In my last post I mentioned we were heading out to sea. We have just spent the last seven days in the Southern section of the Great Barrier Reef, at the Capricorn and Bunker Groups of islands. Why haven’t we visited here before??!! I suppose Lady Musgrave Island counts, but I also think perhaps we are… Read More »
I hope I haven’t bored my readers with this endless collection of underwater snaps yet?! We are venturing out to the southern section of the Great Barrier Reef very early this morning. Maybe more underwater photos that even “gazump” this collection? There will be no phone reception out there so my next post will be… Read More »
Snorkeling has become my number one activity when I’m on The Bossa. I’ve mentioned how disappointing and sad the state of the Great Barrier Reef is around the Whitsundays. The silt and algae, along with the damaged coral, will be having a big impact on the tourism there. However, back south, here at GKI, it… Read More »
Each morning we get up in anticipation. The weather forecast! We are planning to hop down the coral cays of the Southern Great Barrier Reef with Take It Easy. We need light winds, clear sunny skies, neap tides, a low tide in the middle of the day and a favourable wind direction to get us… Read More »
We have arrived at Great Keppel Island (GKI). The northerlies finally arrived so several yachts departed the Whitsundays around the same time, all southward bound. I counted 30+ yachts in a few of our anchorages. It is approx. 200 nm from the Whitsundays to GKI so its usually a 4-day passage. We had a brilliant weather… Read More »
We hopped down south to Plantation Bay, Lindeman Island. An unexpected treat was another ‘last snorkel’. Little did I know I would finally see some Anemonefish. Here’s a few pics …
Friends (non-boating ones) often ask … “what do we do?” We sail, we fish, we read, we walk, we talk and we just love the cruising life. But, it’s the people we meet along the way that have the biggest impact on our cruising life. Lasting friendships are formed. We are beginning our southern journey… Read More »
My last snorkel in the Whitsundays! While the reef here is not what it used to be, there’s still plenty to see under the water. While the bottom is covered with a layer of brown murky sediment and the water somewhat cloudy, seeing the bright fish life and the new corals, is still my favourite… Read More »
It has been a rollercoaster ride over the last few weeks here in the Whitsundays. There are a few ‘safe havens’ in these waters. When the wind blows too hard, we yachties look for shelter (contrary to what some think … we don’t like strong wind either). Nara, Macona and Gulnare Inlets, along with Cid… Read More »
It’s so good to be back in the water. However to date, I’ve only managed to get to the fringing reef around the islands. The outer reef is hopefully not too far away … we are waiting on a ‘weather window’! The popular Whitsundays snorkeling spots here have been the likes of Blue Pearl Bay,… Read More »
Wow … Wow … Wow! We picked a day with a clear sky forecast and then a time with the sun overhead and also low tide. We booked a one-hour Reef and Islands flight out of Airlie Beach. The day was perfect with little wind and no clouds. My last experience on a small plane… Read More »
We have just enjoyed 12 days of glorious weather, but more importantly, 12 days of family time with Abbey on board. First stop … Whitehaven. THE best beach! After many visits to the Whitsundays over the years, on our last visit here in 2016 we actually visited a bay we hadn’t been to before. Waites Bay… Read More »
It has been a few weeks since my last post. We are anchored in Gulnare Inlet, near Hamilton Island, ready to collect Abbey tomorrow. We have had such a run of great weather. Clear blue skies, warm and gentle sailing breezes. We’ve even had super calm days without a breath of wind. We do treasure… Read More »
The big … While we have seen so many whales on our trip north this year, I’m still hoping for that ‘special’ shot of a whale breeching. We have seen some acrobatics, but way too far away. We’ve also had whales close, sometimes too close, but they’ve been simply heading north like us. We have… Read More »
Did you know … Magnetic Island was named by Captain Cook, whose compass played up when he sailed past in 1770? Visiting Horseshoe Bay on Magnetic Island is a bit like visiting a friend. Familiar, easy, friendly, secure, pretty and calm (its protected from most wind directions) … a ‘yachties paradise’ Neville would say. It is… Read More »
While our 2018 visit to the Whitsundays has been a brief one to date, we have already seen some of Cyclone Debbie’s destruction and the its lingering consequences. We stopped at Hamilton Island to re-provision, to South Molle Island for a walk to the lookout and we are now anchored off Gloucester Island, a favourite… Read More »
A perfect day for updating my blog! We are anchored at Shaw Island with Pas De Chat (pronounced pa—da-cha). It’s blowing 20+ knots so it’s a day on board, but we have blue skies and 24 degrees … and internet … so who’s complaining? We left The Narrows two weeks ago for Great Keppel Island. It… Read More »
