We anchored at the pass into Rossel Lagoon. We dived around several reef patches where we found extremely healthy fish life including a school of thirty large dogtooth tuna. On one dive more than ten sharks were present. The hard coral cover was sparse in places but in other areas was dense and thriving. There were also some beautiful sea fan gardens and a school of 30 bumphead parrotfish.

We spent a little longer at this anchorage than intended due to the development of Cyclone Monica – it began as a low pressure over our heads but thankfully did not become cyclonic until it had moved two hundred miles southwest of us, towards the Australia coast. It struck land on Wednesday morning with winds up to 100 knots according to our weather faxes.

On Tuesday morning, under grey skies, we moved to anchor in Tryon Bay where steep hills rise around us.

Our ship’s work began in earnest. Heraclitus now has a glistening black hull with bright eyes and fiery red portholes. It has been a challenge – with rain showers arriving every few hours but the task in hand has been completed by this merry band of sailors!

painters and hull celeaners at work on Heraclitus!

The Rossel Islands are the furthest outpost of the Massim – the southeastern tip of Papua New Guinea. This atoll is important in the Milne Bay region because, although not formally part of the kula ring, it is here that red shell necklaces - the bagi or soulava – are manufactured from the shells of the Chama pacificus oyster. Kula players from the Trobriands and other islands purchase these necklaces and then feed them in to their kula rings. The value of a kula necklace is gauged in the thinness of the discs, the uniformity of the polish and the colour of the shell – reddish-pink is more favoured than dark red.

We made expeditions to find the makers of the bagi necklaces. Guides from the nearest village to Heraclitus brought us across the island's coast to the home of master craftsmen where they demonstrated for us the intricate work involved in making each necklace.

the shells, skilfully plucked from the reef

hammering the shells to retrieve splinters of red which will then be drilled and ground to create the necklaces

the grinding stone with a string of beads to be shaped into a fine string

For us, departing the Rossel Islands was a farewell to Melanesia. We have spent over a year here in Fiji, Vanuatu, Solomon Islands and Papua New Guinea. Australia and the Great Barrier Reef are the next stop for us where we will spend five months before returning to Milne Bay for the canoe festival at the end of the year.