Up goes the anchor and out we go to sea. Here we come Vanuatu! 

The past few days have been a mix of big swells, a fast paced Europa, hitting speeds up to 10 knots and the ever present charm of seasickness.

With the prevailing winds and sailing broach reach, the sky was filled with sails, with the top sails, royals, topgallants, staysails and jibs flying proudly.

As the voyage crew slowly began to reappear on deck, we settled into the rhythm of the watch system. It was a time for good talks, good laughs, getting to know each other and deep reflections about the ocean. 

There aren’t many experiences that make you feel so close to nature. Feeling so small, surrounded by the vastness of water, not having seen another vessel for days. Knowing that 70% of the Earth is covered in water makes you ponder. You think about the unknown life living below us, and how what looks like a watery desert, is actually a world on its own.

Our manta trawl today proved just that. Only 30 minutes of trawling the surface gave us the catch of purple snails, barnacles, zooplankton, probable flying fish larvae, algae and other tiny critters. 

Slowly we start to reach the first islands of Vanuatu, our first waypoint before arriving tomorrow to Vanuatu to clear in and enjoy a few days of exploring this remote Polynesian archipelago. I can’t wait what the upcoming days will bring.