C.A.R.E. Code of Anchoring in Reef Environments

ANCHOR IN THE SAND, NOT IN THE CORAL

BeforeThe hook lands in the coral garden. The residents fear for their lives.

CAREThe anchor sets in the sand, not in the coral.
The coral gardens stay alive and beautiful 😀

Coral reefs rank among the largest living structures on Earth. Thousands of species build them together, and a single reef can represent millions of years of growth. Then a pleasure yacht arrives late in the afternoon, the windlass whirs, and a few seconds later a chain starts sweeping across the reef, destroying the coral gardens. 

Corals are living animals. A thin, delicate layer of tissue covers the hard skeleton. Branching colonies snap under a fluke or a swinging chain. Massive heads roll over, scrape raw, break or become infected from anchor wounds. Colonies hundreds of years old can die from infection after repeated injury. Even careless snorkelers hurt coral by standing on it.

Reefs already carry a heavy load: overfishing, bleaching, runoff, silt and crown-of-thorns outbreaks. Good anchorages are few and anchors are many. One anchor looks harmless. A whole season of them does not.

Looking at a reef, it is hard to imagine how one anchor could do much damage. Now count the anchors over 10 cruising seasons.

C

Step oneCarry the right gear

Good reef anchoring starts at the chandlery. Carry enough chain, or chain and line, to anchor in 30 metres (100 feet). This is below the normal depth range of coral reefs, so being able to anchor deep gives you a way to skip the gardens altogether in the rare circumstance when there is no shallow water area with coral-free sand patches. On larger yachts a good windlass is essential. 

A recording depth sounder helps you locate sand patches in shallow water and shows where to go deeper when there are no sandy patches in the shallow water. This is rare in protected anchorage areas. For example, all 390 anchorages in the Rocket Cruising Guides to New Caledonia and Vanuatu are located in coral-free sandy areas in reasonable depths.

Some cruisers suggest attaching floats to the anchor chain to lift it clear of the coral - NO! This is a terrible idea because the anchor will still cause damage and it is MUCH better not to anchor in the coral or try to do it with floats; not to mention the hassle of having a number of large enough floats aboard and getting them onto your anchor chain as you attempt to anchor in gusty wind conditions.

A

Step twoAnchor in sand or mud

Most lagoons and back-reef areas hold sandy patches big enough to anchor your yacht. Choose one, and drop the anchor and the chain in the sand. 

If no shallow sand exists, anchor deeper rather than destroy the coral.

Modern anchors are designed for soft bottoms, and holding power ratings come from tests in sand and mud.

R

Step threeReconnoitre before you drop

Arrive with plenty of daylight. Aim to reach a new anchorage before 3 pm, when the sun is high and coral patches stand out from the sand. Polarised sunglasses make reefs and sand far easier to see.

Take a slow pass and watch your recording depth sounder's trace of the bottom before committing. Remember you need enough clear swinging space for the chain because the chain swinging across the coral thickets and heads coral does as much harm as the anchor itself, so keep it in the clear. Allow for wind changes to make sure you have enough clearance for the chain as the yacht moves back and forth with the wind changes.

No visibility and no sounder? Lower the anchor until it just touches bottom, then feel the rode as the boat drifts. A grumbling, juddering line means coral. Lift the anchor clear, drift a little and try again. Sand and mud stay silent.

E

Step fourEase out the anchor if it gets into coral

If the chain grumbles, take the hint. Motor up over the anchor, lift it clear of the coral and move. Staying put is the costly choice. A boat swinging all day or all night drags its chain back and forth through the reef, and the damage keeps adding up.

Sand protects your boat too. Coral along exposed coasts and in channels can be as hard as concrete, and an anchor wedged in a hole is sometimes impossible to retrieve. Crews who anchor in coral can find themselves adrift in a blow, or unable to move quickly when the weather turns. Anchoring in sand is good seamanship and the reef-friendly choice at once.

Hang on, mate

Sooner or later you will watch another yacht motor toward the coral. A friendly call on the VHF beats a lecture. Offer a better spot, and most boaters respond well, weigh anchor and relocate.

Everyone should C.A.R.E.

Race and Rally organizers

Add an "anchor in sand, not in the coral gardens" notice to the pre-race briefing or rally guidelines. A whole fleet wants the same sandy patch, and latecomers end up in the coral.

