Ribbons on packages are being tied as folks ready for Christmas...but on December 23, 2014, a very special knot was tied. Our dear friends Sandy and Rankin from the sailing catamaran "Gypsea Heart" got married in Whangarei – surprising everyone. Especially us as we were the witnesses! They had carefully planned the secret. Rankin invited us to join them for a very nice dinner out thanks to their Kiwi friend who gifted them with a gift certificate. He did say it was a fancier place so collared shirts and nicer attire was required. They had borrowed a car for the day and suggested we get together at 3 pm and then go touring a bit before dinner. Sounded like a great plan! At 3 pm, we met at the marina office and took off. Rankin said he had to stop by the Whangarei District Court building – with us joking that he already got a speeding ticket. He said he needed to pick up the Visa extension papers. I (Barbara) was going to wait in the car – but Rankin insisted we all come in as it was an interesting building. So we traipsed into the courthouse to notice Sandy wearing a beautiful white suit and very high heels. She looked gorgeous – but Sandy always does! Something seemed up and Micheal joked that they were going to get married. Sure enough, they had a 3:30 pm appointment to do just that! And we would be honored as their witnesses. The ceremony was held in a small conference room and the couple exchanged the rings that they've had aboard for years! It was lovely – they got their New Zealand wedding certificate and were now officially married.
We headed to a small boutique resort that they were booked into for the night and enjoyed some bubbly on the deck of this beautiful old building. Then off to a great dinner at a fine restaurant. Congratulations to our dear friends and we are honored you asked us to be part of your special day.
The next morning (Christmas eve Day), our heads were a bit fuzzy from the event the day before. There was a potluck at the marina that evening and we still had some cookies to deliver. Barbara baked nine varieties of Christmas cookies aboard Astarte and we had been making cookie deliveries to friends aboard and onshore over the last few days. We also made some chocolate covered strawberries for the newly weds! Last minute shopping for a few Christmas dinner items was an adventure as the stores were crazy...packed with folks.
The potluck was well attended – it seems lots of folks are still hanging about Whangarei. It was the first potluck we've ever been to where there was lots and lots of food left over. Everyone brought lots to share and there was a great variety of snacks, main courses, salads and desserts. Met lots of nice folks as well and enjoyed an evening of Christmas spirit.
Today, Christmas is the southern hemisphere, we will have a nice dinner aboard Astarte with Sandy and Rankin and then perhaps head to the nearby park for a little game of boule. It looks like it will be a nice day weatherwise. The roast beef will get in the oven shortly.
Merry Christmas to all and thanks for being part of our cruising life by reading our log!
Ho, Ho, Ho
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Saturday, December 27, 2014
Tuesday, December 2, 2014
Work. Work. Work.
S35 Degrees 43.57 Minutes
E174 Degrees 19.79 Minutes
Another new experience (not work)...mooring the boat to pile moorings. This is sort of like parallel parking your sailboat. There are three straight, long rows of wooden pilings spaced apart 12-16 meters or so in each row. We are located in the center row about ten pilings from the back. You bring your vessel to the pilings and snug between two – one on the bow and one on the stern of the boat. We have less than a meter on each end and you tie lines to a ring that is around each piling. This ring floats up and down with the tides (which can be as high as three meters.) It is like a parking lot of floating boats. We use the dinghy to get to shore and put the dinghy and outboard up on the boat each night as there isn't a lot of room between rows to leave it in the water.
The work has begun. One week here and we have already gotten lots of projects underway. At least we have made lots and lots of calls to vendors for services. This is the busy season in New Zealand – so woodworkers, mechanics, sailmakers etc. are all swamped with projects. We've had three folks come and look at the cockpit floor project – now waiting for prices and timetables. The mainsail is off and at Doyles' Sail loft for a re-cut (under warranty). A mechanic should be here on Thursday to look at the Perkins starting issue. We have connected with phone, internet and banking. More "boat" cards are being printed and we're in search of a used bicycle. We've bought some warmer clothes as its mighty chilly here – even in New Zealand summer. Luckily all the stores have big sales on winter clothes! Plus we get the daily routine stuff done – grocery shopping, cooking, cleaning and laundry! Not bad for one week's efforts!
Besides the non-stop work effort, we have had some fun reconnecting with old friends that we hadn't seen for awhile. We went to a great Thai restaurant for Thanksgiving with some friends from NZ and Oz., We've taken some long walks – the walking trails around Whangarei are really nice – there is a long loop that crosses three bridges and is really nice.
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E174 Degrees 19.79 Minutes
Another new experience (not work)...mooring the boat to pile moorings. This is sort of like parallel parking your sailboat. There are three straight, long rows of wooden pilings spaced apart 12-16 meters or so in each row. We are located in the center row about ten pilings from the back. You bring your vessel to the pilings and snug between two – one on the bow and one on the stern of the boat. We have less than a meter on each end and you tie lines to a ring that is around each piling. This ring floats up and down with the tides (which can be as high as three meters.) It is like a parking lot of floating boats. We use the dinghy to get to shore and put the dinghy and outboard up on the boat each night as there isn't a lot of room between rows to leave it in the water.
The work has begun. One week here and we have already gotten lots of projects underway. At least we have made lots and lots of calls to vendors for services. This is the busy season in New Zealand – so woodworkers, mechanics, sailmakers etc. are all swamped with projects. We've had three folks come and look at the cockpit floor project – now waiting for prices and timetables. The mainsail is off and at Doyles' Sail loft for a re-cut (under warranty). A mechanic should be here on Thursday to look at the Perkins starting issue. We have connected with phone, internet and banking. More "boat" cards are being printed and we're in search of a used bicycle. We've bought some warmer clothes as its mighty chilly here – even in New Zealand summer. Luckily all the stores have big sales on winter clothes! Plus we get the daily routine stuff done – grocery shopping, cooking, cleaning and laundry! Not bad for one week's efforts!
Besides the non-stop work effort, we have had some fun reconnecting with old friends that we hadn't seen for awhile. We went to a great Thai restaurant for Thanksgiving with some friends from NZ and Oz., We've taken some long walks – the walking trails around Whangarei are really nice – there is a long loop that crosses three bridges and is really nice.
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Monday, November 24, 2014
Kiwi Land
We have safely arrived in New Zealand after a good passage from New Caledonia. The passage was a bit longer as we had to head in various directions because of the wind or in order to find some wind. We also motored more than we like causing us to do lots of math underway - calculating fuel consumption and how much we had left. The wind came up when we needed it and we made it in with a few gallons to spare. We had some great sailing on this trip as well and Astarte performed exceptionally well. Now its time to take care of the boat and enjoy a few months in one place.
We managed to save an extra night offshore by getting into the clearance port at Whangarei just as the sun was setting. Luckily the days are quite long here so we had extra hours. We snuck our way to the Q (quarantine) dock in Marsden Cove as the sunset and tied up. Customs and biosecurity would arrive in the morning – so it gave us a nice evening to clean up the boat a bit and try to eat as much food as we could before they took it away! We did have a nice meal with the last of the potatoes, last of the carrots and some cabbage. We used up the last eggs and some ham for breakfast. We got a really good nights sleep without having to wake up every three hours for a watch change.
Bruce from customs arrived around eight – and though we were the firs tboat at the dock, we were the second one to be cleared into the country. At this point there were five boats at the dock (a new record for this particular clearance point). We completed lots of new forms (the ones we had completed in advance were unfortunately old forms). We got stamped in for three months for us and the boat gets two years. We got our TIE (temporary import exemption) paper which gives us the ability to buy many boat parts tax-free.
Helen then arrived from Biosecurity and did a very thorough inspection. This was followed by Becky and Ahmed who arrived as additional biosecurity inspectors as there was a recent fruit fly that came in on a boat – so they have upped the inspection process. These two looked in lots more lockers. All was good and Astarte was given the stamp of approval.
We were completed around 1100 and took off to get up the river to the Whangarei Marina which is the heart of the town basin. It was slow trip as we were fighting an outgoing tide. There is now a bridge in Whangarei so we had to get that opened which was a simple process and we didn't even have to stop. That's a good bridge tender!
We arrived and our mooring wasn't quite ready – so we came against the dock. This was nice for the first night and we could get into town before the banks closed to get some NZ dollars. We managed to get quickly moving and did some banking and got info on phones and internet. Then we passed by a Katmandu store and they were having a big sale. We needed some warmer clothes (everyone in town was in shorts and sleeveless shorts – we were freezing). Luckily all the winter goods were on sale so we picked a few things.
Hot showers at the marina were next in line – and they felt mighty good. You do have to put a dollar NZ coin to get that hot water – but worth every penny! We enjoyed a cook's night out (as the biosecurity took all our meat and fresh stuff).
Today we'll move the boat to its pile mooring, get the dinghy unrolled, inflated and launched and settle into life in Whagarei for a few months. Our plan is to get lots of boat projects done and await the arrival of our February guests – Kathryn and Mark.
Log entries will be fewer. You don't need to know what we ate for breakfast each day. But we will try to post every so often if something interesting happens.
Back in the land of kiwis, kiwi fruits and the All Black rugby team.
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We managed to save an extra night offshore by getting into the clearance port at Whangarei just as the sun was setting. Luckily the days are quite long here so we had extra hours. We snuck our way to the Q (quarantine) dock in Marsden Cove as the sunset and tied up. Customs and biosecurity would arrive in the morning – so it gave us a nice evening to clean up the boat a bit and try to eat as much food as we could before they took it away! We did have a nice meal with the last of the potatoes, last of the carrots and some cabbage. We used up the last eggs and some ham for breakfast. We got a really good nights sleep without having to wake up every three hours for a watch change.
Bruce from customs arrived around eight – and though we were the firs tboat at the dock, we were the second one to be cleared into the country. At this point there were five boats at the dock (a new record for this particular clearance point). We completed lots of new forms (the ones we had completed in advance were unfortunately old forms). We got stamped in for three months for us and the boat gets two years. We got our TIE (temporary import exemption) paper which gives us the ability to buy many boat parts tax-free.
Helen then arrived from Biosecurity and did a very thorough inspection. This was followed by Becky and Ahmed who arrived as additional biosecurity inspectors as there was a recent fruit fly that came in on a boat – so they have upped the inspection process. These two looked in lots more lockers. All was good and Astarte was given the stamp of approval.
We were completed around 1100 and took off to get up the river to the Whangarei Marina which is the heart of the town basin. It was slow trip as we were fighting an outgoing tide. There is now a bridge in Whangarei so we had to get that opened which was a simple process and we didn't even have to stop. That's a good bridge tender!
We arrived and our mooring wasn't quite ready – so we came against the dock. This was nice for the first night and we could get into town before the banks closed to get some NZ dollars. We managed to get quickly moving and did some banking and got info on phones and internet. Then we passed by a Katmandu store and they were having a big sale. We needed some warmer clothes (everyone in town was in shorts and sleeveless shorts – we were freezing). Luckily all the winter goods were on sale so we picked a few things.
Hot showers at the marina were next in line – and they felt mighty good. You do have to put a dollar NZ coin to get that hot water – but worth every penny! We enjoyed a cook's night out (as the biosecurity took all our meat and fresh stuff).
Today we'll move the boat to its pile mooring, get the dinghy unrolled, inflated and launched and settle into life in Whagarei for a few months. Our plan is to get lots of boat projects done and await the arrival of our February guests – Kathryn and Mark.
Log entries will be fewer. You don't need to know what we ate for breakfast each day. But we will try to post every so often if something interesting happens.
Back in the land of kiwis, kiwi fruits and the All Black rugby team.
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Tuesday, November 18, 2014
Message from the Pacific
We thought of sending this update in a bottle instead of a blog ? but didn't have a wine bottle available. We are currently sailing at Latitude:29 degrees 01.68 minutes S Longitude:171 degrees 04.42 minutes E, which on our course is about 520 miles away from New Zealand. We still have a long way to go ? not yet at the halfway mark. So far it has been a great passage for this part of the world's oceans. Waiting for the right weather window seems to have paid off (hope we're not jinxing it by writing it!) We have added a fair amount of miles to the 895 distance by having to tack because of light winds from the wrong direction. We also have motored more than we usually would ? in fact day two of the passage was almost an entire day of motor-sailing in very light wind. We are trying our best to maintain a 5 knot speed average through the journey ? something we had never planned and done before. The reason is that it is good to have an estimated time of arrival when heading towards either New Zealand or Australia because of wacky weather coming off the Tasman Sea and the Southern Latitudes. You don't want to get caught in the nasty stuff that brews down here (and we know from our past experience from Tonga to New Zealand in 2012).
All is well aboard the good ship Astarte. She is performing exceptionally well and we are maintaining a good outlook as well. The first day we were pretty hard on the wind as we are now ? so we have been living on a ?heel? (at an angle). That makes moving about the cabin, cooking meals and sleeping pretty challenging. Day two when we motored we had a flatter ride though it was a bit rolly. But overall it has been relatively pleasant. This afternoon we had a brief front that we passed through ? we knew it was coming so we were prepared. It was not as big as our friends got (they are much further ahead of us in their speedy catamaran or 70 foot Deerfoot!). They experienced winds in the 25 to 30 knot range and we saw 20 for a very brief period of time and got some rain. After it passed however it took our good northwest wind away and backed it the south. We are heading in a southeasterly direction so we are now tacking quite a way off course. We are trying to conserve our fuel for the last few days where it looks like the winds will get even lighter and variable. So if we have wind, we'll sail even if it adds miles by tacking. We have about 60 gallons left aboard.
Writing and sending the blogs is more challenging underway ? but you should be able to see where we are on the ?where are we? portion of the blog (if it's working) or you can see where we are on the YIT site (yachts in transit)www.yit.co.nz that is run by David and Patricia of Gulf Harbour Radio who provide an excellent service of giving weather information and advice to boats underway as well as taking daily positions. We check in daily at 0530 (yes very early) and get an updated weather forecast for our route. It also helps break up the day as they are quite entertaining and we hear lots of friends checking in so we can keep track where everyone is. Michael is also checking in daily at 0800 on a ham radio net ?Tony's Maritime Radio? where they also take a position report. These folks are mostly in NZ and Oz. And we have our own mini-radio net at 1700 (5 pm) with the four boats who all left Ile des Pins, New Caledonia about the same time. All the radio chatter breaks up the day.
There hasn't been much in the way of marine life ? a few dolphins early on, but not much else. We had foue large cargo ships pass by, a couple of which we called as they would be getting close and we wanted to make sure they spotted us. Otherwise, its been a quiet and good passage...so far. We hope it continues for the last several days. We anticipate a Sunday or Monday arrival in Whangarei.
All is well aboard the good ship Astarte. She is performing exceptionally well and we are maintaining a good outlook as well. The first day we were pretty hard on the wind as we are now ? so we have been living on a ?heel? (at an angle). That makes moving about the cabin, cooking meals and sleeping pretty challenging. Day two when we motored we had a flatter ride though it was a bit rolly. But overall it has been relatively pleasant. This afternoon we had a brief front that we passed through ? we knew it was coming so we were prepared. It was not as big as our friends got (they are much further ahead of us in their speedy catamaran or 70 foot Deerfoot!). They experienced winds in the 25 to 30 knot range and we saw 20 for a very brief period of time and got some rain. After it passed however it took our good northwest wind away and backed it the south. We are heading in a southeasterly direction so we are now tacking quite a way off course. We are trying to conserve our fuel for the last few days where it looks like the winds will get even lighter and variable. So if we have wind, we'll sail even if it adds miles by tacking. We have about 60 gallons left aboard.
Writing and sending the blogs is more challenging underway ? but you should be able to see where we are on the ?where are we? portion of the blog (if it's working) or you can see where we are on the YIT site (yachts in transit)www.yit.co.nz that is run by David and Patricia of Gulf Harbour Radio who provide an excellent service of giving weather information and advice to boats underway as well as taking daily positions. We check in daily at 0530 (yes very early) and get an updated weather forecast for our route. It also helps break up the day as they are quite entertaining and we hear lots of friends checking in so we can keep track where everyone is. Michael is also checking in daily at 0800 on a ham radio net ?Tony's Maritime Radio? where they also take a position report. These folks are mostly in NZ and Oz. And we have our own mini-radio net at 1700 (5 pm) with the four boats who all left Ile des Pins, New Caledonia about the same time. All the radio chatter breaks up the day.
There hasn't been much in the way of marine life ? a few dolphins early on, but not much else. We had foue large cargo ships pass by, a couple of which we called as they would be getting close and we wanted to make sure they spotted us. Otherwise, its been a quiet and good passage...so far. We hope it continues for the last several days. We anticipate a Sunday or Monday arrival in Whangarei.
