Lagoon North of Noumea - Part 2

Tuesday 28 June to Monday 4 July, 2016

We waited 4 days for good conditions to venture to Ilot Tenia on the outer reef and one of the highlights of the northern lagoon. Ilot Puen provided good protection from the W and SW winds and we enjoyed a couple of nice walks.

We did wait until the shooters in their hi-vis shirts had left as we didn’t want to be mistaken for a deer.

Most of these islands have old fishing shacks, in various stages of falling down. Apparently the government has cracked down on squatters but has not cleaned up the mess they left behind.

On Friday we headed across to Ilot Tenia. It has a private camp ground at one end (no one there) and long sandy beaches.

We spent 2 days here, returning to Ile Puen, 3nm away at night as the anchorage has a joggle reminiscent of high tide at Lady Musgrave Island. The sand spit we were anchored behind offered less protection than we expected.

We snorkelled both days and there were lots of large fish but the coral was a bit disappointing and the visibility was not as good as we had at Ilot M’be Kouen. I think this was a consequence of the stronger currents here and the winds which were about 15 knots each day.

We saw lots of sea snake tracks up the beach on our walks but we only saw one snake. After leaving here on Saturday we began the trek south beating 11nm to Baie des Moustiques into a 15 knot SE breeze. Next day we had our longest days sailing in a while, 34nm to windward to Baie Maa, 8nm north of Noumea. 3 other boats in the anchorage, the most we had encountered in 2 weeks. Warren caught a Queenfish on the way but we released it as they don’t freeze very well and we still have some mackeral left.

Port Moselle Marina, Noumea

On Monday we returned to Noumea for fresh supplies. Highlights of our visit this time were a visit to the World War II museum and dinner at a great pizzeria near the marina. The museum was the best 200 franks ($3) we have spent this trip.

There was an English commentary provided via handset and the displays and videos highlighted the impact of the large contingent of servicemen stationed in New Caledonia during the war. Highly recommended if you are visiting here.

After 2 nights in the marina we headed out to explore south of Noumea and in particular Baie de Prony.

Lagoon North of Noumea – Part 1

Saturday, 18 June to Tuesday, 28 June 2016

Our first night in the Noumea lagoon was spent at Ile Uere just south of Noumea and the Peel Island of Noumea as it is only a few miles from the marinas.

12 boats were here on Saturday night, 4 on Sunday and only 1 was left when we departed at 1000 on Monday. We were joined here by Shellac, Bruce’s Fusion 40 from Wollongong with Stan and Trish from Zoo as crew.

From here we sailed north under spinnaker the 17nm to Ile M’be Kouen a tiny speck of an island that several people had told us to visit. On the way Warren caught our first fish, an 82cm Spanish mackeral, which was very welcome as I was surprised by the price of fish at the local markets.

M’be Kouen was a delight with good snorkelling and a secure anchorage. I saw my first sea snake here – they are very common, poisonous but with such a small mouth they can’t do any harm.

We had the anchorage to ourselves each night and only a couple of power boats visited during the day. We did several laps of the island – it makes Lady Musgrave Island look enormous.

On Wednesday we motored to Ile Moro, 10nm away. We stopped at Ilot M’Bo on the way but the gap in the reef was hard to find and we didn’t want to get the dinghy stuck inside. Ile Moro was a mainland island, rocky but with some interesting caves and cliff faces. We kayaked around it and the neighbouring Ile Abu.

Only 1 other boat here, Eclat de Mer, locals who had limited English which was still much better than our French. They explained to us with a lot of pointing and some role play what the locals who arrived in their tinnies were gathering from the exposed reef each low tide. Various shells were either delicacies or would kill us. When a SE arrived we headed around the corner to Ile Ndukue for the night. The good thing about this part of the world is that there are dozens of anchorages that allow you to choose an anchorage for the expected wind and they are all only a few nm apart. We awoke Saturday morning to find a navy patrol vessel anchored nearby.

With the arrival of the predicted westerly, we upped anchor and headed for Baie des Moustiques (Ile Ducos). We had sundowners with a NZ boat, Sonath, who have cruised this area for 15 seasons, and discovered that Mosquito Bay was aptly named. We kayaked on Sunday morning and introduced ourselves to Richard and Sylvie from Lady Helen, locals that the L’Attitudes crew had met up this way. They came over for afternoon tea and after 3 hours we had had a comprehensive rundown of their favourite spots in New Caledonia.

