We were up at dawn, ready to set off for Port Vila. B took the helm and guided Imagine along our track through the narrow entrance. Once through the gap and in 13m of water, the Bay opened up. Our old track headed east back to Awei so B set our course south. Two minutes later there was a large grinding noise and we came to a halt. B had discovered an uncharted reef.
I took over the helm, put Imagine in full reverse and with the help of the swell we backed off the reef. I turned on the forward sonar but it looks like it got damaged. The sun wasn’t high enough and there wasn’t enough light to see the reef through the water. I moved a little port and tried again but made contact with the reef. Guessing I didn’t have much room to maneuver, I cautiously turned the boat around and was able to follow our old track east. When I thought we had gone far enough I turned back on course for Port Vila.
Danielle, worried we were sinking ran around below deck looking for water gushing in. There were no leaks as the large steel girder covering the front and bottom of the keel was there to protect the keel in these instances.
The rest of the day and night was uneventful as we sailed to Port Vila. B, Wilson, and Danielle took the opportunity of the light conditions to scrub the back deck (team work makes the dream work). Because of the wind direction, it took us 25 hours of tacking to get there.
This morning B, Wilson and I had coffee on deck watching the sunrise. After a chilled out morning we all went ashore in the afternoon for an ice cream. B met up with crew of Silver Fern, a 72ft yacht she had sailed around Tasmania on. Back on Imagine it was time for drinks and nibbles, all sitting on the back deck and enjoying the sunset on the bay. Andrew and B cooked dinner… Shark on mashed potatoes!
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