Day 1 - departing New Caledonia for Australia

After waiting for an early morning squall to pass through, we headed toward the pass through the reef. Looking for a push to get away from the coast and a full charge to our house battery bank before starting the passage, we motoredsailed away from our last of 24 tropical islands visited this year. Gray skies were cracked by widening spots of blue, as the roll of ocean swells took over from the choppy fetch in the lagoon.

We have a series of reminders that this passage closes a chapter for us on Totem, the end of a glorious season crossing the tropical Pacific. Already it feels distinctly different. The breeze is cool; I can't remember the last time I wanted to wear pants, but they're suddenly essential. Overhead, a contrail cuts through the clearing sky. It stands out starkly, and we all stare at this once familiar sight that has become entirely unfamiliar to us.

We're a little anxious about the weather, but not enough to wait in New Caledonia any longer. From one update to the next, forecasts have shifted meaningfully several times in the last few days. With our HF radio unable to transmit, and no sat phone for backup, our options for weather updates are limited. But all signs point towards departure. Degradation could mean discomfort, but not danger.

We think our waiting has paid off, but know we'll be skirting a trough of intensified wind between two weather systems that would be nice to keep tabs on. For the first time in many months, I have dosed with Meclazine before departure. I'm grateful for it now: the swells are nearly on our beam and Totem rolls sharply to starboard, but we're feeling fine. My world is full with the joyful feeling of wind in my hair as we sail for Australia.

On our way!

Landfall in Australia!

Totem is in Australia! Our passage from Noumea to Coffs was a little shy of 900 miles, and Totem rocketed here in five days + 1 hour. It was near ideal conditions for us (average around 20 knots with apparent mostly square on the beam), and the most comfortable sea state we've had in a long time. How delightful to have reasonably predictable swells from a single direction... trust me... those bi- and tri- directionals are no picnic.

We're taking some time to recover, but plan to head for Sydney as soon as we're rested up and the weather allows. Meanwhile, I'm going to dribble out a series of posts from my log during the passage.

Jamie scanning the Coffs Harbour entrance

Oso and IO, our comrades divine

As my good friends know, I like writing bad poetry to mark occasions (birthdays are a favorite). The was shared over a bowl of kava with our good friends from the M/V Oso Blanco and S/V IO, on the last evening we spent together in Fiji. We parted ways the next day: Oso remaining in Fiji before heading to New Zealand, as we headed west for Vanuatu and then Australia at season's end.

As we take off for Australia and point to a different port than our good friends on IO, it seems worth sharing. Just remember, by definition, it's *bad* poetry...

ODE TO FELLOW TRAVELERS

Oso and IO our comrades divine,

We know that our happiness is also thine.

Those who call parting "sweet sorrow" don't know

the circles of life in which we cruisers flow.

We know there's a time and a place and a boat;

we just have to wait and we'll all be afloat,

in some quiet atoll or islet or bay,

sharing a sunset, rehashing the day.

So when you hear 'gayjoe' or 'rummy' or hey!!

You'll know fellow travelers are coming to play.

rafted together in Fiji

playing cards on Oso. Again!

"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.

Just another day on Totem

My parents recently asked for "normal everyday" pictures of what's happening with the children on board. It's hard to say what a normal day is, since they change as often as the scenery around us- but there are common themes. Here are a few snippets from recent days on board Totem.

Niall has been working on knots and splicing with Jamie.

The girls crafting designs from popsicle sticks. Siobhan made a pretty spiral and announced it would be the top of our christmas tree (not sure exactly how that's going to come together, since December is summertime in Australia). Flotsam from the morning scattered about the table- a book of Greek myths, biology lab projects, and a field guide for fish identification.

Niall is an excellent teacher to Mairen and Siobhan- ask them, and they'll tell you, he taught them how to swim. Siobhan loves her dinghy lessons.

OK, so this isn't "normal everyday" stuff- it was a special treat- but it's the kind of cooperative learning that happens all the time on board. We have some packaged science projects stashed, and I broke out the owl pellet dissection kit on a flat passage day recently. They had a blast going through the pellets, guessing what might be inside, and using the tools in the kit to try and identify the skeletal remains of different critters within.

When we're in a pretty bay, hardly a day goes by that we're not swimming. One of our last days in Fiji, Mairen and I snorkeled from the boat to shore and did some beachcombing. Siobhan has the eagle eye for cowrie shells, but Mairen amazes me with the natural beauty she finds.

Resting in the evening on our new-from-IO hammock, strung up on the bow. They were all belting the classic "Lollipop"... Siobhan just couldn't stop!

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.