Room for plenty of yachts in this bay

On Monday, we decided to go for a hike up the hills to see the wild horses of the island.

We followed a narrow goat track that we discovered was indeed made by goats. A herd of over 50 with long horned billy goats was sighted and luckily kept well clear. I had images of a Pamploma style running of the goats that would not have had a happy ending for us. Warren loved the hiking because there are no snakes in New Cal except for the previously mentioned sea snakes that are harmless. This makes for much nicer walking through the grass, although the horses and goats have kept it a reasonable length.

We enjoyed one of our nicest morning tea stops, watching the horses and admiring the view.

Looking East

After our walk we headed for Ile Puen, 6nm to the north and where we hoped to sit waiting for good weather to go to Ile Tenia, an island on the outer barrier reef that was a must see from all accounts. We joined the Sonath crew who had surfed the pass next to Ile Tenia before returning to this bay for the night. Apparently surfers come from far and wide to surf the lagoon passes as the long swells lack the crowds of the Gold or Sunshine Coasts. Unfortunately, we awoke today to overcast skies, showers and a NW wind so we headed to Iles Testard where we now sit waiting for good weather to go out to the outer reef, a few nm to the west.

Weather improving at Iles Testard

Noumea

Monday, 13 June to Saturday, 18 June, 2016
We tied up at our berth at Port Moselle and were met by Herve of Noumea Yacht Services who accompanied Warren to the office to check in, while Herve arranged for Immigration clearance (part of the Downunder Rally service).

Quarantine and Customs were advised of our arrival and we subsequently had a visit from a very nice Quarantine lady who took our fruit and vegies (and egg shells as I had cooked our last few eggs). She laughed when we said customs were coming next. No, she said, they are sleeping! No visit so after the required time were we allowed to go ashore.

Yachties meeting place

We spent our time in Noumea catching up with friends already here, finding the best bread shop, supermarket and sorting out some internet.

This proved to be an interesting challenge. We bought a card from Herve who helpfully set it to English language. We then started to see our credit slowly disappear when we were not using it. When I went to the post office to find out what was going on I was told that Africans from Mali had planted a virus on my phone that resulted in texts being sent to England (that we were paying for!). They kindly printed off the phone numbers. When I pointed out that the time of the texts was the same as the time I rang customer service I was told that “No those calls are free – it is the pirates!).

I got Herve to set the phone back to French and loaded some more credit. Gregory at the Post office was very helpful but assured me that the calls to customer service were free and that the texts were probably my iPhone texting England for updates to apps. I said I didn’t think this was likely and asked him to please not set the phone to English! (He was trying to be helpful).

Gregory was a good example of most of the people we have met. When asked if they speak English, they all say a little but in fact we are able to be understood most of the time with a little pointing and a lot of Merci (Thank you).

Exploring with Vicki and Tony

While in Noumea we also hired a car with friends, Tony and Vicki from L’Attitudes and drove around the countryside. This enabled us to visit some of the sights south of Noumea although some of the roads were a bit average.

Blue River Nature Reserve

We also visited the local Maritime Museum which had a great display about the last voyage of La Perouse whose ships were wrecked in the Solomons.

Today we stocked up at the local market and departed to spend a few weeks in the lagoon to the north of Noumea.

Coral Sea Crossing - Southport to Noumea

Tuesday, 7 June to Monday, 13 June 2016

We cleared customs at 1000 on Tuesday morning as planned and crossed out through the Seaway at about 1100. Songlines was a few miles in front and we set course for the first of MetBob's waypoints. Bob McDavitt (MetBob) provides weather forecasting and routing services and this was part of the reason we joined the Downunder Rally - Go East run by John Hembrow. Bob provided reports to John on Songlines who sent them to us as texts via our satellite phone. Bob had set a course taking us initially south of the rhumbline to Noumea so that we had a good sailing angle when the SE wind came in late in the trip. At noon we were 767 nm from Amadee, the entrance into the Noumea lagoon we would be using.