Charter bases

Brief every customer and post the code aboard every boat. Damaged gardens near the best anchorages hurt the charter business and the tourist trade as well.

Yacht clubs and marinas

Post a link to this blog on the noticeboard, share it to friends and on your Facebook page.

Friends on the radio

When you invite others to anchor nearby, add a line about the bottom. "The coral gardens are beautiful here, so anchor in the sand and keep them beautiful." Everyone on the channel hears it and thinks about their own habits.

Any yacht already anchored in the coral

Dinghy over, say hello and explain nicely: coral is a living creature and very delicate, and one anchor chain does a lot of harm. If you can point them to a sandy patch to anchor in they will likely move.

Check before you enter

Some reef areas are restricted, and unauthorised boats may not enter or anchor. Fines can be heavy. Ask the proper authority before entering a new area, and carry current zoning information.

Many Pacific island nations restrict anchoring or entry on selected reefs. New Caledonia has marine reserves with their own rules and many Vanuatu reefs sit under customary tabu. The Rocket Cruising Guides to New Caledonia and Vanuatu provide details, boundaries and rules and regulations for the marine parks and customary proceedures. 

CARE 

• CCarry enough chain to anchor in 30 metres and a recording depth sounder.
• AAnchor in sand, and keep the chain in the clear.
• RReconnoitre in good light, ideally before 3 pm.
• EEase out and move if the chain grumbles.

Sailing to Vanuatu or New Caledonia?

The Rocket Cruising Guides help yacht captains plan every anchorage in both countries. The precise GPS location for all 390 New Caledonia and Vanuatu anchorages on the Rocket Guides  is in the sand, not in the coral. Anchor easily and with CARE with the Rocket Cruising Guides.

Explore the Rocket Guides

Enjoy CARE on Youtube

The Rocket Guide Youtube Channel has lots of great videos for planning your cruising in New Caledonia and Vanuatu plus here is the animated C.A.R.E. video to share with your cruising buddies and patrons.

Explore the Rocket Guide Youtube Channel 

Download the CARE PDF file to share

The CARE PDF is an 8 page colorful file readable in any website browser. Perfect to send on Whatsapp or Messenger or to give to members of cruising rallies or training courses.

Download the CARE PDF 

Richard Chesher Ph.D, Cartoons by Frederique Chesher

How to sanitize your yacht's water tanks.

How to sanitize your yacht's water tanks

If you had to fill up your tanks with water from a stream or lake, or if the tanks have been contaminated in some other way, you will need to do a more thorough cleaning and sanitizing when you reach a (hopefully) clean municipal water supply.

1. Completely empty the water tanks.

2. You can sanitize the tanks by adding 300ml (one cup) fresh (not stored) unscented household bleach for each 190 litres (50 gallons) of water you add to the tanks.

3. A much better choice is to sanitize them with the EPA recommended concentration of chlorine dioxide. 

Advantages of chlorine dioxide over laundry bleach

• Biofilm control: Chlorine dioxide penetrates and breaks down the slimy film lining tank walls and hoses. Bleach mostly attacks the surface layer, so growth can return quickly. Biofilm is the usual cause of recurring odor in yacht tanks.
• Works across pH: Bleach loses much of its killing power as pH climbs above about 7.5 to 8. Chlorine dioxide stays effective across a much wider range.
• Fewer harmful byproducts: Bleach reacts with organic matter and forms trihalomethanes and other chlorinated compounds. Chlorine dioxide produces very little of these.
• Better taste and smell: Crews often notice a cleaner taste, without the swimming-pool odor bleach leaves behind.
• Gentler on hardware: Bleach adds chloride, a known cause of pitting and crevice corrosion in stainless steel tanks and fittings. It can also degrade rubber seals and gaskets over time.
• Stronger against resistant pathogens: Chlorine dioxide handles Giardia, Cryptosporidium, and viruses better than free chlorine at comparable contact times.

To disinfect your water system add 35 ml of a 3000 ppm Chlorine Dioxide solution or 5 ml of 20,000ppm Chlorine Dioxide solution for every 100 litres of tank water. 

There are 3 options for getting a Chlorine Dioxide solution.

