7-2022 Hello New Caledonia

Hi from Clare,     7-2022   Hello New Caledonia         29^th August 2022

CIVILIZATION

We are now located at Port Moselle marina in Noumea, New Caledonia and what a pleasure to be here. It is a glorious sunny day, the marina is very nice with good facilities and a popular restaurant.  The staff are most helpful and we have some Aussie company, Liam and Annie on Gone with the Wind.

 

Eye Candy in Port Moselle Marina

The Marina Restaurant

A PEACEFUL STOP

But first, some details on our sail to New Caledonia from Port Vila Vanuatu which commenced Saturday 20^st August.  We planned to sail 180 miles south on an easterly wind to the southern most island Aneityum, in the Vanuatu chain. From here, we would wait for the right conditions to continue on for 200 miles to Noumea, the capital of New Caledonia.  Our plans changed when the easterly wind, after eighty miles, swung around to a south east head wind.  We dropped anchor around 12.30am Sunday 21st August at the island of Erromango which is 80 miles south of Port Vila. We spent a peaceful time here waiting.  We did not go ashore as we had checked out of the country. Port Vila Customs gave us approval to stop and wait for favourable weather if necessary.

 

Peaceful  Erromango anchorage

WHAT A BLESSING

Our next 200 miles into Noumea started at 8pm Monday 22^nd August.  The first new hours was rough water but after the sea settled, we had champagne sailing all the way. We couldn't believe our luck as this leg has a bad reputation for headwinds and strong currents. Mother Nature gave us a break, we had gentle wind aft of the beam and mostly the current was with us – fantastic.

 

OUR LUCK RAN OUT

The only mishap for the trip came when Andrew ripped his leg on a latch in the cockpit when pulling in a Mahi Mahi.  He completely skun himself by pulling the flesh away from the muscle. He even had to poke a vein back under the flap. We cleaned the wound with antiseptic wash, applied antibiotic cream and bandaged the leg. We applied steri-strips but they did not hold the wound together. Fortunately, the wound did not bleed much and Andrew suffered no pain. We arrived into Noumea at 6pm Wednesday 24^th August, Andrew attended the Doctor the next morning and received stitches. He had to stay off the leg, as much as possible, for two days at which time we took the bandage off to let the wound breathe.  We are very happy with Andrew's progress. We walked into town yesterday and again this morning, no problems.  

Before stitching up

He will have the stitches removed progressively on Wednesday and then again on Friday. The mishap was bad enough, but it could have been a lot worse, we were very lucky to be close to our destination. After paying the Doctor's bill of $170 we consider the Mahi Mahi to be a most expensive fish.  I must add though, it was a very nice fish.

After Stitching 

GOOD FRIENDS - THE BEST TONIC

We are very much enjoying the company of Liam and Annie sharing drinks and meals and catching up. We first met in Turkey in 2005 and have sailed on and off together over the past seventeen years. There is a very comprehensive fruit, vegie and fish market close by and so last night we shared a sushi, salmon and prawn dinner accompanied by a bottle of champagne. The nearby patisserie is also a plus with warm baguettes, croissants, pastries and good coffee. Things are looking up, we couldn't buy anything like this in Vanuatu.

Noumea Town Square with Annie 

WE ARE OUT OF THE TROPICAL WEATHER

The weather is cooler here than Vanuatu. We are experiencing around 21 degrees each day and we have had rain on and off most days. We have even resorted to a blanket at night.  Yesterday we went for a walk around town. It was Sunday and all was quiet. On weekdays it is very busy and with lots of traffic. This morning we went to Chinatown so I could buy a long sleeve mid weight top and some long pants. The sleeves on the top I purchased were a mile too long, Fortunately the girl running the shop has a sewing machine ready for alterations. Fifteen minutes later the sleeves on my top fit perfectly, no extra charge. How good is that?

China Town, Noumea

SO WHAT'S NEXT

We will stay in Port Moselle marina until at least Friday, so Andrew can get his stitches out. Then we will start exploring some of the beautiful bays and surrounding islands. I thinks Gone with the Wind will push on to Australia soon. So we will have to make the most of their company over the next few days. So until next time stay safe and our love to all.

 

Candy xx

 

 

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6-2022 Goodbye to Port Vila Vanuatu

 

Hi from Clare,       6-2022 Goodbye to Port Vila Vanuatu         19^th August 2022

 

Since our last newsletter, we have been in and around Port Vila Harbour waiting for the right wind direction to sail to New Caledonia.