Songlines departing SYC

We had a 15-20 knot westerly so we made good progress during the day and stayed in contact with Songlines on AIS. At nightfall, we put in a double reef and had a comfortable first night at sea (even though the wind got up to 25 knots and we had a 2m swell) as the wind was coming from astern. I was feeling a bit queasy so ate carefully - apple and dry Jatz for lunch. Warren was cook the first few days until my tummy settled and he did a great job.

By 1000 on Wednesday we had set the spinnaker in a lightening SW wind which was dead astern so we had to gybe downwind. By midday we had covered 150 nm in the previous 24 hours and were now 632nm from Amadee.

By 1530 we were motoring in a light SW and settled in for a quieter evening, we even watched a movie to pass the time on watch (checking every 20 minutes that no other boats were around). We didn't see any for the next 4 days until we approached Noumea.    

Thursday dawned as a beautiful day but with no wind so we continued to motor. At noon  we had covered another 148nm  and were now 513nm from Amadee. At 1220 we raised sails and motorsailed for a few hours before dropping sails again on Thursday evening. Warren pulled out the jib when a light NW wind came in about 0200 on Friday.

When the sun came up, we gave the motor a rest, set the spinnaker, and made good progress to our final waypoint before altering course to Noumea. The Friday noon summary showed another 148 nm covered and Amadee now 371 nm away. We were making steady progress even when motoring on one engine. With the wind forecast to die again overnight we dropped the main at dusk and settled in for another quiet evening.

By Saturday morning, we had 266nm to go, so needed to make great time if we wanted to get to Amadee in daylight on Sunday. A 200nm day was needed – a possibility if the SE came up as predicted. We changed to the genoa, altered course to head directly to Amadee at last and waited for the wind while still motoring along. A frustrating day with wind around the 5 knot mark all day. By nightfall we were back to motoring with a double reef (still waiting for the SE change). When it finally arrived just before midnight, we got sailing again and killed the motor.

On Saturday morning, we realised we were not going to get to the lagoon before it got dark so we started to reduce sail. 8-9 knots under double reef and jib was slowed only slightly when we went to the third reef. At this point we need to average only 5 knots for the last 24 hours so we went to our storm jib, a tiny sail that still had us reaching 7 knots at times in the 25 knot SE winds.

We dropped the main altogether at dusk and tried to sail with just the storm jib but the seas were now up around the 2.5 to 3m mark and the auto pilot was struggling to stay on track. We started a motor and had it just ticking over all night to keep us under 5 knots. It was a very uncomfortable night – no movies - and waiting for light so we could enter the lagoon.

We arrived at the Amadee waypoint at 0600 as planned and were glad to see the seas calm a little as we sailed up the lagoon to Noumea, arriving at 0900 after 877nm in 142 hours.

A big thank you to Peter Mott (Northland Radio in New Zealand) who we reported our position to daily and who relayed MetBob weather and routing reports via HF radio. Also thanks to the good folk at Charleville Radio who also took our position reports and passed them on to our son, Ben who kept our family informed of progress and updated Skipr for us.

PS. Songlines arrived on Sunday morning, avoiding the rough night at sea - the advantages of a 50 foot cat!

Time for a new adventure

This morning at 0745 we cast off the lines and left Raby Bay to begin our cruise for this year. With Mum waving goodbye we headed off on what will be our biggest trip yet - New Caledonia and Vanuatu. We plan to be away about 5 months and Warren has the boat in top condition. Apart from the usual maintenance, we have replaced our trampolines, lifelines, anchor and chain - none of which you want to fail while away.

We hope to leave from Southport Yacht Club on Tuesday in company with Songlines, a 49 foot Ocean catamaran, provided the weather abates as is forecast. The crossing is about 790nm and we expect it to take 6-7 days.

Readers from around SE Qld will know that we have had some terrible weather the last few days. We had a quick sail down here today, covering the 35 mn in 5 hours. One reef in the main was perfect for the fresh westerly. If the forecasters have it right then the wind and swell should ease tomorrow and Tuesday. As we went past the Seaway today, large breaking waves covered the entrance and no one was going in or out. Let's hope the forecasters have got it right.

