Mr John in New Caledonia

2011

We arrived in New Caledonia from Port Vila, Vanuatu on the 27th September 2011. New Caledonia turned out to be a fantastic Cruising Ground; by which I mean it has secure anchorages at intervals that do not require overnight sailing, there are things to see and do ashore, and the locals are hospitable. To us, a cruising ground is a relaxing area; we dont need deep anchorages, poor holding, or getting rolled around. We are a small boat with no anchor winch and weve been around enough that the thrill of crashing to windward in big seas has worn off. So in reading my little guide, please do not be surprised if we missed lots of great reef anchorages (and other places) mentioned in other guide books; this is just an account of what we did (a little of what we wanted to do) and the way we saw it. Whilst New Caledonia was nice and relaxing, it was not without problems, careful planning and attention to weather information is important. Tides and currents can be fierce in places so it pays to have them in your favor; then there is the bureaucracy Sometimes one has to choose between the regulations and the spirit of the regulations; however at all times we are masters of our vessels and you should consider always safety before bureaucracy! THE FIRST REGULATION and the one that causes most pain: Yachts arriving from overseas or departing New Caledonia can only enter in Noumea and may not stop anywhere else within the territorial waters of New Caledonia before clearing into Noumea: Clearance is only possible at the Visitors Wharf of Port Moselle Marina or Port Sud. You must fly the yellow Quarantine flag and the French courtesy flag on entering New Caledonia waters. The yellow flag must stay aloft until after you have finished all formalities.

That is what the official site says at the time of writing, it may be subject to change, and thus you should check this information before you set sail. We were told all sorts of stories about yachts getting a temporary clearance at other ports and indeed this may have happened; however in each case the yacht had to get to Noumea within forty eight hours or they had to fly there to make a temporary clearance before proceeding onwards to Noumea with a set time allowance for the journey. None of which appealed to us! We do not go to windward in strong headwinds! The only exception may be to arrive with a Rally Group where clearance is arranged for the group at another port. When we did our trip the Island Cruising Association (ICA Web Page) were doing a run from Port Vila to Ouvea where they were all cleared in as a group. It was possible to join the rally for this leg but they did need a few days of advanced notice. The main reason we did not join them was that I was uncertain that we could even get to Ouvea and as it turned out some of the Rally boats had quite a bash getting there. Again, the Rally date is set in advance and they have a window for the clearance in Ouvea; if its blowing like stink you still have to try and make it and that is not a situation we can handle in our smaller than average cruising boat. I should add, that all the rally boats did make it and the ones that delayed their departure a little had a fair trip; they all seemed of the opinion that it was well worth it and had a great time (being legal) in Ouvea. We left with some of the rally boats on the second day when conditions seemed to be improving; however, we hadnt got much passed Pango Point when we collected a small head in our cockpit and were forced to bear off in such a direction that I thought wed be lucky to make New Caledonia at all!!!.

Actually, the first sixty miles south of Mele Bay are well known to be a washing machine and in anything more than light trades most boats get a rough ride here; We were fortunate that the weather continued to improve for the rest of the trip, not that this by chance; wed been carefully monitoring WWW.PASSAGEWEATHER.com and had sorted out a suitable weather window (it just hadnt moderated quite as fast as predicted). We left Vanuatu for Noumea with the intention of getting there as soon as practicable bearing in mind the weather conditions, hazards to navigation and the safety of our vessel. In the spirit of the regulations, on arrival in New Caledonia waters we hoisted our Q flag, made no attempt to go ashore until cleared and retained all garbage on board. At every safe opportunity, we made best possible progress towards Noumea. Having said the above, we also kept as low a profile as we could and took into consideration that the Clearance Officers in Noumea would look at our departure clearance from Port Vila and ask questions were our passage to be exceptionally long; as it was we took almost a week and they didnt seem too worried about it. Our main aim on leaving Vanuatu was to get to the coast of New Caledonia just as fast and as comfortably as we could, before the weather decided to change against us. We left on a good forecast with conditions improving but that means little out here so I figured that once we had gained the coast, we would move on just as much as the weather allowed but if it went sour wed hole up until there was another break. The plan worked well and we had fair weather on the coast which allowed us to day sail towards Noumea without hardship. It would be unsafe to sail this coast at night (though it is well marked and well charted) so we moved between safe anchorages during daylight; it was regrettable that we could not linger as most of the anchorages were delightful (and empty!).

