Freedom and Adventure: Havana Harbour Vanuatu
by Andrew & Clare Payne 18 Jul 2022 04:35 UTC
Freedom and Adventure - Havana Harbour © Andrew & Clare Payne
So when we last wrote, we were waiting for a Marine Survey to be carried out on Eye Candy after launching. The Survey said Eye Candy was in excellent condition, with evidence of continual maintenance being carried out and the owners were well capable of fixing most things. So let's hope that will satisfy the Insurance Company.
Life in Port Vila, Efate Island, Vanuatu
Before 1stJuly when the Vanuatu Borders opened for tourists, our white faces in Port Vila were quite conspicuous. We were often asked by the locals how was it that we were in Vanuatu?. However, once the borders opened we were amazed how quickly large numbers of white people appeared. We guess the lovely warm weather has a lot to do with it. Although the Vanuatu people survived quite well during the Covid lock down, we feel that the people are happy to see the tourists back. I spotted a Mikasa Dinner Set in a shop window that was there three years ago, I guess not much business has been happening.
Whilst in Port Vila we had drinks with two other cruising boats and also lunch out with our Sydney based friend Michael who has dual citizenship in Vanuatu and returned once the border was open. It was really good to catch up.
The People of Havana Harbour
We sailed 25 miles around to the other side of Efate Island into Havana Harbour. This is a beautiful large harbour, well protected from most winds. American war ships assembled here in WW2 before the battle of the Coral Sea.
There is a small museum here with artefacts, mostly coke bottles, which they left behind. We visited the nearby village, which is one of three in the Harbour.
The women were gathered at 11am waiting for the fresh vegetable market to open at 5pm, but until then a chat fest was planned. We walked along the road stopping at the junior and senior schools and a small shop. The local people all called out to us eager for a chat. They are very welcoming, even the school kids gathered around us. The houses in this harbour are very basic but most have water tanks and a solar panel and battery for lighting at night. Some have lovely tropical gardens and wood piles stacked high for cooking.
The three village communities in the harbour share a vegetable garden well sheltered by banana and coconut trees.
Each family has their own vegetable plot. We met Ronald and his young daughter.
Ronald is one of the fruit pickers who come to Australia each year. He said he loves Australia and the fruit picking program has enabled him to buy a boat and outboard which he uses to get across the harbour to the garden. He offered us Bok Choy and bananas but I already had some, so we ended up with a large yam from his father, that he decided we needed.
Just check out the photo below, no plastic scissors for Ronald's young daughter. This little girls was using a sharp knife to cut the white meat from a coconut to eat, I could hardly watch for fear of seeing blood, lots of it..
How bad would this be?
In 2015 Cyclone Pam, a Catagory 5 Storm, hit Vanuatu with winds of 250km/h and gusts of 330km/h. 'Blue Gold' a 50 metre Benetti Super Yacht was anchored here in Havana Harbour. After being hit by another vessel which dislodged one of Blue Gold's anchors, the vessel ended up across the harbour crashing onto nearby Moso Island just at the village entrance.
It is still there today as the responsibility for its removal is still in dispute. It is quite a surprising site, to say the least.
We took the dinghy over to Moso Island and met the local people. We left Eye Candy in beautiful sunny weather but spent most of our time on Moso Island sheltering from a tropical rain storm with three local teenage children.
We were standing under the tin roof in an open area. One of the three, a young boy, ran and got two plastic chairs so we could sit. What a lovely thing to do, we really appreciated this boy's kind action. The rain bucketed down for about half and hour and then blue sunny skies again. The weather is very unsettled but the temperature is around 28 degrees in the day and 25 degrees at night. The water temperature is also around 28 degrees and very pleasant.
Sailing north up the island chain
So we left Havana Harbour on Friday and sailed overnight 127 miles north to Port Stanley on the island of Malakula. It was a good sail with up to 20 knots of wind behind us. The sea state was a bit confused and so it was a bit rough for a while. We just have to get our sea legs back after such a long break.
We have come into Port Stanley to visit one of the local families. We met Karl and Nora and their three daughters in 2019 when Andrew helped Karl run electrical wires and install some power points for lighting in the house he was building. At the time Andrew was fascinated by the fact that Karl's bedroom was sunken by one metre below ground level. Karl said that if a cyclone came the family would hide here under the bed until it passed. While we have been at home in Australia a cyclone came through Vanuatu and we saw on the news a lot of damage to the township of Luganville just north of here. We are interested to find out how Karl and his family fared.
The news is out
We no sooner dropped our anchor and our first visitors came by the boat. Morris, Helen and family were on their way to the local community garden. Yes, Morris knows Karl and yes his house is still standing. Luckily the cyclone bypassed this island.
Our next visiting boat was a mother and her adult son. They handed us some village cabbage. We asked if they knew Karl. Yes, said the mother he is my son and this is his brother. We said we will come and visit the village soon. My guess is Karl will know by now that we intend visiting. There are 200 people living in the village and so news will travel fast
So what's next
A good night's sleep and then off to the village, an island experience we will enjoy. There are strong winds forecast for the next few days and so we are happy to stay here.
So until next time, stay safe and our love to all.
This article has been provided courtesy of the Freedom and Adventure.