 |
| Route from Tanna, Vanuatu to Noumea, New Caledonia |
The winds lightened
to around 10 knots or less and I had to head off course, on to the wind, to
keep some apparent wind in the sails to stop them flogging. I would have put up
the asymmetrical spinnaker but our hydraulic backstay tensioner has been
playing up and the back stay is not as tight as I would like it.
We sailed slowly, and
comfortably through the night and then a rather unnerving and familiar alarm
sounded: the autopilot had malfunctioned. After having had a closer look the
bolts holding the hydraulic ram to the bulkhead had sheared. Of course this
happens at night! Jude took the helm with memories of our 18 days of
hand-steering coming back. Worst case scenario would be 24 hrs of hand steering
this time.
I replaced the bolts
on the bracket but the hydraulic ram mounting bush had been damaged when the
bolts sheared. Having learned my lesson last time I had purchased a spare ram
so I mounted the new one ( I love it when I have a spare when things go wrong)
and after about 1 hour we were back using the autopilot.
We sailed through the
night and arrived at the pass through the reef at the south eastern tip of New
Caledonia at dawn, as planned, to get the 4 knot flood tide into the worlds
largest lagoon. We sailed at 9 knots through the pass with a light wind on our
beam and weaved our way through the smaller islands and reefs to Noumea at a
slow but leisurely pace.
Jude had been bitten
by a mosquito on Tanna which had subsequently become infected and swollen and
her leg was looking rather nasty ( I won't go into what it looked like) so a
visit to the hospital in Noumea would be top of the list for things to do.
Having tied up to the
dock in Noumea we all went for a walk around town given that it was too late in
the afternoon to check in to immigration and customs. Noumea was surprisingly
modern and quite similar to many cities in France, not surprising as it is
actually part of France. Having been deprived of a decent supermarket for quite
sometime we were delighted to look at the well stocked shelves of the nearest
Carrefor and bought some French bread and croissants and French cheese enjoying
the sounds of local bands playing in the nearby restaurants and bars.
The following morning
we went to check into immigration which was totally painless and then we went
to the accident and emergency at the hospital to get Jude's leg examined. The
verdict was inconclusive and Jude was prescribed a course of antibiotics and asked
to come back in a week for a further examination. The hospital was great, not
that new but they were building a new one down the road but very efficient,
helpful and friendly in a French way.
The next week was
spent preparing Sarita for our entry into Australia, a notoriously rigorous
examination by customs with many restrictions on what we could bring into the
country. We opened every locker, storage space and cleaned it and through out
any items that might cause a problem. We wanted the boat spick and span for our
entry. I repaired the hydraulic backstay, albeit temporarily as the seals have
worn and will need to be replaced in Australia and I had the old autopilot
hydraulic ram mounts replaced, actually having to have new bushes made. Jude's
leg did not improve so we went back to the hospital and they performed an X-ray
after a specialist had a look at it. Again we were told to continue the
antibiotics and com back in another week.
We were already
behind schedule and we were now officially in hurricane season with a 5-7 day
passage ahead of us, not my preference but we had no option to stay.
We were pleasantly
surprised by New Caledonia and what it has to offer the sailor. It has some
great anchorages, albeit somewhat exposed to the winds but sheltered by reefs.
The diving was supposed to be excellent.
Our friends, Neil and
a Jessie had arrived in Noumea a few hours after us and we spent a few days
together diving including a wreck dive in the pristine waters. This would
probably be our last chance to dive for quite sometime.
 |
| Neil (Red Thread) below on the wreck dive |
 |
| An abundance of turtles in New Caledonia |
We visited the
Amendee lighthouse again anchoring in crystal clear waters and surveyed the
vista from the top of one of the oldest lighthouses in the Southern Hemisphere.
 |
| A view up the stairs of the lighthouse |
We had been keeping
an eye on the weather, trying to see local patterns emerging. Ideally we would
depart Noumea on the back of a high pressure system peeling off the coast of
Australia and our plan was to make a landfall as far south as possible, Sydney
if at all possible or Coffs Harbour.
Jude went back to the
hospital for another check up and although the sore had not developed further
it still looked pretty angry. The doctor advised us to double the dose of
antibiotics and told me how to operate, or cut out the infection, if it got any
worse on the passage to Australia, something a Jude was understandably not too
keen on.
We identified a
potential weather window with a high pressure system giving us the winds we
needed but there was a rather nasty low pressure system predicated to develop
on the equator sometime after the high pressure system developed. I had been
watching the weather patterns in this region for a few months and this was the
first low pressure system predicted in that time and it could be a potential
cyclone. We would have to watch it carefully.
We did our final
provisioning which was not that extensive given we cannot bring much into
Australia and left the marina in Noumea and anchored in Ilot Maitre planning an
early morning departure in a couple of days.
 |
| Dolphin wanting his tummy tickled |
 |
| Approx route to Coffs Harbour |
We had engaged the
services of a weather router who had advised us to head almost directly west
until picking up the east Australian current which heads at a rate of up to
three knots down the coast. I decided to ignore his advice for two reasons:
firstly I hate going off the rhumb line to a destination but secondly I was
nervous of this potential developing low to our north and wanted to get as much
southing in as possible before it started its track south.
 |
| One last ice cream |
We checked into the
shortwave radio net and gave our position to the controllers in New Zealand
with them replying that they thought we were "brave" leaving a Noumea
with the predicted low developing. This made me a bit nervous and we double
checked the weather forecasts. One of the predictions was for the low to develop
quickly and head south and then west on a direct course to Australia just north
of our route, which made me even more nervous. Since leaving Mexico we have
sailed pretty much all the time in mostly reliable trade winds and now as we
head south we enter the less predictable and somewhat stronger wind patterns
that peel off the coast of Australia.