1. Buy Ready made 3000 ppm Chlorine Dioxide solution on Amazon. A 4 ounce (120ml) bottle costs about US$12 and will treat 340 litres of water for about 3.5 cents/litre.
2. Buy a kit to make the chlorine dioxide gas on Amazon The kit has one bottle of hydrochloric acid and one bottle of Sodium Chlorite solution. When mixed together it makes 240 ml of 20,000 ppm ClO2. Enough for 4,800 litres of water at 0.7 cents per litre. 
3. Make your own kit for generating chlorine dioxide. 

We use option 3 and make our own chlorine dioxide. 

It’s more complicated, but much less expensive will last you for years and we use it for much more than sanitising the water tanks. It's perfect to sanitize vegetables, treat cuts and wounds, insect bites, etc. 

The primary advantage of making your own chlorine dioxide for active long time cruisers is ordering once and having it aboard for years of cruising.

Buy 1 Kg 80% Sodium Chlorite Powder on Amazon. and purchase a bottle of hydrochloric acid locally from any large hardware or supermarket.

To use the powder you need to dissolve it in distilled water. Here’s how to do it.

To make 500ml of a 22.4% Sodium Chlorite solution 

1. Slowly add 140 gms of 80% NaCl2 Flake into a glass container with 500ml of warm water, stirring with a plastic spoon until the Sodium Chlorite is dissolved. It should be a clear yellow solution when done.
2. Close the glass container with a glass or plastic lid, put it in a dark place. It does not ever go bad and you can use it for years.
3. After 24hrs slowly pour the solution through a coffee filter into a 500 ml dark glass bottle with a glass or plastic top. Keep the bottle in a dark place until needed.

To make 500ml of a 4% HCL Activator Acid

(Note: Use plastic gloves when working with Hydrochloric Acid and take care to not inhale the fumes. If you accidentally spill it on your skin, immediately wash with plenty of plain water.)

Buy a litre of hydrochloric acid (HCL) with no additives and 4 litres of distilled water from a large grocery store or hardware store. The acid, HCL comes in different strengths and you will need to dilute it to a 4% solution.

To create a 4% solution of HCl divide the strength of the solution you bought by 4 to determine how much distilled water you need to dilute your HCl.

For 23% HCl, divide by 4% and you have 5.75 parts. So, to make 500 ml of 4% HCL you would use 87 ml of 23% HCL and 413 ml of distilled water.

For 35% HCL divide by 4% and you have 8.75 parts. To make 500 ml of 4%HCL you would use 57 ml 35%HCL + 443 ml distilled water.

To Sanitize Your Water Tanks

Mix one part sodium chlorite solution with one part 4% HCl (hydrochloric acid), wait 30 seconds and pour the activated solution into your water tanks. Take care not to inhale the fumes from the activated solution. 

You will need 5ml for every 100 litres of water in your tank. If you have more than one tank and they are full, add the correct amount into each tank. 

If you are filling your tank with shore water add the mixed solution to your filler hose and then fill the tanks.

.Remove any interior water filters, open the water valves, and run the fresh water pump to allow the sterilized solution to treat the entire system, then wait 8 to 12 hours, drain all the water out of your tanks, and refill with good, pre-filtered water.

Or, better yet, refill the tanks with desalinated water!

The links on this page are affiliate links

Cruisers Gifting Guide for Vanuatu Villages

 A Cruiser's Guide to Trading & Gifts

in remote Vanuatu villages.

If you're heading to Vanuatu, you might be wondering what should I bring to trade or gift in remote villages, and do I need to declare it at customs? Here's a straight answer to both — and then the part that actually matters more: what NOT to bring and how to give and trade correctly.

What to bring

The best trade and gift items are cheap for you, useful for them, and don't risk environmental damage.

• T-shirts, caps, and sunglasses — good cotton clothing, especially anything stamped with a country name, tends to be treasured.
• School supplies — pencils, exercise books, dictionaries. These go straight to the kids and the teacher will remember your boat.
• Sports gear for schools — rugby balls and basketballs are cheap, pack flat (deflated), and give a whole school something to share for years. Bring a hand pump if you can spare the space; it makes the gift usable the same day.
• Sewing needles and thread — small, light, and genuinely useful where the village sewing machine is the only one for miles.
• Basic tools — anything to help someone fix or build something in the village. Large nails, for example, are prime trade items. 
• Cheap reading glasses — hugely appreciated by older villagers doing close work like weaving or net repair, and rarely available locally.
• Band Aids and medical supplies — For the village doctor or health clinic. 
• LED Solar Lights — For school gifts or for trade. Charge with the sun during the day and reading in the evening.
• Fish hooks and fishing line — Always welcome and always used. Traditional line-fishing is pressure the reef has always handled.

