Escape in Marau sound

Tavanipupu Anchorage, 15 m, sand
S9º 49.690 E160º 51.184



Guadalcanal has more possible anchorages than one would first expect at first glance, and all are better than Honiara! 60 miles East of the capital, in Marau sound, a number of small islands bordered by extensive fringing reefs provide shelter and nice sandy patches for yachts to stop. The resort of Tavanipupu island, which always was famous within the yachties community is soon to be re opened by it’s new owner Pamela Kimberly who recently bought the island (watch www.tavanipupu.com, I designed this start of a website and detailed pages are soon to come). As anywhere in the Solomons, transport is a challenge and it takes 2-3 hours and 100 liters of fuel to get to and from Tavanipupu in a fast boat (twin 115s) so Pamela is currently negociating with Solomon Airlines to re open air transport to the Marau airfield and will be looking at chartering the plane to get customers in. She’s also just acquired a very fast fuel efficient and clean boat to wiz to and from the resort.



An old friend from a few years ago, Pamela welcomed the KUNA to park next to Tavanipupu Island in a tiny little sandy horseshoe lagoon to the south of it. The lagoon is not very vented as it is protected from all directions and there is a bit of traffic from the village on the island to the South but all up pretty safe, people and weather wise. Stern anchor desirable as swinging room is limited and there is a fair bit of current through the lagoon. More information about good yachting practices with the resort will be also posted on www.tavanipupu.com.


Marau sound has a fine network of reefs and plenty of anchorages East, good for light SE trades. Watch the squalls!


Tavanipupu is highlighted here

map showing the path to Tavanipupu lagoon

details of the anchorage (more waypoints to be added later!)



The resort was the only one of many on Guadalcanal, which was not burnt and destroyed during the tensions, in spite of being located right in an area reputed for its extreme violence and fights. One of the previous owners, Dennis, had to barricade himself once or twice, but he had gained enough respect from the locals to remain safe-…ish.



The sturdy buildings were designed by Dennis Bellote, while his partner Keith, trained the chefs, who I must say, provide the best of restaurant meals on Guadalcanal and even know how to make chocolate profiteroles!! More details can be found on www.tavanipupu.com


The sumptuous dinner settings of tavanipupu
Wouldn’t such good food make you want to sail 60, well even 200 miles ? Sailing certainly, but unfortunately, the KUNA made it there after 14 hours of tedious motor-sailing right into the easterlies trades. Despite travelling at night to benefit from calm seas, there was enough of a breeze for her to slow down and katabatics strong enough to be sailed lasted for one hour! The Kuna was heavy too: a cargo load of booze (yes!!) and electric fans were delivered to the resort in due time the next morning!!!!



The marine environment around Tavanipupu island and other islands in Marau sound is very different form that of the Western province: these islands are small sandy mounts rather than uplifted coral platforms and are surrounded by seagrass beds.I can't upload all pics from here today, sorry!

Because of the current, the visibility can be average but there were a lot of new creatures to eyeball whilst snorkelling such as pipefishes, etc

On the tribulations of visa renewal

The process of extending a visa in the Sols will require the patience of a crocodile!!

Here it goes a bit like this:
- First, go door stopping the minister of Immigration in his office.
Easy, you just walk in the building, and wait! 15 hours may suffice...
- Before that, you, of course, collected a bunch of letter from
influent expats and locals to help push the process
- Once you waited long enough, they may come out with the paperwork
for the visa. That's after you told them that the current visa is
expiring tomorrow, so they have to do something about it.
-Don' t let your passport disappear into the darkness!!!!!
- Go queue at the Treasury for an hour. Pay the visa money (280). Pay
the police clearance too (90). Make sure you get the yellow and green
official receipts!
- Go to the police for clearance. Unfortunately, the guy has ran out
of forms and can't photocopy them until monday.
- Try to accelerate the process: grab the form and take it yourself to
the copy shop in town.
- Bad luck: there it a power cut in town, so no copy shop!!!
- Good idea: go back to the ministry of Immigration, they have copy
machines there and a generator. Queue up again. Interrupt cake eating
sessions if necessary to get the copy.
- Go back to the Police. Bad luck: it's friday and the guy was too
hot, so he went home!!
- Of course Doctors surgery also emptied out from their doctors during
the power cut, so no medical clearance. And anyway, it's friday and
the start of sabbath for other Seventh Day Adventist doctors.