Before we left, I programmed into my GPS all the things that we wanted to avoid and all the Passes that we could use to get through the reef on arrival, then we just kept her going as far south as the conditions would allow

The optimal track would have been nice however we had little chance on pointing it and the actual track is shown. In the end we had two nights at sea and on the third day, in failing winds we motored for the coast entering the reef at Passe de Touper and coming to anchor off Ile Nemou in Port Bouquet; 279 out of Vila at an average of 4.83kts. It was a very easy arrival in beautiful weather conditions

GETTING THERE

Once you get on the coast and inside the reef, there are plenty of good anchorages with short runs between. Even in a fresh Trade Wind, a well found cruising boat could beat south inside the reef without encountering big seas; there is nice clear water, plenty of navigational aids (well marked) and its all well charted. Personally, I might crash a short leg or two but in general Id wait for conditions we could handle in one of the many anchorages. If you do the Rally and clear at Ouvea, you have the advantage of being able to cruise this entire coast and take your time over it It is a beautiful coast with few boats, great cruising and plenty of walks ashore IF YOU ARE LEGALLY CLEARED IN. Doing what we did, worked out good as a sampler but in retrospect it would have been far more relaxing and we would have seen much more had we joined the Rally..and as it turned out, I would probably have made it to Ouvea in time to be cleared with the rest of the boats. The Rally had been scheduled to go from Ouvea round the north end to Noumea, doing it anticlockwise They didnt do that in the end and probably made a good choice as all the local guides say its a tough beat or motor to get down the West Coast. The protection of the reef on the East Coast cannot be overstated.

ARRIVAL ON THE EAST COAST The most northern pass that I looked at was Passe de Canala, there are several good passes further north if you should be unlucky enough not to make it here however we should hope conditions are not that bad!!!

This pass is well marked and once inside it should be an easy reach across to Baie Laugier which is so well marked Id consider it as doable at night; its only about seven miles from the pass to the anchorage.

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A little more secure (from almost any direction) is Port Mackau, which is on a more southerly heading and a little further from Passe de Canala. It is a little more difficult to get into and less well marked; however it would be a good place to hang out if the weather was turning foul.

This area is very quiet and it is unlikely you would be bothered here; there is some fishing and the friendly fishermen wave as they go by but unless you actually go out of your way to visit one of the small villages / towns, the whole coast is all yours. It is a great and unfrequented cruising ground for anyone who shuns the crowds. Being this far north and not yet being Cleared, would mean that you have quite some distance to do to get around to Noumea in a reasonable amount of time, so if you get anything like decent weather you should be using most of the day to make progress. Leaving any of the bays in the morning will have the sun in your face as you move out and conversely, as you arrive in the evening

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the sun sets early behind the steep hills so whilst it is not in your eyes, there is a sudden darkness that can make reef spotting more difficult. As it is so well charted, this should not be a problem, however it would be best not to get in too close in the anchorages. There are plenty of passes that you can use to get through the reef into the eastern lagoon and if you are Cleared, there are plenty more anchorages off / near small towns and villages. In writing this I have assumed that you are not cleared and like we did, are trying to get to Noumea without coming foul of the regulations. Thus you will be looking for a pass that gives access to a quiet anchorage and when you move down the coast, you will be looking for quiet overnight anchorages. I really dont think the authorities expect you to move when there is insufficient light and it is unsafe to sail through the reefs, so out of normal working hours, if you are anchored you will probably not be bothered; during the day, when you are underway towards Noumea (with you Q flag flying at all times!), no one is likely to stop you. My advice however, is to not push your luck and to keep moving every day you can, under no circumstances launch a dinghy or try to go ashore; because you dont see anyone does not mean there is no one watching! The next good entrance to the south is Passe Toupeti and this is the one we entered at. We passed close to Ouvea and found ourselves with little wind about thirty miles off the reef, the coast is quite mountainous and was in full view so we motor-sailed the rest of the way thus saving ourselves a third night at sea. The pass is deep and wide, the electronic charts were spot on all the way in and we had no problem coming to anchor off Ile Nemou in Port Bouquet. The water was clear and the anchorage was calm, the little island was invitingly attractive and it looked like there was information ashore regarding the park area, which regretfully we could not visit.

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Our anchorage position was: 21 40.445S 166 22.888E (16 sand)

Well protected in normal trades, anchor where indicated.

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As you can see, this is a huge area and there is quite a selection of available anchorages with protection available from almost any wind direction; Whilst we were here, we saw only one small fishing boat in the distance, otherwise it was quiet. One thing we did note was the absence of the Pacific swell, the various reefs take most of that away, leaving nice calm anchorages in normal conditions, though we suspect that if the trades are developed there will be some wave action that gets into the less

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protected bays. If you look closely at the above picture, you can see the swell getting in however there are plenty of anchorages within the bay that will remain flat in almost any conditions. On leaving here we had not gone a great distance before catching a large Spanish mackerel; there seems to be no shortage of fish on this coast. BEWARE however, this fish was way too big..it turned out that this whole area has ciguatera and we came close to getting caught..The fish tasted great but we noticed some tingling sensations in our extremities over the following days!!!

