Circumnavigation of New Calaedonia

Hi
We are anchored off Ilot Puen tonight in position 21 degrees 58' S 165 degrees 57' E after a 24 mile passage north from Baie Maa where we were last night. We are now about 30 miles north of Noumea. It was challenging navigating inside the lagoon avoiding the reefs but we had faith in our trusty chart plotter (thanks to David on "Giselle") and the French charts which are accurate. It was a beautiful day and we motorsailed most of the way as to begin with the wind was under 5 knots. Saw some dolphins on the way. However, the wind picked up later just when we were intending to anchor at Ilot Tenia which is right out on the barrier reef on the northern side of the Passe de St. Vincent. We had an anxious time approaching the anchorage as the water depth decreased rapidly to 10' but it was so clear it was like floating in air. However, it was blowing hard by then from the SE so we didn't stay long and headed for the mainland where we are now. We'll probably go back out there early tomorrow before the wind gets up to have a schnorkel on the reef. Then it'll probably be back here before we exit the lagoon to head north. This is about the northernmost extremity where lagoon navigation is possible and then it will be a 120 mile overnight passage to Koumac which will get us back into our ocean passage making psyche again!!
It really was spectacular today - the water colour ranged from deep blue (60-80') to tourquiose (about 30') to much shallower which made Jean in particular very nervous! The water is so clear that it is possible to see the bottom easily at around 20' and the magnifying effect of the water makes it look closer than it is. We could easily see the ocean swells breaking on the barrier reef and at a distance of 3 miles or so it was an eerie sight as all one could see was the splash of white as they broke and sometimes when there was a big one it was possible to see the dark shape of the wave as well.
Last night Mary and David came aboard with some raw prawns they had bought in Noumea and we cooked them on our BBQ. They were delicious and we had a very pleasant evening. Before that we had gone ashore at Baie Maa and had a good walk which stirred up the old limbs again!!
Keep tuned for more fascinating adventures,
Lots of love
Jim and Jean (Gina)

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