By noon on Friday (25 October) it was a beautiful bright and sunny day. The seas had settled down to a gentle 1.5m swell and the wind had eased to between 10-14 knots. It was just a stunning (albeit chilly) day in the most perfect conditions with blue skies and deep navy blue seas. In the second 24 hour period of this passage we had covered another 129.4 miles.
At 6pm the sun went down and the conditions remained the same. It was another black night with no moon but, instead, we were mesmerised by the fantastic show that are the planets and the stars. The Milky Way was very apparent and we are always in awe of the beauty of nature on a night like this. It is interesting to the constellations as they are different to what we can see at home in the Northern Hemisphere.
During the night the conditions were fickle with higher gusts again and strong currents requiring us to change course to stay moving in a straight line. By 3am on Saturday (26 October) the wind had swung north easterly, so we gybed. Then within an hour it had gone south easterly again so we gybed back. That will teach me to say earlier that we wouldn’t have to do much to the sails once set LOL.
The sun came up in an amazing colour show and the day was another beautiful sunny one. Richard threw out the lures and was hopeful for a fish. By noon we had covered another 129.5 miles so, again, making steady progress. At this point the wind dropped back to around 6 knots which is really light for us as we are such a heavy boat. So we poled out the Genoa and then the main and were sailing along slowly wing-on-wing. We kept our speed up around the 4.5 knots region so actually pretty happy. By 5pm, however, the wind eased even more and we struggled to keep both sails full. So we left the poled-out Genoa but put the mainsail away. At 5pm we motor sailed to top up our batteries for a couple of hours then turned the engine off at 7pm. We continued to slowly sail towards our destination. As we went into our night shifts, having eaten dinner and witnessed another lovely sunset, we were maintaining speed despite the light airs. We also pulled our lure back onboard – no fish again today.
Each afternoon Richard is participating in the SSB Offshore Pacific Cruisers net to find out how other yachts are faring. There is currently an exodus from the Pacific Islands heading to both Australia and New Zealand to seek shelter before the cyclone season starts officially on 1 November (although many stay much later as there is little danger very early in the season). Most of us, however, are driven by the restrictions in our respective insurance policies. Those behind us are experiencing strong winds and those ahead of us are motoring with no wind at all. The forecast, again, is pretty accurate.
During the evening we continued sailing in light airs. At 11.30 pm we motor sailed for an hour to top up our batteries again and were also assisted by a positive current. At 12.30 am, when it was time to switch off the engine the wind had died back to 4 knots so we admitted defeat and continued motor sailing with the poled-out Genoa. Again another dark night as Mr Moon is not putting in an appearance until around 3am. There was some cloud cover so not such a great starry night but I was kept entranced by the glittering show of the phosphorescence in the water behind our stern.
This morning, Sunday (27 October) and the wind has died completely so we are now motoring under bare poles. Looks like that will be it for the day. So far no large sea creatures have been spotted but, now that we are within Australian waters (with just over 300 miles to go) we are ever hopeful of seeing dolphins or even whales (although a big late in the season for them). So far all we have seen are flying fish who skim across the top of the water trying to escape from us as we plow on through.
At 10am on Wednesday 23 October we left our slip in Port Moselle marina, Noumea, New Caledonia, and headed to the fuel dock. There was already a yacht on it so we went around in circles for a while but the remaining gap was constantly being filled by speedy motor boats sneaking in. Eventually we made our move to get in behind SV Blithe Spirit. When we got closer we were pushed on by the increasing wind and became pinned. And, of course, that end of the dock only had petrol. So we waited for SV Blithe Spirit to depart and then ‘walked’ Morphie along to the diesel station from above. And I mean from above as we had to climb a ladder in the dock’s wall to get up there LOL
Finally we were tied in the right place and quickly filled up our diesel tank and a few spare jugs with 170L of duty-free fuel. Then it was our turn to get off the dock. Thankfully, unlike the yacht before who had smacked their transom in the manoeuvre, we successfully pivoted off the dock using our bow thrusters and were free (unharmed) and on our way to Australia.
By noon we were heading towards the Passe de Dumbae, the main shipping channel. We were overtaken by a pilot boat who met a bulk carrier who had already crossed our bow. We weren’t quite sure what was going on and assumed the ship would turn towards us to enter the port so we stayed close to the edge of the channel to pass port to port. But he kept on going out to sea so clearly the pilot was being picked up rather being dropped off. Was all a bit confusing for a while…..
The seas were quite large even inside the lagoon’s fringing reef so we knew we were in for a bumpy ride. As we came through the reef, we left the channel behind and turned towards our next waypoint (over 700 miles away), the seas were boisterous at 2.5m and the wind was between 18-25 knots with higher gusts. It was cloudy and grey and we settled into our passage routines. It was pretty sporty to say the least LOL as we sailed along downwind under the Genoa alone. It was definitely like being in a washing machine down below!
By 6pm we had eaten and it was time for my first solo watch so I watched the sun go down. It was a very dark, chilly, cloudy, bumpy night with few stars peeking through and the moon only made an appearance briefly in Richard’s early morning shift. For a few hours during the night we got some respite when the winds moderated and the seas smoothed but it all picked up again as the sun rose and we were back bouncing around being picked up and surfing down waves or being slammed on our port quarter. But, despite the conditions, we were enjoying ourselves although sleep was a little elusive.
Thursday 24 October the conditions remained the same for most of the day with brief periods of lighter winds. By noon we had completed our first 24 hours at sea and had covered 133 miles. By 4pm the winds had settled back into the 15 knot region and the seas were at 1.5m and less confused so conditions were much more comfortable. The sun went down with a beautiful display of colours and then, again, it turned into a pitch black night. By midnight some stars were trying to show themselves through as the cloud cover started to lessen. We had light airs for a while during the night so we both slept well between shifts and, at this early stage of the passage, we were not concerned by our hull speed.
By 6am on Friday 25 October the winds had picked up, they had switched to ESE (which was a better angle for our course) and we flew along at 7 knots for a while. But, of course, this was short lived and, come 7am, the winds had settled back to the 15-18 range so our boat speed fell back again.
Normally, on passage, we focus on speed and this one is no different. However, there is so far to go at this stage we will just sail the best course until we get closer when we can recalculate our required speed to facilitate a daylight arrival. It does feel strange though that, apart from reefing if the weather deteriorates and easing/hardening according to the wind direction, we will probably not touch the sails for hundreds of miles….. Now I’ve said that, of course, it will probably blow from a different direction and cause us to gybe. But, right now, surprise, surprise, the conditions actually match the forecast!!!
Tuesday (15 October) it was Richard’s birthday. Sadly the weather refused to co-operate in terms of us moving on somewhere to celebrate so we just went across to Ile Casey (only five miles away) for a different outlook. This island is another nature reserve so there were moorings available here also.
