Pete .......
It's so much hotter here and yesterday we really felt it. We will have to re-acclimatise before doing too much!.
Yesterday, 10am Fliss called up the port authorities asking if we could go into the visitors berth to clear customs & immigration and he told us to come in. We berthed alongside Nordersund whom we had maintained radio contact with during the passage and I went into the office and was promptly told to leave as there was no space.... anyway whilst I was gone a lady came on board to give us quarantine clearance, she took all our potatoes (sack full), 30 eggs, apples, oranges, onions, bacon & honey, she left us some tatties for dinner, bacon, eggs for supper and told us we must boil the eggs and pots in the their skins.... we reckon they have a deal going on as food here is so expensive. Fliss asked if they burned the food but they said that they heat treat the food and then dispose of it. I think that this means that they will cook it and then eat it!! We told her that we had been told to leave and she had a word with the port captain who then agreed to help us out. I think she felt guilty about clearing us out of nosh. Other cruisers said we should have hidden the food but we're nervous that if customs turned and found food that we hadn't declared then we would either be chucked out or fined.
Everything in town was closed so we had a wander around and then headed back to Naz where I grovelled around in the bilges to clean out the popcorn that had spilled there and then rinsed the bilges out to get rid of the wine that had leaked from a bladder and was causing the gas alarm to go off!
Later on today we'll go back into town to replenish the stocks that were taken - maybe we will be able to find our own stores on-sale in the market?? Then, off to the chandlers for stuff to fix Naz.
Once we're sorted we'll head off to other anchorages to see the sights, hopefully get some snorkelling in.
Noumea Harbour
20th May 2008
Pete .......
We woke up in the middle of Monday night with a fresh breeze blowing straight through the harbour entrance bringing a nasty little chop directly in on us. After a bouncy night, we upped anchor immediately and set off on a broad reach under headsail only to Baie de Prony. With 6 knots through the water, we were also lifted by the outgoing tide so that, as we went through Canal Woodin, we were doing over 8 knots.
We are now anchored at the head of Baie de Prony (22 degrees 18 South, 166 degrees 50 East) where there is said to be a waterfall and hot springs - we are just about to go and investigate.
In the meantime, the old autopilot now has a new extension wire and a new, beefier, socket. The gantry for the autopilot/Aries is in the middle of modification and new ropes are being prepared for new boom prevention that will run through new permanent blocks that will be bolted through the deck. It will take a few days to get al this done since we are trying to also see a little bit of New Caledonia whilst we are here.
Baie de Prony
22nd May 2008
Pete .......
Well, it is really nice here at the ahead of the bay of Prony. The hot springs were not so hot but the waterfalls cascading down the hillsides to the high tide line in this sheltered inlet are beautiful and no too cold to have a good jacuzzi in.
Fresh Water Jacussi
We decided to go to the entrance of the bay today and upped anchor at about 13:00. I reversed a bit and then put the engine ahead to motor out down the river. Suddenly, there was a loud mechanical rattling and we immediately dropped the anchor again to investigate. An Austrian couple are in the anchorage and the man came over to help out. At first we thought it was a dropped valve but all seems ok there from what we could see after taking the rocker cover off. Turning the engine over using the battery (without fuel) sounds ok but when it runs with fuel it makes a horrendous noise. I think it is one of the big-ends.
Looks like we will have to wait for clement weather to get out of this bay and off to Noumea under sail. We will probably have to tow ourselves out with the dinghy until the channel widens enough to sail - hopefully our Austrian friend can help with that operation.
Fliss ........
Pete emailed his Dad (British Base Co-ordinator Extrordinairre) to ask if he would research Volvo agents in Noumea,. Thankfully Alan came up trumps and gave us a number of agent in Noumea.
Pete ......
Looking at the guarantee information, it seems that, in order to get my 3rd year warrantee, I should have had an Extended Protection service last month. The two year warranty ran out on the 10th this month. I am hoping to tell them that the engine started making a disturbing rattling sound just before leaving NZ but we had to leave with the weather. Afterwards, it seemed to just sound a bit tappity (which, in fact, it has) and we thought that it was ok at least till we got to Aus. I hope that Volvo will then do repairs under the warranty.
In the meantime, we are stuck up the river without a paddle and waiting for the right wind (or none at all) to get ourselves outta here!
23rd May 2008
Fliss .......
Woke up this morning to dead calm conditions so Pete & I decided to get out before the winds picked up.
As we prepared the dinghy to tow us out our Austrian friend appeared and offered to strap his dinghy to the side of Naz for extra power.
With both dinghy's pulling we managed 3 knots and once we were into a wide stretch of the river our friend said goodbye, we upped sails and headed towards the entrance to Canal Woodin.
Our plan is to pick up a buoy and wait for a weather window to head back to Noumea.