Never dive gear or spear guns

Reefs near villages are already fished hard for subsistence — often at or past their limit. The moment modern dive gear and spear guns show up, the pressure becomes something the reefs can't recover from. Many species have become locally extinct from dive-fishing in the Pacific Islands. Economically valuable species like giant clams and triton shells are very slow growing and vulnerable to divers with masks and fins. Even common fish stocks collapse within a couple of seasons when spear guns and dive gear arrive.

Do you need to declare it?

Yes. Vanuatu Customs is explicit about this: anything you're bringing in specifically as gifts or trade items for villages should be declared on arrival. They know every cruising yacht carries some hooks, line, T-shirts, and school supplies for village visits — this is completely normal and expected. Declare it honestly, Customs will probably not charge you anything for a reasonable amount of trade goods. It's a formality, not a hurdle. The only things you genuinely need to avoid packing are fresh produce, meat, or seeds — Biosecurity will take an interest in those, gift or not.

The part that matters most: how you give

A gift given to one person in the village may create envy and disharmony. The best gifts help the whole village, not just one person. One way you can help the whole village is to find out what the village genuinely needs. Maybe it's a problem with the water supply, the outboard on the village service boat, the generator, or the solar array. If you're good at fixing things helping with repairs is always appreciated and it's much more effective if you take the extra step of teaching a couple of the men the diagnostic process, not just the fix, so they can handle it next time. 

Books, supplies and sporting goods presented to the school with the Chief's permission ripple out to everyone rather than singling anyone out.

Buy handicrafts, skip the shells.

One of the best ways to put money into a village without creating imbalance is simply buying what people already make — carvings from the men, woven baskets and mats from the women. It's a clean trade, and it often encourages younger islanders to keep traditional skills alive as a way to earn cash. 

Never buy: sea shells, or anything made from an endangered species like sea turtle. Once villagers realize shells sell, reefs get stripped — including the triton, the creature that keeps Crown of Thorns starfish in check.

Accept gifts with thanks

If someone in the village gives you some fruit, accept it with a warm smile and heartfelt thanks. If you were a guest in someone’s home and one of the family members gave you an apple from the family fruit tree would you offer money in return when they have just offered you a piece of fruit out of hospitality? No, of course not.

My wife, Freddy, and I walked into Lakatoro, Malekula, Vanuatu and passed a group of young ladies sitting under a tree. One of them came over to us and handed Freddy a nice big papaya. Freddy, admired the papaya, smiled and thanked her.

I, being somewhat of a social klutz, said “that’s really nice” and reached into my pocket for some Vatu.

The woman laughed, shook her head, and said, “No, really, it is just a gift to welcome you.”

I’ve never forgotten how embarrassed I was and how glad she laughed and didn’t feel insulted by the crass tourist that thought gifts were another form of begging.

Freddy gave me one of those, “Really?” looks as we walked off.

Buy or trade for local produce

Sometimes a gift is an opener, not a gift. If a couple of coconuts show up and you need fresh produce, that's often your cue. 

Offer something back — cash works, since most villagers have real costs like school fees, soap, kerosene, and clothing. As a rough guide, village prices for fruit and vegetables run about half what you'd pay in a town market, sometimes the same. 

Islanders often value a tangible gift over cash, too — a good cotton T-shirt or cap, especially one stamped with somewhere exotic, goes a long way.

Hire a Guide. 

When you go ashore in a rural Vanuatu village you are on someone's personal property. You know nothing about the local rules of conduct. You could easily stumble through a garden and trample new shoots without knowing (Melanesian gardens don't look like European farms). You could enter a "Tabu place you are not allowed to be in.

So if you want to trek to a waterfall, climb a volcano, or see a taboo ancestral site with cave paintings ask the chief's permission first, he'll assign a guide. Agree on the price before you set out, and pay the chief when you return. 

Pay admission fees 

Villages charge admission for custom performances, dances, caves, dive sites, or waterfalls. 

Do the tours, celebrate the festivals, pay admission fees happily. Paying for access to performances, natural and cultural sites is normal everywhere in the world and it helps the villagers appreciate and care for their culture and their natural resources.

