Year Two
Date: 17/10/2009 14:00
Weather: nice
Location: Coffs Harbour
Author: Peter

We are home. We arrived at midday on thursday after a colourful sail. When planning a passage, you can check alot of different places to find out what weather you can expect. These are usually good for the first three days but after that anything can happen. Once again this was the case with the last 200nm into Coffs becoming a bit of a mixed bag. Our journey started off as a work which was then supposed to turn into a reach as the breeze rotated to the south east. Once we left, this occured much slower than expected and we only really had the reaching conditions for a day. Then about 200nm out from Coffs the effects of a complex low system in Bass Strait started to play havoc with our finish. First the breeze swung to the north and then really started to build. For 26 hours we were once again were sailing upwind in 35 knots. Then after dark it increased to 45 to 55knots for 4 hours. At this point in time we were running under bare poles due south making no progress towards Coffs. We were we still moving at 11 knots, while the wind strength was 60% stronger than the prediction. The following day it was supposed to abate but we found ourselves sailing upwind and tacking in 25 to 30 knots trying to get home. Very frustrating when you just want to get there!

The final sunrise then saw the wind stop resulting in us motoring the last 30 nm. Our welcome home was fantastic though as a pod of dolphins led us home with one of them doing long backward/upside leaps just off our port bow. As we approached the coast we also passed at least 8 whales with one mother and calf putting on a powerful display of breeching. What a great way to end.

We dropped sail inside the harbour before making our way in and clearing customs with a minimum of fuss. We are both happy to be home. We are not sure what next year holds for us, we just know no matter what we need to work to fund what we do next. As I can't get work over January we plan to spend the time on Morton Bay to save on Marina costs,so we may see some of you there.

Year Two
Date: 10/10/2009 18:00
Weather: rough
Location: Coral Sea (23 37.380' S, 163 57.433' E)
Log: 10530 nm
Author: Peter

We have left New Caledonia and are currently on our way back to Aus. We have been sailing upwind now for the last day and a bit and it is not the most comfortable with a big sea running from the south west and 25 knots over the deck. Not quite what we had planned for. It is suppose to lighten and rotate towards the south east but we will wait and see.

Our last few days in New Cal saw a change in weather with a few showers. This put pay to our plan of scuba diving but we still had a great time enjoy a few walks and a bath in a hot spring. We can't wait to return as there is just so much to see and do. We only just scratched the surface but we loved what we saw.

On a side note we were on the move towards Noumea when we got another tsunami warning. They evacuated the east coats of New Cal up onto higher ground. Where we were there was little we could do so we were greatful when an hour and a half later the warning was cancelled.

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Year Two
Date: 4/10/2009 13:30
Weather: slightly overcast and cool
Location: Baie Nord (22 20.033' S,166 52.673' E)
Log: 10300 nm
Author: Peter

Wow what a change of scene. We have been cruising some quiet anchorages and small communities for the last few months. Then comes the shock of New Caledonia on a Saturday morning. We woke up early to the sound of a constant stream of boats passing us. Still being tired from lack of sleep after the crossing we both tried to ignore it and stayed in bed. A few hour later when we did get up wow, what a sight. This country must have a high boat ownership per capita, and everyone seems to be out using their boat. We set sail into what looked like Sydney peak hour, with boats everywhere, setting off to take advantage of the weekend. I have seen the traffic of boats heading from Pittwater to Refuge bay during the Christmas/New Year period and this had nothing on a normal Saturday here in Noumea. As we exited the harbour area and were still limited in sight I could still count 38 boats on the move just near us.

From our 1st impressions New Caledonia is certainly an exciting cruising ground. For future guests, this would be a great place to come and visit us. There are many anchorages and things to see and do, via small hops (sails). The waters are so smooth given almost all of the cruising is inside a protecting reef. The scenery changes constantly and there is an abundance of sea life. The only downfall would be the cost of food.

Someone once said "you don't notice something until it is gone". Although this may almost always be the case, we did not notice certain things were missing until they returned. For example there have been next to no bird sounds in either Tonga or Fiji but here in New Caledonia there is a symphony each day and evening and it is so relaxing to listen to it from the shores, cabin or hammock.

We have now set ourselves up in the Baie Du Prony for the majority of our short stay as it offers a wide variety of the things we like to do. Today we went exploring up a small river to its head, where a lovely little fresh water river cascades across the yellow rocks into the salt. It was such a peaceful spot we just sat and enjoyed it for a while. Back at the entrance to the river we went ashore to explore the overgrown ruins of a penal settlement. New Caledonia like Tasmania appears to be littered with these old ruins always in very scenically beautiful positions. Unlike Tasmania however the ones we saw today, although still obvious, are well entrenched into the bush and are not set up as tourist attractions.

Penal Colony Ruins

Baie Du Prony is about 30nm east of Noumea. Like Broken Bay it is a large bay with a few tributaries ranging off in different directions. It is surrounded by bush and New Cals colourful soils.








