[password] Cowboys99
[status]
:position 21 00.80s 163 50.40e
We completed all the preparations for our departure from New Caledonia on Tuesday 1st August. This was actually our second attempt, having tried to clear out the previous Friday, but an unpleasant looking isobar on the weather forecast plus a misbehaving satellite phone had convinced us to wait a few days. So we got a head start on most of our pre-departure jobs - grocery shopping, engine oil change, etc. - before having a beer and some chips at the marina bar, while an awesome live band entertained us all. It was a really great evening thanks to the band - soooo much better than the one the previous weekend that greeted us when we'd just arrived from New Zealand. Then, Saturday morning we took off to Amedee Island for the weekend.

And what a weekend it was! It was absolutely perfect with just enough wind for us to sail the two hours to get there before becoming still, sunny and without a cloud in the sky. The water took-on a glassy appearance and you could see the bottom perfectly, with the fish, sharks, turtles and sea-snakes all seemingly levitating beneath the boat. Paul and Jason had the essential Amedee Island experience as we went into the beach and they changed out of their clothes and into swimmers and snorkels, when an unseen sea snake slithered across their feet causing much hopping about and snorkel-muted shouting. We BBQ'd a freshly caught fish that was nearly as long as Ermina is tall, served with freshly made salsa, and drank the water from coconuts that Jason and Paul had retrieved by climbing a palm tree on Isle Casey, home of Monsieur Chien, the previous Thursday.

We have developed the habit of watching a movie every second or third night while we're not sailing, and this time it was turn to choose. I - possibly unwisely, as it turned out - selected Notting Hill (romantic comedy with Julia Roberts and Hugh Grant) as Ermina had complained about the run of boy-movies we'd watched recently. Everyone agreed that it had been a great movie, but it possibly had one unexpected side effect. The following morning, Paul had insisted that he wanted to get up early to take photos of the sunrise, and that Ermina had to accompany him to help. No one else was interested in getting up that early, not even to enquire what all the excited squealing and jumping up and down had been about? Apparently, PAUL HAD ASKED ERMINA IF SHE WOULD MARRY HIM! Judging by the ring Ermina was proudly sporting, she'd said YES!

Soooo.... I apologised profusely just in case my movie choice had put ideas in Paul's mind!

Monday afternoon saw us back in Noumea for another go at clearing-out. The day began, as it had the previous Friday, in an internet-equipped cafe in Noumea where, over criossants, coffee and baguettes, we reviewed the weather forecast and decided that it was good for our departure. About 1,500 miles to Thursday Island, through the Coral Sea and then the Great Barrier Reef. (Notice the theme to this trip? CORAL sea, barrier REEF!! All a little intimidating if I'm being honest!) So we divided-and-conquered the remaining tasks, including shipping the defective satphone back to Florida (which meant that I'd have a double-dose of New Caledonia Customs that day!) By the time we were done loading the last of the supplies aboard and stowing the dinghy away, we were exhausted - it had been a very hot, still day. So despite having declared our departure date/time as being that evening, we all agreed that one last stop for an early night was called for. So we stopped at a little island just inside New Caledonia's barrier reef to rest-up before the sleep-deprivation began.

We passed through the reef and out onto the ocean at 8:08am on Wednesday 2nd August and turned to head north-west, only to find what little wind there was squarely on the nose. The wind stayed light all day but did turn to a slightly more helpful direction by midday, then disappeared completely by midnight and we motored until around 6am when the wind returned the way it was supposed to - 15-20kts from the south-south-east. For a boat hoping to travel 1,500 miles north-west, things don't get much better than that! So here we are, doing about 8kts and rolling a bit, about level with the north of New Caledonia, passing a shocking number of shallow coral islands to the west. We'll stay on this course for 3 days in total (if the wind keeps up) then turn more westerly once we hit 18 degrees south. Thursday Island in the Torres Strait is at about 11 degrees south - as close to the equator as we'll get on this leg of the trip. We'll eventually cross the equator after rounding South Africa in December and heading north up through the Atlantic towards Europe.

So there we are - all caught-up on the news. We're a day-and-a-half into the trip so we're all adjusting to the limited sleep and constant noise and motion. In another day or so, we'll settle into a rhythm and boredom may set in :-)
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