We've been adopted!

Oh, wow, where do I begin!!! Upon our arrival in Asanvari bay, Vanuatu, we were adopted by a local family. We were unprepared by the family generosity we would receive. Each year, when the ICA travel to Asanvari, they dedicate a family to each boat. Wednesday was the formal adoption. When we arrived in the open air hut we were greeted by the village chief, Nelson. He then called each boat in the bay and dedicated us to a family. He choose his son Jim and his family of 8 to be our adopted family. They came up to us with each our own home made bag, a beautiful woven rug for me and fresh fruits and veggies. Since the emotional adoption, we have had a blast with our family. We spent one afternoon with all of them having lunch on the boat, another day hiking the hills while our older sisters carried Seanna and daily visits. We shared Laplap with another village...more on the laplap later! Oh, and we drank Vanuatu kava. Mom and Genevieve, this is nothing like the kava in Fiji. The root is raw and grounded to a paste. It is then squeezed through a coconut strainer and diluted with some water. It is then strained again using the brown part of the coconut tree. I had a SMALL shell and felt like I just downed 3 shots of tequila...I was trashed! Paul, on the other hand, decided to do two LARGE shells and let's just say it was a really funny night after that. We spent the rest of the evening watching some cruisers stumble to their dingy's. Thanks to the missionary's who wanted to cover up the women back in the days, they make these huge (Moo) dresses for special occasions. Some of the women where given one as an adoption gift. During the pig roast and traditional dance night they all wore them. Before the night started my mom, Rachael, brought me to her hut and presented me with a dress. We all wore our dresses proudly!! There is just so much to say about the last few incredible days we've had here. I think I will do the rest in pictures when I get online.

A quick Laplap story:

Years ago, when cannibalism was common, there lived a ruthless cannibal in the next village up on the hill. When we visited his grave, we were told of the story which ended his life. A son was hiking up the hill to visit the village when we was captured by the chief and eaten. Laplap is taro root grounded into a slimy paste and baked in an underground oven in leaves. It is then topped with coconut milk and eaten. It resembles a firm smooth polenta. When the father and another son went in search for their missing sibling, they were greeted by the village and invited to lunch. While eating the laplap they noticed a piece of finger in it. They quickly realized it was their sibling. The following day,they had their chief and his village killed. He was the last cannibal on the island. So, when I was presented laplap the next day....it was hard to stomach.

Ambe - Anchoring in a crater

We are currently anchored at Lolowai, Vanuatu 15.16S, 167.58E which used to be a volcano. Years ago the crater blew out one side and the sea level rose and created a 40 foot deep lagoon. The entrance is tricky and usually done during high tide since you do have to enter through the blown out rim. On a catamaran we don't need to worry about this as much but it's still scary seeing the reef in less than 9 feet of very clear water...which makes it look like less than a foot. We are surrounded by black sand beaches and sheer cliffs on one side. The village here holds the largest hospital in the NE islands of Vanuatu. But, if you need to check into the hospital make sure you bring your own plate, cup and utensils if you want to eat. It's an open air hospital and by the looks of things I could see, not somewhere I would want to be. We took a 3 hour hike along the mountain ridge today with spectacular views of the bays below. Fruit grows EVERYWHERE!!!! We met several people from the peace corp who have lived here for 2 to 4 years and have nothing but great things to say about Vanuatu. We caught another huge Wahoo and had a fantastic fast sail here yesterday with speeds steady 9 knots.

Quick safety tips we have learn here:
1. Always check with the village if it's safe to swim before jumping in the water. Some areas the sharks are fierce since it is where they clean their cattle.
2. Don't pick up shells as one might have the snail which will inject you with a poison which will kill you. If you make it after 6 hours you might live.
3. Black sand beaches are usually off limits for swimming since the gray sharks rule the area and are aggressive.
4. There are some resident crocs in some anchorages, another reason to talk to the locals first.
5. You have to be cautious on some islands because of Malaria...get local knowledge.
6. They have rocks that shimmer like diamonds in the water and when banged together they create a glow...legends have it that if you bang these rocks you are calling the storm gods. We won't try to see if legend is true!

These are some of the things I need teach my kids along with not talking to strangers.

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At play in Vanuatu

Since arriving we have been busy playing. During the passage they annouced a fishing tournament which we were happy to participate in. We ended up catching 16 fish (Tuna, wahoo, mahi mahi, a spear fish and a barracuda). We won the first price with the biggest fish which was a night at the resort burre on the water. Our friends on a beautiful trawler named 'Lizzie' offered to have the kids sleep over so we could have the night to our selves. What a treat!!!! We all had a blast in the open air shower with continuous running water. A luxury we don't have on the boat. The next day, Red Thread pulled up. It was raining pretty heavy so we decided to bumper up so the kids could go back and forth without us having to jump in the wet dingy. We stay that way for four nights. We are now anchored in a beautiful bay off the island of Espirto Santo. As we pulled up a Dugong (manatee/sea cow) popped up beside the boat, Paul went for a snorkel and saw a 10 foot sea snake and we are flying on the internet from the incredible house we are anchored near. Like couldn't be better!

Arrived in Vanuatu

We are now anchored and drinking a cold beer at Oyster island Vanuatu. It's a bit grey and wet this morning but we can see some stunning beaches and lush green vegetation. Merric has just informed me that on his Shark videos it shows Vanuatu and the large diversity of sharks in the area. GREAT!

