Reality of TRIBAL LIFE in the South Pacific

Anchored off the volcanic shoreline of Tanna Island in Vanuatu, the crew of SV Machete, documented on Sailing Machete, stepped ashore to spend the day in Donovan’s village. Donovan, who had previously guided the family up Mount Yasur to observe the active crater erupting, invited the voyagers into his home community to learn traditional coconut oil production away from standard tourist routes.

Donovan’s family gathered fresh coconuts, cracked the hard shells open, and set up scraping stations overlooking the bay. While the adults and older children worked with hand scrapers to grate the white meat from the shells, local villager Nako joined the younger boys to carve toy wooden swords, bows, and arrows. Between processing sessions, Daniel tested a newly lashed rope swing anchored to a large tree over the clearing, verifying that the knots would hold before the children climbed aboard.

Once grated down to a fine consistency, the coconut meat was gathered into cloths and pressed firmly by hand to extract the fresh coconut milk. The villagers poured the white liquid into a large pot and set it over an open cooking fire. As the liquid boiled and water evaporated, the milk curdled, separating thick white solids from clear coconut oil. The hosts packed the strained oil into containers for the crew to carry back out to the catamaran, alongside fresh produce including pumpkins and local snacks.

Village Life and Coconut Oil Production on Tanna

The shore visit offered the voyagers an authentic look into village customs on Tanna Island. Working alongside Donovan’s extended family provided practical experience in traditional food preservation techniques that have sustained island communities for generations. Grating dozens of coconuts required steady physical effort, and the visiting crew gained a deep appreciation for the daily labor involved in preparing staple provisions without modern kitchen appliances.

Beyond harvesting coconut oil, the gathering fostered a warm cultural exchange between the cruising family and the local residents. The children shared snacks with the village kids while testing their handmade wooden weapons around the compound. The hospitality shown by Donovan and his neighbors reflected the generous community spirit found throughout the outer islands of Vanuatu.

Inverter Failure and Compounding Electrical Troubles

Returning out to the Lagoon 400 S2 catamaran in a rolly anchorage, Daniel faced critical power generation faults. When starting the onboard generator to charge the battery bank, the main inverter began overheating and repeatedly tripping the breaker. Relying on an extensive inventory of offshore spares, Daniel pulled a replacement inverter out from under Jack’s bunk to perform a field swap before evening.

Daniel unwired the heavy 12-volt DC cables and disconnected the wiring harness from the malfunctioning unit, preparing to set the replacement in place. He explained the necessity of carrying redundancy aboard an offshore catamaran:

“Always good to have an extra inverter cuz they don’t seem to last in the on the boat.”

Although the replacement inverter powered up smoothly, a cascade of secondary failures immediately struck the vessel. As soon as the new unit energized the boat’s electrical circuits, the Starlink satellite router failed completely, cutting off internet connectivity. In the salon, provisions were scattered, and a flour bin tipped down the companionway steps as the crew rushed to prepare food for a scheduled 4:00 p.m. beach gathering with local villagers.

Facing the sudden loss of off-grid communications, Jenna pointed out the vulnerability of cruising without dual equipment:

“I don’t have a backup Starlink. I told you multiple times while we were in New Zealand and Fiji we need to get a backup Starlink and I got the vibe that nobody wanted to spend the money.”

The crew hurried ashore in the dinghy to join the gathering on the beach. Although a planned pig roast fell through, cruisers and villagers shared whatever food had been assembled, with fellow cruiser Elsa providing campfire bread that became a favorite among the children.

Tracing the Short: Melted Wiring and Terminal Blocks

Back aboard Machete, restarting the generator revealed that the underlying electrical problem remained unresolved. Even with the new inverter installed, engaging the generator continued to trip the circuit breaker. Daniel began tracing every conductor between the generator output and the inverter input, following an acrid electrical burning smell that had lingered in the machinery space.

Inspecting the wiring harness beneath the deck, Daniel located the root cause of the continuous trips:

“I think I just found the problem with the generator tripping the breaker. The wire from the generator to the inverter, there’s some like quick connect terminals where they plug in got hot and melted and then kind of shorted the ground.”

The high current draw across a loosened spade connection had generated extreme heat, melting the plastic connector jacket and intermittently grounding against surrounding metalwork. Daniel cut out the damaged section and rewired the connection using robust terminal blocks:

“I didn’t have any more of these connectors, but I had some just some terminal blocks, so I just wired it back in with a terminal block.”

With the terminal block secured, Daniel fired up the generator. The inverter successfully switched over, charging the batteries while supporting household AC loads without tripping. Daniel brought out an infrared thermal camera to scan the new terminal block and adjacent conductors, verifying that no residual resistance or abnormal heat remained in the circuit. Meanwhile, another cruiser voyaging from Fiji agreed to sell them a spare generation 2 Starlink router upon arrival, restoring critical communication lines for their upcoming passage toward Australia.

Coastal Passage to Port Vila and the Nakamal Celebration

With the electrical distribution system stabilized, Machete weighed anchor and departed Tanna. Looking back over the stern during the passage, the crew watched clouds of volcanic ash and white steam billow from the crater of Mount Yasur into the South Pacific sky as the catamaran set a northern course toward Port Vila.

After anchoring near Port Vila, the family attended the grand opening of a newly constructed nakamal located on a small nearby island. A nakamal serves as a traditional gathering hall where village chiefs assemble to deliberate community decisions, resolve local disputes, and host formal ceremonies. The occasion drew high-ranking leaders from across the region, including the President of Vanuatu.

Around the perimeter of the ceremonial grounds, community kitchens tended large earthen roasting pits prepared to feed hundreds of guests throughout the day. Villagers had layered whole pig carcasses alongside two legs of beef over heated stones, showcasing Vanuatu’s cattle ranching heritage alongside traditional feast fare. Welcomed as visiting mariners, the family shared food alongside local elders and celebrated the formal dedication of the meeting grounds.

Bow Windlass Overhaul and Marine Corrosion Prevention

Back at anchor, Daniel tackled essential preventative maintenance on the catamaran’s ground tackle. During a recent passage across rough seas, the top casing of the electric anchor windlass had cracked under heavy strain. Daniel noted that the failure occurred because the anchor chain had not been secured with a dedicated line or snubber:

“I think it’s good to tie your anchor and so there’s not as much surge on your chain and your windlass.”

Disassembling the windlass housing on the foredeck revealed significant wear. Heavy sand had washed into the rotating assembly during previous ground tackle deployments, packing tightly beneath the seal and grinding away the internal metal until the casing wore thin and fractured. Rather than ordering expensive replacements to remote islands, Daniel retrieved parts from a decommissioned windlass he had kept in his spares locker.

Daniel cleaned out the accumulated sand, inspected the internal gears, and swapped in the salvaged parts. When reinstalling the fasteners, he coated every stainless steel bolt with Tef-Gel to protect against galvanic corrosion between dissimilar marine metals:

“I’m going to put some of this Tef-Gel on these screws so they don’t get corroded in there.”

Evening Fire Gathering at Malee Beach

To conclude their time in Port Vila, the family traveled along the coast to attend the renowned fire performance hosted at The Beach Bar on Malee Beach. Renowned across the island nation, the weekly event brought together skilled local performers who twirled burning poi, flaming staffs, and fire ropes along the water’s edge.

Following the choreographed performance, instructors supervised an open demonstration on the sand, allowing visitors and children to practice basic fire handling techniques under careful watch. The interactive performance marked a memorable close to their island travels before preparing SV Machete for the next ocean passage toward Australia.

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