Richard enjoyed reading all his birthday wishes from friends and family but we treated it as a normal day and decided to celebrate the day after (which was still his birthday in the UK anyway). So we got busy. We emptied 18 lockers, all drawers and cupboards onboard, cleaned them out, sprayed for bugs (we didn’t see any so relieved about that as passengers are unwelcome in Australia), and then loaded them all up again. This was back-breaking work and the boat was a mess most of the day. Later on we sat in the cockpit, enjoyed the peace and quiet, before having a movie night on board.
Wednesday morning we dropped the mooring ball at 5.40am as we wanted to get through the Woodin Canal on the rising tide. We motored through the Canal and then sailed under genoa as we checked out the lovely scenery along the way.
We arrived at Ilot Maitre at 10.55 am, having covered just over 28 miles. What a beautiful resort. We dropped dink, went ashore, and finally raised a glass to officially celebrate Richard’s birthday.
We enjoyed the surroundings but, as the resort was full, they weren’t offering day passes to use the rest of their facilities so we made the most of the beautiful public beach (on a lovely sunny and hot day). We quickly returned to Morphie, got into our swimmers, and took supplies to the beach and went bobbing. Finally Richard got to enjoy his ‘official’ birthday LOL.
On Thursday the wind started howling through the anchorage and we were nodding into the swell. We moved to a more sheltered spot within the anchorage but that soon became uncomfortable too. So at 14.05 we dropped the mooring ball and motored through big swells and 30 knots of breeze the three miles to Baie des Citrons. This was much more sheltered and we enjoyed a peaceful night at anchor (despite the noise from the nightclub on the shore) and the light pollution. It was very strange to be back in a densely populated area again.
Friday morning we headed under the little bridge in dink to Port Moselle.
We planned to go shopping (having completely run out of food now), speak to Noumea Yacht Services about checking out procedures, and then return to Morphie and clean her hull (the final job we needed to do prior to arriving in Australia). I went into the marina office to get a tag for the dinghy (required to gain access to the dinghy dock and other services) and was told that we could actually have a marina berth if we wanted it. Yes please! So we rushed back to Morphie, got in the water and cleaned her hull, and then picked up anchor and worked our way round to the marina. By 14.20 we were in our slip and very happy to have access to unlimited water and electricity again LOL.
Later on that afternoon we headed out shopping – needing to re-provision for passage meals – and found the large Johnston supermarket. We got everything we needed apart from beer supplies as, for some reason, the alcohol aisles were closed that Friday afternoon. Not quite sure why.
Back on board we unpacked and then headed to the marina bar and restaurant and enjoyed some cold ones listening to the live band. They were pretty good although the music was all French and not recognisable. But still we had a good time and enjoyed having walking access to facilities once again.
Saturday morning and we got up at a reasonable time and cleaned Morphie’s exterior – she is looking real pretty once again.
During the day Steve and Jo on Tamanu (fellow Island Packeteers) came into the marina and we hadn’t seen them since New Zealand so we quickly arranged to meet up later. Once we had done all our jobs, in the afternoon, we went wandering Noumea (which is the capital city) to find most of it shut up and were surprised by the number of homeless and down and outs around.
Heading back to the marina we met up with Steve and Jo and we settled in to watch the World Cup Rugby. Steve and Jo (although based in Australia) are British so we were the only four English supporters in the audience. And we beat Australia – OMG what an exciting time – although the commentary was difficult to follow in the excitable French. We had a great evening. After our enthusiastic celebrations we noticed the huge security guard was standing behind our table for a while – whether he thought we were at risk from the wider audience after the win or not we weren’t sure LOL – but the Australian supporters tended to just wander off in misery. We did stay to watch the start of the New Zealand -v- Ireland match (particularly the Haka) but soon gave up and retired to bed.
This morning, Sunday, and we checked the weather again. We originally planned to leave on Tuesday but it may be that Monday is now better. But we are watching the weather carefully as it has been very changeable – the main concern is over thunderstorms expected near the coast of Australia. Potentially, today could be our last day here so we need to finish our jobs. I’ve been up since the crack of drawn and have cooked and frozen all the passage meals whilst Richard has done the laundry, his engine checks and cleaned the floors down below and the cockpit. We’ve completed all the documentation for departure and have an appointment at 8.30 am Monday morning to go to Customs / Immigration. The French officials are pretty relaxed allowing us 72 hours to depart after the official clearance has been done so we can delay without impacting on our current arrangements. It is definitely a ‘watch this space’ moment.
After our jobs were done we headed into the local fish, meat, fruit and vegetable market (and this was still only 9am in the morning!). There were also stalls selling local handicrafts.
It was all very busy and, with our purchases made, we had a leisurely croque monsieur / toasted baguette breakfast over the largest cup of coffee we have ever had (it was really a bowl as it didn’t have handles LOL). This evening we are entertaining Steve and Jo onboard Morphie before we head off to watch the Wales rugby match.
So this will definitely be the last blog from New Caledonia as we head off on another long ocean passage (800 miles) to Bundaberg, Australia. I will be blogging from the passage (obviously only if the weather permits) but don’t forget you can always follow our tracker in real time on our “Where are we now?” page.
On Sunday (6 October), we picked up our anchor at 16.00 and made our way through the Ouvea lagoon towards the outer channel markers. We had all three sails hoisted as the wind was forward of the beam and we cleared the island before dark. We enjoyed a lovely sunset at sea and managed to sail directly towards our destination, although we had to make a couple of corrections to keep high of the rhumb line when we got swept down by the sea.
Around 5 am on Monday we enjoyed a moody sunrise. By 8 am we had made our way through the Pass de Thio to come inside the fringing reef admiring the mountains of Grande Terre en route. At 10.44 we had our anchor down off the beach at Ile Nemoli having completed another 78 mile passage.
Once we were settled we cleaned up and had a nap. Suitably refreshed, Richard did the laundry (he is quite good at pink jobs LOL) and I blogged (knowing that publication would have to wait until we had better internet coverage). During the afternoon we were joined by a few other rally boats but there was plenty of room. We were hoping to move quickly down the coast of Grande Terre, inside the fringing reef, making the most of the forecast of low wind days (as the predominant trades here are from the South East).
Early evening, we sat in the cockpit and raised a glass to Mum, as it was her birthday. Love you Mum and miss you so very much. Here’s another lovely photo bringing back lots of great memories of happy times together.
Tuesday morning the alarm went off at 5 am and we ran the weather models again (using our satellite connection) to check that our plans were still viable. Damn! The wind had strengthened and was now going to be from the east, so our next anchorage was not going to be tenable as it was exposed from that direction. We decided on an alternative so at 6.30 am we picked up anchor and headed south. We were motoring along with the main up to keep us balanced and of course the wind clocked, was stronger than forecast, and was right on the nose. We also had to contend with large lumpy seas and adverse currents. Not wanting to run the engine too hard we just made very slow (and uncomfortable) progress. By 14.30 we had the anchor down in Kouakoue Bay having completed a very tiring 29 mile passage. We were alone in this lovely serene (uninhabited) bay and settled down for a quiet night on board and didn’t even mind that there was no internet coverage.
