Passing time in Port Vila

We were very lucky with a good weather window coinciding with the end of our 3 month permit for staying in New Caledonia. We left Ilot Matire with the goal of anchoring close to the channel we needed to sail through on the outgoing tide so we had the current behind us rather than against us. Unfortunately on the way to our final anchorage in New Cal the main sail ripped which meant a delay of 12 hours giving Craig time to repair the sail by sewing and gluing the rip. On top of that just as we were packing up getting ready to leave, the outboard motor completely stopped working. We realised there was nothing we could do about that until we got to Vanuatu so we picked up anchor and managed to hit the tide right and had a sweet sail out through the channel and all the way over to Vanuatu. As expected I felt nauseous during the trip however didn’t physically throw up which I count as a win.

We sailed into Port Vila and dropped anchor before Craig dropped the kayaks in the water and had fun paddling to customs for our check in. We had a minor hiccup when it turned out we hadn’t filled in all the health paperwork we were suppose to and we had to remain on REAO for half a day waiting to hear back from the authorities whether we could finalise the check in or not. Luckily for us they accepted the late paperwork and we were finally checked in.

On the trip over we had problems with the gearbox (makes REAO go forward or backwards) so our first priority was to get that sorted out. Craig managed to remove the gearbox and we took it to a reputable marine workshop to see what they could do with it. The mechanic said he could fix it but it would take a few weeks as he had to source parts. We left it with him and then spent the next couple of days searching around Port Vila for a new or secondhand outboard motor. Unfortunately we had no luck with that as the smallest one we could find was 15hp which is too big for our needs plus too expensive. As we had no outboard we spent the first couple of weeks kayaking everywhere which was fun and helped keep us fit.

Because Vanuatu is slightly further north than New Caledonia the weather is warmer and we absolutely loved the extra few degrees of warmth both in the air and in the water. The water clarity in Port Vila is amazing and we were swimming off the boat every day. I think having the borders closed during covid and having no tourists or cruisers must have helped with the cleanliness of the water as I don’t remember it being like this back in 2017 when we were here.

After kayaking for a couple of weeks Craig decided to bite the bullet and see what he could do with the outboard motor. He spent the main part of a day pulling it completely apart and figuring out what was wrong (ball bearings). Luckily on one of our previous travels we had visited a hardware store where we noticed they sold ball bearings. He took our ones up and we were in luck as they had the correct size for us which we bought, he put in, reassembled everything and what do you know, we now have a working outboard motor again. Brilliant news and it definitely makes going grocery shopping slightly easier.

We have now been in Port Vila for a month and have been told that our gearbox will be ready by the end of this week. Once we get that back and installed that means we can leave and explore the rest of Vanuatu. That being said we have absolutely loved sitting on anchor here in Port Vila. We have neighbouring cruisers sail in, drop anchor for a few days and go again. It has been fun being back in the cruising community and we have met some fantastic new friends from Italy, New Cal, America, Australia and even other Kiwis. Spending this time in Port Vila means we have had ample opportunity to thoroughly explore the town and even the entire island which we weren’t able to do last time. The locals are absolutely amazing, so friendly and helpful. Vanuatu has quickly climbed the charts to being one of our most favourite places we have been too.