....the saga will continue monday!!!!!º

Cava in Honiara!!

Now I don’t even have any pictures of Honiara and Point Cruz, because the place is all so familiar now, and photos would not render how sweaty and hot the place is, such as piling up in small bus vans or walking in the dusty crowded streets and the traffic jams! As usual the yacht club was a real heaven and really, not much happened during these few weeks.


Being parked next to the Vanuatu Police boat made life interesting: a few invitations to share the cava (traditional Vanuatu drink containing an anaesthetic drug extracted from the root of a pepper type of tree). Really I didn’t need to try it again!
In Honiara, the cava is not freshly ground root but powder imported from Fiji or Vanuatu ( for info: available at Pidgin Holdings, in Ranadi for 200 SBD / kg) and it’s not really as good as the real stuff, plus the terrible after effects (yes, cava hungover!!) which I don’t remember getting in New Caledonia. Though the drink was served in the coconut shells, the cava session on the back deck of a police boat with ships generator running in the background and heavy lights hasn’t got quite the feel of tradition but the Vanuatu men were very peaceful and we had nice conversation. They are in many ways very different from Solomon Islanders.

Accompanying the cava, sometimes was also a nice barbecue with lots of fresh stuff imported from Australia, like steak, apples, and the rest!! A feast for the scrunging yachtie!! Explanation: the Vanuatu Police boat is in fact a RAMSI posting (Regional Assistance Mission to the Solomon Islands, I don’t remember having mentioned it before in this blog). RAMSI gathered police forces from all pacific countries, including NZ and Oz in large numbers to assist reinstalling law and order in the Solomons after the tensions. RAMSI decided to import most, if not all foods, in order to prevent creating inflation and a false economy relying on the presence of a large number of expat policemen in the country. Though the Ozzie taxpayer finances flying all the fresh food weekly, the false economy has not really been avoided and house rental in Honiara compare with those of Chicago!

Crowded Honiara

Oct 14th

Honiara. After 4 hours of motor sailing in calm weather the last 20 miles that separate Tambea from Honiara, it was a surprise to find a crowded Point Cruz anchorage with a total of 10 yachts squeezed along the seawall! Once the KUNA found her perfect spot just near the police and navy wharf (dropped the anchor in 15 m of soft muddy sand on a slope, good holding!), it was so crowded that it would be hard for any new vessel to park. Two stern lines are a must to prevent shifting side ways in strong N-westerlies, which seem to happen daily at this time of the year. The Vanuatu police guys were quite helpful in helping getting the lines in, as it was rather tight to reverse the KUNA in and their police boat is made of glass ☺!!!

Safety.
The rest of the anchorage at Point Cruz is windy and exposed with poor holding and the three moorings already occupied. It’s not unusual to see some largish fishing boats dragging anchor as they don’t park so carefully, ans sometimes right infront of yachts so watch out!!! The police wharf provides good light at night, so additional safety to the first few yachts on this side along the wall.

Recently ( as I write this, Nov 6th), Black Billy had the bad luck to anchor out in the open, in the middle of the canoe passage for only a short time and after dark got robbed all their electronic gear. So stay aware, it’s Honiara after all, as benine as the place may feel, it is not always safe!

Sailing against the trades PART 2 and Where to clear customs in the Solomon Islands??

After going all the way to Lola Island (Vona Vona lagoon) thinking clearance and visa extensions were going to be possible in the nearby town of Gizo, Lisa, the very helpful and informed manager from Lola island resort, said that the only immigration officer recently retired, leading to closure of the Gizo office!!! Except for one small piece of advice a local friend later gave: if you don't intend to go in and out of the country, you can lodge your application in Gizo. It then sits on their desk and nothing is really done about it because of the communication problems. Whilst waiting for the application to be processed, you go travelling and come back only when it's time to clear out!!!

