We sailed out of Luganville Harbour in Espiritu Santo, Vanuatu on October 28th bound for Bali, Indonesia. Sailing between Cape York, Australia and Papua New Guinea through the Torres Strait it should take us approximately 3-4 weeks to find our way to that storied isle. Everybody was excited to be on our way, but it …
The Picton Castle crew love to celebrate the holidays – and they do it well. Preparations for the Halloween marlinspike began on October 30th. Georgie, our party planner extraordinaire, came up with the brilliant idea of having a Halloween Twister game. Using an old sheet from the linen chest she and Alex began their furious …
By Bronwen Livingston and Doctor Victoria Adams It turns out that, somehow, amidst all this tropical splendour, ancient Pacific culture, way of life in an age of sail windjammer and stark Second World War history and its remains, our crew found a way to extract themselves from all these things and to engage in a …
We sailed through the night back to the island of Espiritu Santo. The winds were a bit shifty, the threat of rain hung thick in the air and the currents strong. The Captain decided it would be best to anchor on the other side of the bay – in the lee of Aore Island across …
By Doctor Vicky Adams The Picton Castle had planned to carry out medical clinics on three islands in Vanuatu and we had some donated and purchased medical supplies with us to give out. On previous visits the ship had found people in real need of medical care and medications. On this occassion, happily, this no …
Asanvari Bay truly is an idyllic tropical paradise. It is an absolutely stunning spot. It was late afternoon by the time we motored around the corner, past a small island bluff and into the bay. The sun hovered calmly over the densely vegetated mountains which sloped steeply down to the sandy cresent moon shoreline. A …
By Chief Mate Michael Moreland The village of Bwatnapne, on the island of Pentecost in the Vanuatu Group, rests in a valley on a large swath of lush flatlands with dramatic but gentle tropical cliffs overhanging and a long crescent coral beach that the village overlooks out to sea on the lee side of the …
If you have never had kava before, it is a flavour experience that is hard to describe. It is earthy. It tastes of root with a hint of spice and pepper. It will numb your mouth and lips instantly. You don’t want to sip the stuff. It is not like a fine Muscadadu from Sardinia. …
The skiff dropped us off on a sandy beach after expertly manoeuvring through the coral heads near the beach in Banam Bay. Stretching, we looked around. The trunks of palm trees and the branches of mahogany trees bent and sheltered the shore – offering us a canopy as the rain began to pelt down -warm …
The town of Luganville in Espiritu Santo was our first stop in Vanuatu and it would also be out last after we made our round to some of the outer islands. Vanuatu is an archipelago comprised of 83 islands, but you can only clear in and clear out of the country at a few of …