Lady Musgrave Island with friends

Raby Bay to Pancake Creek
15 - 27 September, 2015
We set off on Tuesday at 1130 in a light northerly and motored until 1400 when the breeze got to 10 knots and we could kill the motor and start sailing. Our first tack took us in towards Scarborough and we decided to stop at Bribie for the night. Perfect anchorage in this wind as we dropped anchor about 1700.

Next morning we motored around Skirmish Pt in a light NW. By 1100 we had enough breeze to sail, although it was on the nose so we didn't get to the Mooloolah River until 1400.

Thursday we set off before 0600 for a slow motor/motorsail to the Wide Bay Bar for an afternoon low tide crossing. We arrived at Garry's Anchorage after dark and used Beach House's AIS as a guide for anchoring. Our plan was to accompany Lois and Kel for their first trip north to Lady Musgrave in their Catalina 355. The wind had gone to the S/SE during the night and with gusts up to 30 knots expected, we decided to spend Friday at Garry's.

On Saturday, the wind was still up so we headed off under jib only for a leisurely sail up the straits. We pulled up the main with a double reef off South White Cliffs and enjoyed the sail to Coongul Point. This is a beautiful spot that was popular in our trailer sailer days when we used to anchor in the creek.

At 0600 Sunday, we set the spinnaker for another fast sail to the Burnett River. We averaged over 8 knots (with a maximum of 15.3) and had the anchor down at 1200.

Beach House

Monday was another spinnaker run to Pancake Creek where we dropped anchor in the inner anchorage at 1530. Beach House was not far behind having enjoyed the conditions up the coast. We had elected not to head out to Musgrave with a couple of other boats as a southerly change was expected.

We enjoyed 4 nights at Pancake Creek waiting for good weather for Lady Musgrave. Lots of fishing for Warren and a walk up to the lighthouse with Lois and Kel.

Friday was semi finals for the football so we headed up to Gladstone marina to ensure we had good reception. The Broncos had a big win against the Roosters and we were all happy until we had to beat into a strong easterly back to Pancake Creek. We snapped our jib halyard when changing down to the self tacker but, as it had broken at the winch, we could tie the ends together and continue sailing.

Lady Musgrave Island to Raby Bay
27 September to 7 October, 2015
On Sunday we used the last of the southerly to head across to Musgrave. A great 2 sail tight reach and we were at the entrance to the lagoon earlier than planned. We entered against a 4-5 knot ebb tide and were anchored by 1200. We had 2 perfect days here with great snorkelling and time with new friends on Escape and Twoflower.

With another big southerly expected on the weekend, we left Lady Musgrave on Wednesday and enjoyed a spinnaker run in light northerlies back to the Burnett River. Warren caught a nice Spanish mackerel (our only one for the trip).

Thursday we went across to Wathumba Creek where we spent 2 nights being entertained by the antics of the whales close to shore here.

We sailed to Coongul Creek on Saturday to make sure of our TV reception for the NRL Grand Final. We had a double reef and got some good photos and video of Beach House well reefed and enjoying the flat water along the shore. If the Broncos are going to lose then a loss to the Cowboys is easiest to bear. On Sunday, we explored up the creek by kayak.

On Monday, we motored down the straits to Pelican Bay ready for an early morning crossing of the bar. We gave the shallow patch between waypoints 1 and 2 a wide berth and enjoyed a slow sail to Mooloolaba tacking into a light south easterly. What could have been a frustrating day was made memorable by the number of whale sightings, all seemingly enjoying the last of the warm waters before heading further south.

Our trip back to Raby Bay on Wednesday saw our closest encounter yet to a whale with one surfacing unexpectedly about 5 m in front of Phase2.

Luckily we were motoring very slowly at the time as we had seen the whales playing about 100 m away. In our 3 weeks away we had encountered 27 groups of whales while sailing.

Home again

Apologies for taking a while to do the final update of the blog for our trip to Tasmania. Lots to do including uploading a couple of short videos of our trip which I hope you enjoy.

Bass Strait

Clayton's Corner Serenade

Camden Haven to Raby Bay

Tuesday, 6 May to Saturday, 9 May 2015
On Tuesday we rode our bike out to the entrance again to check the swell. It had dropped and looked like we would be right to leave on Wednesday as we had hoped.

On Tuesday afternoon we climbed the hill behind Laurieton. It was hard work and certainly got the hearts pumping.

