sv Bad Bunny sailing to Majuro, the Capital of the Marshall Islands

(20251022 to 20251101) “Take it or lose it!” That was the feeling. We had a good weather window to sail from Vanuatu to the Marshall Islands. Our biggest concern was navigating the Inter Tropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ), or Doldrums, a region unpredictable for choppy seas and dead air. Reluctantly, we said “Goodbye” to Vanuatu.

The 1,500-nautical-mile passage from Luganville, Vanuatu, to Majuro, Marshall Islands, became our fifth-longest sail. We covered the distance in eight days of sailing and two days of motoring.

During those eight days of hard sailing,

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Epi Island, Vanuatu

With a beautiful memory still fresh in Epi Island, we arrived at Malekula Island. Where should we anchor for the night? Gaspard Point was our pick! We made our decision after studying the weather, the Navionics Electronic Charts, and the Noforeignland app, which a friend had recently introduced to me. The Noforeignland app is very useful; according to it, there are dugongs (similar to manatees) at Gaspard.

Entering the anchorage, John commented that Gaspard can be a great hurricane hole, surrounded by mangrove trees and backed by dense jungle. With no one else around,

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Mt Yasur Volcano, Tanna Island, Vanuatu

Tanna is one of the 83 Islands in Vanuatu which is located on the Pacific Ring of Fire. Mount Yasur has an active volcano and it is accessible by an organized tour.

Most sailors from Fiji, New Zealand, and Australia arrive in Tanna Island to clear in Vanuatu Immigration and Customs. For us with two cats, we were not allowed to check in Tanna so we sailed more to the North and cleared in Port Vila, the capital city of Vanuatu.

After two months in Port Vila (new autopilot and engine alternator issues) we sailed South to Tanna Island to see the volcano.

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Local Fresh Market, Port Vila, Efate Island, Vanuatu

We cleared Customs, Immigration, and Biosecurity a week ago. Officers confiscated a few onions, cut lemons, and garlic I’d forgotten, disposing of them in the biosecurity bin. They told me I could buy better, organic options at the local fresh market.

After clearance, we moved to a mooring in Yachting World Marina (https://yachtingworld-vanuatu.com/), which offers garbage disposal, showers, and easy dinghy dock access. John immediately began researching new autopilots and decided on two Raymarine sets. He initially wanted to order from New Zealand for simpler shipping,

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Bunny at Quarantine Anchorage in Port Vila on Efate Island, Capital of Vanuatu,

(Sailing Days 8 & 9) We’ve safely arrived in Port Vila, but the last two days at sea were challenging. Constant changes in wind speed and direction made for an uncomfortable beat, and sleep was scarce.

Our autopilot, original to the 33-year-old boat, failed again, and again, and again. Despite replacing various parts, we couldn’t fix it. Hand-steering for two days seemed inevitable until we found a workaround: the autopilot would steer, but in the opposite direction. We adapted by steering the opposite way.

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Cat Grass Kept by the Mast Inside of the Boat while Sailing

(Sailing Day 7) After many days of motoring, we started feeling some winds. We’ve been sailing for the last 18 hours. Hooray! The quietness (the cats love it!). This morning, I saw the cats chewing their cat grass. This was given by a lady in Bundaberg. Originally, we thought of throwing it away before approaching Vanuatu because most countries don’t allow bringing any plants. John read more information on it and saw that “as long as the plant is healthy and stays on the boat, it is okay to bring it into Vanuatu.”

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We are motoring in the Coral Sea.

(Sailing Day 6) This morning, my favorite star, Venus, was incredibly brilliant! I can’t believe how bright it was!

We’re still motoring. Seas have been calm and winds less than 5 knots. The new engine has been working nonstop for days. John changed the transmission fluid after running it for the first 24 hours. We switched the RPMs up and down every hour for that initial 24-hour period. Since then, we’ve set the RPM between 1500 and 1800. John thinks the performance is best at 1700 RPM. During my watch,

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Persistence pays off! Glad you found a spot, seagull.

(Sailing Day 3 to 5) Good morning, world! I slept a solid six hours without waking up. At 1:30 AM, we changed the watch schedule. The cats got their first treats of the day; they usually get three treats daily while at sea. They don’t like the engine’s noise, but we’ve been running it for two days straight. The weather forecast predicts another 30 hours of motoring. Despite the doldrum motoring, I feel refreshed and enjoyed the bright stars, Venus and Sirius, early this morning.

On the third day,

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