The Maskelyne islands were named by Captain Cook after his astronomer royal Nevil Maskelyne.  They are a very remote cluster of low-lying islands that sit off the southern tip of Vanuatu’s second largest island, Malekula.  It is a very remote and pristine area of Vanuatu.

The locals who live in the area still get around in their wooden outrigger canoes and live a very simple life, much as they have for centuries.

One of the reasons we came to the Maskelyne islands was to see the dugongs.  Dugongs are cousins to the manatee but are more closely related to the elephant.  They are known as “sea cows” and are truly gentle giants.  You can see all of the “fish” markers below which indicate locations where they have been spotted.  I am on a mission to swim with them!

The red arrow is where Sugar Shack is anchored when I took the snapshot of the chart.

Awei Island Anchorage

Our first stop in the Maskelyne Islands is Awei Island.  There is an anchorage between Awei and Malekula that provides really good protection from wind and swell in almost all directions.  Between the two islands is a reef that also keeps this bay calm and beautiful.

We anchored here with our friends on Moana but they left before we could get the drone out.  This anchorage is super protected by two islands and a reef.  We had perfect conditions for drone pictures.

As you can see, there are lots of reefs in this anchorage.  One that blocks the ocean (top photo, top left), one behind Sugar Shack and one to our port.

We had several days of rain so this sunny day was particularly welcome.  It is so cool to see the clouds in the water. It gives the allusion that we are floating in the sky 🙂

The Awei Village

There is a very small sandy beach in our bay that is used for a launching point. The kids take outriggers to school and the women take outriggers across the anchorage to a neighboring island to work in the garden.

The small village is a short 15 minute walk across the island to the other side.  It is remarkably clean and neat village hosting 3 families.

They have a Presbyterian church (in pink) with a dive tank as their church bell.  Not sure why they need a bell as there are so few people who live here??

A few of the ladies were weaving and they allowed us to watch.  It was really impressive how they effortlessly continued to weave while carrying on a conversation with us.  Lower right photo is their “small or tiny” garden.

It rained almost every day we were here.  But we did not let that stop us.  Rena (from sv Moana) and I went exploring on the SUPs.  We found lots of tunnels in the mangroves and checked out the reefs from above.

Sughulamp Reef

We had the chance to move to shallow, blue water at the Sughulamp Reef.  It is not really an anchorage (at least none of the charts note it as an anchorage), but it suits us well.  We dropped the hook in 2.5meters of turquoise water which is close to the dugong area.  Here we can enjoy some quiet time by ourselves.

We both jump in the water and take several hours to burnish the Coppercoat.  We have not had to do anything to the bottom since we splashed which was 7 weeks ago.  I do the “easy” part which is cleaning the sides of the hulls (4 sides x 50′ is a lot to cover) as far as I can go while holding my beath.  Matt does the hard part (clean the very bottom) using the hooka.  I have far more area to cover but he works upside down.

Lucky for us, the light grime and few barnacles easily come off with a brillo pad.  Now we have a super clean bottom, hulls, rudders, sail drive and props.  Sweet as!

Our friends took this photo…can you tell what is “different” about this photo?  Answer at the bottom.

Dugongs

You absolutely want to see the dugongs while you are in the Maskelyne Islands.  They are the gentlest of giants and simply adorable. The Maskelyne islands are a global hotspot for these shy and graceful creatures (often referred to as sea cows) and swimming with them is an extra special ocean experience.

Interest in the dugongs has helped the island communities restrict local hunting and turn towards environmentally responsible tourism to support dugong conservation instead, and guidelines are in place to ensure any interactions are a positive experience for the wonderful creatures.

Stay tuned for adventures with the dugongs in our next blog!  Our blog posts run 10-12 weeks behind actual live events.  We were in the Maskleyne Island Awei anchorage around mid-July 2024.  In our last blog post we take you through the grade-taking ceremony at Ambrym.

Answer: The photo is taken upside down.  The water was so calm and clear that it makes it hard to tell.