September 19, 2009

Bound for Opua
At 9:00 this morning, Saturday Sept 19 we picked up the anchor from Port Morelle in Noumea, New Caladonia, and are now on our way to Opua, NZ. The breeze is as predicted, East at about 10 knots, so we're reaching across the big lagoon at a bit over 5 knots boat speed, on nearly flat water. It will take a couple of hours to reach the reef pass out to the ocean. The distance to Opua is a bit over 900 miles. Norfolk Island is on the direct course, at about the halfway point, but we don't intend to stop there. There is no secure anchorage there, so visiting boats must leave at least one capable crew on board all the time, in case conditions require re-anchoring. The island does, however, offer a place to hide in the lee if we should have to wait out a turn of bad weather. The present prediction is for a light air passage to the vicinity of Norfolk, and then a building wind and sea for the next 3 or 4 days into NZ. It may get up to 30 knots, but the direction is expected to be a bit behind the beam so we can make good time with very little sail set. Just might be uncomfortable. We shall see. More to come....Ted