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Published: October 29th 2008
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Dead Calm
Outside Chesterfield Reef We left Vanuatu with light winds and a moderate sea…it did not stay that way for long. By day two we had 20 kts on the beam and four meter waves coming from the same direction. We had waves smashing into the side of the boat and a few making it into the cockpit. We even had water cascade into the saloon…who forgot to close the hatch??? By day three things had started to lighten up with the wind and waves behind us so we poled out wing and wing…very nice. We put the fishing line out and caught a big male dorado. He had plenty of fight and could not quiet get him onto the back scoop before he finally worked his way free. We were both happy to see him go as he was a magnificent fish. By the fourth night, the wind had completely dropped out with flat seas. We motored through the night to Chesterfield Reef. We had heard wonderful things about the reef but had some hesitation as the French Navy were in the area and we did not have prior permission to stop. There were currently 7 yachts anchored but had been given prior permission
before leaving New Caledonia.
Fortunately, the day we arrived, they were busy playing war games or maybe they wanted to be back in Noumea for the weekend. They departed that afternoon without visiting us. Chesterfield reef is a coral atoll with a few tiny islands located around its circumference & surrounded by turquoise water. We anchored near three islands connected by a sand bar. As we arrived the wind started to pick up. We jumped in for a quick swim. Si checked the anchor saw a sea snake and stung by stingers....just a bit of a deterrent for me.
After a quick lunch, we couldn’t wait to get to shore. On the way we stopped to say hi to the crew on Reflection (Mark and Juliet) and ended up staying for a few tinnies (they were practicing their Aussie slang) and a bottle of wine. We finally made it to shore and was amazed at the bird life. Boobies are nested all along the beach. The boobies are either black or white with different colour beaks and feet…we even saw a red footed boobie. They are nesting at present and the baby boobies are very cute and fluffy.
We also saw a number of large turtles. On the second day we landed the dingy close to several large sea turtles that were very close to shore. There was a lot of shells, flippers, heads going in every direction…then it occurred to us what was going on…it was turtle mating season though there seemed to be about four turtles trying to get in on the action. We found it fascinating, particularly when the female rolled onto the shore as the tide was coming in. She was a big girl and certainly knew how to handle herself. We collected some great shells, tormented some crabs and had sun downers on the beach with the other yachties. Unfortunately the weather was fairly windy and the water was cold (in comparison to Vanuatu) so didn't get another chance to snorkel though I am sure it would have been spectacular.
After two nights we set sail for the home run to Bundaberg. We had two days of good wind. At one stage we had a 2 knot current against us but as we where doing 8 to 9 knots, it didn’t matter too much. We even managed to catch a nice dorado
& this one didn’t get away. We decided that it is easier to let him them drag behind the boat for a few extra minutes before trying to pull him in. It was now day eight and we were on the home straight with only 100nm to go however somebody turned off the wind (but the GRIBs showed 12knts) ……back to Motor Yacht Woodsia…. we really wanted to finish the trip under sail. As we neared Bundy and into Curtis Channel we had a few blows that didn’t last long so we motored into Bundy. It was a very emotional experience as though we were excited to be coming home; it marked the end of a fantastic year. The only consolation is that we plan to do it all over again in a few years time and spend more time in one place so we can get a real feel for the country.
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