Pete .....
With no engine it meant that Fliss had to jump in the dinghy taking a rope from Naz to attach us onto the buoy, all went according to plan and she didn't get run over by Naz.
Whilst sitting on the buoy we noticed our friends Ian & Cathy sailing past. They eventually
spotted us and sailed over.
They said that they would return in a few days to accompany us back to Noumea & tow if necessary.
Ariel in Baie de Prony
Fliss....
I was going to go snorkelling until Ian (skipper from Ariel) told me about a girl who went diving just off the reef, anyway she got swept further out by the current and ended up being harassed by sharks.. they kept bumping into her and were starting to get aggressive luckily she was rescued before she became shark meat, apparently Tiger Sharks are a real problem in New Caledonia.
We watched a large fish leap 6 foot out of the water yesterday, they only do that if they are being chased. It was big so what ever was chasing it was bigger!!!! needless to say we kept out of the water.
28th May 2008
Pete....
We had a couple of days effort to get back to Noumea in very light winds. We managed 7 miles the first day and then the remaining 20-odd miles the next. Ariel (Ian and Cathy) accompanied us just in case we needed help and they towed us for about 3 hours across the millpond in order to get to Noumea before dark. Luckily, the breeze arrived and we managed to get the cruising chute out and get back a couple of hours before sundown. Yesterday, the engineers came aboard and diagnosed disintegration of the clutch damper mechanism. Never heard of it myself.
Under Tow
Fliss....
Pete & I have done so much sailing that normally if the wind dies and we aren't making 4 knots we would put the engine on. We had a great time playing with Naz in light winds and actually enjoyed just ghosting along.
We feel a little on pressure as we don't have a lot of time until we have to be in Cairns to meet Holly. Worse comes to the worse we'll have to run straight for Cairns which would be a terrible pity as we wanted to have a look at the Whitsunday Islands. Fingers crossed we can get the parts quickly and we're not seriously delayed.
Pete.....
Today, I rang Phillippe and he told me that the warranty had expired. I went to his office and we agreed that the problem started in NZ but since my visa had expired and there was a superb weather window, I had to leave with a dodgy noise coming from the engine. The part is due here on Monday and we lift out at 14:00 on Tuesday. The fix should only take 24 hours and then we re-launch and grab the next opportunity to go to Aus. Fingers crossed that it all goes as smoothly as planned! Phillipe Johnston has been a real gem so far and speaks good English.
29th May 2008
Pete...............
I typed up a letter saying that our problem started just before leaving NZ (whilst still under warranty) and stated that we had to leave regardless due to my visa having expired and the perfect weather window presenting itself.
We went over to Nouvelle Plaisance and spoke to the Capitanerie about our haul out. They confirmed that they had received instruction to haul us out at 14:00 on Tuesday and we are now hoping that the firm trade winds that have appeared will dissipate before then. With the arrival of a breeze, we are not so concerned about our battery condition - we have been working on sunshine-only since the engine failed.
Fliss...
The Capitanerie was a very sexily dressed young lady, full & heavy make up, low cut disco top & very tight sprayed on trousers with knee high white high heeled boots. Pete and I couldn't help but laugh as we compared her to the Crusty old sea dogs that you see at home.
Pete.................
I am now trying to organise a surveyor that will be acceptable to our prospective new insurers so that we can get that job done whilst we are ashore. Two birds with one stone. Also, I can find a man in the boatyard to straighten a couple of bent stanchions whilst we are there.
Whilst we wait, we can fit new turning blocks for new boom-preventers (do the job properly this time), sand-down some areas and start varnishing and also make a properly fitted mossie net in the front cabin. A shame that we will not see too much of New Caledonia but we can still fill our time.
Yesterday, an American motored over in his dinghy and told us to ensure that our dinghy was locked to the boat overnight due to thieving here. He lives in Noumea and asked whether we would like to join him on Sunday for a tour around the area overland. We are looking forward to a change of scenery.
1st June 2008
Fliss....
Richard & Freddy (Mr & Mrs 65+) picked us up at 9am to go for our hike. Joining us for the walk were another couple again in their 60's. The walk was lovely through the mountains, the soil and rocks are deep copper red the rivers & waterfalls are crystal clear & not that cold. Anyway they stopped and said that it was a lunch stop a lovely spot by the river.
Freddie said that she was going for a swim and I said it was a shame as I hadn't brought my swimming costume.... No problem she said as if we didn't have ours they wouldn't wear theirs! so all four of them got undressed and jumped into the river butt naked..... Pete & I didn't know where to look!!!! the problem was that we would have to do the same!!! Pete went 1st as he doesn't have such an issue with nudity and I followed after 5 minutes of working myself up to it. We have great respect for them as they really do live life to the full!
