This morning we woke early as our plan was to proceed to Crab Bay on Malekula, the next major island to the South of Espirito Santo. At 5:30am we were steaming out of the Segond Channel heading East into a light 5k breeze. By 6:15 it was 15k and by 6:45 when we turned South into the Fabert Channel between Bokissa and Aore we had 18k and huge swells from the SE. Since our course was SE we decided today was not the right day to head for Malekula, and we turned West into the Bruat Channel between Aore and Malo islands. We came up behind Rotua island just off Aore island in the middle of the Bruat Channel and anchored in 20ft of clear water with sand and coral.

The anchorage is very beautiful with clear, flat, calm water. There is a village ashore which is reported to be a Seventh Day Adventist (SDA) village, though what this means I am not sure. I can say that the buildings of the village look very well built and made from modern materials - this is not a traditional village obviously. There is a lovely beach on Rotua island and potentially good snorkeling all around us as we are sort of in a horseshoe of a reef.

Forecasts call for continued strong winds in the 20k range for today and tomorrow from the SSE and then SE tomorrow. We will wait till at least 27th for more favorable conditions, and, we are considering heading for the West coast of Malekula instead of the East to find a smoother route South.