We set off early and what a relief to get the anchor up no problem. We had floated a big fender on the chain as a precaution, we have anchored here twice before with no problems. We set off with a big swell hitting us from the side, Efate island was sheltering us from the wind, so we motored until we were near the end of the island. The wind picked up as predicted, we had put a reef in just to be on the safe side which seemed a bit unnecessary to start with. Out of the shadow of the island the wind picked up to low 20’s and we had a very good fast sail to the northern end of Epi island. It was about 50 miles, we arrived mid afternoon in good light. We were averaging 9-10 knots a lot of the way, it was very comfortable, especially when the swell came more from behind us.
It is a black beach bay we have anchored in, which generally means good holding. There was one old boat here already. We did not go too far in as we had read there are lots of turtles here because they like the sea grass. Anchors are terrible for pulling up the grass. We were delighted to see a big turtle as soon as we put the anchor down, it appeared to surface to see what the noise was about. Just as the sun was setting another yacht came in, we passed them on our way up. We have spent the past couple of nights on our own so interesting to have company. Neither of these boats have AIS which absolutely baffles us, it is so much safer to be seen!
Big winds were predicted for the night so we had everything battened down, and had a very comfortable evening.
We sailed from about the V of Vanuatu (on the map), to Epi
Lovely white beaches on Epi and thick lush vegetation
Our anchorage with the big Lopevi volcano island touring over Epi, the top is mostly in cloud
“Lopevi a stratovolcano, is one of the country’s most active volcanoes and is known for its steep, conical shape rising from the Pacific Ocean. It has been evacuated due to ongoing volcanic activity, and the island is now uninhabited. Lopevi has a history of eruptions, including ash eruptions that can affect neighboring islands. The volcano is currently at Volcanic Alert level 2, indicating major unrest.”
Greeted in the bay by a turtle and a vivid rainbow
The little island behind us, there are little boats ferrying people back and forth, it has a big village on it
More dark clouds about
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