Wind dead on the nose, so had to motor the last 36 hrs - which was a bit of an anti-climax - but nevertheless we're here! Half way home. Noumea is amazing. There are well formed roads with orderly traffic on them, footpaths, street lamps, hotels, fancy apartments, and this marina we're in has hundreds of yachts. And running water, wifi, showers etc. Oh what a world that has such wonders in it! Already we have been involved in political controversy. We unwittingly bought a Kanak flag as a courtesy flag for New Cal instead of the French one. We had an inkling it might be a little controversial, but raised it anyway. Perhaps not the best of days to, because there was a big rally this morning organised by the French nationalists. One marina resident has been to the office to complain about us, and said we shouldn't have been permitted entry. Another lady came to visit us to explain our mistake, and said that the Kanak one was just a rubbish flag, and gave us a tricolour. Things are moving so quickly we might find ourselves resistance leaders if we don't watch ourselves. Stats for trip: 7 days 15 hours. Gps shows 856nm, but my daily totals of miles actually gained adds to only 797. Sailed 118 hrs, motored 65. Max daily miles was 127, average about 110. Thoughts: When I saw the grib files with such sustained easterlies, I imagined daily totals of 130 odd hours, there in 5 days. Wasn't as easy as that. First few days not easy at all. In hindsight, should've aimed for New Cal's west coast right from start and made things more pleasant for ourselves. Or waited a few days. Am now studying literature about passage planning to Enzed in hope of avoiding naive errors. But no amount of study alters what comes out of the sky. Thanks for the messages. So far the marina wifi has been less than impressive, and haven't been able to send any replies yet. Will keep trying. Bon soir mes amis, merci beaucoup pour votre concern and interest.

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