To deal with just a short three month extension to a cruising visa, it may also be possible to do it from Noro, but for an application for a temporary residence permit, there was no way around going back to Honiara.


A long fun two days of tacking and beating to go back to Guadalcanal in the SE corner of this pic: boats aren't meant to go upwind!!!

Meaning 115 miles from Peava, and because the SE trades have decided to have a relapse, after a month of calm weather in September, it took 2.5 days going in great zig zags into the swells and winds!


Interestingly enough, a lot of the very strong SE puffs were generated by squalls and lots of squalls hit the KUNA all the way! As the Kuna reached Tambea, in 20 knots of wind and large chop due the current running between Savo and Guadalcanal Island, the radio weather reports were claiming 3 knots of wind in Honiara, 20 miles further East.


Tambea Anchorage
S9º 15.380 E159º 39.840 Tambea offshore WPT
S9º 15.641 E159º 40.233 Tambea Anchorage

10 m in sand and coral But one could go a lot closer to the beach.
Once more, maybe Sieling’s cruising guide coordinate aren’t quite accurate. The Tambea resort was burnt down during the tension so it is hard to see which beach to anchor off and there is now a large logging camp to the NE of the resort. Given the hawling winds, the passage between the reefs/shoal provide good protection in anything but N to W. The shoals are not very obvious so best to approach carefully on a 120º True course from Tambea offshore waypoint.

After a decent night rest Kuna motorsailed the last 20 miles in early morning glassy waters, only to find the Point Cruz Anchorage absolutely packed full with 12, yes TWELVE yachts!! A tight sterna parking spot was

Lola to Honiara: sailing against the trades PART 1!!

105 miles and 24 hours of motoring from Lola to Peava, on the SE of the Western Province, back around the north of New Georgia, all of this to have a meeting with two researchers from University of Queensland to plan for an educational DVD project.


Flat windless waters and a dismantled light north of Noro. None of the lights charted are functioning as their solar panels get stolen, but they make good day marks!

There was no wind but it was possible to catch a light katabatic of the gentle slopes of New Georgia for most of the night, until the SE trades decided to pick up by 5 in the morning, right on the nose as KUNA was rounding the last double barrier islands outside Morovo lagoon!!!!! The poor 24 HP Bukh of KUNA was struggling to keep 3 knots of headway and I wished I had thoroughly navigated Lumahile passage and through the lagoon before, to be able cut inside in protected waters despite the low light. Next time…


The cliffs from the outer barrier islands of Morovo

Meeting new science folks was great: Simon Albert and Jame Judy from UQ have been enthusiastically running a community based monitoring and conservation project in the Morovo lagoon. The main reason why they originally came to the Solomons was to investigate water quality issues related to logging activities on Vangunu Island. After several years of conducting a research study using similar methodologies as those used with nutrient/eutropication issues on the Great Barrier Reef (my old trade!), they found out that the impacted state of the reef inside Morovo lagoon is probably due just as much to unsustainable fishing practices as it is to logging. The study has produced a lot educational material in Morovo language (booklets, etc) but the use of a very powerful media such as moving pictures is needed for further awareness raising, which will lead to the production of a DVD. What a nice excuse to order a whole bunch of underwater video/photo gear and stay in the Solomons and but now, visa becomes an issue!!!

Forest Trends Brainstorming…On carbon credits and deforestation

The sad thing about this post is that I have no photos...hope you enjoy the reading!


At the low key, yacht friendly resort of Lola island, a workshop was in progress, gathering an eclectic group of managers involved in various aspect of forest exploitation and conservation. All these executives from a fundation called Forest Trends (check website www.forest-trends.org) were here to observe the forest situation in the Solomons and discuss global carbon credit strategies. They were extremely welcoming to outsiders, which enabled me to witness some of the discussions, that were going on. With the state of the planet changing rapidly, the Kyoto protocol is up for review in Copenhagen 2009, before further agreements.