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The next good anchorage south is Baie de Kouakque and wed had this in mind had we been able to point south enough to make Passe de Kouakque as it would have been a short clear reach across to this easily accessible bay once into the lagoon.

On the way down to the head of the bay, there is a small wharf and a couple of houses, this area is private and you should just go into the SE bay until you get 20 to 30 feet; going in too far would bring you to coral whereas at twenty feet and more its all mud. During developed trade winds, it can get a little gusty as the wind funnels through the valley however the holding is good.

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Just a short distance further south and also accessible from Passe de Kouakque is Baie de Quinne

This bay has several good anchorages, we chose it as our wind had become onshore easterly during the day and offshore westerly at night (we were still enjoying a nice long weather window). As the sun vanished behind the mountains, we felt our way into the northern bay anchoring first in Position: 21 57.802S 166 42.176E This was not a great success as it was thick with coral and I didnt want any delays with an early morning departure, so we shifted to the NW arm and found it much better, anchored in mud and sand just short of a few coral patches in Position : 21 57.801S 166 41.887E.

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In the Southeast extremity of Baie de Quinne is Cap Tonnedu and whilst we did not stop here we sailed close and checked it out. It looked like a good spot for Southeast Winds although in developed conditions a little swell might make it around the headland; it is certainly more convenient and less of a detour than having to go right into Baie Quinne, which you would have to do in SEly winds.

Had the winds been in the SE for us, we would have come here to anchor and missed Baie de Quinne .. Moving south from here the next reasonable passage through the reef is at Passe de Yate which is right across from the inlet and small harbour of Yate; a beautiful and more remote part of New Caledonia. If you are cleared in already then this port offers a good secure anchorage and access to some lovely walking trails. We had light winds going passed here and without proper clearance, we elected to push on. However I include some details in case you stop.

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Yate is a secure anchorage in anything other than an easterly; it is easy to get into and once there, you can explore some of the best walking trails and some of the nicest areas of New Caledonia. There is a small store and basic provisions can be obtained.

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South of Baie de Quinne and in the area of Yate you have to have good regard for the state of tide and current flow.. There are strong currents in Passe Havannah and when opposed by a fresh trade wind, it can get rather lumpy!!!!! A few miles south of Yate we picked up some current as the tide was ebbing south, however a breeze came up from ahead and this caused quite lumpy conditions for us to motor-sail into. We hugged the shore all the way down the coast. At Touaourou there was a bay formed by the reef and it looked quite a nice spot to anchor.however we pushed on

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Its time to mention the tide; especially as we are approaching Passe de Havannah, where most yachts (aiming for Noumea) from out of the Pacific will have to transit. This is what the US Pilot has to say: 5.1 TidesCurrents.New Caledonia is nearly surrounded by a barrier reef at about sea level with narrow openings; its coasts and anchorages are affected only by the tidal current. Outside the barrier reef the main oceanic currents are encountered, but close to the reef these become unpredictable. Within the barrier reef the tidal currents are moderately regular, though they are accelerated or retarded by a strong breeze. The flood current runs NW and the ebb SE. On the E coast, during strong SE winds, the ebb current runs out through the passes and the flood sets in. 5.1 During 50 per cent of the flood and 50 per cent of the ebb, the currents are setting in directions almost at right angles to each other at the entrances of Canal de la Havannah and Passe de la Sarcelle. The result is violent eddies and a heavy breaking sea across the entrance of each passage, rendering it difficult to steer a ship except at high speed. At springs, the currents run at the rate of 4 knots through each passage and 2 knots in the offing. The velocity of the tidal currents in Canal de la Havannah and Passe de la Sarcelle is high, and the S subtropical current impinging on this area renders the currents in these passages the strongest and most irregular in the vicinity of New Caledonia. To cut a long story short; that means its a nasty area, particularly if you dont get the tide in your favour!!! Arriving from the east with a fresh Trade Wind astern and meeting the full force of an ebb tide in the Passe de Havannah will be sure to leave you with a long lasting impression of New Caledonia!

