49) Rivergate Marina, Brisbane, Australia

October 2008: South Pacific

Rivergate Marina, Brisbane, Australia (S 27.26.690 E 153.06.356) 

                                                                     (YouTube Clip)

                                                               Leaving New Caledonia 

                                          

                Couldn’t Noumea just say ‘see ya’ and let us leave peacefully instead of shooting us through the outer reef Dumbea Pass like a watermelon seed between fingers?  That’s pretty much what happened.  The winds were in the 20s at the anchorage and increased to the 30s by the time we reached the pass and the point of no return.  We continued on after passing thru on a heading that was a bit off our desired course.  We were dealing with winds in the high 30s, waves in the 4'-10’ range and made a course that took the wind and wave angles into consideration.  The video that I got of some of this is fantastic.  Late in the afternoon before sunset and while I was on watch the autopilot wanted a break.  Maybe it was due.  It made a hard left and luckily I was looking aft watching the quartering waves and caught the wheel to hand steer before we were fully abeam the waves.  

                Bob and the other Dave were down below resting for their watches and I was in the cockpit alone.  This turned out to be one of the most memorable experiences for me of this entire journey.  The winds were very strong and the waves were an issue and I needed to keep the boat moving quickly enough for rudder authority and was able to surf up to 10.7 knots.  I thoroughly love to surf sailboats.  The technique involves not looking back, feeling the boat lift up and start to turn on a wave, counter-steering to stop the yawing of the boat, surfing down the face of the wave and then turning out and getting ready for the next wave.  Seas this big and a boat this big requires solid footing and sometimes a heavy hand on the wheel to get it moving quickly enough.  If you are behind the curve and the boat turns abeam the waves you can usually get lucky and skid sideways down the face.  Luckily, it did not happen to me this time.  Several years ago off California I unfortunately had a few skids and quickly learned. 

                We were heading due west right into a setting sun. The glare on the water didn’t help much but it sure made for some scenic waves.  Well after sunset the largest wave I saw was probably around 12’ and this was after I surfed it and it rolled ahead of us.

                In the daylight it was comforting to see the horizon and get a feel for the conditions.  Once the sunlight was gone I used Venus, as it is always on the western horizon at sunset, as a mark to sail to.  Instead of looking at the compass or gauges you can keep a star inside the shrouds or in reference to the mast and not have to look down for course corrections.  This allows for more concentration on steering.  Venus is known as the sunset star and eventually drops below the horizon and negates its use.  As luck would have it the moon came up.  I was then able to use the moon’s reflection on the water as a mark to steer to.  Steering this way made me think of all the sailors in the past that used the sky to navigate.  

                This was one watch that I was glad to hand over to Bob when it was his turn.  Probably not needed to mention is the fact that I did not get much sleep on the first part of this passage.

                                         

                I have accumulated approximately 18,000 offshore nautical miles making a big dent in a circumnavigation and at the end of these journey’s a recurring thought comes to mind which is; nothing goes to weather like a 747.                                                                                                                                    

Dave

PS:  And then one day you find

       Ten years have got behind you

       No one told you when to run

       You missed the starting gun.

                                                     Pink Floyd

48) Port Moselle, Noumea, New Caledonia pt 4

October 2008: South Pacific

Port Moselle, Noumea, New Caledonia pt 4 (S 22.16.815 E 166.25.963)    

 

                                     

                If there is a maritime museum I will find my way to it and this one did not disappoint.  It was small and had limited items but most of them were of great quality.  They had a pirate display dedicated to the 2^nd floor that had a few gems, also.

        

                               

 

 

 

       

                                   

                What would the tropics be without rain?  And, it is that rain that needs to be pumped out of the dinghy every once in a while.  But, if you look closely at the pump technician you’ll notice that there is some new ink on his forearm.  Yes, Bob got tagged with graffiti.  Just kidding.  He really did get a tattoo of a turtle in a style that depicts having sailed across the equator.  Pretty cool.

          

                                                                                                                                                                              

47) Port Moselle, Noumea, New Caledonia pt3

October 2008: South Pacific

Port Moselle, Noumea, New Caledonia pt3 (S 22.16.815 E 166.25.963) 

                           

                While in port we try to make a list of things we’d like to do beyond provisioning and fuel.  There’s usually something of interest that we can all agree is important to do or see.  Aside from the group stuff I’ve set out on my own in each place and just wandered the streets with a camera.  Without a specific goal in mind whether it be main streets or backstreets I have been able to capture some very interesting aspects of these so very different places.  Above is a picture form before the turn of the century and in the center is the church.  I managed to wind my way thru the streets and found it.  It doesn’t look too hard to find in this picture but the city has grown around it and to it making it a little harder to see while at street level. 

              

                                                                                                                                       

              

 

                An obvious preference of mine onboard of things to do in port is to go to museums and aquariums.  The museum items inside may not seem like much but if you really read the descriptions and follow the stories you can usually find incredibly interesting stuff.  One very common theme throughout our journey is the influence the U.S. has had and more specifically remnants of Coke.  It is so prevalent that it stretches from the bottom of the ocean in shipwrecks dating back to WW2; they are washed up and strewn on the beaches from those wrecks and the bottles make it into museum displays.

 

 

 

                There are also several war monuments in Noumea.  One specifically makes a statement of thanks to the U.S. as we played a pivotal role here with New Caledonia.  It is sobering to walk these streets that at one time were heavily influenced by the military that I have only read about in the history books.

46) Port Moselle, Noumea, New Caledonia pt2

October 2008: South Pacific

Port Moselle, Noumea, New Caledonia pt2 (S 22.16.815 E 166.25.963) 

                Go to the museum and learn something.  That’s not an order that’s what happened to me today.  Even though I don’t understand French I understood the sign of a camera in a red circle through it.  So, no museum pictures.  Anyway, I noticed that everyone here smokes.  Well, every local that is.  It think it is the law.  It’s kind of like the woven basket you are put in upon birth for 18 days and then the basket weaving you learn as a cultural thing.  I learned that in the museum today.  The Kanak’s and weaving are synonymous.  Ok, back to the other thing.  I saw a display of cigarettes on top of cloths in the museum.  I already knew that giving a family a pig and some yams pretty much buys the girl for your son but I did not know that smokes were also dowry quality.  Go figure.  I thought they were only worth something on the inside.    

            On that note, why are prison’s in the south Pacific near marinas and bays?  Does it date back to the old days when they sent all the bad guys here as punishment?  Ah yes, New Caledonia was a penal colony too.    

                         

                I guess where I am going with this ramble is that smoking here is very acceptable and very open and every one does it.

                                                                                                                                                           

                The running joke around here is that the odds of getting a slip in the small guest slip area are pretty bad.  There are lots of locals that have boats around here and this is a good destination spot.  Not only is it scenic, modern and comfortable it is also a stopover for boats on their way to and from Australia.  We’ve given up on getting a slip.

 

                 The other Dave and I took a bus ride to the next bay over.  We are currently in the older industrial, commercial section of Noumea and wanted to see the newer side.  They have catered it to the tourist crowd with small hotels, manicured beaches, shops and restaurants.  Most of the development here looks well planned.  They have done a fantastic job of keeping the beach area open with minimal buildings.  And, the food is excellent.

        

    

        

      

                We went to the aquarium and I loved it.  The outside of the building is very misleading.  The displays are very well done with natural light coming in from above.  It was great to see the indigenous creatures as they can be spectacular.  I am used to seeing the U.S. aquariums and was quite pleased to see what this place offered.