Phoebe fully inside the cavernous space at the Poor Knights Islands.
FAST CAT TO OZ
Story by Mitch Pachoud
Images by Paris Halstead
The delivery of the latest Voodoo XF60, Phoebe to her new home in Sydney, Australia was an authentic ocean experience and an adventure of a lifetime for its crew of six.
Heading out from Auckland after a 12 month build at the Pachoud Yachts factory in Tauranga and then sea trials, the crew comprised experienced Voodoo voyagers; skipper & master chef Dave, first mate Mitch, fishing Guru, morale officer, life coach, (we could go on…) Daz and new members, the boat owner Mal, engineer extraordinaire Ben and documentarist and photographer Paris.
The course for Phoebe was into the Pacific Ocean from NZ’s far North to New Caledonia, and then across the Tasman Sea to Bundaberg, and finally Brisbane. The goal was to achieve a safe delivery, have an awesome time and documented the fruits of the adventure along the way.
Departing northwards from Auckland’s Viaduct Basin, the first stop was to explore the dramatic Poor Knights Islands marine reserve, where we encountered our first sighting of dolphins. One of the Poor Knights more unique and awe-inspiring features – which is really is one of the world’s largest sea caves, big enough for us to take Phoebe fully inside the cavernous space. Heading further north after cruising the Knights’ rugged windswept coastline, we enjoyed the firsts night’s sleep in total calm, surrounded by soaring rocky outcrops and dense native forest, with no other vessel in sight.
NEXT STOP NOUMEA
The morning saw the crew well rested with fresh minds and bodies, ready for the first leg of the journey to Noumea. Enjoying our first of many beautiful sunrises, we departed and travelled up the coast. Our last action before setting off was a safety briefing and double checking all the safety equipment before commencing our “on-watch” shifts at the helm. Sighting the last sign of New Zealand – Cape Reinga – through the cloud, we found the sea hadn’t yet fully died down from the storm system that had just passed through, trailing some decent swell and high winds behind it. We made a slight course alteration due more Northwest to avoid some of the rougher weather, before setting a more direct course for Noumea.
It seemed dodging all possible bad weather wasn’t on the cards, and this made for some rough passage on the first day. Conditions were poor with steep close swell of around 2m, wind and rain squalls in the 20 to 30 knot range.with strong gusts on top of that. The short, confused sea was made worse by strong currents off the northern tip of New Zealand where the Tasman Sea meets the Pacific Ocean. Our good luck charm hula doll Leilani sure seemed to enjoy dancing with the wave action.
A much larger pod of dolphins numbering upwards of 100 joined our journey for a moment, a few hours out from New Zealand. It was a thrill to see such a large pod, demonstrating a returning healthy population. Despite the rough passage, Phoebe’s lowest travelling speed for the day was 20 knots, which was set for comforts sake. This exhibited the Voodoo XF60’s sea-keeping proficiency in conditions that would see nearly all other mid-sized craft reduced to low displacement speed.
The weather improved as we passed Norfolk Island and continued to ease towards what was forecasted throughout the night.
With the last of the lingering wind chop dissipating around 6am the following morning, the anticipated ideal conditions for the initial crossing allowed us to power up and bring Phoebe up to her natural cruising speeds of around 35 knots. Music began to flow, windows were opened for the first touch of tropical breeze, and we felt the previous day wash away. The glassy sea took on the appearance of blue undulating fields and Phoebe must have made an impressive sight powering across the open ocean.
With the increase in ground coverage as she stretched her legs, our time to the destination dropped, with an ETA into Noumea by mid-afternoon. Sure enough, land was spotted at 2:00pm. Trip leg summary was: 32 ½ hours, 920NM, average speed 27.3 kts.
New Caledonia greeted us with 28° sunshine and a breaching manta ray soaring high out of the water. Hervé and Audrey, of Noumea Yacht Services, met us in Port Moselle and assisted in arranging anything we needed throughout our time in Noumea, including handling clearing in and out of customs and biosecurity. After giving Phoebe a good loving (cleaning) beer o’clock beckoned, bringing a warm end to a beautiful day of travel. Prior to heading to the bar, Daz explained the benefits of applying liberal amounts of Johnny Depp’s “weapons grade” Sauvage fragrance but did caution the effects it could have on all sexes. This was to become a bit of a theme for the trip with the crew helping themselves to liberal amounts of free samples at Duty free in airports. Mal lamented the fact that he had left his supply back home in Australia. A relaxed dinner at the bar and seeing how many distinguished gentlemen can fit in the bar’s static display of a massive megalodon’s mouth, brought the third day to an end.
