We arrived in Anse Majic, a cove within the large Baie Prony on Monday 17 June. Anse Majic is at the end of the first Eastern arm of the main bay and very well protected from pretty much all winds. Our cruising guide advises that this part of the Baie is deep, and where it is shallow enough to anchor, the holding is poor. This poor holding is due to the multitude of fragile coral growing on the mud sea bed. The coral fouls the anchor, preventing it from digging in. Of course, the anchor and chain also does horrendous damage to the coral. The French have a marvellous solution to the problem of yachts anchoring in such areas. The park authority provides a range of quality moorings that are free to use. Funny old thing. Provide a good free facility and people will use it. Thus boats use the moorings and do not anchor, and the coral is preserved. Many, many other nations should take note!

Our cruising guide advised that there were 8 park moorings in Anse Majic. As we approached we craned for a view of masts appearing around the headland. If the moorings were all occupied we would have to go elsewhere. We had made good time on the passage and it was only mid-afternoon; still we would like to stop in Anse Majic. We neared the headland; one mast. Staying clear of the fringing reef (of course the headland had one!) we gradually could see the whole cove. Two yachts at anchor, plenty of moorings vacant. Good, especially as we had another yacht about 10 minutes behind us. We motored into the cove and moored without problems.

That evening we went aboard a nearby catamaran, Saskia. The crew, Pat and Cas, were Australian and pleased to find English speaking yachties; even if they were Kiwis. A pleasant late afternoon of chat and sundowners followed.

The cruising guide advised of a path up to Pic N’Doua. This is the headland that overlooks the southern end of Grand Terre (the New Caledonian mainland) and has a major navigation light. Water in hand we went ashore early on Tuesday. The beach was red mud. On the approach, as the water shallowed we could see what can only be described as a forest of ‘staghorn’ type coral, interspersed with several other types of coral. The sea bed was literally carpeted with it. We had to lift the outboard early to avoid striking it. Once ashore we set off. We had noticed that the Park Authority maintain their paths well. This one was no exception with a good informative noticeboard by the beach. We headed up the vehicle track. This was wide and soon became quite steep. However, the main obstacle was that the red soft rock/hard clay was exposed and quite slippery in the morning dampness. We pushed on along the path, initially shaded by trees. As we climbed up, the trees became scrub, and then became ever shorter small isolated bushes and grass. It was a beautiful morning with clear blue sky and bright sun. With little shade and the sun reflecting of ever more present volcanic type rocks we soon became quite warm. As we approached the top ridge we left the vehicle track and followed a path to the ‘Observatorie’. Another 700m or so and we were there. The ‘Observatorie’ is a reasonable sized octagonal gazebo structure. It offers shelter from the elements and information boards on the whales that migrate along the coast. This structure was easily visible during our passage, and, being some 150m above the sea on the headland offered excellent views from East through South to West. Perhaps best of all the lookout had some powerful pedestal mounted binoculars (20x80) which allowed us to take full advantage of the view. And what a view! We could not see any whales, but could clearly make out the multitude of islands, islets, reefs and shoals along with the occasional boat and clear current lines.

We continued up the path to the navigation light. Along the way we passed the ruins of the telegraph station, and the modern equivalent of a cell phone tower. The view was equally majestic and, as it was at the peak, covered a full 360° aspect. It was well worth the walk.

We returned by the walking track. This was smaller than the vehicle track but much easier going and somehow ‘friendlier’. It also had a nice viewpoint overlooking Anse Majic part way down.

That Wednesday morning we saw some friends of us approach the moorings. Force Six had been to the Loyalty Islands and was now returning to Noumea. At that time all six of the moorings were occupied. No problem, Force Six was soon rafted up with us. They were not staying long, just enough time to walk up the track to the peak, before heading back to Noumea to allow Marie Anne to catch her flight on Friday. Of course there was enough time for a cup of tea and a chat.