Friday, November 14, 2014
New Zealand Bound
Tomorrow, Saturday, November 15, 2014 we will leave New Caledonia and make our way 895 miles to Whangarei, New Zealand. The weather window looks decent – though there will be some hefty head winds for a portion of the trip. The seas are also kicking up from the south pole, so we should see some pretty good swells around the middle of the trip. But things are constantly changing and this looks like the best window we've seen yet, so we're going to grab it. We are guessing that we will make it to Whangarei in about 8 days. We are prepared to motor if we have to for a portion of the trip if we can't maintain at least five knots. We don't carry enough fuel to do that for more than a 85 hours. We are leaving from Ile des Pins in the southern part of New Caledonia which cut off about 40 miles of the trip to NZ – and have been here a few days getting the boat and ourselves ready for this passage. We are as prepared as we can be for the trip – meals prepared and frozen, dinghy rolled and tied on deck, loose items stowed away and the boat checked out and ready. This is a tough passage normally – it seems there is always some weather system brewing in the Tasman and lately there have been non-stop highs, lows, troughs, fronts and you name it!
We will be leaving along with several other boats in the morning. Our friends on the catamaran "Gypsea Heart" will get underway at the same time as us – but they are a much faster boat than us so should get to NZ sooner. Plus they are headed to a different entry port – Opua which is about 60 miles closer. That will be our "Plan B" if the weather get bad – we'll change course and head there as well. A NZ boat, "Distracted" will also be leaving making their way to Auckland. Several boats left this afternoon (Kalaini, Mariposa, Samuri) – all much faster than us as well. So we'll have company out there. We have several radio nets we are checking in with for underway and hopefully we'll also be able to post our progress with daily position reports. That is if our "pactor modem" continues to work – it has been having a few hiccups lately. We hope it makes it at least until we get to NZ so we can continue to get our weather reports and e-mails.
This trip always makes us a bit anxious – so we hope everyone will keep their fingers crossed – a few candles lit!
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We will be leaving along with several other boats in the morning. Our friends on the catamaran "Gypsea Heart" will get underway at the same time as us – but they are a much faster boat than us so should get to NZ sooner. Plus they are headed to a different entry port – Opua which is about 60 miles closer. That will be our "Plan B" if the weather get bad – we'll change course and head there as well. A NZ boat, "Distracted" will also be leaving making their way to Auckland. Several boats left this afternoon (Kalaini, Mariposa, Samuri) – all much faster than us as well. So we'll have company out there. We have several radio nets we are checking in with for underway and hopefully we'll also be able to post our progress with daily position reports. That is if our "pactor modem" continues to work – it has been having a few hiccups lately. We hope it makes it at least until we get to NZ so we can continue to get our weather reports and e-mails.
This trip always makes us a bit anxious – so we hope everyone will keep their fingers crossed – a few candles lit!
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Friday, November 7, 2014
The Weather Waiting Game
We are wanting to start our trip to New Zealand – though it is still quite chilly there – but the weather systems are not exactly cooperating. We are still in New Caledonia and everyday – twice a day – we look at the weather forecast for the ocean between here and New Zealand. It is filled with bright colors – that is not a good thing. There seem to be a plethora of fronts, ridges, troughs, lows and highs creating squash zones, tropical depressions off Fiji and you name it! Nothing that makes you want to pull away from the safety of the lagoon and head into the ocean blue at this point. We will wait – and hope things settle a bit. Perhaps next weekend there might be an opportunity to move – but that's a long way off and things are so unsettled weather-wise that it's too far to guess. We're at least not alone, our friends from Gypsea Heart are still nearby (and we have enjoyed many fun evenings with them), plus we have Pete on Rapaki, Harley on Kailani plus many other boats waiting for a window to NZ (Kahia, Distracted, Another Adventure....)
For now we are getting projects done and enjoying walking around. The weather here has been a bit damp the last few days. It is a holiday weekend in New Cal – Armistice Day so government offices are all closed from Friday afternoon until next Wednesday. We'll probably do some exploring in Noumea – including the aquarium and a few of the museums.
Plus we'll keep praying to the weather gods.
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For now we are getting projects done and enjoying walking around. The weather here has been a bit damp the last few days. It is a holiday weekend in New Cal – Armistice Day so government offices are all closed from Friday afternoon until next Wednesday. We'll probably do some exploring in Noumea – including the aquarium and a few of the museums.
Plus we'll keep praying to the weather gods.
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Saturday, November 1, 2014
Island Hopping
Latitude 22 degrees 12.69 minutes S
Longitude 166 degrees 20.18 minutes E
We spent two nights off "Ilot Signal." We circum-ambulated the outer perimeter along the water one day and then walked the inside path. Both were great short walks with lots to see. The inside path took us very close to many seabird nests – nests that are underground. As you'd walk by, you'd hear soothing cooing sounds coming from under the ground. You had to step carefully around the giant holes along the path. In one area, the marine park built a wooden walkway to take you over the hundreds of nests. There are interesting plants in what they call the "dry forest" of the island and a few historical points of interest including the phallic shaped monument for which the island is named. This was built by old sea captain to mark the way and has been re-built and maintained through the centuries. There is also the stone remnants of a limestone burning area – this was a giant oven to turn limestone rock into fertilizer and lime used for cleaning, medicines and building. We also enjoyed watching the local "Gendamarie Maritima" (the marine police) come in and anchor their 60 foot boat nearby. We thought we would get our papers checked – but no, they simply launched their inflatable and took what looked like a VIP ashore. Then we watched as the big boat did circles after dropping a diver overboard to obviously look for something. It was good entertainment.
The wind started to build and was predicted to get into the 20 plus knot range, and Ilot Signal is a pretty open area with very little protection. The second night was pretty rolly in the anchorage and it would only get worse so on Friday morning, we sailed off for "Baie Maa." This very large bay is supposed to have great holding and be protected from the normal trade winds (southeast). We had a lumpy sail over and settled into 8 meters of water surrounded by hills.
A unicorn came by the boat on Friday night! The small critter was Sophia from the sailing yacht Kailani – trick or treating amongst the boats. She was our only trickster that night but was as cute as can be. We'll be heading aboard their lovely Deerfoot 63 tonight for cocktails. We've heard this boat a lot on the radio nets, but had never met them until yesterday.
Right now there are 22 boats in this anchorage, so it is obviously the place to come for big winds. There are many local New Cal boats as well as a few cruising yachts.
Happy Halloween to all!
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Longitude 166 degrees 20.18 minutes E
We spent two nights off "Ilot Signal." We circum-ambulated the outer perimeter along the water one day and then walked the inside path. Both were great short walks with lots to see. The inside path took us very close to many seabird nests – nests that are underground. As you'd walk by, you'd hear soothing cooing sounds coming from under the ground. You had to step carefully around the giant holes along the path. In one area, the marine park built a wooden walkway to take you over the hundreds of nests. There are interesting plants in what they call the "dry forest" of the island and a few historical points of interest including the phallic shaped monument for which the island is named. This was built by old sea captain to mark the way and has been re-built and maintained through the centuries. There is also the stone remnants of a limestone burning area – this was a giant oven to turn limestone rock into fertilizer and lime used for cleaning, medicines and building. We also enjoyed watching the local "Gendamarie Maritima" (the marine police) come in and anchor their 60 foot boat nearby. We thought we would get our papers checked – but no, they simply launched their inflatable and took what looked like a VIP ashore. Then we watched as the big boat did circles after dropping a diver overboard to obviously look for something. It was good entertainment.
The wind started to build and was predicted to get into the 20 plus knot range, and Ilot Signal is a pretty open area with very little protection. The second night was pretty rolly in the anchorage and it would only get worse so on Friday morning, we sailed off for "Baie Maa." This very large bay is supposed to have great holding and be protected from the normal trade winds (southeast). We had a lumpy sail over and settled into 8 meters of water surrounded by hills.
A unicorn came by the boat on Friday night! The small critter was Sophia from the sailing yacht Kailani – trick or treating amongst the boats. She was our only trickster that night but was as cute as can be. We'll be heading aboard their lovely Deerfoot 63 tonight for cocktails. We've heard this boat a lot on the radio nets, but had never met them until yesterday.
Right now there are 22 boats in this anchorage, so it is obviously the place to come for big winds. There are many local New Cal boats as well as a few cruising yachts.
Happy Halloween to all!
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Island Hopping
Latitude 22 degrees 12.69 minutes S
Longitude 166 degrees 20.18 minutes E
We spent two nights off "Ilot Signal." We circum-ambulated the outer perimeter along the water one day and then walked the inside path. Both were great short walks with lots to see. The inside path took us very close to many seabird nests – nests that are underground. As you'd walk by, you'd hear soothing cooing sounds coming from under the ground. You had to step carefully around the giant holes along the path. In one area, the marine park built a wooden walkway to take you over the hundreds of nests. There are interesting plants in what they call the "dry forest" of the island and a few historical points of interest including the phallic shaped monument for which the island is named. This was built by old sea captain to mark the way and has been re-built and maintained through the centuries. There is also the stone remnants of a limestone burning area – this was a giant oven to turn limestone rock into fertilizer and lime used for cleaning, medicines and building. We also enjoyed watching the local "Gendamarie Maritima" (the marine police) come in and anchor their 60 foot boat nearby. We thought we would get our papers checked – but no, they simply launched their inflatable and took what looked like a VIP ashore. Then we watched as the big boat did circles after dropping a diver overboard to obviously look for something. It was good entertainment.
The wind started to build and was predicted to get into the 20 plus knot range, and Ilot Signal is a pretty open area with very little protection. The second night was pretty rolly in the anchorage and it would only get worse so on Friday morning, we sailed off for "Baie Maa." This very large bay is supposed to have great holding and be protected from the normal trade winds (southeast). We had a lumpy sail over and settled into 8 meters of water surrounded by hills.
A unicorn came by the boat on Friday night! The small critter was Sophia from the sailing yacht Kailani – trick or treating amongst the boats. She was our only trickster that night but was as cute as can be. We'll be heading aboard their lovely Deerfoot 63 tonight for cocktails. We've heard this boat a lot on the radio nets, but had never met them until yesterday.
Right now there are 22 boats in this anchorage, so it is obviously the place to come for big winds. There are many local New Cal boats as well as a few cruising yachts.
Happy Halloween to all!
----------
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Longitude 166 degrees 20.18 minutes E
We spent two nights off "Ilot Signal." We circum-ambulated the outer perimeter along the water one day and then walked the inside path. Both were great short walks with lots to see. The inside path took us very close to many seabird nests – nests that are underground. As you'd walk by, you'd hear soothing cooing sounds coming from under the ground. You had to step carefully around the giant holes along the path. In one area, the marine park built a wooden walkway to take you over the hundreds of nests. There are interesting plants in what they call the "dry forest" of the island and a few historical points of interest including the phallic shaped monument for which the island is named. This was built by old sea captain to mark the way and has been re-built and maintained through the centuries. There is also the stone remnants of a limestone burning area – this was a giant oven to turn limestone rock into fertilizer and lime used for cleaning, medicines and building. We also enjoyed watching the local "Gendamarie Maritima" (the marine police) come in and anchor their 60 foot boat nearby. We thought we would get our papers checked – but no, they simply launched their inflatable and took what looked like a VIP ashore. Then we watched as the big boat did circles after dropping a diver overboard to obviously look for something. It was good entertainment.
The wind started to build and was predicted to get into the 20 plus knot range, and Ilot Signal is a pretty open area with very little protection. The second night was pretty rolly in the anchorage and it would only get worse so on Friday morning, we sailed off for "Baie Maa." This very large bay is supposed to have great holding and be protected from the normal trade winds (southeast). We had a lumpy sail over and settled into 8 meters of water surrounded by hills.
A unicorn came by the boat on Friday night! The small critter was Sophia from the sailing yacht Kailani – trick or treating amongst the boats. She was our only trickster that night but was as cute as can be. We'll be heading aboard their lovely Deerfoot 63 tonight for cocktails. We've heard this boat a lot on the radio nets, but had never met them until yesterday.
Right now there are 22 boats in this anchorage, so it is obviously the place to come for big winds. There are many local New Cal boats as well as a few cruising yachts.
Happy Halloween to all!
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Wednesday, October 29, 2014
A City Stop and Shop
From Prony, we made our way back to the city of Noumea. We had done a good job of clearing out many lockers and we actually needed some food! Plus we were craving some fresh veggies and fruit. Anchoring off Noumea is a challenge because all the local boat owners seemed to have put moorings in the designated anchoring spot. You must stay within certain boundaries to give the big ships room to maneuver. Our friends on Gypsea Heart had to move and they told us that they watched a tug/pilot boat literally drag another boat along with its anchor out of the zone because nobody was aboard at the time to move it. We decided we needed to do some internet stuff (fix our photo page that was shut down – it should now be up and running – let us know if it isn't) and getting our shopping done would be easier in the marina. Plus a real hot shower sounded mighty nice....so we opted for a few nights of marina time.
We did a whirlwind through the fresh market, patisserie (for baguettes, fresh croissants and pain de chocolat), butcher and grocery store. Michael spent many hours trying to resolve the picture page shutdown (who remembers when you opened a Picasso account???!!) and get some phone calls made. A couple of nice hot showers, beers at happy hour and a pizza night with the Gypsea Hearts made for a good but busy two day stay. We left the marina this morning (Wednesday) and headed out to a small island called "Signal Island (22 degrees 17.62minutes S 166 degrees 17.42 E). There are lot of moorings here and until about an hour ago we were the only boat on them...though there are several small local boats anchored on the beach.
The water is pretty and we've already seen many turtles and large fish swimming around. It is a marine park – so the underwater life amidst the corals should be nice. It is pretty open out here so if the weather holds we'll stay a few nights and do some exploring on the island and in the water. It is very nice to be away from the smell of Noumea and surrounded by pretty water and a white sandy beach.
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We did a whirlwind through the fresh market, patisserie (for baguettes, fresh croissants and pain de chocolat), butcher and grocery store. Michael spent many hours trying to resolve the picture page shutdown (who remembers when you opened a Picasso account???!!) and get some phone calls made. A couple of nice hot showers, beers at happy hour and a pizza night with the Gypsea Hearts made for a good but busy two day stay. We left the marina this morning (Wednesday) and headed out to a small island called "Signal Island (22 degrees 17.62minutes S 166 degrees 17.42 E). There are lot of moorings here and until about an hour ago we were the only boat on them...though there are several small local boats anchored on the beach.
The water is pretty and we've already seen many turtles and large fish swimming around. It is a marine park – so the underwater life amidst the corals should be nice. It is pretty open out here so if the weather holds we'll stay a few nights and do some exploring on the island and in the water. It is very nice to be away from the smell of Noumea and surrounded by pretty water and a white sandy beach.
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Sunday, October 26, 2014
In Search of a Hot Shower
And settling for a cold bath! The hiking in the Baie de Prony is quite spectacular. The old mining roads make decent tracks to follow, along with what seems like trails that have been put in place. We have enjoyed heading out just about everyday to explore a new area. We dinghy to a dock and tie up and then go for a walk. On Wednesday, we thought it would be a good idea to look for a hot spring and get a nice warm fresh water shower. We headed back to find a trail up by the waterfalls and ended up crossing the falls and finding a good "road" and walked along quite a distance. We traveled along the rivers edge, often times having to climb over rocks where the trail collapsed or there was a small landslide. The erosion from all the mining activities around here is pretty serious. Over time, we think the entire islands will wash away! We walked quite a way but found no hot springs so we settled for a cold bath in the river. It was fresh water and very refreshing. Some curious fresh water fish seemed to like us and kept nipping at Michael's legs. There was some old ruins from what was probably a mining operation in one area. Wild orchids were growing along the trail and like much of the area, the plant life is different and interesting. It was a nice long trek and we enjoyed the scenery, the exercise and the bath!
The weather while we've been has been quite nice – this morning (Sunday) we woke up to a beautiful flat bay with pretty sunlight filtering in. The water was so flat the reflection of the hills and boats in the water was mirror-like. The bird song was loud and pretty. We took another walk – this time to the closer waterfall that we thought had warmer water. It was quite a climb up the rocks as we passed small fall after small fall in search of the perfect clear deep pool. We found a good one and took a bath with the fresh water shrimps that were swimming around! We actually didn't notice the shrimps until after we showered. It wasn't a far walk – but it was a bit difficult to get over the slippery rocks and boulders.
We will head into Noumea tomorrow in the early morning. It is a 35 mile trip and we'll unfortunately have the current against us most of the way as tide will be heading out. Luckily the wind should be in the right direction and we should be able to sail most of the way. We'll try to figure out what's wrong with the photo page if we get good internet.
