ardwall. After a six-year adventure sailing from Dartmouth to Australia, we are now back in Britain.

Thursday 30 June 2016

In Port Resolution, Tanna

Good morning from Port Resolution ( 19:31.5S/169:29.78E) on the island of Tanna. Don't forget that you can see out latest locations at https://www.yit.nz/yacht/maunieofardwall We had a superb sail up from Aneityum yesterday with the Parasailor flying the whole (50nm) passage so arrived here about 3.30pm; we were 'racing' the whole way with Iolea and arrived just ahead of them. Port Resolution is just a long, shallow bay open to the north-east and with a reputation for rolly conditions if a easterly swell comes. At the moment it's pretty calm with just a gentle rise and fall but a stern anchor to keep us pointing into the swell might be needed if it increases.
 
The main attraction here is Mount Yasur, an active volcano a few miles inland. The locals do a roaring trade taking visitors up to it in 4x4s, with a final climb to the summit just as dusk arrives – a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to look down into the crater of a volcano and to watch the fireworks of lava explosions. One suspects that anywhere else in the world the health & safety police would have none of this! At the moment we have sunny skies so we are hoping that the clouds will stay away this evening for our tour.
 
In the meantime we are enjoying the spectacle of ten dug-out canoes, each with one man aboard, fishing with nets around us. Laura has promised to bake us some shortbread and Graham is about to embark on the no-fun job of sticking his head and shoulders into the anchor chain locker (accessed from the forecabin) to replace one of the windlass foot-switches which is causing problems. What with that and yesterday's job of replacing the water pump impellor in the generator, the 'boat maintenance in exotic locations' nature of blue water cruising continues.

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