2011 - Where to begin?....
Quartermoon
Mike Share & Sammy Byron
Thu 10 Mar 2011 01:32
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Well it's now March and we haven't updated the blog
since before Christmas; a poor show indeed. But our sailing "adventures" haven't
really been too exciting.
Christmas and NY in Oz were great. Just what we
needed to get over our "mastless, left in the
Pacific all-alone" Blues! Ann & Murph were generous beyond belief
in offering us a roof over our heads, the Kombi and listening, night after
night, to our boring tales of high-seas and woes. Without
their kindness life in Sydney would have been a whole world different to
say the least.....
We are also hugely indebted to Jacky and the loan
of her car, without which we would have succumbed to life as Manly beach
bums.
Lastly and certainly not least, a massive Thank-You
to "A Small Nest" (Willem, Haike, Sepka, Ward & Flor) for allowing us
to pretend that we were still cruising and use their boat as our own. Christmas
Day and New Year's Eve would not have been anywhere near the same without your
friendship and hospitality. We look forward to repaying you when you return from
Asia ;-)
  Apart from the need for a break we had to get
back to Sydney as my brother had his flights booked to visit and Alex was
finally getting wed. Alex and Mep's wedding was an amazing day on the beach
and one that will be remembered by all. A barefoot ceremony to the backdrop of
the open sea, how cool????
Jamie's visit was just what I needed in order to
escape the stress of losing the mast and all the trauma that goes with it. We
dived with sharks and manta rays with Gav at SW Rocks and then after
NY, headed to the South Island of NZ for a week in the mountains. (I
think Sammy may have been glad to have some time away from me too but I'm
not sure....) What can I say? It was a physical shock to the system after
a year bound to the boat but definitely not unwelcome. Or unnecessary! We biked,
climbed, camped, rafted, swam, took helicopters, boats and drove around the
South Island like we didn't have a minute to lose and loved every minute of it.
It was a nasty shock to hear of the earthquake in Christchurch so soon
after we spent time there.
    It's hard to describe exactly how it was
catching up with friends in Sydney after the time away. It
was really good to see everyone yet ever more
shocking with the number of kids
springing up - I guess we are getting on a bit now... It was quite hard for
Sammy & I; we have been living such a different lifestyle for the last year
and a half to that which we were used to. iPads, promotions, babies everywhere
and the every increasing cost of Sydney lifestyle were kind of
expected, yet still very alien to us. Whilst it took a
time to get into the sailing lifestyle, it will take a while for
us to get used to Sydney life too.
Christmas Eve we caught up with several of our
"new" friends from the Pacific at our intended future home - Cammeray Marina in
Middle Harbour. The owners threw a big party with plenty of fresh fish, prawns
and beer. The guest of honour was non other than myself ariving by row boat in
full Santa costume (see pic!). We almost got banned before QM had even arrived
thanks to Greg's after hours sortie for more beer....
 Boxing Day we were kindly invited by Brian aboard
"Further" to witness the start of the Sydney - Hobart Race. What an amazing day;
shame about the weather.... Then for New Year's Eve we joined "A Small Nest" for
fireworks and festivities off Taronga Zoo to see in the NY with Willem's
homebrew and snus c/o Mads and Elin. It was a great time catching up with
all our fellow Pacific cruisers. It wasn't quite the Xmas/ NY on QM we had been
dreaming off but it was brilliant to spend time time with these guys at the end
of everyones Pacific crossing.We had a great time and many beers with Elin
& Mads from 'Go Beyond', Greg & Leisha from 'Fine Gold', Zilstrja
Famiily from 'Tangaroa', Dirk & Aneka on 'Narid' Gifford family on 'Totem'
Kent family on 'Sea Level' and made many new friends.
   
 .............
