The Russells are an interesting group of islands, 60 miles North West of Guadalcanal. Once a volcano, it got eroded and sank under sea level, became covered in coral reefs but later got uplifted again dramatically, creating an amazing undersea geomorphology and some limestone islands.
Most of them are old reefs now sticking out of the water. One can still see the old corals. Once submitted to rains and winds, the coral erodes into some very sharp stones, making it virtually impossible to walk on it. Thankfully a few sandy beaches are there inside the shallow reef lagoons.
This steep ountry makes it all very hard for anchoring, as it is either too deep or to shallow, so the Russells only show a few anchorages, some may have to be only day ones, or if one is prepared to leave at any time the wind turns!
Note Chart UK1714, large scale of the Russells has an offset to WGS84 (GPS positions need to be corrected, read chart instructions before plotting!)
Ufaon Island lagoon slope
S09º04.11, E159º15.137
This lagoon is beautiful in sunny light, sparsed with bommies. For a day anchorage, it is possible to go and anchor on its edge in 3 m of water and have enough clearance over the bommies (if drawing less than 1.6 m, with a centreboard it would be easy!!). For a night anchorage, anchoring on the 45 degrees sand and rubble slope of the lagoon is possible in light southerly winds only! 10m of water can be found on a steep slope at approximately S09º04.11, E159º15.137.
While the KUNA was anchored there, the winds turned Easterly, then Northerly, with a squall, putting the boat right onshore, and though there was not much of a chance that the CQR was going to climb up the sandy slope, it was a somewhat disconcerting experience! With a shorter scope, there was still enough water under the keel but it was nice to move to the nearest more protected shoal in the channel between Faila and Ufaon Islands.
The first time we visited this gorgeous lagoon, I swam right around and that’s only the morning after we checked the anchor this time that a 3m crocodile swam around the KUNA about 70-100m away, unafraid in the daytime! Yet another disconcerting experience.
The narrow passage charted South of Kuaofa Point is about 10m deep. Dived with the right current, it has a lot of big fish, gropers, barras, batfishes, longtoms with some nice gorgonians and the outer wall is rich in small reef fishes. This place is probably far enough from the crocodile to swim (!).
Ufaon channel shoal
S09º03.554, E159º15.010 app.
13 m depth, or less (depends how close to the reef you feel like dropping the pic!), on sand and rubble with some coral heads though didn’t dive to have a look as this corner is the home of a crocodile.
This place in the channel is well protected from S to NE winds, and being an open corner, it leaves a fair swing room if the wind direction changes to North.
At both these anchorages, the children from the nearby village, at the coprah plantation, came around and could trade for a bit of bushlime and coconut but they quickly stopped bugging after KUNA showed up for the second time.
