Lights! C'est magnifique

Courses at UUD (University of Uncle Doug) continue apace. Here Caleigh is stitching on our new wheel cover. We initially thought of this as a luxury item but with our recent passage 'sans Autohelm' we have used and appreciated it immensely.

The sun rises behind us as we approach Noumea. What the camera cannot catch (or at least the photographers could not catch) are the array of flashing strobes off our bow which guide into town with exquisite assurance. You probably "have to be there" to appreciate what a friend a flashing white light really can be!

Snug as bugs in Port Moselle, New Caledonia we are enjoying the warm fresh delights of our new home. Yesterday evening we had warm fresh baguettes with some lovely french cheese and our last bottle of wine from Fiji. Today we will hunt out some of the promised French wine which was on the shelf yesterday but behind the red & white tape saying FERME.

We had a great crossing from Port Vila (or at least that was my opinion). There is great power in being the recorder of history. Our sail included wind that was close on the bow -- perhaps 50 deg. AWA. The boat performed perfectly -- though for the first time the Autohelm did not.

The initial setback of no self-steering was daunting. We could stop at the Loyalty Islands but even then they were 120 miles away for an anchorage.

On Sophrosyne, we were not overwhelmed with capable human helmsmen, and some of the best potential candidates were, at the moment, laying on the cabin settee with a bucket close at hand.

In the end though we sailed far enough from Efate for the confused seas to settle, and found the correct sail combination (triple reef main and about 1/2 of our small jib) to power the boat through the water at +/- 7 knots in perfect balance with 2 finger steering -- lovely -- and the stars that come out on a clear night with a new moon! All is well.

New Caledonia appears to be a treasure trove of discoveries. Our first impression though comes before we even touched land. The approach to Noumea includes a long stretch of islands, reefs and close channel passages. Looking at the chart in Port Vila, it seems daunting and no way to make the full passage in daylight. Nervous tummy.

As Robert de Niro famously says in the movie Ronin "the map never equals the territory."

In New Caledonia this turns out to be a lovely positive surprise. After so much time sailing in Fiji where navigational aids to serious hazards laying 6 inches below the surface may (or may not) be in the form of a 'stick' we were delighted to find the range of white, red, green flashers all working and exactly where the chart said they would be. Together with the iPad it was a piece of pie to move through these waters and a treat to arrive in Noumea with the rising sun behind us! Perfect.

We will spend a couple of days in Noumea enjoying the European lifestyle and sorting out that itinerant autohelm. After that we will make a make our way to some of the outer islands before we come back in to Port Moselle to prepare for the next leg of our journey to Australia.

It's all good!