New Caledonia - Part 1

Departing Vanuatu, we had a pleasant overnight passage to Lifou, New Caledonia, though did have to motor for a bit of the night as the wind dropped off. After starting the engine around midnight, P woke G as our speed had dropped to about 3 knots. After a few minutes we concluded there must have been up to about 2 knots of current running against us, and that there was nothing wrong with our new sail drive (phew)!

Mike and Leanne on Ooroo1 were close by, unfortunately, neither yacht caught any fish this passage. We rounded the northern end of Lifou after sunrise and motor sailed to the eastern bay of Chepenehe, dropping anchor in 7 metres of crystal clear water, with a few large bommies scattered on the sea bed. After a bite to eat we enjoyed a swim and a snorkel with lots of tropical fish. Tomorrow we would be checking in.

Normally the only place that you can check into New Caledonia is at Noumea, on the main island. This would have meant that on our trip West we would have missed the beautiful cruising grounds of the Loyalty Islands and the Isle of Pines, unless we worked our way back there (against the trade winds). Fortunately, when we met Ooroo back in Fiji they put us onto the Down Under Rally which had arranged to fly officials out to the Loyalties and check in their participants, meaning we would get to see more of this beautiful country! We had joined up with the rally back in Fiji to take up this wonderful opportunity.

In the morning John from Songlines, who organises the Down Under Rally, came by to introduce himself and let us know the check in procedures. He did a great job of organising the half dozen rally boats and getting the officials to each boat in the anchorage. P was busy cooking up the last of the fresh food but did have to pay for the disposal of 1 cucumber, some garlic and a couple of lemons. They have quite strict biosecurity laws in place in New Caledonia to protect the country. P will be more vigilant when it comes to heading into Australia... After the check in was completed we met on shore as John had arranged transport to Wè to get some groceries. Wè is the largest town on the east coast of the island and has all the essentials.

We were all excited to get fresh baguettes and produce at the supermarket and arrange internet, though the internet in New Caledonia is on par with French Polynesia, irregular at best and not enough connectivity for video or audio calls to family and friends. On the way back to the boat we stopped for a look at a stunning soft white sandy beach, most beaches we have seen recently have been coral. In the evening we got together on Songlines to chat about New Caledonia and what our cruising plans were. The following day we moved over to the north end of the bay and went ashore for a look around. It was a bit of a time warp for G as he had visited the exact same spot over 25 years ago with his sister and her friends on a P & O cruise ship. We walked up to the church on the top of the hill for a photo reenactment and the amazing view. Interesting to realise maybe G dreamed of our current journey while standing at that very point all those years ago.

This photo look familiar Sammy? (maybe not quite so glamorous..)

We ventured back down to Jinek bay for a swim and snorkel with no one else in sight. The fish life was abundant and the coral pretty healthy too.

Friday morning we watched as the cruise ship ‘Carnival Spirit’ dropped its anchor just near us and started ferrying people to shore in the orange tenders. We had only recently found out that an old friend of G's, Debbie, who was also on the cruise with G some 25 years before would be returning to the bay today. Incredible timing!

We met Debbie and her daughter Brooke on shore and brought them back to the boat. In the shallows we saw a beautiful turtle just hanging out, not bothered by our presence. It was a real trip for G and Debbie meeting up in a place they had been such a long time ago, as they hadn’t seen each other for a number of years back in Melbourne. After a good catch up G dropped us on shore so we could go for a walk. We walked over to Jinek bay and this time had to pay $10 each for snorkelling and to experience it with about 50 other people! Cruise ship revenue for the local villages, so it goes to a good cause. Once had enough of snorkelling we walked back over to the market and wandered around before G and S met us. We sat on the grass having a local beer and a snack until it was time for Deb and Brooke to return to their ship.

We waved them off in their tender as we returned to Be and Be in ours, then began plotting what we would do from here. As happens often in cruising we had to choose which anchorage we would visit next as there was going to be some stronger winds which would make our passage to both desired anchorages impossible. The decision was made to do the overnight passage to Gadji bay in the Isle of Pines. Early Saturday morning we lifted our anchor and set our course for Gadji bay, at the Isle of Pines. We spotted Ooroo in the distance and motorsailed behind them most of the way. G and J had refurbished one of our damaged fishing lures with some cellophane and deployed two lines into the flat, calm water. Barely 10 minutes passed and we all watched as a massive fish made a beeline for the lure! It was amazing to watch as the water was displaced around the fish zooming towards our line. Hooked, G reeled it in with a bit of effort and flung it into the cockpit. Vodka was spat into its gills to knock it out for a more humane death. Moral here is buy cheap vodka for the fishing as that monster fish used up nearly half a bottle of smirnoff! It was the biggest Mahi Mahi (Dolphinfish) we have ever seen! At over 150cm long it was taller than E, and weighed in at just under 20kg. Then while G was getting ready to fillet the fish, another fish was spotted zooming towards our second line! It hooked up and was pulled in but as G went to heave it into the cockpit, it bounced and unhooked itself and splashed back into the water. Then we all watched in awe as it did a victory somersault above the water! It took about 2 hours for G to fillet and cut up the fish and he was exhausted by the end of it. We enjoyed some fresh fish for dinner that night, and many nights to come! Next up, the Isle of Pines!

Check out the close encounter with a cruiser ship on the way to Gadji. G had called them on the VHF just to make sure they had seen us!