Final Approach - Back in Australia

At the time of writing we are sill motor sailing, and have been for 36 hours, with the final 22 miles across Hervey Bay and into Burnett Heads River mouth...stunning clear water, big blue skies and light winds. We had two very large dolphins greet us after our entry into Hervey Bay, both taking delight in being watched. Australia is hiding underneath the cumulus cloud bank!!

Total passage time was 5 days and 12 hours, which is what VPP2 indicated. A little more breeze would have shortened our passage time. We now understand the importance of approaching Bundaberg in lighter winds as the sea state gets dangerous and marginal with any strong winds against current.

After plodding through a major negative current, we picked up the EAC and had up to 1.5 knots with us for some time, decreasing to 0.5 knots, until we came up to the bank.

We had a visit from a very tired Blue Footed Booby, who elected to sit on top of the bimini. Peter had gybed the boat then went on deck to transfer the preventer and got rather a surprise seeing the chap sitting up there, looking some what bedraggled. He got very cross with us every time we gybed and at one stage started squawking in protest. We did warn him of our intentions and advised him to keep his head down!

The Booby slept for 5 hours sitting up there on a gently rolling ship! His mother obviously did not teach him very well with regards to what you don't do in you own nest.....after which he shook his feathers, had a stretch and continued on his merry way!

During the 40 miles across the bay, we have been enjoying all those wonderful Aussie songs, played at full volume whilst we cleaned the boat. The music also drowned out the sound of the engine!!

Peter took the opportunity to start packing away the boat. We decided it was safe enough to take the reefing lines out!

Our last passage saw our clearest skies and a full moon we could actually see! We also had our best sailing and fastest time with a 175 mile day! Most of this was done in 12 hours on an average of 8.5 knots. Woohoo! What a ride!

We advised Customs of our intended arrival in the required time frame and they are waiting to clear us in tomorrow. We departed Noumea with about 12 other yachts..it was a good weather window!! A Beneteau 47, 44 foot Cat and us have been in close proximity (VHF range, not necessarily in sight of each other) throughout the passage. The cat had downloaded a file for Maxsea (not the crack program!!) showing all the currents and eddies so we had some good information. At the end of the day it did not matter as we had to suck up the negative current and just get on with it!

We look forward to a good sleep tonight! Here ends our Pacific crossing.

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Bundaberg gettting closer!

Day 4 and 5 of passage.

Generally we have had good sailing, with motor sailing in lighter airs.

In the early hours of day 4 (0200 of course) we passed through our first front in the Pacific, managing to avoid the others. It is impossible to go from Noumea to Bundy at present without going through a front, so we chose a weak one. The wind stayed in the SE and built to 20 to 25 knots, with peak gust at 31 knots. Of course the sea state rapidly deteriorated and we soon had 3 to 4 m seas crossing us. We fell into a few big holes.

Once the main front had passed, the seas died down and we had full sails up enjoying a 8-9 knot boat ride for 10 hours! We ended up with a 173 mile 24 hour run, which is a first for us!

We crossed the EEZ (Econimic Exclusion Zone) last night and are now in Australian Waters.

However, after being the rooster, we are now the feather duster!! The remaining 140 miles will be slow!

We now have 100 miles to the bank at the northern end of Fraser IS and 140 miles into Bundaberg. Motor sailing in light winds with current against us! Another 50 miles and it should be with us as we will be in the EAC (remember Nemo....the East Australian Current!). No-one has mentioned the adverse currents we are all dealing with. Closing the coast with strong winds we can see would be problematic with winds against current and the resulting seas. One yacht sunk two weeks ago in a blow off here and another foundered. A timely reminder for us. Fortunately all people were safely taken ashore.

With full moon tomorrow on the 31st the nights have been enjoyable with clear skies, even though the moon has washed most of the stars out, they are still there!!

We are planning to arrive Bundy late afternoon on Wednesday so we can have a sleep before we need to clear in and complete the paper work!! We will do our usual pre-arrival clean and tidy on the way in.

We have been reflecting on our 11 month passage from El Salvador and across the Pacific. The sailing has not been what we expected, but what a year!

Australia here we come!

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Noumea to Australia. The final leg of the Pacific.

Days 1 to 3

So far so good!!