Last day out - in Vanuatu

We are now with in hours of our anchoring destination. We had a very calm passage with one burst of wind and tons of motoring. Our current fish count is 5 Wahoo, 7 Tuna, barracuda and 1 sailfish. We will donate half the fish to the resort that is hosting our arrival in Vanuatu. As I watch the sunrise and the sky loose it's dusk pinks, I see an island to my left with a gradual peak welcoming us. We are very excited to be here.

15.30S
167.44E

Day 2 into 3 passage to Vanuatu

I planned on writing last night to update the blog but weather changed those plans. At 7:30 pm we have a radio check-in to let all the other boats know we are okay and our position. Just before the check in (6:30 pm) the wind was non-existent and we took down all the sails. Just as we got back on course the wind kicked up. I called a boat 15 miles ahead to hear that he also had wind and it was picking up. We really wanted to get the sails up before dark and the check in. That was 7pm by the time we were all done and not soon enough. The winds kicked up to 23 and bursting up to 30 knots. It was also coming from our performance angle and starting pushing through the water at 11 knots +. It was a nice change since we don't motor very fast and we were getting left behind. You know there is free beer at the end of this rally so we don't want to be late ;). It lasted for 6 hours then fizzled out to nothing and started the motor. We are now with a new bunch of boats. Sailing with our friends on Destiny whom we met in the French Polynesian last year. As for our fish count. Yesterday brought in 2 medium tunas, and one barracuda. This morning, as I sipped my morning coffee, the lines started to scream. We got a Wahoo double header. Threw the two lines back in and they screamed out again. We landed ANOTHER two Wahoo!!!!! In 20 minutes we landed 4 wahoo. It's really nice to restock my freezer with fresh fish. Kids are begging for sushi. Maybe tomorrow.

Our current position is 16.28S 172.01E Look up our position on google earth.

And we are off... passage to Vanuatu

After a wonderful Chicken curry dinner and final brief, all was a go. We have since set sail. Well, I take that back. We have turned on the motors and scooted out of Malolo island. We are a fleet of 21 boats plus a few of our friends from Holland who are on a fast track to Asia. We already caught a beautiful 3 foot Wahoo and just thrilled. It's calm and the winds are finally filling in enough to keep the sails from flogging. The kids are great and we just learned why Seanna LOVES passages. She says it's because she get to sleep in mom and dad's bed :). Since we rotate watches and only one of us sleep at a time we always let her sleep with us. Merric, on the other hand, sleeps up top in the salon with us and occasionally wakes up and checks the radar and looks for ships. It's a unique time to spend with your kid.

Already missing our special friends on Endangered Species (Rick and Robin). Had a blast with you guys!!! It was great to be able to wake good bye at the cut. See you next season or in New Zealand.

Will keep you posted on our progress

ICA Rally -Sand bar results Malolo, Fiji

Another fun filled day was planned for Monday. The sand bar, which comes out only at low tide, is a great place to have fun for about three hours before the real estate goes under. At 11:15 every dingy in the anchorage started making their way out to the party. Musket cove set up a little snack and drink bar at the sand bar along with all the fun and games. The main events were the hairy chest contest, the bikini contest, beer drinking contest and Tug of war. A line of about 40 men long all bearing their hairy and not so hairy chest was just a hoot! Merric decided to cut out pictures of Hares (rabbit) and glue them to his chest. They had three categories: Hairiest chest, smoothest chest and best form. Merric won for best form!!! Then they started with the ladies. The categories were: Best bathing suit, best presentation and best overall bikini body. Trust me I was shocked when they called MY name out for best overall bikini body! Those judges must have been drunk! LOL. Then the drinking contest was international (USA, Australian, ect..) versus New Zealand. They had to walk with an open beer between your legs to the line and back then chug. After lots of cheating later it was a toss up. Everyone got a free beer. The best chugger was a chick from good ole USA!!! I am so proud. Then came the Tug of War contest, again international vs. the Kiwi's. After tons of beer later (all consumed within 2 hours) Tug of War was on! Well, WE LOST! We spent the rest of our time floating in the water drinking beer, chatting away about everything and nothing. So far, the weather looks calm for the passage to Vanuatu starting Thurs. (Wednesday in the states). So calm that Paul is getting a bit more fuel since we probably will be motoring for a bulk of the trip.

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ICA Rally regatta week - Musket Cove

After we decided to join the ICA rally, we have been busy!!!! A rally regatta started on Saturday and festivities last till the last day before we leave for Vanuatu. Our first event was Saturday "Sports day" with Coconut toss, Long jump, egg toss, three legged race, the wheel barrel race and topped off with Kayak and hobbie races in the afternoon. Our standings is as follows: Paul and I both won 1st place in the long jump. Paul came 2nd place in the coconut toss. Seanna and Merric came in 2nd in the egg toss. Paul and Merric's team placed 1st in the wheel barrel race. Paul and Merric came in 2nd in the kayak races. Paul and I came in 2nd in the three legged race. After Merric won his first prize he became super competitive. A side of him we have just discovered. He even got himself on a hobbie cat at the end of the race and went out for a sail. Last night we had a "W" party. You had to dress up in something that starts with W. Paul was the Waka root man, Merric was a warrior and Seanna and I were waitresses. The kids one an ice cream for their outfits. Today we have another busy day on the sandbar with drinking, hair chest, bikini and tug of war contest. Should be fun! I plan on cutting some of my hair and gluing it to Merric's chest. LOL.