See Previous 2005 Voyage Logs

V231 Vanuatu to New Zealand - November 2005
Ruth recounts her first experience of life as a Voyage Crew:

We are coming to the end of our three week voyage across the South Pacific from Vanuatu to New Zealand as I write this reflection.

I had no idea of the impact this journey would have on me when I booked my berth in January 2005, but like voyage crew in the past I’ve discovered a love of sailing, and a love of Soren in particular!

We Voyage Crew numbered 19 in this trip, with the youngest member 30 years ols and the most senior person 69. We came from 6 different nationalities, with an additional 3 nationalities in the permanent crew. Daphne celebrated a significant birthday during the trip but there were no berths or deaths!!

Most of us had not heard of Vanuatu (formerly the New Hebrides) before trying to book flights and we also experienced problems with travel agents not knowing of its existence – so it did feel a real adventure!

We sailed on Monday 7 Nov having been signed on as ship’s Voyage Crew and been issued with a harness and wet weather clothing. We also learnt how to flush the marine toilet (pump at least 3 times- don’t forget the ‘C’ valve!). At that point most of us couldn’t tell the difference between a jib , a sheet or a halyard! Whilst we were waiting for Immigration clearance, Astrid, 2nd Mate introduced us to the joys of going aloft. Safety was clearly explained then up the foremast shrouds we went. Permanent crew had gone up ahead of us to explain each step – there was no pressure at all to leave the deck, but for those who wanted to climb, there was a lot of encouragement. Almost before I realised it I had climbed to the t’gallant and out to the end of the yard!

We were split up in to 3 watches; 4-8, 8-12, 12-4 and we spent a week on each watch, working 4 hours on and 8 hours off through the day and night. Gradually we settled into the routine of life aboard, and having two periods of sleep a day. All of us seemed to sleep so much better than at home, despite or perhaps because of Soren’s creaking lullaby through the night. She is a timber hulled ship and the variety of sounds she can produce is amazing!

We stopped at some fabulous places on out 19 day journey to Auckland. The first island we visited in southern Vanuatu was Tanna, where we dropped anchor in Port Resolution Bay, just as Captain Cook done in 1774. We were met by Stanley, son of the chief of the village - his father was away playing in an inter island football competition. We were welcomed and encouraged to explore the island. Tanna is best know for its active yes very accessible volcano, Mt Yassur, which we visited. The journey to the volcano was an adventure in itself, with a 20 minute truck ride bouncing along the pitted dust track. Watching the volcano rumble and expel its lava in to the night sky was an experience which all of us will long remember.

Tanna also had unspoilt beaches with clear turquoise waters, white sand beaches and beautiful shells! The Tanna people we met were warm and welcoming, with the children very excited at seeing pictures of themselves on a digital camera – some us promise to post copies of the photos to various people. On our 2nd night on Tanna we had a Melanesian feast where we were each presented with a lei around our necks before a feast of local food and entertainment which the whole village turned out to join in. As the night grew on the younger children gradually fell asleep whilst the older ones enjoyed a circle dance with crew Christiana and Astrid.

Despite the late night, it was all hands on deck at 6 am the next morning to sail from Port Resolution - a tricky manoeuvre as we first had to turn the ship 90 deg before leaving. We had good visibility, being able to see Fortuna island xx miles away. Unfortunately we had very little wind and had to reply o the main engine to make progress. This was to be a fairly consistent problem throughout the voyage, although we stopped the engine s often as we were able to.

As it was 11 November we marked Remembrance Day on board.
Our watch routines continued onboard as we sailed across the South pacific towards Norfolk island. The 8-12 shift continued to polish brass, the 12-4am to bake bread and the 4-8 to scrub the decks each morning. Alongside this we had regular morning briefings were skipper Barry would bring the charts to show our (sometimes slow) progress and our intended course for the next 24 hrs. We also had talks on navigation, celestial navigation, use of the sextant, rope work and pilot charts.

Days were spent chatting, reading books, writing journals, taking photographs, practising knots – as well as topping up our tans!

We also started to learn the names of the lines, which pin they were attached to and the procedures for raising and lowering sails and bracing the yards. It took a while but by the end of the passage to NZ it was all starting to make sense – maybe I just need another few weeks sailing to consolidate my learning?...

We arrived a Norfolk island on 16th November and spent the day on the island. A half day tour of the island was arranged with our guide being a 6th generation descendant from the Bounty mutineers and very informative. Then a lazy few hours swimming in the beautiful Emily Bay before returning to the ship.

Our first rain of the voyage came on the 17th and a few cabin leaked a little, a combination of hot and dry weather and a wooden ship. Any discovered leaks we dealt with by duct tape and bedding brought out to dry off. We had thunder storm and lightening was heard sizzling as it hit the water – awesome! The rain only lasted the day then it was back to sunshine.

Onwards to Auckland, New Zealand via the Bay of Islands.

In ‘the Bay’ lives the R. Tucker Thompson – a much smaller Tallship which does charter and daysail trips from Opua and Russell. We were berthed together at Opua and they were visited by dead on night by Sarah, “Cabin Boy” who left them a courtesy flag – kindly donated from Lucinda’s under wear draw. Said “flag” was hoisted up the mast, only to be discovered by Tucker crew the next day after a hilarious water balloon funnelator attack on them (Ed: nice to see that some things we never seem to grow out of..) Their skipper had just performed a “Haka” when we shouted out about their flag – much laughter on both sides.

A highlight of this section of the trip was the time spent at Roberton island with Captain Jim and his wife Terri. We had a Bar-b-q, cooking pipi and mussels, steak and sossies, then an evening of songs and tales of ‘raids’ of other ships. During the voyage we had a number of these get togethers and a special credit should be given to Nate, the Wisconsin Warbler, Barry, the Shetland cowboy, and Al, one short sailor!

On our last night in the Hauraki Gulf, nearing Auckland we met Peter, Pat and Marie who had sailed out on their boat to meet us. They had been on the Vanuatu voyage previous to ours, and of course they were invited aboard. A huge dressing up bag was brought out and Karen helped some to choose their costumes – everyone looked amazing – and hilarious. From Steven in drag, complete with green wig to Mick in bra and grass skirt!. Raucous singing went on till the early hours - then it was time for the last sleep before home.

This has been a fantastic three weeks of my life. We have bonded really well together – worked hard, played hard and seen some places most of us thought no longer existed!

When can we do it again???

Ruth . Nov 2005

Thanks to Rosie, Astrid and Ruth for these photos.

Soren Larsen will be visiting these destinations again in 2006 - see schedule