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Regarding Canal de la Havannah, the Pilot goes on to say: .The flood current sets SW, and the ebb NE; they have a velocity of 3 to 5 knots. The flood is established about 1 hour before LW, and the ebb about 1 hour before HW. About the time of the change of tide, there are violent eddies, and caution should be exercised. Great care should be taken in approaching Canal de la Havannah. Strong and variable tidal currents may be encountered setting NW towards Banc du Vandegou (2220'S., 16703'E.) or SE towards Recif Komekame, where several wrecks have occurred. When there is a strong NE wind during ebb current, the sea is often very heavy in the entrance to Canal de la Havannah. It sometimes happens that the current eddies, extremely violent and constantly shifting, make the sea very rough and choppy, and give the reefs between New Caledonia and Ile des Pins an unbroken appearance. Small vessels and boats should then wait for the flood current before navigating the E part of Canal de la Havannah. The flood current is stronger on the N side of Recif Ioro, and the ebb current is stronger on the S side. 5.8 Thus. I worked out when LW was going to be at the Goro Light and aimed to be there for Low Water, we would have the current with us going south down the coast and when we turned the corner at the bottom the current would already be running SW down the Canal de la Havannah.. Nice plan, didnt quite work!!!!! We did have the current with us headed south but when we rounded the Goro Light, through the Passe de Havannah, it was firmly against us and we had to hug the reef edge to make progress (mind you, we were a little early). It took us an hour and a half to make it down to Port Boise (just over 4), however as we arrived there the current had all but stopped. Thus, I tend to think that the Flood in the Canal de la Havannah is established about 35 min after LW at Noumea, after which the current is setting to the SW through the Canal de la Havannah.

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This is of course splitting hairs, it did all happen within an hour of LW and with the vagrancies of the tides round this area it may just have been an anomaly for us..If in doubt, go with the Pilot Book and if you see a big tide race up ahead as you approach, stand off until it subsides. If, like us, you return to the South Coast after clearing in Noumea, you will appreciate the strong ebb to take you through Canal Woodin and back to Baie du Prony. We had a good look at Port Goro as we passed by, couldnt see many cruising boats going there as there is no real shelter from the SE Trades and at HW there would be some wave action. HOWEVER, just south of the western entrance to Goro we came quite close across a pod of WHALES; all having a great time, so keep a lookout and you may also get lucky! It was for us, running late into the afternoon and we decided that Port Boise would be a good anchorage for the night. Safety declared that we were not going to continue in the dark!

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The South Coast

Port Boise

Anchor Posn:22 21.220S 166 57.197E / 166 57.177E (2nd time). We visited Port Boise twice and on both occasions were able to anchor in the bay as shown due to the normal Trade Wind doing something other than normal..which goes to show that there are regular breaks and with patience, there is no need to crash to windward whilst exploring New Caledonia..we never did!

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We never had wind from the SE whilst in Port Boise, conventional wisdom says you can anchor up in the north end when it goes east of south; it may work for a bigger boat than us if you dont mind anchoring in forty feet of water. There is a (National Parks) Walk over on the NE side of the bay, we didnt get to do it but the details are available from the Tourist Office in Noumea.

The trip up the river in the SW corner was well worth while, we were impressed with the amount of wild life we saw, the total silence and the overhanging tree branches..a very recommendable little outing. The little river that came out in the centre of the bay was not so great but could be explored at greater depth if done either side of HW. Entry to Port Boise was certainly well marked (so that the Pilot Boat can operate night and day). The Pilot Boat has an anchor light whilst on his mooring and would be a good aid to anchoring should you arrive in the dark.

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Out of interest.. we left here at 0630, three hours after LW in Noumea, once clear of the bay we picked up the strong flood tide which zipped us through Canal Woodin and on to Noumea where we arrived six hours later (36 miles), quite a good average for a small boat like ourselves under power.. we had flat calm for most of the journey and would have appreciated some SE Trades to push us along, I would normally have waited for wind however we still had to get cleared in and we could not justify further delay. Besides, it was a Friday and we just had to get cleared before the weekend. Although we went to Noumea before coming back this way, Ill continue to lay out the ports in the direction of Noumea Baie de Prony

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From Port Boise to Baie de Prony is only about five miles however, which ever way you are going it does help to have that current running in your favour. A point to note here is that the reef Recif de Prony goes out a long way and the marker on its western extremity Bonne Anse.B. du Prony seems to stick out quite some way south of where you would expect it; this because of the lay of the land. Beware the Reef!!

Once inside Baie de Prony it can be a fair distance to find your first anchorage.this is a BIG bay! It is however well marked and you would have to try quite hard to come to grief.I guess it is laid out for the French Charter Boats that come down from Noumea (where they also have a Moorings operation). Did I ever mention. where there is a Moorings Operation there is a Cruising Ground.a nice place where even an idiot could sail in a carefree fashion. In saying this, Im not knocking the Moorings.. They do pick good locations.

