A Nordic Breeze

Take off

So…now it was time again. Another longer
passage. This time some 1060 nm from Port Vila in Vanuatu to Bundaberg in
Australia, with a planned stop at Chesterfield Islands in the middle of the
trip. Chico had already left us on a plane to Melbourne for his ten days at quarantine
and Sabina and Ella would fly down to Bundaberg and pick him up there and wait
for Breeze to come sailing in a few weeks later. Two Swedish friends came down
to Vanuatu to sail with me; Torgny and Michael.

The wait for the weather window was over and it
was time to leave early in the morning on the 8th of November. Michael had
arrived only two days earlier but Sabina and I had done most of the stocking up
before the boys arrived, and it was only the last shopping for veggies etc left
to do before take off.

First leg is 587 nm and I was planning on landfall the
11th. Wind the first two days was 8-12 knots true from behind. Not
much sea with that wind speed, but it made my initial calculations with an
average of 200 nM a day crack within the first day of sailing. We also had
some counter current and could only keep an average of 156 nM a day the first
two days.

We now had two options, since I don´t like going in
at night to new places in remote areas – slow down and spend another night out
at sea, or speed up and fire up the engine. When the wind died down to 4-5
knots the third day, it made the choice easy. I have always hated going slow
and rolling around in old swell from the side, so we started motor sailing at
9-10 knots. We made landfall just before a beautiful sunset on the 11th of
November and was greeted by chirping birds and the most beautiful turquoise
water and white sand islets. Sundowner with Entice, Helios and Nimrod

We were not expecting any other boats, but found
three others at anchor when we arrived – two Australian catamarans and one American monohull.
Nothing wrong with sundowners but that had to wait for another day, because we were eager to go
exploring the islands in the morning.

Exploring Chesterfield Islands

Chesterfield Islands, what is that??? Yes, it is
not very well known, but it´s not hard to hit it if you are passing this area
unknowingly. Many wrecks scattered around this reef is the proof of that. The
reefs extend from 19˚ to 22˚S between 158–160˚E in the southern Coral Sea halfway
between Australia and
New Caledonia. The outer reef itself stretches approximately 70 nm from the south
to the north and comprises of reefs on the northern part and reefs with small low
lying motus (islets) on the southern part.

It is an atoll, which is really an
old sunken volcano, just like the ones in the Tuamotus. The area belongs to New
Caledonia and is a protected marine and coral reef area. The best description of this paradise is a
mix between Minerva Reef (for the few of you who have been there) and
Galapagos (a bit more well known).

All animals are completely unaware of humans as
being a threat, and you can walk right up to them. There is no other way to
reach these islands than by your own boat, which makes it pristine and unique.
The New Caledonian government is happy to grant you a chance to stop on your
way to Australia, without having to go all the way to Noumea to check in, if
you agree to send them a report of what you have seen and done at Chesterfield.
Not many boats do get off the beaten track to get here though. They only get
15-20 visits of boats a year.

The islands are inhabited by thousands and
thousands of birds, with visits by the big sea turtles coming up to lay
their eggs certain times of the year and we
arrived right in the middle of the turtle season.

Waters outside are amazing with one of the
clearest waters you can find in the world with 30+ meters visibility. Reefs are
healthy and fish are plentiful and huge (AND willing to be speared by your spear
gun whenever you get hungry.There are lots of sharks (a good sign of a healthy
reef) in the water, but they are only curious and wont bother you if you don´t
shoot a fish too close to them. At the turtle breeding season and bird hatching
season, Chesterfield is also a nursery for Tiger Sharks since it is so easy for
them to find food at this time of year.

One calm day we took the dinghy through
a small pass to the outer reef on the east side to go spear fishing. Huge Snappers
and Parrot fish, but decided to shoot the not too big ones since I was not 100%
sure if there was any Ciguatera (fish poisoning) there or not. We knew that
some friends of us had been here a month ago and eaten fish they caught in this
area without getting sick, so we felt pretty confident after all.

After
cleaning the fish and throwing the carcasses in the water we had a new friend
at the boat – a small Tiger shark. Small, when we are talking about Tigers, is
3 meters. All other types of sharks are easy to chase away, as long as you act
as a predator and not a prey, but Tigers are the sharks responsible for the
most attacks and accidents on humans in the tropics (and second on fatalities
in the world, behind the Great White). No serious diver/spear fisher feels safe
when having a Tiger shark in the water. Every time we threw something in the
water our friend was there again, so that was the end of my crews daily swims from the boat at that anchorage.