Getting a weather window from Noumea proved to be a little problematic as we wanted to dodge the fronts, however, not as problematic as trying to get to NZ. We were happy heading west. It appears the passage is another feast or famine choice!!

After picking our weather window, we asked David from Gulf Harbour radio to comment on our timing.....he gave us the thumbs up. Nice to have a professional checking what you think, but at the end of the day, the atmosphere changes quickly and it does become a bit of a dart board!

We departed Noumea on Thursday the 25th October and anchored for the night in beautiful Baie Ma'aa, just 10 miles to the north. We were waiting for a front to pass Noumea, then we would be off! This meant that we really didn't start our passage on a Friday!

The seas were a little lumpy going out through the main pass, Dumbea, but once clear we settled into a nice 18 knot SE wind, lasting for 12 hours. The 2.7m swell died down as we progressed and now we are motor sailing on and off as the breeze comes and goes. Today, day 3 an 18 knot SE breeze filled in again as a front (small and weak we believe) passes. SO we are off again making fast time!

There are over 12 yachts all heading into Bundaberg, and fortunately we will be relatively spread out for clearance purposes. We are in regular contact via VHF with some of the yachts sharing our delights at the sailing conditions and despair of the 1 knot of current that appears against us for some of the time. We are sort of hoping to get in late in the afternoon so we can have a good sleep before we do our clearance. The Port to Port Rally offer a refund on the $330 clearance fees, which is a little saving as we had to pay $220 to join the rally!

Sky so far has been clear with a wonderful moon and stars. We are now on EST so first light is before 0400!! This makes for short nights and long days, all relatively speaking!

We have 420 miles to go which should take us another 80 hours or so, depending on our speed. By midnight tonight we should be half way! The last 100 miles will be a little challenging with the currents and seas if the wind picks up.

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Last stop; New Caledonia

We have been waiting a week for a weather window to get to Australia, which as I expected, is not going to be an easy run. The lows/fronts coming through the Tasman are on a 5 day cycle and our passage is 5-6 days. Even around 25 south, the latest front was very strong, generating very rough seas and a 4-5 meter swell between Noumea and Bundaberg. Not nice!! We have just heard that a mono hull has sunk and a catamaran is drifting, with serious damage off the Queensland coast as a result of the front. We are relieved that everyone is safe but it is a very chilling reminder that we all live such a fragile existence; both on land and at sea.

It appears we have a good window with light breezes for the first 36 hours, then somewhere between 10 and 22 knot SE /E wind which will be on our port quarter or behind us and coming into Bundaberg with a nor'easter.  The swell would have dropped down and the next front appears not to be very strong, if at all above 25 south, but on Sat the 3rd Nov, there is another we need to be wary of.  We are currently around 22 south and Bundaberg 25 south. We plan to be well in by then.

Given that we have only had two nice sunny, ‘calmish’ days since we have been here, most of what we have done is by land.

On the way in we stopped in Baie de Prony, with its rich ochre coloured hills. We certainly did not find sandy bottoms (rock/shale by the feel of it) and were relieved to find some moorings to ensure a quiet night at anchor. 

We managed to sail around and come straight into Port Moselle Marina, Noumea, to clear in. At $30/night all up, it’s very affordable.

We hired a car with Malarkey and did the drive around, even though we could not enjoy the view! 

North of the international airport (quite a drive) we found a small marina with a house development nearby, but no restaurant or shops!!

The Cultural Centre was worth a visit…..with some sculptures leaving us wondering.......

with beautiful artwork....

..and some with familiarity..

The aquarium, surprisingly, entertained us for hours. We saw our first frog fish…..very ugly but full of character….when they move!!

The pink frog fish is hiding behind the coral. Not as active as its green mates!

This slug was blinding crawling across anything in its way without any problems!

Lots of food and wine (for some!) to be had. What else is there to do on a Sunday????? Like Peter, Trevor from Malarkey is their premiere chef. 

We have also been helping others out with information about SE Asia. Happy to share what we have collected electronically; which is quite a bit!

Ilot Maitre was a good hang out for a few days but it was far too cold to get in the water! 

The French have done a great job with moorings provided, even though it is a good anchorage, and a BBQ area for cruisers to use. The windward side of the island has a huge reef extending out and is the place of choice for kite and wind surfers.

The down side is that no-one has told the sea snakes that they have to stay in the water!! 

