Tanna Island and Mt Yasur Volcano, Vanuatu

Thursday, 11 August to Saturday, 13 August 2016

We left Anelghowhat at 0640 for the 54nm sail to Port Resolution on Tanna Island in company with 8 ICA yachts. Once clear of the island we set our spinnaker in 15 knots of breeze and moderate seas and looked forward to carrying it all the way to Tanna. The breeze was forecast to be 15 knots all day so we were not too worried when it crept up to 20 knots but started to think about the wisdom of carrying it when it got over the 20 knot mark. At this point we were sitting on 11-12 knots and had a maximum speed of 17 knots. We were making great time but decided to drop it and then had a hard time socking the sail as the sock line had a serious twist in it.

We anchored at 1400 in Port Resolution, named by Captain Cook in 1774 after entering the bay in his ship the HMS Resolution. We went ashore with John and Lyn (ICA) to organise transport up to the volcano. 2 utes would pick us up at 1600 at a cost of 2500 Vatu per person ($30). We had been warned that the ride is rough and to try and get inside the ute if possible. Luckily we got a dual cab ute so girls on the inside and boys outside on the timber seat in the back. The road had been graded fairly recently so the 20 minute trip was not too bad (but I was inside). We arrived at the carpark for Mt Yasur, paid our entrance fee of 7500 Vatu ($90), met our guide Sarah and were put in another ute for the 5 minute drive up to the base of the volcano.

At 1720 we started the short walk up to the rim of the volcano, following Sarah who reminded us to stay behind her and that “your safety is our priority”. That was it for the WH&S. Just as we started up there was a serious boom that reminded us all that this is one of the most active volcanoes in the world.

We arrived at the first viewing point and got photos as the sparks and lava flew. From here we walked up to the highest point where we could look over the rim and see the 2 vents of the volcano.

The sun had gone down at this point and as it got darker the volcano became more and more spectacular. You could really appreciate the force of Mother Nature as explosion after explosion sent pressure waves, sparks and lava skywards.

The larger ones went well above the rim but we were upwind and the sparks and lava were contained within the crater. They monitor the activity every day and rate activity from 0 to 5. At level 3, they don’t let you go up to the volcano and at level 4 they evacuate the island. It was currently level 2 – active 2 Sarah said, which I interpreted as 2.5! At level 3 the rocks and lava are ejected over the rim into the car park and surrounding areas. It was level 3 earlier this year, but has not gone to level 4 since this monitoring began.

I wasn’t scared, although with each major explosion I did wonder how good their prediction software was! If you get an opportunity to visit Mt Yasur, we would highly recommend it – there are not many places in the world where you can get this close to an active volcano.

On Friday morning we sorted out the spinnaker sock at the Port Resolution Yacht Club before sailing another 54nm to Dillon’s Bay on Erromango Island.

Sailing past Mt Yasur

This was one of our top spinnaker runs ever, wind 15-20 knots and waves 1.5-2m on the stern quarter. We averaged closed to 9 knots for several hours. Our fun was interrupted only be a text from our son, Ben asking us if we were ok after the earthquake off Vanuatu! What earthquake we asked – and is there a tsunami? Luckily there wasn’t and we had a quiet night at Dillon’s Bay before our final leg back to Port Vila on Saturday, arriving at 1830 after covering another 87nm.

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