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New Caledonia to New Zealand: A Surprisingly Happy Sail!

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Some passages are memorable for their wild seas, howling winds, and tales of survival. Others are memorable because nothing much went wrong! And after leaving beautiful New Caledonia for New Zealand, we were delighted to have the latter.  Come along with us as we have a lovely sail across the Pacific.

Note:  As you know, our blog posts usually run 6-8 weeks behind live events.  However, I inserted this update in true time so you know where we are now, New Zealand.  Our blog posts will resume tomorrow from New Caledonia until they catch up with us 🙂

Our passage treated us to light winds, favorable seas, and sunny skies. Sugar Shack sailed along happily, the weather cooperated, and Mother Nature seemed to have decided we’d earned a little kindness.

We happily repaid her kindness with some Citizens of the Sea Sampling three times a day, every day.

Ideal Conditions

Now, those of you who follow our adventures know that I’m not exactly the poster child for enjoying a rolling ocean. I get seriously seasick, so a passage with gentle conditions and sunshine is about as close to sailing paradise as I can get. No dramatic waves, no wrestling with the elements, and—best of all—far less time negotiating with my stomach!

Of course, even an easy passage requires watchkeeping, navigation, and keeping an eye on the weather. But when the seas are friendly and the skies are blue, it’s a whole lot easier to appreciate the magic of life at sea.

Navigating at night always keeps us on high alert.

And just like that, our New Caledonian adventure gave way to the familiar comforts of New Zealand. We arrived grateful for a safe, pleasant passage and reminded once again that sometimes the best sailing stories are the ones where the ocean lets you enjoy the ride.

Matt hoisting the yellow quarantine flag.

Matt and I sailed from New Caledonia to New Zealand in 5.5 days with an average boat speed of 6.4kts.  We crossed the Pacific Ocean in early October 2026.

Out blog posts typically run 6-8 weeks behind live events.  However, I inserted this into our schedule so you know where we are now.

Our blog posts will continue in New Caledonia – but rest assured, we are in New Zealand.

Crossing the Pacific Ocean….Again

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Matt and I are taking the big blue watery road across the Pacific Ocean again.  This time we are departing from the amazingly beautiful country New Caledonia and heading for our beloved New Zealand.

Our trip should take between 6 to 6.5 days to cover the roughly 900 nautical miles.

Please follow us Crossing the Pacific as Matt blogs “live from the sea” and you can track our progress.

Predict Wind Tracker:

https://www.predictwind.com/tracking/SugarShack?mapMode=useAtlas&windSymbol=WindStreamlines&weatherSource=ECMWF&trackDuration=0

Crossing the Pacific is never easy, but we are hoping for fair winds, calm seas, and no storms.

As always, we appreciate your well wishes, prayers, and hopes for a safe and uneventful passage.

The Boat Retirement Plan: Royal Recy

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Sailors spend an awful lot of time thinking about how to keep our boats alive.

We replace sails and rebuild engines. We polish stainless steel, repair fiberglass, chase electrical gremlins, replace pumps that have mysteriously decided to die at the worst possible moment, and occasionally have long, philosophical conversations with a piece of equipment that has absolutely no intention of cooperating.

The goal is always the same: Keep the boat sailing.

But what happens when a boat finally reaches the end of the line?

That is where things get really interesting.

While exploring New Caledonia, we discovered a company called Royal Recy Boat, and frankly, we think what they are doing is pretty brilliant.

Their mission is simple to say but considerably harder to accomplish:

Take boats that are no longer useful, take them apart, and give as much of them as possible a second life.  And they are doing it right here in New Caledonia.

The boat graveyard problem

There are roughly 27,000 vessels registered with the maritime authorities, and that creates an interesting problem. Boats don’t live forever. In fact, estimates suggest that around 6,300 vessels could reach end-of-life over a 15-year period, with perhaps 20–30% of those constructed primarily from fiberglass.

For years, one of the biggest challenges with old fiberglass vessels was that there simply weren’t many good options other than disposal and burial or scuttling and sinking.

Not exactly a boat scrapyard

Royal Recy Boat was created in 2017. They describe their approach as recovery, depollution, hand deconstruction, sorting and local recovery of the materials.

And that “hand deconstruction” part is important.

Rather than simply crushing an old boat into one enormous pile of boat confetti, they carefully take it apart.

First comes the removal of pollutants and unwanted materials. Then the boat is dismantled piece by piece, with the goal of keeping useful components intact and separating the different materials so they can be directed into the appropriate recycling or reuse streams.

Which means that the old boat’s bits and pieces don’t necessarily end up as…well…bits and pieces.

They can become useful things again.

One boat. Lots of lives.

Think about everything that goes into a cruising boat.

  • Metal.
  • Wood.
  • Stainless steel.
  • Aluminum.
  • Electrical components.
  • Hardware.
  • Fittings.
  • And, of course, fiberglass.

Royal Recy Boat recovers and sorts these materials, sending them toward local reuse, recycling or other recovery pathways.

They were closed when we went by so I could not get any photos of the recovered and salvageable items.  Let’s hope we don’t have to dig through this pile.

Some of the hardware can be sold for reuse. Wood can find its way to artisans, carpenters or other users. Metals can enter recycling streams. And the company has even developed a marine “second-hand” parts concept—essentially giving perfectly usable boat equipment another chance at life.

For sailors, this part is especially fun.

Because anyone who has ever needed a very specific, slightly obscure, no-longer-manufactured marine fitting knows that the used-parts universe can sometimes feel like a treasure hunt.

One person’s obsolete deck hardware may be another sailor’s “OH MY GOD, THAT’S EXACTLY WHAT I’VE BEEN LOOKING FOR!”

The numbers are pretty impressive

According to the New Caledonian government, during one 2022 pilot operation Royal Recy Boat processed 16 end-of-life recreational vessels in four months. Government information also reported that as much as 92% of the materials from a dismantled vessel could be reused or sold, leaving approximately 8% as material that could not be recovered.

The company’s ambition, however, goes even further:

100% recycling and recovery.

That’s a pretty audacious goal.

The boat may be finished sailing…but its materials don’t have to be finished.

Royal Recy Boat +687.85.85.12, +687.79.06.16, royalrecyboatnc@gmail.com. Located 3 rue du Captaine Bois, Nouville 98800 Noumea.

We found Royal Recy Boats around mid-August 2026.

Find Royal Recy Boats on No Foreign Land. 

Our blog posts run 4-6 weeks behind live events.