#BigPacificSail Episode 2

Episode 2 of #BigPacificSail is up and proving quite popular! You can check it out here for free: https://vimeo.com/161223177 

I for one am glad that I put all this work and effort into the making of this. I have had many compliments from people I don't know, people who have traveled onboard Infinity and are reminded fondly of their time while watching it. 

I hope you enjoy it! 

#BigPacificSail Episode 2

Check out Infinity Expedition here www.infinityexpedition.org 

BigPacificSail (a short clip)

Enjoy this short preview all the way from the Louisiade Archipelago in Papua New Guinea!

Follow the link to the video BigPacificSail (preview)

14 November 2015 Whale Shark sighting

I did two dives today on the reef around Balu Island. The first dive was rather crowded, initially we jumped off the back of Infinity, however the current was too strong, so we were picked up again and dropped in by tender. The reef is amazing! One of the new arrivals, Sam from Australia and I hung behind taking photographs. Saw beautiful anemones and some huge giant clams.

Most of the dive spots we've visited so far on Infinity have been very off the beaten track! While some of the spots we're diving may been fished by locals, there's a strong argument that suggests we're the first scuba divers to dive here and that's exciting!

The second dive was just Sam and I and within second of us dropping in below the surface we bumped into a whale shark! It wasn't yet fully grown and was cruising by, talk about being in the right place at the right time. We attempted to keep up with it but nothing doing, two flicks of its tail and it was gone. My first encounter with a whale shark, absolute magic!

You never know what you're going to encounter when you drop beneath the waves, that's what makes it exciting!! 

Vanuatu to Papua New Guinea

Today is the day! We’re setting sail for Alotau, Papua New Guinea! A voyage of 1400 NMs. It’s been as amazing time here in Vanuatu, I’m glad we’ve had these five days to settle in. 

It’s something new and an adventure in its own right. I’m super excited but its also rather scary at the same time. i’ll have to give you the whole run down when we arrive.

Communication will stop while I’m sailing and resume when I find a wifi signal at PNG. 

That’s it for now! Talk soon! 

#BigPacificSail #Vanuatu #PapuaNewGuinea #Pacific #sailing #InfinityExpedition 

Voyage Preparations

Preparations for our voyage to Papua New Guinea have begun. There's a lot of fixing, stitching, list writing, provisioning, buying of supplies and general tidying up of the boat. The chain on the front winch needed reconnecting to its handle. One of the storm jibs needed to be dried and repaired before being stowed away. 

It's a 1100 mile journey to Papua New Guinea as the crow flies. Very rarely with big ocean sailing can you sail in a straight line, so our course across the Coral Sea will probably be slightly longer. We'll have to sail south west with the wind then gybe North towards Alotau, so we're looking at more like 1400 miles, although it's hard to give a specific figure. 

A rough plan of our route to New Guinea. 

We leave Tuesday at noon. I'm glad we've had these few days here in Espiritu Santo as it's allowed me to settle and knock out some diving, as well as get to know the guys onboard. However, I don't really feel like we've started the adventure yet. I'm really excited about the voyage and learning how to sail, but also rather daunted by it. 1400 miles is a long way and I've done 0 miles of sailing on a boat this size. But I'm in safe and experienced hands, which is always good. Here's a rough look at what the route will look like. 

A fishing boat at Million Dollar Point, Santo. Notice the boat hull
resting on truck frames.  

My filming project #BigPacificSail is coming along well. I did my first interview with Menno the dive instructor this morning and I have one with Captain Clemens this evening some time. Tomorrow I do my final dive on the President Coolidge and have arranged to interview 83 year old Allan Powers, a local legend in these parts. He arrived in Santo during the 1970s and has run Allan Powers a Dive Tours since then. He stopped diving some time ago but it's estimated that he's dived the wreck of the President Coolidge 25,000 times! Yes and I do mean 25,000 not 250 or any variation there of. I look forward to bringing you that interview, I'm excited about it too! Footage of the wreck all also feature in the first episode. 

Upload looks unlikely before I hit the Philippines. Writing posts and a uploading picture takes long enough on an island, so it's very optimistic of me to promise anything to anybody. In the end its probably a good thing to focus on filming now and piece it all together later on.

That's all for now folks!


Follow the dive log on Twitter! @thedivelog101

Arriving on Infinity

After almost thirty hours of traveling I final made it to Infinity! First mate and dive instructor Menno along with Zoe, Kila and Sarah met me at Santo Airport yesterday evening. From there it was a short cab ride to the Beachfront Resort situated just outside of Luganville, the main town on the Espiritu Santo. It was dark when I arrived so my filming ideas went rather to pot. The smells and just the general feel of the place took me back to being in Fiji, I feel like I never left, just had an extended leave of absence. It's a wonderful part of the world to come back to.

It was a short boat trip from the beach to the boat, I really did get the sense of beginning something epic heading out towards Infinity. She's is certainly a lot bigger than I'd imagined. I have my own cabin, it's big and spacious and the guys here are supper friendly and helpful a great bunch of people I'm going get along with just fine.

I got a full tour of the boat from Zoe, from the bow to the stern. We then had some dinner which was very welcome, soup, garlic bread, fish and salad! I think this is something unique and special about Infiniity, that community feel. It's a really mixing pot of people and backgrounds all brought together in the passion for adventure and exploration. They're only a few of us on board now, although things may get busier later in the trip. I felt like right at home from the off and so welcome. We sat around chatting for a while afterwards. Then it was bed time for me I went out like a light! 

The Plan. 

The Kundu War Canoe festival begins on the 5th of November in Milne Bay Province, Papua New Guinea. We'll be in Vanuatu till the 20th of October and then we begin the 1000 mile voyage to Milne Bay! This is a slightly overwhelming thought but something I'll just have to get used to as an adventure in itself. I can't help but think that's why I came in the first place. We have a couple of dives here in Vanuatu booked for the weekend which I'm excited about, the wreck of the USS Coolidge and Million Dollar Point. 

It's great, I'm glad I'm here and extra blessed that my bag made it when I did too! 

More coming soon! 

P.S 

Got a question? Tweet @thedivelog101 and I'll try and get back to you ASAP. The internet situation isn't great, luckily the Beachfront Resort are welcoming to those anchored in the bay use the wifi for free! Communication will stop when we're sailing, but I'll be writing and filming in the meantime and will respond to your tweets when we're hooked back up to the World Wide Web!