The winds started to
lighten as predicted and we ended up raising the spinnaker which we kept up for
three days straight mostly doing only only 3 knots but very comfortably, Jude
even cooked up a full roast chicken dinner which we ate at the table in the
cockpit as flat as if we were in a marina. We were nearing the coast of
Australia and wanted to get there as soon as possible but did not want to turn
the engine on if we had to. We decided that given the weather predictions we
could not make it all the way to Sydney as the predicted low was going to swing
to the east of us and then north blocking our route with 30 knot winds from the
south and 3-4m seas so we headed for Coffs Harbour.
 |
| 38 hrs of spinnaker sailing. Slow but very comfortable |
Neil and Jessie on
Red Thread had meanwhile overtaken us on their longer route but positive
current. I should have followed the routers advice!
We ended up sailing
into Coffs Harbour having only motored 2.5 hrs from pulling up the anchor but
it could have been quicker. Now to run the gauntlet of Australian customs and
border services.
The Australian
customs and Border services don't have a great reputation with overseas
sailors, with stories of over officious, rude, strict and expensive processes
so we were somewhat nervous of our arrival.
 |
| Ariel view of Coffs Harbour |
We hailed the
authorities on the VHF and were advised to drop anchor and wait in the outer
Harbour as the inner Harbour was still being repaired from a violent storm
earlier in the year. The outer Harbour was subject to an uncomfortable swell
coming from the east so we did not plan to stay long after clearing customs.
We waited to be
summoned and after a couple of hours were directed to tie up to the customs
dock and "prepare to be boarded" after we tied up to the dock a Jude
leapt onto the dock and gave one of the officials a hug as she was so excited
about being back in Australia. I don't think he quite knew what to do.
Three officials
boarded the boat and gave it a reasonably thorough look over but we pleasant
and efficient. They confiscated a few items, mostly food and stamped our
passports. We had officially arrived and were relieved to pass the process. It
was relatively painless and they charged us A$340 for the privilege (in fact
they charged me twice and it took me 2 months to get the overcharge back) but
it was OK in the end. We have heard that other boats were treated very rudely
in Brisbane and Bundaberg but it's all hearsay.
We spent a bit of a
rolly night with 20 knot winds on anchor in the outer Harbour and departed
early in the morning for Port Macquarie where we would meet Mike, Irit and
Daniel, Jude's family, Daniel would be sailing down to a Sydney with us. It was
on,y. A short 70 mile trip down but we had to cross the notorious narrow river
bar at slack water. We spoke to the marina office who gave us some advice as to
how to cross the bar and told us that there was a web cam to make sure that
there were not too high standing waves. The crossing went without a problem
although our depth gauge did read 0 feet as we crossed which made me hold our
breath for a few seconds. We slowly motored a short way down the river to the
Marina where the very friendly manager met us and helped us into the slip.
Arriving in a medium
sized Australian town after being so long in remote areas was a bit of a shock.
One of the first things we had to do was go to the supermarket and get some
food. Walking down the isles seeing the huge selection of food and other goods
after having a minimal selection for so long made us question the fairness.
Mike, Irit and Daniel
arrived laden with champagne and other goodies and we enjoyed celebrating our
arrival in Australia and completion of our Pacific crossing with them, feeling
elated and relieved.
We spent a couple of
nights in the Marina, walked around the typically provincial Australian town
and had a few drinks with a Neil and Jessie who were soaking up Australia even
seeing some kangaroos and Koalas with the local butcher who was generous enough
to show them.
Mike and a Irit
departed and we left the marina early in the morning with Daniel bound for Port
Stephens, about 100NM. The bar crossing was OK and we headed a few miles
offshore to try and pick up the southerly current, not that we caught much of
it.
The winds picked up
as we approached the entrance to Port Stephens which is about 0.5 mile wide.
With the wind from the NE we jibed and shot into the protected port under
darkness, a bit nerve wracking as there were no lights marking either of the
headlands and there was a bit of traffic coming out.
We decided to anchor
on the northern side as the forecast showed strengthening NE winds and we
wanted a good nights sleep. Sure enough as we approached an anchoring spot the
winds and seas died down and we dropped the
anchor in just 15
feet of water and enjoyed a good night of sleep until dawn when the wind picked
up from the south and along with it the swell. We raised the anchor, and the
sails, and had a short sail across the bay to Shoal Bay where we went ashore
and walked along the beach and had a fish and chip lunch, quite a luxury for
us. We had our first swim in Australian waters and I have to say it felt quite
"bracing", bloody cold in fact. I had forgotten how much colder the
Australian water is compared to the tropics.
Our next passage
would take us from Port Stephens down to Pittwater which will be our home for
the foreseeable future. If we left at dawn the 70 mile passage should still
enable us to arrive before darkness. So before the sun peeped its head over the
horizon we wee on our way in light winds. There were two other boats heading
out at the same time. We motored out of the large Harbour raised the sails and
made a slow heading south east to try and pick up some of the southerly
current.
We continued heading offshore
for a few hours before heading south towards our destination. The seas were
pretty comfortable and the sun was shining so it was quite pleasant.
We entered into
Pittwater around 3pm and headed towards a mooring field known as "The
Basin" is an area set inside the national park and has probably over a
hundred moorings, mostly club owned but some public. We picked one up and
enjoyed being back home, a really strange feeling I must say.
