FEATURES
FEATURES
of a village on Vanua Lava Island, and he informed us that
he could control the weather. Obviously, we were somewhat
taken aback with such a claim and had to find out more. He
told us that he could make cyclones (our typhoons) go away.
To sailors, this sounded like a dream come true – champagne
sailing every day! We obviously invited him to join us for the
rest of our cruise.
Va nuatu
—in the eye of a storm
Words Kylie Ayson
John Star was a civic-minded gentleman though and said that
he could not leave his village in danger. He patiently explained
to us that the only time his village had been exposed to a
cyclone was when he had travelled away to a chiefs’ meeting
in Port Villa. From then on, he was determined that he would
never leave his people in danger again so he trained and
empowered his son with the magic too.
The devastation in Vanuatu, caused when the category 5
Tropical Cyclone Pam slammed into the Pacific archipelago on
13 March has brought back memories of happier times in ‘the
land that time forgot’.
of Tanna, home of the volcano Mount Yasur. We travelled by
4WD from the lee of the island and our sheltered anchorage
to the town of Lenekel for our check-in, yacht clearance and
cruising permit.
A few weeks later we were on anchor less than 20 miles away
watching forecasts in horror as an unseasonable cyclone,
Xavier, headed straight for us. Along with two other yachts,
we were anchored in 20 metres of water, surrounded by coral
reefs and beach. Not a good place to be!
Alluna and her crew visited Vanuatu on two occasions,
including a wonderful six weeks cruising the remote islands
on our way to Hong Kong in 2006. We were delighted by the
wonderful people and their stories as much as by the rugged
beauty of this extraordinary country. These people had nothing
but big smiles and now, they have nothing.
That three-hour road trip (each way) highlighted the lushness
that is Vanuatu. We have always joked that you could plant a
broomstick in Vanuatu and it would grow! The fertile soil may
in fact be the saviour for the ni-Vanuatu (those people born in
Vanuatu) as their President has stated that people will need to
grow their own food in order to survive.
I will always be grateful to Chief John Star as he certainly
summoned his powers and Xavier made a late turn away and
barrelled down towards Port Villa instead. The eye passed less
than 25 miles from us and we experienced nothing. Friends in
Villa, where the eye passed 70 miles away had over 50-knot
winds.
Cyclone Pam has been described as one the most destructive
storms to ever occur in the South Pacific and, according
to the New Zealand’s MetService, satellites indicated that
it reached mean wind speeds of 270 km/h, with gusts
even higher as it passed over the Pacific island. The world
community and aid agencies rushed to bring support and aid
to those most in need—but the task is immense. The United
Nations has estimated half of Vanuatu’s population has been
affected by Cyclone Pam and the livelihoods of 80% of those
living in rural areas has been severely compromised.
Recent reports tell of the destruction on Tanna. “Mango trees
were stripped bare, bamboo trees had bent in half, coffee
plants had been ripped out of the ground and most of the
vegetation was wiped out”, a New Zealand businessman
said after visiting Tanna, soon after the cyclone. It is hard to
reconcile those reports with what we saw and experienced.
Perhaps John Star was still using his awesome powers