Wednesday morning and we awoke to rain and clouds…….. And it rained…..and it poured. And it continued most of the day. And, of course, this wasn’t forecast either. So we decided to stay put and had a day just catching up with some boat jobs. We did a mini spring clean down below and Richard also did engine checks. Another quiet evening was had on board.
Thursday morning and we headed out again at 5.30 am. It was lovely, the sun came out and it was flat calm. There wasn’t much wind so we motor sailed towards our destination of Yate. This was only 27 miles away and we made good time getting the anchor down by 10.45 am.
Later on we were joined by SV Exocet Strike and SV Jonas. We got dink down and headed up the river on a mission to find a small store near the hydroelectric power station. We looked and looked but couldn’t see anywhere it was obvious to land the dinghy and also gain access to the road….by this time we were joined by Stella and John in their dinghy. They spotted a more obvious spot under a couple of trees and so we pulled in there and waded through the shallow water and foliage to come out on the road. Result!
We walked up the hill and were met by ferocious barking from some angry looking dogs who clearly wanted to take chunks out of us. Luckily they were securely fenced into their yard. We found the store (and petrol station) and managed to restock on some much needed provisions (our beer and wine stocks were dangerously low LOL). So we returned down the river happily laden down with enough to keep us going for a while longer. Later on we went to have showers only to find our water tank was empty!!! Damn. For contingency we always carry a full 10L water jug so it wasn’t really a problem. We did a bit of checking and found nothing wrong but quickly realised that the main water pump had failed (and this was relatively new as we had only installed it whilst in Fiji). We watched the sun go down over Exocet Strike and decided the repair could wait until the following day.
On Friday morning we weighed anchor and left Yate at 9.25 am to time our passage through the Havannah Canal on a rising tide. This is because the currents can be strong, up to 4.4 knots, and we obviously wanted to go with the current not against it. We headed out through the scary-looking reefs but were not anxious as the charts are pretty accurate. We motor sailed in light airs enjoying the beautiful coastal scenery along the way. We also made water to refill our fresh water tank.
We managed to time it just right and got through the Canal into Bonne Anse – passing huge channel markers/lights along the way. The only vessel we saw, apart from our fellow sailors, was when we were overtaken at high speed by a ferry.
Anse Majic bay is a nature reserve so there were free well-maintained mooring balls for us to use. By 15.35 we were secured for the night in another beautiful bay. We quickly swapped out the water pump and really enjoyed the hot showers. New Caledonia has surprised us with its beautiful scenery and we haven’t really scratched the surface of what there is to offer. Oh yes and the internet in this bay was good enough for me to publish a blog. Woo hoo!
At 8.50 am on Saturday morning we left our mooring ball and headed out passing a nickel mining operation nearby.
The trip to the Carenage (Baie de Prony) meant meandering up the river almost to the end and we found a few other boats there ahead of us.
By 10.45 having travelled only 8 miles we had our anchor down and a good set. We sat for a while making sure we were good to go and, when we were comfortable, we headed out in dink. We spotted the mares tails clouds in the sky which usually means high winds to come so we’ll be keeping an eye on that over the next day or so.
The destination for our dinghy expedition was the hot springs and the cascade falls. We went up the river feeling like real explorers and had to navigate some pretty large boulders and rocks as it was low tide. At one point we had to wade through the shallows pulling the dinghy along rather than ride inside LOL.
We eventually found the small wharf, followed the path up, and came across the area where the hot springs had been diverted into a man-made bath. We had a lovely time relaxing in the warm (not hot) water.
Afterwards, now that the water was a little bit deeper as the tide was coming in, we headed further up the river to see the cascades. The water flowing was actually warmer in this area and it was very pretty. Richard took off like a mountain goat across the rocks but I was sensible and looked after dink LOL.
Heading back down the river doing more exploring we spotted an osprey in flight and then it settled on a branch to eat its fishy catch. We couldn’t get too close but at least we managed to get a photo. And of course there has to be a picture of Morphie up the river. Back on board we had an early night having enjoyed our little adventure.
Sunday morning (13 October) we weighed anchor and headed back down the river towards Anse Majic again. The plan was to overnight there and then head off to Iles de Pins very early the following morning. However, the wind had other ideas. It was now going to swing to the north / north west overnight and was forecast to be above 20+ knots with a south west / south flow the following day. Any southern element made the main anchorage in Iles de Pins untenable. So, just for the night while we decided on what to do next, we pulled into Caroline Bay in the Baie des Manguiers for overnight protection. We were the only ones in the bay and it was quite tranquil. We had a lovely evening and enjoyed watching the moon come up over the surrounding hills.
During the night the winds picked up and blew hard, must be the first time the forecast had been accurate LOL.
This morning, Monday, we awoke very early to find that the strong winds were backing and it was clear that we would have to move again pretty quickly as south winds (as forecast again!) would leave us exposed on a lee shore in this anchorage. Debating where to go we spotted some boats had moved out of Anse Majic on our AIS which meant that there were free mooring balls. So we quickly weighed anchor and headed on over. By 7am we were securely tethered and returned to bed for a while.
This was a good call as the wind continued to swing through the morning and we are now in a more protected position although we are nodding a bit in the fetch right now. I’m blogging while Richard enjoyed his internet fix first and is now working on his fishing lures. Apparently we are going to have a freezer full on the next passage…..
Our plans to go further south have been thwarted by the wind and so we are considering where else to go in our limited time left here in New Caledonia. We are also starting to look for a weather window to reach Bundaberg in Australia which is about an 800 mile passage. Before that we need to pull into Noumea for customs / immigration purposes plus we need to provision up for the journey as our stores of food and diesel are quite low. And, of course, there is the Australian paperwork to complete in preparation for our arrival.
So the final image to finish today’s blog is of us both relaxing up the river in the hot springs.
Thursday (3 October) and the
winds had eased so we headed ashore to walk through the village. It
is beautifully kept with manicured gardens, palm trees, and
traditional housing with gorgeous views out to sea. Sadly no
villagers appeared to be home, although we did meet their pigs and
chickens.
Continuing to wander the village we came across the the wood-fired bakery and treated ourselves to some of the tastiest crustiest bread we had ever eaten. Yum.
We also found the church school which was incredibly quiet with all the curtains drawn so we think we must have hit upon siesta time. Heading back to Morphie we had a quiet afternoon and evening getting ourselves ready to go to sea again.
At 5.40 am on Friday morning
we picked up anchor and sailed out of the bay. The sail to Ouvea
was downwind and we ran under a full genoa only. The seas were
lumpy and it was a bit of a sporty ride with gusts up to 27 knots.
