Vanuatu: Mines

It takes some planning before we leave on a passage. There’s food to buy, weather models to check, government paperwork to complete and of course route planning. One thing I like about passages is, once we’re away from shore, there’s not much to run into. There are other boats and the odd reef but it’s nothing like coastal sailing. Once offshore, there’s less stress about hitting things. Route planning near shore involves careful review of our charts and planning the safest and most efficient route out and away from the hazards of shore.

When preparing for our passage to Australia, I came across an area of the chart which warned of mines.

Former mined areas:
For details of areas in which mines could present a hazard to anchoring, fishing or any form of submarine or seabed activity, consult Admiralty Sailing Directions.

I hadn’t seen this before. This was a holdover from World War II.

It’s strange to think that this area of pristine beauty and tranquility was caught up in a war half a world away, but it was.

While in Port Villa, we stopped by the WWII Museum and were glad we did. It holds many well-preserved artifacts from Vanuatu’s time in WWII. The museum is small–only two adjoining rooms. The day we visited, we were the only visitors there so the proprietor gave us her full attention–answering our questions, explaining the various displays and describing Vanuatu’s history during that time.

Much of the museum is given over to artifacts and information about the SS President Coolidge. The Coolidge was a luxury ocean liner that was used as a troop ship starting in 1941. On October 26, 1942, the Coolidge hit an Allied mine and sank in the Port Villa harbour. The captain wisely ran the ship aground close to shore making the rescue of the crew easier. His strategy worked. Over a span of 90 minutes, over 5,000 men were safely evacuated from the ship, with two lives lost. The wreck eventually slid back into deeper water, where it still rests today. It sits in about 90m of water and is a popular dive site. Many of the museum’s artifacts were collected by divers over the years but we were told that many items remain in the vessel for divers to see.

Another popular dive site near the wreck of the SS Coolidge is known as Million Dollar Point. It was there that the US Forces dumped tanks and other heavy machinery into the sea before they withdrew their forces at the end of the war.

Relics from WWII are apparently scattered throughout the region. When visiting a family along the coast from Port Villa, we noticed a piece of an airplane wing displayed in the family’s garden. They said it was from a plane wreck. We’re not sure if it was from WWII.

We loved our time in Vanuatu. The islands are beautiful. The water is pristine. The people are amazing. I can’t help but wonder what they thought of WWII–a war from far away, being fought over reasons that had nothing to do with the people of Vanuatu and their way of life.