Port Moselle Marina, Noumea. It's a marina life.

Raising French and Quarantine flags during arrival

This is a modern marina located in the centre of town, the ideal spot to rest, get the boat back in shape and enjoy the cosmopolitan town full of shops and good restaurants, all within easy walking distance. Prices for a week at the marina are very reasonable, compared to Australian prices, and the rate includes energy, water and internet. We decided to stay a week.  We cleared customs at the marina and agriculture came to the boat and took away whatever we had left in fruits, vegies and eggs, they asked to wait for 2 hours before leaving the boat (apparently somebody may show up for an inspection) and then we were free to remove the yellow quarantine flag and move around. Immigration had to be left for next day as they only work in the morning till 11.30AM.

Port Mossele Marina with hundreds of sailboats

A little while later, Mustang Sally, with Mark and Dianne and their friend Graheme arrived. We met them in Lord Howe and we traveled in tandem, they were just behind us and invited us over for drinks to celebrate our easy passage. On a route where the usual wind would be on the nose, we got blessed with downwind sailing for the duration of the trip. Amazing.

Next morning we would have happily slept in but we had to make it to Immigration before 11.00AM.  It took us a while to find the building, about 6 blocks from the marina. Luckily we run into Dianne, Mark and Graheme who told us how to get there. Eventually we found the building and completed formalities. We are now legally in New Caledonia and can stay here for a total of 6 months. So far, it looks like a good place to be. 

First trip to the supermarket

On the way back we stopped at the Super Marche, run again into Mark and Dianne, I guess we all had the same things in mind: cheese, pate, jambon, baguettes and wine. Oscar found ‘bavete’, which is a cut of meat we have in Argentina (entranha) that is great for the grill and soon a BBQ at Zenitude was organized for the following day with our friends from Mustang Sally. 

We’ve had rainy weather since we are here and it seems this pattern will continue into early next week. With half the week already gone we’ve now been able to do the cleaning, the laundry, some shopping and some of the little fixes we’d like to get done here. Nouvelle Pleasance, just 10 minutes away by dinghy, is the place to get all kind of boating services. I was surprised to see the number of boats here, even now that is the low season. Boats arriving from the Pacific crossing will not arrive until later in the year, during what is considered the high season. 

We haven’t decided where to go next when we leave the marina on Wednesday. There are many islands in this big lagoon to visit and the plan is to go around discovering places. We just need the sun to come out again and make it inviting. 

G.