We reached the anchorage outside the Paradis d’Ouvea hotel by 14.10.
Another 50 mile passage successfully completed.
The pure white sand of the anchorage was amazing – it grabbed our anchor so hard – I thought I was going to be ejected over the bow when we came to a sudden stop. So no worries on the anchor not being set LOL. We got dink down and headed ashore and left him on the absolutely stunning beach.
We asked permission at the hotel to leave dink on their beach and they were very friendly and welcoming. So we sat on the hotel verandah and had a couple of (blisteringly) expensive local beers watching the antics of a huge spider that had strung his web across between two trees. We then returned to Morphie before dark.
Saturday morning we were up
early and headed ashore to meet other Rally participants as we had
arranged a tour. We picked up John and Stella (SV Exocet Strike) on
the way as we wanted to minimise our dinghy footprint on the resort’s
beach – we pulled them all out of the way and chained them together
for security.
We met Pierre and Michel,
our tour guide and drivers. They had two vehicles so John, Stella,
Richard and I headed off with Michel in his little car….which was
filthy dirty and held together by rust LOL. The others headed off
with Pierre. At first we didn’t think that Michel spoke much
English but he soon warmed up and had a wicked sense of humour so we
had a great time talking to him.
The island of Ouvea has a tragic history. It is one of the Loyalty Islands (like Lifou) which is largely populated by Kanak tribespeople. They live traditional simple lives and wish for independence from France. However, they are in the minority, with very few islands they can call their own. But they welcomed us to find out more about them and, as both Pierre and Michel were Kanak, we were allowed to visit certain significant tribal and spiritual areas that would otherwise not be allowed.
First stop was the beach at
Mouli (in the south of the island) and gave us sight of the channel
markers into the lagoon that we had come through the previous day.
Moving on we then stopped at the Mouli bridge which has special significance with the inner lagoon being sacred ground. We walked across the bridge admiring the beautiful scenery and even spotting some turtles and rays in the fast-moving waters below. We had bought snorkelling gear with us (and this was supposed to be an exceptional area) but we all decided not to go in as the current was ripping through and the winds were particularly cold. (And yes if I look a bit windswept that is because I was LOL!)
Moving on we headed past the razor-wire fenced gendarmerie towards another village, Fayaoue. The south and the north of the island are largely Catholic with the middle section being Protestant but they all get along as they share a common culture. Each village has its own chief so there is at least one traditional house surrounded by a wooden stockade to symbolise his status. On this island alone there are numerous languages with the villages in the South using a dialect which is similar to that used by islanders from Wallis and Fortuna.
Moving on we came across the memorial to those who had perished in both world wars plus other conflicts and tragedies (eg a ferry sinking with huge loss of life and a soldier that perished recently in Afghanistan). It was beautifully maintained and guarded by two large statues. This was clearly an important place for locals, evidenced by fresh flowers having been recently laid.
Next stop was The Blue Hole of Hanawa which is so deep that even a Cousteau technical diving expedition was unable to find its true depth. It is definitely linked to the sea as the limestone walls showed signs of the changing tide and housed lots of tropical fish who thoroughly enjoyed the bread we gave them.
Taking a brief break from
the tour we headed to the ATM for more drinking vouchers plus a small
supermarket where we treated ourselves to ice cream. Moving on we
checked out the huge desalination plants that service the island and
also a coconut oil distillery and soap factory, although none of them
were operational as it was Le Weekend.
The next place was another memorial. This one is particularly significant for the islanders. In 1988 the locals wanted to fly their traditional flag above the gendarmerie. There was a fracas and four policemen were killed. The Kanak activists then took (French) people hostage and split them into two groups – the group that were held in the village were later released unharmed – and the others were taken to the limestone caves. The hostage-taking was allegedly designed to kick start a dialogue with the French government about the perceived poor treatment of the indigenous population. However, France never negotiate with “terrorists” and sent in special forces to free the hostages. All activists were killed in the process. And to add fuel to the fire many were found to have been executed (or refused medical care) according to an independent medical examiner. So this memorial to these young men is a place for the Kanak people to celebrate the lives and ideals of these martyrs. To show solidarity with other indigenous populations in the region the wooden carvings that commemorate each of them were carved elsewhere representing the Melanesians, the Aborigines, the Maoris and the Polynesians who are all determined to maintain their own culture and regain ownership of their lands. Never truer the saying that one man’s terrorist is another man’s freedom fighter.
Moving on we headed further
north and wandered down to the foreshore to be met by this stunning
limestone gorge which was absolutely beautiful.
Next stop was the Turtle Blue Hole where we saw some turtles swimming freely. Another sacred place although we did bump into an interesting character who wanted to charge us for taking photographs but was quickly undermined by Pierre who stated that it was not necessary.
Having seen many beaches, villages and other sites it was now time to go for lunch. Beautiful place but also a potentially tough life particularly on the windward side of the island. Check out these fisherman in the surf.
We went to Michel’s compound and met his mum and other family members who had cooked a huge buffet for us and some other (medical volunteer) tourists.
The spread was huge and included land crab, coconut crab (which is an endangered species in Vanuatu) and some large fish. Richard thoroughly enjoyed most things although I was a bit more challenged by the menu. I really didn’t care for the cremated puffer fish as they are one of my favourite swimming friends LOL.
A fun time was had by all and we headed back in our vehicles towards the hotel. We stopped on the way to pick up some provisions at another small grocery store and then back to the dinghies and returned pretty tired back to Morphie for the evening.
Sunday morning we checked the weather and the wind and seas were continuing to flatten so we had a good chance of reaching the main island of Grand Terre if we did an overnight sail. So after a day relaxing and chilling out we picked up our anchor and said a fond farewell to Ouvea.
Friday afternoon (27 September) at 4pm we headed out of Port Vila, Efate, Vanuatu for the last time. As we came out into the open ocean we were met by lumpy seas and stronger winds than forecast (oh what a surprise) and, of course, they were forward of the beam. So a pretty feisty start to the trip. The sun went down and it was pitch black with no stars, no boats, just nothing. All very eerie. The wind continued to blow and we were getting thrown around a bit by breaking waves. Then rain squalls come through with 28 knot gusts. It was also a bit unpleasant as the movement of the boat was making us both feel a bit queasy. Oh well, never mind.
By noon on Saturday the winds had started to stabilise, the seas had flattened considerably, and it was pretty sunny. What a difference a day makes! The wind had gone more easterly so we were sailing nicely along on a beam reach under a reefed main and genoa.
We got ourselves settled into the routine of being at sea and, by the time the sun went down and we went into our night shifts again, we were enjoying the passage.
