Leaving for New Caledonia

Wildfox
Anthony Swanston
Fri 3 Oct 2014 21:33
I decide to leave on Saturday but the forecast worsens and I postpone to Sunday. The trick is to go out on a convergance zone so that the SE Trade Winds are killed (as my course to New Caledonia is almost due SE). But sometimes the convergence zone throws up some quite big winds. In this case 35 knots on the nose which I really cannot be bothered with. Against that, on the back of the convergence zone, the wind can drop to nothing leaving behind a horrible sloppy sea. And I need to get through the reef pass at New Caledonia on the flood tide in daylight. So many things to balance up. It takes a lot of discussions over many beers to make a decision. I hope I am right as I am the only boat leaving on Sunday!


The nice customs man gives me a certificate to buy duty free booze (half price) and yet another cruise ship appears (the fourth this week) giving the locals more much needed Vatus. Some of us sneek into an upscale resort to watch the fire dancing, an important local tradition. It is a pity it does not photograph well. I do not have time to go to the northen isles where they do fire walking and also land diving on Pentecost Island - it was from this that Bungy Jumping was developed. But it leaves something to visit next time around...

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