Just around the corner near the entrance to the large bay is a large mine and ship loading facility and off in the distance to the west on top of the range you can just see teens of two bladed windmills that make up part of some large wind farm.

Wind turbines on the hill


So far we have seen three different coloured beaches in the bay. The expected white ones, the pitch black ones, and now a yellow one that makes your feet look like you have used bottled fake tan.

On a side note, all those friends that emailed us about the tsunami, thank you we really appreciate it. Luckily for us we were already in the best place we could be when it passed us. Out at sea in a depth of about 5000m. As a result we did not even feel it. Had we been at anchor somewhere though the early we receive the news the faster we can get to somewhere safe.

The native plants resemble what we see in Australia


A fresh water cray

Also on the crossing over from Fiji Jura sailed passed 10 000nm. For us a reason to celebrate.

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Year Two
Date: 2/10/2009 14:00
Weather: Blue skies
Location: Noumea (22 16.967' S,166 38.26' E)
Author: Peter

We arrived in New Caledonia late on thursday night. After entering the reef in the dark we sailed until about 25nm short of Noumea and laid the anchor so that we could get some sleep. We awoke to some breathtaking scenery that was very different to what we had seen in both Tonga and Fiji. The high mountain ranges with their undulating contours highlighted by the long morning shadows reminded me greatly of the rugged hills in Tasmania but with one very remarkable difference; the soil was of a completely different colour, ochre.

This was our slowest crossing yet, averaging only 5.7knots over the 667nm distance. Although slow this trip was extremely comfortable with Kylie experiencing no feelings of seasickness. Whether this was due to the calm seas or the sturgeron she took, we can't be sure.

As we proceeded to make our way into Noumea to clear customs it instantly became clear that we were back in an affluent western country. Modern buildings, modern marina's and lots and lots of shinny cars (mainly Peugeot).



Noumea seemed huge and spread out over a large area, although our perceptions may have been exaggerated by what we have become used to over the past 4 months.

We berthed Jura in Port Moselle Marina. Cleared customs quickly and easily even given some language difficulties. This was our first experience with a country where english is not widely spoken. Throughout the remainder of the day when speaking with the locals if we asked if they spoke english many said "little bit". Translated this means no. We are learning the basic greetings however we will need to be much more prepared in the future when we return as most people do not speak english.

Whilst exiting the marina on our way into town three things became obvious.
Firstly many cruisers were not happy about having to wash their boats daily to remove the red dust that had accumulated on their decks. Surprisingly this dust had made its way across the Tasman all the way from Australia. A small reminder of home.
Secondly, quite a large number(the majority) of cruising boats are preparing to head across to Budaberg Australia and then on to further points in Aus for the summer.
Thirdly if you stand in the wrong spot ie. near a drain, you get a whiff of a pungent stink! The smell is not too dissimilar to the smell of the shit-farm (sewerage treatment works) in St Marys, bringing back some rather un-fond memories from when we were building the boat and the wind blew from the wrong direction.

We spent the rest of the day exploring town. We discovered the French obviously love their food. Their produce is only the best quality and every second person seems to be walking around with a baguette. We found two of the most amazing patisseries we have ever seen filled with pastries, tarts, breads and other delectable's . Pity we could not afford (justify) purchasing more than one item each. More about this later.



men and women dress very well, the women are all made up with perfect hairstyle's, makeup, very well fitting clothes and high heels (wow). Their clothing stores stocked clothes that made Kylies' mouth water. Is it just because you are looking and can't afford to buy that everything looks great???

Our largest difficulty so far has had to do with money. Conversion from Australian dollars to Pacific Francs is a little complicated for me to do in the head. Aus$1 = 61 francs. It feels weird using a 1000 franc note. So when 1000 francs is equivalent to about $16, what the hell do they need 1 franc coins for????? We are not sure why but everything here except for bread is really expensive. As an example a McDonalds cheese burger meal is about $16. Needless to say, we will not be doing our traditional birthday dinner in any restaurant here.

Our stay in New Caledonia this time will only be short due to Kylies bridesmaid commitments. As a result we have been using our time to do some homework for when we come back. So far we have learnt bring as much food as possible as we would be limited to bread and water and what we can catch from the sea.

Happy birthday for yesterday Alex.

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Year Two
Date: 29/9/2009 18:00
Weather: Nice, very nice
Location: South Pacific Ocean (21 27.967' S,169 38.353' E)
Author: Peter

Whenever we are at sea we try to send two emails back home to a select group each day so that someone always knows where we are, how we are traveling and if there are any problems. If we miss an email we feel confident in knowing that someone in our family will start communication with AMSA sooner than later. We think family would be more passionate about this than some stranger. Hopefully this will never happen but it is always good to be prepared when at sea. So here is the one from this afternoon.

"We are definitely not setting any speed records. In fact we are no where near hull speed. Although slow, this trip so far has been rather comfortable. We have had a BBQ lunch each day that's how smooth it is. A bit more wind would be nice but we are getting there. We passed the southern side of Vanuatu around lunch today. Otherwise there is not much to tell. We have seen very little in the way of life since we left Fiji. Perhaps we will get our first glimpse of land before nightfall tomorrow but I'm not counting on it. We are currently at 21 27.967' S,169 38.353' E traveling at 3.5 knots at 250 deg true. If my weather information is correct we should start seeing a little more breeze some time tomorrow."