By 9pm we needed to boost our batteries so motor sailed for a short while. The wind then moved further forward again and by midnight was fickle and feisty again. At 3am on Sunday the wind just died so we continued under engine towards Lifou which is one of the Loyalty Islands of New Caledonia. We also took the opportunity to make water at the same time. By 6am it was land ahoy and at 9.30 am we had the anchor down amongst the other Go West rally participants, having completed another 222 mile passage.
The anchorage is really pretty and the sun was out – just lovely! The water is so clear we could even watch the cuttle fish who seemed very curious in our anchor chain and snubber LOL.
Having caught up on some sleep, we were sitting in the cockpit enjoying our new surroundings when were visited by two humpback whales – a mother and a calf. OMG what a treat! The locals rushed out in their boats to take a closer look and it was almost as if they knew each other with the whales surfacing near their boat while they all admired each other. Although quarantined and forced to stay on board with treats like this who cares?!?
Monday morning and the officials had flown in from Noumea to process the fleet. First, though, was the biosecurity guy Jeanne (who lives in the bay’s village of Drueulu) to come on board. We had nothing to hand over as we had an empty freezer and our fresh fruit and vegetables were consumed en route. So we were dealt with very quickly. Then I was taken by the rally organiser, John, to his catamaran Songlines where the customs and immigration officials were waiting. I had already completed all the documents so another painless exercise. Sadly we didn’t get any stamps in our passports as we are European (currently!) and we were told we could stay as long as we liked. Lovely welcome.
In the afternoon we headed ashore to meet other rally participants. Boats had converged here from both Fiji and Vanuatu. There were people we had met before and some new faces so it was good to get together. John told us the plans for Tuesday and we then just enjoyed a social time on the beach. Back on board Morphie for dinner and, when the sun went down, it was pretty cold.
Tuesday morning we were on
the second minibus taking us into We, the main town. First stop
was the ATM to get local currency, followed by the OTP for SIM cards
so that we could all get back online. Back in the bus to the large
supermarket and we stocked up on meat and fresh produce, plus some
rather nice French wine. We were particularly excited by the crusty
baguettes and the cold meat and cheese cabinet, but managed to reign
in our enthusiasm and didn’t over purchase LOL.
Back to the boat and we enjoyed a lovely crusty ham and tomato baguette. Absolutely fantastic – it’s funny what you crave when you can’t get it! At 2.30 pm we headed back ashore to get rid of our rubbish as the local villagers had arranged a truck to take it all from us (for a small fee of course). Then we walked to Jeanne’s house in the village and took over a large meeting area where John gave us a run through of places to go / see in New Caledonia.
John also explained about the on-going friction between the indigenous Kanak population and the French, which means that in some traditional and sacred areas we are either not allowed to visit or be welcomed. Really useful information as we would not want to face any hostility by inadvertently straying into the wrong place. After the talk we moved to the eating area – having first inspected the fish and chicken being cooked over the open fire – and sat around and socialised.
We were supposed to be meeting the chief but, for one reason or another (we think he was a bit shy about addressing such a large group) this didn’t happen. So Jeanne took us into the traditionally-built chief’s house and gave us a really interesting insight into their culture.
Afterwards it was time for the feast and the food (three courses) was really nice. It was an enjoyable evening and we were delighted that the local lads (who were security for our dinghies on the beach) were happy to wade in and help us depart. Such friendly people.
Wednesday and the wind was howling with gusts of up to 30 knots. There was an island tour available to us but we didn’t want to leave Morphie unattended on a high wind day so we stayed onboard, did some boat jobs, relaxed and had a movie night.
This morning Thursday and the wind has reduced a bit so some of the rally participants have departed and we plan to head out very early tomorrow morning. This is a ‘destination’ rally so the formal arrangements are over and we’ll all move to our own schedules going forward. If the conditions continue to ease today we plan to go and visit the local village this afternoon.
Our next destination is another Loyalty Island, Ouvea, about 50 miles from here. This island is the only true atoll in New Caledonia and the local people there are a mixture of Polynesians and Melanesians living their traditional lives. The reef, lagoon and beach look absolutely beautiful so we are very excited to be able to visit and, fingers crossed, may even be able to go diving.
Sunday the weather was horrible….rain, overcast, cold and generally miserable. So we decided not to go to the Kustom Karnival after all (as it was on the beach). The wind was howling and the 30 knot gusts were even felt in the anchorage so we were pleased in the end that we had decided to stay onboard. Later on we headed ashore to the Waterfront for sundowners where we caught up with fellow cruisers.
Monday morning we headed out for more food and water. Richard also purchased more diesel which he decanted into the fuel tank on return. He also finished the varnish keepers which will protect the wood for now while I cleaned some of the stainless. We then relaxed for a few hours before heading in for sundowners which was very social again as we were joined by Karen and Cheryl (SV Interlude – Canada) plus Stuart and Sally (SV Blithe Spirit – Australia) and also met Stuart’s Mum Marilyn (a very sprightly 82 year old) who is visiting on holiday. We ended up staying out longer than we planned as we enjoyed watching the World Cup Rugby.
Tuesday we were very busy. This time we went around the boat in dink (holding on for dear life as the latest cruise ship passengers were ferried backwards and forwards throughout the anchorage) and cleaned the stainless on the capping rail (which was particularly bad on the transom for some reason) and also the rub rail. We then input all the waypoints for our forthcoming passage to Lifou into the chart plotter and also marked all the danger areas (I use the skull and crossbones symbol) so that, even if we are zoomed out, the bits to avoid remain visible.
Pretty tired after a very productive day we headed over for sundowners again and were invited to join Blithe Spirit and Interlude for a day out on Wednesday as they had hired a van and driver. This was really nice of them and we were very happy to be included. We then returned to Morphie for an early night.
Wednesday morning and we
were up bright and early and headed ashore to meet up. Sadly Sally
wasn’t able to join us as she was poorly. And, of course, it was
raining again despite the sunny forecast. Grrrr…..never
mind…..at least we won’t be sitting on the boat all day! So we
drove through Port Vila and headed up towards Port Havannah which we
had wanted to visit by boat but were not able to as this was inside
the rhinocerous beetle exclusion zone. We went to Francesca’s (an
Italian restaurant) and wandered the beach (which was broken coral
rather than sand) and I was particularly taken by the tree roots that
dotted the shore.
We kept out of the rain on the deck and fussed over the dogs (who loved Richard). The others went snorkelling but we didn’t bother just enjoying the peaceful surroundings and the views when the weather brightened up briefly.
Later on we had a very leisurely lunch (which was delicious). We stayed on the deck watching the finches eating the papaya (known here as paw paw). After lunch we had a group photo and Richard even decided to let one of the dogs pose too LOL.
Returning from Francescas we stopped at the Tanna Coffee factory which roasts the coffee that is organically farmed near the volcano. It was interesting to watch the process and of course we had to taste the end product in the little cafe.
In the same building they also make sandalwood oil. Interestingly, they can only make 500ml out of 40kg of raw material, which makes you realise why this natural product is so expensive. They didn’t seem to be selling a lot of it in the little store but I guess it would be different on a cruise ship day.