The small
islands stretch kilometer after kilometer at low tide and consists of the whitest
coral sand you can think of…and birds. Birds, nesting in the small trees;
birds, nesting in the bush; birds, nesting in the sand. Brown Gunnets, Masked
Boobies, Frigate Birds, Crested Terns, Black Noddys and many others I don´t
know the names of. It was fun to read in our bird book written by Neville
Coleman that they don´t know where the Masked Boobies have their main breeding
grounds. Now we know. There were hundreds and hundreds of them on the different
islets of Chesterfield. The Masked Boobie always lay two eggs, but only one nestling
survives.

Super moon and turtle watch

Every morning we went to the islets we could see
new tracks from the turtles that had been up during the night to lay their
eggs. Of course we had to go in one
night to see them. This was the time of the super moon and in the dark, with
nearest light pollution some 1000 km away, it was almost like moving around in broad
daylight. One night we saw a big Green Turtle that had just laid her eggs and
we could only feel happiness. Not many of her hatchlings will survive to come
back and lay their eggs, but we were happy that this is one of the sanctuaries in
the world where the turtles still can breed in peace.

Snakes in paradise

Unfortunately,
there were some snakes even in this paradise. We had been there for three days
when we saw two Chinese fishing vessels entering the lagoon. They immediately started
fishing. We think they were diving for Sea Cucumbers and fishing for shark fins. We
emailed the New Caledonian government to warn them, but they have no resources
to send ships or planes for ID. We were asked to observe and take photos but
not to interfere, since they can be dangerous if they feel threatened. We did
not need to hear that twice, since we were alone out in nowhere and would be an
easy target. Nevertheless, we felt extremely sad to see this piece of paradise
being damaged and we really hope that they will be able to stop this fish pouching.

Time to leave

Leaving
this paradise was hard to do, but as always weather decides. A low developing in
the north threatening to bring 35-40 knots to the islands, and potentially
worse, made us want to leave after the next front that was due on the 15th. We
left the islands at first light 5:30 on the 16th in a nice 15-20 knots breeze
from ESE and a benign 1,5 m swell. Winds kept increasing during the next day
and so did the swell. We ended up sailing along in a howling 25-35 knots of
wind from forward of the beam and a 3-meter short choppy swell just aft of the
beam. It was fast, I give you that, but we reefed hard to slow down the boat to
make it a bit more comfortable. Still, making more than 9 knots on average on
the two days of our last leg to Bundaberg made it a short and overcoming pain.
And as always, it makes the getting there so much nicer 🙂

Vanuatu is
83 islands on top of the Pacific Ring of Fire, it is on the edge of the Pacific
tectonic plate. The islands are beautiful; dramatic lush green and black rocks,
white beaches or maybe golden or black. Vanuatu is being pushed up on the
Indo-Australian plate with frequent volcanic eruptions and earthquakes. Some
islands are still rising and others are sinking. The volcanoes that helped
building up the islands can be seen almost everywhere. Many are still active.
All is surrounded by the bluest ocean with fish, turtles and dugongs. The ocean
is really deep between the islands, so finally no reefs to worry about when
sailing.

Vanuatu is
a country with 240 000 inhabitants, 98% of them are ni-Vans and 2% have a
background from another country. And the way of living in Vanuatu is like
living in two very different countries, with different cultures and economies.
There are the two main islands Efate and Santo with roads, electricity and
infrastructure; with supermarkets, restaurants and shops with everything from
the cool surf clothes to designed solar lights. They also have with big local
markets for fruit, vegetables, flowers or handicraft.

And then
there are 65 other inhabited islands with still a very traditional life; with
farming, hunting and fishing; with trading and sharing. Where the forests are a
major resource that supplies food and medicine, and gives material for building
houses and boats.

The
sea and the boats are still the main way of transporting when not being in one
of the two towns. The canoes are used the whole time; for sailing to school,
for fishing, for transporting anything or everything. They are paddled for
heading to meetings or church service, for going to the road and wait for the
bus. They are the way of transport to one’s plantations elsewhere than the own
island, or sailing out to friends in another village. They are used as a platform
for playing after school, or paddling to us sailors.

Almost
every time we dropped the anchor we got a visit from a canoe or two. The polite questions where then followed by a quiet question or two if we would like some
fruit, and if we maybe had a rope for the cow that had run away, or some
medicine. And then they all lead to the question of help with electricity in
the house. Electricity needed for lights at night, and for watching films.
Almost everywhere we went Per went in, with tools and spares, and helped them
with their electricity.

Vanuatu is
also the country of languages. They have three official languages; English,
French and Bislama (pronounced more like Bishlama), and then 105(!) indigenous
ones. That makes Vanuatu the country with the world’s highest density of
languages per capita.

