October 7

During the night the captain kept watch alone as Kate was not feeling well. The sea remained lumpy and confused while the wind was constant at 17-20k from the SE. The name of the game was slow down as we could not arrive off the islands before dawn. The area around Vanua Lava is sprinkled with smaller islands and we used the radar to help position us as we approached just before dawn.

By 4:30am the sky was beginning to lighten to the East and by 5:30am the sun was up over the horizon. As the wind had come around even more to the South and we were going dead downwind, and the seas remained very rough and confused, we had to roll in the genoa and start the motor for the last 5 miles. We motor sailed into the channel about a mile wide separating Vanua Lava from a pair of outlying low islands. We were making over 7k at this point and by 6:15am we were approaching the anchorage and furling the mainsail.

We anchored in 20ft of water over dark sand about 200yds off the beach. There is one other boat here, "Piet Hyne" (I have no idea what it means) with single-hander William aboard (who by the way is reportedly in this 74th year, take note Steve W). William, who we met at Maewo last month, is also bound for the Marshall Islands. "Green Nomad" left Petersen Bay around the same time we did and are heading here as well though we do not expect them for some time being a smaller, slower boat.