10/06/2009, 22'20.6S 166'57.5E
The weather today is slightly undesirable so we are anchoring in a small inlet on the South-East coast of Nouvelle Caledonia. With the tide being strong and as the wind funnels down here it is a bit like Cook Strait but smaller and milder and this pretty inlet feels a bit like the Marlborough sounds with the steep valleys surrounding us. This mainland (called Grand Terre) of New Caledonia split off Gwandaland with Australia and NZ so it is quite mountainous and old, not like a desolate island, in fact it is the most bio-diverse country in the world. The soil is dark red like that you picture in the outback of Australia and the fauna on top is a mixture of tropical rain forest and palms. We are surrounded both by coral and mangroves.
One particular type of tree pine stands out, very tall, thin and straight. Eric described it as a pine that someone has pulled a prank by putting a cone on top of it and then climbing down chopping off all the branches so no one can reach the top of the pine to take the cone off. It almost looks like they have a Christmas tree on top! These pines I think are called Kauri Pines, the Maori language thus having something in common with this Melanesian language.
It is drizzly and foggy making the steep valleys look mysterious and the water is lush to swim in, warmer than the rain. Occasionally the rain hammers down in the way tropical rain furiously descends. This is the first rain we have had so far. We are having a nice peaceful time at anchor waiting for the tide to turn and the wind to drop. Then we have a 100 mile sail to the northernmost of the Loyalty Islands where we will stop briefly on route to Tanna, an island of Vanuatu.
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10/05/2009, Noumea
It is a nice day sitting at anchor in Noumea, pretty fish and coral can be seen even in the dirty port. It's a small city but the largest in the pacific and there are tourists and cruising boats everywhere. Most of them are going in the other direction or staying for the summer in Noumea. We have had a pleasant time and are now covered with giant bug bites everywhere and a little more tanned/burnt, we will be heading off toward Vanuatu tomorrow. On the way we will visit the Loyalty Islands (part of New Caledonia).
In Noumea everyone is always carrying baguettes with the population in Nouvelle Caledonia being half French colonialists and half Kanak's. The place is very French, their flags are flying everywhere, it is sort of a French New Zealand being the third largest archipelago in the pacific Islands, the second being New Zealand, but it is a French version with a much nicer climate. Nouvelle Caledonia stopped being a colony much more recently however. Since then there has been a little political unrest in this decade although it is impossible to tell in Noumea, I had a friend from Nouvelle Caledonia once, I would be really interested to learn his story, he was a refugee, which implies some unrest.
We have visited quite few different museums and learnt a lot more about the Kanaks, a Melanesian population and their colonisation experience as well. I never saw myself as a little girl wanting to go to all the museums but that is now one of my favourite thing to do, learn about different peoples. That way we can copy ideas that work. Ultimately that is what travel is about.
For example one idea that Eric and I have reached from here are around the buses. The buses here are really good, in fact probably the best way to see Noumea and probably the only affordable way. Take a little tiki tour around and you see the city center, suburbs, industry and some great views. Anyhow every trip on the buses is the same amount of money, no matter how far or close you are going. Which is perhaps a more progressive cost, those who live far away from the city who are normally poorer and need to commute into the city get subsidised and those who do not have to go far - have incentive to walk. So perhaps a fairer way to travel on public transport.
Other observations surround food, food is definitely part of the experience and the mix of Kanak and French has been interesting. We tasted some local traditional Kanak food at a cultural centre and found it quite bland, apart from the fish (which was quite nice) it was mainly comprised of different root vegetables that although they said certain parts were good, our unfamiliar palates struggled. Trying not to be rude was awkward. It was a huge contrast to the French sweet bakery goodness from the local farmers market we have had most mornings. Kanak culture has a love for the yam, a great gift apparently - it has more importance than mere food - and the Kanaks call it the "real" food. An example of its importance is the months in Kanak languages are also named after yams. It seems an odd idea for a westerner but makes a certain sense as well - better than egotistical roman emperors.
