Yanuca Island Anchorage

About This Anchorage

Yanuca Island is a small island adjacent to the Beqa Lagoon barrier reef, providing a useful staging anchorage for vessels planning to enter Beqa Lagoon via the Frigates Passage. The anchorage between Yanuca and the surrounding reef gives good protection from the SE trades. The island itself has a small resort (Uprising Beach Resort on the north shore) and traditional community. The nearby Frigates Passage (the main southern entrance to Beqa Lagoon) requires navigation in good light — Yanuca provides a place to overnight and plan the lagoon entry for the next morning. The surrounding reef has good snorkelling accessible by dinghy. From Yanuca, the famous Shark Reef Marine Reserve in Beqa Lagoon is 10nm south through the lagoon.

Hazards

• !Frigates Passage approach — complex reef navigation requiring good light and detailed chart
• !Coral on approaches — use chart and visual look-out
• !Tidal currents in the reef passage area

Skipper's Tips

• →Anchor at Yanuca overnight and plan the Frigates Passage entry to Beqa Lagoon for first light
• →The reef snorkelling off Yanuca by dinghy is excellent and far less crowded than the main lagoon
• →Pacific Harbour (8nm N) has the dive operators, provisions, and fuel before heading into Beqa Lagoon
• →Frigates Passage is best attempted at slack water — consult tide tables and allow 2 hours from Yanuca

Nearby Anchorages