IN NEED OF REPLENISHMENT
An early rising sun and fresh coffee roused the crew from a calm slumber. As we had only provisioned Phoebe for the first leg she needed a replenishment of fresh goods. The local (organic) produce and seafood market ‘Le Marché de Nouméa’ – The Market of Noumea – is located right next to the marina, and to say the tropical fruits, veggies, herbs and spices were fresh and mouth-watering is an understatement.
We became popular figures, loading baskets up of local goods until stall holders smiled from ear to ear at the quantity of purchases and competing for our attention. Some of the more interesting market’s sightings were coral trout with other small fish half consumed in their mouths, large pineapples with tiny heads and small pineapples with huge heads. Beautiful tropical fruits and vegetables of widely varying sizes, shapes, colours, and patterns were very different compared to what we’re used to at our home markets. Mangos, papaya, tomatoes, courgettes, oranges and passionfruit to name but a few, not only expressed vibrant colours but had a sweeter more intense flavour.
Finished with the markets and having dropped our mountain of fresh produce at the boat we followed our noses to a boulangerie, then spread out on the grass beneath the palm and mango trees of the park to enjoy our tropically twisted French lunch. After lunch we hit up a water sports store for some extra snorkelling and fishing gear and straw hats, then off to the local supermarché for what the market didn’t cover.
AUSSIE BECKONS
A leisurely awakened crew discovered the next morning that thanks to a change in the weather forecast, the planned crossing to Australia would coincide with less-than-ideal conditions. The decision was made to pause the trip and to fly back to NZ and Australia to wait for a gap in the weather, which at the time was forecasted for the following Thursday. This would offer a much more relaxed and enjoyable experience for the leg to Australia.
To prepare the boat for our return, we left the marina berth to refuel Phoebe around the bay’s corner behind the DL Scorpio – an old and well used merchant vessel. Her stoic presence inspired some photography in attempt to capture what appeared to be a very rich history at sea. After topping up 7,000L of fuel, we returned to our berth and gave Phoebe one more loving on the exterior. Washing her back to her pristine condition, she shined even brighter as the eye catcher of the Noumea marina.
For lunch the crew indulged in the most beautiful meal of the expedition thus far. Seared fresh tuna in a soy and sesame sauce with a fresh tropical salsa of mango, tomato and papaya, accompanied by a bottle of Foxes Island La Lapine, New Zealand sauvignon blanc. With fresh ingredients sourced from the neighbouring market of Noumea to the marina, chef Dave prepared a meal for the record books. Dave opted to stay on, while the rest of the crew departed the following day back to Auckland and in Mal’s case, Sydney.
STOCKING UP ON SAUVAGE
Arriving back from our respective pacific nations to New Caledonia on Thursday as planned and applying our free samples of Sauvage from Duty free, the freshly scented crew were picked up by Dave at Noumea’s La Tontouta International Airport. On the drive back to the marina we stopped off at an up-market supermarché, the best we had seen in Noumea. The bakery department was everything you would expect from the French heritage, and a very attractive and generously proportioned fruit tart was purchased – to be consumed that evening. As well as various other items of need. Returning to Phoebe, we departed Noumea and made way in the evening north towards Koumac, stopping to check out a small island with an idyllic beach. The crew hopped aboard Phoebe’s tender and headed for a short swim and relax at the beach. The classic mistake of forgetting reef shoes saw us spin around and go back for them, as they were much needed on what quickly became a sharp and shelly area of shallows, before the sandy beach.
Cruising further north in the presence of a fiery sunset, we found a quiet cove for the evening. Some large trevally were spotted off the boarding platform making use of Phoebes glowing underwater lights and feeding on the smaller bait fish drawn to them. The warm sounds of laughter emanating from Phoebe reflected the crews mood, happy to be reunited with the boat, each other and back on the delivery mission. We turned in for the night and as always preferring natural ventilation over aircon, with the hatches and windows open wide. However, with the heat and an infestation of mosquitos it proved to be a mistake. Paris was the only crew member who seemed unaffected and proved once again, his uncanny ability to sleep through all conditions, be it mosquito swarms, uncomfortable sticky heat or rough seas. At one stage, on the passage from NZ, he was observed sleeping, sitting upright with his fingers on the keyboard of his laptop. Legend!