I can't help playing the who made the better colonist game- when comparing Nouvelle Caledonia to home, the French or the British? Perhaps they were just as bad as each other. It is not really important and probably a silly question, but interesting when you look at the different policy approaches that the different colonists tried to implement on the local peoples and how did that effect the people's standard of living, happiness, economy and indigenous communities 100 or so years on. It will be interesting to see the comparison between French New Caledonia, mixed British/French Vanuatu and British/American influenced Solomon Islands as our voyage goes on. The varying degree of the development of infrastructure is perhaps one area of interest. If we want to start focusing on more long term thinking that this sustainability movement brings perhaps these policies are relevant.
My French has improved very slightly and I have come to wish I had learnt a language at school because Eric is really quite impressive. At first I was afraid of the classic stereotype of French people, being offended when not knowing their language I felt nervous each time when I responded to their jibberish with "Parle Vous Anglaise?" but have only been met with smiles and "a little". Eric assures me that the snooty French stereotype is still alive and well in Paris but I think that when New Caledonians are polite and respond in English it only makes me feel more guilty that I don't know their language. None the less I am enjoying my immersion and the little successes that come with using small phrases. C'est bien.
Well, summing up our visit in Noumea, it was a very expensive place but also the only place we can apparently purchase certain boat things for awhile. The first shower felt fantastic after 16 days of voyage and customs was a breeze. We purchased a very cheap spinnaker off a German cruiser which will save us much money on fuel and patience- speeding us up in light winds. Eric can't wait to try it out. We generally had a nice lazy time acclimatising to the heat, enjoying the baguettes and learning about Melanesia.
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10/03/2009, Noumea
A quarter of a century old.. That'd probably be quite depressing if I wasn't living it up in the tropics. As it is, instead of feeling like my life is slipping away too quickly, I'm quite happy with where I've got to.
My birthday was a truly excellent day - we took our first trip out into the lagoon to anchor in a tiny bay almost completely encircled by tropical beach. We swam to the beach, over some little corals, dived down to see the anchor, scanned the hull for problems/marine life. On the way there the wind was blowing quite strongly and kicking up quite a chop which knocked the anchor off the bow roller (that'll teach us to be lazy about stowing it properly for short trips). It had a good go at our paint before we were able to secure it again - very annoying - but nothing a bit of sandpaper and paint won't fix. By the time we'd been for a swim and my birthday cake appeared I had totally forgotten about it! We had some great pate from the farmers market for lunch and hoisted the genoa on the way back in the afternoon, enjoying a lovely sunset as we sailed back into Noumea's harbour. We can't wait to get out of Noumea and spend the majority of our time at anchor in swimming spots.
In the evening Ella and I snuck into the marina showers to freshen up before heading into town for dinner. I wore the one collared shirt I have aboard and Ella wore a new dress she bought. We didn't have a particular restaurant in mind but simply wandered until we found a small place with gourmet French food. I had an amazing duck dish with a red wine reduction and gratin potatoes and Ella had a plate of huge prawns that had been flamed in pastis (a French aniseed liquer), truly excellent food.
After our meal we broke our walk back to the boat with a beer at the marina bar just before they closed at midnight, clambered down the rocks to the dingy and putted back to the boat. Even having to get up by 7am the next day to take Ralph to catch his bus to the airport didn't dampen my spirits.
Thanks to everyone who messaged, emailed or facebooked me happy birthday - sorry for the lack of responses, we've somehow found a country with worse internet than NZ!
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09/27/2009, 23'09S 166'52E
Well almost. We expect to sight land today anyway.. We're about 10 miles outside the reef at New Caledonia following a parallel course and at this speed (just under 5 knots) we should arrive at the pass (a channel through the reef) in the early hours of the morning. It's got a huge lighthouse on it and a lighted channel so we should have no problems if we arrive before dawn. It's a beautiful day with a nice sailing breeze between 10 and 15 knots and hardly a cloud in the sky.
