How do I book my bunk?

September 2007

The 18 metre catamaran Augustina arrived in Luganville with 7

medical volunteers for the Project MARC September

expedition at Santo. Also joining us here was the Kiwi

doctor Peter.

Dr. Hanna and students Dominique and Steven would stay

with Augustina to do a medical survey of Big Bay on

the north side of Santo. Alvei would take 5 people to

the west coast of Santo. Three people for Jungle

Mountain Clinic and 2 more to do TB screening and

general health at villages along the coast.

Stacks of medical supplies and equipment from Project

MARC’s container had been brought aboard Alvei earlier

in the week.. Friday was provisioning day on under the

sun sail on the main deck. Our doctors and medical

students used the afternoon to stock up on the

medicines and equipment they would need the following

3 weeks. We were also carrying tons of construction

materials for the new school at Wusi.

The next evening we had a Welcome Aboard dinner on

Alvei for everyone working with Project MARC.

The following morning we had a quick orientation

session and muster stations drill for the new crew. We

were underway for the west coast by midmorning;

anchoring at Lisburn anchorage just before sunset. Up

again early the next morning we sailed north along the

west coast of Santo. By early afternoon we anchored

off the small village of Wusi.

The first shore boat was greeted by Chief Puha. After

several hours of discussion we learned there was a

funeral which would occupy the last two days of the

week. There was to be a formal greeting on Friday

evening. Saturday and Sunday were for church. Monday

we could start work at the clinic. We were also told

the site of the school was a mile south of Wusi.

The next day we landed the 3 JMC team members, Dr.

Heidi along with students Sarah and Sophie and a boat

load of supplies on the beach at Sauriki for the 2

hour treck to the clinic. Then we re-anchored Alvei

off the beach where the school is located.

I was not looking forward to unloading 20 kg. Sacks of

cement through a breaking surf. However, with the help

of 15 young and strong Ni-Van lads the cement nearly

flew out of the hold on to the deck. Five boat loads

later the cement was high and dry on shore. Another

few loads had wood, nails and paint safely ashore as

well.

Dr. Peter and TB nurse Jan went back to the clinic at

Wusi to assess the situation. Seems the clinic had a

concrete floor and woven bamboo walls, but still

needed a thatched roof. What supplies they had were

kept in the clinic worker’s hut.

So, they moved to the Nakamal/Community Centre to set

up a temporary clinic until the proper clinic had a

roof. (A Nakamal is the place where the men go to

drink Kava.) This one apparently doubled as a

community centre.

After a rough afternoon rolling and pitching off the

beach we started to drag anchor. So, we weighed anchor

and moved farther off shore to a shallow area off

Remarkable Point. The sea wasn’t any smoother, but

there was plenty of room to drag anchor.

An open roadstead anchorage is like being at sea with

the anchor down. There is no need to set and trim the

sails, but the boat is always rolling and pitching.

Alvei is big enough to dampen the motion in lighter

wind. However, when the wind freshens, the motion is

very much like being underway without the steadying

effect of the sails. On one particular night the

running sea smashed the small boat on the davits and

tore the big cleat off the bow of the Tinny.

By the middle of the following week we learned there

were no suspected cases of TB. The clinic found it’s

roof and was stocked with supplies. The JMC team came

down the mountain to restock antibiotics and scalpel

blades.

After nine days of rocking, rolling and flies we moved

south to the anchorage at Lisburn to give aid to the

villages of Tasiriki and Pollmell.

Our second evening there we were visited on board by 2

canoes, one was carrying a very sick five year old

girl and her father. Dr. Peter diagnosed the illness

as Valciparum Malaria, the most dangerous of the 3

types. We took the girl and her mother to the clinic

that evening to await transport to the hospital at

Luganville the next morning. It was sad that the

little girl died of the illness that night. Malaria

kills about a million people a year world wide.

A week later the line of patients dwindled to a few.

We went back to Sauriki to fetch the Jungle Mountain

team. The next day we had everyone back in Luganville.

The catamaran Augustina returned from a very

successful exploration of Big Bay. They found villages

where the people had not seen white people before much

less female doctors. They interviewed 200 people and

assessed the population at about two thousand. There

appears to be much need for eye screening, malaria

prevention and scabies treatment.

