7th - 20th September 2005

The Heraclitus arrived in Port Vila, Vanuatu’s capital for logistics, communications and resupplying. While here there was an important meeting held on board the Heraclitus with the Environmental Unit of Vanuatu’s government, at which we presented the reefs to be studied during our months in the country and pledged to share our findings with the Unit to further the country’s own knowledge of its marine ecosystems.

20th - 23rd September 2005

Leaving Efate, we stopped briefly at Eretoka Island, just off the mainland. This island, also known as “Hat” Island due to its hat-shaped appearance from afar, is culturally significant as the burial site of Chief Roy Mata, a historically important chief. The island retains spiritual significance today and is up for review as a World Heritage Site.
We completed a number of observational dives around the island, exploring the interesting volcanic topography and reef ecosystem.

23rd - 26th September 2005

Continuing our journey north we spent a few days in the quiet anchorage at Lamen Bay, Epi Island. Lured by reports of a friendly resident dugong, we were delighted to observe not only the dugong but a great number of hawksbill and green turtles, as well, sighted almost hourly around the ship. The beaches surrounding the bay gave gorgeous evening views of the sunset. We made a few dive and snorkel excursions to the reefs in the area but were disappointed to find little coral and fish life.

26th September - 17th October 2005

The main focus during our stay in the Maskelyne Islands was a coral reef study. Click here to see the results

some of the interim moments between dives on the reefs for the coral reef data collection

21st - 29th October 2005

In Luganville we enjoyed the opportunities afforded by a bustling town, including Chinese shops, Internet cafes, kava bars and restaurants. Contrasting the commercial side of town was a large, grassy park with sports playing fields, a covered community stage broadcasting music over loudspeakers, and individual stalls offering delicious and cheap meals. We stocked up on fresh food at the local produce market, offering the same variety of produce as elsewhere in the country.

Onboard we took the opportunity to complete some ferrocement patching work on the deck. After a day and a half of chipping, grinding and cementing we had repaired many of the small cracks that accumulate with normal wear on the deck.

As in many of our destinations, one of our main objectives while in Luganville was to dive, dive, dive. The area boasts two world-class dive sites including Million Dollar Point and the SS President Coolidge, both consisting of wreckage left over from World War II. Million Dollar Point, so named for the millions of dollars worth of trucks, tanks, ships, and other equipment dumped at this point by the US military during the war, provided a fascinating yet sobering underwater junkyard of tangled metal and rubber remains reminiscent of an earlier era. The Environmental Unit had asked us to comment on the number of Crown of Thorns starfish and the damage they were causing to the reef in this area, but we were glad to find very few of these coral predators and their effects minimal. Near to Million Dollar Point we dove on the wreck of the SS President Coolidge, an American luxury liner built in1920 and outfitted for military use during World War II. Here we explored the promenade, cargo holds, engine room, and salon, deep inside the hull. Gas masks, hard hats, handguns, jeeps, upturned toilets, medicine bottles, the brilliant “Lady” mosaic, and other debris silently provoked imaginations of the past as we navigated our way by torchlight. All too soon, the time came to seek the eerie blue glow of the outside world, creeping in through windows and openings, calling us back to the present.

After loading some fresh food and supplies, we were ready to leave Luganville and head back to Uri Island, Malakula.

30th October - 12th November 2005

During our time at Uri Island, the Heraclitus welcomed on board returning friends, Kevin Driscoll and his son Conor along with five other young students from California plus Neil and Carol, parents of two of the group. Their main objectives were to learn to dive, to understand the scientific mission of the Planetary Coral Reef Foundation and to experience how the crew of the Heraclitus gather valuable data during the course of our reef studies.

the group learns to dive first....

...then begins to get to grips with coral identification