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sailing.solis

@sailing.solis

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Captain Dave & First Mate Danielle. Surfing, foiling & exploring from Europe back to Australia 🇦🇺 🇬🇧
📍Pacific Ocean

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We’re making good progress and, all going to plan, we should be back on Australian soil in around 48 hours!

We knew this was going to be a slow passage, with light winds forecast, but we’re steadily making our way home.

When we checked in with Australian Border Force, they commented on the sheer number of boats taking advantage of this weather window. Clearly, we weren’t the only ones with this idea!

The silver lining? Light winds usually mean smaller swells, which has been an absolute bonus.

I’ve also been trialling the new seasickness patches and, as usual, I seem to collect ALL the nasty side effects. Dry eyes and mouth, trouble focusing and even sore legs are apparently part of the package.

Thankfully, we’ve found a workaround for the eye issues: our trusty reading glasses! We’re both wandering around looking like we’re permanently ready to settle down with a good book. Even typing this on my phone is an almighty struggle without our specs!

Honestly, the one thing I cannot wait to leave behind is the relentless seasickness. Every single crossing is a mental battle, and I’m so ready for that chapter to end.

Meanwhile, we’re on an absolute eating frenzy trying to polish off all the food we can’t bring into Australia.

Nearly home. Just a little more patience, a few more snacks and hopefully no surprises from the sea!

#solis #boatlife #pacific by @sailing.solis

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17 hours ago

Along with a bunch of other boats, we made the decision late last night to leave today, in the hopes that we can get ahead of some bad weather when entering Australia.

I haven’t quite got my head around this being our final sail home. Grappling with all the mixed feelings.

#solis #cominghome #boatlife #feels taken in New Caledonia by @sailing.solis

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5 days ago

We’ve been glued to the weather forecasts for what feels like forever, searching for the perfect window for our final sail home. There’s an east coast low brewing over Australia, so we’re trying to get ahead of it.

While we wait, we decided to spoil ourselves and found an amazing deal on an Ayurvedic massage for two. And while we waited for each other, we got to enjoy a jacuzzi and sauna. 🧖‍♀️🧖‍♂️

Ridiculously extravagant? Absolutely. But why the hell not?

Our last massages were well over 18 months ago, so it’s definitely about time these bodies got some serious pampering!

#solis #sailing #catamaran #cruising taken in Nouméa, New Caledonia by @sailing.solis

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5 days ago

The weather has certainly kept us guessing!

With Tom and Harry on board, we made the most of the good weather and explored around Prony Bay, soaking up the gorgeous scenery, finding the warm baths and hiking out to a waterfall.

Then, as is often the way in New Caledonia, the weather turned and suddenly getting off the boat and exploring wasn’t quite so appealing! So we decided to put the wind to good use instead and headed in the direction of Noumea.

We found ourselves a little uninhabited island about an hour from the city and spent the night there before making the final hop back to the marina the next morning, just in time for Tom and Harry to catch their flight back to Australia.

Thanks for coming to visit, Tom and Harry, we had such a lovely time exploring with you both!

And now it’s just us again… watching the weather very closely as we start planning our final voyage back to Australia.

Cannot believe the end is jogging towards us!!! 🥹

#solis #sailing #boatlife #cruising #newcal taken in New Caledonia by @sailing.solis

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7 days ago

New Caledonia is beautiful, that much can’t be denied. Outside of Nouméa, nature takes over, and there’s very little else around.

Our first sail towards Îlot Maître was a pretty solid introduction to sailing for Tom and Harry! We knew it was going to be windy for most of their stay, so there was only one thing to do… suck it up and get amongst it. 😂

Luckily, the first sail was only 45 minutes. We set off heavily reefed, expecting around 30-knot winds. What we weren’t expecting were 42-knot gusts! 😳 A little bit of scrambling later and we managed to get ourselves out of the sticky situation.