Vatu Exchange: A Cruising Sailor's Guide to Currency in Vanuatu

Vatu Exchange:

A Cruising Sailor's Guide to Vatu

You dropped anchor in Port Vila or Luganville, cleared customs, and now the crew wants a cold drink, fresh produce, and a nice dinner. One problem: your wallet is full of Australian dollars, US dollars, or Euros, and Vanuatu runs on Vatu. Cash is king here, and outside Port Vila and Luganville, credit cards barely work at all.

Every season a few yachts arrive prepared, and a lot more arrive without a plan. Here's how to handle currency exchange in Vanuatu depending on what's aboard your boat right now.

Type 1: The Wise Card Yachties

If a Wise card is already in your wallet, you're ahead of most cruisers in the anchorage. A few things make the difference between a smooth trip and a surprise fee:

• Always choose to be charged in Vatu, never in your home currency, when an ATM or terminal offers the option. Accepting "home currency" conversion at the machine hands the exchange rate decision to the local bank, and it costs 5-10% more.
• Withdraw the maximum in one go. Vanuatu ATMs carry a per-transaction fee on top of anything Wise charges, plus a hidden card fee around 1,100 Vatu per withdrawal. Pulling out the max (roughly 50,000 Vatu, or about 600 AUD) in one transaction spreads that fixed cost over more cash, instead of paying it three times for three smaller withdrawals.
• Watch for card surcharges at shops. Few shops in Vanuatu accept credit cards and those that do add a 3-4% card fee. If you have cash, use that instead of the card.
• Top up before you leave the main islands. ATMs thin out fast once you're away from Port Vila and Luganville, and the outer islands often have none at all or those that are there are empty.

A Wise card won't remove every fee in Vanuatu, but it strips out the worst of the bank markups, and the mid-market rate it uses beats what most currency counters offer.

Type 2: The Cash-Loaded Yachties

Arrived with a stash of AUD, USD, NZD, or EUR aboard? You're in a strong position, because cash almost always gets a better rate than a card swipe or a bank transfer.

• Compare Goodies, No1 Currency, and Western Union before choosing. Worth knowing: No1 Currency, Goodies Forex, and Fexco Pacific share the same parent company, so don't expect the signs on the street to mean real competition between them. Still worth a quick compare, since branch-to-branch rates can vary.
  
  

• 

  Goodies Money Exchange has three locations around Port Vila
  (Opposite The Grand Hotel (close to Yachting World),
  opposite Market House and at Olympic Court

   
• 
  

  

  Goodies has a branch in Luganville opposite The Espiritu Hotel.
  Hours 7:30am-4:30pm weekdays, shorter on weekends

• No1 Currency is the most convenient for odd hours — the Bauerfield Airport branch runs 4am-11pm daily. But you'll have to pay a taxi to get there and back and airport exchanges always give the worst rates.
• Bred Bank often beats the exchange counters for GBP, Swiss Francs, and Pacific Francs specifically, so if you're carrying one of these, check Bred first.
• Bring your passport. Every exchange counter and bank asks for photo ID.
• Exchange enough before heading to outer islands. Once you leave Port Vila or Luganville, currency exchange options disappear almost entirely. A good estimate is at least 400,000 or 500,000 Vatu for your 90 day cruise.
  

Type 3: The Credit Card-and-Bank-Transfer Yachties

No Wise card, no cash stash, just a credit card and the option to wire funds? This route works, but it's the most expensive of the three, so a little planning goes a long way.

• Bank branches in Port Vila and Luganville exchange foreign notes, and ANZ, BSP, National Bank of Vanuatu, and Bred all offer the service during weekday banking hours (generally 8:30am-3pm, closed weekends).
• A cash advance on a credit card works in a pinch, but expect both an ATM fee and a cash-advance fee from your home bank on top of the local charge.
• The long-term fix is a Wise card, ordered before you leave Australia or New Zealand. It takes a a week to 10 days to arrive, so if this is you and you're still in port at home, this is the moment to sort it out rather than face Vanuatu's rates with only a Visa in hand.

👉 Order a Wise card here before you cast off — it's the one piece of gear that pays for itself in the first few withdrawals. (Affiliate link — a small commission comes our way at no extra cost to you.)