Moving on we then headed to the distillery where the gang tried the limoncello and rum tasters….but I declined, having had a few glasses of wine over lunch. The kava flavoured rum was not a hit LOL. I enjoyed checking out all the different vinegars, oils, jams and jellies on offer. Arriving back at the Waterfront we had a quick drink before heading back to Morphie. Had been a lovely day.
Thursday morning we ran the weather models again and were delighted that they finally agreed. The wind was going to be more easterly than expected (giving us a better sailing angle) and the seas had calmed down from the 4m swells earlier in the week. So we are finally going to be leaving Vanuatu. Woo hoo!
We got all our paperwork together and headed to Yacht World to pay our mooring fees and got some more cash out of the ATM. We then headed over in dink to the main port to visit customs first. All forms were in order (phew). We then returned our cruising permit and the guy retained our passports for the documents to be completed. We then went to the Harbour Master in the building next door and paid our departure fees which came to just over VT9,000 (around £75). Receipt in hand we returned to customs who gave us our clearance document. Then to immigration to fill in more forms and get another clearance document and stamps in the passport. Wasn’t too onerous really but I would hate to think how long it would take if there were numerous yachts wanting to check out at the same time…..
Coming back around to Morphie in the anchorage we checked out all the wrecks on the foreshore. You have to wonder why they don’t clean these up…….
Later on we headed over to the Waterfront for our final sundowners here in Vanuatu and said our farewells. We have thoroughly enjoyed Vanuatu (despite the weather!) and maybe we’ll return one day to see more of the islands.
This morning, Friday, and we were up early and started preparing the boat for sea. I cooked our dinner and stripped beds getting our passage stuff ready. The grab bag is packed and things have been stowed away properly as we will be heeling over a bit on this 200+ mile passage as the wind will probably be forward of the beam (although we hold out hope for a beam reach). Richard has also done his engine checks. While I’m blogging Richard went ashore to spend our remaining Vanuatu currency on some bread and coke and then we’ll get the outboard on the rail and dink up on the arch in preparation for our afternoon departure.
We will leave the anchorage today around 4pm (so that we can clear the island before the sun goes down) and expect to arrive in Lifou Sunday morning. We will then be quarantined for the day until Monday when the officials will turn up from Noumea for the official check-in process. We will not get a chance to get a SIM card until Tuesday so we’ll be offline until then. If you want to check up on us visit the ‘Where are we now?’ page and watch our tracker. We are very excited to be moving on and it certainly looks very beautiful!
Sunday morning (15 September) and it rained again, hard! So we just stayed on board down below before heading ashore for sundowners with Chris (SV Sea Bear). We were all feeling a bit miserable and were definitely fed up with the weather. But at least we were safe and secure in a sheltered harbour with access to facilities. The sunset was so beautiful it almost made up for the dismal day.
Monday morning and it was time to make some decisions about our proposed Tuesday departure as Customs and Immigration clearance needs to be done 24 hours in advance. So we ran the weather models again only to find out that the weather window had closed down and we would now be looking at arriving at the Havannah Canal in 25 knots of sustained wind with higher gusts. This area is known to be particularly challenging in high winds so we decided not to risk it. The Go West Rally (which we are participating in from New Caledonia to Australia) had made a special arrangement to check into Lifou in the Loyalty Islands instead (which are not usually a port of entry) and means a shorter passage and the opportunity to visit more islands rather than by-pass them. So we signed up and made special arrangements with the officials to clear out of Vanuatu on Saturday for a Sunday departure. Lots of paperwork to complete but at least we now had a plan. Whilst I was busy doing all this Richard took himself off to get some diesel – the fuel dock is not open on a Sunday so an alongside fill up before departure wouldn’t be possible. Jobs done we later had sundowners on board Morphie with Chris.
Tuesday morning and the sun came out. Hurrah! I worked hard cleaning, waxing and polishing the cockpit whilst Richard did some mechanical jobs and also swapped out our ensign. He also found and repaired our French courtesy flag. During the afternoon Sea Bear left the anchorage but sadly we were down below so failed to wave him off which was a shame. Safe sailing Chris! During the day we had received an email from the Go West Rally organiser who articulated concerns over the updated weather forecast for scheduled departures from both Fiji and Vanuatu but promised to stay in touch. It certainly looked pretty feisty to us! Unbelievable how things change so quickly.
Wednesday morning and I did the washing using the spare 10L jug of fresh water we had stowed in the lazarette. Richard was on a mission for refrigerant gas again. He had found out a few places where he could buy it (allegedly) and walked the town, and walked, and walked only to be turned away from all stores that he visited despite the locals telling him that it was definitely available. Fed up from being given the runaround he returned to Morphie but at least he didn’t come back empty handed as he had filled up the jug with fresh (potable) water. The harbour water here is surprisingly clear and looks clean but, near the main street, there is a warning not to swim because of ‘health risks’ (although they do actually swim off the casino beach near our mooring). Not sure what those risks are but don’t fancy making water (just in case) so we are going to fill up every time we go ashore and use that to top up our tanks. During the day SV Mezzaluna and SV Bla Ellinor turned up in the anchorage having had a rough and bouncy sail down. We all headed ashore for sundowners and ended up in a big crowd having a few cold ones. Was very social.
Thursday morning and the rally was confirmed as postponed with the new date for checking in pushed out to Monday 30 September. This is really cutting down our available time to explore New Caledonia but what can we do?!? So now we are going to be here in Port Vila for another week. As we had virtually emptied the freezer in preparation for entering into New Caledonia (which has strict bio-security rules about food) this meant that we now needed to go shopping. So we headed up to the Bon Marche supermarket for a provisioning run. Back on board we unpacked and stowed our goodies before returning ashore for more water and happy hour sundowners.
Friday we had a lay in and relaxed. At 4.30 pm we headed ashore to meet the gang and bundled into a bus to take us to the Beach Bar in Mele who are the original hosts to the Vanuatu fire show as the performers come from the nearby village. So we took our seats and enjoyed the view along the beach and out to sea as the sun went down.
And here’s Richard with our supplies LOL. Spotted the name tag?!? Yes, Asa decided we should fit in and look like a proper tourist group rather than a bunch of cruisers so made us all wear name tags and even had a little flag to jolly the 10 of us along.
The fire show was amazing
and we thoroughly enjoyed it!
Saturday morning and it was cloudy and grey yet again with a bit of rain in the air. A cruise ship had come into the port overnight so there were lots of local boats buzzing behind our stern carrying tourists to and from their various activities. Wish they would observe the no-wake zone though as we get rocked and rolled around a bit LOL.
As we are stuck here waiting on weather we are using our time to get on with boat jobs (today it was varnish keepers on the rail). Was a pretty windy day so looks like the forecast might actually be correct for once! We had a quiet night on board before having an early night.