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The weather while we've been has been quite nice – this morning (Sunday) we woke up to a beautiful flat bay with pretty sunlight filtering in. The water was so flat the reflection of the hills and boats in the water was mirror-like. The bird song was loud and pretty. We took another walk – this time to the closer waterfall that we thought had warmer water. It was quite a climb up the rocks as we passed small fall after small fall in search of the perfect clear deep pool. We found a good one and took a bath with the fresh water shrimps that were swimming around! We actually didn't notice the shrimps until after we showered. It wasn't a far walk – but it was a bit difficult to get over the slippery rocks and boulders.
We will head into Noumea tomorrow in the early morning. It is a 35 mile trip and we'll unfortunately have the current against us most of the way as tide will be heading out. Luckily the wind should be in the right direction and we should be able to sail most of the way. We'll try to figure out what's wrong with the photo page if we get good internet.
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Thursday, October 23, 2014
Ilot Casy – The Weekend Hot Spot
Lat 22 degrees 21.4 minutes S
Long 166 degrees 50.5 minutes E
This seems to be "the" spot for the young of Noumea to head to for the weekend. We had a few peaceful days here and then on Friday, water taxis arrived with lots of campers – complete with tents, coolers and bikinis. It seemed that one large group were participants in some type of "survivor" type competitions – broken into teams. There was lots of cheering, bullhorns for communicating and music. Everyone seemed to be having a good time. We also had the chance to finally meet Eric and Ann from the catamaran "Reflection." They were the "go to" people in Vanuatu for information. They were working with the Vanuatu government developing tourism amongst the yachting community and are working on a Vanuatu cruising guide. We had a lovely dinner aboard their boat on Saturday night amongst the background of the festivities ashore (which included lots of singing).
We finally got in the water to do some bottom cleaning – but the water is quite chilly here. Michael spotted a sunken sailboat not far from our mooring ball. Eric and Ann dived it the next morning and reported that it probably had a fire aboard and sunk. There were still pots and pans, the roller furler and head sail and lots of winches and stuff aboard.
On Sunday afternoon, most of the weekend warriors left the island and it was left to the "yachties" on the moorings. On Monday, we did a long walk around the island. The trails are well maintained but it was a bit confusing as we seemed to go from one "color" trail to another without making any turns! At one point we turned off along a marked trail to find it dead-end at the beach. It was a pleasant and relatively easy walk. The beaches were quite lovely and the flora interesting. The trails went through various eco-systems so it is always interesting to see the different formations and plants.
On Tuesday, we let the mooring free and headed deeper into Baie de Prony. We worked our way through what are narrow waterways between the hills and nestled way back in a very pretty and very protected bay. It is flat calm in here (22 18.2S/166 51.4E) with a nice little breeze and lots of bird song. These are very pretty surroundings and only three boats anchored here at the present. The boats seem to come and go – some staying only a few hours and others for days. We took a dinghy tour and found a small fresh water stream amongst some rocks in the mangrove bushes and then went further down the bay towards a river. We anchored the dinghy near a dock and took a nice hike towards the river waterfalls. Perhaps we'll come back and do the laundry! At the top of the dock where we tied, there is a hot (well tepid anyway) tub. It is a large square wooden structure built over a warm spring and the water fills the tub and the overflow goes into the bay. The first day we went here – the tub didn't look very inviting.
The next day, we went back to the dock to take another trail and another hike in the opposite direction. On this trip, the hot tub was much cleaner looking. We think that perhaps someone took baths or perhaps did laundry the tub the day before. The difference was dramatic! We took a hike up the hill this time rather than down towards the river falls. The trails were nice as were the interesting plant life. The reward as we got to the top of a ridge was a dramatic view of the water, the boats at anchor including Astarte, and the narrow fjord-like waterways in the bay.
We've been out of Noumea now over a month – and have had twelve "zero dollar days." We hope to stay out at least through early next week before we head back towards the city. We still have some time to kill before looking for a weather window to New Zealand. Anchoring around Noumea is a little tough and the marina is pretty spendy - so we're hoping to stay away from the city as long as we can.
Apologies about our photo page – we understand there is some problem with it but until we get into a place with internet we can't resolve it!
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Long 166 degrees 50.5 minutes E
This seems to be "the" spot for the young of Noumea to head to for the weekend. We had a few peaceful days here and then on Friday, water taxis arrived with lots of campers – complete with tents, coolers and bikinis. It seemed that one large group were participants in some type of "survivor" type competitions – broken into teams. There was lots of cheering, bullhorns for communicating and music. Everyone seemed to be having a good time. We also had the chance to finally meet Eric and Ann from the catamaran "Reflection." They were the "go to" people in Vanuatu for information. They were working with the Vanuatu government developing tourism amongst the yachting community and are working on a Vanuatu cruising guide. We had a lovely dinner aboard their boat on Saturday night amongst the background of the festivities ashore (which included lots of singing).
We finally got in the water to do some bottom cleaning – but the water is quite chilly here. Michael spotted a sunken sailboat not far from our mooring ball. Eric and Ann dived it the next morning and reported that it probably had a fire aboard and sunk. There were still pots and pans, the roller furler and head sail and lots of winches and stuff aboard.
On Sunday afternoon, most of the weekend warriors left the island and it was left to the "yachties" on the moorings. On Monday, we did a long walk around the island. The trails are well maintained but it was a bit confusing as we seemed to go from one "color" trail to another without making any turns! At one point we turned off along a marked trail to find it dead-end at the beach. It was a pleasant and relatively easy walk. The beaches were quite lovely and the flora interesting. The trails went through various eco-systems so it is always interesting to see the different formations and plants.
On Tuesday, we let the mooring free and headed deeper into Baie de Prony. We worked our way through what are narrow waterways between the hills and nestled way back in a very pretty and very protected bay. It is flat calm in here (22 18.2S/166 51.4E) with a nice little breeze and lots of bird song. These are very pretty surroundings and only three boats anchored here at the present. The boats seem to come and go – some staying only a few hours and others for days. We took a dinghy tour and found a small fresh water stream amongst some rocks in the mangrove bushes and then went further down the bay towards a river. We anchored the dinghy near a dock and took a nice hike towards the river waterfalls. Perhaps we'll come back and do the laundry! At the top of the dock where we tied, there is a hot (well tepid anyway) tub. It is a large square wooden structure built over a warm spring and the water fills the tub and the overflow goes into the bay. The first day we went here – the tub didn't look very inviting.
The next day, we went back to the dock to take another trail and another hike in the opposite direction. On this trip, the hot tub was much cleaner looking. We think that perhaps someone took baths or perhaps did laundry the tub the day before. The difference was dramatic! We took a hike up the hill this time rather than down towards the river falls. The trails were nice as were the interesting plant life. The reward as we got to the top of a ridge was a dramatic view of the water, the boats at anchor including Astarte, and the narrow fjord-like waterways in the bay.
We've been out of Noumea now over a month – and have had twelve "zero dollar days." We hope to stay out at least through early next week before we head back towards the city. We still have some time to kill before looking for a weather window to New Zealand. Anchoring around Noumea is a little tough and the marina is pretty spendy - so we're hoping to stay away from the city as long as we can.
Apologies about our photo page – we understand there is some problem with it but until we get into a place with internet we can't resolve it!
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Friday, October 17, 2014
Trekking in the Trees in Tortue
Latitude 22 degrees 27.4 minutes S
Longitude 166 degrees 46.7 minutes E
The wind was forecast to pick up and turn more northerly – and so we needed to scoot out of the tiny Ilot Ua before we could do some snorkeling. We had a nice sail most of the way towards Ile Ouen. It wasn't a straight line trip as we had to do lots of jogs to avoid reefs and shallows. The sun was out so it was easy to see the color changes in the water - and this area is well charted. We arrived at Baie de la Tortue in mid-afternoon and enjoyed the new scenery. It was a hilly landscape on three sides and behind us to the west, more hills in layers in the distance. This was certainly a pretty spot and we anchored in about 9 meters of water on a sandy/muddy bottom.
The wind seemed to roll off the surrounding hills and pick up speed a bit as it entered the bay – but we had plenty of anchor chain out and it was not at all rolly in the anchorage. Sandy and Rankin, our pals from Gypsea Heart were supposed to head in this direction as well – but the wind for them would have been right on the nose and quite strong, so they passed on the voyage for a day. They joined us the following day.
On Thursday morning, Rankin joined us on the hike to locate the abandoned jade mine that was on the island. A pretty little piece of jade sounded lovely! Of course, we didn't have a clue where it was on this island – our small chart wasn't exactly descriptive – nor very accurate. So we took off to follow what paths we could find. Most ran into dead-ends. We did make it across the island on what was the old runway (now very overgrown) and then were directed up a hill to a viewpoint by a friendly man in a village. We then headed uphill and were rewarded with great views of the surrounding waters – you could really see the reefs and the deeper water channels. Then Michael thought he spotted where the old mine was located so we headed in that direction. After exploring the mine area and not finding any gems, we headed back a different way. Michael led us down a path which was thick with brush and trees. Rankin and Barbara were sure it was simply a pig path...and indeed it came to an end. At one point we all lost each other in the trees and had to locate one another by voice. We finally broke our way through some thick brush and small trees and made our way back to the dinghy. Several scratches would require first aid!
On Friday, Astarte took off for Ilot Casy in the Bay of Prony – a 15 mile trip. This is a small island surrounded by reefs but well protected from winds from the east. There are ten moorings here and we luckily grabbed the last deep one (we tried one closer to shore but it was quite shallow and we were afraid if tide went out too much, we'd be touching the bottom). Luckily after tying up to the first one, a boat departed from another mooring which we then grabbed. These moorings are quite close together and we bumped a nearby boat when the winds, currents and tides had boats going in weird directions. Two more boats departed in the later afternoon, and so we all spread out a bit more.
We have been trying to go through old stores on the boat and seeing how long we can stay out of Noumea and the markets. We did a little fresh vegetable shopping and baguette buying in the Ile des Pins – otherwise, we are trying to clear out the cupboards. This Sunday, we'll have been out of Noumea for a month – and we think we can still have good meals for another week or so. Today, that got extended by a gift of some wonderful fresh fish from the boat "Katie M II"who caught a giant waloo on their passage from Vanuatu to New Caledonia. We actually gave them some brownies for the fish! It was delicious and enough for a few meals! The challenge now is doing "sundowner snacks." Those supplies are pretty thin aboard.
This is probably going to be a good spot to do the bottom cleaning – it's very calm and hopefully if the sun stays out it may warm up enough to give it a try. So we'll be here a few days before we continue our exploring.
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Longitude 166 degrees 46.7 minutes E
The wind was forecast to pick up and turn more northerly – and so we needed to scoot out of the tiny Ilot Ua before we could do some snorkeling. We had a nice sail most of the way towards Ile Ouen. It wasn't a straight line trip as we had to do lots of jogs to avoid reefs and shallows. The sun was out so it was easy to see the color changes in the water - and this area is well charted. We arrived at Baie de la Tortue in mid-afternoon and enjoyed the new scenery. It was a hilly landscape on three sides and behind us to the west, more hills in layers in the distance. This was certainly a pretty spot and we anchored in about 9 meters of water on a sandy/muddy bottom.
The wind seemed to roll off the surrounding hills and pick up speed a bit as it entered the bay – but we had plenty of anchor chain out and it was not at all rolly in the anchorage. Sandy and Rankin, our pals from Gypsea Heart were supposed to head in this direction as well – but the wind for them would have been right on the nose and quite strong, so they passed on the voyage for a day. They joined us the following day.
On Thursday morning, Rankin joined us on the hike to locate the abandoned jade mine that was on the island. A pretty little piece of jade sounded lovely! Of course, we didn't have a clue where it was on this island – our small chart wasn't exactly descriptive – nor very accurate. So we took off to follow what paths we could find. Most ran into dead-ends. We did make it across the island on what was the old runway (now very overgrown) and then were directed up a hill to a viewpoint by a friendly man in a village. We then headed uphill and were rewarded with great views of the surrounding waters – you could really see the reefs and the deeper water channels. Then Michael thought he spotted where the old mine was located so we headed in that direction. After exploring the mine area and not finding any gems, we headed back a different way. Michael led us down a path which was thick with brush and trees. Rankin and Barbara were sure it was simply a pig path...and indeed it came to an end. At one point we all lost each other in the trees and had to locate one another by voice. We finally broke our way through some thick brush and small trees and made our way back to the dinghy. Several scratches would require first aid!
On Friday, Astarte took off for Ilot Casy in the Bay of Prony – a 15 mile trip. This is a small island surrounded by reefs but well protected from winds from the east. There are ten moorings here and we luckily grabbed the last deep one (we tried one closer to shore but it was quite shallow and we were afraid if tide went out too much, we'd be touching the bottom). Luckily after tying up to the first one, a boat departed from another mooring which we then grabbed. These moorings are quite close together and we bumped a nearby boat when the winds, currents and tides had boats going in weird directions. Two more boats departed in the later afternoon, and so we all spread out a bit more.
We have been trying to go through old stores on the boat and seeing how long we can stay out of Noumea and the markets. We did a little fresh vegetable shopping and baguette buying in the Ile des Pins – otherwise, we are trying to clear out the cupboards. This Sunday, we'll have been out of Noumea for a month – and we think we can still have good meals for another week or so. Today, that got extended by a gift of some wonderful fresh fish from the boat "Katie M II"who caught a giant waloo on their passage from Vanuatu to New Caledonia. We actually gave them some brownies for the fish! It was delicious and enough for a few meals! The challenge now is doing "sundowner snacks." Those supplies are pretty thin aboard.
This is probably going to be a good spot to do the bottom cleaning – it's very calm and hopefully if the sun stays out it may warm up enough to give it a try. So we'll be here a few days before we continue our exploring.
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Tuesday, October 14, 2014
Uncharted Territory
Lat 22 degrees 42.3 minutes S
Lon 167 degrees 48.7 minutes E
On Sunday morning, we left the peaceful Kuto Bay at Ile des Pins and sailed toward a waypoint in the Southern Lagoon. The waypoint was from our friends on Gypsea Heart. It was a clear, sunny day with a light breeze. We were able to sail most of the way with a little motor-sailing through some reefs. This area is marked"inadequately surveyed" on the charts, but there is plenty of info on them from the cruising guides of the area. We headed to a small island called " Ilot Ua" which is nestled in a reef strewn area. That means it is protected from the swells from most directions but the island is a low, white sand beached piece of land – not offering much protection from wind. The colors are magnificent when the sun is shining – white sandy beach, some green trees, and water of varying shades of blue depending on the depths. We anchored in about 10 meters of water on what seems like a nice sandy bottom though there are a fair amount of coral "bommies" around. We arrived to the anchorage at about 1530 and there were three boats here. Luckily, as we were dropping anchor for the second time (the first time we were to close to another boat), one of the boats left, so we had a good spot open up. We took their spot and settled in for the evening. It was a great sunset and Michael claims it was the best "green flash" we've ever seen in the Pacific. Barbara disagrees, but it was a mighty good one nonetheless.
This morning (Monday), we went ashore and Michael circum-ambulated the island. Barbara went as far as the trees would allow. The water was too deep for walking around and after seeing the sea snake move from the trees to the water, she "weannied" out and opted to go around the other way. Michael saw more sea snakes (good pictures will prove it next time we have internet), some hawks (his namesakes) along with lots and lots of small jellyfish known as "By-the-Wind Sailors" that were washing up on the beach. There are lots of sea birds nesting on the beach and they make quite a squawk when you go near the trees they call home.
It is a pretty spot and we learned from a catamaran anchored nearby that there is another "even better" island nearby which we may head to tomorrow...or not. The catamaran folks live in New Caledonia and pointed out some other good spots nearby.
It is pretty windy out and the noise gets tiresome, but it is comfortable and pretty. We are trying to go through much of our food supplies on board as we can't take much into New Zealand. It has also been fun and challenging to make meals from what's left in the cabinets. We left Noumea about a month ago and have only bought breads and a few vegetables since we've been out. We've eaten out once and scored several meals from that dining experience thanks to Jean Marc who gifted us with fish, lobster and lots of pumpkin (made a yummy pumpkin soup for lunch). We got four dinners and one lunch meal from the fish alone. We haven't had to resort to beans and rice yet (and we don't mind that!)
It will fun to hang out here for a few days and if we can get warm enough (and our wet suits on) we might even get in the water! The bottom of the boat needs some scrubbing and it looks like a few nice coral patches around. The water here is very clear.