We finished the week with debriefing sessions and a

party for everyone on Alvei.

We loaded more medical supplies from the container for

the motor/sail down to Banam Bay. After waiting a week

for the trade winds to ease, the passage south was an

expensive exercise in frustration. Despite a

favourable weather forecast we were met my a fresh

head wind and a diabolical two and a half metre head

sea slightly longer than Alvei. About the time she

wound bury her bow into the face of one wave, she

would sit down hard on the back of the previous wave.

As the prop churned out blue bubbles and foam, our 5

knot speed was reduced to less than one knot. After

midnight the wind and sea eased and we finished the

passage in 29 hours.

With diesel prices currently at $1.56 a litre it costs

a bit over $14 dollars an hour, or $350 dollars a day,

to run the engine. The weather eventually moderated.

We made the 60 mile passage in 29 hours with a fuel

cost of over $400 dollars.

In Banam Bay we delivered medicines and supplies. Then

we did a thorough survey of the newly repaired water

system there. Some of the villages and a school still

don’t have water. Dr Henk offered to fund the needed

supplies. If YCI or Alvei could find the volunteers

and the leadership enough to come up with a workable

plan. We may be back in Banam to finish the water job

next season.

Henk and Nelleke had a hard week in Banam. The

alternator on their boat seized a bearing, disabling

the main engine. We took it apart, cleaned things up

and got them running again. Then there was inter

tribal politics to mediate. There were disputes about

money and authority that turned to shouting and

accusations. One evening we hosted another pot-luck

dinner for the 8 yachts in the anchorage. Henk and

Nelleke arrived late saying, Thanks for this, we could

use a drink.

We escorted them for the short passage to Sakau in

case the alternator seized up again. They arrived

without incident.

Their mooring in Sakau had been dragged out into deep

water during a gale when they were there the previous

month. So we picked it up with Alvei and moved it back

into the shallow water near the shore.

We took the supplies ashore that afternoon and

departed the next morning.

The passage back to Port Vila was with light to

moderate weather and also took 29 hours. With only

Kat, Seamus and myself on the crew since July; we put

up Crew Wanted notices in bars and hostiles around the

area.

The first Saturday in port Kat complained of flu

symptoms, aching ovaries and a sore knee. Three days

later her knee was inflamed and temp was rising. Henk

diagnosed an ovary infection and gave us a dose of

Zithromax that knocked the fever out.

The next day I invited some local expats Adian and

Danielle, out to the boat, they inturn invited several

of their friends. It became an impromptu social event

with a barBQ and swimming. Dan is the Australian

Volunteers International coordinator here in Vila.

Turned out there were two doctors, two EMT’s and two

pharmacists from the hospital in the group.

Predictably, Kat told me not to mention her condition.

So, I discussed it with the pharmacists first. They

were a very nice couple, Petra from Germany and Marcel

from Switzerland. They ran it past the doctors, one of

whom was a gynaecologist named Jason. After some

consultation they diagnosed septic arthritis. An hour

later they had Kat packed up and off to the hospital.

All in all it was a remarkable series of events.

An American Dr. Fred operated on her knee the next

morning. During the consultation I asked Dr. Fred

about the costs. He put a serious look on his face and

said, “It will cost you. The nurses in the operating

theatre like chocolate… (Okay, we can deal with that.)

After two days there was no further signs of infection

so the drain tubes were removed.

The sterilizing machine broke down right after Kat’s

operation. Finding the $900 dollars to repair it was

stuck in the bureaucracy. They don’t have a pathology

dept. for a proper diagnosis.

After a few more days Kat’s leg began to get worse so

we put her on a plane to Auckland.

After 6 more days in hospital and another operation

Kat was discharged with leg brace and crutches. There

was also a bill of $7,461.14 dollars. A box of

chocolates didn’t get us through that one.

It took two weeks to find three more crew for the

passage back to New Zealand. It is interesting to note

that we often receive letters from people commending

us for our aid work here in Vanuatu; however very few

have been willing to come help.

Would like to be in Bay of Islands before the middle

of November. Hope to be in Nelson before Christmas. I

am looking forward to summer in Nelson.

All the best,

Evan