After spending several months and many miles crossing the Pacific Ocean, we really had not read much regarding New Caledonia. We had heard about the country mostly in New Zealand, where many yachties were either planning their journey back to the NE countries of Fiji & Tonga, Niue or back to French Polynesia. Other yachties would mention New Caledonia as a "beat upwind" but worth the visit. When we bought Sea Child back in Trinidad, the previous owner had told us that he wished to sail her into New Caledonia, across the Pacific. And so New Caledonia remained on our list of countries to visit, though maybe not for very long. Here we are now, however, with fresh eyes and a change in seasons. New Caledonia is at our fingertips to be discovered, welcoming and comfortable and unique.
We had hired Noumea Yacht Services to keep a keen eye on Sea Child while we were away in the USA. Their bi-monthly emails informed us as to her condition and location, since they had to move her twice. When we returned to Noumea in late September, we found Sea Child clean and well cared for. Her decks were white and polished, her interior without a trace of mold or smell. A welcome back, or home as we like to think, Sea Child tended to by the watchful eyes of Chloe, our NYS rep who hails from Vanuatu but now resides in Noumea. Given our constant communication with Chloe, and ease of entry on a one way ticket, we highly recommend NYS to any yachtie headed to New Caledonia. If you need to leave your yacht here, our advice is to use Noumea Yacht Services. You will be glad you did.
After a few days provisioning and adjusting to the time change, we bid a fond farewell to Port du Sud Marina in Noumea. We found that Noumea, on a holiday weekend such as the one we landed in (New Caledonia day), is quite desolate and closed up. The main downtown near Port Moselle was like a ghost town; no shops open, not a soul around. Thankfully the fresh market near the marina was open on Sunday until noon, as we continued our reprovisioning quest. However,when we needed to skype the USA we found that the internet cafes that we knew about were all closed. We ended up driving into the tourist area of Baie de Citron, where a string of restaurants lined the main beach drive. Any one of them offered free internet with purchase of drinks, so as we enjoyed our lunch and cold drinks, we placed that much needed call back to Maui, all the while thankful for our IPhone with Skype. What did we ever do without technology??
Today we are sailing toward the Isle of Pines, the most SE islands of New Caledonia. We heard the diving there is spectacular, and the biking around the island a highlight. After a brief visit to Ouen Island, where the holding ground is fabulous, as is the morning SUP sessions, we were underway to the Isle of Pines. Waters are flat, winds light & variable, 4 knots boatspeed. And lots of sunshine on a perfect day, temp around 80 degrees.
For google maps position, please see:
www.sailblogs.com/member/seachild
22 degrees, 29.735 minutes SOUTH
155 degrees, 50.918 minutes EAST
Monday, September 24, 2012
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