Au revoir Noumea

Fridaymorning our last shopping: on the market fresh veggies, at the 'boulanger' 2 french sticks and we are ready to go. At 12.00 p.m. we depart Port Moselle marina to refuel duty free. It is raining and not a lot of wind so we decide to anchor the first night near the lighthouse. After clearance you are allowed 48 hrs in NewCal waters (unlike other countries!). Sundaymorning we leave the sheltered New Caledonian lagoon via the Passe Boulari heading for Cairns in Australia. The day starts cloudy with not a lot of wind, in the afternoon we have a good run and hope that this will last through the night. Unfortunately the wind increases so that the sails have to be reefed. Again a stormy night, with following seas and winds. We make good progress but sleeping is not comfortable Sundaymorning the wind dies out slowly but the seas are still confused. As we are still close to the reef we decide to make landfall again and find a sheltered anchorage for a good night sleep. Slideshow coast on New Caledonia

Noumea in New Caledonia

After the violence of the low pressure systems we once again have light winds. So every now and then we are motorsailing or we have a quiet and slow sail. On approach of New Caledonia we encounter heavy northerlies, on the nose, so that's an unwelcome surprise because we still have to enter the pass through the reef to come into the lagoon of NewCal. New Caledonia is situated between Vanuatu and Australia and since we have our SSB radio out of order, we think repairs are better to be done here.
Once with high speed through the pass we enter calmer waters and we can sail to the main city Noumea, a leg of 25 nm. We are happy to drop anchor at 04.00 am next to the Port Moselle marina.

Friday at 10.00 am we find a berth in the marina and have to wait for officers of Quaranteen, Immigration and Customs before we are allowed to step on Newcaledonian ground. Time to do the dishes and make ship shape, and then a pleasant walk to the shops for a fresh baguette and French cheeses. Luckily we stil have some fine New Zealand wines because the prices for all groceries and also for the wines are frightening high! They are French wines, NewCal is still a colony of France, but twice as deer as we are used to. The tax system in NewCal is to blame for that: no income tax on the wages, but almost 100% GST on everything. The government has to get her money in one way or the other.

Saturday morning we visit the market next to the marina: all sorts of fresh veges and fruits. Half of the population are 'white' people: NewCal has been a penalty colony of France in he 19th century and the descendants of the ex-detinees have since then build up a new and modern life here. The other half are 'Canac's', the original population of NewCal, dark people as we have seen on most of the Pacific islands. The first missionaires have ordered the women to wear multicoloured wide hubbahub dresses and these still are the fashion these days: a bit outdated but very colourfull. A visit to the market is a real picture! Slideshow Noumea

On the high seas

The first days and nights after our departure from nelson we have too light winds. Near Separation Point we are twice surrounded by a pod of dolphins and later on we see the sun sinking behind Farewell Spit. We have to use the engine quite often, but slowly we can pick up some wind along the westcoast of the North Island. The Three Kings are the last and most northerly islands of New Zealand and then we sail into the Pacific Ocean again. We hoist the reacher, a big headsail for light winds, but we like to have a little more wind to speed up a bit. We have had it. From Friday till Sunday we encountered the passing of warm and cold fronts and a new born low pressure system. The winds are on the nose and exceeded 30 knots. You can hear and feel all powers of nature on and through the boat. With a speed of 8-plus knots you thunder through the water, but life onboard all afternoon is not comfortable any more: the boat heals over, is smashing on waves every now and then and there is a constant beating against the wind. Sleeping is also over and the violence and night seem to last forever. Monday at 12.00 p.m. there is a sudden silence, the speed is gone and we are rocking on a disturbed sea. We remove the double reef from main and jib and set for normal sailing again. It takes all afternoon to quiten the sea a little but we can walk again and eat something. Then there is a change of plans: we are heading for New Caledonia! Slideshow High Seas

All the best Nelson, farewell New Zealand!

Today at 10.00 a.m. we have left the dock and hoisted the sails to sail to the north. Friends of the marina were on the jetty to wave us good bye and slowly we've lost sight of each other. Good appointments have been made for a regular sched via the radio and also via the eamil we hope to keep in contact.

In the Abel Tasman Bay it is calm and quiet, but after passing Separation Point and Farewell Spitt we'll expect to pick up more wind and feel the ocean swell again.

Thank you so much for hospitality, friends in Nelson, we've had a safe and pleasant stop in your marina, a good base from where we could discover a bit more of your beautiful New Zealand and meet a few more pleasant people. Till we meet again we wish you all the best!

Our course is now to Vanuatu! Slideshow Nelson 2008/09

Waiting, waiting ...

We still are in Nelson marina and while waiting for a favourable weatherwindow we were thinking of our arrival in New Zealand one year ago. Leaving from Tasmania (Au) we sighted the NZ westcoast at the end of April and after a short stay in Fiordland it was in Bluff on the south tip of NZ that we were welcomed by Customs and Quaranteen. After being moored on the fisherman's wharf for more than a week with very bad weather, we continued to Otago harbour (near Dunedin), Akaroa (near Christchurch), a stormy anchorage behind Cape Campbell and an exciting passage of French Pass before entering the calm waters and safe harbour of Nelson. Slideshow Entering New Zealand 2008

Not yet departed!

Every day we receive weather maps and forecasts but they all show a lot of disturbance around New Zealand with strong winds and high seas. Not a good moment to leave for the islands of Vanuatu. But may be after the weekend ...

New sails

In the beginning of March our discussions with the sailmakers of North Sails in Nelson are finalised. We order modern, heavy duty cruising sails (radial cut made of DP-laminate). Every few days we visit the North Sails 'loft', the workshop of the sailmaker, to be engaged in the sequential stadia of the sailmaking. And we also have to attribute a small effort ourselves. You'll find it all on the pictures in the slideshow. Before the end of the month we can install our new headsail that fitts perfectly well in the furler. At this occasion we see the thoroughness of the sailing cloth, but also how easy and smooth the sail can be furled in and out. The mainsail takes a bit longer and since we are a few weeks away from Nelson, we postpone the delivery to the end of April. This turns out to be a rainy period, but in between two showers we are able to put the main in place and get a first impression. To trim the new sails we make two seatrials in the beautiful Abel Tasman Bay. That's only a 10 minutes sail from our position in the Nelson marina. Trimming the sails, halyards and rigging is an accurate job, depending on the amount of wind and the course we are sailing, and of course the opninion of the other masters we've invited to join us on our seatrials. In short, enough to talk a bit more extensive afterwards with a beer or wine. About one thing we do agree: the new sails on 'Alexandra' look sturdy and show off! Slideshow New sails