Ile des Pins--New Caledonia
03 October 2011
9/25/2011 After five nights at Kuto, we headed NW up to Baie de Ouameo. Getting to Ouameo was a sphincter puckerer as wehad to 'thread the needle' through coral patches and reefs-- at one point we had .1 foot of water under the keel! By the way, we use Google Earth photos with a GPS integrated to show our position relative to the reefs--it is more accurate that our chart plotter and with our eyeballs it is the safest way to navigate. The next morning an un predicted squall hit with rain and wind over 25 knots from the west--our unprotected side. We were only in 13 feet of water (I hate shallow water anchoring), but our anchor held as I had put extra scope out. Our buddy boat, Trim, did drag a bit, but they soon dug in and by 5 am all was calm again---"...they comes on ya fast, and they leaves ya fast." While at Ouameo we hiked (yes, we had blisters by this time as we had been hiking for miles), to the limestone caves at the Grotto de la Troiseme. These were deep caves with clear pools of water and awesome stalagtites/stalagmites. No one else was there, and it was a beautiful hike through the forest of pines.