It has been our smoothest crossing by far, in fact most of the boat is opened up to let air through. Our speed at the start of the trip was around 8 knots but as you can see it has dropped to almost nothing as we pass through a no mans land between weather systems. I have not yet worked out an average speed for this trip but it is dropping rapidly and it feels slow. Many other cruising boats only average 5 knots which is well below our normal 7 to 8. The first fleet boats out to Aus were lucky to average 4 so i can't wait to see what it is in a few days time.

Our days are spent either reading, knitting, sleeping or watching dvd's. With the occasional gybe as the breeze swings. The days are really warm, but we are starting to notice the nights are getting cooler as we head a little south. In Fiji we mainly slept under a sheet. In the last two days I have had to get out a sleeping bag for warmth for when I lie in my pilot birth.

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Year Two
Date: 27/9/2009 10:00
Weather: Steamy
Location: South Pacific Ocean (19 08.221' S, 174 39.831' E)
Author: Peter

We cleared out of Fiji on Friday afternoon. Once again a simple process, although there is alot of paperwork. As per usual we once again went out for a meal on our last day however this time it was lunch at the "The Northern" and we were shouted lunch by Steve and Liz as a thank you for a mount I had made them for there new radar screen. It was a perfect endto our stay in Fiji, with The Northern being a old colonial club that is apparently rather exclusive. Their prices however were notexpensive and the food was superb. We wish we had discovered this place a long time ago. We know where it is for next time though.

We then made our way back down to Saweni Bay, what a surprise spot this is. The rest of the coast is either town or industrial area but this bay has a beautiful sand beach, is well protected, smooth, has fabulous grip and gives the most amazing sunsets over it mangrove covered western side. While here we packed up the boat to go to sea and gave it a good scrub under water to help us move quicker.

We have now been out at sea for 24hrs. We left with a high situated to our south and half way between New Cal and Fiji. Our first 12 hours were light on the nose but then the breeze started to rotate to the south east and we are now moving well and on our proposed track. Apart from a shower cloud bank last night that produced winds up to 25knts and some confused water our trip has been smooth. Kylie is trying Sturgeron and at this point it seems to be working.

New Cal here we come.

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Year Two
Date: 23/9/2009 17:00
Weather: Steamy
Location: Saweni Bay (17 38.438' S, 177 23.572' E)
Author: Peter and Kylie

The weather recently has been rather weird and unpredictable. The usual south easterly trade winds have not shown themselves lately. Instead we have had either dead calm or raging storm (maybe that is a slight exaggeration but not far off). We have seen more rain in the last few weeks then we have in total over the two years of cruising. The perfect weather we had been experiencing came to an abrupt end when our guests arrived.

Alan and Linda Mara, Kylies mum and dad arrived a week ago today. Their short holiday with us has already flown by, they departed early this morning. We feel one week is just not enough. A minimum of two is what we would suggest in the future. One week aboard the boat is just rush, rush, rush. Arriving late in the day and spending a steamy night in Vuda Point Marina the weather gods decided to give Linda a baptism of fire as we made the 30 nm dash the following day. Although the conditions started out fine by the time midday came around, the wind and showers set in. Alan enjoyed the fast sailing conditions and was surprised Jura can go 8+ knots under headsail only. We recorded winds later that day up to 40knots.

The highlight of the day was earlier in the morning when we actually landed a huge wahoo. It was so large that we felt guilty as we knew allot of it would go to waste so the decision was made to return it to the sea.
wahoooooooo


We visited some new anchorages but mostly those we have previously spoken about. It wasn't all bad weather for their stay, we had two glorious days at Blue Lagoon. Alan thoroughly enjoyed the snorkeling whilst Kylie was surprised that her mum went swimming.

Alan and Kylie



finding nemo


Our kyaking adventure around the island

Linda and Alan kayaking












We have introduced another few people to the game of Mexican Train Dominoes and it has proved to be very popular. So we highly recommend you purchase a set of double twelve dominoes with the mexican train starter.

On a side note, it became apparent that we have both become tanned over the last weeks. Kylie was proud that she was browner then her mother for the first time in her life.

somewhere


Blue Lagoon


Jura in Blue Lagoon

Yesterday after a very long drift in little wind we resorted to the motor to get us back to Vuda Point. Peter has been trying to empty our fuel tank of the dirty diesel we got in Tonga, this happened a little sooner then expected with the main tank running out of fuel 10 nm short of our destination. Luckily we carry a spare a twenty litres in a jerry can otherwise we would have been at the mercy of the currents.

We are now preparing the boat for departure and looking for a weather window to make the jump to New Caledonia.

The crew from Twin Image and the Maras


Sugar cane trucks line the road into Lautoka


the best bus we have been on

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