The One Rule That Applies to Everyone

Whichever type of yacht you are, don't leave Port Vila or Luganville short on Vatu. ATMs and exchange counters are scarce to nonexistent once you're out among the islands, and running low on cash mid-cruise is a far bigger headache than any exchange fee.

Sail safe, budget smart, and enjoy Vanuatu.

For the full picture on banks, ATMs, and money matters across the archipelago, open the Rocket Travel Guide to Vanuatu, click on the where to stay, eat and shop then click on Banks Rocket Cruising Guide to Vanuatu.

Using Park Moorings in New Caledonia

 Using Park Moorings in New Caledonia

Ilot Maitre Marine Reserve - Mark Rolle Photo

The South Province installed and maintains 120 moorings in 18 marine protected areas to prevent damage to coral reefs and seagrass beds from anchors and chains.

To ensure reliable moorings, the South Province provides regular and thorough maintenance, with a budget of 5 million francs per year.

The Province does not set a maximum yacht size for using the moorings, relying on the good judgment of captains ⛵

1. The South Province does not guarantee the safety of yachts over 10 meters long using the mooring in winds over 20 knots or with onshore winds.
2. Only use a mooring when it is sheltered from wind and waves.
3. Be careful when approaching or leaving a mooring to avoid damaging it with your propeller.
4. Approach buoys slowly, facing into the wind or current, and watch for swimmers and boats already moored.
5. Give priority to buoys closest to shore to make maneuvering easier for future arrivals.
6. Check the condition of the mooring line before attaching to it.
7. The minimum line length to attach to the eye is 5 meters, or 10 meters if you run the line through the eye and back to your boat for a double harness.
8. After mooring, if the buoy is pulled underwater, extend your line, increasing horizontal tension until the buoy floats.
   
   

Unfortunately the captains of many yachts don't know about or follow the requirement to use a minimum of a 5 meter line for tying up to the park moorings and this can (has) caused a few of the moorings to break. 

A catamaran broke the mooring line at Ilot Amedee in 2025 and went hard aground on the reef causing irreparable damage to the corals and very serious damage to the yacht. Not only did the captain have too short a mooring line - he did not realize the winds were about to shift to the NW and the moorings are NOT able to handle a big yacht when the wind and waves build up with an offshore wind.

Have a look at this image. One - only one - of the catamarans has a reasonable mooring attachment line. The mooring line on the Catamaran on the left is nowhere near 5 meters long. And the big cat on the right has tied up right on top of the mooring.

This may happen because in some countries, like Australia, moorings are often set up with the lines between the buoy and the mooring block three or four times the water depth and yachts normally tie up to the buoy with short tethers. 

But the lines on the park mooring blocks are really short - at high tide it is sometimes difficult to pull the mooring attachment loop high enough to get your mooring tether through the loop.

In short, it's up to the captain to create sufficient scope - and, as the South Province says, 5 meters minimum and if the buoy is pulled underwater when the wind is up, add line until it floats again. 

Or get off it. 

To ensure reliable moorings the South Province carries out regular and rigorous maintenance. The park mooring are free to use and they provide crucial protection to the corals and sea grass beds. 

Within minutes, a vessel anchored in 3 meters of water can destroy up to 100 m² of coral or seagrass that took decades to establish. 

Hey, have a look at what the moorings at Ilot Maitre Marine Reserve are protecting from all those yachts. I took this image on a reef right smack in the middle of where all the yachts are moored. If you want to see this beautiful reef as a 3D sphere image just give it a click.

And there are millions of delightful creatures, like this Spanish Dancer nudibranch living amidst the corals.

You'll also discover rare sea creatures, like this green sea turtle (nearly extinct on our planet) enjoying the lush sea grass beds protected by the moorings. Want to see this critter at Ilot Maitre in a sphere image where you can look all around? Just click on the image.

It's little wonder yachts fill up the available moorings on weekends and holidays. So it pays to arrive really early in the morning or on a weekday. If you do arrive when the moorings at Ilot Maitre are packed full you "could" find a sandy area in the sea grass beds outside the mooring area but - - - 😉⛵ my advice is to sail on to one of the other super marine reserves or pick one of the non-reserve islands shown on the Rocket Cruising Guide to New Caledonia and enjoy the fabulous marine life of the world's largest coral reef lagoon.

