Tuesday 1 November Kuto bay, Iles des Pines

Kuto bay on the right

In flat calm, no wind conditions we took the opportunity to make 40 miles to Les Iles des Pines (it's usually a hard motor into the prevailing SE trades) so named by Captain Cook (our paths frequently cross) in 1774 when he saw the large number of pine trees on the island but was unable to make landfall due to the large number of reefs. If he'd only he'd had an electronic chart plotter and the accurate French system of navigation aids he too could have visited this uber pretty island. Lest we forget – it's Captain Cook's original map makers which provide us with many of the sea charts we use today.

The island is at the southern edge of the fringing reef of New Caledonia and the gem in the crown of tourism. Our first port of call is Kuto Bay, not only for it's large protected anchorage but also for the strong internet connection blasting from the small resort behind the beach. We were the third Amel to pull in, ahead of us was Kilkea and an Australian boat we haven't met yet. Two Amels are company, three is a rally.
First afternoon in and we're tired from another early morning. David and Marion from Kilkea popped over to welcome us to Kuto and to talk weather as we are both waiting for a weather opportunity to sail to NZ and might buddy boat. Theoretically same boats should travel at the same speed in equal conditions.
We had an early dinner then I slept through a film before heading off to bed.