We could have spent a lot more time in New Caledonia cruising around to some very interesting places: Baie du Prony, Isle of Pines, the Loyalty Islands. The fact is that after a season of cruising "in paradise" we experience "burnout". One beautiful tropical island with fringing reef is similar, if slightly different, from other ones. A well protected anchorage with beautiful sunrises/sunsets is incredibly beautiful but most have about the same scenery. It is the diving, snorkeling and hiking that keep most cruisers moving along from one place to another. It is this fabulous underwater scenery that is so awesome that the brain is stunned by the incoming water world images.
The cruising season is winding down here in the South Pacific with the advent of the cyclone season starting to make it's appearance. Officially, the cyclone or hurricane season runs from November to May. As with our own hurricane season, things don't really get going until mid-December but one is always possible at any time. The distance from Port Mossele Noumea, New Caledonia (22-16.7' S x 166-26.4' E) to Brisbane, Australia (27-26.7' S x 153-06.3' E) is 840 nm. The usual weather pattern for this voyage is SE'ly Trade Winds with at frontal passage enroute and then localized weather as one approaches the Australian Coast. One always keeps a weather eye on the Coral Sea area for a Low that may form. I have found it informative and comforting to pay Bob McDavitt, the preeminent weather ambassador and guru for New Zealand, to plan out and update the weather while we are underway. This allows me to concentrate on other details of the voyage and I know that no unexpected Low is going to appear out of nowhere: The cost is negligible. I get weather updates everyday until we arrive at our destination.
With all this in mind, we departed Noumea, New Caledonia on Thursday October 10, 2013 at 0800 hrs local time (UTC +11). The wind was out of the SE at 15-20 kts. As soon as we got out into the bay, we set the mainsail and genoa. Inside the lagoon the sailing is great with a fresh wind and no sea. Once clear of the lagoon, the ocean swell is upon us from the SE with a 6-7' swell on the port quarter. Our course for Brisbane is 249 T degrees. Since the wind is blowing off our port quarter we are on the Port Tack. This type of terminology has importance in the "Rules of The Road" which defines who is the "stand-on vessel" and who is the "give-way" vessel. As evening approaches, I always reef down (reduce sail) for the night as the ubiquitous squalls start to make up and increase the wind in puffs and spurts with an occasional strong gust. It's better to have all this prepared so that I don't have to work the fore-deck by reefing sail at night in a pitching-rolling sea.
On the second day out, our wonderful SE Trade Wind started to back into the E and then the ENE and die out to 5-8 kts. This is very light wind and on the stern which puts us into a "running before the wind " position. It's impossible to keep the mainsail up with these light winds and a big swell because the sail starts to roll out the wind and slat back and forth. So we pole out the genoa on one side to keep it stable and a staysail off the other side and run downwind. We can make about 4 kts with this configuration in light winds._
By the third day the wind had disappeared and we had to start motoring. For the next two days we tinkered around with very little wind and sail change configurations and no wind and motoring. On Monday October 14th the wind backed around to the NW15kts and was a harbinger to the passage of an approaching frontal system. We're sailing beautifully in this wind and making 6 kts. By 1600 hrs we could see the frontal system approaching and had been given a "heads up" from another cruiser to the south of us that the system is packing 40-60 kt gusts from the SW. I drop all sails and motor through the frontal passage which happens at 1700 hrs. It has a terrific wallop but doesn't last very long. The winds go from SW >S > SE. We set sail and enjoy a favorable point of sail all the way to the Brisbane Sea Buoy. The distance from the Brisbane Sea Buoy to the Customs, Immigration and Quarantine dock in Brisbane is 48 nm. We arrived at the Sea Buoy and reported out position to the Australian Coast Guard at 0800 hrs. The wind had come around to the NE and was blowing 15-20 kts. By noontime there was a "strong wind" warning out for Moreton Bay and the Brisbane River and the wind increased to 30-35 kts. It was so strong that we were able to motor against an Ebb Tide in the River and still make 5 kts. By the time we made fast to the Custom's dock it was blowing so strongly that, after clearing, they gave us permission to spend the night there until the following day. Rivergate Marina is right at the Custom's dock so we were able to shift into a berth the following morning before the wind picked up again. The "strong wind" warning remained in effect for 2 days so we stayed at the marina until Sunday.
We have made friends with many cruisers but Bruce and Marcelle Parsons on "Adventure Bound" have become especially good friends. We first met them in the San Blas Islands on the eastern side of Panama in January 2012 while we had John and Karin Warner from "Auburn Angle" aboard sailing with us in the San Blas. Since then we have put a lot of sea miles under our keels and met in many different places: Galapagos, Tahiti, Tonga, New Zealand and now Australia. It is because of this friendship that we have chosen to leave "Solstice" at East Coast Marina in Manly (27-27.5' S x 153-11.4' E). Manly is about 20 nm down the Brisbane River to the south. It is a very well protected marine basin with several different marina complexes. Our friends, Bruce and Marcelle, live-aboard at the marina and will look after our boat while we are in the States from December to April. Bruce came to Rivergate Marina to accompany us down the Brisbane River to Manly and get us safely situated in our berth: 13B. We left Rivergate Marina at 0900 hrs and were "all fast" at East Coast Marina Manly at 1330 hrs. It was a very pleasant trip and we were able to sail some of it as well as motor sailing.
So here we are in Manly, Australia on the Queensland Coast waiting out the cyclone season. Manly is a small quaint little town that is part of the greater Brisbane City area. It reminds me of a small coastal New England town. The marina complex is quite large and I would estimate at least one thousand yachts at the various facilities. The little bit that we have see of Brisbane impressed us with some of the scenery along the River. There is an area called the "Cliffs" where one sees people scaling the tall cliffs with mountain climbing gear. The cliffs are over 150' high and straight up. Just across from this side of the River are the Botanical Gardens. We haven't seen them yet. This area experiences a strong sea breeze on most days. It's calm in the morning but the wind starts to increase around 1100 hrs and lasts until nighttime. It's hot but not too humid. We have a lot to see and learn about Australia. There is a beautiful tree in bloom called the Jacaranda: purple flowers. It is stunningly beautiful. We had a picnic in one of the parks and there were several different kinds of birds: Ibis, magpies and some we couldn't identify.
Brisbane could qualify as a candidate for the 53rd State. It has all of the American food chains and restaurants in it's big modern shopping mall and complexes. It feels and looks like so many places in the USA that sometimes I feel like I'm back there. The place is so totally modern that one would have to choose a place like Atlanta or New York to make a comparison. The standard of living is very high here and overall living expenses are more that in the USA: A small apartment or flat costs about $500. per week. Many Aussies live on boats to avoid the renting expense. I believe the overall grocery expense is not more than in New Zealand and the meat is cheaper. I saw kangaroo meat for the first time in a supermarket. It has a slightly darker and redder appearance that regular beef. At some point, I'll have a chance to taste it.
We'll that's about it for now until I can update with some more sailing/travelling news.
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