GPS: 17 44.915S 168 18.604E
Run: 4.9nm (8.9km)
Today’s word is SERENDIPITY
After a night with a slight roll coming in Mele Bay we awoke to an overcast day. We thought we might go ashore to check out the beach bar, but by the time we had checked our email and put the motor back on the dinghy, the wind had got up. That meant that we would have got very wet just to go check out the bar, so we lifted the motor back onto Imagine and towing the dinghy we headed back to Port Vila.
With Sue at the helm, she noticed a boat on the AIS sitting in the middle of the bay and right in our path. The boat seemed to be slowly heading for the reef we had just come around. As we got closer we saw it was Excel. We met Mark and Excel in Tonga several times, then again in Samoa, followed by Wallis. We pulled as close as we could alongside in 30 knot winds and a 1m swell, to find he had fuel problems and the motor wouldn’t start.
As Sue got Imagine circling Excel, Andrew and Cindy got out the ropes for the drogue, set up the bridle and attached a fender to the end of the 80m rope. Sue circled Excel closer this time as the rope was deployed off the stern. Unfortunately Excel was drifting at a faster rate than anticipated, and drifted over the fender as it went alongside for Mark to reach with his boat hook. Of course the fender went between the keel and the rudder, making it impossible to retrieve in these weather conditions. Mark hooked the rope as it went past the bow and tied it on. Then he hooked the fender from the other side of the boat and tied it off. Andrew then noticed that one of the bridle ropes had caught around Imagine’s exhaust pipe. Much to Cindy’s horror, Andrew climbed down the boarding ladder, hanging off the boat holding on with only one hand and was able to release the rope from the exhaust pipe.
Sue slowly moved forward to take up the slack, then pointed Imagine towards Port Vila. At a steady pace of 4.5 knots Sue towed Excel into the port. Andrew contacted the marina to send a boat to meet us and take Excel to a mooring as it was too difficult for Imagine to be maneuvered amongst the moored boats with Excel in tow. When the marina boat was in position Mark released Imagine’s rope and Cindy and Andrew hauled it onboard.
Sue was then able to manoeuvre Imagine between the moored boats to find a vacant mooring ball. Cindy hooked the mooring rope allowing Andrew to thread Imagine’s mooring line through the loop and we were safely moored.
After lunch, Cindy and Andrew went ashore, calling in on Mark on the way. Mark had had time to retrieve the fender from under the boat. He handed the fender back to Andrew and thanked them for their assistance.
SERENDIPITY – if the wind hadn’t got up the Imagine crew would have gone ashore and Excel may not have got help before reaching the reef. If it had not been Excel we may not have gone closer to the boat (just thinking it was fishing).
