We enjoyed New Caledonia very much. The picturesque Isle of Pines, with its prisine white sand beaches, turquoise waters, and dramatic rock formations just off shore. We spent a week in the Isle of Pines, visiting Kuto Harbor, Ilot Brosse, Baie de Oro & Baie de Gadji, discovering the islands manicured lawns and wide, asphalt roads. We biked around the island over several days, found one wonderful restaurant at Baie de Oro, Chez Regis, that we enjoyed by taking the dinghy up a saltwater river that went dry at high tide. We were careful to watch the tides during dinner, and under a full moon, laughed at the predicament we would be in if we were caught with the dinghy upriver, high and dry. We made the passage back to Sea Child with no time to spare, after enjoying a meal of escargot (for Eric) and chicken breasts. Our only meal out at Isle of Pines, but well worth the discovery of ordering dinner at noon, almost by sign language, and return at a set time for dinner which was cooked & served by a wonderful Kanak women who spoke no English, only French. On our return sail to Grande Terre (or the main island of New Caledonia), we stopped at Cape N'dua to enjoy a steep hike up to the light house & beacon that guides mariners around and through the Havannah Pass of SE New Caledonia. The navigational aids in New Cal were wonderful, every reef marked and many nav lights along the way made for very enjoyable sailing. A marvel after Fiji, where at times it felt like we were sailing by braille.

We returned to Noumea and prepared for our departure, thankful for the wonderful help of Chloe Morin from Noumea Yacht Services. She cleared us out, sent FedEx packages back to the USA, set us up with a sail repair company (main tack strap tore off), and assisted us in any way we needed as we prepared for our sail west to Mackay. Our good friend, Buddy, has arrived to join us on the sail to Australia, which we expect will take us another 4-5 days from now.

The sailing is pleasant this morning, after a night of good winds and fast boat speeds. The grib files at yesterdays download showed light winds, around 10 knots max, as a high pressure starts to build over the Coral Sea. We were eager to head offshore, given this "windless" situation. We topped off the fuel tanks, filling 3 extra 6-gallon jugs for the expected motor to Australia. However, as we headed out of Port Moselle, we found winds SE, 30 knots, and after setting a full main & jib, headed out on a course of 254 degrees. We sailed fast out of Dumbea Pass and bid au revoir to New Caledonia. Sea Child averaged 11 knots for the next several hours, seeing a top boat speed 17.7 knots, a record held by Otto. So much for a 'no wind' situation. We just set the spinnaker, and are enjoying 9 knots of boat speed, with a VMG of 7.5 knots to Swain Reef, our first waypoint to the Great Barrier Reef of Australia. This course keeps us south of Bellona Reef, a mid-crossing dange r zone that would surely end the game for us out here if we were not diligent.

DISTANCE TO GO: MACKAY AUSTRALIA 817 NM DISTANCE FROM DUMBEA PASS, NEW CALEDONIA: 161 NM