OH, one final but very important warning!!!! Do NOT pick up private moorings in Noumea Harbor or anywhere else. They are not rigorously maintained like private moorings in Australia or New Zealand and every time there is a strong westerly wind some of the moored yachts wind up ashore. 

The Cruiser's Guide to Mobile Internet in New Caledonia and Vanuatu - Don't Pay Roaming Rates.

 

The Cruiser's Guide to Mobile Phones and Internet in Vanuatu & New Caledonia  

Don't Pay Roaming Rates 

If you're sailing into New Caledonia or Vanuatu with your home SIM card from Australia, New Zealand, the USA or Europe, switch off mobile data the moment you arrive. Roaming charges in the South Pacific are among the highest in the world, and a few days of casual internet use — checking weather, updating charts, staying in touch with family — can generate a phone bill that rivals a marina berth for a month.

Most cruising yachts these days arrive with Starlink on the stern rail, and rightly so. At AUD399 for a Starlink Mini, it's the single best connectivity investment a cruiser can make — fast, reliable, and works from  any chorage. If you have Starlink, you're already ahead of the game.

But here's what Starlink doesn't solve: the moment you step off the boat.

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Why You Still Need a Local SIM

Starlink stays on the boat. Your phone goes ashore with you — to the customs office, the market, the chandlery, the fuel dock, the restaurant. The moment you step off the dock and your home SIM connects to the local network, roaming charges start accumulating. A quick look at Google Maps, a WhatsApp message to the marina, checking the weather forecast — it adds up fast.

A local SIM solves this completely. For a fraction of the cost of a single day's roaming, you get local data rates and your phone works normally everywhere you go ashore. It also gives you a genuinely useful backup if Starlink has an outage, needs a reboot, or the power budget on a cloudy day means you'd rather not run it.

There's also a practical underway reason: OPT's mobile network in New Caledonia has reasonable  coverage almost everywhere. A local SIM means you have data connectivity while sailing between anchorages — useful for checking in with other vessels, sending a position update, or pulling a weather file without spinning up the satellite dish.

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Why Roaming is a Bad Idea in the Pacific

New Caledonia is not part of France's domestic telecommunications zone. Despite being a French territory, it sits completely outside the European roaming arrangements that give French and EU visitors free data in metropolitan France. Australian and New Zealand carriers treat it exactly the same way — as a remote international destination with premium rates. Depending on your carrier and plan, data roaming in New Caledonia can cost anywhere from $15 to $30 AUD per day, or worse, per-megabyte rates that run to hundreds of dollars if you forget to switch off background app refresh.

Vanuatu is no different. The solution in both destinations is the same: get a local SIM or eSIM for your phone, keep your home SIM for calls and SMS only when back in home waters, and let Starlink handle the heavy lifting on board.

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New Caledonia — The Helia Liberté Kit

New Caledonia has a single mobile network operator, OPT-NC, which markets its mobile services under the brand Helia. Coverage is good almost everywhere in New Caledonia.

For visiting sailors the right product is the Kit Prépayé Liberté — a prepaid SIM with no contract, no ongoing commitment, and a straightforward recharge system managed through the free Helia NC app. Your SIM card and number remain valid for three months, and each top-up extends that validity.

To get started, visit helia.nc, select Mobile then Freedom Prepaid Kits, and choose between the 15GB and 30GB starter plans. You will see the option to purchase via eSIM or find a physical Point of Sale.

If your phone doesn't support eSIM, pick up a physical Helia SIM card at one of these Nouméa outlets convenient for cruisers:

Nouméa Yacht Services — right next to Port Moselle Marina ☎ +687 24 01 23

Micromedia — 16 Rue Auguste Brun, a five-minute walk from Port Moselle, one block past the new Museum and Visa Car Rental ☎ +687 27 39 55

Staying longer than a month? Ask at either outlet about a Helia Mobile M plan — a much better deal than repeatedly topping up a prepaid kit for an extended cruise in New Caledonia.

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The eSIM Option — Connect Before You Clear Customs

If you have a modern unlocked smartphone with eSIM capability, you have an option that's even more convenient than hunting for a SIM card on arrival day: the Helia Liberté eSIM.

An eSIM is a digital SIM built into your phone. Instead of inserting a plastic card, you complete the purchase online at helia.nc and receive a QR code by email, usually within two hours. Scan it, and your Liberté plan activates in minutes. You can do this from your marina in Australia or New Zealand before you even leave, or from the marina when you clear in. 