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The most used part of Baie Du Prony is the Eastern Arm, Bonne Anse (Baie Est). It has numerous bays and there is protection available from any direction of wind; it is however most protected from the South East Trades and when they are honking this is a really good place to hang out. There is something for everyone. Divers can hang out behind the reef at the western end and there is some good snorkelling (safe for the kids) a little further east. The Windsurfers and Kite-boarders would also love the western part. There is a special hole for one boat (or two that dont mind being close) where you could literally have a bay to yourself. We went further east as we like to walk.. well, I like to walk and Paula likes to walk on the flat.She does however like great views but these unfortunately always seem to come at the price of altitude. I was not number one popular when this track started off in much the same direction as a space shuttle launch; however the views were well worth the effort ( but to capture it all with the camera you should plan one visit in the morning and one late afternoon.

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Our next destination was Rade du Nord where we anchored to the SW of the river which wed come to see. The bay is quite shallow and there is no need to go right in. There is a mooring which I (now) think is put there by the Parks Authority for the yachts to use.without knowing much about the mooring, I avoided it and went in a little closer before dropping my hook. it was probably a little too close as when sounding around at LW the next morning I discovered an isolated coral head about a foot below my rudder. I guess it is best to use the mooring or anchor close by it! We had a great little river trip, once Id dragged the dinghy over the shallow bar. we didnt take the outboard and didnt need it. There was a nice stretch of river and a small waterfall at its head with a fresh water pool where you could take a soak and cool off. We didnt venture far up river but it looked like you could walk up to the bridge where the road to the Mine crosses.

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The River trip .

Calm anchorages abound in Baie de Prony

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Rade de lOust.. The western arm is not that used as the ESE Trade Wind normally blows right in making it uncomfortable (or worse). There are some tracks ashore (which we did not do) and yachts generally wait for light conditions before trying this out. We used it when a fresh westerly came in and for this it was perfect. The pilot books all stated that it was deep..and it was when we tried to anchor where they suggested; there were a few bigger yachts already in the anchorage but after two attempts of anchoring close by them I worked up the courage to go in and explore the bay. It was mainly mud (we didnt see any coral) and it shelved quite steeply on the southern side and the shallower water was plainly visible. We ended up in sixteen feet with good holding and there was plenty of room for more boats around us.

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The Carenage is well thought of as one of the local Cyclone Holes, in my opinion, you would have to be careful here in a cyclone as we got some heavy downdrafts in just normal conditions! Another problem is that there are areas of rock and coral where a boat could rapidly come to grief should she be parted from her anchors. When choosing a Cyclone Hole (given the choice) Id look for somewhere in the mud or the mangroves as in Cat 4 or above, unless you have almost zero fetch, the chances are you will drag!!!! This is however a great place to hang out and a great place to relax and should not be missed; there are walks and 4x4 trails as much as anyone could withstand. and there are some nice views along the way. It is a rugged beauty. but we liked it!!!!

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The Eastern Arm.

Our anchorage Position: 22 18.137S 166 51.372E. This put us somewhere around where the cat is in the photo; where the small boat is beyond the cat it starts to shallow up rapidly although there is deep water ahead of her towards the mangroves. It is on that southern side, close along the mangroves, that the channel lies for taking your dinghy up river to explore; be warned however, once you are around the corner and up a little more, it gets shallow and youll have to watch your prop! The dinghy dock soon comes into view but there are shallow areas even before the dock

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When using the dinghy dock a stern anchor or weight may help keep the dinghy afloat.more often than not you have the whole place to yourself and its really quite nice.

The dock and the FW pool are nice provisions; the Parks people in New Caledonia have gone to quite some trouble making good facilities and well marked trails and we were suitably impressed. They have most of the information on whats available in English and French however we noted that you are much better informed if you have some command of the French Language. We found that walking / hiking here was much more relaxing than in places such as Vanuatu and Fiji; here you can just wander off down any old track and no one will bother you, we liked the terrain also, we never returned to the boat covered in bites and we always got a photographic view somewhere along the way

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You can carry on some way above the jetty (although there is a walk from there) and tie your dinghy to the bank on west side just before the waterfall..not much of a Falls but a rock blockage to the river that produces some nice deep pools where many of the yachties go for a dip / cool off. It is particularly nice for when you return after a long (and often dusty) walk. There are several ways you can walk from here but the best is a three hour hike up to a small lake.. Just follow the trail (its a 4x4 all the way).