The Kyoto Protocol obliges the 35 industrial states that have ratified the document to cut emissions by 5% below 1990 levels by 2008-2012 but there is a severe dispute about who of the developed and developing countries should bear the burden of the restrictions imposed. A German man involved in the preparation for the Copenhagen agreements chaired one of the meetings at Lola and described the excuse for China’s refusal to abide by the thresholds imposed by Kyoto: Chinese have to catch up with development first before restricting emissions: the other developed countries have had their share of carbon emissions for a century already!

Now a global market of carbon emission credits is growing and, with it, the need to re-think the world economy in environmental terms. Conservation has become a business. To be able to continue operating whilst compensating for their excess carbon emissions, developed countries will have to buy carbon credits from developing countries (some of which remain low carbon emission countries) Developing countries that still have trees standing are in a strong position in the carbon credit market. And conservation agencies may make the price of standing trees attractive to compete with logging companies and acquire conservation power through this market.

Where do the Solomon Islands’ forests fit into this ? Well, there is still a long way to go and unfortunately, the slow process by which conservation NGO’s can release cash to pay the communities to refrain from logging can not beat how fast the Malaysian logging companies bring cash in hand to pillage the forest. The Solomon islander’s culture is such that cash TODAY wins over everything else.
The – inexistent- land tenure structure is such that, even when a village community is willing to protect an area from logging, a few corrupted individuals can decide to split and register as a different tribe and sign off with the loggers under their names, and sell the people forest assets for their own benefits. Corruption and lack of control on the ground. Such cases are innumerable and explain how the country’s forests assets have been pillaged.


Whilst preparing to go up filming at the top of Kolombangara Island with Chris Filardi from the New York Museum of Natural History, we learned of a few initiatives combining expertise from local forestry companies (KFLP), communities and even schools are currently growing, such as the Kolombangara conservation project (see Post in May). Such project aims at protecting corridors of canopy from the summit to the shore to support diurnal migrations. Some rare species of birds roost at the top but feed on coastal fruiting trees and benefit from the continuum of forest habitats, which is threatened by loggers from all . Gathering footage from the top of Kolombangara will help with raising awareness of potential private donors, accelerating conservation process.


And I have no pictures because we never made it to the top of Kolombangara because Chris was too busy with the board of forest but learned a lot!! The KUNA will later return to Kolombangara

Meandering to Lola Island (Vona Vona lagoon)

Well, if you ever get hold of a copy of Dirk Sieling’s “Cruising the Solomons” guide, that’ll help navigating through the Vona Vona lagoon. Tracking down the author on Google, I wrote to him at Dirk Sieling dirksieling@xtra.co.nz and convinced him to send me a copy. He really needs to get in print again. Though the total number of yachts going through the Solomons does not justify it, it’s a good reference book, except for some inaccuracies in the GPS waypoints. Anyhow, his sketch of the passage from Nusapate to Lola is pretty accurate. Some of the sticks marking the edge of the reefs have gone missing, so someone up high up on the mast in good sunlight is just the best insurance! Some passages are quite narrow and shallow so good to reccie first by motor before attempting a sailing. In the channel in between the reefs, the depths are 10 to 20 m, so any place is good to drop the pick if vis is not good enough or just stop and get oriented!!!



Google Earth is a good navigation tool too, for navigating in shallow waters. The Vona Vona is mostly unsurveyed and has a complex network of shallow reefs and sandbank between the islands. Some dry out at low tide.

I will add a complete set of waypoints soon. Here is an example of the reef edge marker found along the way. These sticks are mostly put for canoes so keep clear of them!



Not long after KUNA arrived at Lola, the FIRST anchorage crowd I’ve witnessed in the last 6 months built up to 5 yachts !!!!! There are probably the 5 yachts in the country… A 29’ norvegian, a Sydney 60 foot cat, and a few others flash monohulls hovered around.