Let’s mix it up. We think some of our blog ‘followers’ might enjoy this little side story. We are a sailing boat, so yes, we always want to sail. If we need to, we motor-sail, which is a combination of sailing and motoring (usually because there’s no wind). And then there’s motoring, which we don’t really want… Read More »
One of the bonuses of the cruising life is visiting places that are only accessible by water and are also not on the ‘tourist’ run. Yellow Patch on the northern side of Curtis Island not far from here comes to mind and also where we are now, Pancake Creek. The anchorage ‘hops’ up the east coast… Read More »
This is our fourth year on The Bossa and our third cruising the east coast. Our trip north this year began slightly differently … we joined friends at Byron Bay and celebrated my entry in to the next decade with a 3-day land interlude. (My biggest concern was spending this occasion under our boat with… Read More »
We are back! Not sure where we should call ‘home’ these days but sharing our time between our home on the Mornington Peninsula in Victoria AND on our catamaran bossa nova certainly works well for us. We have had discussions about one or the other … but we like it both ways! So after a grueling… Read More »
This will be my last post for 2017. With our cruising adventure now over, its time to enjoy our land life. I have added two links to my blog that may interest … My New Caledonia 2017 – Amanda’s Slideshow showcasing the lagoons of New Cal and the underwater life in photos … And Neville’s… Read More »
Welcome to … such a lovely place … We are back ‘home’ … at The Boatworks. It all started here way back in April and it’s finishing here too. Time for our 6 months’ adventure on land now. 3,500 nautical miles on the clock and 145 days away. 2017 will be remembered for the Go… Read More »
The Rumline to Bundy … yes I think a few rums were consumed by the guys on their return to Oz. Our “tribe” have all arrived now … Aqualibrium, Supa Trooper, Zofia, Easy Tiger, Sans Souci, Skellum and finally Cruising Kitty. All with stories to tell! I returned to The Bossa after my 10-day sojourn… Read More »
We are back in Australia! It certainly isn’t feeling like the tropics with constant heavy rain and strong winds here in Bundaberg. After I flew home home to visit family and catch up with friends, Neville and his crew sailed The Bossa from Santo, in Vanuatu, to Bundaberg, Australia. Sailing 1,000 miles, five days and… Read More »
We spent our first five days in Santo on a mooring in the ‘front yard’ of the Aore Resort on Aore Island, opposite Santo’s main town, Luganville. Bliss, no anchor to worry about. The Segond Channel that separates Aore Island and Luganville (our clearance port of departure) is extremely deep and with the current running… Read More »
We now have a timeline. My flight is booked for the 9th October and our two crew, Jim and Greg, are flying in to Santo on the 8th October. We always planned on approximately 30 days in Vanuatu and our 30 days are up on the 11th October. Neville has extended his 30-day visa; in… Read More »
Port Vila is one place we knew what to expect. In 2014 we visited with friends John and Denise BCP (before Cyclone Pam). We spent a very relaxing two weeks seeing the sights, with our friends showing us Efate by road (many of which we remember being in a state of disrepair as well as… Read More »
We are now at the island of Eramango, 50 miles from Tanna. Port Vila is next. As we entered Dillons Bay after a brisk sail with following seas (with our kite getting a gig), we were greeted by local ni-Van villagers in their dug-out canoes. Children and adults. Before long soccer balls and dinghy oil… Read More »
Cats in the Rally … By popular demand … Neville’s “unoriginal musical score with original words” performed to the tune of Harry Chapin’s ‘Cats in the Cradle’. Johnny Eyebrow planned a rally just the other day To sail to New Cal in the usual way But there were boats to prepare and bills… Read More »
Apart from the island of Tanna being one of the shortest passages to Vanuatu from New Caledonia, the main reason we chose Tanna as our destination, was its volcano, Mt. Yasur. Mt. Yasur is an active volcano and is accessible by 4WD followed by a short climb. Many of our rally yachts had already visited,… Read More »
We have arrived in Vanuatu! After 31 hours at sea, we entered Port Resolution on the island of Tanna in Vanuatu at 7 am. Sunday. Hearing the village roosters and seeing the steam rising from the cliffs, we knew we were in the right place. We had departed Ouvea at midnight on Friday so we… Read More »
Ouvea … Loyalty Islands We departed Toupeti at 5 am one week ago for the Loyalty islands, leaving Grande Terre behind us for the last time. It was a vigorous sail to Ouvea averaging 8.1 knots, arriving at midday, much earlier than we anticipated. Nothing better than a quick passage! Waow! Ouvea. Turquoise waters, 25… Read More »
