Proposed Dona Catharina’s 2021 pacific island itinerary

navigare est !

Thanks for your interest in joining us on a part  or all of our 2020voyage to the pacific island . Here is the draft itinerary with estimated times and flight options.
We are open to suggestions, but would like to visit it Tanna and our special secret island destination  in any case, as we have already some arrangement with the locals regarding our next visit.
Of course all departure dates, destinations, and arrival dates are subject to weather, and may have to be adjusted accordingly .
Please pass the following information on to your friends , as the upkeep of Dona Catharina depends on funding via networking.

15/08  depart Opua bound for Tanna  in Vanuatu. This will be an open ocean voyage of
About 10 days, and will suit people who’s dream it is to cross an ocean under sail.
25/08 port Resolution in Tanna. We are good friends with the paramount chief of the
And are expected to deliver some donated goods from NZ to his people. We will.
be therefore honoured with privileges the average tourist, visiting the island, may
Not enjoy. But in any case, the highlight of visiting Tanna will be a climb up the
Very active volcano Mt. Yasur. (Google)

01/09 Arrive in Port Vila, the capital of Vanuatu, and proably the most interesting capital        “City” of all the pacific Islands.. There are direct fights from Port Vila to NZ.
All the populated islands of Vanuatu have small airstrips, and  there are regularly
From Port Vila or Santo.
05/09 Port Vila to Epi island. Again an Island where we have made friends with some of
locals, so we will like have to offload some cargo for them. There is a very good
To snorkel or dive among  sea turtles in Leman Bay.
09/09 short sail to the Maskelyne island on Malekula. This, and the next island of the
Vanuatu chain, as we continue our way nort, are new to us, and we only sailed
Past then, wishing to stop there , on earlier voyages.
11/09 Maskelyne to Ambrym the island that consists of a large active Vulcan.
13/09 Ambrym to Pentecost . It is on this island where the famous land divers live, that
Have inspired the idea of bungy jumping.
15/09 Pentecost to St Maria . Latest by now we will be of ‘the beaten track’, and St Maria
Is unlikely being visited by other yachts wile we are there.
17/09 We will leave St Maria to our very special destination, and I am deliberately not
spelling out its name, as we have an interest its to keep it existence out any lime
light. All I will say, that we have been there before, and that the island itself, and
People on it are very special.

25/09 we hope to arrive in Luganville . The second largest city in Vanuatu, with good
flight or shipping service to Port Vila. Famous amongst divers for million dollar
Point , the place where the Americans sunk a large amount of their ships, tanks,
aircraft, no longer needed after WWII.
27/09 From Luganville , depending on crew wishes, we will either revisit some of the
northern island of Vanuatu, and then make our way south towards Port Vila.
Or we may go for plan B, and clear customs and leave for Noumea We
expect this to be a upwind trip, that may be not so easy, but the reward will be
a relaxing few days in the stunningly beautiful lagoon of New Caledonia  , with its        …………many uninhabited Islands and sand cays and fantastic diving opportunities
And of course there are regularly flight from and to NZ out of Noumea

15/10 weather window dependent, we hope to be on our way to New Zealand, and
This may be the more interesting passage fore those, who’s dream it is to
experience the adventure of crossing an ocean under sail. There is also a chance
That we may be able to stop on Norfolk Is. but this is very weather dependent,
as Norfolk has no save anchorage, and one has to be on high alert for any shif
In wind direction.

instead of Plan B we may also be back in Port Vila after visiting Aoba Is, Ambrym,
and Epi Is
04/10 we should then be in Port Vila again, were we can refuel, and prepare Dona
Catharina for the crossing to NZ. But we would like to clear customs on  the
15/10 on Tanna Is to say goodby to our friend , the chiefs family of Tanna, and to check
On the progress of the large canoe, that they hope to build with the help of the
donated goods from our earlier visit.
25/10 ETD NZ. but bear in mind, and that includes all dates around the island cruises,
that Dona Catharina can not be run to a exact schedule as her speed and
headings are dictated by wind and sea 

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