Well, smart or stupid, we decided to take off anyways despite not knowing exactly how we fixed the engine overheating. We had done every test, replaced filters and fluids, inspected and tested parts and we consulted 2 different mechanics, and decided to run the engine without a thermostat…that seemed to do the trick. As I understand it, the thermostat lifts and opens to allow the cooling fluids to circulate and keep the engine cool. Without it, the cooling fluids run freely. We tested and replaced the thermostat and they seemed to be working properly (opening at the right temperature) so there could be an issue with our temperature sensor/gauge which tells our temperature gauge what the actual temperature of our engine is. Still a mystery but it as time to go!
Our last night in Noumea, New Caledonia was a highlight of friends and luxury!
Trevor and I treated ourselves to a nice happy hour gathering on SV Henrietta and a dinner of French cuisine and wine….
Early Saturday morning, we enlisted the help of Guru and Michael to help out off the pier. The wind was blowing hard and pushing us against the dock. We had Guru’s vessel behind us and a catamaran in front of us and was pretty sure we would not clear it’s wide berth in front of us. Mind you we all were squeezed on to this pier and only had about 5-7 feet in between each vessel. Trevor did an amazing job getting us out. Our wheel was hard to port and in forward so the water would push off the rudder as Michael held a fender at our bow between us and the dock as we swung our backend off the dock enough to clear Guru’s boat and then we could maneuver safely out…. I would of never thought to do this! (Sorry no photo…we were to busy with the boat).
We motored to the fuel dock back at Port Moselle where we could obtain duty free fuel…. a must here as duty free fuel in Australia requires you to file with the government and you have to have an Australian bank account. Then we were off!
The lagoon, which is the area between Noumea and the pass, is known for it’s winds blowing down the hill side and we are glad we doubled reefed on our way out of the pass. We hit the tide and current perfectly and soon we were out into the big blue once again….
As it goes… either you have too little wind or too much wind as you would like…this passage was no different! The weather was predicted to be light winds for about 3 days…this means about 10 knots sometimes down to 5 knots but gusts up to 15 knots. We expected to motor through these days of light winds and thus that is what we did….. we also added our spinnaker to get an extra lift. We celebrated our 14th Anniversary on Monday June 11th underway…Trevor treated me and made homemade pizza…my favorite food group…
Well..the weather seems to NEVER cooperate! As we continued to check weather each day, we realized the wind was not picking up to the original 15-20 knots of wind that we would of liked. Additionally, the wind shifted to dead behind us. This point of sail for Slow Flight is not really favorable and it makes our boat rock from side to side rather than a nice lean to one side on a broad or beam reach. Trevor ingeniously rigged our spinnaker to adjust for the wind shift.
By day 5 we had been motoring almost the entire way with the exception of the engine being off for a few hours here and there when the wind would kick up for about an hour or so, then die back off…. we hold about 265 gallons of fuel on board but running the engine for this long just doesn’t feel right…plus, we had just “fixed” the engine but of course it always is in the back of your mind…”will the engine fail us?”…..but Polly the Perkins engine ran flawlessly and her temperature stayed even and never overheated (touch wood three times). We finally experienced about 15 knots of wind on our 7-8 day and put the spinnaker away.
The weather now predicted that in a few days the wind would pick up to 25 knots with gusts up to 30….we decided to keep running it hard to try to get into Australia before all this and we kept the engine going while under sail. We were moving at 8 knots regularly and at times I saw 12 knots at one point! Pretty much smoothe MOTOR sailing…..
UNTIL…we got about 35 miles from Cairns, Australia! We were entering the Grafton Pass, the northern part of the Great Barrier Reef, and we had to change course and head SW which meant the wind, now blowing 20-25 knots with gusts up to 30 knots, was now almost right in front of us. The swell was on our beam….This means our boat would slam down on a wave and the wave would crash up over our dodger and right into the cockpit…. it was a wet 35 miles to say the least!
Finally under the relief of land as we got closer to Cairns and the channel, the swell and wind abated and we came in to Cairns on Sunday June 17th.
We finally cleared into the country on Monday as Bio-Security forgot about us (they totally admitted it to us..it was funny). But the silver lining was that Bio-security charges a fee (hourly) to clear you in and charges additional fees to clear you in on a weekend so we didn’t have to pay overtime fees. Additionally, one of the Bio-security guys (Cameron) plays in a local band (The Code) and over Facebook he told us of a good places to go and good bands to check out.
Over all, we were tired…exhausted from the tight schedule we have had to keep which in turn makes us sail in conditions that are less desirable. Additionally, we have been at sea for 21 days and have traveled over 2,300 miles since we left Opua New Zealand on May 3rd, 2018…that is almost as long as the crossing of the Pacific from Mexico to French Polynesia. It’s just time to have a little fun!
Next up…. Our time in OZ….