{"id":3608,"date":"2018-06-08T01:29:13","date_gmt":"2018-06-08T01:29:13","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/svslowflight.com\/?p=3608"},"modified":"2020-02-03T19:12:55","modified_gmt":"2020-02-03T19:12:55","slug":"new-caledonia-not-the-ideal-stay-we-wanted-but-you-gotta-take-it-as-it-comes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/svslowflight.com\/index.php\/2018\/06\/08\/new-caledonia-not-the-ideal-stay-we-wanted-but-you-gotta-take-it-as-it-comes\/","title":{"rendered":"New Caledonia – Not the ideal stay we wanted but you gotta take it as it comes!"},"content":{"rendered":"

We left Port Vila on the morning of May 22nd.\u00a0 We said goodbye to SV Another Adventure and headed south.\u00a0 This particular passage was tricky in my humble opinion for 2 reasons:<\/p>\n

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  1. We needed to enter Havana Pass at low slack water tide and preferably during daylight hours. We needed to time it perfectly.<\/li>\n
  2. We were headed in a SW direction and the wind and swell were predicted to be coming at us from the South which means we were heading almost up wind which means our boat speed would be slower, how much slower was the question, and possibly uncomfortable.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    The combination of these two factors meant we needed to keep a keen eye on our progress and monitor our speed and arrival time to Havana pass.\u00a0 In the end, it was a slow passage, as expected, and we arrived at the pass 2 hours early, but all was good….with the exception of our tummies not feeling well….<\/p>\n

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    Our first day of the passage, we choose to leave when the wind and swell was minimal so that we could get as far south as we could before the it kicked up. When the wind kicked up we needed to point more west to get a better sailing angle.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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    More repairs when we get to New Caledonia….<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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    We finally reached Havana Pass at 8:30 am. Slack low water tide was at 10:10am. The reason you want to enter the pass at low slack water is to time the current with the direction you want to go, for us we wanted the tide to be going in towards the island…not against us. If the tide is going against us and the wind is going against the current, it creates standing waves which for a boat is dangerous as control of the boat decreases. When we decided to enter BEFORE low slack tide the waves were confused and you could see it. We powered on and made it with no problems though our heavy boat would swing side to side with each push of the waves. And of course we were in a squall!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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    Inside the pass, the landscape was so different…the French mine nickel here and there are almost no trees anywhere, the dirt is red, and it looked almost barren.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

    We had gone out to dinner with Frank and Ivonne in Vanuatu the night before we left Port Vila.\u00a0 Trevor started to feel “bad” our first night.\u00a0 The next day I started to feel crappy.\u00a0 We started to take medicine for our “tummy issues” but for the entire passage we didn’t eat much…in fact we didn’t even cook ONCE!\u00a0 When we made landfall, we felt on the mend but still tried and weak from not eating and possibly dehydrated.<\/p>\n

    Illegal landfall –<\/strong> The deal in Noumea, New Caledonia to clear into the country is to coordinate with Port Moselle as they contact customs and Bio-Security for you.\u00a0 We arrived near the city close enough to be in VHF radio range on Friday about 3:30pm.\u00a0 Unfortunately they did not have room on their visitors dock and told us to anchor out and contact them the next day to see if they had room.\u00a0 We heard the “anchorage” near Port Moselle was full of moorings..which it is… and to be careful of old boats getting loose from said moorings.\u00a0 So we decided to take the advice from Frank (SV Another Adventure) regarding a great little anchorage 6 miles away with great protection from SE, SW wind and swell called Ilot Ndo or Ile Uere.<\/p>\n

    It was perfect!\u00a0 We anchored in 18 feet of water in sand and light coral with 5 other boats.\u00a0 We had planned to call Port Moselle every day to see if there was room but there was no rush as we thought the official offices would be closed over the weekend…so we were just going to hang out on the boat as technically we are not to go “ashore” until we are cleared into the country.\u00a0 However, there were a few boats from the Go East Rally from Australia who invited to us to join them and BBQ at the little hut ashore.\u00a0 We gladly accepted to talk to other people besides each other…on a platform of LOVE!<\/p>\n

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    Jim from a beautiful steel boat taxied us in so we wouldn’t have to drop our dinghy. When we got there 2 guys and a gal were hanging out drinking Red Label…my kind of peeps. They offered some to us…speaking very little english but we got by with hand motions etc.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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    When everyone arrived ashore, the locals offered us some fish they had caught. They started a fire and we all tasted some of their catch. It was the first time for me to try a the meat from a conned shell that looked like a large snail. I don’t know what they are called but it it was chewy like a prawn but tougher…it was good!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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    They were playing music on their phone and it almost brought tears to my eyes…they were playing a song I recognized from a really good friend, Hannah Anderson-Geroux, who introduced me to Francis Cabrel. I tried to sing along..but it’s in French…they laughed at me…I didn’t care it was so good to hear something that reminded me of home and especially all the wonderful memories with Hannah, and trust me there is alot!\u00a0 See below for the song….<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

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