Through the Diamond Narrows

South of Noro is a special passage between New Georgia and Arundel (Kohingo) islands called Diamond Narrows. The channel is no more than 50 m wide and generally between 20 and 50 m deep (or more because KUNA’s old sounder doesn’t register much deeper really, with steep coral reefs on either side. Before it was logged, 20 years ago, it was actually a sheltered tunnel under a thick rainforest trees canopy. Surprisingly, for such a deep and narrow channel, there was no noticeable tidal current. With both sides of the narrows being very protected bodies of water and such small tides, horizontal water movement is minimal here.





S8º 15.607 E157º 11.683 is good to line up the northern entrance, the shallow reef extending to starboard is currently marked by a stick. Unsurprisingly for the Solomons, some large ships sometimes travel through the passage, even at night.

the navigational marks are as usual are very obvious: here looking south, look out for the stick, duly marked as a beacon on the chart!

Whilst the men were rushing through the channel by motor canoe (gotta watch those bends as rules of the road don’t apply here!), all women are steadily paddling their dug out, singing and smiling.


A few miles further south, after exiting Diamon Narrows, another couple of miles got the KUNA to the entrance of Vona Vona lagoon. Staying on a straight line along the starboard shore going south, some small reefs were easily avoided. Because the light dropped rapidly in this late rainy afternoon, navigating the Vona Vona lagoon will be for tomorrow.

S8º 17.374 E157º 12.153: anchorage just north of Nusapate island, 20 m sand and coral. Deep but protected from all directions, really these lagoon waters are a chill out!!

Passing through Noro, New Georgia

terns chasing a school of bonito


Sailing in the Kula Gulf today was another lesson of patience, though the KUNA was pushed in the lightest breeze on these flat waters. Yet motoring was unavoidable to go through the harbour town of Noro, home of the Solomon Taio, the national tuna canning factory, which was mostly owned by Japan until recently.


The fishing fleet of Solomon Taio is rotting away tied to the wharf.


The tuna fishing fleet is in a rather advanced stage of delabrement ( these ships are no more than 25 years old but have not been maintained) but the factory is still functioning, employing 700 people (it used to be 3000, mostly women, canning tuna for 100 sol$/week!). The factory explains the unusually large population of Noro.






This philipino fishing boat, distinguished by the double outrigger arrangement, is part of a new initiative providing the local community with a light and less costly to run alternative fishing vessel other than the Solomon Taio fleet. The crew may catch just a few fish a day on single line and deliver to the factory. That's enough to feed their families and provides extra to the cannery. MOst of the Tuna is now exported to Europe.

Noro is the main town in New Georgia, a truck ride away from Munda, which has an airstrip and many large cargo, fishing and logging ships clear customs into the country there.



There is on custom officer (Michael Filao) but he is reputed for his unreliability, being found drunk or on the betelnut and corrupted by malaysian loggers. So if Ghizo immigration is open (which it is not at the moment) a trip there is worthwhile. KUNA did not stop in Noro, but many yacht suggested to raft with the Tuna boats (which don’t go anywhere) and keep someone onboard to prevent people boarding!

There is mobile coverage and broadband internet at the Telekom building in Noro. Internet in Munda is still dial up, as I discovered when I tried to post this blog!!

Jericho Harbour, Kula Gulf, New Georgia

Oct 5th
Jericho
S8º 07.398 E157º 19.989
The winds have died overnight but there was nothing more satisfying than lifting up anchor without starting the engine and slowly exiting Mbaeni harbour at 2 knots of speed! Creeping along to round the NW coast of New Georgia, a few surprisingly large buildings appeared: the churches built by the CFC (Christian Fellowship Church). Tacking in light winds in the Kula Gulf, a nice flat body of water that lays between Kolombangara and New Georgia, KUNA took 6 hours to cover less than 20 miles.