THE NORTHERN ISLES
Rising early, we shook off the night with a swim around the boat then resumed our travels towards Koumac and the scarcely visited northern isles. Passage making on the outside of the lagoon barrier reef, we came across a large shipwreck. The drone was launched to explore, and footage revealed the crumbling structure of the old vessel which ran aground long ago, stained red from decades of rust and bleeding iron. Maybe the person on navigation watch fell asleep? Turns out this was one of twin sister ships, both now in similar condition and both run by the same captain, in both instances, oops! Still, it provided a fascinating interlude to our trip up the coast.
Passing Koumac in the afternoon, we pursued another hour north to a quiet, sheltered bay for the evening and a sunset swim in the 26° water. Mosquito eradication was in order to avoid the discomforts of the night before, and we gave thanks to the swift work of Phoebe’s AC system, that easily provided comfortable sleeping conditions to combat the sticky tropical nights as well as allowing us to shut up the boat to stifle the swarms of mosquitos. Yet another beautiful meal was indulged, reverse seared beef fillets with herbed potatoes, shallots, roast tomatoes and a red wine jus, prepared of course by Voodoo Yachts’ MasterChef Dave.
A morning swim around the boat and vinyasa flow yoga session on Phoebe’s aft deck (for the younger and more spritely members of the team) prepped those on board for a day of ocean action on the following morning. Following the outside of the reef North, we started with trolling a variety of lures. Nothing came on the bite until were drew near to an ocean pass into the inner reef where we experienced an attack from a school of Wahoo. Mal was on strike and the game was on for about 4 minutes until the big fish bit through the trace and was lost. Daz dropped a jig down which was immediately engulfed buy a large Wahoo which once again dealt to the trace and was lost. We changed tactics and tried for GT’s by casting stick baits into the reef edge. There was some excitement with big strikes but no hook-ups. Driving the boat from the bow by remote control allowed us to get right up close along the outer reef for prime casting, looking straight down into the water to avoid shallow structure and find deep cracks to target. After some hits but no luck, we headed up to a spot off Ile Yande.
The boys on the transom deck, like coiled springs, kept a keen eye on the aft sounder display which revealed the fish situation below as Phoebe quietly scouted her way through and around a small reef pass. Simultaneously the boys and the skip (Dave, monitoring triple 16” SIMRAD helm displays) spotted a stack of boomerangs on a bit of structure as the pass opens out to the open sea. A quick shift into reverse to slow Phoebe’s momentum signaled the drop is on. Ben and Daz drop jigs and boom. Suddenly the fish were on, with the first being picked by Ben, a large, extra fat Wahoo which was quickly processed and put on ice. Ben then picked up a perfect eating size coral trout, beautiful in resplendent orange with shining blue spots.
Daz was next in, just after his knife jig left the bottom his PE8 jigging rod bent in half like a pretzel. The reel absolutely screaming, he wound the drag up to the max on his big Stella 20,000 reel, but the monster barely even felt it or slowed down. It was a Dogtooth Tuna, one of the most aggressive and powerful fighting fish on the planet! Phoebe made for deeper water, trying to pull the fish away from any structure, Daz battling to make some ground as the 100lb braid peeled out relentlessly. Just as we reached deeper water there was the sound of a whip as Daz’s rod suddenly cracked up straight. Score Doggie 1, Daz 0. As the saying goes there’s no rest for the wicked, as Daz hooked up several more doggie freight trains throughout the day, each one feeling like an extended bout with an aquatic Conor McGregor.
The crew’s mood was hot and energy far too high to stop, so lunch was run in shifts – Phoebe’s ease of operation saw Mal skippering by remote from the cockpit couch while eating his, so he didn’t miss any of the fun. After catching and releasing a Red Lipped Emperor, Dave pulled up a perfect eating sized Green Jobfish. Daz lost another jig to a solid fish and Ben caught and released another striking red coral trout. Mal decided to show the kiwis how it was done by dropping a jig down, resulting in a solid hook up. After an energetic battle, Mal got on top, landing a heavy Giant Grouper. Upon closer inspection, the jig Daz had just lost, was found in the Groupers cavernous mouth along with Mal’s jig! The grouper was released to fight another day. Next up was Daz who hooked up a solid fish and a battle ensued. The fight suddenly went out of the fish with the reason soon revealed upon retrieving the massive head of what was a very large Coral Trout. The Reef Sharks had done what they do best and taxed our fishing efforts, welcome to the tropics!
