"Stuck" in New Caledonia? I don't think so!

We're finally on our way to Australia, but our stay in New Caledonia stretched out from a few days (planned) to almost three weeks (definitely not planned). The primary reason was the weather, and our desire to make the final leg to Australia in good conditions.

Fundamentally, there are a couple of ways to deal with this unwanted delay. One is to get very frustrated thinking about all the things waiting for us in Sydney- the things that need to be organized, the plans for our future that can't be worked out until we are there. For a few days, I did a pretty good job of being grumbly on that front and willing the weather to bend to my desire. Not terribly productive.

The other way is to simply accept the reality we are given, and make the best of the situation. At one point, I had the epiphany that I had to simply declare that we were on vacation. Other than last minute bottom cleaning, the boat was basically ready to go. There are always projects, but nothing was essential. The best antidote for fretting is to chuck it all and go have fun!

Since we hadn't expected to have any time to enjoy New Caledonia, so we didn't really know what to do at first. Thankfully, this is an easy "problem" to solve. We have had a blast spending time with friends we've known across the Pacific. We've been inseperable from IO for months, of course. We've known FlyAweigh since our days in the La Cruz marina in Mexico as well, but ever since we checked out of the country the same morning in Puerto Vallarta, we've usually been an island group behind them. We met the kid boats Merlin and Victoria in French Polynesia, and periodically reunited kid packs from among our flock.

Adventure #1 was the aquarium field trip blogged last week. At that point, we still thought we were mere days from departure. Ha! Another week was in store. No problem- it was just time to get out of the smelly marina (pipes dumping raw sewage emptied right at the top of the dock... nice). The lagoon, on the other hand, was spectacular. I cannot being to describe the brilliant shades of blue, from turquoise to periwinkle.

For most of a week, we anchored off an islet named Maitre. The only structures onshore were part of a lovely resort. Happily, they welcomed cruisers as long as we kept our profile, you know, subtle. We couldn't quite blend in with the Japanese honeymooners in their matching outfits, but kept our profile low while enjoying the pool and freshwater showers. The kids had a ball walking the beach, claiming "snake island" for their own, and herding parrotfish in the shallows.

We all piled onto FlyAweigh one morning and cruised out to a less trafficked part of the lagoon. This is literally the largest lagoon in the world, so that wasn't too difficult. We thought our days of epic snorkeling were over for a while. I am so happy to be wrong! Gorgeous corals, new reef fish, octopus, cuttlefish, eagle rays, and more. I dubbed one hunk of rock that Mike and Jamie favored for spearfishing (oh, we ate very well!) a "rest stop on the turtle highway." I have never seen so many turtles, and I have never seen such large turtles, but there they were. From the 4+ foot green turtle with a ridiculously big head, to the graceful hawksbills that glided through- one after another after another.

If only our underwater camera hadn't stopped working in Fiji (to be fair, I took that little Fuji to depths it did not belong in) we'd have underwater eye candy to share. Instead, you have to settle for a picture of Kim from s/v Victoria, who is clearly telling a grand fish story:

Allan and Alison broke out their windsurfer. Jamie is a natural: despite about a 20 year gap since his last windsurfing experience, he took off immediately. He opted to cruise way out into the lagoon; Allan, on the other hand, had fun aiming as close to the stern of Totem as humanly possible (and grinning like a wildman the whole time).

Jamie spent hours in the water with Niall, giving him his first lesson.

Mairen decided to commemorate the whole day by helping me make a dessert with a paper-and-lego windsurfing diorama featured on top.

Alison has a lovely, calming, positive presence... just being around her helped my perspective on the unwanted wait in New Cal.

Meanwhile, the girls adopted Allan:

That is, when they weren't inflicting themselves on Mike and Hyo. Fortunately, they are not only used to this, they seem to encourage it.

As usual, lovely memories are made when we least expect them. Saying goodbye was difficult- we're not all sure exactly when we'll meet up again. I'm going to cherish the gifted days we had with these characters for a long time.

Halloween in New Caledonia

Amazing what you can do with sunscreen and green food coloring.

We keep finding more silver linings to our present situation: waiting in New Caledonia for a good window for our passage to Australia. Sure, it's frustrating- we expected to be there by now, settling into a "home" marina in Cammeray... checking out the nieghborhood... learning about new surroundings. I chafe a little more every day that we sit here.

The kids, on the other hand, are thrilled. Halloween would have been lost in the shuffle of a passage if we'd left on our expected timeline. Instead, they celebrated with friends. There were costumes both cute and ghoulish, and a passel of other cruising kids to scare up treats from around the anchorage.

The junior crews of Totem, Merlin, and Victoria

We wondered how many people would be prepared for our dinghy full of trick or treaters. Surprisingly, quite a lot! I think quite a few boaters weren't expecting to give out candy, but scrounged up treats for the kids anyway.

