Vanuatu is a home to a lot of visiting sail yachts or motor yachts. Good places to meet boaties or yachties are The Waterfront, Café du Village or Anchor Inn. You might be able to get a berth on a boat, to become temporary crew (or just someone who comes along) and see some islands sailing around. You can also put a notice up on one of the noticeboards at these places. Who knows….you might even be able to sail to Fiji, New Caledonia, the Solomons, Australia, New Zealand or even Papua New Guinea.

If you feel like an adventure….get some information on the captain, the boat and safety gear, how long the trip will take, what the expected conditions are (weather, currents, pressure and winds) and what they will expect you to do. Don’t get me wrong…sailing is not just fun and relaxing…it can be pretty hard too. Depending on the other people on board and the weather conditions. Here’s some good advice I got from a sailing friend (which turned out to be great advice): if you are going on a passage, take some food-items you really like (maybe chocolate, Coca cola, Pringles, candy or pretzels) and hide them away from yourself and the others until you really need them, as a present to yourself. I sailed from Palau (Micronesia) to Australia, my first passage ever and it was quite an experience. Good and bad memories. Three weeks of sailing and the weather was bad. We didn’t see land the first 10 days we were sailing. Only water, water, water, water and some whales and flying fishies. I tell you…I was seasick for the first 3 days! And covered with bruises! Not getting enough sleep, because of the movements of the boat (bumping into everything) and of course the watches everyone had to do. So…realise it is not just a pleasure cruise and prepare yourself for the worst. One thing is for sure….you will learn a lot and have more knowledge! Some more advice: don’t have a hangover the day you are supposed to leave on a sailboat, remember that the first sign of seasickness is that you yawn.