Noumea

On Tuesday, October 18 the winds were so strong that we were virtually able to sail into Port Moselle Marina at around 3pm. It was our first visit to a marina since leaving Panama five months ago. We managed to squeeze into our marina berth in fairly strong winds but unfortunately sustained a scrape on our starboard side as the wind pushed us onto the dock before we had secured the lines. The sailor who invented fenders was a total genius and luckily for us we have a lot on board to protect our boat and other large objects in these situations. Within 2 hours we had cleared immigration, quarantine and customs. Unfortunately quarantine confiscated all our fresh fruit and vegetables as well as a freezer full of meat. If the meat wasn’t purchased in New Zealand or Australia it wasn’t permitted into New Caledonia. We were both really tired from our journey so we secured Faraway and had a power nap. We were meeting Arthur Jackson later that evening so after our sleep we decided to explore the cosmopolitan city and get a bite to eat. The weather was cold and rainy and for the first time in a year we pulled out our jumpers and rugged up. We had a tourist map and walked along fairly dark streets looking for a place to eat. After a lot of walking we didn’t see anything that caught our eye or it was too expensive so Ian decided that McDonalds would be the best option. I wasn’t too keen because I had read about all the beautiful French style cafes and restaurants that were in Noumea and thought we had hit rock bottom with this dining option. We soon found out we had. Ian left me to try and order in French and he went off to find a quiet table outside. I secured the fast food and found Ian but within moments a guy sat at the next table and started rambling on in French. We couldn’t understand what he was talking about but this was probably a good thing. During the course of our meal he got louder and louder and the customers started to sit elsewhere except for 2 young guys who came and sat on the table in front of us. We were eating pretty quickly because we had to meet Arthur at his hotel. Ian had almost finished and I was certainly keen to leave when the young guy in front of us sneezed in our direction. Ian exclaimed ‘good shot mate’ as he wiped moisture from his hand and fries. There was no apology and it certainly brought a rapid end to my meal so we both got up and left to be met around the corner in a dark street by a guy wanting money for a taxi fare home. At this point I was still hungry, tired and not in the mood for obliging him so we politely made our excuses and took off for a well lit street. The thought struck me that being out at sea was probably a more pleasant option then being back in an urban environment. We met Arthur at around 9:45pm and he was happy to see us. We had a quick catch up and a beer and arranged to meet him the next morning. He had a good flight except for a missing bag that we were able to track down later before sailing. Wednesday and Thursday was spent mainly provisioning for food and liquid refreshments. The bread and cheese were deliciously French and we bought fresh fruit and vegetables from the markets. We also bought some lovely tuna at the fish market and that evening Arthur cooked a delicious meal for us all. We have now finished all our other odd jobs such as washing down the boat and getting the laundry done. Tomorrow we set sail early for the Isle de Pines. We will snorkel, scuba dive and relax there until we get a good weather window for the passage to Australia.