Cloud formation over Kolombangara


The valley into the crater of the Kolombangara is clearly visible

Didn’t get to go to Paradise (another very populated CFC village) this time as a huge squall helped creeping another few miles:

The clouds accumulated over New Georgia generated just enough wind for KUNA to make way at first, then suddenly picked up to 15 knots, getting KUNA to 7 knots of speed in zero visibility due to bucketing rain!! Far too fast near the harbour entrance of Jericho. Though there are no boats around, the unsurveyed reef areas are always a daunting prospect but the entrance was wide and straight.

The soundings in the middle of the channel on Dirk’s Sieling guide are accurate but the mud bank comes up very quickly just beyond the village so slow down and drop the pick in about 7-10 m to keep some swinging room! Very few yachts visit this village so the excitement of the kids on the shore was huge.

Arriving in Jericho...
There is no privacy to be had as this anchorage, which is just 100 m off the village. Just a good stopover and fruit and veg can be traded but watch that the kids don’t try to sell the golden papaw for 30 or 40$sols!!! Soon enough the KUNA was surrounded by a cohort of young men in canoe. The turkey brain age, they call it here: 12 to 25 years old, these just didn’t have much conversation so everyone sat quietly looking at eachother in the eyes, but all were good and didn’t ask for anything, they were just happy to be near the yacht. I’ve got used to that uncomfortable silence from shy visitors by now, and later a few educated women came to have a chat. There is a local canoe builder there too, who was very curious of the plastic kayak.

In the morning, the women depart for Noro market, with a cargo load of vegetables

Mbaeni Harbour, New Georgia

Oct 4th 2008-10-06
Mbaeni Anchorage
S8º 02.584 E157º 36.167

As most of the passages in/out of Morovo, Nggerasi and Toghovae lagoons, the Kokoana passage to get out of Matiu is deep with little current and steep reef edges. Navigating inside the lagoon is possible with lots of time.
The further north one goes, the murkier and less attractive the lagoon waters become. Lumahile passage and Charopoana passages near the resort island of Uipi also give access to interesting anchorages with good diving on the outer reef but beyond these locations, nutrient runoff from the logged slopes of Vangunu and New Georgia did not give much prospect for exciting diving.


yet another ship full of logs




A large flock of frigate day enjoy the wind!!

Winds have been so rare in the last month that the opportunity to sail 10-15 knots SE trade wind in flat waters today was not to be missed and the other locations mentioned above may be a stopover for later. 43 miles sail, an easy 9 to 5 day (yay!!!) led the KUNA to the very end of the Toghovae lagoon system, then the wind died. The lagoon gets very shallow but is connected to a deep harbour called Mbaeni, which is adjacent to the previously famous Lever harbour, whose entrance is a little further to the NW.


The entrance to Mbaeni Harbour is wide and deep, a stick to the left marks a shallow reef fronting a small island with an abandoned village. Best anchorage was found further in from the village in 17 m of mud, towards the river at position S8º 02.584 E157º 36.167. The bank raises rapidly to shallow mud after that. Few canoes came by but fruit and veg trading was possible, though exorbitant prices may be negociated!!

Matiu Island, Morovo Lagoon

The next few entries (read from bottom to top in the blog) relate details of a fast-ish passage along the 120 miles that separate Ngatokae Island all the way to Lola island in the Vona Vona Lagoon, via the north of the New Georgia Group.

Oct3rd 2008
Matiu Island
S8 29.667 E158 08.732


After first attempt to depart for Kolombangara, following the more picturesque southern route, via the Hele Bar and Blanche Channel to Rendova island, the KUNA rediscovered how uncomfortable it is to ride a bumpy sea with virtually no wind. A light southeaster (yes SE trades had come back that day after two months without wind!) was blowing but 8 knots were not enough to prevent the rig from bashing going down wind with occasional a 2 m swells.


Some large logs lost by the logging barges: something to no run into!

After a couple of mile of this, the KUNA turned around, opting for the more boring northern route around the New Georgia group, which has flat waters all the way and the same winds!


