Weather

After leaving Port Havannah, Efata Island the weather hasn't been the
same. Internet has been limited and the SSB radio, unable to pick up Gulf
Harbour net or any of the weather channels.
Our last hour sailing into Emae was awful, the front came in from the
SSW gusting at 35 knots with heavy rain. With two reefs in the main, we
sailed into the anchorage in low visibility with electrical activity not far
behind.
Early the next morning we left Emae for Epi's northern anchorage with a
steady south easterly and as we turned the final headland another front,
this time from the north west. Again wet and gusting at 27 knots making
visibility low and a very uncomfortable anchorage. The fronts did give us
plenty of warning but it was the direction that was unpredictable.
The following day the weather calmed and we were able to enjoy our five
days at Lamon bay. News from the locals was that it had haled that night
for the first it Vanuatu on the island of Emae!
The departure from Epi was a calm down wind sail, just as the weather
forecast had predicted. 15- to 17 knots. It was only 20 nautical miles to the
south west channel of Maskelyne islands/Malakula.
In the distance the dark shadow marking the edge of another front slowly
headed towards us. A strike on the rod distracted us away from the
approaching weather and a large skip jack was landed. But the disturbing
colours of grey and luminous blue in the middle of it all stated that this one
wasn't going to be easy. The head sail and main sail had already been
furled because of the earlier SE winds lightening and the engine started. It
was only 30 minutes from the east entrance when the wind suddenly
started to build from the north west. Lightening cracked above us and a
bolt shot down only 30 metres off our starboard side, then the rain
bucketed down and the wind rose to 30 knots.
We were lee shore with only 1.5 nautical miles to calmer waters. It all
happened so quickly, I called for a little head sail to give us a little more
power and a little steerage because there was no way our tiny 29 horse
power engine on its own was going to motor us out of this. Before we had
time to tighten the sail, Carpe Diem was on here side.
No one especially sailors like to talk about their mishaps at sea but it was
the almost controlled matter of events that was made by my crew, my
family that made us proud to be called sailors.

40 knots and rising so was the sea conditions. Full acceleration on the
engine and we had turned the yacht down wind and we were sailing again
away from the reef but our head sail was torn. Abruptly the folding set of
four solar panels lying across the back of the yacht was flung up into the
wind generator, smashing off three of the blades causing the whole A
frame that supports everything to wobble and risked losing it to the sea.
The solar panels were first to be folded and tied together then was the
wobbling wind generator. By now even the bimini was causing problems
and had to be removed. The head sail was furled away and I needed to get
to the bow to retrieve the rope from over the side before it got tangled with
the propeller, then we would be in trouble. In full control of the yacht
again we decided to motor to the South East channel only to be confronted
by a change of direction in the weather. Again we were lee shore with a
little tide on the nose, So it was back to the South west Channel but this
time the wind had started to decrease and by the time we reached the
entrance it was blowing 25 knots and we were able to motor into the
channel. All left to deal with was the low visibility and the reef either side.
We anchored safely in Gaspard bay, way up in the mangrove on Malekula
island. The excitement didn't end, there was so much rain to be collected.
By the morning we had filled every water tank, water can, bucket and pot
with the help from the two youngest kids who enjoyed the wet but not the
squally weather.
Looking back at the unfolding of events, Joshua did well on helming the
boat and Hannah making sure we were navigating in safe water. As for me,
I quite enjoy the jumping around, bringing the boat back under control.
Jacob slept through it all and Sadie just stayed down stairs but it was funny
when Jacob woke up and said, are we there yet?
As a record for Carpe Diem's log, it has been 11 years since the last storm I
en-counted in the Bristol channel. 52 hours with 60 knot gusts and very
steep seas had been logged.
This was my families first experience of stormy conditions.