Maskelyne Islands - Dugongs, Giant Clams and Soap

After leaving Ambrym and waving good bye to Honey we sailed down to the very secure anchorage of Gaspard Bay near the Maskelyne Islands.  We spent a night there and spent some time watching the dugongs.  They can be elusive but we were fortunate to see one as soon as we had the anchor down.  We thought we may be able to swim with them but they were a bit too shy for that.

Right after we anchored in Gaspard Bay we met these fisherman and traded some gasoline for fresh vegetables.  The boats are made locally in the Maskelynes.

The great rig they have for bottom fishing

Off searching for the dugongs ...

When actually one came to the boat while I was swimming the other way.  We took hundreds of photos and this the closest we got to a dugong photo ...

What they actually look like (Wikipedia photo)

Securely anchored in Gaspard Bay

We then moved Fluenta from Gaspard Bay to outside the island of Lutes.  The trip took us longer than planned and we ended up breaking our rule about arriving into an unknown anchorage too late in the day.  We were delayed in leaving - watching the dugongs - and then due to the short distance we towed the dingy.  The conditions were considerably lumpier than expected so our speed was limited to reduce the loads on the dingy following along behind us.  The entrance to the anchorage near the village has a very narrow and shallow entrance so that was not realistic to try in the late afternoon.  We anchored between the island and the fringing reef but were challenged to get any good holding and were challenged/stressed by the poor light.  At one point we came the closest we have ever come to hitting a coral bommie and we were down to two feet under the keel.  The next morning we went out with the dingy armed with the handheld sounder and GPS to check the entrance to the village followed by an uneventful entrance to the anchorage beside the village.  Once inside the anchorage it is very secure with almost 360 degree protection by reef and mangrove.

We then moved to Lutes where the anchorage is even more secure as it is surrounded by mangrove and reef.   We went ahead with the dingy and the portable depth sounder to recce the route ahead of time.

Part of the fleet at Lutes

The kava bar the morning after.  Note the whale bone in the rafters.  Vanuatu kava is much stronger than Fijian kava.

Liz learning to weave mats

The village that held the memorial church service we attended.

We had lots of canoes come by to trade. These girls are part of the village volleyball team and were pretty happy to get a new volleyball.

Heading out to see the Ringi Te Suh giant clam sanctuary on a local boat.

except it was rather low tide so some pushing was required.

Giant clams !  They are protected in the sanctuary.

The kids checking out the clams with the guide.

And a clown fish

Bislma is so much fun to decipher.

At the Women's Co-op.

and the soap factory.

We anchored outside the mangroves so that we could have an early departure for Epi.  We were a long ways from the shore but when the wind died we became infested with these flies.

and our Vanuatu fishing drought was over as we caught two wahoo within a few minutes.