Gidday All,

Have just uploaded some more photos from our travel's over the last 2 weeks so check em out!

We are back in Noumea to replenish our supplies and do some boat jobs (change oil in main & genset) get some fuel etc.
Had a great couple of weeks in the southern lagoon with mixed weather 1 week of warm fine days with little wind and then a week of cloudy, rainy days with lots of wind.

The trip down to Isle de Pins (aprox 80nm from Noumea was split over 2 days) The first days travel is in the lee of New Caledonia however we were able to sail most of the way thanks to some easterly breeze( 15-20knts). Day 2 is in open water and again thanks to a NE breeze(20kts) we sailed almost all the way again.

Isle de Pins is the most southerly of the New Caledonian islands and whilst still inside the lagoon it has a more remote feel. The water is clear and the sand is white, and the shoreline dotted with coconut palms, our first real pacific islands just like the ones you see on postcards. We swam, snorkeled, fished and generally just relaxed in the pristine surroundings.

Having checked the forecast and compared same with some other yachties in the anchorage(most have different weather sources and it is common practice to compare forecasts to see if they are consistent) we decided it was time to retreat back to the sheltered waters of Bay De Prony as the forecast was for strong westerly's and probable storms .

Our trip back started out with light SE breeze but as is often the case half way there it shifted (not what was forecast) to the North (guess which way we were going? ----North of course) and increase quickly to 30kts , so we had a bumpy wet few hours of beating to windward until we could no longer hold our course so we started the engine and punched into the swell for another hour or so until we reached the shelter of Bay de Prony. Migaloo once again just got on with the job and caused us no problems, I also was not sick even though the motion of the boat was quite violent (yee haa).

As Leanne has already said we spent a number of days way up the bay hiding from the weather in a very good anchorage. We had 25-35 knots for about 36 hours with some gusts frequently over 40kts but we had no problems except that our snubber (15mm nylon braid) broke under the strain but I had plenty of spare spectra so we made up a new one .....Easy.

We also met some more cruisers whilst down south , SV Skylax from the UK (Rod & Lou),SV Melody from NZ (Holger & Roz) , SV Do It from the UK (Angus & Ruth) and enjoyed spending time chatting with them and sharing coffee , cake ,sundowners and pasta over the 2 weeks on different occasions. Skylax & Doit have been both cruising for years and between them crossed all the oceans (more than once) and had some wonderful experiences. We have met a number of other cruisers over the past month and really enjoy the social aspect of this lifestyle; every-one to date has been really friendly, welcoming and helpful and only too happy to give some tips to us novices for which I am very grateful.

On our way back "home" we spent a couple of nights in a KEWL (yachtie spelling for cool) little bay about 1nm south of Noumea where we explored, swam and caught some fish for our dinner before we came back "home" to Port Moselle.

We are having a wonderful time. Migaloo is behaving and is very comfortable (for a yacht) and many of the yachties we have met turn a little green when they come aboard and see how comfortable we are and all have wanted to steal Leanne`s washing machine. We are very lucky indeed to have been able to refit Migaloo to the standard we have and grateful to have not yet had any real problems or breakdowns (touch wood - I just did!)

We will decide over the next week if we are going to stay in NC or head for Vanuatu for a while so until next time, miss you all stay staff and be happy!!!!!!!!!