Zero2Sixty

Fiji to Vanuatu 2016

by Art on

Information

Distance (nm)
544.42
Hours
63.87
Average (kts)
8.52

After 3.5 months in wonderful Fiji we're off today for Port Vila in Vanuatu. If you haven't had a chance to look at our videos, photos galleries and articles about our experiences here you should. This is one of the nicest places we've been for all water sports activities (diving, snorkeling, swimming, beaches, etc. Put Fiji on your list to come visit one day.

For now, we are heading out on a 530nm passage to Port Via in Vanuatu. Unfortunately, we have a problem with tracking for this webpage so just read along as we post some message along the way and drop a comment to us once in a while too. You might also take a look at our location page to see where we are too.


by Art, 'Arrived at Port Vila'

After a very pleasant night with a full moon and calm seas (yes... motoring still) we arrived at Port Vila, Vanuatu as the sun was rising. Once we found a place to anchor we called for customs and immigration to come to the yacht and clear us into Vanuatu. As usual, it was effortless as these islands recognise that yachts bring business to the island and nice people to visit!

We'll rest today and get busy tomorrow figuring out how to spend our time here before we push on for New Caledonia.


by Art, '160nm from Port Vila, Vanuatu'

Aside from not having enough wind to use the sails without the engine, we've enjoyed a nice passage so far. The motor is loafing along giving some help to the genoa as we had about 9kts of wind for most of the night. Now at noon the winds have dropped to 1kt and almost completely flat seas so the motor is taking us by itself toward Vanuatu. We expect to be anchoring before noon tomorrow ready to call in for our customs and immigrations check and to begin our two weeks or so in Vanuatu. Next season we'll be back to spend much more time but for now we just get a taste of what's to come. Ahh! I smell sausages being grilled to go along with some nice 'hot-dog' buns we found in the market back in Fiji!

Wish us some winds!!

Currently we are motoring, the mainsail is down and the foresail is furled. The sky is clear, we have good visibility and the sea state is smooth. Wind is 1.2 kts from 134°T, the air temperature is 26°C while the sea temperature is 26°C. Our SOG is 9.1 kts with our COG 257°T.


by Art, 'Between Fiji and Vanuatu'

We left our anchorage in front of Vuda Marina about 16:30 on Monday, a little later than planned but Andrea had a couple of maintenance projects that kept him busy and we were all kind of tired anyway. This meant we arrived at the pass leading out of the lagoon just after sunset and getting dark. No problem passing though safely and soon we reached the Pacific ocean.

Turning west we put out the main and genoa. Soon the winds were up to 18 kts and we were flying along under a brilliant set of stars. The moon came up a little while later and it became bright as daylight. Andrea had spent some time cleaning the hull the other day and it paid off as the boat really performs!

Overnight we did four-hour watches each overlapping so we had someone new to talk to every two hours. Over the evening the winds dropped down and the seas calmed a bit. By this morning we had 1m seas and 10 kts of wind so we put the motor on to assist us a bit. Throughout the day, it’s been glorious to see the clear blue sky and cerulean sea. Flying fish scampering across the surface but no whales or dolphins yet.

Note: contrary to all the doom-sayers about the oceans covered in plastic and floating trash we have seen almost nothing in the past three years of sailing the world’s oceans. The trash we do see is in the harbours and marinas, not in the ocean. The oceans are clean and beautiful!

For our first day we’ve done over 210nm and now are 335nm from Port Vila. The forecast looks like it will be like this all the way perhaps with the winds dropping down a bit more.

Both Tea and Tracy are filling in on the watch schedule for this passage as we’re short-handed and they are doing a great job!

Life is good on Feelin’ Good!

Currently we are motoring, the mainsail is reef1 and the genoa is out. The sky is clear, we have good visibility and the sea state is slight. Wind is 9.6 kts from 103°T, the air temperature is 25°C while the sea temperature is 25°C. Our SOG is 9.2 kts with our COG 255°T.

Passage Track

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Comments so far

  • comment from Alberto Alberto on September 20, 2016

    A good crossing to Vanuatu, a good crew, a good performance, enjoy the beautiful weather, Ciao a tutti, Feelin'Good

  • comment from Cristina Van Roomen Cristina Van Roomen on September 19, 2016

    Vi seguiamo sempre !!!!! Un grande abbraccio . A presto . Cristina Gustavo e Timo

  • comment from Pieter and Tineke Pieter and Tineke on September 19, 2016

    Have a safe voyage! Saluti a tutti😘