My Heart Is Breaking

The landing area in 2014. Note the building on the left.

After a nice sail to Havannah Bay area on the west side of Efate, we spent the night at anchor. S/Y Caduceus joined us later in the evening. We both headed out at sunrise to make a one day sail of 75 km to Awei, northwest of Efate.

Good wind made for a good sail! The anchorage at Awei is always a welcome site, as it is protected and relatively calm.

Unfortunately, there were three boats plus Caduceus already anchored, so we couldn’t get behind the island. We anchored in deep water which makes for an uneasy sleep. Our plan was to move in when someone leaves as no one stays in one place too long.

Same area in 2015. That is the same building as the one
on the left of the photo above.

Having tried to contact Vincent (cousin of Chief Kaisa on Avokh) unsuccessfully, we decided to go ashore with a tank of petrol (gasoline) for their generator. Instead of bringing kava to the Chief, we like to take something more useful. Petrol (which we later learned they call "benzene") is difficult to come by so it will be graciously accepted.

And Dennis wanted to assess the generator situation. Last year he told them how to maintain it since it looked like it had never been serviced or had the oil changed. We will see …

Structures in 2015. They lost 11 houses, but no deaths.

Dr. Elizabeth and Martin joined us on our shore trip. She had been there several weeks before and wanted to follow up on a patient with heart failure and edema. She had also told us of the need to clean and disinfect the Aid Post so we purchased a broom, mop, bucket, sponges, rubber gloves and disinfectant solution.

The plan was to have the women take interest in the well-being of the community by learning to keep the Aid Post clean for visiting doctors and nurses. There is an Aid Post Committee, but apparently all they do is meet!

Structures in 2014

And since they are all men, I doubt they will take up the mop and bucket! We will see if this will communicate!


Chief Kaisa took us around the island to see the patients, as several more had conditions needing a doctor. One young man had a nasty hole in his ankle from a sting ray sting and it was severely infected. The heart patient’s legs where so swollen that they were oozing fluid and his left arm was huge with edema. 



First stop: Aid Post. This place needed a thorough cleaning on
 the examination room side. We gave them the tools to do it!
 

Several others had infected injuries that needed treatment. An elderly lady who had broken her hip several months ago wanted help. Since the break had mended itself with the leg twisted to the right, there was nothing Dr. E. could do. She had consulted with the hospital in Port Vila, but there is no one with orthopedic expertise or experience there. Other than pain medication, nothing can be done for this lady. It is a sad state of affairs, indeed.
 

Dr. E. checked the supplies only to find there was not much
available. She will send more up with us when we return.

While Dr. E. was busy with patients, Dennis and I talked with Chief Kaisa about the needs of the village. My heart was aching from the destruction caused by Cyclone Pam. This beautiful little village is in bad shape. It brings tears to my eyes every time I think of what was here and wonder how they can get it back together. They have begun to rebuild houses, but there is so much to be done!
 

Many infections are from cuts that get wet in
the salt water. The flies attack the flesh and
often a nasty staph infection will develop!

The village was very neat and well-kept last year even though the people are so poor. The cyclone destroyed a number of homes and fences, took down many, many trees – including the large breadfruit trees – and took the roof completely off the community building along with half of the rafters. That was a lovely building where we had Kae Kae and Kava tasting a year ago.

George is in heart failure and not much can be done here.

The hole in Owlen's leg from the stingray is badly infected.



Don't mess with string rays! They come out at night!

 



Lots of vegetation in 2014.

The gardens have been planted and some harvesting is being done; the trees have leafed out, but there are no fruits and few coconuts, which provide clean and healthy hydration. It will be a year before they will be abundant again. There is no clean drinking water on Avokh as the collection system has been damaged and cisterns contaminated. The villagers carry drinking water from the streams on the mainland in their canoes.





The beach in 2014.

The beach this year.

Surrounded by salt water, the village is dying for clean water to drink. We had been saving Coke and tonic bottles to transport two liters of water in each. As long as our water maker holds out, we keep refilling the dozen two liter bottles and taking them ashore where the people pour them into other vessels and return the bottles for a refill.





This is someone's kitchen now.

Dennis and Martin surveyed the water situation on the island. One of the cisterns needs serious cleaning and decontamination. One is okay – somewhat brackish, but usable for cooking. Dishes are washed in the sea. People bathe in the sea – and loved all of the bars of soap donated by the students at Wentworth College in New Zealand. The same students had donated many toothbrushes which we handed off to Donna and Jonathan on Chez Nous for the dental clinic that moves through the islands.

The kids are always adorable!

