14 Jan 2011 | Start: 0330, finish: 1315 | Eng hrs: 1851.3 – 1859.0 | Avg RPM: 2,400 | Conditions: Overcast in the morning, then sunny for the day. 1-2m swell with consistent 15-18kts wind on the nose
Woke up, put a jerry can in, and motored off directly into the wind for most of the passage to Barren. Moderate swell only sailable (without inefficient tacks) for the last couple hours of a 10 hour voyage. Could see Barren erupting from ~18 miles off – very cool. Anchored in front of a black sand beach in 7m on black sand and bombies. Fairly well protected from the rolling northeasterlies – pretty good given Barren isn’t all that big. Navionics chart was way off for Barren – showed us anchoring in the middle of the landmass.
Plumes of small jellyfish were everywhere – crystal clear water with black volcanic rocks covered in live and growing coral, lots of large fish. Found a wall near the newest lava field that drops off to 30m, and then to oblivion. This is the place for our dive tomorrow. Low flying (observation?) planes fly overhead multiple times per day – don’t think we were caught ashore, but not sure – it is technically forbidden to step foot on Barren Island. This is an incredibly special place. Slept in the shadow of the caldera with fine ash grains softly raining down on us all night (creating a surreal scene, and an awful mess).