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Lon 167 degrees 48.7 minutes E
On Sunday morning, we left the peaceful Kuto Bay at Ile des Pins and sailed toward a waypoint in the Southern Lagoon. The waypoint was from our friends on Gypsea Heart. It was a clear, sunny day with a light breeze. We were able to sail most of the way with a little motor-sailing through some reefs. This area is marked"inadequately surveyed" on the charts, but there is plenty of info on them from the cruising guides of the area. We headed to a small island called " Ilot Ua" which is nestled in a reef strewn area. That means it is protected from the swells from most directions but the island is a low, white sand beached piece of land – not offering much protection from wind. The colors are magnificent when the sun is shining – white sandy beach, some green trees, and water of varying shades of blue depending on the depths. We anchored in about 10 meters of water on what seems like a nice sandy bottom though there are a fair amount of coral "bommies" around. We arrived to the anchorage at about 1530 and there were three boats here. Luckily, as we were dropping anchor for the second time (the first time we were to close to another boat), one of the boats left, so we had a good spot open up. We took their spot and settled in for the evening. It was a great sunset and Michael claims it was the best "green flash" we've ever seen in the Pacific. Barbara disagrees, but it was a mighty good one nonetheless.
This morning (Monday), we went ashore and Michael circum-ambulated the island. Barbara went as far as the trees would allow. The water was too deep for walking around and after seeing the sea snake move from the trees to the water, she "weannied" out and opted to go around the other way. Michael saw more sea snakes (good pictures will prove it next time we have internet), some hawks (his namesakes) along with lots and lots of small jellyfish known as "By-the-Wind Sailors" that were washing up on the beach. There are lots of sea birds nesting on the beach and they make quite a squawk when you go near the trees they call home.
It is a pretty spot and we learned from a catamaran anchored nearby that there is another "even better" island nearby which we may head to tomorrow...or not. The catamaran folks live in New Caledonia and pointed out some other good spots nearby.
It is pretty windy out and the noise gets tiresome, but it is comfortable and pretty. We are trying to go through much of our food supplies on board as we can't take much into New Zealand. It has also been fun and challenging to make meals from what's left in the cabinets. We left Noumea about a month ago and have only bought breads and a few vegetables since we've been out. We've eaten out once and scored several meals from that dining experience thanks to Jean Marc who gifted us with fish, lobster and lots of pumpkin (made a yummy pumpkin soup for lunch). We got four dinners and one lunch meal from the fish alone. We haven't had to resort to beans and rice yet (and we don't mind that!)
It will fun to hang out here for a few days and if we can get warm enough (and our wet suits on) we might even get in the water! The bottom of the boat needs some scrubbing and it looks like a few nice coral patches around. The water here is very clear.
----------
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Uncharted Territory
Lat 22 degrees 42.3 minutes S
Lon 167 degrees 48.7 minutes E
On Sunday morning, we left the peaceful Kuto Bay at Ile des Pins and sailed toward a waypoint in the Southern Lagoon. The waypoint was from our friends on Gypsea Heart. It was a clear, sunny day with a light breeze. We were able to sail most of the way with a little motor-sailing through some reefs. This area is marked"inadequately surveyed" on the charts, but there is plenty of info on them from the cruising guides of the area. We headed to a small island called " Ilot Ua" which is nestled in a reef strewn area. That means it is protected from the swells from most directions but the island is a low, white sand beached piece of land – not offering much protection from wind. The colors are magnificent when the sun is shining – white sandy beach, some green trees, and water of varying shades of blue depending on the depths. We anchored in about 10 meters of water on what seems like a nice sandy bottom though there are a fair amount of coral "bommies" around. We arrived to the anchorage at about 1530 and there were three boats here. Luckily, as we were dropping anchor for the second time (the first time we were to close to another boat), one of the boats left, so we had a good spot open up. We took their spot and settled in for the evening. It was a great sunset and Michael claims it was the best "green flash" we've ever seen in the Pacific. Barbara disagrees, but it was a mighty good one nonetheless.
This morning (Monday), we went ashore and Michael circum-ambulated the island. Barbara went as far as the trees would allow. The water was too deep for walking around and after seeing the sea snake move from the trees to the water, she "weannied" out and opted to go around the other way. Michael saw more sea snakes (good pictures will prove it next time we have internet), some hawks (his namesakes) along with lots and lots of small jellyfish known as "By-the-Wind Sailors" that were washing up on the beach. There are lots of sea birds nesting on the beach and they make quite a squawk when you go near the trees they call home.
It is a pretty spot and we learned from a catamaran anchored nearby that there is another "even better" island nearby which we may head to tomorrow...or not. The catamaran folks live in New Caledonia and pointed out some other good spots nearby.
It is pretty windy out and the noise gets tiresome, but it is comfortable and pretty. We are trying to go through much of our food supplies on board as we can't take much into New Zealand. It has also been fun and challenging to make meals from what's left in the cabinets. We left Noumea about a month ago and have only bought breads and a few vegetables since we've been out. We've eaten out once and scored several meals from that dining experience thanks to Jean Marc who gifted us with fish, lobster and lots of pumpkin (made a yummy pumpkin soup for lunch). We got four dinners and one lunch meal from the fish alone. We haven't had to resort to beans and rice yet (and we don't mind that!)
It will fun to hang out here for a few days and if we can get warm enough (and our wet suits on) we might even get in the water! The bottom of the boat needs some scrubbing and it looks like a few nice coral patches around. The water here is very clear.
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Lon 167 degrees 48.7 minutes E
On Sunday morning, we left the peaceful Kuto Bay at Ile des Pins and sailed toward a waypoint in the Southern Lagoon. The waypoint was from our friends on Gypsea Heart. It was a clear, sunny day with a light breeze. We were able to sail most of the way with a little motor-sailing through some reefs. This area is marked"inadequately surveyed" on the charts, but there is plenty of info on them from the cruising guides of the area. We headed to a small island called " Ilot Ua" which is nestled in a reef strewn area. That means it is protected from the swells from most directions but the island is a low, white sand beached piece of land – not offering much protection from wind. The colors are magnificent when the sun is shining – white sandy beach, some green trees, and water of varying shades of blue depending on the depths. We anchored in about 10 meters of water on what seems like a nice sandy bottom though there are a fair amount of coral "bommies" around. We arrived to the anchorage at about 1530 and there were three boats here. Luckily, as we were dropping anchor for the second time (the first time we were to close to another boat), one of the boats left, so we had a good spot open up. We took their spot and settled in for the evening. It was a great sunset and Michael claims it was the best "green flash" we've ever seen in the Pacific. Barbara disagrees, but it was a mighty good one nonetheless.
This morning (Monday), we went ashore and Michael circum-ambulated the island. Barbara went as far as the trees would allow. The water was too deep for walking around and after seeing the sea snake move from the trees to the water, she "weannied" out and opted to go around the other way. Michael saw more sea snakes (good pictures will prove it next time we have internet), some hawks (his namesakes) along with lots and lots of small jellyfish known as "By-the-Wind Sailors" that were washing up on the beach. There are lots of sea birds nesting on the beach and they make quite a squawk when you go near the trees they call home.
It is a pretty spot and we learned from a catamaran anchored nearby that there is another "even better" island nearby which we may head to tomorrow...or not. The catamaran folks live in New Caledonia and pointed out some other good spots nearby.
It is pretty windy out and the noise gets tiresome, but it is comfortable and pretty. We are trying to go through much of our food supplies on board as we can't take much into New Zealand. It has also been fun and challenging to make meals from what's left in the cabinets. We left Noumea about a month ago and have only bought breads and a few vegetables since we've been out. We've eaten out once and scored several meals from that dining experience thanks to Jean Marc who gifted us with fish, lobster and lots of pumpkin (made a yummy pumpkin soup for lunch). We got four dinners and one lunch meal from the fish alone. We haven't had to resort to beans and rice yet (and we don't mind that!)
It will fun to hang out here for a few days and if we can get warm enough (and our wet suits on) we might even get in the water! The bottom of the boat needs some scrubbing and it looks like a few nice coral patches around. The water here is very clear.
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Friday, October 10, 2014
Queen Hortense's Cave
Queen Hortense was married to a local chief and during some inter-tribal wars in 1855, she escaped and hid out in a huge cave. We decided checking out this cave would be our Friday adventure. It had been grey and rainy for several days and we were feeling pretty boat-bound. But the sun came out this morning and we knew it would be a good day to go exploring. The cave is about 25 kilometers from the boat past the town of Vao. We walked to the main road to Vao and stuck our thumb out and the first truck picked us up. John Baptiste was the driver and gave us a great tour along the way. Our French hasn't improved much, but he had decent English so we could understand. He dropped us off at Vao – about 6 kms down! We walked a bit to the intersection and started up the road to the "Grotte de la Reine Hortense." There isn't a lot of traffic on this island, but the people are quite gracious and if a car or truck has room, they usually stop. If they are full, they express their disappointment that they can't offer a lift. We managed to get several rides up the road – the first, a hotel van, gave us a lift a little way; then a husband and wife took us a little further; and finally, a French woman and her friend and daughter actually stopped for us when we weren't even hitching (we had decided to walk the last few kilometers). She said it was too far to walk and took us right to the road even though she wasn't even going in that direction!
To get to the cave, you walk through a very lovely tropical forest. The path is next to a small stream that people use as a wishing well of sorts as there was lots of coins sparkling in it. There was a huge sound of buzzing bees and we hoped it wasn't an angry hive! Never actually saw the bees or insects but you sure could hear them. At the end of the path is the cave.
The cave is part of a giant limestone cliff and has lots of swallows darting around – we had hoped for bats but didn't see any. This cave was huge and very dark. The floor was quite slippery and uneven with giant holes that Michael almost walked into! Giant stalactites grew out of the roof and the shapes and angles in the cave were very interesting. We spent some time exploring and then headed back.
As we trekked up the road from the cave, a car came along and the gentleman who "ran" the cave, stopped and picked us up. He took us all the way down the road and we stopped at little restaurant, "Snack Kohu", for lunch. It is a charming place with outside tables amongst some interesting carvings and totems. Jon Marc is the proprietor and after we enjoyed a tasty lunch, he came to chat with us. He brought us some chunks of pumpkin to take to the boat – two types and told us a few ways to prepare them. Then he came back with another bag for us – it included a lobster and three pieces of fresh fish. Wow! Is that generous or what?!? We walked down the road with our treasures and made it to Vao where again, we got a lift by a family to a hotel – where we could just walk along the beach back towards Kuto Bay and Astarte.
We covered a lot of territory through the kindness of strangers and enjoyed exploring an interesting sight. We came back to watch the mega-yacht anchored nearby put its helicopter in the air. It's always fun to watch them takeoff and land on these boats. Maybe we'll get a dinner invite??? Oh wait, we already have lobster!
We'll start thinking about leaving this island soon – but its been a good place to sit out the icky weather we've had. There is lots of boats coming and going as well as the weekly ferry and the big delivery ship.
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To get to the cave, you walk through a very lovely tropical forest. The path is next to a small stream that people use as a wishing well of sorts as there was lots of coins sparkling in it. There was a huge sound of buzzing bees and we hoped it wasn't an angry hive! Never actually saw the bees or insects but you sure could hear them. At the end of the path is the cave.
The cave is part of a giant limestone cliff and has lots of swallows darting around – we had hoped for bats but didn't see any. This cave was huge and very dark. The floor was quite slippery and uneven with giant holes that Michael almost walked into! Giant stalactites grew out of the roof and the shapes and angles in the cave were very interesting. We spent some time exploring and then headed back.
As we trekked up the road from the cave, a car came along and the gentleman who "ran" the cave, stopped and picked us up. He took us all the way down the road and we stopped at little restaurant, "Snack Kohu", for lunch. It is a charming place with outside tables amongst some interesting carvings and totems. Jon Marc is the proprietor and after we enjoyed a tasty lunch, he came to chat with us. He brought us some chunks of pumpkin to take to the boat – two types and told us a few ways to prepare them. Then he came back with another bag for us – it included a lobster and three pieces of fresh fish. Wow! Is that generous or what?!? We walked down the road with our treasures and made it to Vao where again, we got a lift by a family to a hotel – where we could just walk along the beach back towards Kuto Bay and Astarte.
We covered a lot of territory through the kindness of strangers and enjoyed exploring an interesting sight. We came back to watch the mega-yacht anchored nearby put its helicopter in the air. It's always fun to watch them takeoff and land on these boats. Maybe we'll get a dinner invite??? Oh wait, we already have lobster!
We'll start thinking about leaving this island soon – but its been a good place to sit out the icky weather we've had. There is lots of boats coming and going as well as the weekly ferry and the big delivery ship.
----------
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Wednesday, October 1, 2014
The Trekking Tour
We are exploring "Ile des Pins," the lovely island in the lagoon of New Caledonia's main island. We have had windy weather and the boat is rolling a bit in the anchorage, but we have gotten ashore each day with a new adventure. Day one was a simple walk around to see some of the prison ruins – old stone walls and buildings built in 1800's to house some of Paris' criminals as well as political prisoners and Algerian deportees. Day two we trekked uphill. We managed to get to the highest point on the island. With the help of a local dog that adopted us for our walk, we went to Pic N'Ga, They don't believe in easy trails to the top – it was pretty straight uphill over some rocky terrain. Our dog would patiently wait for us and then go ahead. Once on the hill, we were rewarded with remarkable views of the the island and the beautiful turquoise waters of the various bays and inlets. You could really see the coral reefs that surround this island and see why sailing these waters can be hazardous to your health and well-being! It was a beautiful clear day, so our views were incredible. The trip down was tricky and our faithful little companion stayed with us. The path is open to the sun and it gets quite warm against the rocky landscape so we were glad we got an early start for a change. We met lots of folks making their way up as we were heading down. We were tuckered out that night.
Today, day three, we got up bright and early to head to market day in the nearby village of Vao. It is the largest village on the Ile des Pins. On Wednesday and Saturday mornings from 6 to 11 am, there is a fresh market. We heard you have to get there early. It was about 7 km away and we planned to walk there. We left Astarte at 0600 and were at the market by 0730, but just about everything was already gone! We did score some carrots and a few green tomatoes and small peppers. The best news was that, like most french countries, along with the vegetables, their was a stand selling cafe and croissants (as well as baguettes, pizzas and other treats.) So we sat at a communal table and tried to communicate with our high school French as we enjoyed our treats.
We then continued our walk around the village of Vao. There is a statue near Baie de St. Maurice that is very interesting. It is a baroque statue – very European looking, surrounded by a fence of native wooden totems. It is a strange mix of modern religion with the ancient beliefs. The statue is a joint religious statue to the early missionaries and a war memorial to those who lost their lives "for France" on the island in World War I and II. Each of the paths we went along had lovely homes with beautiful gardens and lots of birds. There is a 19th century Catholic church in the center of town founded by a Marist priest who converted most of the island during his 30 year stint.
On our walk back, a pickup truck stopped and gave us a ride. She was a medical person who works the whole island and she stopped and picked up every walking person and dropped them off at work and us off near Kuto Bay where we are anchored. Upon our return, there was this giant cruise ship anchored just outside the inner the bay and lots of cruise ship people about. We chatted with the security people from the cruise ship that were at the dock where we tied up our dinghy. They were former Navy men with the India Navy. We had lots of questions about their lives as they did about ours so we chatted for quite awhile as they unloaded more and more folks from the cruise ship. They certainly must feed those people well aboard!
We'll decide where tomorrow's walk will take us – perhaps a shorter one just to the other bay. Today the wind has calmed so it is a bit calmer aboard. This is a really beautiful spot and lots to watch!
Don't forget to pick up your copy of the October issue of Blue Water Sailing magazine – there is a long article and photos from us in it about five years of cruising.
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Today, day three, we got up bright and early to head to market day in the nearby village of Vao. It is the largest village on the Ile des Pins. On Wednesday and Saturday mornings from 6 to 11 am, there is a fresh market. We heard you have to get there early. It was about 7 km away and we planned to walk there. We left Astarte at 0600 and were at the market by 0730, but just about everything was already gone! We did score some carrots and a few green tomatoes and small peppers. The best news was that, like most french countries, along with the vegetables, their was a stand selling cafe and croissants (as well as baguettes, pizzas and other treats.) So we sat at a communal table and tried to communicate with our high school French as we enjoyed our treats.
We then continued our walk around the village of Vao. There is a statue near Baie de St. Maurice that is very interesting. It is a baroque statue – very European looking, surrounded by a fence of native wooden totems. It is a strange mix of modern religion with the ancient beliefs. The statue is a joint religious statue to the early missionaries and a war memorial to those who lost their lives "for France" on the island in World War I and II. Each of the paths we went along had lovely homes with beautiful gardens and lots of birds. There is a 19th century Catholic church in the center of town founded by a Marist priest who converted most of the island during his 30 year stint.
On our walk back, a pickup truck stopped and gave us a ride. She was a medical person who works the whole island and she stopped and picked up every walking person and dropped them off at work and us off near Kuto Bay where we are anchored. Upon our return, there was this giant cruise ship anchored just outside the inner the bay and lots of cruise ship people about. We chatted with the security people from the cruise ship that were at the dock where we tied up our dinghy. They were former Navy men with the India Navy. We had lots of questions about their lives as they did about ours so we chatted for quite awhile as they unloaded more and more folks from the cruise ship. They certainly must feed those people well aboard!