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The Western Arm

The Western Arm was also a good anchorage the shallows are quite easy to see as water visibility is generally good; just be aware that you can get breezes from any direction here regardless of what the trade wind is doing outside There is a little bit of a problem finding a place to leave the dinghy whilst ashore so you should pay attention to the tide, especially if away for some time. There are several walks at this end of the Carenage and more exploring available in the dinghy..Another delightful and relaxing spot to spend a few days! This is typical of the 4x4 tracks that crisscross this area. Note the damage caused by the heavy rains of the previous cyclone season

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lilot Casy We passed this island on our way north to the Carenage and I counted the moorings (national park moorings); now Ive lost the information but I think there were eight in the western bay and two more on the north coast (all subject to change anyway!). I picked up the leaflet below from the tourist office in Noumea, they have these handy leaflets on most of the walks (free).

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There are lots of walks here, most of them short as it is only a small island; we did a few until rain stopped play..The thing I remember most however was this fantastic Lab/Retriever Cross that welcomed us on arrival, then dived off the dock head first in search of a fish hed seen swimming by. He led us around the island on our walk but lost interest when we stopped too often to take pictures.

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There is much more to Baie de Prony than what we saw and reported, you could easily spend a month up here in very relaxed sailing conditions however, there are no provisions, water or fuel available and youd have to make a day-sail back to Noumea if you needed to stock up. One sticking point that bugs a few people is the lovely red mud that holds you so firmly in place. it also firmly attaches itself to your gear and leaves some impressive deck stains that will remind you of your visit for some time to come. There were a couple of bays on the western shores that we would have liked to visit where they have more trails and even an exhibit demonstrating some of the history of the bay. The French had several Penal Colonies around the bay and the ruins still remain. At first there was logging and much of early Noumea was built from trees felled in this area. Mining followed with the discovery of Nickel and the prospectors arrived, most of the equipment was shipped in and the ore shipped out. Mining is still in full swing over on the eastern shores where there is a deep water terminal (best avoided). Old mine workings are visible all over the place and one has to marvel at the ingenuity of these early miners and the dexterity of the shipmasters that brought sailing vessels (then steamships) into this bay and delivered cargoes from here all over the world.

The old ore loading dock of Port Gouin

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The Trip between B de Prony and Noumea is generally much better than the trip going the other wayThe ESE Trade Wind funnels through Canal Woodin then swings to the SSE as it runs northwards up the coast. On both sides of New Caledonia you get the land effect as it heats up during the day and cools at night. Early morning the winds are generally at their lightest and in the afternoon they tend to honk and take a slightly more onshore slant. Once the sun goes down the wind eases back down, often resulting in a morning calm; which, if you simply have to get to windward, is a good time to get out there and motor like crazy! Fortunately, New Caledonia has lots of bays, islands and small headlands to hide behind when the going gets tough.

From Ilot Casy (well inside B. de Prony) to Port Moselle Marina was thirty miles and in general you can sail all the way. It is however advantageous to catch the fresh flood tide to give you a good push through Canal Woodin and onwards towards Noumea. On route there are several places that you can duck in for shelter, however we never had the need.

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Baie Ire in Canal Woodin, we saw several boats in here on the occasions when we went passed, however the Pilots and charts indicate it is deep.(we dont do deep) and there seemed little on shore were you able to get ashore. A quite place to relax though and the swimming could well be good. During developed trades there could be some bullets and you would have to be certain of not dragging off into deeper water. Baie Ue provides shelter from the Trade Wind however a small swell can work its way into the bay hitting you on the beam and causing rolling. The time that most boats cruise here coincides with the winter storms in the South Tasman Sea and anywhere exposed to the south can cop the swell which eventually works its way north. Baie Uie is more sheltered and more often used, by working well inside the swell can be avoided.

There is a nice river to explore with the dinghy (up in the NE corner) and some walking can be found for the adventurous. The bottom shelves easily and is muddy clay (good holding).

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Baie Ngo faces almost south however, for some reason it is generally unaffected by swell although if the wind goes to the south it can blow in.. In which case there is a hook in the SW corner you can shelter behind. There are disused wharfs on both sides and plenty of old mines around walks can be found that lead into the interior and further old mining operations. Beware of going too far past the second wharf as there is some coral towards the head of the bay. Ilot Maitre is a big hang out for the locals from Noumea and at weekends you can see a forest of masts anchored off the island. There must be something good here to see but Id wait till all the locals were at work.. There are plenty more places I have not mentioned along this stretch; going north with a fair wind you are unlikely to need any of them but having cleared in at Noumea and headed for the South Coast, they could help break up the journey. I should point out however, that we went from Noumea back to Baie de Prony with twenty knots from astern, and having also got the tide right, had a faster trip than going north! This situation does happen and if you watch for it coming, you can save yourself a lot of crashing to windward.

