Passage Fiji to New Caledonia
23rd –27th August 2022
After having breakfast ashore as it was our 37th wedding anniversary and with our customs clearance in hand we headed back to GWTW. On went the engines and we motored toward the Mololo Pass and through the reef to the open ocean.
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| Bye Bye Fiji |
Looking back over our shoulders we bid goodbye to Fiji and the friendly people who live in this island paradise. Two hours later as Liam was pulling in the first reefing point in our mainsail the reefing point and sheave let go with a mighty crack. Luckily the sheave landed in the dinghy and we figured we could replace the broken part once we arrived in Australia. But until then it would be sailing with the second reef or nada. Not a good start to the 800 nm passage.
Even with just the second reef in the mainsail we were romping along with speeds of nine + knots, a SE wind 15-20 knots and the seas were 1-2 metres. At 1800 Liam got his first strike on one of his three fishing lines. Sadly whatever it was it was big as it chomped off his best lure, possibly a marlin and we sure didn’t want that coming onboard. With a starry night above and a sliver of moon we had a very comfy first night at sea.
Day two had similar conditions to day one. We have a long range SSB radio and keep a radio schedule with boats around us when on a passage. Tonight we heard that Andy from the vessel Eye Candy had succumbed to a five inch gash in his calf as he raced to the transom to pull in a Mahi Mahi. He would more than likely require stitches once docked in Noumea.
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| Rather small Yellowfin Tuna |
This time it was a decent sized Wahoo which put up quite the fight.
Once he was dispatched the Yellowfin got a second chance to grow up and was put back in the water, happily swimming away at pace.
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| Woo Hoo a Wahoo |
For the next two days there was no wind or very little so the iron sail came into play and did all the work. We saw no ships and there were no fish to be caught. Quite boring really.
At 0650 on day four we entered the Havanna Channel with a a decent ingoing tide giving us 10 kts of boat speed.
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| Rough conditions as we entered the Havanna Channel |
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| Now inside the channel proper the seas calmed down |
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| Nickel mining has scared the landscape |
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| Looking up the channel, Pine trees were everywhere |
By 1300 we were tied up at Port Moselle Marina in Noumea with a welcoming committee of Aussies, Andy and Claire from Eye Candy and Kiwis Ted and Adrian from the sailing vessel Otama.
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| Having an after passage beverage with friends from Eye Candy |
It felt great to be back in a French country again and were looking forward to gobbling down fresh baguette's, pate and cheeses and all the delicacies that were on offer.
Follow us on our tracker at :
https://aus-share.delorme.garmin.com/GoneWithTheWind
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