We'll decide where tomorrow's walk will take us – perhaps a shorter one just to the other bay. Today the wind has calmed so it is a bit calmer aboard. This is a really beautiful spot and lots to watch!
Don't forget to pick up your copy of the October issue of Blue Water Sailing magazine – there is a long article and photos from us in it about five years of cruising.
----------
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Tuesday, September 30, 2014
Ile des Pins
On Wednesday, we left Noumea's Port Moselle Marina and headed back to the southern part of the lagoon. It was good to leave the city behind and get back to anchorages. Cheaper too! We motor-sailed the 30 or so miles bay to Baie de Prony and what is described in one of the guide books as "one of the smallest but prettiest bays in Bonne Anse." It is called Anse Majik – or at least that's what the mooring ball said. The moorings are provided free on a first come first serve basis. When we arrived there was only one other boat there but by the time nightfall came – all five were taken. This is a narrow bay well protected from all swells and winds and surrounded by hills covered in vegetation. There are also the areas where mining has occurred that are bare and erosion is taking its toll on the very red, iron rich soil. The bird calls were constant and lovely to hear – especially at dawn and dusk. It was a change from the traffic noises in Noumea. We enjoyed the picturesque scenery and being in a quiet anchorage. On Friday, a beautiful sunny day, we hiked up a track to Pic Ndoua, the highest point in the area and home to a beautiful old lighthouse. It also has a nicely built observation area to watch whales. The humpback whales use the area for mating and raising their young and can often be spotted with the high powered viewers that are on the observation platform. They must have taken Friday off as we couldn't spot any, even though the conditions were perfect – flat seas and bright sun.
After our trip to the lighthouse and observation deck, we decided to keep walking towards another bay, Port Boise. The flora along the way was very interesting and varied – everything from pitcher plants to strange flowers and Norfolk pines. The path was well maintained though slippery in some spots with small pebbles over the hard ground. It was quite a hilly climb as well. We trekked for several hours and enjoyed our picnic lunch at a pretty viewpoint. Around two, we decided to turn back to make it back down the trail before dark. Quite an enjoyable climb and walk overall though we were tuckered out and earned our cold beverage upon return.
On Sunday, the winds were supposed to be more westerly, so we thought that would be a good time to make the 42 mile run to Ile des Pins on the other side of the lagoon. We left at 0600 in overcast weather. It had rained through the night. We had hoped to sail, but the winds were too light and we needed to cover a lot of ground. It is also a reef strewn lagoon, so we couldn't tack too far without hitting something hard! So we motor-sailed and made good time. The charts are quite good for the area and the reefs are all well marked. We arrived in Kuto Bay and found a spot amongst the dozen or so boats already on the hook. It is a nice shallow, sandy bottom, but there are coral heads to avoid. The visibility wasn't perfect for spotting things, so we took our chances and dropped the anchor in a spot that just opened up thanks to a large catamaran leaving. We are the only US boat in the anchorage that is filled with several French and German boats, an Austrian and a Kiwi boat. Conditions were predicted to be calm.
That night, the winds picked up and the swell came in together with some rain squalls. It wasn't too uncomfortable, but we hadn't experienced this for awhile having been in Port Vila, then Noumea and the protected anchorages of Prony Bay. This morning, it is a sunny but windy day. The wind is still a little too southerly for being really comfortable in this anchorage, but it is predicted to be lightening and coming more from the typical southeast which would be perfect here. We walked along the beautiful white sandy beach this morning and saw some remnants of the old prisons from the 1800's when this was an island used for French prisoners – many were political prisoners. The old stone structures were built by the prisoners themselves and the walls of many still stand.
We also managed to find a few French baguettes at the small store. Tomorrow, we may attempt to climb the highest point of the island if it is clear. The view is supposed to be worth the effort. It is pretty here and we plan on spending a few weeks exploring the Ile des Pins.
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After our trip to the lighthouse and observation deck, we decided to keep walking towards another bay, Port Boise. The flora along the way was very interesting and varied – everything from pitcher plants to strange flowers and Norfolk pines. The path was well maintained though slippery in some spots with small pebbles over the hard ground. It was quite a hilly climb as well. We trekked for several hours and enjoyed our picnic lunch at a pretty viewpoint. Around two, we decided to turn back to make it back down the trail before dark. Quite an enjoyable climb and walk overall though we were tuckered out and earned our cold beverage upon return.
On Sunday, the winds were supposed to be more westerly, so we thought that would be a good time to make the 42 mile run to Ile des Pins on the other side of the lagoon. We left at 0600 in overcast weather. It had rained through the night. We had hoped to sail, but the winds were too light and we needed to cover a lot of ground. It is also a reef strewn lagoon, so we couldn't tack too far without hitting something hard! So we motor-sailed and made good time. The charts are quite good for the area and the reefs are all well marked. We arrived in Kuto Bay and found a spot amongst the dozen or so boats already on the hook. It is a nice shallow, sandy bottom, but there are coral heads to avoid. The visibility wasn't perfect for spotting things, so we took our chances and dropped the anchor in a spot that just opened up thanks to a large catamaran leaving. We are the only US boat in the anchorage that is filled with several French and German boats, an Austrian and a Kiwi boat. Conditions were predicted to be calm.
That night, the winds picked up and the swell came in together with some rain squalls. It wasn't too uncomfortable, but we hadn't experienced this for awhile having been in Port Vila, then Noumea and the protected anchorages of Prony Bay. This morning, it is a sunny but windy day. The wind is still a little too southerly for being really comfortable in this anchorage, but it is predicted to be lightening and coming more from the typical southeast which would be perfect here. We walked along the beautiful white sandy beach this morning and saw some remnants of the old prisons from the 1800's when this was an island used for French prisoners – many were political prisoners. The old stone structures were built by the prisoners themselves and the walls of many still stand.
We also managed to find a few French baguettes at the small store. Tomorrow, we may attempt to climb the highest point of the island if it is clear. The view is supposed to be worth the effort. It is pretty here and we plan on spending a few weeks exploring the Ile des Pins.
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Monday, September 22, 2014
This is the South Pacific????
After a lovely first night in a deserted anchorage off a sandy beach, we headed the 30 miles to the capital of Noumea to clear into New Caledonia. High rises loomed in the distance as we approached and the harbour was filled with moored boats. This was a big city. The VHF radio started to buzz with voices – all speaking very fast French. High school french lessons had been a long time ago! But we made our way into the Port Moselle Marina for clearance and a berth for a few nights. It was great to pull in and see many boats we knew – in fact we moored right next to Simon and Barbara on Tuarangi who we met in Vanuatu!
Clearance was easy here – we had Tatianna from Biosecurity on board and she took our fresh goods and filled out paperwork. Michael went to the office and completed customs forms that were submitted and we waited for customs to arrive. You have to wait for two hours and if they don't come, you can take your yellow flag down. We have absolutely no paperwork from the process. We will have to wait until Monday morning to go to immigration to complete that step.
There is a festival going on right next to the marina – so lots of music. We have absolutely no CFPs, the local currency (Cour de Franc Pacifique) and banks are not opened until Monday as well. They do have ATMS so we may have to resort to that!!
It seems appropriate that we arrived on September 19 (the 18th in Europe). Why? Well, Scotland had their vote to become independent from UK. New Caledonia was named by James Cook (who else?) because the terrain reminded him of the highlands of Scotland, which was called Caledonia by the Romans. Scotland remains part of the United Kingdom and New Caledonia is still part of France. France claimed the land in 1853 for a penal colony. They sent shiploads of convicts here. After their sentences were served they were encouraged to farm the land. Female orphans were sent in as brides and thus, the French populated the islands. The natives weren't so happy about this as their land was being stolen. The Kanaks, the indigenous Melanesian natives of the region, revolted in 1878 led by Chief Atai – but was quashed by the French military several months later. During WWII, the French and Kanak New Caledonians were recruited to fight for France on the French and Turkish fronts. Americans also arrived here as a base for fighting in the Pacific – bringing with them modernization for the area. They even have a small memorial to that effect in the city. The history continues not unlike most of these Pacific Islands. Colonization was contested by the indigenous people – but here, unlike most of the other countries we recently visited, the colonizers didn't want to give up the land which had heaps of minerals (nickel, iron, chrome etc.) and a place for their prisoners (who could work the mines!). So with lots of assassinations of the Kanak candidates in various elections for independence, the French still really control the country of New Caledonia and the French tricolor flag is still flown. There is a small concession to independence with a Kanak flag, anthem and a separation of some of the land. The Loyalty Islands are predominately Kanak (nothing there that the French want!) and the other areas are French.
So that's the history in brief of New Caledonia...like Scotland, not an independent country.
The good news about a French country – great croissants, breads, wines and cheeses. It is a spendy place though...you get 93 CFPs to $1 US – a croissant costs 80 CFP and a dozen eggs 465 CFP and two onions 136 CFP. Dinner out can range from 2200 and up per meal (without drinks). We went out last night to the snack vans (like in Tahiti). These are vans that serve up full meals – mostly of the Asian style – and we paid 800 CFP each for a meal and 500 CFP for some fries! Unlike Tahiti though, there were no tables and chairs near the vans for dining – so it is all "take-away."
We did lots of walking around yesterday and Michael downloaded some google maps for some of the outer islands here so we can get out of town as soon as possible. The good news is that there is internet here at the marina (not speedy), but is included with the cost of the slip.
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Clearance was easy here – we had Tatianna from Biosecurity on board and she took our fresh goods and filled out paperwork. Michael went to the office and completed customs forms that were submitted and we waited for customs to arrive. You have to wait for two hours and if they don't come, you can take your yellow flag down. We have absolutely no paperwork from the process. We will have to wait until Monday morning to go to immigration to complete that step.
There is a festival going on right next to the marina – so lots of music. We have absolutely no CFPs, the local currency (Cour de Franc Pacifique) and banks are not opened until Monday as well. They do have ATMS so we may have to resort to that!!
It seems appropriate that we arrived on September 19 (the 18th in Europe). Why? Well, Scotland had their vote to become independent from UK. New Caledonia was named by James Cook (who else?) because the terrain reminded him of the highlands of Scotland, which was called Caledonia by the Romans. Scotland remains part of the United Kingdom and New Caledonia is still part of France. France claimed the land in 1853 for a penal colony. They sent shiploads of convicts here. After their sentences were served they were encouraged to farm the land. Female orphans were sent in as brides and thus, the French populated the islands. The natives weren't so happy about this as their land was being stolen. The Kanaks, the indigenous Melanesian natives of the region, revolted in 1878 led by Chief Atai – but was quashed by the French military several months later. During WWII, the French and Kanak New Caledonians were recruited to fight for France on the French and Turkish fronts. Americans also arrived here as a base for fighting in the Pacific – bringing with them modernization for the area. They even have a small memorial to that effect in the city. The history continues not unlike most of these Pacific Islands. Colonization was contested by the indigenous people – but here, unlike most of the other countries we recently visited, the colonizers didn't want to give up the land which had heaps of minerals (nickel, iron, chrome etc.) and a place for their prisoners (who could work the mines!). So with lots of assassinations of the Kanak candidates in various elections for independence, the French still really control the country of New Caledonia and the French tricolor flag is still flown. There is a small concession to independence with a Kanak flag, anthem and a separation of some of the land. The Loyalty Islands are predominately Kanak (nothing there that the French want!) and the other areas are French.
So that's the history in brief of New Caledonia...like Scotland, not an independent country.
The good news about a French country – great croissants, breads, wines and cheeses. It is a spendy place though...you get 93 CFPs to $1 US – a croissant costs 80 CFP and a dozen eggs 465 CFP and two onions 136 CFP. Dinner out can range from 2200 and up per meal (without drinks). We went out last night to the snack vans (like in Tahiti). These are vans that serve up full meals – mostly of the Asian style – and we paid 800 CFP each for a meal and 500 CFP for some fries! Unlike Tahiti though, there were no tables and chairs near the vans for dining – so it is all "take-away."
We did lots of walking around yesterday and Michael downloaded some google maps for some of the outer islands here so we can get out of town as soon as possible. The good news is that there is internet here at the marina (not speedy), but is included with the cost of the slip.
----------
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Thursday, September 18, 2014
Bonjour from New Caledonia
We departed Port Vila, Vanuatu at first light on Tuesday morning after a hectic Monday. We had to check out of customs, immigration and pay our port fees before leaving. We also got our "duty free" pass from customs so we could purchase some duty free fuel and restock the liquor cabinet! The duty free prices here on liquor were pretty incredible. After picking up a few last fresh breads and paying our marina fee, we loaded the dinghy aboard and prepped the boat for offshore travel. That means tying everything in sight down and securing the bookshelves and cabinets to keep things from falling out.
We left Tuesday at 0530 and hoped for the best. The weather window was short – but so is the trip. It is only 300 miles to New Caledonia and another 60 or so once inside the lagoon to Noumea where we have to clear in. The winds were predicted to be from the east or northeast for the first day – the best direction we could hope for...but the seas were still predicted to be 2 meters after days and days of bad weather passing through the area. Wednesday was predicted to be lighter winds and more from the south and even some westerly components – but light. By Friday there was bad weather building in the New Caledonia area and so we wanted to be sure to be safely in the lagoon by then.
Tuesday turned out to be one of our best sails we've had. We covered 142 miles in 24 hours! That was good and it was relatively comfortable. The seas were big and there was a constant roll – but overall the sail was fast and good and we almost made it halfway in the first 24 hours. Then about 0300 on Wednesday morning we sailed right into some rain followed by a "no wind" zone. The wind just died and the seas were still steep enough that sails would constantly collapse every time the boat rolled. 142 miles behind us and now no wind. We decided at 0700 to turn on the motor and motorsail until the wind hopefully picked up again. That didn't happen. We motorsailed the remainder of the trip into the Havanah Passage which can be tricky. There is a strong tidal current that runs through this relatively narrow passage. Timing is critical. You don't want wind against tides and incoming seas. We negotiated that and went about 15 miles up the passage and found a nice little bay to anchor for the night. We are flying our yellow Q flag and will continue the trip through the lagoon in daylight tomorrow.
We did see two sets of whales on this trip. The first was a large pod of pilot whales (we think). Relatively small whales with very rounded, large heads and dolphin like fins. The next group were actually in the lagoon right after we entered and they were quite large with the squared off heads like sperm whales. They were tail flapping, spouting and Michael thinks he even spotted one doing the "spy hop." Great welcomes to New Caledonia.
This is a very French island and we'll have to forget our newly learned Bislama "tok tok" and parle francaise.
More on the New Cal arrival when we get into the town and clear in. But its nice to be in a new country after a good and safe passage.
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We left Tuesday at 0530 and hoped for the best. The weather window was short – but so is the trip. It is only 300 miles to New Caledonia and another 60 or so once inside the lagoon to Noumea where we have to clear in. The winds were predicted to be from the east or northeast for the first day – the best direction we could hope for...but the seas were still predicted to be 2 meters after days and days of bad weather passing through the area. Wednesday was predicted to be lighter winds and more from the south and even some westerly components – but light. By Friday there was bad weather building in the New Caledonia area and so we wanted to be sure to be safely in the lagoon by then.
Tuesday turned out to be one of our best sails we've had. We covered 142 miles in 24 hours! That was good and it was relatively comfortable. The seas were big and there was a constant roll – but overall the sail was fast and good and we almost made it halfway in the first 24 hours. Then about 0300 on Wednesday morning we sailed right into some rain followed by a "no wind" zone. The wind just died and the seas were still steep enough that sails would constantly collapse every time the boat rolled. 142 miles behind us and now no wind. We decided at 0700 to turn on the motor and motorsail until the wind hopefully picked up again. That didn't happen. We motorsailed the remainder of the trip into the Havanah Passage which can be tricky. There is a strong tidal current that runs through this relatively narrow passage. Timing is critical. You don't want wind against tides and incoming seas. We negotiated that and went about 15 miles up the passage and found a nice little bay to anchor for the night. We are flying our yellow Q flag and will continue the trip through the lagoon in daylight tomorrow.
We did see two sets of whales on this trip. The first was a large pod of pilot whales (we think). Relatively small whales with very rounded, large heads and dolphin like fins. The next group were actually in the lagoon right after we entered and they were quite large with the squared off heads like sperm whales. They were tail flapping, spouting and Michael thinks he even spotted one doing the "spy hop." Great welcomes to New Caledonia.
This is a very French island and we'll have to forget our newly learned Bislama "tok tok" and parle francaise.
More on the New Cal arrival when we get into the town and clear in. But its nice to be in a new country after a good and safe passage.
