Arrived Port of Brisbane 1830. Cleared customs and a couple of bottles of red...biosecurity in the AM and then off to Manly. It's great to be home!

Seas and wind calming after unpleasant 25 knots NW abeam and short 2.5m sea. Hove to for a chicken curry dinner!

Are we there yet?

Clear sky, 10 knots from the North, expected to increase a little overnight.

Clear sky, 1-5 knots of breeze, mostly E, motor sailing. Fairly flat sea.

Clear sky, 10 knots on the port quarter, motor sailing. Sea sloppy 1m swell.

A lovely clear sky, reaching in 15 knots. Sea still sloppy 2m swell.

Beginning the first night watch. Wind 15-20 on the beam, sloppy sea with 2m swell expected to improve tomorrow.

On our way!

Moored at Ile Laregnere tonight. Leaving for Brisbane at first light Tuesday 24th.

Back in Noumea. Kea Lani will stay in Port Moselle while we fly back to Brisbane. Plan to return in late July to continue exploring New Caledonia.

Motored from Ile des Pins to Amedee Island through an area of uncharted reef and got some practice at reef spotting. Caught two good sized Wahoo on the way!

Arrived Amedee Island at 1500, just in time to climb to the top of the Phare Amedee lighthouse. 54m tall, the equivalent of 15 stories and an amazing view. Gorged ourselves on Wahoo...and the freezer is now full again. Snorkelling next morning was fantastic. An excellent last adventure before flying back to Brisbane.

Our last full day at Ile des Pins and we made the most of it! Diane, Neil and Carolyn scaled Pic N'ga, the highest point on the island at 262m. Dean checked out the snorkelling scene and then all 4 of us joined him for a snorkel in Kanumera Bay. Lovely day!

Anchored in Baie de Kuto, Ile des Pins. On Wednesday 31/5 we embarked on part 2 of the journey: playtime in New Caledonia!

Motored from Port Moselle, Noumea southeast to Bonne Anse, Baie de Prony. Lovely peaceful anchorage. Dinghied to the bright red scoria beach and walked up to the 189m lighthouse on Cap Ndoua for a great view. Then went for a snorkel...fantastic coral, giant clams, parrot fish. Even though the day was overcast and the water a bit murky, the snorkelling compared favourably to snorkelling in the Whitsundays. Decided we are going to enjoy this place!

Thursday motored to Ile des Pins. Along the way we travelled over many reefs. As we crossed the first, Laurie said "we're going to get bites on both trolling rods now." Two minutes later both lines started reeling out super fast. A good sized tuna came up head only and on the other line something bit off the hook. It may be a good thing we didn't catch whatever was hunting the tuna! At the next reef Dean found another big fish to play with. He landed it after 20 minutes of fun but as it was a "Mac" tuna (not good eating) we let it go about its business.

We are now anchored in the lovely Baie de Kuto: long white beaches of pristine superfine sand, bright green water. As soon as the anchor was down we jumped off the bows and swam to shore. The "pins" the island is named for line the horizon -- like slender Norfolk Island Pines, and the foreshore is a mixture of palms and broader leafed trees. Di and Neil explored on shore, the rest of us had a lazy afternoon then met them for drinks at the local beach bar. Back to Kea Lani for Laurie's delicious marinated tuna steaks and a few rums.

Today's itinerary includes exploring on shore and snorkelling...but only if the clever fellows we have on board figure out how to drive the dinghy with the gearshift lever on the outboard busted.

Picked up a mooring in Anse Majic (Magic Anchorage) in Recif de Bonne Anse, Baie Est, Baie de Prony at midday. Walked up to Cap N'Doua lighthouse: 189m. Soil is bright red and rocky, made the ascent and descent challenging but the view was well worthwhile. Went snorkelling at the entrance to Baie Est. Fantastic coral! So happy to be cruising with this great bunch of people.

Crossed Boulari pass (Passe Nord) at 0730, berthed at Port Moselle Marina by 1100 hours. Enjoying the ambience of the quarantine dock in full view of passers by.

Crossed the Gold Coast bar in perfect conditions with the 20 or so other yachts on the Down Under Go East rally. Next stop Noumea!

Anchored in Bums Bay just inside the Gold Coast seaway eager for a 7am bar crossing and on our way to Noumea!

Berthed at RQYS Manly waiting for a good weather window to sail to New Caledonia with the Down Under Go East Rally.