Greg (s/v Merlin) takes the children from boat to boat

We hung out with other parents back on Merlin, and whey they returned, they had more than just successfully filled goodie bags. They found MORE children to join them! Everyone under the age of 13 piled into the main cabin to trade candy, and watch "It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown." Here we are, thousands of miles from home, but the fundamental goodness for the kids in celebrating a holiday are preserved.

I think we'll let the weather angst slide.

Haven't we seen enough underwater?

With the weather delaying our departure from New Caledonia, we've had the chance to do a little exploring. Our first foray: the aquarium!

The aquarium? After spending day after day after day snorkeling in pristine, world-class reefs these last six months? What could we possibly see? We piled onto a bus with Mike & Hyo and Allan & Alison (s/v FlyAweigh) and headed off to find out.

The answer, it turns out, is "a lot." We see some incredibly cool stuff on our own forays, but the fish there have a real knack for swimming *away* from you. We could sit in one place and stare at these for as long as we wished.

Having the luxury of going on a weekday, we had it nearly to ourselves: there's not much more peaceful than room a softly lit by light shimmering through the water... even if that water is a big tank.

And of course, when you're IN the water, there's the whole pesky breathing business. I have been having more and more fun freediving, but what I can do is still limited. It's hard to hang as long as you want, as deep as you want, when you're using snorkel gear... and the glimpses of beauty are sometimes pretty brief. Here, we could linger - or move on. Siobhan was almost a taskmaster leading Alison around the displays.

And of course, even if I was a star freediver, you just won't see these critters without special gear.

Besides, I have to admit: it's nice to have a plate of Plexiglas between your bare skin and this guy.

The leopard shark (a.k.a. zebra shark) has been one of Niall's favorites sea creatures. Seeing it glide by triggered the one of the best insights of the whole journey: hearing the kids oooo and aaahhh over it, and then reflect on how much better it was to see one in the wild.

Yep. The book is pretty much always better than the movie, too.

Breezing through New Caledonia

New Caledonia is unfortunately just a pit stop on the way to Australia for Totem. We've stopped here to allow ourselves a shorter passage to Oz, and the best weather information before departure. With our SSB down, we won't be actively participating in the nets- minimizing time and maximizing advance info will help keep the passage safe and comfortable.

When we first sketched out our path to Australia, we seriously considered skipping over New Caledonia altogether. In a way, then, being here is a gift- the chance to see one more place, one more country. Still, it's a little frustrating to be here and not have the time to explore and get to know it better.

Old and new in Noumea

In truth, we feel that way about every place we've visited across the Pacific.

This past week, I traded email with a friend from Mexico- she and her family sailed south about a year ago. They're considering changing their plans this coming year, from coastal cruising in the Americas to crossing the Pacific. The catch is that they're going on a shorter timeframe: they would like to gt to get all the way to Australia, but need to be back (via jet airplane, not return sailing) in the US by August. I surprised myself with how negative my gut reaction was to their plans: it felt like such a rush.

Really, we don't like rushing.

Why did I respond that way? Well, it wasn't a rational reaction at all. Their plans are not so different than what we've done- we've had only one more month, which is easily shaved off with a higher ratio of passage-to-anchorage days, and a handful fewer places visited. I hope the WhatChaGonnaDo crew finds a way to make it work.

Yes, there is always more to see. No, there's never enough time to see everything, or engage as deeply as we'd like. I definitely believe, after our experience, that one season in the tropical Pacific is criminally short. Two seasons MIGHT begin to get it right. Three would probably be perfect. But you can't live with the "woulda, shoulda, coulda" regrets. We've had such an amazing experience, and I'm grateful EVERY DAY to be here, to be living this life with my family.

I'm just feeling a little rushed right now, and wishing we could linger.

IO, anchored off Lifou- one of New Caledonia's Loyalty Islands

Old Home Week in Noumea

We hadn't planned to stay at the marina in Noumea- like everything else in New Caledonia, it comes with a dear price. When we arrived on a Saturday morning, though, coming to the dock meant we could check in that morning- officials were on hand- instead of waiting for Monday and doing the rounds at their offices ourselves. That's like gaining 48 hours for our pit stop New Caledonia- coming in was an easy decision! I'm relieved to have a few days to spend with easy shore access, instead of bobbing in the anchorage with our yellow quarrantine flag snapping under the starboard spreader.

Coming to the dock is turning out to have been a fun option, too. Up and down both sides of the visitors pontoon are boats we've met on different parts of our path across the Pacific. We haven't seen many of them in a while, and it's been fun to catch up and hear about their adventures.

Next to Tagish- we've shared anchorages since Mexico!

The challenge here will now be to avoid getting pulled into the cruiser's version of "analysis paralysis", or in this case, that specialized version known as weather waffling. Everyone here is aiming for Australia. We've all heard it's going to be a more active month for weather systems. Even the French gendarme who helped us check in looked askance and asked if we knew this was the beginning of the storm season. But opportunities to cross will open, and with good wind, it may only take us 5 or 6 days to reach Coffs Harbour.

The first window to depart may be opening up as soon as Tuesday- and so we watch, and make sure we're as ready as possible to head back out to sea.