----------
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Saturday, September 13, 2014
The Beat of the Tam-Tam
We remain in Port Vila on Efate Island in Vanuatu and have been playing the waiting for a "weather window" game for at least ten days. It isn't a long trip – about 300 miles to the entrance of the Noumea lagoon in New Caledonia, but it seems we can't get the right winds for the voyage. There seems to be a long string of very unsettled weather and weird systems flying through the area. Perhaps this coming Tuesday we can make our departure. We'll know more today. We need at least a full weekday's notice to depart to clear out of the country, get our duty free fuel and get the boat prepared for offshore.
While killing time in Port Vila, we have been looking for things to keep us entertained. Michael saw a poster on a bulletin board announcing a cultural event. Unfortunately it was in French, so he didn't get all the details. We presumed it was at the French cultural center and headed there (with some friends whom we talked into joining us). The French Cultural Center was all closed up so we trekked to the Vanuatu Museum thinking that it might be there. No, not there. Then as we walked by a grocery store, we saw the poster and had Catherine with us (she speaks and reads French) and we saw that it was at the Lycee Louis Antoine de Bouganville. We asked a local person where that was and he said you need to take a bus there. We said we'd walk and he said, "No, you'll get lost." We lost Catherine at this point, but four us us hopped a bus and got taken to a school on the other side of the town.
We did just miss the "stick dance" which was too bad as that is rarely performed. But we watched some other terrific "kustom" dances from various islands around Vanuatu. The costumes on some of the dancers were incredible. They had two very large tam-tams (slit drums) that were used to keep the beat for many of the dances. In a few dances, the men wore these ankle bracelets of seeds that created this magnificent rattle sound as their feet hit the ground. If we could understand the French and Bislama announcements correctly, we think one of the dance groups of "kustom" men had only performed in Port Vila one other time in 1979. So it looked like some of the dances we saw were quite unusual to witness. It was a great afternoon and quite an unexpected treat. It seems it was "cultural day" at this secondary school. The fun part of some of the dances was that a few audience members would jump up and join in the dancing if the performance was from the island where they too were from.
We have enjoyed time getting to know Mike and Catherine on the boat "Falbala" and have enjoyed a dinner aboard their boat. "Falbala" Mike bought a new toy (a remote control helicopter with camera inside) and he and "Astarte" Michael went to a park to give it a test fly.
We also reconnected with old friends that we met in Panama in 2012 – John and Sukanya from the boat "Millenium." They arrived into Port Vila from Fiji a few days ago and it was fun seeing them again. John is from Australia and Sukanya is from Thailand. They bought our old outboard (Yoshi) which after some repairs, they are still using! We had them over for dinner and were then treated to a Thai feast aboard their vessel last night! Yum! That is still one of the best things about cruising – meeting people, going our separate ways then reconnecting to share adventures.
More new pictures are on the photo page. Some of the incredible dancing we saw. Hopefully the next post will be that we are underway for New Caledonia.
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While killing time in Port Vila, we have been looking for things to keep us entertained. Michael saw a poster on a bulletin board announcing a cultural event. Unfortunately it was in French, so he didn't get all the details. We presumed it was at the French cultural center and headed there (with some friends whom we talked into joining us). The French Cultural Center was all closed up so we trekked to the Vanuatu Museum thinking that it might be there. No, not there. Then as we walked by a grocery store, we saw the poster and had Catherine with us (she speaks and reads French) and we saw that it was at the Lycee Louis Antoine de Bouganville. We asked a local person where that was and he said you need to take a bus there. We said we'd walk and he said, "No, you'll get lost." We lost Catherine at this point, but four us us hopped a bus and got taken to a school on the other side of the town.
We did just miss the "stick dance" which was too bad as that is rarely performed. But we watched some other terrific "kustom" dances from various islands around Vanuatu. The costumes on some of the dancers were incredible. They had two very large tam-tams (slit drums) that were used to keep the beat for many of the dances. In a few dances, the men wore these ankle bracelets of seeds that created this magnificent rattle sound as their feet hit the ground. If we could understand the French and Bislama announcements correctly, we think one of the dance groups of "kustom" men had only performed in Port Vila one other time in 1979. So it looked like some of the dances we saw were quite unusual to witness. It was a great afternoon and quite an unexpected treat. It seems it was "cultural day" at this secondary school. The fun part of some of the dances was that a few audience members would jump up and join in the dancing if the performance was from the island where they too were from.
We have enjoyed time getting to know Mike and Catherine on the boat "Falbala" and have enjoyed a dinner aboard their boat. "Falbala" Mike bought a new toy (a remote control helicopter with camera inside) and he and "Astarte" Michael went to a park to give it a test fly.
We also reconnected with old friends that we met in Panama in 2012 – John and Sukanya from the boat "Millenium." They arrived into Port Vila from Fiji a few days ago and it was fun seeing them again. John is from Australia and Sukanya is from Thailand. They bought our old outboard (Yoshi) which after some repairs, they are still using! We had them over for dinner and were then treated to a Thai feast aboard their vessel last night! Yum! That is still one of the best things about cruising – meeting people, going our separate ways then reconnecting to share adventures.
More new pictures are on the photo page. Some of the incredible dancing we saw. Hopefully the next post will be that we are underway for New Caledonia.
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Saturday, August 23, 2014
Off to the Races
A few notes first – there are new photos up on the page and more top come – enjoy. And this entry is a bit "out of order" as the happened before our trip to Tanna and the volcano.
On a lovely Saturday morning, we headed into Port Vila for a day at the races...horse racing that is! This is an annual event on the island of Efate. It is considered the "Kentucky Derby" of Vanuatu – or at least that is what we were told. The Kiwanis Club sponsors the event and raises money to support its local charities with this multi-day event. On Wednesday night there is a black tie ball and then the races on Saturday followed by a post race event. We would participate in the races – having left our tuxedo, ball gown and tiara at home!
In town, there were free buses out to the venue. It is about a 45 minute drive out to the "track" so we got a good sightseeing tour along the way. Past a golf course, we were dropped off near the track. One of the sponsors of the event is Tusker beer...and the other, was the local Vanuatu abattoir (slaughterhouse). The track actually runs past the abattoir - that should get the horses moving fast!
On sight, there were lots of food stalls selling Tusker beer and all types of food. The place was packed with ni-Vans (locals) and ex-pats – mostly Australians. The ex-pats get all dolled up for the event – derby style. Lots of fancy dresses, high heels (fun to watch on the grassy terrain), hats and frills were on show. Several tents for the sponsors were set up and one called the "birdcage" was part of the fund-raising activity. You could pay 8500 Vatu to get in and eat and drink and have the best vantage point for the races. We stayed out of the tents and stood by the fence with the locals and enjoyed the festivities.
The races were great! These are local horse and local riders – though they did have pretty shiny satin shirts and jockey helmets. Several of the horses ran in several races. There were some stats on some of the horses – but picking them by name was as good a chance as any for winning a race. The betting was simply for "win" - as some of the races only had four horses. We decided to put a few dollars in the second race on a horse named "Tanna" because we would be heading to Tanna in a few days. It was a good pick – as our horse won and our 200 Vatu bet got us 300 Vatu in winnings! Whoo-hoo! In the next race we placed our money on Jenny (Barbara's mom's name, sort-of) and it was a great race. Two horses as they went past the abattoir freaked out and tossed their riders. Both riders were okay but the horses came to the finish line riderless. Jenny was neck and neck at the finish – so it was a photo-finish. Unfortunately the other horse was bigger and nosed Jenny out – so no win for us! But it was really close.
We enjoyed the day in company of our friends Sandy and Rankin from Gypsea Heart. A few Tuskers, lunch, a little betting and good company made for a really fun afternoon. There was a stage playing music the entire time and the track announcer – from Austalia was very entertaining. A successful outing – though we didn't come back with pocketfuls of Vatu! We caught another free bus back to town. It was one of those events we were glad we heard about. It was a local event with lots of local folks and it was something very different.
There are photos of our day at the races on the sight!
----------
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On a lovely Saturday morning, we headed into Port Vila for a day at the races...horse racing that is! This is an annual event on the island of Efate. It is considered the "Kentucky Derby" of Vanuatu – or at least that is what we were told. The Kiwanis Club sponsors the event and raises money to support its local charities with this multi-day event. On Wednesday night there is a black tie ball and then the races on Saturday followed by a post race event. We would participate in the races – having left our tuxedo, ball gown and tiara at home!
In town, there were free buses out to the venue. It is about a 45 minute drive out to the "track" so we got a good sightseeing tour along the way. Past a golf course, we were dropped off near the track. One of the sponsors of the event is Tusker beer...and the other, was the local Vanuatu abattoir (slaughterhouse). The track actually runs past the abattoir - that should get the horses moving fast!
On sight, there were lots of food stalls selling Tusker beer and all types of food. The place was packed with ni-Vans (locals) and ex-pats – mostly Australians. The ex-pats get all dolled up for the event – derby style. Lots of fancy dresses, high heels (fun to watch on the grassy terrain), hats and frills were on show. Several tents for the sponsors were set up and one called the "birdcage" was part of the fund-raising activity. You could pay 8500 Vatu to get in and eat and drink and have the best vantage point for the races. We stayed out of the tents and stood by the fence with the locals and enjoyed the festivities.
The races were great! These are local horse and local riders – though they did have pretty shiny satin shirts and jockey helmets. Several of the horses ran in several races. There were some stats on some of the horses – but picking them by name was as good a chance as any for winning a race. The betting was simply for "win" - as some of the races only had four horses. We decided to put a few dollars in the second race on a horse named "Tanna" because we would be heading to Tanna in a few days. It was a good pick – as our horse won and our 200 Vatu bet got us 300 Vatu in winnings! Whoo-hoo! In the next race we placed our money on Jenny (Barbara's mom's name, sort-of) and it was a great race. Two horses as they went past the abattoir freaked out and tossed their riders. Both riders were okay but the horses came to the finish line riderless. Jenny was neck and neck at the finish – so it was a photo-finish. Unfortunately the other horse was bigger and nosed Jenny out – so no win for us! But it was really close.
We enjoyed the day in company of our friends Sandy and Rankin from Gypsea Heart. A few Tuskers, lunch, a little betting and good company made for a really fun afternoon. There was a stage playing music the entire time and the track announcer – from Austalia was very entertaining. A successful outing – though we didn't come back with pocketfuls of Vatu! We caught another free bus back to town. It was one of those events we were glad we heard about. It was a local event with lots of local folks and it was something very different.
There are photos of our day at the races on the sight!
----------
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Wednesday, August 20, 2014
It Roared and Spit Fire!
At 1600, (4 pm) we met at the Port Resolution Yacht Club for the trip to the volcano. Johnson showed up about 1630 and the truck came soon after that. There would be four of us going up – the other two from the sailboat Segera, Bill and Penny. The pickup also had another passenger, a rooster, tied up under one of the seats. We weren't sure if this was a pet, a sacrifice to the volcano or simply someone's dinner! We loaded into the back of the pickup which had a metal cage over the bed. We headed off and soon found the cage very useful for holding on and keeping the passing trees from whacking you too hard in the head. The key was not to look forward and get an eye poked out! This was when it was a helpful time to be shorter!
Halfway to the mountain, the truck stopped and the rooster was handed off to a young man – guess it's ride was over!
The trip to the volcano park entrance was over some very rough dirt road – with giant ditches, and the driver thought it was good to drive fast! Needless to say, we held on to the cage and got bounced around. We paid our park entrance fee and then headed up the mountain. One small part of the road actually had two narrow tracks of concrete making the drive a bit smoother. We entered a landscape that was all black ash with boulders strewn about. The mountain was rumbling and you could feel the earth shake on the really big belches.
We left the truck to hike a small way up a nice path. The whole time, you'd hear all these strange noises from the mountain. The volcano has four levels of activity. We were told it was at Level Two. Level one is relatively tame, two a bit wilder, three means you can only go so far up the hillside and at Level Four the mountain is closed to all visitors. We got there with enough daylight to see the landscape and the chasm filled with smoke. There is a cone between two large vents that is growing as the lava bombs hit it. We weren't alone as there were about 30 others up at the crater to see nature's show.
As it grew steadily darker, the mountain grew more dramatic. It seems to have come to life with darkness. The noises all seemed more dramatic and the light show phenomenal. The noise is what we didn't expect. There were various sounds coming from the chasm – aloud whooshing noise, a puffing sound, a loud growl and the even louder roar. You thought you start to see a pattern in the sounds and the lava bombs – but then it would change. For awhile, the large roar was followed by an incredible display of lava being shot into the air and then the hot rocks landing on the center cone and surrounding crater sides. Then you'd get a blast of pyrotechnics without any preceding sound. It obviously had a mind of its own.
The ground would also vibrate – not like an earthquake – but you would feel the vibration through your body from your feet up. It was also something, like the sound, that was a bit unexpected. But the multiple senses being touched made the experience very rich.
At one point, Michael was taking a picture of Barbara with the glowing light as a background – and the mountain roared and belched lava bombs scaring her silly. You can see the photo when it gets posted! Fear captured!
One woman from Auckland kept saying we were all "mad as hatters" to be up there so close to an active volcano. Perhaps she is right. But the sight, sound, feel of the experience is truly indescribable. It is so mesmerizing that you couldn't take your eyes away from it. You couldn't stop being excited with every sound and vibration. We were the last four along with out guide to leave the mountain. We could have stayed til sun-up watching it, but our guide was eager to get back home. He gets to do this daily!
The trip back was another memorable experience. The driver went a tad slower making the ride a bit more comfy (just a bit). The stars were out and very bright and riding in the dark through the bush was interesting.
Then BANG! The truck hit something. It was a relatively large pig and now it was dead (or almost dead) in the road. The truck stopped, the back gate opened and now we had a new guest in the truck bed with us...an almost dead pig! We understand if a pig is hit on the road, it is the property of who hit it – though it did seem that our truck was pretty stealthy about loading it and then unloading it at a house along the way! It added to the adventure.
We got back to the PRYC and made our way down a path with flashlights to the dinghy and weaved our way back to "Astarte" over the coral and rocks. We enjoyed a bottle of French red wine aptly named "Couer des Montagnes" (heart of the mountains). We had brought it up to the volcano with us – but were too mesmerized by the activity to enjoy it up at the beating heart of Mt. Yasur.
This wasn't on our bucket list – but seeing the volcano at Mt. Yasur on Tanna was on our Vanuatu "must see" list. We are so glad we beat into the wind to get here and experience it. The world's most accessible volcano is what it is known as and it is that! We'll get pictures on as soon as we can get good internet.
WOW!!!
----------
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Halfway to the mountain, the truck stopped and the rooster was handed off to a young man – guess it's ride was over!
The trip to the volcano park entrance was over some very rough dirt road – with giant ditches, and the driver thought it was good to drive fast! Needless to say, we held on to the cage and got bounced around. We paid our park entrance fee and then headed up the mountain. One small part of the road actually had two narrow tracks of concrete making the drive a bit smoother. We entered a landscape that was all black ash with boulders strewn about. The mountain was rumbling and you could feel the earth shake on the really big belches.
We left the truck to hike a small way up a nice path. The whole time, you'd hear all these strange noises from the mountain. The volcano has four levels of activity. We were told it was at Level Two. Level one is relatively tame, two a bit wilder, three means you can only go so far up the hillside and at Level Four the mountain is closed to all visitors. We got there with enough daylight to see the landscape and the chasm filled with smoke. There is a cone between two large vents that is growing as the lava bombs hit it. We weren't alone as there were about 30 others up at the crater to see nature's show.
As it grew steadily darker, the mountain grew more dramatic. It seems to have come to life with darkness. The noises all seemed more dramatic and the light show phenomenal. The noise is what we didn't expect. There were various sounds coming from the chasm – aloud whooshing noise, a puffing sound, a loud growl and the even louder roar. You thought you start to see a pattern in the sounds and the lava bombs – but then it would change. For awhile, the large roar was followed by an incredible display of lava being shot into the air and then the hot rocks landing on the center cone and surrounding crater sides. Then you'd get a blast of pyrotechnics without any preceding sound. It obviously had a mind of its own.
The ground would also vibrate – not like an earthquake – but you would feel the vibration through your body from your feet up. It was also something, like the sound, that was a bit unexpected. But the multiple senses being touched made the experience very rich.
At one point, Michael was taking a picture of Barbara with the glowing light as a background – and the mountain roared and belched lava bombs scaring her silly. You can see the photo when it gets posted! Fear captured!
One woman from Auckland kept saying we were all "mad as hatters" to be up there so close to an active volcano. Perhaps she is right. But the sight, sound, feel of the experience is truly indescribable. It is so mesmerizing that you couldn't take your eyes away from it. You couldn't stop being excited with every sound and vibration. We were the last four along with out guide to leave the mountain. We could have stayed til sun-up watching it, but our guide was eager to get back home. He gets to do this daily!