When we
were on the east coast of the island Malekula, in a small village by Banam Bay,
the people explained to us that they have five different languages, besides the
three official, in the same bay and peninsula, all within sight or walking
distance. They always spoke their own in the village and could only understand
two of the others, so usually Bislama with the others. And when we were
anchored by little Awai Island where two brothers live with families, Sofram
told us that his island used to have its own language, but it disappeared when
his grandfather died. It really can’t be easy to keep a language when it´s only
spoken in the family. Just think about it: When getting married, the women
always move to the husband’s village, with what probably for her has a new
language. She needs to learn her husband’s language or they share a third one,
she only speaks her own old language with their children. So the children grow
up with at least two languages, via mother and father, and maybe an extra via
grandmother. Then when starting preschool and school they need to learn Bislama
and English, French… Bislama is the main common language, but is quite new in
the country, it was developed as a traders’ tongue in the 19:th century and got
its name from what the early traders took from the country; the beche-de-mere,
or the sea cucumber.

The history
of Vanuatu begins with the Lapita people. They sailed to the islands, about
3500 years ago in longboats, and are famous for their pottery. They brought
pigs and chicken on their boats, and yams and tarot-root.

They lived
in small autonomous clans, separated by ravines, jungles and sea. And they
lived in the shadow of their ancestors who could be controlled by magic. It was
important to get the ghosts to the good (your) side or they could be hostile
and ready to haunt with disasters, famines and military defeat. Even today many
ni-Vans believe their ancestral spirits and demons populate the world. The
ghosts of the recently dead are especially potent, and can also be potentially
malicious even to their own family. Practice of magic can help and most adult
men (magic is generally taboo for women) in the traditional parts of Vanuatu
know some useful spells. These can be used for getting the ghosts to your side,
or to produce good crops. Or maybe for future love affairs. For more special
missions, like calming storms, healing the sick or controlling the volcanoes, a
true magician is needed.

Vanuatu is
also a country where the old believes still live by the side of the Christian
church. Wherever we were and whoever we asked the ni-Vans always answered that
the spirits still live by them. When we were on Wala we were invited to a walk
to the old, inner part of the island, where the ni-Vans lived before the
missionaries influenced and changed their believes. This is where the spirits
of the old powerful chiefs still are. Here are areas where you are not allowed
to walk, the sacred planted Namele palm shows where the taboo is. And this is
where Loren introduced us to his grandfather’s grandfather.

Loren’s grandfather´s grandfather was once the chief of the village. When he reigned the island was known for their fierce fighters. Other chiefs could sometimes ask for help from the men in Wala, it was politics that decided if and what side they would support. If they got in to fights they always showed how many they had killed by bringing their penises back. Some of their victims, fighting victims were only men, were eaten by the men who had killed them. Women could be taken from the conquered and be given to men who wanted them as their wives, or really as slaves, as Loren said.

When Lorens ancestor died he was buried by a Namele palm since he was the chief. Body down in a deep hole and his head above the ground. After seven days his head was taken off and taken to the sacred place where other chiefs in the family were buried before him. This is where Loren took us.

At a sacred
place you must be quiet, Loren prayed and talked to him entirely quiet, he told
him we would support with a pig and made a dance around the burial ground. His
great great-grandfather gave permission for us to walk and being told the
history, but he also said that we must not talk to anyone on the island or in
Vanuatu about it. Then we were introduced to the skull of his ancestor. After
that Loren could show us around on the taboo area.

We walked by
some Nakamal trees. Loren told us this is where the spirits stay. The spirits
are the same size as us, or they can be small as dwarfs. When there are people
on the island the spirits climb up the trees where they can keep an eye on what
is happening, they only walk the ground if the island is empty or at night. Loren
had met two of them one night, one lady spirit with long hair all the way down
to her waist and one small spirit, walking on the trail across the island back
to their Nakamal tree.

We also
walked by the old place where the chiefs used to be crowned, and where men who
want to earn statues through grade-taking ceremonies could, and still can,
bring and slaughter pigs. If this is happening they need a thousand pigs. Five
hundred tied on one side of the trail and five hundred on the other. One side
is for the men, the other for the women. The men and the women may not be
together, or talk to each other, during the ten days of ceremony. They must
kill and cook the pigs on different sides of the trail. This is the only time
men do any cooking, otherwise that is always a woman´s job. Once the boys get
into puberty they are on the men’s side.

It was a
long time since this was used for ceremony, almost a hundred years, in his
grandfather’s time. But Loren was hoping it would be once again in not a too
far away future so that he would experience it.

