After Larry and Alison left us, we tried a new anchorage at Litslits in Port Stanley. It was OK, but being between two reefs with 25kts blowing was a bit trying. Apart from some shopping in Lakatoro, we didn't do much. Our next objective was to get to northern Ambrym for a festival, including a Rom dance. The Rom dance is unique to northern Ambrym, with the dancers wearing a multicoloured mask/headress and a cloak of dried banana leaves.
Money Problems
To get to Ambrym from Norsup would have been about 40 NM sailing directly into the trade winds, not a pleasant prospect. So we motored 20NM along the coast to Blacksand Bay, just north of Banan Bay where we had been the week before. It wasn't too bad, and the anchorage was calm. This gave us shot at Craigs Cove, about 20 NM due east. We had a pretty good sail across, but had to motor the last two miles into the wind to make the anchorage. The reason for going to Craigs Cove was to change some Aussie dollars to Vatu, as we were pretty low, and we would need around VT15,000 just for the festival. Well, after anchoring, getting ashore and walking up to the 'town', we found out that the bank was closed for a public holiday! Oh well, press on to Ranon anchorage, relatively close to Olal where the festival was being held.
A further 15 NM north-east, Ranon was a good anchorage with a depth of about 8m on black sand, so good holding. There were about 5 other boats there, and a dozen or so a bit further north in Rodds Anchorage - all obviously here for the festival. We were later joined by a h-u-g-e, 180 feet long ketch, 'Adele' from George Town, Guiana.
We found out there was a bank in the village to the north, so went there with a local guide. Here we were able to change the dollars to vatu, but to the dismay of my two friends, they couldn't get a cash advance on their plastic. We also heard that there would be a Rom dance in Ranon on Thursday for a cruise ship, and that we could see it for VT2000 (AUD24) each. This was better than the VT5000 (AUD60) each for the Friday at the festival or VT7000 each for the full 3 days. It was a whole lot easier to get to, too. So we decided to give the festival a miss as the whole reason for coming was to see the Rom dance.
All of the local carvers came and set up tables to display their wares. Some were very impressive, but expensive too ($200). The cruise ship was due to arrive at 2pm but it 3pm before the National Geographic Endeavour anchored out front. The captain and other officials were welcomed and given carvings. The 70 or so passengers were then ferried ashore in large inflatable dinghies, and the dance began around 4pm.
The Rom dance
The entire troupe consisted about 20 men in nambas (penis covers) and 8 in
Rom costume. They appeared at the edge of the cleared area, chanting and
stamping their feet to the rhythm of two large tamtams (slit gongs) being struck.
They gradually moved closer and closer until they were in the centre of the
viewing area. Again, they chanted, sang and stamped in various directions
until eventually, the nanbas left and the 8 Rom dancers moved in various
formations. Towards the end of the performance, they were joined by 2 more
Rom dancers in much larger costumes. The whole performance was quite
enchanting, and quite hard to describe adequately. More photos at
That night we walked with other yachties for 50 minutes in the dark to the next village at Ranvetlam to see the children's' performance. This consisted of various chants and games for about 40 minutes, then we walked back again.
Friday 18th
We spent the day getting water, washing, etc in the morning, then went for a walk in the afternoon. As we landed, we could hear the same tamtam rhythm, so walked up to the performance area. This time there were 16 Rom dancers but fewer nambas. It was a private performance for the owners and crew of 'Adele', the huge ketch.
Saturday 19th
We had planned to leave Ranon and head north to Pentecost, but the wind was quite strong - we were getting bullets in the anchorage of more than 30 kts. Another boat told us of a hotwater river which flows into a bay, where they had nice hot baths! We decided that we would try it out, but when "Two Up" got there, Peter wasn't happy with the anchorage, so we turned around and anchored in Ranvetlam. This was very calm and peaceful, and quite spectacular scenery of volcanic cliffs.
Pentecost
The following morning, it was totally calm in the anchorage, so we motored out with a westerly breeze of about 5 kts. As we cleared the northern tip of Ambrym, the wind swung to the ESE at 20 kts. We had quite a good sail across the strait, but lost a big fish when the line broke. Our destination was Melsisi, near a waterfall, but the anchorage was very restricted, so we retraced our path 2 miles south to Waterfall Village. We saw some people on the beach and assumed they were from a resort until one of them started waving a towel with the Australian flag on it. I beckoned them to come out, so the boy jumped in and swam out to us. I went in and picked up the two girls. They are GAP students, volunteer teachers at the Ranwadi College. They enjoyed the tea and biscuits, a change from their new diet of taro, yam, bread and not much else.
One of the girls left her book in the dinghy so we walked up the next day to
return it. While there we spoke to some of the teachers about the school
and their life there. Ranwadi College, like Epi High School has been the
recipient of Ausaid, more than $1.3M for new classrooms, laboratories and
library. We were amazed to see the kitchen area, and the small fireplace
that was used to cook for 300 students. Soon it was time to go and press
on to Loltong, but we had a quick look at the small waterfall near the
anchorage. Photos at
"Two Up" beat us there of course, being a catamaran, but we soon found our way in to the anchorage. Last time we came here, we couldn't see the leads and Willie guided us in, missing the coral reefs. We went to look for Willie and Alison - she was home but he wasn't. We arranged to meet him in the morning.
Joyful reunion
Willie was clearly pleased to see us. We gave them photos taken on our previous visit and clothes for them and their grandchildren. We were given a hand-woven multicoloured basket, bananas and pampelmousse. Unfortunately, time was pressing, so we soon departed and headed further north to Asanvari on Maewo island.
Chief Nelson, Asanvari
There were 12 boats in the anchorage when we arrived, but we managed to find a spot near 'Two Up', but 18m deep. This meant putting out 60m of chain. There were gusts in the anchorage, but not too strong. Asanvari is one of the yachties' favourite anchorages. The village is very pretty, with its walkways lined with colourful shrubs. It is also the location of Chief Nelson's Asanvari Yacht Club. Here, kastom dances are performed when there are enough boats in the bay. There is also a very picturesque waterfall with pure spring water.
We were surprised to see that Chief Nelson had aged a lot in the two years. He has diabetes and spent nearly 6 months in Vila hospital. He still leads the singing of the kastom dance though.
A great addition to the Yacht Club had been commissioned the previous Saturday. This was the hydroelectric power, driven by the waterfall. This has been a project of Harry, an American for the past 2 years, and he has put in a huge effort to get the funds, then build it. The hydro system replaces a petrol generator with great savings.
With about 10 other people, we again saw the kastom dance preformed with
great energy and enthusiasm. This was followed by a great meal,
accompanied by the inevitable string band. More photos of Asanvari at
Again, with reluctance, we weighed anchor at 6am to head for Luganville in Santo. We needed to get there to collect mail and reprovision for our trip to the Banks and Torres islands before going further northwest to the Solomon Islands.