Calling it a successful day, Phoebe motored into a sheltered bay for the night. After finding anchorage, Paris found a stowaway gecko who had climbed aboard Phoebe at some stage and decided to deliver it to the adjacent sheltering island. This was clearly an act of kindness above and beyond the call of duty. The reptile was provided its own waterproof vessel in the form of a Tupperware container and in fading light Paris swam some distance to the shore to release the gecko into its new home. It was last seen feeding on ants whilst Paris made the long swim back to the vessel arriving as the sun set, with all limbs still intact.
Upon waking the next day, the crew opted to move to temporary anchorage for breakfast due to a shift in the morning wind. A beautiful spot was found between 3 sandy beaches and lush tropical islands. Freshly caffeinated and with some of the crew partaking in morning vinyasa flow yoga and swimming we were ready for another day of ocean exploration. Motoring back to the inside edge of the barrier reef, we wound our way through a rich maze of coral bombies; driving by remote control from up on the bow Dave found the perfect anchorage for a snorkel. The abundance of life in amongst the sanctuary otherworldly looking corals was stunning. Tropical fish and white tip reef sharks populated the oceanic jungle and some crew were in the water for a good couple hours, enjoying the beauty of the reef environment.
A lunch of pan-fried fish and fresh salsa – as always enjoyed with a side of diced New Caledonian chillies – filled the hole and prepared us to say Au Revoir to New Cal, and we embarked on our first leg towards Australia.
GLASSY CROSSING
The first part of the crossing, to lower Landsdowne Bank, gave us the best ocean conditions so far. A glassy surface allowed Phoebe open up, once again displaying her ocean crossing prowess. Two lots of whale sightings were had within an hour or so into the crossing. First a pod of small dorsal fins spotted 200m off the starboard, bow quarter. Another hour later a large fin spotted dead ahead passing from starboard to port. The autopilot was disengaged and a small detour to starboard side was made. The last sighting of the fin was approximately 100m ahead, just off to port. Most likely the ocean giant heard Phoebe on the run and decided to dive. This was a subtle reminder that despite it being a large ocean, there are many inhabitants and occasional debris that requires vigilance all times, during the long distance offshore runs. The speed of the Voodoo XF60 requires a special level of attention of the crew when performing their ‘on watch’ duty to maintain safe passage making.
Rapid pace averaging over 30 knots in these pristine conditions brought us to Fairway Reef in the pastel pink and blue of early evening. Knife jigging brought Daz up another Jobfish. Mitch pulled up half a Goldband Snapper – a large enough fish to still get good sized fillets from, with the head and frame given back to the reef sharks who had a dog fight over it at the surface. The open ocean sunset that just kept giving oversaw through the whole fishing session with a sky full of deep blue, then bright yellow, then orange, then red.
Phoebe effortlessly pushed forward at 8kts in perfect (5kt variable) wind conditions, mood lighting courtesy of the deep blue of the Coral Sea meets her underwater lighting, and the closest land over 140 nautical miles away. With relaxing lounge rock calmly caressing our ears emanating from the Fusion audio system; half the team turns their attention to preparing an easy but delicious meal of chicken wraps, while the other half cleans and stows fishing equipment and readies and checks the safety equipment in preparation for the multiple hundred miles of open water to be covered in darkness where the next day of exploration awaits…. truly a surreal situation.
With nightfall, we powered up to 30 knots and made way toward Wreck Reefs with an expectation for land to be spotted in the early light of the next morning.
The experience of being on watch during the night, with heads and chests out the hatch above the helm was surreal; the ocean all around was softly lit in greyscale by the bright moon amongst a carpet of stars, producing a strong feeling of the spirit of adventure. In these moments, came an almost tangible sensation of peace, breathing slowed, and the night passed quickly as we often found ourselves lost in the experience.
WRECK REEF
A calm and uneventful night saw Phoebe arrive at Wreck Reefs in the early morning, going first to Bird Islet, which earned its name. The first thing we saw to signal our arrival was a column rising hundreds of meters in the air, thousands of sea birds circling in a thermal draft above the island, as yet only visible by white water breaking on the reef. The birds companions dwelling on the tiny strip of sand and grass below, amongst an untouched reef full of turtles and other life. Driving by the handheld remote at the bow, we slowly navigated amongst the calm, turquoise saturated reef waters and coral bombies, anchoring in a large patch of white sand just offshore. The swirling column of birds continued around us, undisturbed by our presence beyond a mild curiosity.