The island needs gutters on some of the buildings to collect rain water and direct it into the cisterns and water tanks. Some of the natural roofing materials make the water undrinkable so only certain structures are used to collect water. The connections are insufficient for getting the water into the proper holding areas. Dennis is going to see what he can do to remedy the situation and we will go back to Port Vila and buy gutter material and supplies. It looks like we will be spending several weeks here working on projects.

 
 
 
 
 


Now destroyed, this was one of two baking ovens here.

We brought a lot of stuff, but it is only enough for everyone to have something. Some of the goods will be used by the community for gatherings and events that bring in some money. They are still performing the Kastom Dancing and Kae Kae and Kava Tasting for visiting yachts. It brings in 3500 Vatu per person. At two to four people at a time, it is a very slow cash flow. I will use my Publisher program to update their tourist brochure and suggest several ideas for marketing their island to passing yachts.





My little buddy, Nella in the middle, with her cousins.

The village has to pay for the teachers, vaccinations and taxes to the government (even though they are not getting any help in return) with the monies they generate. They sell fish to the boat that comes by on Thursdays to pick it up. Other than that, there is no income. I am not sure where the fish go, but it doesn’t appeal to me that it has been sitting in coolers with no ice for several days before being put on Big Sista, the boat that delivers throughout the islands in Vanuatu. It is also a passenger ferry, if one can afford the fare.

Dresses for Dignity Success

Thanks to the many of you who donated to my Dresses for Dignity initiative, we managed to purchase 100 Mother Hubbard dresses for the women on Avokh and neighboring island, Awei! Thank you! Thank you! With the matching funds I promised, we purchased underwear (panties and bras) for them as well.

Working with the Vanuatu Women’s Council, local women made the dresses for us. We were happy to pay them to make them so they would have money for their families.

It was an exciting day when the ladies arrived with their bags of dresses. The local paper took photos and will do a story with us when we return from our assessment of the conditions on Avokh and Awei.

It was a happy day when the dresses were delivered. I was filled with joy that my vision actually became a reality. The ladies were thrilled to have cash in their hands! And the Vanuatu Women’s Council was pleased to have connected us. Their executive director, Liz, and several other officials from the Council and government joined in the photo session. After we deliver the dresses, we are to be interviewed by the local paper in Port Vila.
 

The next happy day will be when we deliver the dresses to the island women. If it is anything like we experienced in Tanna, all of the goods we have collected and purchased will be evenly distributed in some form among the villagers. Although the mounds of used clothing and goods is filling the boat, it will only be a small drop in the ocean of need in the outer islands. I hope we have enough so that everyone will have a thing or two. That may not seem like much to us, but a new-to-them shirt or a pair of shorts is a treasure to these people.

 

We have collected, sorted and moved bags of clothing from place to place on the boat for six months! It will be nice to have it offloaded and enjoyed by others. We must thank the Whangaporoa Rotary Club, Wentworth College and a number of friends we met in New Zealand for assisting in this project. I

t is our hope that yachties who make the trip up to these islands each year from New Zealand and Australia will continue to bring food and clothing for the outer islands. The people have no reasonable or affordable means of transportation to the larger ports and they have no money to buy things when they get there.

Are we ruining their culture by bringing them help? I can’t allow that thought when I see the hunger in their eyes even when they are willing to give you their food as a gesture of friendship and goodwill. They do not beg or barter, but there is great need for the basics about which we don’t usually think: water, meat, rice, flour, seeds, medicine, containers to hold clean water, containers to hold the rice, etc.

Unfortunately, we are contributing to the Cargo Cult mentality here. After all of the cargo dropped and left behind in the South Pacific during WWII, the natives believed that good things just fall from the heavens! They pray for it to fall - and they are very serious. So here we come answering their prayer and reinforcing their believe!
 

I will be happy to see this mess head to shore!

So after saying “goodbye” again to members of the WARC 2015 fleet and our New Zealand renegade pals from WARC 2014, we were left behind in Port Vila with Caduceus and Chex Nous to fill our boats and head north to lend a helping hand. Four days of shopping nearly did us in, but we managed to get the things for which we were hunting and gathering. People in the restaurant on the quay where we were berthed were amazed at how much stuff we kept bring back and loading onto S/V Trillium! Now we are ready to set sail to the Maskelyne Islands of Avokh and Awei. We just need a day of rest and then we will be off.

A New Form of Shop Until You Drop!

All of this fresh lettuce for 300 Vatu or $3 USD!

Unfortunately, we did not stock up in Fiji as we had intended. Our plan had been to go to Musket Cove to spend some time with our friends in the World ARC, then go back to Vita Levu to provision and buy food and goods for the Cyclone Pam victims. The WARC spirit moved us to make a quick decision to go to Vanuatu with them. This meant no time to shop in Fiji where the prices are the best in the area.