The men in the early history
earned their statues through grade-taking ceremonies, each grade closer to
becoming a chief. The more grades a man had earned the more powerful his
defence of black magic would be, and the more potent his spirit would be after
death. One way to show a man’s wealth in life was the number of his pigs. The
tusks from the pigs provided currency (now they are a symbol on the flag), and
the pigs were the second most important in the family. But who was then
responsible for the pigs well-being and the man’s statues? Their wives…who came
as number three. Loren told, with a smile on his face, that thanks to Christ
and church women have upgraded and are nowadays considered more important than the
pigs.

To come to
Vanuatu and visit the islands and villages gives you a perspective of how to
live. Life here is very close to nature and, at least for us visitors, seems to
be very easy, happy and relaxed. No one has very much, materialistic, if you
look at it from a European perspective. It is a life when the days follow the
sun, and what you have mostly comes from the nature. In Ambrym we were shown
how to find and dig for the eggs from the Meya bird. The Meya bird, an endemic
Megapode, lives in hill forests where it nests in volcanically heated areas
where it buries its eggs deep in the ground. We were shown where to find them
and how to dig for them.

We read
that egg collecting is now restricted by a local system of taboos, but we also
saw all the exhumed big nests. Digging for the eggs is only one threat to this
endemic bird. The bird itself is also hunted by rural communities and is killed
by feral dogs. Its nesting areas are logged and cleared for agriculture. Then
comes mother nature’s answer with fires and cyclones degrading nesting grounds
and shortage of feedstuff. No one really knows how many birds there still are,
somewhere between 2500 and 10 000. For us it is easy to wonder; is it
worth it? Digging a whole day for a handful of eggs when there are fowls and
chicken walking everywhere? Aren’t their eggs easier to collect for a lesser
environmental cost? But it is easy for us to wonder and wish. The ni-Vans told
us these eggs are so much better with its extra big yolk…

Vanuatu is beautiful.
One thing we really wanted to experience in Vanuatu was the volcanoes. One of
the reasons we went to Ambrym was hiking up on one in the middle of the island.
We hiked up to Mt Marum.

We went to
the village Ranvetlam for asking for permission and hire a guide and a carrier.
The weather turned out good in a couple of days and we could start the hike on
a Sunday. We had been told to dress with variety, covering both for hot and
cold, to have good strong shoes and lots of water, and food to cover two days.
By eight in the morning we left the village and started walking up, up.

The first
hours we walked the green rainforest, with good sun cover from the dense
vegetation and well-walked trails leading to someone’s plantation up in the
forest. Halfway up, the trail got into a trickier one. Steeper, narrower,
densely green. The whole time we were surrounded by the sound of the crickets,
almost ear-splitting, and birds.

After
a couple of breaks with water, bananas and bars we finally came up to the ash
plain. Before entering we were cut a spear each from the wild bamboo. Since
this was our first time walking up to the volcano we should throw the spear out
on the ash plain and our guide asked the spirit of the volcano for a good walk
up and a for calm volcano.

A
completely different walk started. All open for the sun, all on flat black lava
that is a river bead when the rain is truly rich, surrounded by the green, wild
bamboo and orchids. We could see footprints from the wild cows but the only
animal we saw was the little birds. By
midday we reached our camp. This would be our house for the night, our outdoor
dining room for dinner and breakfast, our shared bedroom. (You could say the
hut had its own way of air-conditioning, via walls, floor and door opening.
When night came and we should sleep it was freezing cold.) After a rest and
some extra lunch, we started walking further up.

Mt Marum is
1270 m high, and has a sister, Benbow, only a kilometre away. They are both two
very active vents from the same volcano. It is not only one of the most active
volcanoes of Vanuatu, but also in the world. Eruptions occur almost yearly. Up! Ash plain, moonlike landscape. We walked to the leeward side, where it was easier to breathe.

The lava
boiling, changing shape and structure every second, sending up smoke covering
the view, spreading heat to your frozen fingers, making your throat dry and
your eyes filled with tears It gave you dizziness, almost pulled you down. It
was hypnotizing.

We started
the hike with a wish to stay up on the volcanic ridge till sunset. We had a
wish to stay close to the crater and the coloured smoke clouds in the dark and
gave it a try for a couple of hours. But it was too cold. Fingers felt like
when walking outside in a snowy winter without gloves. We hiked back to our
base camp for heating up both dinner and ourselves by the fire. And listening
to the crickets and looking at the star covered sky and red clouds coming up
from inner of the world.

Marum
and Benbow spread their light at night and ashes and smoke the whole time.

After a
long night in the hut, trying to get some warmth from blankets and Chico,
listening to the wind, always wondering if the light coming in through the gaps
in the wall was the sun rising; but no only the light from Marum and Benbow.
Then finally sunrise and time to go up. Time for breakfast and then to start
walking down to our homes in village or boat.