When you first sight Noumea, the high rise Hotels and all the trappings of modern civilization, you realize that your Pacific adventure is coming to a close. From here on westwards, things are going to be very different for a while, not that its going to get betterjust that it will be different!

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NOUMEA.. First lets get to Port Moselle and get Cleared In

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What looks like a barrage down the centre of Port Moselle is NOT. They have a row of Piles and you can comfortably pass between them at any point.

The Q dock and the place they (normally) keep berths for visiting cruising yachts is the furthest one away from the entry. Contact the Marina on VHF for berthing instructions before arrival, you can also send an ETA and request a berth by E-mail once you are through Canal Woodin and have a good idea of arrival time. Being up in the corner, the dock is quite sheltered and they have a great dock team that will show you in and take lines (during normal hours!). The people in the office were extremely helpful throughout our visit and any problems, you should check with them first.

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The score on arrival.. You get a berth and get tied up The skipper and only the skipper takes the ships papers to the Marina office and fills in a load of forms. Skipper returns to boat and awaits the arrival of Quarantine /Agg & Fish who will come down and inspect the boat. they will also do most of the Clearance formalities. The Customs will have been informed by the Marina and they May or May Not come down to visit BUT, you have to give them three hours to do what they want to do before anyone can go ashore. (They did show up for us almost three hours after arrival but by then wed completely washed down, filled up with water, dried out and got all the awnings up..so no time was wasted. You may just want to sit in your cockpit and have a quiet beer!). Clearance cost nothing and all the officials were most courteous and friendly. If the customs do a no show, hoist down the Q flag and go see the Office again, they will have your remaining paper faxed in and you are good to go ashore! I assume that the above is also the case if you go to Port du Sud PORT MOSELLE: port.moselle@sodemo.nc www.sodemo.nc ph.(687)277197 fax (687)277129 VHF 67 Port Moselle PORT DU SUD: capitainerie@portdusud.nc ph.(687)274777 fax (687)274666

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You may have to anchor.. Sometimes they have no room on the dock, especially if you are a large Cat.. In this case you will be instructed to anchor and youll have to use your dinghy to pick up the officials Anchoring however is another problem, all the space allocated to anchoring has been taken by locals with moorings so you have to really hunt round to find a spot to drop the hook.

Being small and of shallow draft we were able to squeeze in and anchor on numerous occasions. West Bay de Moselle: 22 16.605S 166 25.645E (14feet sand/mud) When we returned again here, one of the locals offered us a mooring close by for a couple of days.they are a good crowd here! Just outside the Marina : 22 16.827S 166 26.024E (12feet sand) B.de LOrphelinat: 22 17.231S 166 26.407E (8feet sand/mud) this was for two nights whilst the Trades blew 25/30 at times!

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As you can see, Noumea is full of boats, the Marinas are full, the mooring areas are full; cruising boats passing through are expected to use the Marinas (where there is space) or make do. It is an interesting town with plenty to see; there is a nice colonial feel to the place. The modern tourist area is to the south along the beaches of Anse Vata and Baie des Citrons and there is a good bus service between there and the city centre. I got the impression that the City Centre had seen better days and that maybe the struggling economy in Europe had turned off much of the funding that was keeping this place chic Still, its a great place to visit, the Marina was actually quite cheap compared with Australian prices, the Markets had plenty of good produce and whilst it was expensive compared with say Fiji, we didnt have the quality problems, there was less waste. There are a couple of Ship Chandlers and several Haul Out Facilities in the Noumea area, everything to help the average cruising yacht pass through without problem.

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Clearing Out.. The Marina will give you a little map and instructions on how to clear out when you arrive.

Clearing out is much like clearing in, no problem and everyone most helpful.. Again, it is up to you how you play it; the officials will be quite flexible but only to a point. We cleared with great intentions but then the wind increased and shrieked through Baie de lOrphelinat so we remained until it seemed safe enough to leave. If the weather does a major change on you, do not hesitate to go back and see them. they are quite reasonable about these things.

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North of Noumea..

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See also next photo.