After an English brekkie of poached eggs, bacon, beans and toast, the crew took the tender on a mission to the shore. Equipped with Magnum ice creams, a Voodoo Expedition tradition, for the first steps ashore. The crew embarked on the small circumnavigation of the island, taking in the sights, befriending birds and surf-casting stickbaits into the shallows off the beach. It was an amazing experience standing on the beach surrounded by chattering birds in every direction, bright blue sky with the warm sun blazing, nothing but ocean in the distance and fish and turtles clearly visible at our feet, in the pristine tropical waters.
After catching and releasing a couple of hard fighting Giant Trevally we completed our walk around the tiny island, picking up any rubbish and debris found along the way and headed back to the boat. Snorkelling such a remote untouched reef seemed too good to be true, with Mitch and Paris experiencing a particularly amazing interaction with one of the largest female turtles we’ve ever seen.
Whist the younger crew members indulged in pristine reef snorkelling escapades, Daz and Dave took the tender out for a fish around the outer bommies. Due to some radical and unnecessary steering by the skipper, the trolled braid line wrapped around the prop and stalled the outboard. With a strong current and wind rapidly pushing the tender out to the open ocean, quick action was called for.
Daz looked back at the quickly shrinking shape of Phoebe while Dave calmly stated “I don’t think they will be much help” A pair of oars were located tucked under the gunnels and after an unnecessary intelligence test to remove them, they were finally freed and inserted into the rowlocks, ready for the row back to the mother ship. In the meantime, silently and without the aid of a knife Dave had managed to un-wrap the braid from the prop. Fishing recommenced with Dave drily commenting “see, it all turned out alright in the end, nothing to see here”.
Packing up and leaving the bay, we cruised about some of the other reefs that formed the Wreck Reef system casting poppers into the white water and targeting troughs/cracks in the reef. The crystal blue waters of the coral sea in flat conditions offering a uniquely intimate top water fishing experience in being able to sight the predators with ease and witness their pure instinct driven, aggressive approach and strike! A couple of coral trout and a beautiful blue trevally were landed and released back into the water. Congrats to Mitch who finally managed to land more than half a fish.
DESTINATION BUNDABERG
The penultimate evening dinner at sea was enjoyed, anchored in a sandy patch outside the reef. BBQ’d lamb chops with a chilli cucumber vinaigrette dressing and salad gave us happy bellies as we relaxed in this most awe inspiring of natural settings before picking up anchor and high-speed passage-making towards Bundaberg. Another relatively calm night at sea with one star, likely a planet, bright enough to cast a light trail on the water. Phoebe ate up the nautical miles with ease and landed us at Bundaberg around 3am.
After clearing customs in the morning and devouring the last of the tropical fruit and chickens before biosecurity could take them away, we made way motoring around and down the outside of Fraser Island towards Brisbane in the late afternoon. Some dolphins were spotted leaping momentarily in the rougher sea whilst we enjoyed some skilfully prepared cheese and crackers by Mitch and Mal in less than calm conditions – safe hands lads! Shift work resumed for the final leg overnight and as the last fiery sky set, the night began relatively uneventfully.
On the approach to Brisbane the water highways became much more populated, with many ships moving to and from Brisbane. We arrived safely just after midnight and berthed at Royal Queensland Yacht Squadron Marina, in Manly. The crew finished docking at 1.00 am and celebrated reaching the final destination of the trip, with a cold beer.
After missing dinner the previous evening, the morning saw six hungry crew bound for town with stomachs to fill. Some large breakfasts were ordered and devoured, impressing the local waitress with the size of our appetites. It’s a different kind of hungry when you come ashore from being out in the blue. After brekkie we shoe-horned our small mountain of gear into a smaller than expected Uber and headed for the airport. We’d experienced a trip of a lifetime with Phoebe proving herself as the very capable high-speed ocean crossing, adventure cruiser, that she is. Many great memories are yet to be made for Mal and his family & friends.
FACT BOX
- Departure: Auckland, New Zealand
- Arrival: Brisbane, Australia
- Total Voyage Duration: 12 Days
- Total Passage Distance: 1947 NM
- Average Speed: 28.2 KTS
- Top Offshore Speed: 43 KTS
Pull Quote
Phoebe travelled 1947nm for an average speed of 28.2 knots and topped out at 43 knots.