So now we are in Port Vila, Vanuatu where there is a shortage of fresh foods and the prices are high. The building materials and tools are in great demand so that impacts the price, too. Since they are also recovering from the storm, they see no need to give us a discount for items we are donating to the outer islands. We have plans to take solar energy and tools to Avokh.

This lowered our waterline!

We have heard that Avokh has received no international or governmental aid at all! We are not sure what we will find when we get up there so we decided to take rice and powdered milk.

We went to au Bon Marche warehouse and bought 300 kg (over 600 lbs.) of rice and 72 cans of powdered milk for Avohk and Awei Islands in the Maskelynes. Thank you to those of you who donated money to help buy food. Although this sounds like a lot of rice and milk, it will only last a week or two as there are 50 families on Avokh and five on Awei. We will need to replenish their supply before we leave Vanuatu.

We had a nice lunch break at a French Café on the water.

In addition, we purchased yam shovels, seeds, tarps and a lot of tools to take with us. We have a store of nails, fishing line and hooks, used tools donated in NZ and all kinds of clothing for men and children.

In fact, the boat was so full and listing to the port once we stacked the rice on board! The V-berth, crew cabin and crew head are pack full of items for Avokh Island. They needed assistance before Cyclone Pam, so this may not even make a dent if they have been hit hard.
 

This is just the saloon.
And you should see the V-berth, crew
cabin and crew head!

Our plan is to head north to Avokh Island, located at the southeast end of Malakula in the Maskelyne Island group, with what we have, assess the situation and return to Port Vila to get things they need. No one has been there to give aid or assess the damages or living conditions.

Avokh Island is located on the SE corner of Malakula.

We are working with two other WARC boats: S/Y Caduceus (Dr. Elizabeth and Martin) from the UK and S/V Chez Nous (Donna and Jonathan USA – although, Jonathan is a Brit).

Caduceus decided to spend three to four months in Vanuatu working with the New Zealand-based Butterfly Trust giving medical care on the outer islands.

Chez Nous has been working with Sea Mercy, helping to coordinate and deliver medical teams and equipment to the islands.



In addition, all of us are trying to help get safe drinking water to the people. I fear for what we will find when we reach the lovely village on Avokh.

Another World ARC sailor, Heather Sutton, who was crew for an Australian boat, decided to sail her own boat from Australia to Vanuatu to lend in the aid mission. We were happy to see her and her crew in Port Vila.

You know you have been in the islands too long when you let them braid your hair! Heather had quite a new look on shore!
 

Enjoying the sail. No seasickness this time!

Things Seem Back to Normal in Port Vila

Crops are returning to the market, but prices are higher.

We had seen and shared photos of Port Vila right after Cyclone Pam hit them hard. Yachts had been ripped from the moorings and piled on the wall then. The ladies’ waterfront craft market was destroyed and many buildings lost roofs and had damage. Although we were not sure what to expect when we arrived in Port Vila, things looked relatively normal and like last year.

The market selections are limited this year.

A few new buildings were going up in the main waterfront area, the mooring balls had been reinstalled (thanks to the help of the World Cruising Club and sailors donations), and it looked like business as usual.

The ladies’ craft market has been moved to the main market building. The positive is that they probably get more traffic from visitors to the food market stalls; the negative is that it lost it charm of being a living crafts village along the bay. It is very close and crowded with the items for sale so you feel like you are in a bazaar somewhere in Turkey as you squeeze by people and try not to destroy the displays.

This NiVan official building was destroyed by Pam

Things are not really back to normal in Port Vila, though! The businesses are functioning as usual. Some are closed and seem to be out of business; other new enterprises are setting up in the retail area. Since we were seeking solar energy resources to take to Avokh Island with us, we took a very long bus ride to find the right shop. A traffic jam on the way back opened our eyes to how the people who may be lucky enough to have a job in a business really live! It makes your heart break to see the villages where they go home to after a day’s work. They are pitiful – worse than I have seen in inter-city situations.

She survived Cyclone Pam, but is in rough shape!

We have noticed a change in the demeanor of many people. There is a sadness and a lack of eagerness to provide the service of their job. It must be a feeling of hopelessness for them as their pay is low and the price of food is high. Things are much less expensive in Fiji, where food is also more plentiful. The selection of fresh items is very limited, even in the supermarkets.

Where the local live.

