For James, the opportunity to go off the beaten track to places only accessible by boat has been truly life changing. So far, his voyages have taken him around the world via the Caribbean, to New Zealand, all over the Southern Pacific, including Easter Island & Pitcairn, and back.
In May 2023, he set sail for the most extreme voyage he had undertaken so far. The plan was to explore Melanesia, a place he has always had an ambition to visit, fuelled by growing up with back copies of National Geographic and numerous David Attenborough documentaries. James had long been fascinated by stories of the tribes of Papua New Guinea, the land divers of Vanuatu and life in the Solomon Islands.
JOIN OYSTER OWNER JAMES ASHWELL ON ONE OF HIS MOST INCREDIBLE, EXTREME VOYAGES ON BOARD OYSTER 62 UHURU. AFTER FOUR YEARS OF DETAILED PLANNING, JAMES SET SAIL TO EXPLORE UNTOUCHED, WILD PLACES IN VANUATU, THE SOLOMON ISLANDS AND PAPUA NEW GUINEA.
The 7,000 nm voyage took James and his crew from New Zealand to New Caledonia, then on to Vanuatu and the Solomons, before heading to Papua New Guinea. It took four years to plan every detail of this trip to some of the remotest parts of the world. From alterations to the yacht for safety, provisioning for 8 months to plotting routes, as well as making contacts to help make visiting the Solomon Islands and Papua New Guinea as safe and effortless as possible.
Key to the success of the trip was “…knowing exactly where we were going, with everything planned to the last detail.” Uhuru first sailed to Tana, the southern-most island of Vanuatu and the furthest settlement from the capital.
“It’s hard to know what to expect,” says James. “You think it will be developed on some level but it’s not at all.”
“We climbed an active volcano while we were there – it was incredible to stand on the rim and look down on the bubbling lava,” James continues. “Forget health and safety, it was exactly the sort of epic experience I came travelling for!”
From Tana, they sailed to the north coast. En route, they visited a village that has chosen to live a traditional life in the forest, rather than embrace the modern world. For James it felt like going back 500 years.
“I felt like Captain Cook stepping ashore on a remote island for the first time. I just didn’t think it still existed in the world – it was amazing. The village elders showed us around and they were particularly proud of their portrait of Prince Philip, presented when the Duke of Edinburgh visited on the Royal Yacht Britannia in the 1970s!”
James had planned the trip around the land diving festival that takes place in Vanuatu in late May. They moored in Homo bay in the shadow of the 60 foot tower, which the locals launch themselves off with vines wrapped around their ankles to break their fall.
“It was as spectacular as you’d expect – we were completely overwhelmed by the experience.
There were a few tourists like us, on boats, and lots of locals singing and dancing, it was such an evocative and emotional experience.
“The locals showed us round peaceful serene mountainside village with its immense views over the sea – it made me think we’ve got it all wrong in the West! With Uhuru moored down in the bay below, it perfectly captured the idea of your Oyster yacht as an adventure machine.”
From Vanuatu, Uhuru set off for the Solomons. For James, the islands were “incredibly wild, there’s virtually no infrastructure and it’s strictly subsistence living with villages built on the shore with gardens inland. They’re totally self-sufficient and society is based around each individual village.”
“We would ask permission to go ashore, pay our respects to the village elders and be taken around the area. We provisioned with all this in mind, exchanging reading glasses, diving goggles and sunglasses, fishing line and hooks for food. In return we were given so many lobsters we actually got tired of eating them!
“Our first stop in the Solomon Islands was in a place where there is a guy who is obsessed with yachts – he has a book listing all the boats that have visited there since 1979. He knew we were coming and arranged a welcome festival just for us.
“From there, we made our way north, trading for lobsters, local masks and handicrafts. We fished for squid off the boat and we had whole islands and deserted beaches to ourselves. We also stopped off at the Leru Cut dive site, which was incredible.
Uhuru’s next stop was Papua New Guinea (PNG) – “the icing on the cake” according to James. With a reputation for being one of the most dangerous places in the world, James’s meticulous planning meant they were aware of potential problems that might catch out the less well-prepared.
Leaving the boat at a safe anchorage at Duke of York Islands, James and the crew flew up into the highlands for three weeks to explore the impressive tribal festivals – an amazing experience, like stepping into the pages of James’s beloved National Geographic magazines. James’s photographs featured here capture the incredible atmosphere of these festivals, something few people outside PNG ever have the chance to get close to.
I felt like Captain Cook stepping ashore on a remote island for the first time. I just didn’t think it still existed in the world.
On their return to Uhuru, they sailed to New Ireland, north of PNG, stopping off at several islands on the way.
“These were the most remote places we’d ever been,” says James. People live an almost uncontacted tribal existence in huts in the jungle – it’s a wild, wild place. But we were warmly welcomed everywhere we went, and it’s so remote and underpopulated, wildlife just thrives there.”
Uhuru then moored up in Raja Ampat, with its impressive limestone landscape for an idyllic month diving in the most biodiverse part of the ocean in the world, with giant manta rays and thresher sharks. From here, they called in at the Spice Islands to tour the nutmeg and clove plantations, and explore the historic British and Dutch forts, before arriving back in Lom Bok in time to fly home for much needed Christmas break.
Reflecting on the voyage, James said: “You just don’t think this stuff exists any more. But you can seek it out on your boat – there’s literally no other way to do it. Uhuru was more than up to the adventure and the ability to visit such remote places, meet secluded tribes and soak up all these experiences that few people get the chance to enjoy has been genuinely life changing.”
This experience has been genuinely life changing.