We have been busy getting ready but we managed to spend three lovely quiet days nearby Mele Island which is three and a half miles from Port Vila.  It has a private resort, plus a few very nice holiday apartments.    We walked the beach each day and celebrated Andrew's birthday at the Beach Bar. It was very calm at Mele we enjoyed the break.

 

We shared the sweets

SO WHAT'S NEXT

We will leave Port Vila tomorrow on the expected easterly wind and travel 180 miles to Aneityum, the southern most island in the Vanauatu chain. We will spend a day or two there and then sail to Noumea on a south east wind.

I will write again when in Noumea. Until then stay safe and our love to all.

 

Candy xx

 

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5-2022 Return Havana Bay, Vanuatu

Hi from Clare,      5-2022   Returning to Havana Bay Vanuatu         7th August 2022

A BIG SURPRISE

Before I talk about the trip, I want to tell you about the surprise we had when we went ashore for a walk. Just as I got out of the dinghy a sea snake came slithering out from under the fuel tank in the bottom of the dinghy. We have no idea how it managed to get into the dinghy and I'm only glad it didn't show itself during our trip to shore as this might have caused a bit of a panic on my part. Andrew hooked it out with a stick and threw it back in the ocean.

SO NOW FOR THE TRIP

For our journey south to Havana Bay on the island of Efate, we did three day sails. First was forty miles to Port Stanley on Malakula Island, then 38 miles to Port Sandwich on the south end of Malakula then 80 miles to Havana Bay on the main island of Efate.

The sail to Port Stanley was so calm I did the washing (including sheets and towels) hang them on the rails and got them dry before night fall. The highlight of the trip the following day to Port Sandwich was catching a Mahi Mahi.

Our Mahi Mahi

The next morning we left from Port Sandwich at 6am to do the 80 mile trip to Havana Harbour. We had up to 22 knots true wind, sailed at 60 degrees apparent in somewhat confused seas, Late afternoon we had a decent squall with very heavy rain. We arrived around 7pm in pitch dark but fortunately we had our tracks to follow, from when we left the bay 2 weeks earlier. We were pretty well done in by the time we dropped anchor. 

The only other boat in Port Havana is a sturdy 80 foot sailing ship built by the Polish owner who speaks limited English. He is sailing alone but has Polish friends arriving next Wednesday. We went over to say Hello or Dzien Dobry (good morning) which is the only Polish I know. He invited us onto the boat. He is very proud of his vessel, which is grand and very solid, Andrew said it would be worth millions. Our Polish friend's sailing experience would be totally different to ours, he can steer from inside in air conditioned comfort.

 

Sancta Anna -The Polish Boat

Our Polish friend was short of vegetables and so I gave him some bok choy, lettuce, tomatoes, cucumber, carrot, bananas and grapefruit. The next morning he came over to our boat with a freshly baked loaf of bread. Totally unexpected and thoroughly delicious.

 

The Bread

We have had a number of local boats come to Eye Candy for a chat or to deliver fruit and vegetables from their gardens. Others come wanting things, which we give them if we can. We had a family last night looking for bait to go fishing. We gave them our last piece of MahiMahi which was probably passed it's use by date for eating.

The people below rowed out to the Polish boat to meet the owner. They said they couldn't understand him, but together they did a lot of laughing. They then rowed passed our boat and Andrew offered them a tow back to shore. They accepted readily and laughed all the way to shore.

 

A Tow Ashore

We went across to Tasiriki Village on the far side of the bay. We were met on the beach by two villagers who gave us a tour of the village.

The welcoming committee

We walked to the school and met two of the six teaches. Friday is a half day and so all the kids were on their way home.

The Pre School

Many said hello, gave us high fives or shook our hands. Some of the little ones are very cute with big brown eyes, big smiles and fuzzy hair sticking out in all directions.

The Classrooms

The village is very neat and tidy and the houses are good quality. Many of the men from this village have been fruit picking in New Zealand. Some we met have been to NZ for seven seasons. It's quite a sacrifice being away from home for a six to nine month for picking season. They spend the money on education for the children and a better lifestyle for the family with a nice house and a boat with a 40 horse outboard.

The Church

View of the Village

Andrew has been busy today changing the bolts in the chain plates. This involves undoing all the rigging at the deck. He brought the new bolts back from Australia. The bolts he replaced weren't too bad but now we have brand new ones.

 Andrew at Work

SO WHAT'S NEXT

Tomorrow we will leave this peaceful bay and go around to the much busier Port Vila Harbour. From here we will start looking for a weather window to go to Noumea in New Caledonia. We have to leave Vanuatu by the end of August. We are hoping to find a light North East Wind to carry us down to New Cal. So until next time stay safe and our love to all.

 Candy xx

 

 

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