We left Camden Haven in company with 4 other yachts on Wednesday at 0740 at half tide with the current just starting to come in the river. The swell was about 1.5m with no breaking waves. We had a 15 knot southerly so set the spinnaker and gybed downwind to stay as close to shore as possible to avoid the current.

Beautiful Camden Haven

At 1440, we dropped the spinnaker and started a motor in the light SE that went around to the E. We put in the double reef before dark and continued to motor sail until just after midnight when the breeze went back to a 15 knot southerly. Thursday morning after breakfast we raised the spinnaker and carried it most of the day. We dodged a big log off Ballina after the recent flooding and wondered how many we passed unseen during the night.

We once again motorsailed with a double reef during the evening and crossed the Gold Coast Seaway at 2330 dropping anchor at Currigee shortly after. We had been sailing for over 40 hours and had 257nm on the log.

We slept in on Friday then continued north with the incoming tide past Jumpinpin and Slipping Sands and anchored off Canaipa at 1300. We enjoyed a walk ashore on Russell Island after 3 days on the boat.

On Saturday, we had the final leg to Raby Bay. We waved to Mum, tooted the horn and tied up at our berth after 129 days away and travelling 3675nm.

We had a great time, made new friends, saw spectacular scenery and faced and overcame some challenges. We loved it - if only it wasn't so cold down there.....

East Coast Lows

Thursday, 23 April to Monday 4 May, 2015
The rain finally stopped on Thursday and we went ashore at Hole in the Wall for a walk and to see what the sea conditions were like outside.

The Hole in the Wall

Hole in the Wall is part of Booderee National Park with campgrounds further west and walking trails.

Swell less than predicted

The good conditions encouraged us to up anchor on Friday morning and resume our way home after a week at Jervis Bay. We were lucky to spend our time here as the East Coast Low (ECL) had caused a lot of damage from Port Hacking to Port Stephens. 

Exiting past Point Perpendicular

The wind started in the NW so we used the jib then genoa in the light breezes. The breeze had died by 1000 so we started motoring, then motorsailing. By 1500 we could stop the engine and enjoy the peace of a 2 sail reach in a westerly. By 1830 we were back motoring until we picked up a mooring at Jibbon Beach off Port Hacking at 2230 after 85nm (more than the actual miles due to the East Coast Current). 

Jibbon Beach

On Saturday, we sailed, motored and finally motorsailed to Yeomans Bay inside Broken Bay. With 40 knots forecast again for Sunday, this was the perfect place to pick up a mooring and sit out the wind and rain. 

Yeomans Bay

On Monday we went around to the Royal Motor Yacht Club to have dinner with the David, Jenny, Graham and Annie from Kailani. David and Jenny also took us shopping and I managed to get all the washing done. It was a busy day but the weather was looking good to go north on Tuesday and Wednesday and we didn't want to miss the opportunity. At 0650 on Tuesday, we left RMYC and enjoyed a good sail to Shoal Bay in Port Stephens, arriving just on dark. 

Dodging rain north of Port Stephens

On Wednesday we set off for Camden Haven (80nm away) in a W that went SW and eventually S. The log shows we used the jib and genoa, set the spinnaker 3 times and motorsailed 3 times in a frustrating day of variable winds. At 1450 we could see a squall ahead and got the spinnaker down just before being hit with driving rain and 25+ knot winds that got the heart pumping!

Calm after the storm

We eventually crossed the Camden Haven Bar in slight seas at 1915 and anchored up the river opposite the RSL club. Camden Haven's bar is better than most as it gets some protection from Perpendicular Point - not to be confused with Point Perpendicular! Another ECL was forming and this was to be our refuge for the next week. The ECL caused heavy rain and flooding in SE Queensland before continuing south and flooding parts of northern NSW. ECLs form in cold waters but are similar to cyclones in many ways. 

Luckily this one started to weaken before it got as far south as Camden Haven. We have enjoyed our time here including walks to Dunbogan and North Haven. Yesterday the Port Macquarie Ironman event was on with the bike leg passing through this area. We were in awe of the 1500 triathletes taking on a 3.8km swim, 180km bike ride and then a full marathon to finish! 

We went for a walk to inspect the bar yesterday but it looks like a few more days are needed for it to settle enough to cross - maybe Wednesday.