So after a miserable start to our time in New
Caledonia we have slowly become quite fond of the place. Not Noumea itself
mind you (still a shithole) but the rest of Grande Terre and especially the
islands local to us. The problem initially was that we couldn't escape Noumea -
which is basically a nickel processing town with traffic,
pollution, limited character and coastal island weather (ie: worse than
offshore). My main issue is actually that you can't cycle anywhere other than
roads due to broken beer bottles (seriously). The other sad thing is that
although NC has many UNESCO world heritage listed sights, they will
soon be opening a new processing plant virtually in a Marine Sanctuary (baie de
Prony which we drove through on Sunday) that will dump acid and mining
waste right at the outer reef - great when the tide is incoming. The last
vestages of coral reef in that area are soon to be decimated when it starts
producing later this year or next. {end rant}
  However, now we have a water-tight boat again we
have been braving the lagoon (2nd largest reef after the GBR apparently) and
venturing as far as 7nm out of Noumea - brave aren't we?! It's amazing how naked
you feel without sails....
Ilot Maitre has been our savior. A kite-surfing
mecca, we have abused our rights at the pool and restaurant and kayaked and
snorkeled our way around the entire reef several times. We even tramped the
whole way around Seche Croissant (a coral ring atoll) before realising it
was a bird sanctuary and landing is strictly prohibited - Oops. You may find it
ironic that this cyclone season has had many more scares here than recent years
(one came right through this marina whilst we were in Sydney) however, the
minute we signed up for a course of kite-surfing lessons, even the
trade winds disappeared! Wind has been lacking ever since.
Our rigger Georges did take us out for a sail on a
relatively calm day. He has a 40' cat that resembles an oversized hobie-cat
which he regularly sails down to NZ to compete in offshore races. The thing is
fast, it was doing about 17 knots in less than 20 knots of wind! He's had 28
knots out of it (which is pretty good for it's age) and he holds a few records.
Later this year he hopes to break the New Caledonia to Vanuatu record. Sammy
couldn't get the smile off her face!
  Ilot Regenere is also very beautiful. We were lucky
enough to spend a night there totally alone, only interrupted by noisy
turtles gasping for air all around the boat. The sunsets are spectacular here; I
had my doubts about the green flash but they definitely do exist - I have
now seen many!
   We have also driven up, down and across New
Caledonia a number of times. Last weekend Jean-Yves took us camping
over at Yate which is as a campsite should be - literally on the beach with
nothing but a tap and shade from a large tree! It was good to escape the marina
and the boat although we miss the islands already. On the way back we chanced
upon a dirt track that led to a black sand beach on Port Boise. Surprisingly we
were stood about 100m from where we anchored the first night after our
dismasting. Although the Pilot boat told us where to anchor, daylight and
sunshine showed just how close to the reef we had been and it really wasn't good
advice at all. It could have been an even bigger disaster!
 So what else? I guess we should give an update on
the boat. Well what month is it now? March. 9th of March. Shit that means I'm 39
very soon. By the time we leave NC we will have been here about 6 months I
suppose.... Anyway the boat. We have tackled just about every dull job you can
imagine, mostly to alleviate boredom but also so that we won't
have to do it when back in Sydney. From painting bilges and ceilings to
servicing winches and toilets, we have done it all. The list gets shorter until
you become more pernickety! In reality this whole process shouldn't
really have taken anywhere near this long. We can confidently lay
blame on the shoulders of many a worthless "professional" (whom we will name and
shame just as soon as the last bill has been paid). The magasine article will
hopefully help some other unfortunates along the line to avoid the
complete farce we've had to endure..... It also helps when your mast
manufacturer actually gets the mast on the ship before the cargo close date -
did I mention incompetence?
Anyhow Quartermoon is looking good. We would have
struggled to get all systems this good if we hadn't had this time on our hands.
Most likely it wouldn't have happened if we were back in Sydney working. Saying
that it has been like a full time (8am-6pm) job and not quite the doss many
of you think it to be!
Life isn't really too bad all things considered.
The recent problems off Somalia bring that home. The Americans shot dead
had been crew between Mexico & Marquesas on the boat we just spent
Boxing Day on. The Danish crew just hijacked we saw in the Marquesas. All our
friends, especially with family, heading back to Europe via the Suez are
now having to reconsider their options. Sailing via South Africa means crossing
an additional 3 oceans....
Today we finally had good news. We were allowed
into the port to check the mast box physically so it can
be released by Customs. It hasn't been crushed from what we can tell so
tomorrow we should get to unpack a very, very late, super-expensive Christmas
present. Fingers crossed.
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