After a few weeks of cruising with Easy Tiger, Sans Souci and Cruising Kitty, we all decided to share our New Cal photos. This came about when we got together one night after one of our walks. We ‘airdropped’ (a brilliant way to exchange photos thanks to Apple) each others photos to our various devices. … Read More »
I have found that every venture in to the clear blue water here in New Cal has offered something different. But a few things have been constant, making the barrier reef here quite exciting. The Grand Terre (mainland) is surrounded by its barrier reef creating a large lagoon. It’s the largest lagoon in the world… Read More »
Every stopover here in New Cal has something to offer, above and below the water. We only had an overnighter at Ilot Brosse, an island not far from Kuto and we didn’t snorkel, but we had a lovely beach for a walk and enjoyed one of the best sunsets so far from the beach. We… Read More »
We left Kuto on Ile des Pins this morning. A bit sad really. Amazing what a bit of peer pressure can do … we walked up the mountainous Pic N’ga Track (262 m), the island’s highest point. Fantastic views! We chose the day well as a cruise ship was in port, along with its 4,000… Read More »
I’ve learnt to spot my favourite clownfish now, by catching that flash of orange. Here at Gadji I’ve been lucky enough to see a variety of different species of clownfish. But a few snorkels ago, I spotted another fish that I have not seen before. It has the most amazing colorful patterns. It’s called a… Read More »
Gadji is such a beautiful spot! Has to be one the best anchorages we have not only seen in New Cal, but anywhere! We are back at Ile des Pins, anchored at Gadji in the ‘inner’ anchorage, with Sans Souci and Easy Tiger. It is times like these that we cats appreciate our shallow draft. … Read More »
We have spent the last few days in Baie de Prony – Ilot Casy and Anse Majic with Easy Tiger and Sans Souci. We have visited Prony before. It’s a picturesque bay with multiple anchorages for any weather, about a five-hour sail from Noumea. It is also the site of a large nickel mine that… Read More »
Thought it was time to mention Noumea. As my sister says, “Noumea strangely enough, grows on you”. Noumea has been our only port to restock, refuel and shop. While we have been keen to get in and out of there as quickly as possible, because there’s so many better places to visit, Noumea has served… Read More »
I am writing this post while sitting out a blow in Baie Uere, just south of Noumea. We have had a few glorious days of sunshine and calm waters, but we knew we needed a secure anchorage for last night as we had a forecast of 20-30 knots for today. Sure enough, it blew up,… Read More »
Ahhh … some good internet at last … What a difference the weather makes to a yachtie! Yes we like wind and we have had plenty of great sailing here. Many days of 15-20 knots. But this last week or so, we have also had what the brochure claims … South Pacific weather! Today was… Read More »
We have just spent a few glorious days below the water. Calm sunny weather and low tides in the middle of the day … perfect for snorkelling! We visited Ilot Signal and the Dumbea reef pass. Here’s a few pics, including captions. And also some photos of my ‘little’ fish. I chase these around, watch… Read More »
When we thought about joining the Go East Rally to New Caledonia this year, the deciding factor was that we knew some of the boats who were going. So out of 23 Rally boats, we already knew six. We now know a lot more! We have spent the last week or so exploring the islands… Read More »
I had all but decided I’d had enough snorkelling for the day, when we decided to try another reef nearby. I’m glad I did. This family of Nemo’s was unusually friendly. We weren’t in a tourist area so I’m sure they weren’t used to big bodied lugs like me, but a few of them didn’t… Read More »
We have had some sunny calm days lately. Time for some snorkeling. After a night on a mooring at Ile Maitre and a walk around the resort island, we motored to Ilot Kouen. A tiny little sandy islet surrounded by reef. We stayed two nights. The False Pass on the outer reef was only 20… Read More »
Ilot Casy is a tiny island in Baie du Prony, south of Noumea. What a great little spot. Sand, palm trees and clear water. After a few nights at Baie Ue (no these locations do not roll off the tongue) we looked at the weather (of course) and decided to drop in to Ilot Casy… Read More »
We have spent the majority of our time here in New Cal’ around Ile des Pins (Isle of Pines). We may have had more foresight than we realized. Not only did we see a beautiful island but we did luck some reasonable weather. We did enjoy Baie Kuto, visiting twice. The sand on this beach… Read More »
A few photos have been passed on to us … from our passage and our arrival party … Also, “congrats” to John Hembrow, our Downunder Go East Rally organiser. He has just won a Marine Award for his efforts.