The land was crawling with them, especially the BBQ area as they came for the warmth. They are the third deadliest in the world, but fortunately with a small mouth. Needless to say Peter was not happy and would not stay ashore; especially after dark!!

There are no plastic bags in any of the shops in New Caledonia, which has made a huge difference to the clean water ways. We hope that many other countries in the Pacific will follow.

Being in the land of scrumptious cheese and baguettes, not to mention the boulangeries, being stuck here is not too difficult. They really are THE best ever!!

We know we will lose a little weight on our final passage, which gives us a little room to squeeze in some more yummies!!

Arriving in Bundaberg during the week is a must so we do not have to pay $300 for overtime clearing fees. We have come across the Pacific, paying very little in the way of fees. We have joined the Port2Port Rally so we get our normal clearing fees into Australia refunded. Gone are the days where all is relaxed and we can anchor and wait for a day or so to clear in. C’est la vie.

We have cleared out of New Caledonia and get 3 days to leave, which is a little more relaxing than the 1 official hour in Fiji. We are off to some islands a little north of here to enjoy the last two days, clean the bottom of the boat, before we depart. We have our fingers and toes crossed for a good passage! 

However, throughout the Pacific, we have not had consistent trade winds. The only thing that has been consistent is the cross swell and of course the fun!! It certainly has been an awesome 11 months.  Now we have almost done the miles, we look forward to a time of day sailing and coastal passages!!! Allons- y!!

   

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New Caledonia..Getting Closer

A short comment on Anatom, Vanuatu........ it is the clearest water we have seen so far in the Pacific, and by far the best coral; variety of hard and soft coral and colour. Most notable was the amount of fish life....lots of large fish, turtles and the rest. We saw a huge Pharmacy fish with its big brown eyes, hiding under a ledge. They are so beautiful. Being a marine park has done well to preserve this environment. The island has no vehicles; just small villages.

The last 70 miles into New Caledonia over night ended up being a stunning night with mostly clear skies and a NE/N wind around 15 knots, allowing us to sail at around 6 to 7 knots and gain some time to enter the pass. The seas remained less than 1 meter, and the wind died, so all was well!

We could not have had a better entry into Havannah Pass if we planned it with the right information!!! It was a little hit and miss with the conflicting information we had. 20 miles out, having current with us for the first time in a while, we knew it had to be the flood into the pass. First light was just after 0415 as we came in. Only one of the lead lights was working, but our charts were spot on and with a little bit of light, we could spot the Japanese fishing trawler on the southern reef and the Phare light gave us the boundary of the starboard reef. We had 4 knots with us as we entered the pass between the reef with no over falls. Otherwise we had around 2 knots of current with us.

We first thought that coming into the pass at slack water at the end of the ebb was the optimal time, however this would give you negative current from 20 miles or so out. So coming in with the flood just happened to be lucky!! Better to be born more lucky than rich????????????

It appeared that HW at the pass was in fact 1 hour after HW Noumea. It is VERY important to get through the pass with little wind otherwise you are in for a wild time. Two other yachts who were behind us had a terrible time with 20 to 25 knot head wind and over falls with strong currents. One yacht hove to outside the passage for the night and had a very rough night. We spoke to a kiwi who came in with a 4m sea and 30 knots of wind behind him......he was broaching several times and found it difficult to get out of the large standing waves. Sounded positively dangerous with the reefs either side.

We came into anchor in Baie De Prony..beautiful and quiet. Noumea tomorrow before the front hits. Timing is everything.

Since January this year we have sailed a little over 9,000 nm. Almost the same as our tour of the Indian Ocean, however, the Pacific has been a lot more challenging. We have managed to come thus far without running into a front, active convergence zone, an active trough or the SPCZ! (South Pacific Convergence Zone). Of the two lightening storms we have seen, we have been tucked away and out of sight!!! No easy feat!

We are somewhat hoping (but doubtful) we will get to Bundaberg without crossing a front or convergence zone as the weather pattern is now changing. Maybe a front will be less likely as the lows should start dropping further south now summer is approaching. We have David and Patricia who operate Gulf Harbour Radio (NZ) with excellent weather forecasting and offer a good back up to choosing our weather window. Bundy is some 770 miles from Noumea.

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Anatom, Vanuatu to New Caledonia

On Passage

We have had clear skies for 3 days now, or mostly, which is a treat. With very little moon, we had stars to give us some light last night.