It's been a long trip - longer than expected. There have only been a couple of days that we've managed more than 100 miles in 24 hours and plenty of days we have been pretty close to being becalmed, we've begun to think of anything faster than 3 knots as fast! The upshot is that we've been completely untouched by bad weather, which is a pretty rare thing for boats headed north from NZ (and almost unheard of this time of year). The strongest wind we've seen has been a gust of 25 knots and we haven't had any sustained winds over 18. Certainly nothing close to the gales we'd prepared for. Just lucky I guess.
16 days aboard ship gives you a lot of time to think, and read, and relax. With no appointments, meetings or schedules to worry about things become pretty centered around the routines aboard ship. For me that mostly means time is marked by my 6.30am watch (not wristwatch - my turn to keep an eye out for ships), my late-morning nap, making lunch, cooking dinner and bedtime. Between these I read, talk with Ella and/or Ralph, sit in the sun, watch the waves and think. No txts, no calls, no facebook, no work, no endless emails to read - it's seriously peaceful out here.
We're looking forward to making landfall though. There's a whole country for us to see, plenty of shopping to do as well as postcards to write, probably some cute little cafes to visit too. We won't be staying too long in Noumea, just enough to get a taste and reprovision the boat. Then it's off the tourist track to the Loyalty Islands on the way to the Solomons - in search of deserted islets, pristine beaches, crystal clear turquoise lagoons and real pacific island culture.
Next blog - Noumea!
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09/25/2009, 24'13S 169'01E
Today we are driven by the trade winds, a consistent south easterly that drives through the tropics. The day light is slightly longer and the heat has allowed a change from the Dunedin wintery clothes to shorts and t-shirts. Eric keeps threatening to go for a swim but I am afraid of the stress that this could bring with anything over 5 knots of wind. The nights have a got a little more restless with the temperature making it harder to sleep but its not too bad, and only a taste of what is to come.
We caught two fish today, one reasonable sized yellow finned tuna that Ralph has nicely filleted into four massive steaks. We reckon the fillets would sell for over fifty dollars on the market and tonight Eric will fry a divine rich and full of iron and omega-3 feast that I will probably only be able to consume less than 1/8th of. The second fish is a much smaller bluefin tuna that we caught it unexpectedly but didn't have the will to throw it back in with the hook through a nasty place. So the plan is for tomorrow to bake it whole and it may be just small enough to fit on our oven tray. Tonight's dinner is rather exciting after our previous fish being so scrumptious and definitely a highlight of the trip.
Its strange how I focus on the simple things such as food, but its nice not to have to focus on other things. In fact I would suggest if one really wants to get away and have a holiday sailing seems to be a great way to do it. And getting a way much further away than other beach holidays that people go on. But then its really not that different from those either, one just lies in the sun all day reading or doing puzzles.
An update on the cabin fever leads me to say- I am intolerant of intolerance, that is all.
One book that everyone has read, Eric and I did not like at all, "Inheritance of Loss" that Mum recommended, I wonder why Mum recommended it to us? The prose was good but its bleak view of Humanity and racism was just rather depressing. It was about racism and its point was that every culture was racist (well at least all those discussed) Although this maybe true- it is also true that we as individuals can notice these signs and empathise. Ralph liked the book however. Its a sort of book club happening here. However another I read "The Discovery of Slowness" was fantastic. A very slow book that told the tale of a sailor who was slow but who turned his slowness to his advantage. Made me think about this whole me being so impatient, although I think I will still always be impatient. But perhaps see how much a weakness it is. We are not far from reaching the new chart of Nouvelle Caledonia, the enlarged map which will make our progress seem 100 times quicker. At last the constant French accents talking and mocking will decease and the test of the boys French will commence. Currently however the map puts us in a large purple square that says no trolling zone. We suspect that it is a submarine zone rather than any sort of mercifulness towards marine life.
