Not so good....
We left Yate and the wind really blew once we were out in the open. We had to tack our way down South and around the bottom of Grande Terre. It was a thumping, bumping ride with a fairly big sea running. The top of the Dan bouoy (Man Overboard Flag) snapped off and was lost in the depths. It is fairly criminal how poorly made is some of this safety equipment. Plastic where there should be metal.
Anyway, we were pleased to get down to the Havannah Passage. You will recall that last time, the current was hard against us as we exited, despite our planning using the chart tables. So, this time, we used the Electronic Chart (C-Map) tables. They showed what we actually experienced the first time, so we thought they should be okay. But no, we got down there and first encountered nasty over-falls (breaking white water) with a very heavy set of current against us. We were doing a crisp 6.6kts through the water but only 1.3kts over the ground! The Goro lighthouse appeared stationary. A Frenchman we had spoken with had experienced the same- plenty of wind and engine at full throttle but only doing 2kts!
So, we decided to use the engine as well. This turned out to be a mistake. We got up to about 1.8kts, but then the engine slowed and died! We were back to about one knot. Fortunately, it6 was very windy (about 25kts) and we were able to make slow progress while compensating for the sideways drift towards the reef. If the wind had dropped away, we would have turned around and headed back out to sea. So, there was no real danger- just some frustration.
After about an hour, our speed started to pick up and the Goro lighthouse receded. We sailed into Port Boise and uneventfully anchored under sail. It took about 5hrs to find the problem. All the bouncing had stirred up muck in the bottom of the fuel tank and the fuel line and one of the fuel filters were partially blocked. So the engine would run at idle but not fast. On top of that, a bleed screw broke off on the engine and we had to make a new one.
Anyway, finally all was well and the motor tested successfully. In 9 years, it has only left us in the lurch twice previously- once with a similar problem and once when sea water got forced into the engine via the exhaust pipe (this can no longer happen).
The next day, because Port Boisie was so muddy (from heavy rain), we went to Baie de la Tortue (Bay of the turtle) which is very protected from the strong wind. We went ashore and met a Kanak lady who is caretaker. It is a very pleasant and modern resort but it closed down 6 years ago. The lady's dog, Mia, attached herself to us. The resort is immaculate but empty- what a waste! We walked across the disused and overgrown airstrip trying to find a path up the hills to old Jade mines and came across a Kanak resort which is also moth balled. Then we met another Kanak lady and her three children & five dogs. Unfortunately, David had left the balloons back at the boat, so no balloons for the kiddies. Three more dogs attached themselves to us. So, now we had four dgs! Very well behaved and they loved walking with us.
Next, at the bottom end of the island, we found another small settlement of one family. There, a white cat attached itself to the menage. Walking back, with four dgs and one cat in tow, we came across three fairly large venomous sea snakes, slithering along the path. We all ignored one another!
Finally, we pushed through trees and underbrush to the abandoned Jade mine and had good views of the Southern lagoon.
Here at the anchorage, we were joined by an Italian yacht. Mauro, the owner, is on his second trip around the world. This is his eleventh yacht(!!!) and is called Spartivento. All his boats have had the same name. As well as this expensive looking yacht, he also has a 55ft catamaran back home (50% French Riviera and 50% Italy). Clearly, money is not a problem.....
Tomorrow, sadly, we are back to Noumea, laundry services, restaurants etc.
All the best,
Dave & Penny
