More Rock Hopping! Yesterday we started watching the movement of the tide very carefully as we realised that tide times are different here to the tide tables we have. The nearest tide times we have are from Santo Island, but these are not correct for Ambae. To get back over the reef and out of the lagoon we wanted to time our exit for near to high tide, but while the tide was still rising, in case we ran aground. Karl went over to the large supply vessel about 9am to ask them, but no one on board seemed to know. He then asked a local fisherman sitting on the shore and he said high tide was at 10.30 or 11am. We knew this was wrong as the tide was still going out and it was more likely that 10.30am was low tide. So, while Heather baked some bread, Karl put some sticks on the shore in various places and watched the clock as the tide receded - the only sure way of working it out! Sure enough, it looked like 10.30am was low tide, so now it was easy for us to work out that we would need to leave the lagoon a bout 3.30pm. At 10.30am, while we were still watching the sticks to see if the tide would fall any further or start to flood back in again, we noticed that the supply ship started up its engines. We were a little puzzled as to why it would move and watched as it moved out towards us and then turned to go out over the reef. This is a large vessel, about twice the size of Aradonna, with high sides to carry pallets of cargo and enough space to fit 100 or so people. It must have a draft at least as deep as Aradonna, we thought. This vessel comes in and out of this lagoon every week, so we watched its track, thinking maybe they knew a deeper channel than the one we had found. As the vessel steered through the same channel that we had come through,we started to wonder if perhaps this vessel had a flat bottom after all. Then as we watched, the supply ship ran aground! After a while and with engines revving wildly, the vessel moved again, but only for a few seconds before running aground once more. The supply ship became stuck three times on bits of reef, twisting and turning and revving each time, but eventually got out of the lagoon. Quite surprising that they would attempt this pass at low tide, given they have local knowledge, but they did! It made us feel not quite so bad about bumping the reef ourselves on the way in! In the afternoon we went for a long swim, snorkeling further out of the bay. Some larger fish here. There was a 60-70cm Golden Trevally rooting in the sand, digging up food, a couple more groupers, a few large parrot fish and a turtle swimming by. Heather spotted a small crayfish hiding in a hole behind some coral, but it was too far in to reach.
We managed to steer through the pass and out of the reef without hitting anything at all on the way out of the lagoon, glad to be through safely after our previous experience! Last night we were treated to a beautiful sunset, no cloud and no land in the way, just the sun sinking into the sea. later we enjoyed our after dinner coffee on deck under a starry starry sky. A lovely peaceful clear night, just enjoying the world.