The crew of Force Six headed off for their walk, and we had a job to do. During a rough part of the passage from Australia our TV aerial had fallen over. Unfortunately its descent had crossed the propeller arc of the wind generator, the blades of which was spinning rapidly at the time. The result was that he blade tips were chipped. At low speeds this had no effect but we had noticed a vibration at higher speeds. The blades needed reprofiling. So Paul climbed up on the aft bridge (which holds solar panels, wind generator and assorted aerials), spread his weight and removed the blades and hub. Back on deck, we removed the blades, taped them together and removed about 2.5 cm from each tip. The blades are made from what looks like a PVC type plastic with embedded graphite. This makes them strong and flexible. As the PVC is quite soft it is easy to file, and then seal with a hot knife. Once done the blades were reassembled on the hub and checked for balance – yes, yet another use for a screwdriver. All done, it was back up the bridge and refit. Sorted – nearly. The spinner covering the hub rattled! Still this was soon corrected using sealant.

Whilst we were at anchor we were approached by a Frenchman, Patrice, in his dinghy. We chatted a while. He was off a nearby yacht, Lord of the Seas. He had had the boat about a year, and was not sure how his watermaker worked. No problem, we showed him our set up and explained how it worked, and which component did what. We then went across to his boat. Helen chatted to Patrice’s wife, Pierette, while Paul and Patrice looked at the watermaker set up. We like our watermaker as the unit is modular (we can see what does what), it is simple, easy to operate, manual and it allows us to sample the output water before putting it into the tank. Patrice’s is a more swept up affair, which can use either 12V or 240V power, and does most things automatically. This includes checking the water quality, so no need to sample. Trust the electronics – yeah right. Still armed with the manual and knowledge of how watermakers work Paul and Patrice soon had half the saloon apart tracing where the various pipes went. Satisfied with the operation, they flushed the system through and started it up. And it worked! The afternoon and evening followed with great chat. Patrice had an interesting life story. In a nutshell his parents had travelled by yacht after World War II. Of course, Patrice and his (5) brothers had also travelled the world with them, all on a 30 foot boat. They had spent some considerable time in the Caribbean and then Tahiti. Patrice had operated his own boatyard in Tahiti, building smaller motor boats. Indeed, all his brothers also operated their won boatyards! Along the way Patrice built his own yacht – an 80 foot (yes, 80 foot) ferro concrete craft. After some years Patrice had health issues from the polyester resins used in boat building and so sold his yard and sailed his boat. We saw pictures of his boat, the Bounty. It was large, with painted gunports on the sides, and an immense, 6m by 6m, aft cabin – very much in the old sailing ship style, glass windows and all. Perhaps most impressive was that Patrice flew a microlight aeroplane, and this was on the back of the Bounty on a raising platform. Quite a sight! As Patrice and Pierette had got older they had realised that Bounty was a bit big for them and so sold her and bought the ‘small’ Lord of the Seas, a tiny Oceanis 46 (yes, only 46 foot long!). Another great time chatting!

We left Anse Majic on Thursday 20 June. It was very still morning and we could look down through the water to the sea bed some 8m below. As with closer to the shore, the sea bed was a living forest of coral and home to many fish. How well did the moorings do their job of preserving a wonderful habitat!

We motor sailed that afternoon in a light Easterly breeze back to Bair Ouie. We had planned to meet out friend Claude and his family there. Anchoring later in the afternoon, it was low tide. We remembered our pervious trip and the mud at low tide and so tried to call Claude on the mobile phone, leaving a message that we would contact him the next day. Early on the Friday Claude called us. There had been a misunderstanding. We thought he would be at Bair Ouie from the Thursday. He was actually there until the Thursday; his grand-children needed to see doctors and dentists on the Friday. So we missed him.

That morning on deck with a cup of coffee Helen noticed an unusual shape in the water. It was brown and big, possibly nearly as large as Tai Mo Shan. Certainly far too big for a turtle. Paul came up and we watched the occasional disturbance in the water some 50 to 200m from the boat. Eventually, after another ‘roll’ near the surface a horizontal tail, some metre or so across, lazily came out of the water and entered again with barely a splash. We concluded we had seen a dugong (yes, Google says they are present in New Caledonian waters) in the bay!

We had a quick trip ashore to check out a small stream that could have made a good laundry site. The water was good, clear and fresh, but the access was difficult so we moved on.

We had another light wind day and an easy broad reach/downwind motor sail to Noumea. The wind was initially North Easterly, but as we approached Noumea changed direction to South Easterly – in about 2 minutes. Who said sailing is boring! And as we entered Noumea harbour we saw an unusual sight. A big black beast in the water. Quite clearly a submarine on the surface!

Picture – peaceful Anse Majic.