September 20

We’ve been here at Aore Resort (pronounced Ow-Ree) for 3 days now and we’ve been working like dogs catching up on repairs and maintenance and re-provisioning the boat for the next 2-3 months. Since we expect to find few if any provisions from here until we reach Majuro in the Marshall Islands (in December) we are trying to get as much food as possible aboard. Today we stocked up on pasta, we found the local butcher had a small stock of Barilla pasta and bought 11 boxes of Penne and Fusili. We also ordered a load of meat to be ready for next Wednesday.  

Santo is the center for cattle ranching in Vanuatu and it is one of their few exports which bring in any foreign currency. Japan supposedly buys about 85% of the beef produced here and you can imagine therefore that it is of fairly high quality. We ordered 10lbs each of tenderloin (filet mignon) and strip steaks (also called NY strips in some places but simply called sirloin here). We also ordered 20lbs of ground beef which we use for hamburgers, meatballs, meatloaf or sometimes pasta bolognaise. As an example, the filet costs about $5.50/lb and the strip steaks about $2.65/lb., not bad at all.  

We would love some pork chops and leg of lamb which they advertise but just shrug when we ask about when they might have some. A supply ship did come in today however and so we may find some available on Monday morning when we go into town. Chicken, on the other hand, is just plain impossible unless you want frozen chicken wings which they import in abundance. Apparently a local chicken producer in Efate island (where the capital Port Vila is located) has convinced the government to ban all imports of chicken other then wings so he can enjoy a monopoly. I am sure a healthy kickback was promised to them gov’t for this “service”. While we were able to buy fresh chicken in parts or whole in Vila , they do not produce enough to supply any of the other islands of Vanuatu which means Santo since none of the other islands have any community larger then a village which couldn’t afford it anyway. So, no chicken.  

On the repair and maintenance front I have been very busy. A problem which has plagued us for 2 years now is finally solved and fixed. I have never mentioned it here because I have been trying to ignore it in the hopes it would not cause too much trouble. Basically the problem has been that once every 5 or 10 times the starter on the engine would not do anything. It would just click, click, click. Twice in the last 3 years I replaced the key switch thinking this was the problem. Problem still there. Lately it began happening more frequently, like once out of every 3 times. An opportunity presented itself to consult a professional mechanic (Martin on “Wind Runner”) and after describing the problem he assured me it was the solenoid on the starter. I have a spare starter with solenoid and he advised me to install it. I did, it took 3 hours. Problem still there.  

I then coerced Martin to come over and take a look (with the promise of cold beer) and he immediately discovered a low voltage condition on the wire which triggers the solenoid. He described further testing procedures to me and I spent a few hours tracing the wire and testing the switch again and the wire in question and determined it was bad. It was simply not delivering the voltage which the switch was sending to the solenoid. I ran a new wire (of heavier gauge for good luck) and all seems well now! Problem gone, we hope.  

Next we changed the motor oil and filter and replaced the secondary fuel filter (which is mounted on the engine – the primary fuel filter is a Racor and is mounted in a locker accessed from the cockpit). I will change the primary filter on Monday and also the filter for the generator. I also still have to change the oil on the generator and change the transmission oil. Also, we have been ferrying diesel fuel on the ferry (which runs from the resort we are moored at to the town) since there is no proper fuel dock where we can tie the boat up and fuel directly from a pump. What a chore! We need about 60 gallons (we hold a total of about 190 gallons) and this equates to 10 6gallon jugs! Backbreaking work for sure.  

All is going well and we are hoping to leave Luganville next Friday and begin working our way North along the East coast of Santo and then hop over to Vanua Lava in the Banks Group, about 80 miles North of Espirito Santo. From the Banks we jump off for Tarawa in Kiribati (the Gilbert Islands ) which will be a fairly long passage of about 970 miles or 6 or 7 days, depending on wind. There is a chance we will encounter adverse winds on this passage, though they are rarely strong for that area. Adverse in this case meaning from a quadrant which makes sailing difficult, i.e. from the direction we are heading. Either way we will be sailing close to the wind (close to the direction from which the wind is coming) which will make a difficult one if the wind is strong.