They say that all good things must come to an end. ThatâÂÂs not entirely true, but most things do end and part of our human existence is managing the raft of emotions that come in to play when we are forced to say goodbye. It is usual, I guess, to bring to mind the happiest moments and store them away for safe keeping whilst simultaneously allowing the feelings of loss, however great or small, to accompany the goodbye.
Today we say farewell to Baie De St Vincent and to the Homeless Vikings.
Whilst the optimist believes that we will surely see both again, the realist knows that this is most unlikely. So it is with a happy sad that we are now sailing South, away from Baie De St Vincent, and away from the Vikings who are now sailing North on a long journey to Indonesia.
Baie De St Vincent We came to the Baie to explore the area and find interesting places to take our guests (parents) when they come to visit next week. ItâÂÂs closer to the airport than Noumea and is a large bay with numerous islands large and small that make up the Baie area.
There is also a small marina that doesnâÂÂt appear on any of our charts. With a little help from our landlubber friend (thanks Dave!) and the magic of Google, we found it and went ashore to practice our French. OK, so we actually went ashore to find out if there were markets anywhere, this is French territory, so French practice was the order of the day! For the most part the locals are good about our ignorance, and my conversations usually start with a simple apology. âÂÂDesole, je ne pa parle FrancaisâÂÂ. One store owner in Noumea smiled broadly and promptly replied âÂÂDesole, je ne pa parle EnglaisâÂÂ. Our exchange at the little marina called âÂÂPort Ouenghiâ was similar, but we still managed to talk for a while and the proprietor looked up the number for a taxi and explained that we would need to walk for 20mins if we wanted to hitchhike, and it would take around an hour if we walked all the way to the village for vegetables⦠not a word of English was spoken. The owner was very kind and didnâÂÂt seem to mind our inability to speak the language.
Aside from this visit to Port Ouenghi, we also visited many other islands and bays: Ile Moro â A Giant rock with a petite beach and fascinating baby rock formations assembled like ducklings. We visited twice because we had coverage here and needed to get some Internet to pay bills⦠yeah, you know who you are invoice senders! :-P Ile Nduke â Where we chose to negotiate the narrow channel with hard coral on either side and we went paddle boarding after big fish in the mangroves.
Baie Uitoe â Where we did boat maintenance and swapped out our anchor chain and admired the manicured grounds of the shoreline.
Ile Ronhua â where it was gusting 25 knots and the white sand beach was overshadowed by our inability to decide where one would anchor in these conditions.
Ile Tenia â where it was still blowing like a birthday boy and we navigated big Bommies (or as the French call them, coral potatoes). We only stayed long enough for lunch and moved on to⦠The Lepredour Channel â where we found shelter at last. The cliffs from the nature reserve island towered above us, red and scarred and glowing as the sun set. The water was flat and we slept like drunkards.
And finally, the Baie De Mosquitos on Ile Hugon - which seems to be entirely pest free, unless you count the guy with the bonfire on the beach, or the dog on the other boat in the anchorage. Hey, as long as there are no mossies, IâÂÂm a happy little larry bird.
Oh, and as we sailed away the next morning, we remarked how the water was so flat you could ski⦠Thus we discovered Paddle-Sail-Ski-Boarding! Michelle mounted her paddle board and was towed along as we sailed. I sense a new sport in the making.
This morning as we sipped on our sunrise coffee, we received a message that we had been expecting, but not eagerly.
Our Finnish friends aboard âÂÂHomelessâ sent a message to say farewell. We protested, and told them there was no wind to sail, and you canâÂÂt very well start a 3,000 mile trip by motoring! But they had cleared out of the country and were hoping to find breeze further out from land.
So, we hatched a plan, hoisted the sails, and plotted a course to intercept the Vikings! The Vikings were sailing North so we sailed out to the West and found them. We sailed fast below them and then came up along their windward side. âÂÂFancy seeing you hereâ we beamed :- I had written a farewell poem with my second coffee and we had printed it out for them to take on their journey. We packed this into a dry bag along with a native New Caledonian flag and some tinfoil wrapped goodies (Chocolate!). We agreed that Homeless would maintain course and speed and we would maneuverer ourselves into position for the exchange. The bag, attached to a long line, was thrown between the boats and the contents were emptied. This is a bit like mum trying to pass the forgotten school lunch through the window of the bus to little Maxy as it speeds along the highway. So not something to be done without care.
After taking some photos of our little flotilla, we turned around and sailed South, happy that we had said our goodbyes in true style! Farewell Homeless Vikings, it really was too brief, and we hope we can meet again.
Farewell Baie De St Vincent, thanks for the adventures, we will see you in our memories.
Bon Voyage to the Vikings (the poem)
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Its a beautiful morning with sun and calm seas,
All is quiet, there is barely a breeze.
We sit and ponder what today will hold.
The sat phone beeps and we are told
"Dear friends we are leaving! It was too brief,
But we are now heading out through reef."
No, You cant leave! We have not said goodbye!
And look, up above, not a cloud in the sky
There is barely a breeze and there's too far to go
You have yet three thousand miles to go!
The time is not right! We stand and protest
But all is prepared, this is no test.
Good things must end and yachts sail away,
Our Homeless Vikings will leave us today.
So we utter a prayer that you will be well
That the waves will be friendly as you ride the swell
As the journey grows long, be good to each other.
May the friends that you make be close like a brother
Fair winds to our friends, may the sea be kind.
May the wind always blow from somewhere behind.
So we sailed to sea and cast our eyes
We intercepted their boat and spoke our goodbyes.
I took a pen to the ships log and wrote
Farewell dear Viking... in the blood red boat!