Stew has speared a barracuda and waves it good bye


After letting thew KUNA showing off in front of Peava with the red spinnaker, the winds died off and progress was slow: 18 miles achieved to get to the Kokoana Passage, which gives access to a variety of anchorages inside Morovo lagoon, including Matikuri Island, which has a nice sandy beach, and a hide in the lagoon behind Matiu Island, the closest to the passage.


Hide behind Matiu.

Nice and open anchorage, anywhere in the green (sand) with a nice breeze, the tongue of reef which extends NW on the right of Kokoana passage can be crossed through visible darker gaps in the reef, with a minimum depth of 3m, avoiding ovious brown bommies! The marker to bring in transit with island edge described in Sieling's guide does not exist anymore.

Chart SI07 (solomon Island survey, available in HOniara) shows some of these places in more detail though the survey is still imcomplete for the outer barrier. Eyeball navigation country, good for kites!!!

A short trip on the outskirts of Morovo lagoon

Morovo is one of the four lagoons which surround the New Georgia group (made of of the main island of New Georgia, Vangunu and Ngatokae). It is unique in that it is surrounded by a double barrier reef. More than reefs, there is actually a double layer of outer islands, which arose from a complex geological history of successives uplifts and tilts around the volcanic island of Vangunu.



Really the canoe reccie done previously didn’t show anything terribly exciting inside Morovo lagoon, nearby the island of Vangunu. Of course if you are interested in carvings, that’s a different story, go to populated areas, villages like Telina, etc. The township of Batuna (on the Eastern side of Vangunu) also has a good market. The best things about it is that it starts late: 10am, and the official rule is that everyone waits for all to turn up in their canoes from far away places to start selling!

Batuna from the shore line. The town host a TAFE type of trade school and also has an internet connection



The well supplied store of Batuna

The outskirts of Morovo are easy to navigate as all reefs are steep-to. Most of the inner lagoon is unsurveyed. Yet it could be travelled with care on clear days as most depths are over 5 m. The local Solomon Island survey chart SI07 provides more detailed information on some parts of the lagoon and Dirk Sieling Solomon Islands cruising guide (out of print, contact the author!) details all the local village anchorages though the information contained in the guide is outdated in terms of snorkelling and water quality (sadly so).


A typical Morovo nnchorage (flat still waters, here on a grey day!)



Squid check the anchor chain


The reef is definitely at the foot of the rainforest!


On the wild side, the outer islands are gorged with birdlife and the south of Porepore offers beautiful anchorage in emerald green waters 6-10 m, sand. There are many passages to access the lagoon and its best to not tuck in too much behind the tree to get some breeze!


Dark squall coming from the SE onto Peava


Build up after a hot day: summer is coming...

The trade winds have now stopped for good. The ITCZ, the Intertropical Convergence Zone, is the boffin name for doldrums, ie the windless zone of equatorial low pressure inbetween Northern and Southern Hemisphere trade winds. It regularly shifts in latitude. In the last ten days, the ITCZ went south of the Solomon Western Islands, leaving in her path a trail of thick rain cloud and absolutely no wind for many days (good computer weather!). After two sunny days with light SE winds (10 knots or so), it went on its way back North, but this time with a bagful selection of winds from all directions. Sailing consists now of changing sail configuration every half an hour, or more!!


The slopes surrounding the crater of Vangunu, this island is about 1000m high but is being logged to 800m, 21% of it's lower primary forest clear felled. Doesn't that remind you of Tasmania ?! Except with even less control from an corrupted government.

Beyond this geological reef uniqueness, the lagoon used to yield amazingly clear waters and nearly acquired the status of world heritage area in the 90’s. Unfortunately, this status was not granted and 15 years of unregulated industrial exploitation such as logging, oil plantation, Beche de Mer harvesting have modified the ecosystem dramatically. A 3 years monitoring project led by the Uni of Queensland tested reef health and water quality, and the report did not bring such positive results on the health of the lagoon.



logging barge and tug frequently seen in the lagoon



Pikininis came to say good bye!