Richard is a photographer and does all the tourist web sites for New Cal & the other islands... so we posed for him (with clothes on) by the river.... he showed us the picces last night and they are excellent (only two) so Pete and I are famous and will appear on the promotional DVD's for here!!!! we had to sign to say that we were happy for him to use the pictures... We can hear Hollywood beckoning!!!!!
We're getting towed into the lift out slip at 1pm and then lifted at 2pm... they have the parts but Customs are on strike (Bloody French) not what we wanted to hear! The clock is still ticking! & even after the work is done we still have to wait for the right weather window & according to GRIB files it could be in a weeks time, here's hoping that we can be ready to leave.
4th June 2008
Pete ..........
Yesterday, the tow turned up half an hour late but still delivered us on time at 8 knots. The chap neatly turned the nose through the wind and slotted us into the lifting bay like a baby. We were immediately lifted and set down within minutes.
The Surveyor was already there and looked over Nadezhda but my thoughts were that he did not really know what he was looking for/at - we shall see what the report looks like.
The engineers turned up at 06:30 this morning and soon had the gearbox moved away and the clutch taken out. I don't know too much about this type of clutch but it had a circular solid disk with a damping mechanism strapped to the back. A smaller disk was welded to the main disk by small tabs and had completely come away. The only reason that I could see that it would be there was to add additional weight to the main disk. Anyway, the entire disk plus dampers was replaced and the new part had a bulkier main disk and no additional 'strap-on'. So it appears that the original was a bit of a design bodge and the new part has rectified this.
We put a couple of coats of antifoul on today and had a steady stream of visitors (even though we are a distance from town) wanting to know how we are getting on. Very pleasant.
We launch at 07:30 tomorrow morning (Thursday) and it is likely that this really means 07:00 or earlier. Just a bit of antifoul where the props are fitted and we are away after the engineers have tested the repair.
We are looking to get away to Aus sometime early next week. It looks like there will be a large high coming through underneath us to kick the trades into the right direction but we shall know more closer to the time..
Whew! Let's hope that the fix works and we are sorted.
5th June 2008
Pete ................
We were lowered into the water at the precise time and the engineers were there to check that the repairs were ok. There was still a hammering sound coming from the engine and they really should have checked it out before we tried to re-launch (like I suggested). The problem was due to them replacing washers that are no longer needed in the new design of clutch. The heads of the fixing nuts were therefore too proud and were knocking against a mini-flywheel as the damper took out the vibration at idle speed - after finding the problem and then calling Volvo, they removed the washers and a test ashore sounded good before launching "encore un fois" at 13:00. The problem now appears to be fixed
Yesterday was busy with gas cylinder recharging and some provisioning as well as other odds and sods and tidying-up. The yacht services place gave us an 11kg cylinder and a high pressure hose and told us to go and fill our bottles. This involves hanging the large bottle upside down, connecting to our own bottles and opening both valves and waiting. We put a wet tee-shirt over the receiving bottle to keep it cool and encourage the flow. It takes about 3-4 hours for each fill. We also made-up a connector to fit our Calor bottles and now have those full as well. It is now a problem of storing them on deck since we don't have sealed storage space for them. A heavy duty plastic bag should suffice and some good cordage holding them to stanchions should do the trick.
We did not have any time to straighten stanchions but it can wait until Australia.
The surveyors report had all the right headings but was a bit light on detail with no criticisms at all. It mentioned areas that he had not even inspected such as the through hull fittings, sails etc etc etc stating that they were all in good working order. There are a couple of errors in the report but I will correct them and explain to the insurers that these were a result of language barrier, typo and translation.
There is no news from Volvo about their view. I don't expect any and as long as they pay for everything then I don't really care!! The paint was bought locally for the antifouling and will simply add to what was already there. The Aussies will be pleased because they can force you to slip and antifoul professionally on arrival if you have a dirty bum. The paint was expensive as usual but worth doing whilst we were out of the water.
We prepared to leave New Caledonia. The wind turned around to the West and a friend told us that the other side of the bay would be better sheltered and so we moved there (a nice sheltered spot near some moorings) until we decided to leave yesterday. We went with Ian and Cathy on "Ariel" to go to customs then immigration and finally the port captain to check out of Noumea and then returned to the boat to leave. We hauled up the mainsail and then started to pull up the anchor and found that it was immovably fixed to the bottom. After a few goes at shifting it, Ariel came past and offered advice and a short length of chain to slide down our cable to try to get the anchor pulled out backwards. After about 2 hours, we told Ariel to get going since we would have to call a diver to sort it out. I had already tried free-diving on the anchor but the water was too mucky to see and too deep to get all the way down to the bottom. After about another hour and a half, the diver turned up and told us that we were stuck on the biggest concrete mooring block in the harbour. We slackened the chain and he unwound us in no time at all.
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