#70 NOW August 11, 2005, 1330 Zone Time UTC +11 hours (New Caledonia Time) Slip #20 Port Moselle Harbour, Noumea, New Caledonia Temperature 72.5 Hello again from Port Moselle, This has been an interesting week of cruising and solving problems. New Caledonia is turning out to be an excellent cruising ground. Several of you have said, “Where the heck is New Caledonia.” It is a cigar shaped island about 250 miles long by 30 miles wide, located about 800 miles East Northeast of Australia. The first European to set foot on the Island was none other than that famous explorer and my hero, Captain James Cook. He thought the land looked a lot like Scotland and thus named it New Caledonia (New Scotland). We departed Maa Bay and worked our way around the countless reefs and islands. The weather here has been delightful, in the mid 70’s during the day and down to the low 60’s at night. Since this is the winter season down here, we have been getting occasional rain showers, which freshen up the boat and give character to the day. The trade winds still blow around 10 to 15 knots most of the time. However, it is easy to find shelter in the lee of some island, and that is exactly what we did pulling in behind Mathieu Island. The next day we continued for about four hours up to Isie Island. Here was a lovely white sand beach and not a soul around. We took the kayak in and enjoyed walking along the beach picking up shells and trying to identify some of the strange sea life. The next morning it was down to Ducos Island where we planned to spend two days. Cruising can have some surprises, and the next morning was no exception. When I went down to check the engine, I noticed a small coolant leak coming from the fitting between the coolant reservoir and the exhaust manifold. It was not much, but when I went to put some more antifreeze in I found oil mixed in with the antifreeze. NOT GOOD! Further checking found that my transmission fluid was low. After talking with the Lugger rep via satellite phone, we determined that I had two separate problems both involving failed o-rings—the oil coming from the transmission oil cooler. Time to crank up the backup engine and head direct for Noumea. This little 27 hp Yanmar engine with its own independent systems will push the boat along at about four knots. Well, that is if there is no wind or head seas. We were now heading back into the trade winds and the light chop (2-foot seas) slowed us up to around 2.5 to 3 knots. After running all day, we arrived back at Maa Bay and the next morning a short run of three hours put us back in Noumea the capital city. While I do carry a fairly good supply of spare parts, they are never the right ones. Thus, we are awaiting arrival of parts from New Zealand. This should not be too big of a job to fix. However, I have arranged for a diesel mechanic to do the job for me. My mechanical skill level is probably just one notch below this type of fix. Besides, I'm retired. Stranded in Noumea—Not Bad! A nice marina, great city to walk in, and all the French bread and cheese you could ever want. Life is a Cruise, Larry and Carol -- Larry Rick Done Dreamin' Nordhavn 40 #33 Site: http://gricknet.homedns.org/ Email: donedream@pacbell.net