A little experience comes in handy! We learned too late last year that you can take a bus for 150 VT instead of a taxi for a lot more. They all look similar: vans of different colors. The secret tourist don’t know is to look for the “B” on the license plate as it stands for BUS! Of course, those with “T” are taxis. And like in many places, the taxi fare varies according to what the driver thinks he can get from you. On the bus, you pay when you get off; then pay again after the next ride. The bus fare is always the same: 150 VT regardless of how far you go. We tend to walk to our destination, then find a bus to bring our loads back. There are buses everywhere and they are willing to give you a ride before the next one gets to you.

These villages are very poor.

Another "last supper" with our World ARC New Zealand
fleet before Firefly, Brizo and Starblazer head to Australia.
We will catch up with them next year or in 2017 in St. Lucia.

And like the markets in every island where you need to have your own bags, I have learned to carry my boat bag full of more sturdy bags whenever I go shopping so I can have a means of getting the goods back. I also carry plastic bags for carrying bread. Otherwise, you walk down the street with the loaf in your grubby little hand!

We did a lot of shopping for the Children's Day event in Avokh as we should be up there by then. Remembering that Vincent wanted to get to Port Vila last year to buy things for the special day, we decided to take things with us.

One of the fun parts of being in Port Vila is connecting with other yachting friends. Of course, most of our World ARC New Zealand fleet was there. The three German boats had gone to Australia from New Zealand. We miss them!

We tend to have group dinners whenever there is a fleet gathering in one area. So we were off to the good Chinese restaurant here in Port Vila for one of those "lazy Susan dinners" where they just bring on the dishes and everyone gets a taste of many things.

Like always, it will be hard to say "goodbye" to several boats leaving us. We will probably reconnect somewhere and will definitely stay in touch with email. Starblazer is rejoining the WARC as Joyce wants to be in New York City for her 70th birthday. Pat and Stuart want to get Brizo to Australia and return to the UK to spend time with a new grandchild. Paul and Susie are heading to Indonesia and Thailand with a summer back in the UK. We will catch up with them in the Indian Ocean next year. Martin and Elizabeth are still here with us working in the Maskelynes, but they plan to leave for Indonesia. Donna and Jonathan on Chez Nous are wrapping up their Sea Mercy work and will head to New Caledonia and then New Zealand.

Time to Say Goodbye to Tanna

The weather has cleared so it is time to set sail toward Port Vila, Efate, Vanuatu. It is a two day sail and we will stop at Dillon’s Bay on Erromango along the way for a night of sleep. Then we will leave late afternoon and sail overnight, arriving in Port Vila in daylight hours. This is not a place to enter in the dark. Like all of the islands, the reefs are treacherous and one does not want to visit a reef in a yacht!

Before leaving Tanna, Dennis made an early morning trip ashore to give some things to a couple of the men we met. Patrick was in need of some tools and gasoline (petrol) for his weed-whacker. Dennis doesn’t really believe that the thing worked based on what he saw, but we got the fuel to him.

Stanley's family

Also, Stanley, the yachties liaison, privately asked me for help for his family. He has a wife and three children; the littlest is about a year old. His concern is that he cannot find enough food to get them through the next few months until the yams and taro are ready for harvest in November. He has no land on which to garden. Apparently the land is owned by one chief and he decides who can use it. Stanley used to have a garden plot, but now the chief is using it for his own clan. Without a garden plot, there is nowhere to grow food. Many people here are hungry, but at least, they have good well water.

 

The government and international aid has come to an end since it has been three months after the cyclone. Stanley said a large bag of rice which feeds his family for one month is 4800 Vatu ($48 USD). He has no way to earn that kind of money for rice. He and his sisters live in small village within the community and they are in the same situation.

I have emailed a request for rice, powdered milk and canned meats in self-opening tins to the ICA Pacific Circuit Rally boats hoping they can buy some of these things in Fiji and deliver them to Stanley’s clan. He seemed embarrassed to ask, but the desperation showed on his face. He brought his family to the yacht club so we could meet them. We offered to reimburse anyone who needs it if they will just get it to the family.



I packed up all of the self-opening cans of meat, powdered milk and rice I had on board and Dennis made it part of his early morning delivery to shore.    Just to make sure I wouldn’t offend him, I had asked Stanley if he would accept the fresh food gifts we had been given at the Welcoming Ceremony and Gift Exchange. Again, Stanley seemed somewhat embarrassed accepting a gift without having something to give us, but he accepted it. I feel better knowing it is being used where needed instead of me trying to figure out what to do with it all.



Dillion's Bay, Erromango

Mount Yasur was still coughing and spewing black smoke into the air as we sailed away from Tanna.  It was a sunny day with fresh winds off the starboard quarter so we moved along at 6-7 knots for 50+ nautical miles, reaching Dillion’s Bay, Erromango, Vanuatu just in time for watch the sun set and catch green flash Number 18!