Blog 7. Tuesday 7 May. Arrival New Caledonia. 22.16.61S 166.26.39E
Alcedo
David Batten
Sun 12 May 2019 21:22
Jane and the Ship’s Boy doing their best to finish the apples as we approach Noumea.
On a rather tragic note, we had to bury 2 young swallows at sea, as the one that came into the boat died before night set in and his/her brother/sister died during the night. The adult bird with them left when there was clearly no hope. Such a sad end to a very short young life.
From a sailing point of view, we had some of the best sailing ever from Saturday night onwards. With the wind just aft of the beam, 15 plus knots gusting up to 30 knots in the squalls and Alcedo revelling in the conditions and surfing down the waves at up to 12 knots.
Poor little Ship’s Boy chained to the helm in the squalls. We did not feel too sorry for her as she morphed into Toad and revelled in going as fast as possible.
There was a nasty moment on Monday when the port engine failed to produce any cooling water, so the Skipper was seen very hot and busy in the engine room. Happily he managed to solve the problem.
So a cracking good 2 days sailing with good distances covered found us approaching the Boulari Passage ahead of schedule and arriving in good time to find a berth in the marina and expect a visit from “Quarantine”
On our way to the marina at Noumea, Ship’s Boy putting up the courtesy and yellow flag.
On arrival, Jane and Bill used some of the time to celebrate while the Skipper dealt with the marina office and a great deal of paperwork.
Although the sun is failing to make an appearance, the air is warm, the cold weather clothes are being rounded up ready for the laundry and we are looking forward to more celebrations this evening.
Alcedo
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