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09/20/2009, 27'41S 173'06E
We just caught our first fish, its a beautiful Tuna fish that will do for some nice dinner tonight! Crew morale is high and I am only a little afraid of the fishes blood going down our cock pit drains and attracting Sharks. But Eric assures me that no jumping Sharks exist in these waters.
We are currently sailing upwind with up to 20 knots of wind and its a bit more swell than we are used to, but still nothing really. Last night we even put in the first reefs of our journey in the mainsail which is a pretty good effort to have got so far without doing so. In fact so far this passage has been no where near as hard as sailing up the east coast of New Zealand. And supposedly in general the further north we go the better it will get.
Anyhow I thought I would explain what a daily routine is like on Solidaire so far. It begins for Eric at about 6am as he takes over from Ralph's night watch. Ideally just before the sun comes up so Ralph can get to sleep easier. Then I awake at about 8am and take over the watch from about 10am where Eric takes a nap. I continue on the watch for the most of the day as I prefer to stay in the cockpit. Ralph awakens at about 1pm and we have lunch. In the afternoon we all are awake generally. Then as evening creeps in Eric starts making a dinner. I feel rather guilty about Eric always making dinner or has done thus far- but if I tried to cook I know that by the time I had finished making the food my appetite would have disappeared. To concentrate too hard on activities inside the cabin still leaves me feeling a little dizzy and leaves my stomach upset. But in saying that each day I improve. Eric does cook so well too.
Also Ralph's one attempt so far at cooking left us in giggles. A couple of days ago Ralph made some custard. Asserting to us that he knew a lot about custard we were quite excited. Ralph took the first few bites and said sadly "this is not the best custard I have made" but still continued to eat it. As I reached over to grab my bowl, looking at the consistency I realised that it looked like and smelled a lot like mashed potatoes. A simple mistake had been made using the mashed potato mix instead of the milk powder (they do look very similar). Anyhow Potato Custard was not the tastiest food but definitely worth the laugh.
Then after dinner at about 8.30 Eric and I try and get some sleep. Ralph takes over and does the long night watch. We are very grateful for Ralph's love of the night..
In other areas of happening Ralph and Eric have taught me how to whip the ends of ropes and we had heaving to practice. Now I am feeling way more comfortable and if both Eric and Ralph happened to break their legs at the same time I could handle the boat. Heaving to creates this amazing feeling of calmness, even in the strongest gales its supposed to feel as relaxed as sailing in more like 15 knots of wind. Furthermore after continuous nagging from Eric "Stop reading those damm political book and read these about sailing" he says. I have read some and am continuing my sailing education. I will be a pro soon.
However my Political books keep me thinking and today here are 5 different types of activism that I could do in the future. Today's 5 potential activist directions;
1) Gather a team together to let all the air out of the tires of SUVs in central Dunedin city or central Wellington city. Or make the point by letting out the air from politicians SUVs. The message- the pointless gas guzzling machines pollute and should be banned. Call on the government for regulations on gas hungry cars.
2) Spend time outside the Australian refugee detention centre, drawing attention to the concentration-like camps and the poor treatment of people. Trying to raise awareness in New Zealand of opening the borders to refugees and helping people in need.
3)Join the Zapatista cult in Mexico in their retreat from a world of neoliberal policies and the free market. Learning from their movement and being part of it.
4)Become chemists and manufacture copy righted medicines, copying from the large evil pharmaceutical companies cures. Then sneaking them into developing countries in help to undermine the pharmaceutical countries and save lives. Otherwise transport illegal medicines on our yacht into Africa.
5) Train as a planner and be part of forming a new sustainable circular city in New Zealand.
Anyway Good Luck for Max, running for the Victoria University Student association President- don't forget to vote for him! And I hope you win and use it as a useful mouthpiece for the left!
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