6 weeks to go!

It has been a while since my last post and I normally revisit my blog when we return to bossa nova ready for next new ‘adventure’.

But … this year the ‘adventure’ is somewhat more adventurous … we are sailing to New Caledonia and Vanuatu!

So while we are home and our boat is in Queensland, we have been busy with preparation.  Apart from the general routine maintenance, we have also had to get our heads around what is needed for overseas sailing.  The lists are long!

When we returned from Boatworks back in November 2016, we did come back with a lot to think about.  The Go East Rally information session was inspiring and exciting.  So much so, that five or six boats we knew were also quite interested.  While it was easy to get carried away at the time by the hype, we felt we really needed make our decision as late as possible.  Money needed to be spent and my back had been giving me grief for most of our 2016 trip so a few things needed to be ticked off.

A bit of information about the Rally …

The Go East Rally is for vessels interested in cruising to New Caledonia and Vanuatu in company.  It is a destination rally offering information, support and weather routing.  We have to be ready to depart the Gold Coast (Boatworks) on May 11^th for Noumea, New Caledonia.  So far 23 yachts have signed up, some of whom we know.  It will take 5-7 days to get to Noumea, weather dependent.

“Visit New Caledonia and live the dream”

Here’s our 10 reasons why we are going …

1. New Caledonia is close to Australia and a tropical paradise
2. It’s an adventure, but one we know we have to be well prepared for
3. We have several friends going so the company will be great
4. It is the largest lagoon in the world with lots of close anchorages
5. Stunning scenic beauty in and out of the water
6. New Cal’ has one the best climates, made even more perfect by the colors of the lagoon and islands in the sunshine
7. New Cal’ is well set up for cruising yachts with excellent navigation markers and interactive cruising guides
8. Noumea caters for cruising with marinas and on-shore marine facilities
9. Vanuatu is not far away and having visited once by plane, we hoped we might return via the water one day

… and

10. The Go East Rally is here to help!