Well 2018 has come and gone and I took Malua for a short trip to New Caledonia. That was the plan but like most things cruising you have to have a plan B.
Setting off from Bermagui I sailed north up the coast. The BOM forecast seemed to be all wrong when the wind was forecast to be from the South it came from the north and so it went. Sun and it rained.
The day I left the Sydney area it was predicted to be a gentle breeze all the way to Coffs Harbour. Off Port Stevens it started to blow and I did not appreciate how hard the wind was until the autopilot stopped working and all hell broke loose. Being alone on a boat one has to prioritise the tasks to get the boat under control. After some time all was under control and the passage to Coffs was put on hold.
I had not time to study the charts as I entered between the heads and I saw that the water was just not right. Turn to starboard and stop. Go down below and look at the chart. Wow a shallow bank across the entrance but sufficient depth to the north. I motored into the bay and dropped the anchor as the sun set.
Was that a warning not to go further north?
Three weeks later I sailed out of Port Stevens towards Coffs with a new autopilot.
No good forecast for a week as I awaited the low to move off the coast. The as always I left too early and into the back of the low. Not a good ride off the coast of Oz to New Cal. However the low got a move on and moved to NZ and I was left with little wind.
Two months in New Caledonia cruising the main island and the Loyalties with friends on Parhelion.
Denny returned to Australia and I sat around not wishing to make the same mistake again for the passage to Fiji. This time I got it right and sailed almost all the way with the wind on the beam.
Musket Cove regatta week was Ok not as much fun as the previous two times because the Americans dominated the event. Most of this group should have stayed in the USA to make it great again.
Afte a haul-out at Vuda Point I set sail back to Oz via New Cal. I checked in and out on the same day. Provisioned and filled the cellar with French wines and left the day before the rest of the fleet set sail either for Bundaberg or Coffs.
Arrived cleared in and waited for a northerly which finally arived.
A quick passage back to Bermagui and the short cruise ended after six months on Malua. Well that was plan B.
What next?