This morning, Sunday, and I’m blogging very early before the internet speed slows down as more people come on line. Then I’m going back to bed for a while. This afternoon we are returning to the Beach Bar to see their Kustom Karnival which includes live music, kustom dancers from the Banks Islands (remember the snake people from the festival in Malekula?) and even clowns. So looking forward to that.
Sunday morning (8 September) we had a lazy start and went ashore in the afternoon for our final visit to the resort. We enjoyed a bottle of wine sitting on the deck overlooking Morphie in the anchorage and just chilled for a while. Then we paid our bill and went back aboard for dinner and an early night, having secured everything ready to go to sea the following day.
Monday at 4.30 am in the
pitch black we headed away from Aore Island and out into the channel
towards Port Vila, Efate. The weather window for going south was
very narrow so we had abandoned the idea of island hopping on the way
as we realised that we would probably get stuck again. The sea was
calm and there wasn’t much wind so we just motored gently along. By
the time the sun started coming up we were moving away from the
islands. Goodbye Espiritu Santo and Aore, it had been fun.
When we cleared the islands
the seas just went completely flat and it was like a mill pond. The
wind was very light (around 6-8 knots) but with flat seas and a
current in our favour we were making more than 5 knots with all three
sails deployed. Was a nice day at sea although Richard lost one of
his lures to a very big fish who just hit it and chomped it off – the
speed and strength of the take was amazing and we were both grateful
that this one got away LOL. The sunset was just spectacular and
there was very little boat traffic apart from one ferry and two other
yachts also making the most of the calm conditions to run south.
Tuesday morning it was cloudy and cold with rain in the air. The wind picked up to 21 knots on the nose. But we managed to sail into it with just our main and staysail deployed and continued to make good progress. This change, of course, was not forecast yet again. By 6am it was pretty horrible and we had an adverse current so our speed dropped to an average 3.6 knots but we just pushed on. By noon we were approaching the cut into Port Vila having avoided the extended Blue Exclusion Zone because of an infestation of rhinocerous beetles.
We arrived into the outer
harbour having completed our 170 mile passage and couldn’t raise
Yacht World on the radio (who manage the moorings) so we came through
into the inter harbour and stooged around. Eventually we got a
response but were told to wait…and wait…and wait. So we
anchored until they were ready to assist us. The moorings here have
sunken ropes and no pick-up buoys so you have to get help to pick one
up. The anchorage is over coral so not good holding and the
moorings pretty much dominate the bay here. Eventually, by 4pm, we
were securely tied to a mooring. We got ourselves cleaned up and
headed ashore for a Jumbo Tusker at the Waterfront pleased to be
back.
The Waterfront bar and restaurant is part of Yacht World and have boats med-moored to the wall. It was absolutely rammed and all the moorings were full (we got the last one!) as the Pacific Cruising rally is in town. Was a nice social evening and it was good to catch up with Chris (SV Sea Bear) again. The temperature took a real dip during the evening and we were both pretty cold when we got back to Morphie.
During the night the rain
started….it was torrential…..and made a horrendous noise hitting
the coach roof above our berth. In a break in the rain on Wednesday
morning we went ashore to the big Bon Marche supermarket and
re-provisioned. The upside to the overnight rain was that Morphie
no longer needed a wash down to get rid of the salt from the passage.
Having got everything stowed
we headed back to meet Chris and Craig (SV Crocus) in the rain again.
We enjoyed Happy Hour but it was so cold we resorted to wearing
jeans ashore and dining down below on our return.
Thursday and it was still raining. So another day down below although Richard did service the generator in the cockpit during the day. This is getting us down a bit but I made myself useful stripping the bed and doing a bit of cleaning then completing the outward documentation for Vanuatu and the inward documentation for New Caledonia (we just need the dates completed once our plans firm up). Apparently the South Pacific Convergence Zone has moved a bit and it is the reason why we are getting unsettled weather and stronger than normal trade winds. This dire weather restricts our movements and has certainly been a major feature of our season this year. Despite the rain, we met Chris and Craig again for Happy Hour and then went on for dinner at a local Thai restaurant (which bizarrely has a massage parlour inside). Was very good food.
Friday morning and it was still raining….. Getting fed up with this that’s for sure. I’m also struggling a bit with my hip and back as the damp seems to seep right into the bones. So Richard kindly left me to rest up while he headed out into town. First stop was a propane fill. We can fill our original US bottles here in Vanuatu but know that is not possible in either New Caledonia or Australia so we needed to make the most of this opportunity. He also purchased some oil and hunted high and low for some refrigerant gas but sadly didn’t find any. When he came back he looked like a drowned rat!
Later on we headed ashore
for sundowners again, this time in our Musto foulies as it was
raining so hard. We met up with Craig and some other rally members
who are heading out on Saturday to the Lifou islands. It was really
nice to see Nigel and Amanda (the rally organisers) again too. And,
of course, we got soaked getting back to Morphie to have dinner.
Look how much water we collected whilst we were out for just a couple
of hours!
This morning, Saturday, and it was still raining but by noon it had started to ease. It still remains very cloudy and grey reminding us of sailing in the UK when everything just feels damp and cold. Richard has been very industrious having done an engine oil change; replaced the oil filter; changed the primary and secondary fuel filters; and cleaned out the engine bay. He has also done the engine checks for when we get moving again. He has just gone ashore to top up our internet credit while I’m blogging. I desperately need to get some washing done too when it is possible to get things dry!
Looking forward there is a possible weather window to depart on Tuesday. It will be a shame to leave Vanuatu without having visited many of the islands that we had planned to see but the weather has just made life difficult. And we certainly need to move on if we are to arrive into Australia by the end of October. So the next stop is going to be Noumea, New Caledonia, a passage of around 370 miles. The timing of this passage requires a bit of thought as we are going to be going around the bottom of the island inside the fringing reef so we need to be on a rising tide (to avoid strong adverse currents) and well as arriving at the cut in daylight so we can eyeball navigate through this area. Fingers crossed the weather window holds.
Sunday afternoon, having got ourselves anchored and settled in Luganville Bay, we headed ashore to the Beachfront Resort. We were pleasantly surprised as it didn’t look much from the anchorage and were particularly impressed that they even had a yacht information pack for us when we registered at reception. We had a couple of cold ones before heading back for an early night.
Monday morning we had a lazy
start and I stayed on board while Richard headed into town for some
petrol. And the rain just kept on coming through in waves. We
eventually made a dash for it ashore where we were joined by Aso,
Dan, Jeff, Katie and Mark for our (23rd) wedding anniversary meal and
had a fun time together. Aso had been to the market during the
afternoon and introduced us all to her crab friends who were facing a
boiling pot of coconut milk later in the evening. We did tell her
off for playing with her food LOL.
