Just received from TRYBOOKING.COM - report from Huon Atol --- In addition to CARTOUCHE and MYUNA, ESCAPADE and THE SECRETARY also came up on last nights 2000 sched. DE SEC provided us with some good intel on waypoints for Chesterfield Reef which matched info we had from online research. We arrived at Atoll De Huon, 300nm West of Port Vila, Vanuatu and 120nm North of New Caledonia main land, at 1000 yesterday, which is the best time of the day to arrive as the sun is directly above which makes it easier to see coral bommies around reefs. From a waypoint North of the Atoll, we navigated South along the West side of the reef and then into the Atoll. We anchored on the North West side of Ile Huon - very good shelter from consistent 20knot SE winds. Amazing to see a remote unihbited island a few km long in the middle of the Pacific. Three crew swam/snorkelled the 300m to shore to investigate. It was a little too windy to safely launch the dinghy and row to shore. What looked like white sand Although we have anchor alarms set which go off if the boat moves outside a certain area, to be on the safe side, Crew maintained a 1 hour anchor watch from 2100 last night to 0700 this morning. When on anchor watch, one crew members is ON watch for an hour monitoring our anchor position to ensure we were not dragging anchor. We had pancackes with butter, sugar and Lelepa Island lemons for breaky. Like New Caledonia, Atoll De Huon is in French waters, which sugests that a yacht must first seek Customs and Immigration clearance at Noumea (the only Clearance port in New Caledonia), which is 320nm to the South East. This is not the case for some of the French controlled remote Atolls and Reefs. Also under International Law, yachts can call into any port without notice or customs clearance, under certain circumstances which include sheltering, and for things like medical emergencies. At 0830 this morning, a large motor vessel with super structure entered the Atoll. AIS identified the vessel as 73 foot long Fishing vessel called AMBORELLA, but it didnt look like a fishing vessel. As they headed our way, we called them on VHF to advise we were anchored and the length of anchor chain we had out. The master of AMBORELLA advised he could see us and that he did not speak English that well, and that he would come over to talk to us. Signage on the hull included Government De La Nouvelle Caledonie. They anchored a few hunderd meters away from us. An hour or later, they launched a rib, which 3 people boarded and over to us. The Captain was from the New Caledonia Government (we think from Fisheries Department, although we may have lost something in translation) and was accompanied by a New Caledonia Meteorology Department guy whi spoke a little better English. They provided us with a brochure of the Des Atolls DEntrecasteaux - a National Reserve area which included the Atoll De Huon, three other nearby Atolls and two nearby reefs. Unfortunately the brochure is in French. They asked us to complete a Form providing basic information about yachts visiting the Atolls in the area and how long we inteded to stay at each one. They had just come from Chesterfield Reef and were heading to other nearby Atolls, then back to Noumea. They had 4 crew and 5 scientists onboard. They monitor various bird and marine life on and around the remote Atolls including green turtles which come ashore in October/November to nest. They have a camera on Huon Atoll which takes a picture every 15 minutes - we wondered what pictures they may have of our 3 crew who went ashore. They also provided us with some good intel on Chesterfield Reef. After leaving us, they went ashore. We were a tad apprehensive when we first saw them coming. We thought it was very nice of the New Caledonia Government to send a ship to use to provide us with a Tourist brochure. Lunch today was salad wraps with cucumber, tomato, lettuce, cheese, avocado and ham. As weve eaten all fresh bread and rolls we bought in Vanuatu, John took advantage of the sheltered anchorage to baked 2 loaves of bread - if they taste as good as they look and smell, theyll be sensational. Weve downloaded updated weather forecasts which are still looking good - South Easterlies 20 knots for the next 2 days will be good sailing to Chesterfield Reef. We will be timing our departure from Huon Atoll to leave in daylight and to arrive at Chestefield Reef, 280nm to the South West, in the middle of the day, so we are looking at departing around 1530 this afternoon. Wind has mostly been SE 25 knots overnight and today. Noel called AMBORELLA on VHF in his best French a few times but they didnt respond. We could see 7 of their crew ashore and suspect the others may have been sleeping as it would have been a lumpy trip for them from Chesterfield Reef to Huon Atoll. Very protected sea state in the lee of the Island and Atoll for a few miles. Our sail plan was mostly about 3/4 jib in the 20-25 knot SE winds which gives us the desired speed we wanted. Sea is a tad lumpy at times, particularly in the gusts.
Posted on: Mon, 28 Jul 2014 00:27:33 +0000
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