With regards to the wind, we are in famine!! Had a bit of a SE wind yesterday and last night, but have been motoring since 0400 this morning. Slow!!! The swell is down to under a meter which is good, although it will bounce back up to 3-4 m by Monday as a big low goes through NZ. We expect a little or a lot of rain on our approach to New Cal with troughs and the like. The trough that was between Vanuatu and the Loyalties (60nm east of New Cal) dissipated as we approached it! You have ot be happy with that!

I have been busy baking to use up the supplies and Peter is going to make some pasta sauce to use up the onions. Good practice for Aus!!

We anticipate our arrival at Havannah Pass, on the east side of New Caledonia sometime around 0600 tomorrow morning, Saturday. We are hoping for slack water, but have conflicting info on when this might be. However, with calm conditions the pass should not be too boisterous. It is a 2 mile wide passage but with lots of currents. The plan is to go about 6 miles after the pass and anchor in Baie de Prony until Monday when we can then make our way the remaining 30 miles to clear into Noumea.

We would have had a rest by then from our 36 hour passage (!!) and get the flood through to Noumea. Its very tiring going so slow! Today we have decided on a Max Prop!!!

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Fiji to Vanuatu

Fiji to Vanuatu.

Feast or Famine..we chose feast! Troughs and lows aplenty that run from the SPCZ near the Solomons down to the intense lows charging through NZ.

We departed Fiji with a forecast of 15-20 knot SE winds knowing that they would be around 25 knots at times and a 3-4m swell kicking in from the south for at least a day. Just what we want..a cross swell!!

Fiji was wall to wall grey which is what we had the whole way..seeing stars and the sun only briefly. However, in our different shades of grey (!!) we had only a few showers and maximum squall (wind only) to 35 knots, only briefly. A bit of green water across the deck and unfortunately two bits of a wave down below!! We did not eat much for two days, but now are eating constantly!

All in all a fast run which was not uncomfortable as the apparent wind was between 90 and 120 off the bow. 467 miles in 72 hours and that included slowing down for the last 60 miles so we did not arrive in the dark. Had we kept our speed, it would have taken us only 64 hours to do the run. Not bad! The boat handled the seas remarkably well, which is why we bought a Hylas and it being an S&S design.

Our final departure from Fiji was a relief as we had been waiting to miss fronts coming across..which we did! The boat that left a day behind us got caught in one. Beware of NE winds shifting to the SE as they only go one way and its not through the east!!!!

Waiting in Suva was a treat as was staying a the Novatel in Lami Bay, just around the corner. A protected anchorage so we had yachts to gaze at in case we were homesick!!!

The food was to die for............

and we just enjoyed the ambiance of the old port town.....

On our return from Suva we did have a very embarrassing moment aka night on the putty coming back into Port Denarau (from Lautoka) ... at night....following our track, we relaxed once inside the marina...a little too early it seems with one of the green markers missing its light (this was replaced the next morning) and us missing the marker!!! A comedy of errors on both sides. We did not quite make it to the mooring. John from Red Sky called us in the morning and said 'Hello Eileen'...and yes, we did lean........(we enjoy their humour). Other cruisers commented that we all do silly things from time to time. Shite happens! The only thing wounded was our egos!! Does not do well having the 'naviguesser' going aground!! First time in over 40,000 miles!!!!

We arrived in Anatom Is Vanuatu in the early morning, coming through the pass around 0800. Our electronic charts were accurate and the pass is wide and deep. The wonderful policeman on the island came out about an hour after putting the hook down and cleared us in and out! How easy was that!

Anatom is a beautiful island; stunning lagoon, white sandy beaches, and crystal clear water to boot. It has wet our appetite for cruising Vanuatu in the future.

Many ruins around the villages..

No vehicles; lots of sandy tracks to exlore

We did the usual and took lots of school supplies....new books for their library, exercise books, pencils, paints...

This boat sails really well in the lagoon....

Mystery Island nearby is where the cruise ship punters go. It is well set up by the locals and a wonderful deserted place to hang out when the cruise ship is not in ..........

Peter is in a little hot water!!!!!!

A two day passage will see us through Havannah Pass, New Caledonia, and into Noumea. Not thinking about that today but it will have to be soon.

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