Tuesday morning and we up very early as we had organised to go diving on the SS President Coolidge. This was an ocean liner built in 1931 which served as a troopship in the second world war having been converted in 1942 and assigned to the US Navy. Many of her civilian fittings were removed or boarded over for safe keeping at this time. Guns were duly mounted and she was painted grey. She was sunk by American mines here in Espiritu Santo which was then part of the New Hebrides (two ships were lost to friendly fire as, allegedly, the authorities did not inform the captains of the newly laid minefields). When the Coolidge hit the mines Captain Henry Nelson beached the ship and evacuated the crew leaving all their personal belongings behind, with the expectation that they could undertake a salvage operation in future days.
However a coral reef was in the way and ripped through the hull of the ship and within 90 minutes the Coolidge slipped down the shelf and was completely submerged. When Vanuatu won independence in 1980 they declared that no salvage or recovery of any artifact would be allowed from the wreck of the Coolidge. Since then the ship has been used for recreational diving and it is possible to swim through numerous holds and decks. There are guns, cannons, jeeps, helmets, trucks and personal supplies still left on board.
At 8.15 am we were collected by the dive company and driven to their private site on the shoreline. We were delighted to find we were the only divers that day. We were given our (heavy steel) tanks and proceeded to kit up before having our briefing. We were going to penetrate holds 1 and 2 but no further on this first dive. So ready to go and the dive guys carried my gear into the water for me (as we had requested to avoid stressing my back). Richard had to walk in carrying all of his own gear. Our dive leader was impressively kitted out with side-by-side double tanks and he also carried a spare tank and regulators for safety reasons.
This was important to us as some of the dive operators here have a reputation for taking people into dangerous scenarios with deep penetration of the wreck to decompression depths without ensuring that the divers have the appropriate experience/skills to do such technical diving, and there have been deaths as a result.
We carried on walking out across the reef until it was time to descend. The visibility was not particularly good (because of the recent rains) and, at around 30m, the bow of the wreck came into sight……it is huge! We had a look at the variety of objects (including armaments) scattered around and our dive leader decided to shoot us with a gun and try on a gas mask for good measure. We did penetrate the wreck but not deeper than 33m. We thoroughly enjoyed it.
The safety stops were a bit longer than was strictly necessary on the ascent but again, safety first, and we are certainly not complaining. While we were hanging around in the shallower water on the ascent we hovered around a colony of clown fish who were very protective of their nursery. Have never seen such tiny Nemos!
Back ashore and, again, the guys carried my gear out of the water. They realised that I was good on air (having returned with 120 bar after 41 minutes) so they promised to provide me with a smaller tank for the next dive so that it would be more manageable for me. We were taken by minibus back to the dive operation’s resort, Coral Quays, and enjoyed a very leisurely four hour surface interval having lunch overlooking the rain forest.
Early afternoon we repacked our stuff into the trailer and took off again back up the road for our second dive on the Coolidge. This time we took a different route and penetrated slightly deeper to the medical quarters. Really good diving.
The safety stop intervals were even longer this time and to pass the time we fed the fish while sitting on the sandy bottom.
Arriving back at the surface
we cleaned up all our kit and was returned to the Beachfront Resort.
We made use of their fresh-water showers to clean ourselves and all
our gear up and then had a few cold ones with some fellow cruisers
waiting for the torrential rain to pass.
Wednesday morning and the forecast was for more settled weather and for the wind direction to be more westerly – perfect for getting to Vao Island which sits at the top of Malekula. So we weighed anchor and headed out through the western exit of the Segond Channel to get a better sailing angle once we were clear of the island. Well, as we neared the exit the wind was not coming from where it was supposed to be and the sea was building and building and we were getting nowhere into the large breaking waves taking green water over the bow. This was stupid – and at the speeds we were making – it was clear that we weren’t going to be able to make the 30-odd miles to arrive in daylight (which is necessary as Vao is surrounded by reefs and we need to eyeball our way through). So we decided to cut our losses and aborted the attempt. As we neared Luganville we realised that there was a spare mooring ball at the Aore Island Resort – somewhere we had wanted to go to – so took the opportunity of picking that up.
Disappointed not to have
left Espiritu Santo but, never mind, we’ll enjoy a few days R&R
here. We dinghied ashore, registered ourselves, and had a few hours
chilling by the pool before having a pizza supper and retiring
onboard for the night. Had been a frustrating day but this lovely
interlude more than made up for it.
Thursday evening the resort was providing a show by the women from the northern island of Gaua. They are famous for their water music and dancing. So we had a productive day on board doing boat jobs and the laundry before heading ashore about 4pm. We bobbed in the pool and lazed on the beach before having showers and getting cleaned up in preparation for the show and dinner.
We had reserved a table and they had given us one right on the deck over the sea which was prime position for the show. So we settled down to watch. It was fantastic! How they make the sounds by virtually drumming the sea was just amazing, but it was difficult to get photos as they move so fast! This was then followed by a lovely candlelit dinner, all very romantic.
Friday morning and we were up very early again. We had run the weather models late the night before and there was another weather window to move south. So at 7am we slipped away from our mooring ball saying a fond farewell to the resort, and proceeded out towards the eastern exit of the Segond Channel. The wind was on our nose (as expected) and we knew it was going to be a close hauled sail once we turned towards our destination but all was looking good. Slow going but we knew we could make up time once we were under sail away from the local island effects. Anyway – we turned into the channel between two smaller islands – and the wind increased to 25 knots (forecast at 12-15) and the seas built and we were now punching into the waves hard and our boat speed suffered significantly. OK, local weather effects are often felt in close promixity to the islands and we also anticipated an increased fetch as the sea is channeled through small gaps. But the sea state deteriorated and the wind increased and it was just plain horrible. By now we recognised that we couldn’t possibly make Vao before dark (again!) so we took the decision to return once again to Luganville to await another window. The forecasts are just rubbish here and until you physically get out there it is difficult to gauge what you are going to face. Although we are very keen to move south again now it is not at any price!
So we turned around, pulled out the genoa, and had a lovely sail back towards Luganville. By now the wind had swung SE (again not forecast) and when we got back to Luganville Bay the chop started to make the anchorage very rolly. But we got our anchor down and then rerun the weather models only to find that the wind was now going to increase signficantly during the night. As we had had to run for cover from this anchorage before in those conditions it looked like we needed to move on again. We got out the binoculars and realised that our mooring at Aore Island was still available so we quickly weighed anchor and rushed over there to claim it again as it is protected by the island from the trades. Phew….19 miles….and we hadn’t been anywhere yet again. Frustrating but at least we are safe and sound and will enjoy just being here for a few more days until this latest unsettled weather system clears.
This morning, Saturday, and Richard is relaxing while I’m blogging. We’ll go ashore and visit the beach later this afternoon…. So I’ll leave you with my favourite picture of Morphie from the Aore resort.
