Looking at a boat in Noumea

[Tommo]

Hello Forum,

I am thinking of making an offer on a well equipped and recent cruising yacht currently in Noumea with the intention of spending a few years live aboard cruising.

I have a reasonable amount of live aboard cruising experience in Med/Atlantic - but none in Pacific, so would be grateful for your input.

I am lucky to have an interesting and well-paid permanent job from approximately November to Feb/March every year, and then have the remaining months to sail. This obviously works well in northern Hemisphere - but possibly not so good in SH. So if I were to acquire this yacht, what might be a good route plan to sail between March-September next year, then leave the boat somewhere suitable to sail again the next year?

Boat is 11m monohull, on the sporty side of the cruiser spectrum.

[Paul L]

Well the big issue is where you will store the boat during cyclone season. That's Nov to April. If you plan to insure, then that might limit your choices. New Zealand is a good place to be in the cyclone season, but requires a serious passage to and from. Some people like the holes in the ground in Vuda in Fiji for cyclone storage. A few stay in the water in New Cal.

As far as cruising grounds, there's plenty. You have the islands that will be fairly easy to access as far east as Tonga. That gives you Tonga, Fiji, Vanuatu and New Cal. Each one with enough for a full season of cruising.