ARRIVING VANUATU AND HOSPITAL VISIT

4 June 2025

From Lata in the Solomons down to Sola in Vanuatu is just over a two-hundred mile run.  The winds were light but we managed to knock off eighty miles the first day in S’Wly winds that went around to the NE on the second day before giving up completely.  The second night was flat calm, the stars were out in  a cloudless sky.  A beautiful night but we weren’t going anywhere.  That suited me, the anti-malaria pills were knocking the stuffing out of me, I spend a lot of time sleeping.  Eventually I put the motor on and we motored the remaining miles down to Sola to check into Vanuatu. We arrived mid-morning in Sola and anchored in the south anchorage of Port Patterson.

I launched the dinghy and went ashore with my passport and the ships papers.  I found the customs office and started the checking in process.  The two customs officers wanted to inspect Truce, so we all squeezed into the dinghy for the ride out and back.  Once customs had finished, I went over to the immigration office to get my passport stamped.  This process required some local currency.  Fortunately, I was able to get some cash at the local bank, it took a long wait and more paperwork and stamps.  Back to immigration with cash and I received a three-month tourist visa in my passport.  That was it, by three in the afternoon all the formalities were complete.  I had the necessary bits of paper to continue on to Luganville where I needed to check in again with customs and receive a cruising permit. 

On the way down from Lata I had developed ugly looking ulcers around my mouth and lips.  I was worried about what was causing them, I set off to find the hospital.  It was a long walk to the hospital along the road to the airstrip.  I managed to arrive before the doctor finished for the day.  I told the doctor about my recent malaria and the drugs I was taking.  He responded that the ulcers were a common side effect of the Primaquine tablets I was taking.  The doctor gave me some multivitamin pills and said the ulcers will clear up when I finish the course of treatment.  That was a relief, it wasn’t some flesh-eating tropical disease.

I returned to Truce, took my evening medication and went back to sleep.  The next day I went ashore in search of a sim card and some fresh eggs.  Both items proved very hard to find.  The customs guy helped me out and perseverance paid off, by late afternoon I had both items.     

 There was now some swell coming into the anchorage causing Truce to roll.  I picked up the anchor and headed up to a bay in the north of Port Patterson where there is shelter from the swell.  I had another good night’s sleep. 

The next morning, I decided to head down towards Espirito Santo island.  As we headed out of the anchorage, I noticed that the engine cooling water had stopped.  I turned around and dopped the anchor.  Investigation found that the impeller in the seawater pump needed replacement.  I replaced the impeller.  On this Yanmar 3gm30f engine, for some reason the water pump is mounted with the access plate for the impeller facing the engine, restricting access.  Its easier to remove the complete pump from the engine to change the impellor.  Then I decided to clean the bilge as some seawater had run down there.  Then it was lunchtime.  I was feeling tired again so decided to rest up and sail the following day.  Another night at anchor and a good sleep.

The following morning with cooling water flowing again we motored out of the anchorage and sailed to Port Orley on the top east side of Espiritu Santo.  This is a lovely anchorage, just a slight swell creeping in.  I slept heartily again, the anti-malaria drugs still knocking me out.   

The next day there was a light wind, we ghosted down to Hog Harbour, just less than 10 miles south.  This place is famous for its champagne beach and cruise ships frequent the place.  The locals set up stalls on the beach to cater for the tourists, it all gets very busy I am told.  No cruise ships during my visit, all very quiet.  I was not too impressed with the anchorage and was relieved the following morning when the anchor came up clean and we were on our way again.  Our next destination, Paterson Bay, some twenty-five miles to the south.

Light winds again and we arrived at Paterson Bay late afternoon.  By this time it was too late to enter into the inner lagoon and the tide was falling.  I crossed over the outlaying reef and anchored in the outer lagoon for the night, a nice anchorage protected from the swell by the outlaying reef.  The next morning on a flood tide we entered into the inner lagoon and Turtle Bay.  Here is an excellent anchorage in fourteen meters of water protected from sea and swell by offlaying reefs and islands, good holding on a muddy bottom.  Oh, I love a muddy bottom.   

Here I finished my course of malaria pills, they have really been knocking the stuffing out of me.  Hopefully, I will be feeling less tired and the ulcers will clear up soon.  From this anchorage it’s a short walk to the main road leading to Luganville.  There is a bus but I didn’t see it.  I managed to hitch a ride into town on the back of a truck carrying copra.  It was a bit mucky but had a nice, sweet smell of copra. 

Luganville is a great place.  All the main shops are along the main street, there are all kinds of stores, hardware, clothes, electrics, supermarkets etc.  A real opportunity to stock up on items I had not seen since leaving the Philippines. 

As lunch time approached, I found a café and had steak and chips, my first fresh red meat for a long time.  The meat is Vanuatu is good, the temperature here is a bit cooler than the places I have come from, the beef is farmed locally.  Lunch was accompanied by my first Vanuatu beer.  Its Tusker beer, I remember drinking Tusker beer in Kenya many years ago.  This Tusker is good, I am liking this place more and more.  

After my exploration of Luganville and some grocery shopping I took a taxi back to Turtle Bay.  There I did battle with a recalcitrant outboard to get back to Truce.  The outboard is a Suzuki 2.5Hp.  It is susceptible to poor quality fuel, the tiny jets in the carburetor get clogged up and then the trouble starts.  It’s a common problem on this model outboard.  The short-term remedy is easy.  Remove the carburetor, clean out the jets, a bristle from a brush is good for that job, reassemble everything and all will be good for a couple of weeks.  It’s such a fiddley and time-consuming task, I dislike it but have no option, I need outboard power.

The next day following a bout of outboard maintenance I ventured off up a river close by that leads to a ‘Blue Hole’ swimming spot.  Unfortunately, torrential rain and a squall drove me back down the river and I returned to Truce.  Back onboard I opened up the water tank fillers and in ten minutes had the water tanks full again with lovely fresh rainwater. 

The next day I found a small resort ashore that had a washing machine.  The manager kindly let me use the machine for a small consideration and I was able to catch up on weeks of laundry.  So nice to have clean fresh smelling bedding and clothes again.

After a leisurely and enjoyable stay at Turtle Bay I moved a  bit down the coast to Sarunda Bay.  Once again, a protected anchorage inside a fringing reef.  This is a beautiful anchorage with turtles and dugongs swimming around.  It is also close to the road into Luganville, easy to get into town.  This has to be one of my favourite anchorages so far in Vanuatu, I will stay here for a few days and get healthy again.