From Maître, we headed to Amedée to see its famous lighthouse, one of the tallest in the world. Sadly, it was closed, so we couldn’t climb up for the views. Harry didn’t seem too disappointed though, taking full advantage of the crystal-clear water to show us his backflips instead!

Next up was a sail to Prony Bay, back to where Dave and I started our New Cal adventure. We stopped here for a little rest before checking into Nouméa, and it was every bit as spectacular as it was a few weeks ago.

We anchored at Îlot Casy, an old mining site, explored the island on foot and enjoyed the ridiculously calm anchorage and crystal-clear water.

Today we’re heading further into Prony Bay to find the warm volcanic pools, or, as Tom has renamed them, the “tepid baths.” 😂

More adventures to come… 🇳🇨⛵️

#solis #Boatlife #sailing #newcaledonia🇳🇨 taken in Prony, New Caledonia by @sailing.solis

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11 days ago

Yesterday was the Captain’s birthday! 🥂🎂

We celebrated with a Champagne lunch on the boat at Îlot Maître — a tiny island just off Nouméa, home to the beautiful Hilton resort. Thanks Tom for the Champagne! 🥂

For dinner, the celebrations continued ashore at the Hilton, rounding off a very special day.

Join me in wishing a giant Happy Birthday to the best man I know! ❤️

#solis #birthday #boatlife #newcaledonia🇳🇨 #doubletreebyhilton taken in DoubleTree by Hilton Noumea Ilot Maitre Resort by @sailing.solis

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13 days ago

Our final batch of visitors has arrived from Australia and, perfectly timed with their arrival, the wind has picked up even more!

We opted for another day in the marina and decided to head back to Blue River with Tom and Harry, this time exploring the park by bike.

We searched for about two hours and couldn’t find a single Cagou anywhere. So, we gave up on the search and decided to keep biking around the park, eventually ending up at a lovely river spot where Tom and Harry decided to go for a quick dip.

Just as they got into the water, a Cagou casually decided to walk across the bridge! Tom didn’t believe me when I tried to get his attention, but thankfully he scrambled out of the water just in time to catch a glimpse of it before it disappeared into the bushes.

After all that searching, it was pretty funny that the Cagou appeared when we’d stopped looking!

Another lovely day exploring the park, finished off with a grocery shop and getting the boat stocked up before we head off for some water-based adventures.

The forecast is looking pretty windy, so let’s see what unfolds! ⛵️

#solis #newcaledonia🇳🇨 #boatlife taken in Blue River National Park by @sailing.solis

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14 days ago

Things to do in New Caledonia (not by boat!)

• Learn about Kanak culture and the Indigenous people of New Caledonia at the cultural centre.
• Hire a car and explore the south-east, from Nouméa down towards Yaté.
• Visit Blue River National Park. Walk, cycle or kayak your way through the incredible landscape and lose yourself in nature for a few days.
• Hire a bike and follow the coastal path south from Nouméa.
• Visit as many patisseries as possible and sample ALL the French pastries, cakes and breads!
• Try some wind sports at Plage de l’Anse Vata, just keep an eye out for the sharks!

We’re still enjoying marina life for a change of pace and exploring New Caledonia a little differently than we normally would.

The weather has been very changeable, and it hasn’t exactly been tempting us to spend huge amounts of time searching for calm anchorages. So, we’re making lemonade out of lemons and absolutely loving this change of pace.

Sometimes the best adventures are the ones you didn’t plan for.

#solis #newcalédonia #boatlife #explore #parawing taken in Nouméa, New Caledonia by @sailing.solis

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21 days ago

We’ve been taking full advantage of having a hire car, and yesterday was day two of exploring the southern region of New Caledonia. It certainly didn’t disappoint.

Dave spent a few hours planning our day trip to Parc Provincial de la Rivière Bleue, a 22,000 hectare national park, with one main mission: find the endangered Cagou, a unique, nearly flightless bird found only in the dense valley forests of New Caledonia.

