Category: Uncategorized

We’re in the Big City (kind of)

July 8, 2017

Legacy and her crew are at a mooring in Vanuatu’s capitol city of Port Vila. Our first impressions: This place is a cross of everywhere we’ve ever been in the South Pacific. It’s a lot like Suva, somewhat like Savusavu, it looks like Noumea on approach and the mooring area reminds us of Neifu in Tonga.

Where is this place? Here’s an interactive Google Map…

We’ll probably hang out here a couple of weeks and explore town, pizza, burgers, fish, drinks, beer, and the like. That’ll be convenient as there’s some strong wind coming and this is a nice protected harbor. -Rich

Mt. Yassur Volcano

June 29, 2017

We survived! Despite my history of poor dodgeball skills, we were not hit by lava (though it was very close to us!). Here’s the video (no, we weren’t using a telephoto lens!)…

Everyone we’ve talked to says experiencing Mt. Yassur is a lifetime highlight. I was afraid it wouldn’t live up to the hype. It did. This was an amazing experience!

We got a ride in a truck from the “Yacht Club” in Port Resolution to the volcano center entrance. There, we had a blessing from the chief (helps keep lava from hitting you), a little dance show (that was really great) and a safety briefing. Then it was into more trucks for the ride along steaming roads to the crater rim.

We got to the rim about sunset. Our guides observed the direction the lava was falling to decide with way we’d go to view the action. (He chose well. No one died!)

There were about 30 of us in the group, and all of us took a simultaneous step backwards when the first explosion hit. The force was amazing. It was like something from an atomic blast in the movies. It blew our hair, thumped our chests and popped our ears. It took at least twenty blasts before Cyndi and I stopped jerking backwards and were able to keep the camera mostly steady.

It was surprising just how close they took us to the blasting lava. Obviously there isn’t a lawyer overpopulation in Vanuatu. This kind of thing would never be allowed in the U.S..

Below are some stills from the night – a night I’ll never forget. (You can click to enlarge/scroll through photos below)-Rich

VentureFarther for Satellite Images (and More)

June 30, 2017

Yesterday, while working with Adam on SV Bravo to try to get satellite images to display on his iPad, he showed me a website called VentureFarther. Wow, I’m impressed!

I’m not a Mac guy, but I’m often asked to help those of the Mac persuasion. I know that an iPad app called SEAiq will display satellite charts (KAP files) as charts, but I didn’t know how to get the KAP files onto the Mac. (I’m really afraid of iTunes! I know Steve Jobs is gone, but I’m pretty sure he still wants to delete all my MP3 files!). After a little setup, VentureFarther will make both creating the charts and getting them onto the iPad as simple as a couple of clicks. Us PC types aren’t left out either. You can very easily create and download satellite images and use them in programs like openCPN.

Some Details: Signing up is free. When you do, you get some credits. Each chart you download costs a credit. You get credits for sharing anchorages, routes, position reports and more. You can also subscribe for about $20 a year, which gives you unlimited credits.

VentureFarther is also a cruising community site where you can share routes, waypoints, your position and much more. Besides satellite images, there is a bunch of very useful information available including world tide tables, weather info and free guide books.

This site is created by members of the cruising family – Jon and Heather on Evergreen and they’ve done a brilliant job! Thanks Jon and Heather. -Rich

www.venturefarther.com

Mt. Yassur at Night

June 27, 2017

We made the 56 mile trip from Aneityum to Tanna today and are anchored in Resolution Bay at the foot of Mt. Yassur. It’s the reason we came here: to make a trip up to this very active volcano. Cyndi got this picture from our boat…

Mt. Yassur at night from anchor in Port Resolution.

It actually looks brighter in the camera than it does in real-life, but we can clearly see the glow with our naked eyes. This hand-held shot was taken from the moving boat with our Canon G7X using its night shot mode. Not bad for a point and shoot! -Rich