The trip back was another memorable experience. The driver went a tad slower making the ride a bit more comfy (just a bit). The stars were out and very bright and riding in the dark through the bush was interesting.
Then BANG! The truck hit something. It was a relatively large pig and now it was dead (or almost dead) in the road. The truck stopped, the back gate opened and now we had a new guest in the truck bed with us...an almost dead pig! We understand if a pig is hit on the road, it is the property of who hit it – though it did seem that our truck was pretty stealthy about loading it and then unloading it at a house along the way! It added to the adventure.
We got back to the PRYC and made our way down a path with flashlights to the dinghy and weaved our way back to "Astarte" over the coral and rocks. We enjoyed a bottle of French red wine aptly named "Couer des Montagnes" (heart of the mountains). We had brought it up to the volcano with us – but were too mesmerized by the activity to enjoy it up at the beating heart of Mt. Yasur.
This wasn't on our bucket list – but seeing the volcano at Mt. Yasur on Tanna was on our Vanuatu "must see" list. We are so glad we beat into the wind to get here and experience it. The world's most accessible volcano is what it is known as and it is that! We'll get pictures on as soon as we can get good internet.
WOW!!!
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Trip to Tanna
We left Port Vila on Monday morning at 0615 for the 150 mile trip to the island of Tanna in the southern part of the Vanuatu chain. Because we were heading in a southeast direction – the same direction of the prevailing winds, we had to wait for either really light winds or a more easterly component. We were supposed to have both – so it was a good window to head southeast. We motored out the narrow channel of Port Vila, under the power lines and into the bigger swells. Then we were able to sail – close hauled and off course, but it was sailing. We got into some wacky water – seas from several directions and very steep and close together. This is probably because the bottom contours go from 6000 feet to 2000 and in one spot 300 feet. This must create all kinds of wave stacking. We just hoped that sailing in this area known as the ring of fire, that none of these 300 foot mounts would decide to "erupt" at the moment we would pass over! Around midnight, we had to change course, more into the wind so we decided to motor sail in order to be assured of getting to Tanna the next day in light and not have to stay out an additional night. We did this for awhile then the wind turned actually a bit northeast, so we could sail again close to the course. We did this until we would hit the the island of Tanna – then had to motorsail again.
We entered Port Resolution around 1500 (3 pm) on Tuesday afternoon and anchored. The bottom is volcanic sand and it took two tries to get the anchor dug in well. There were four boats here already so we found a good place in about 4 meters.
Port Resolution was named by Captain Cook after he landed here. He sure named a lot of places. This one was named after his ship – he must have run out of people to whom he owed money! It is beautiful with beaches and green hills. The famous volcano Mt. Yasur, the reason we trekked south, is not quite visible from the anchorage though you can certainly see the plume of smoke from it over the hills. You can also hear it rumble...a lot! It sounds like a jet overhead.
After a night's rest, we awoke to a beautiful clear morning and went ashore to set up our volcano expedition. There is a small "yacht club" in the village and run by the village, the "Port Resolution Yacht Club." You can arrange for a meal there and they serve cold beers "sometimes." Beer all the time, the cold is the "sometimes" part! We met Johnson, the man who would take us to Mt. Yasur and set up a trip for later this afternoon. We strolled through the very traditional "kustom" village, met friendly folk, got some free bananas and a papaya (pawpaw) and ended up on one of the most beautiful white sand beaches. There are three small restaurants in the village, a soccer field, school and lots of small gardens. Some men were building a hut for the Chief as the women were weaving the walls. Everyone was pitching in and all were friendly, telling us how they built it.
Jimmy came by in his outrigger and offered us all types of fruits and vegetable – we accepted some incredibly fragrant lemons and traded some hooks for them. We also gave his son Jonah some school supplies. The people here are what we have seen everywhere in Vanuatu – smiling, laughing, friendly and generous.
Tonight (Wednesday) the volcano!
----------
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We entered Port Resolution around 1500 (3 pm) on Tuesday afternoon and anchored. The bottom is volcanic sand and it took two tries to get the anchor dug in well. There were four boats here already so we found a good place in about 4 meters.
Port Resolution was named by Captain Cook after he landed here. He sure named a lot of places. This one was named after his ship – he must have run out of people to whom he owed money! It is beautiful with beaches and green hills. The famous volcano Mt. Yasur, the reason we trekked south, is not quite visible from the anchorage though you can certainly see the plume of smoke from it over the hills. You can also hear it rumble...a lot! It sounds like a jet overhead.
After a night's rest, we awoke to a beautiful clear morning and went ashore to set up our volcano expedition. There is a small "yacht club" in the village and run by the village, the "Port Resolution Yacht Club." You can arrange for a meal there and they serve cold beers "sometimes." Beer all the time, the cold is the "sometimes" part! We met Johnson, the man who would take us to Mt. Yasur and set up a trip for later this afternoon. We strolled through the very traditional "kustom" village, met friendly folk, got some free bananas and a papaya (pawpaw) and ended up on one of the most beautiful white sand beaches. There are three small restaurants in the village, a soccer field, school and lots of small gardens. Some men were building a hut for the Chief as the women were weaving the walls. Everyone was pitching in and all were friendly, telling us how they built it.
Jimmy came by in his outrigger and offered us all types of fruits and vegetable – we accepted some incredibly fragrant lemons and traded some hooks for them. We also gave his son Jonah some school supplies. The people here are what we have seen everywhere in Vanuatu – smiling, laughing, friendly and generous.
Tonight (Wednesday) the volcano!
----------
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Friday, August 15, 2014
=?ISO-8859-1?Q?=93This is Vanuatu=94?=
We go out to dinner one night with Sandy and Rankin from "Gypsea Heart." They are Texans (of an unusual variety) and we enjoy their company a lot. So we head to this "Texan" restaurant here in Port Vila. It is called the "War Horse Saloon." It features ribs, Tex-Mex dishes and burgers. Plus they brew their own beer. Our waitress, a ni-Van (native of Vanuatu) is Elsie and she, like most ni-Vans, has a great sense of humor. She is using a very hi-tech tablet that she types the order on and it texts it to the kitchen. We comment that that is pretty cool and saves her going to the kitchen. She said, "No I still have to check. This is Vanuatu!"
It was a fun night out and we met the owner, a former Texan and major league baseball player. That's a whole story in itself!
We have had several interesting nights and days out around town. There seems to be regular events – this weekend it's the MicroFinance Trade Fair. There are booths set up in the waterfront park, a stage and we saw some incredible dances and heard some good music. The booths sell tasty food (though we did pass on getting the cooked bats). There are booths from various different islands in Vanuatu selling their oils, baskets, pottery, beautiful wood furniture, carvings, even eggs and vegetables. They are trying to get orders for things from the shops in Port Vila and perhaps even Australia and New Zealand. We get to see some cool stuff, snack on cheap eats and see entertainment. The festival is mostly all Ni-Vans all dressed up enjoying the entertainment.
We celebrated two big birthdays this week as well – Sandy (Gypsea Heart) and Simon (Tuarangi) both turn 50 on the same day next week. So we went out to a lovely Thai restaurant for their special buffet on Thursday night and then back to Astarte that we decked out with balloons and banners for cake and champagne. A fun evening with fun folks.
Today, Friday, is a national holiday – not sure what the celebration is though. But most things are closed. Tomorrow is a big charity event – horse racing. It is supposed to the Vanuatu version of the Kentucky Derby where folks get all dressed up and the horses and jockeys are all local. We may have to go check that out.
We are hoping to get out of Port Vila on Monday – the weather looks good to go south to the island of Tanna. Our friends will also be leaving this weekend to head to New Caledonia during this weather window.
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It was a fun night out and we met the owner, a former Texan and major league baseball player. That's a whole story in itself!
We have had several interesting nights and days out around town. There seems to be regular events – this weekend it's the MicroFinance Trade Fair. There are booths set up in the waterfront park, a stage and we saw some incredible dances and heard some good music. The booths sell tasty food (though we did pass on getting the cooked bats). There are booths from various different islands in Vanuatu selling their oils, baskets, pottery, beautiful wood furniture, carvings, even eggs and vegetables. They are trying to get orders for things from the shops in Port Vila and perhaps even Australia and New Zealand. We get to see some cool stuff, snack on cheap eats and see entertainment. The festival is mostly all Ni-Vans all dressed up enjoying the entertainment.
We celebrated two big birthdays this week as well – Sandy (Gypsea Heart) and Simon (Tuarangi) both turn 50 on the same day next week. So we went out to a lovely Thai restaurant for their special buffet on Thursday night and then back to Astarte that we decked out with balloons and banners for cake and champagne. A fun evening with fun folks.
Today, Friday, is a national holiday – not sure what the celebration is though. But most things are closed. Tomorrow is a big charity event – horse racing. It is supposed to the Vanuatu version of the Kentucky Derby where folks get all dressed up and the horses and jockeys are all local. We may have to go check that out.
We are hoping to get out of Port Vila on Monday – the weather looks good to go south to the island of Tanna. Our friends will also be leaving this weekend to head to New Caledonia during this weather window.
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Sunday, August 10, 2014
City Life
We are still in Port Vila and doing lots of walking around and picking up odds and ends. There are lots and lots of small shops here – it seems that the Chinese are the "merchant class." All the stores have similar items. They are filled with every type of flashlight, LED light, plastic buckets and bins, and every type of flip flop (sandal, slipper, zorie or whatever you call them) made. In fact, you can get "name brands" like Nike or Adidas sandals for a mere 400 Vatu! Such a deal! It is irresistible to go in each shop! We both were under the weather with some stomach flu for a few days – but are back up to speed. Luckily the stove went on a hiatus from working while we were sick so it wasn't missed too much! Now after going from one hardware store to another, from one end of the city to the other, Michael has the stove (it was the propane solenoid) all restored to working order.
We have enjoyed lots of social time with other boaters, playing games aboard Lady Nada and dining aboard Gannet; inviting folks over for sundowners and coffee from "Good to Go" and "Tuarangi" and sharing Happy Hour beers at the local hangout with the "Anni Nad" crew and meeting new folks. We reconnected with the Dutch couple we met in Peterson Bay, Ben and Astrid from Gaia. And our buddies from "Gypsea Heart" are right around the corner and we hope to see them before we leave the anchorage here. It is time for us to move on – as the mooring is costing us daily and we tend to spend money on things like ice creams and beers when in a town! But it's good to do for awhile...but now back to zero dollar days!
We are waiting for a good weather window to continue south down the Vanuatu chain to the island of Tanna for the Mt. Yasur volcano. But the country right now is in a spell of heavy wind 25-30 knots from the southeast. So we'll wait until it settles as we have to head in that direction and don't want to smash into it for the 150 miles or so. It will hopefully settle down to more easterlies or at least lighter winds over the next week of so. In the meantime, weather permitting, we will head back towards the Esoma Bay/Havannah Harbor area to wait. Unfortunately that means going around Devil's Point at least two more times!
Since we've been here, there have been three large cruise ships that have come into the port. It is great entertainment to watch all the visitors come ashore in the water taxis and see them roaming around town. It is particularly fun to watch them attempt to get the jet skis up on a plane – some have eaten too well at the buffet tables aboard!!!
Weather-wise it is quite chilly – a blanket is required at night. It is winter here after all! We have also seen quite a bit of gusty wind and rain squalls over the last four days. Not enough for collecting rainwater, but enough that we have the new exercise program aboard opening and closing hatches.
There is a small crisis here in Vanuatu. The last shipment of gasoline was bad. There is a chemical in the fuel that is supposed to be a 4% and this batch had something like a 16% concentration and the fuel smells like acetone. The chemical can reek havoc on engines – especially the o-rings and rubber hoses and bits. We feel bad for the country as they aren't getting another shipment for a week or so and meanwhile generators, chainsaws, weed-eaters, outboards and cars are suffering. We need some gasoline for our outboard – but will take to rowing before we buy this stuff and ruin our outboard. We wonder if some other country pawned off this bad stuff on Vanuatu.
We should be underway in a day or two...until then, we'll enjoy the big city.
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We have enjoyed lots of social time with other boaters, playing games aboard Lady Nada and dining aboard Gannet; inviting folks over for sundowners and coffee from "Good to Go" and "Tuarangi" and sharing Happy Hour beers at the local hangout with the "Anni Nad" crew and meeting new folks. We reconnected with the Dutch couple we met in Peterson Bay, Ben and Astrid from Gaia. And our buddies from "Gypsea Heart" are right around the corner and we hope to see them before we leave the anchorage here. It is time for us to move on – as the mooring is costing us daily and we tend to spend money on things like ice creams and beers when in a town! But it's good to do for awhile...but now back to zero dollar days!
We are waiting for a good weather window to continue south down the Vanuatu chain to the island of Tanna for the Mt. Yasur volcano. But the country right now is in a spell of heavy wind 25-30 knots from the southeast. So we'll wait until it settles as we have to head in that direction and don't want to smash into it for the 150 miles or so. It will hopefully settle down to more easterlies or at least lighter winds over the next week of so. In the meantime, weather permitting, we will head back towards the Esoma Bay/Havannah Harbor area to wait. Unfortunately that means going around Devil's Point at least two more times!
Since we've been here, there have been three large cruise ships that have come into the port. It is great entertainment to watch all the visitors come ashore in the water taxis and see them roaming around town. It is particularly fun to watch them attempt to get the jet skis up on a plane – some have eaten too well at the buffet tables aboard!!!
Weather-wise it is quite chilly – a blanket is required at night. It is winter here after all! We have also seen quite a bit of gusty wind and rain squalls over the last four days. Not enough for collecting rainwater, but enough that we have the new exercise program aboard opening and closing hatches.
There is a small crisis here in Vanuatu. The last shipment of gasoline was bad. There is a chemical in the fuel that is supposed to be a 4% and this batch had something like a 16% concentration and the fuel smells like acetone. The chemical can reek havoc on engines – especially the o-rings and rubber hoses and bits. We feel bad for the country as they aren't getting another shipment for a week or so and meanwhile generators, chainsaws, weed-eaters, outboards and cars are suffering. We need some gasoline for our outboard – but will take to rowing before we buy this stuff and ruin our outboard. We wonder if some other country pawned off this bad stuff on Vanuatu.
We should be underway in a day or two...until then, we'll enjoy the big city.
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Wednesday, July 30, 2014
Port Vila, Vanuatu's Capitol City
First – there are some new pictures finally up as we have access to some internet - so keep checking over the next week as we try to catch up on picture uploading.
We are back in a city with traffic jams, lots of shops and our packages of parts. That means no more "zero dollar days!" We've enjoyed a few months with very little spending so that has been good. We did arrive in the big city in time for the 34th Independence Day celebration. It seems we've had the opportunity to attend many local Independence celebrations in various countries and it is always a pleasure to see the local pride in the country. Prior to arriving in Vila, we did get an early start to the celebrations by heading into a nearby village from where we were anchored and enjoyed some local street food and sports activities. We walked most of the way until a nice local picked us up (there were four of us as we conned Ian and Eva from "Gannet" into joining us on the adventure) and then we walked back. It's always a good way to see the country and meet interesting folks.
Today, Wednesday, July 30, is the actual Independence Day and we attended the big ceremony this morning in a large park. There was a great military style marching band in bright red uniform jackets, dark trousers and green caps (those are the colors of the Vanuatu flag) that did the traditional marching and playing then broke out in a very entertaining dance and music routine. It had the very large crowd cheering and clapping. There were lots of speeches by the Prime Minister and President of the country (they have both) and a flag raising ceremony, some rifle shooting and lots and lots of food booths. It seems "cake" is the big thing here on holidays as every booth had lots of cake varieties.
The town of Port Vila is a bit touristy – it is a hot spot for Australians and New Zealanders to come for holidays. There are lots of small resorts around and many shops selling handicrafts and t-shirts. There is a wonderful fresh market here with lots of booths with vibrantly dressed women selling every type of fresh fruit and vegetable from the surrounding farms. It's raspberry season here and there are also plenty of watermelons around along with the regular selection of greens, tomatoes, eggplants, pineapples, papaya and many more wonderful things.
Several large French grocery stores are here and they are well stocked with baked goods and a good selection of cheeses and meats. Unfortunately it is not a cheap town though we have hunted out a few less expensive places. Had lunch at a great hilltop Thai restaurant the other day – great food with a great view at a decent price. We look for places that have free internet so while we eat we can download stuff or upload pictures. The internet here is very slow and very expensive. They charge either by the megabyte or the time you use. Because it is so slow, it is more efficient to buy megabytes. But it costs about $50 for 1 gigabyte. But it's the first time we've had decent internet for some time so we can at least try to make some skype calls as well.