Once the Cagou hunt was complete, the plan was to spend the rest of the day exploring the mountains on foot.

The park is spectacular, and after some searching, we were incredibly lucky to spot a Cagou in the wild. Mission accomplished!

#solis #boatlife #newcaledonia🇳🇨 #cagou #endangered taken in Parc provincial de la Rivière Bleue by @sailing.solis

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23 days ago

There are few things that make you feel quite as useless on a boat as dropping something overboard.

How to feel like a complete deadbeat in one easy step:

1. Drop the fresh water tank filler cap into the marina. Then remember there are bull sharks in there. Then remember there are also a lot of liveaboards… and that the marina water is, shall we say, biologically interesting. 💩

Dave went in. I apologised profusely from the safety of the boat.

I’m contributing in my own special way.

#solis #idiot #boatlife #dropitlikeitshot #rescue taken in Port Moselle Noumea by @sailing.solis

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25 days ago

What a treat it is to have access to some e-bikes! We took the opportunity to head east of Nouméa and explore a little further afield.

Unfortunately, Mondays aren’t the best day for sightseeing here, with quite a few places closed, including the Biodiversity Centre and Cultural Centre. But we still had a great day exploring. Cycling through the enormous mangroves was a definite highlight.

We’re loving how pedestrian and cyclist friendly Nouméa is. There are dedicated footpaths and cycle tracks throughout the city, making it really easy (and safe) to get around without a car.

I also decided to try my luck at the pharmacy and see whether I could get my hands on some sea sickness patches. These Scopolamine patches are apparently miracle workers for sea sickness, but they aren’t available in Europe or Australia, so I thought I’d see if New Caledonia was any different.

Excitingly, I found a pharmacy that stocks them! The catch… you need a prescription. So I managed to secure a doctor’s appointment for today and, fingers crossed, I might finally get my hot little hands on them. 🤞

A British professional sailor I met before leaving for this trip suggested I try Stugeron, mum brought me over a bunch of them as the only place I know of to buy it is in the UK. One of its ingredients is banned in Australia. It works reasonably well, but it comes with a whole bunch of side effects that can sometimes feel almost as bad as the sea sickness itself.

I’ve also had a bunch of American sailors tell me that the patches are the bomb, so I’m very curious to see whether they live up to the hype.

Meanwhile, the weather doesn’t look amazing for the islands we want to visit by boat, so we’ll embrace Plan B and do a little more land-based exploring. There’s a national park in the middle of the main island that’s meant to be spectacular, some hot springs and also the east coast beckons so we’ll see what adventures we can have.

#solis #seasick #boatlife #newcalédonia taken in Nouméa, New Caledonia by @sailing.solis

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a month ago

We’ve had a few days of rest and reset in Nouméa after our last crossing from Fiji, and somehow managed to squeeze ourselves into our tightest marina slip to date.

The customs and immigration process was thankfully and surprisingly easy and completely free. The marina situation was a little more complicated. Despite having confirmation that we had a berth booked, the marina was actually full. The office asked us to come and inspect a spot by dinghy before attempting to bring Solis in.

Apparently, according to the marina, it’s the worst slip and never gets rented out because there’s almost zero margin for error, with a beautiful reef sitting about 30 cm from the floating pontoon.

Dave took one look at the wind direction, decided it was doable, and then did the most incredible job squeezing Solis into the space. There was definitely some holding of breath and clenching of bum cheeks involved! 🍑 💩

With some average weather days ahead, we’re going to embrace marina life for a few days, slow down and explore Nouméa by land.

Brent and Ana from Impi also hooked us up with some friends who live here, and we had such a great night getting to know them. They’ve even very generously offered us their e-bikes so we can explore further afield, which is ridiculously generous and has us very excited for some wheel-based adventures!

Nouméa, we’re ready to explore. 🇳🇨

#solis #sailing #boatlife #newcaledonia🇳🇨 taken in Nouméa, New Caledonia by @sailing.solis

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a month ago