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See following photos

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There are lots more anchorages I have not mentioned and you could cruise just this area, on the west coast, for many months. Much of New Caledonia, both ashore and in the lagoons, is a nature reserve and protected. Unfortunately I was unable to find any information on local regulations that were in English however a Guide du Lagoon et des Marees is widely available if you can translate. In the meantime we should follow common sense and not anchor anywhere on the corals. Moorings are available at many of the better reefs and they have lots of small yellow buoys marking protected areas. From Noumea there are more than a dozen anchorages that can day-sailed to and several more where you could go for an overnight. The local weather forecasts are quite good and you can plan to have easy sailing where ever you want to go. We were very impressed with the water clarity all around New CaledoniaWriting this from a cruisers point of view, having just left the Whitsundays and now in the middle of Australias Great Barrier Reef; the waters here are not a patch on New Caledonia, in fact, New Caledonia may well be the last clear water you see before you reach Asia. Make the best of frolicking in the water when you are there because you wont be in it much over here; its murky, unappealing and full of things that can kill you! On the subject of Clear Water, well move on to some of the Jewels of New Caledonia, they are some of the offshore islands. For a charter boat they can be difficult to reach, being some distance to windward of Noumea; however the normal cruising boat, with the benefit of more time in hand, the passages can be made with fair breezes in both directions or even motored in calms All of which do occur if you have a little patience, watch the forecasts on www.passageweather.com and be prepared to move when conditions are right.

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Llle des Pins Isle of Pines Getting There The best plan is to get onto Baie de Prony and start exploring there whilst watching the weather; leave for Isle of Pines when the weather is right and then return to Baie de Prony to finish it off when you have had your fill of the southern lagoon.

As can be seen, the trip to the Isle of Pines is a dead beat to windward when the trades are blowing so if you really want to get there your choices are limited. Have patience and wait for a shift in the wind. Leave early, hoping for a long morning calm and motor like crazy. Bash and crash into a strong head wind and lumpy sea. Some of the Charter Boats dont even wait for calm; they just floor the throttle and motor into it, leaping out of the water over every wave. So it all depends on your comfort level.. Anchor to Anchor its about 43 miles B.de Prony to Kuto

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Having arrived in Baie de Kuto, which you could do right through to twilight without any problem and in the dark if you have some experience of this; it is well lighted and the electronic charts are good..Many people do arrive after dark as when motoring into the sea coming down, their expected (hopeful) six knots becomes four!! The only problems are the two coral heads in the SE corner (but one of them is in so close to the beach that you should not be there anyway) and the number of boats without Anchor Lights Whatever, give the ferry dock a wide berth. Another regulation When I spoke with the local Police, it was made clear to me that, at night, all yachts were expected to anchor in either B.de Kuto or B de Kanumera. You can do day trips to almost anywhere but this was where they expected you at night. Of course, very few people pay any attention to that, probably because they dont know anything about it and to be honest you may want to forget this yourself however, if you get a boat coming over to move you on from where ever you are, smile, plead stupidity and comply. If you dont do this, you will miss a lot of this area that you would really like to see. It is not unusual for large groups of yachts to be anchored off, and in the vicinity of, Gadji. Ile Menore is a favourite anchorage for many (although there are some that will tell you horror stories of poor holding and dragging in the night!). If in doubt, hire cars are available and they will get you to most places without the worry of having to take your boat. Please be aware that the wind tends to shriek around this beautiful island an awful lot of the time, it may not be quite so romantic but take the car, youll see more!!!

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Baie de Kuto gets quite a few boats in at times but there is plenty of room for all. If you get the chance to move into the SE corner some more, it is best to do so. The beautiful white sand beach is often empty, it gets a few people on it at weekends and when the ferry is in.. We never suffered from Mosquitoes or sand flies and used to sit out and watch the beautiful sunsets every evening (for almost a month!)

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There is a tap at the head of the dinghy dock but it has not worked for some years.. They dont want you to block off the head of the dock as they pick up hotel guests here with the launches. Best use a stern anchor and move your dinghy down some ways.

Trying to get Wi Fi from the Hotel Kou-Bugny We contracted for a month with a company in Noumea the Port Moselle staff will clue you up on that if you ask them when you check in.

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There is some very pretty walking and driving ashore.Taking a day (or longer) to get around the island is most rewarding. Take the walk up to Pic Nga, the highest peak. From here you can see all the way back to the mainland and there are some really stunning views

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The other Jewels are in the Loyalty Islands and in the Northern Lagoon.. Unfortunately we missed them (and left them for you to explore). For us that was about it.. We would have liked to spend more time and looking back now, I wish we had! There is a whole world of cruising at the northern end of New Caledonia that very few yachts ever get to cruise and the bays I didnt mention on the East Coast are numerous. Still, the thing about cruising is to leave places that make you want to go back..Maybe next time around. We really enjoyed our stay and we hope you do to. We left Noumea on the Port to Port, departing on 8th Nov. It was a little lumpy for the first day out but the rest of the passage went very well. It was 828 miles to Bundaberg and we averaged 135 miles/day on a twenty-seven foot waterline. Exit was taken through Passe Dumbea, which was an easy downwind sail from the harbour.

Hope you find this useful John Wolstenholme May 2012 www.yachtmrjohn.blogspot.com