It's kind of nice to be in a city and we are walking everywhere. We had to clear into this port with customs as well – and that put some miles on our shoes. It's a great way to see the city and discover interesting little places.
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We are back in a city with traffic jams, lots of shops and our packages of parts. That means no more "zero dollar days!" We've enjoyed a few months with very little spending so that has been good. We did arrive in the big city in time for the 34th Independence Day celebration. It seems we've had the opportunity to attend many local Independence celebrations in various countries and it is always a pleasure to see the local pride in the country. Prior to arriving in Vila, we did get an early start to the celebrations by heading into a nearby village from where we were anchored and enjoyed some local street food and sports activities. We walked most of the way until a nice local picked us up (there were four of us as we conned Ian and Eva from "Gannet" into joining us on the adventure) and then we walked back. It's always a good way to see the country and meet interesting folks.
Today, Wednesday, July 30, is the actual Independence Day and we attended the big ceremony this morning in a large park. There was a great military style marching band in bright red uniform jackets, dark trousers and green caps (those are the colors of the Vanuatu flag) that did the traditional marching and playing then broke out in a very entertaining dance and music routine. It had the very large crowd cheering and clapping. There were lots of speeches by the Prime Minister and President of the country (they have both) and a flag raising ceremony, some rifle shooting and lots and lots of food booths. It seems "cake" is the big thing here on holidays as every booth had lots of cake varieties.
The town of Port Vila is a bit touristy – it is a hot spot for Australians and New Zealanders to come for holidays. There are lots of small resorts around and many shops selling handicrafts and t-shirts. There is a wonderful fresh market here with lots of booths with vibrantly dressed women selling every type of fresh fruit and vegetable from the surrounding farms. It's raspberry season here and there are also plenty of watermelons around along with the regular selection of greens, tomatoes, eggplants, pineapples, papaya and many more wonderful things.
Several large French grocery stores are here and they are well stocked with baked goods and a good selection of cheeses and meats. Unfortunately it is not a cheap town though we have hunted out a few less expensive places. Had lunch at a great hilltop Thai restaurant the other day – great food with a great view at a decent price. We look for places that have free internet so while we eat we can download stuff or upload pictures. The internet here is very slow and very expensive. They charge either by the megabyte or the time you use. Because it is so slow, it is more efficient to buy megabytes. But it costs about $50 for 1 gigabyte. But it's the first time we've had decent internet for some time so we can at least try to make some skype calls as well.
It's kind of nice to be in a city and we are walking everywhere. We had to clear into this port with customs as well – and that put some miles on our shoes. It's a great way to see the city and discover interesting little places.
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Friday, July 25, 2014
Re-anchoring, Repairing and Reviewing
The anchor suddenly was making a bunch of noises and not good ones. So we knew in the wind shift, we probably wrapped around a rock. So we decided as the anchorage emptied out a bit, we would pull the anchor up and re-drop it nearer the southeast shore for better protection from the predicted winds. It was quite a chore and thanks to Bill on "Lady Nada" who stuck his head in the water with a dive mask, we unwound from our hostage holding rock and moved to a new spot.
The last few days also had us doing some repair work for the local villagers. First, Jerry came rowing out to our boat and asked us to give him some medical help. He had cut his leg badly with his machete working in his garden. It was a pretty deep cut and after warning him that we were NOT medical professionals, we cleaned it well and put some ointment and butterfly bandages on it. We told him to not to get it wet and come back the next day and we would re-dress the wound. Haven't seen him back yet. Hope he's okay. He was a really nice man and very grateful, inviting us to come to see his garden one day. Later, another canoe came by with Richard and his son Michael, asking if Michael could fix his generator on shore. Michael said he'd come by the next morning to see what he could do. After several hours ashore repairing cords to solar panels, regulators, battery connections and the like, he came back loaded with fresh tomatoes, cucumbers and lemons. The people are so grateful for what you do and they simply don't have the tools or supplies to fix things.
In between people and part repairs, we also got a nice snorkel in along one reef. The coral was pretty healthy and quite varied. There weren't a lot of fish, but we did see a few new things which is always exciting. We saw a few schools of razorfish. These are strange elongated fish that swim head down. They look like feathers or seaweed as they swim by in schools. They were not very shy as they swam around us for quite awhile letting us get a good look. We also saw several pretty good sized pipefish and some interesting gobies and wrasses. The water is pretty cold here though, so even with wetsuits we can't stay in very long.
It is now holiday time in Vanuatu. "Independence Day" is next week – but the celebrations and closing of businesses and public offices have already started. On Saturday, we may head down the road a way to see what is happening at a nearby village where they were building some booths for food. There is supposed to be some sporting events there as well and we love street food! Another boat that is in this anchorage that we just met will probably join us as well so that will be fun.
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The last few days also had us doing some repair work for the local villagers. First, Jerry came rowing out to our boat and asked us to give him some medical help. He had cut his leg badly with his machete working in his garden. It was a pretty deep cut and after warning him that we were NOT medical professionals, we cleaned it well and put some ointment and butterfly bandages on it. We told him to not to get it wet and come back the next day and we would re-dress the wound. Haven't seen him back yet. Hope he's okay. He was a really nice man and very grateful, inviting us to come to see his garden one day. Later, another canoe came by with Richard and his son Michael, asking if Michael could fix his generator on shore. Michael said he'd come by the next morning to see what he could do. After several hours ashore repairing cords to solar panels, regulators, battery connections and the like, he came back loaded with fresh tomatoes, cucumbers and lemons. The people are so grateful for what you do and they simply don't have the tools or supplies to fix things.
In between people and part repairs, we also got a nice snorkel in along one reef. The coral was pretty healthy and quite varied. There weren't a lot of fish, but we did see a few new things which is always exciting. We saw a few schools of razorfish. These are strange elongated fish that swim head down. They look like feathers or seaweed as they swim by in schools. They were not very shy as they swam around us for quite awhile letting us get a good look. We also saw several pretty good sized pipefish and some interesting gobies and wrasses. The water is pretty cold here though, so even with wetsuits we can't stay in very long.
It is now holiday time in Vanuatu. "Independence Day" is next week – but the celebrations and closing of businesses and public offices have already started. On Saturday, we may head down the road a way to see what is happening at a nearby village where they were building some booths for food. There is supposed to be some sporting events there as well and we love street food! Another boat that is in this anchorage that we just met will probably join us as well so that will be fun.
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Tuesday, July 22, 2014
Road Trip
We managed to sit out the waves in Havannah Harbor when the winds shifted and came from the southwest.. Luckily they were relatively light winds and the fetch wasn't too bad. It was a pitch not a roll – so it was a tad more comfortable aboard. The holding is good here so we didn't worry too much about dragging at anchor. After two days of westerly breezes, we are back to the normal southeast trade winds and settled back pointing the right way and in a nice flat anchorage.
On Monday, together with our friends on "Lady Nada" we decided to take a local bus trip into Port Vila. We had one empty tank of cooking propane and they needed to desperately get some internet coverage. Plus we all wanted to check out the Port Vila mooring situation to see if there would be space for us. Anchoring in Port Vila is not recommended as the holding is not good and it is very deep.
We walked up to the road (about a half mile) to the main road and bus stop at about 8 am. We met two local school teachers at the bus stop and they filled us in on the routine. It was 400 Vatu per person each way. Better to have the right change because sometimes the bus driver will just take your money and not give you change. We were told where to catch the bus to get back and to ask for a bus to Moso Landing. After a 15 minute wait, a pickup came by and we all loaded into the back. It was a nice group of folks back there – we met a police officer, two pleasant women, and two other guys who had lots of info. Everyone exchanged names and as always, we learned a lot about upcoming events (Independence Day is July 30) and got a great guided sightseeing tour while on route.
We got off at the marina where we checked on mooring availability and learned about the facilities there. Not cheap – but they have garbage disposal, showers and water included in the price. It is also conveniently located. Then we took our propane tank to the fill station (taking a wrong turn only once AFTER asking someone). Unfortunately it was a steep hill wrong turn – but good exercise. We got the tank filled and then went to check on the parts that were to be delivered. We got an e-mail saying they were "there." But "there" meant in Vanuatu not necessarily at the "Fr8" (clever name) company. We checked out the local veggie market (though we had plenty aboard) and got some eggs. Had lunch out at a place that offered 45 minutes of free internet if you ate there. We took advantage but the internet was slow and kept cutting off so we didn't get as much done as we had hoped. No skype opportunity.
We then headed back to where we had to catch the bus for the long ride back to Moso Landing (it was about an 45minutes or so). There is a grocery at the bus stop so we picked up a few items and got in a van for the trip back. We were all loaded down with propane tanks, some groceries and our packs with computers. We were back on board at 4:30 pm and tired. Luckily there was an ice cream cone involved while in town!
We will take Astarte to Port Vila early next week. There is some big wind coming in a few days and it is in the same direction we have to head – so we'll wait until that passes. This is also a good place to sit out 20-25 knot winds from the southeast.
Today is snorkeling – before the winds pick up. Lots of huge turtles here – hopefully we'll see some while snorkeling. There are a few nice reefs around this anchorage – so plenty of spots to explore. But the water is quite chilly – so we'll need to get into wetsuits!
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On Monday, together with our friends on "Lady Nada" we decided to take a local bus trip into Port Vila. We had one empty tank of cooking propane and they needed to desperately get some internet coverage. Plus we all wanted to check out the Port Vila mooring situation to see if there would be space for us. Anchoring in Port Vila is not recommended as the holding is not good and it is very deep.
We walked up to the road (about a half mile) to the main road and bus stop at about 8 am. We met two local school teachers at the bus stop and they filled us in on the routine. It was 400 Vatu per person each way. Better to have the right change because sometimes the bus driver will just take your money and not give you change. We were told where to catch the bus to get back and to ask for a bus to Moso Landing. After a 15 minute wait, a pickup came by and we all loaded into the back. It was a nice group of folks back there – we met a police officer, two pleasant women, and two other guys who had lots of info. Everyone exchanged names and as always, we learned a lot about upcoming events (Independence Day is July 30) and got a great guided sightseeing tour while on route.
We got off at the marina where we checked on mooring availability and learned about the facilities there. Not cheap – but they have garbage disposal, showers and water included in the price. It is also conveniently located. Then we took our propane tank to the fill station (taking a wrong turn only once AFTER asking someone). Unfortunately it was a steep hill wrong turn – but good exercise. We got the tank filled and then went to check on the parts that were to be delivered. We got an e-mail saying they were "there." But "there" meant in Vanuatu not necessarily at the "Fr8" (clever name) company. We checked out the local veggie market (though we had plenty aboard) and got some eggs. Had lunch out at a place that offered 45 minutes of free internet if you ate there. We took advantage but the internet was slow and kept cutting off so we didn't get as much done as we had hoped. No skype opportunity.
We then headed back to where we had to catch the bus for the long ride back to Moso Landing (it was about an 45minutes or so). There is a grocery at the bus stop so we picked up a few items and got in a van for the trip back. We were all loaded down with propane tanks, some groceries and our packs with computers. We were back on board at 4:30 pm and tired. Luckily there was an ice cream cone involved while in town!
We will take Astarte to Port Vila early next week. There is some big wind coming in a few days and it is in the same direction we have to head – so we'll wait until that passes. This is also a good place to sit out 20-25 knot winds from the southeast.
Today is snorkeling – before the winds pick up. Lots of huge turtles here – hopefully we'll see some while snorkeling. There are a few nice reefs around this anchorage – so plenty of spots to explore. But the water is quite chilly – so we'll need to get into wetsuits!
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Saturday, July 19, 2014
Havannah Harbor on Efate Island
Latitude: S 17 degrees 32.97 minutes
Longitude: E168 degrees 17.04 minutes
Our adventure through Vanuatu continues and we have made it to Efate Island, the most populated of the Vanuatu chain and the center of government in Port Vila. The island is twenty five miles by eighteen miles in size and has a few good harbors.
We left Epi Island at 0930 for the 75 mile trip to Efate's Havannah Harbor (spelled with or without an "H" at the end depending on which chart or guide book you use!). We would be heading south-southeast and knew about the north flowing current. It would take several tacks to get here so we gave ourselves plenty of time to make the distance so we would arrive hopefully at first light the next day. We ran into lots of "crazy water" along the way – current, winds and tides creating mysterious eddys and waves. We did sail and it was relatively comfortable and pleasant – though not speedy. But that was okay except for fish catching!
Along the way we saw several pyramid shaped islands in a row. You can really tell this is volcano country! Arriving at Efate you could see the highest point, Mount MacDonald and the green hills with the sun rising behind them. We chose to enter the harbor through he larger of the two entrances and then backtrack to Esoma Bay where we would anchor. This is a very protected anchorage, way up the harbor with good holding in about ten meters of water.
Our friends on the catamaran, "Lady Nada" left Epi after us (by about fourteen hours!) and arrived ahead of us and were at anchor when we arrived. They motored when they went below seven knots and entered into the narrow cut saving about eighteen miles. But it was funny to see them already anchored! We saved the fossil fuel and were happy to have sailed 90% of the distance only motoring in and out of the harbors.
After the considerably rolling anchorage of Lamen Bay on Epi, it was nice to spend the first night in a very flat anchorage with hardly a wavelet to disturb our sleep. The wind did shift the last few days to more westerly – so we are getting a bit of a pitch through the anchorage now – but feel like the holding is good and the wind is under 15 knots.
After arrival, we met some of the local villagers (Frank and Linda) who would sell you fresh vegetables. Sue had already bought a lot and we split some of her cache loading up on a stock of bananas, some green tomatoes, "white bone" (bok choy), corn on the cob and a cucumber. We also got asked if we wanted to come in for a Melanesian Feast the following day. We agreed (for 1000 Vatu each – about $10) and planned for a Saturday afternoon event. There would be five us. Saturday came and we all went in only to find out it was canceled. All dressed up and no feast to be had – bummer.
We hope to get to Port Vila over the next week or so where we will have good internet (hopefully), fuel, propane and some city-time. The moorings however aren't that cheap, so we won't stay there long – just long enough to get our stuff done and pick up a few packages we had shipped in with some boat parts. We'll wait here until we know the packages have arrived and then we'll head into the big city!
Can't believe we've been in Vanuatu just about two months already!
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Longitude: E168 degrees 17.04 minutes
Our adventure through Vanuatu continues and we have made it to Efate Island, the most populated of the Vanuatu chain and the center of government in Port Vila. The island is twenty five miles by eighteen miles in size and has a few good harbors.
We left Epi Island at 0930 for the 75 mile trip to Efate's Havannah Harbor (spelled with or without an "H" at the end depending on which chart or guide book you use!). We would be heading south-southeast and knew about the north flowing current. It would take several tacks to get here so we gave ourselves plenty of time to make the distance so we would arrive hopefully at first light the next day. We ran into lots of "crazy water" along the way – current, winds and tides creating mysterious eddys and waves. We did sail and it was relatively comfortable and pleasant – though not speedy. But that was okay except for fish catching!
Along the way we saw several pyramid shaped islands in a row. You can really tell this is volcano country! Arriving at Efate you could see the highest point, Mount MacDonald and the green hills with the sun rising behind them. We chose to enter the harbor through he larger of the two entrances and then backtrack to Esoma Bay where we would anchor. This is a very protected anchorage, way up the harbor with good holding in about ten meters of water.
Our friends on the catamaran, "Lady Nada" left Epi after us (by about fourteen hours!) and arrived ahead of us and were at anchor when we arrived. They motored when they went below seven knots and entered into the narrow cut saving about eighteen miles. But it was funny to see them already anchored! We saved the fossil fuel and were happy to have sailed 90% of the distance only motoring in and out of the harbors.
After the considerably rolling anchorage of Lamen Bay on Epi, it was nice to spend the first night in a very flat anchorage with hardly a wavelet to disturb our sleep. The wind did shift the last few days to more westerly – so we are getting a bit of a pitch through the anchorage now – but feel like the holding is good and the wind is under 15 knots.
After arrival, we met some of the local villagers (Frank and Linda) who would sell you fresh vegetables. Sue had already bought a lot and we split some of her cache loading up on a stock of bananas, some green tomatoes, "white bone" (bok choy), corn on the cob and a cucumber. We also got asked if we wanted to come in for a Melanesian Feast the following day. We agreed (for 1000 Vatu each – about $10) and planned for a Saturday afternoon event. There would be five us. Saturday came and we all went in only to find out it was canceled. All dressed up and no feast to be had – bummer.
We hope to get to Port Vila over the next week or so where we will have good internet (hopefully), fuel, propane and some city-time. The moorings however aren't that cheap, so we won't stay there long – just long enough to get our stuff done and pick up a few packages we had shipped in with some boat parts. We'll wait here until we know the packages have arrived and then we'll head into the big city!
Can't believe we've been in Vanuatu just about two months already!
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