For sailors this is a genuine quality-of-life improvement. No hunting for a phone shop on arrival day, no waiting for business hours, no language barrier at the counter. The eSIM purchase is entirely online, the Helia website has an English language option, and payment is straightforward.

eSIM works on any unlocked iPhone from the XR onwards, including all iPhone 11 through 17 models. On the Android side, all Google Pixel phones from the Pixel 4 onwards support eSIM cleanly without regional complications — the recently released Pixel 10, available unlocked on Amazon Australia, is a strong choice. Recent Samsung Galaxy S series phones also support eSIM, though Samsung's regional model variations can make this less straightforward — always verify the exact model number before purchasing a Samsung specifically for eSIM use.

One important point: your phone must be unlocked — not tied to a home carrier. Phones purchased on a plan are often carrier-locked and cannot use a foreign eSIM or local SIM. Check your status before you leave. On iPhone go to Settings → General → About and look for Carrier Lock — "No SIM restrictions" means you're good to go. On Android, go to Settings → Connections → SIM card manager and look for an "Add eSIM" or "Add mobile plan" option — if it's there, your phone is eSIM capable and unlocked.

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Thinking About a New Phone Before You Leave?

If your current phone is older or carrier-locked, replacing it before a Pacific cruise is worth considering. A modern unlocked smartphone gives you eSIM capability in New Caledonia, flexibility in Vanuatu, and freedom from roaming charges across the Pacific.

For iPhone users, new unlocked models including the iPhone 17 and iPhone Air are available through Apple Australia and JB Hi-Fi. The iPhone Air is worth a particular mention — it is eSIM only, with no physical SIM slot at all, reflecting where the whole industry is headed.

For Android users, the Google Pixel 10 is the standout recommendation — factory unlocked, dual SIM with both a nano-SIM slot and eSIM, confirmed compatible with New Caledonia and Vanuatu network bands, and available new on Amazon Australia. At a significantly lower price than a current iPhone it represents strong value for a cruiser who wants reliable eSIM capability across the Pacific without the complexity of navigating Samsung's regional model variations.

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Setting Up the Helia NC App

Download the free Helia NC app by OPTNC from Google Play (Android 5.1+) or the App Store (iOS 13+). This app lets you monitor your usage and recharge your account from anywhere — including from the anchorage via Starlink — at any time.

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Recharging Your Account

Call credit: Open the Helia app, go to the Recharge tab, choose your credit amount, and pay securely online via EpayNC. Your account is credited instantly. Liberté credit covers calls, SMS, and data activation.

Data top-ups: Available on the same page in the Helia NC app. Current options include 1GB valid for 24 hours, 10GB valid for 10 days, and 40GB valid for 10 days. Recharging takes under two minutes.

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Vanuatu — Getting Connected Ashore

Vanuatu has two mobile operators: Digicel and Vodafone. For cruising sailors, Digicel is the stronger recommendation — they have retail presence across the main islands including Port Vila, Luganville on Santo, Tanna, Malekula, and the Banks Islands, covering the main cruising destinations throughout the archipelago. They have an active MyDigicel app for online top-up and their own eSIM product, making it possible to get connected before you even arrive.

The Vodafone situation

Vodafone Vanuatu has good coverage, particularly on the outer islands, but their Port Vila store is currently closed. The only place to get a Vodafone SIM is the airport kiosk — which is no help at all for sailors arriving by sea. If you do have a Vodafone SIM, top-up credit is widely available throughout the islands as a scratch card called a RIFIL card. Dial *184* then the voucher code then # to redeem it. You can also top up online from the boat via Ding.com, which sends you a PIN code by email that you enter the same way.

Digicel — the cruiser's choice

Get a Digicel SIM on arrival at their Port Vila or Luganville store, or at the airport kiosk. Top up online via the MyDigicel app from anywhere — no shop visit required after the initial purchase. Digicel also offers their own eSIM product; check their website or the MyDigicel app for current plans and the purchase process before you leave.

Coverage is strong in Port Vila, Luganville, and populated areas on the main islands. In remote anchorages on the outer islands coverage can be patchy or absent — the same limitation that applies to any local network in a small island nation.

The travel eSIM alternative

If your phone supports eSIM and you want to arrive in Vanuatu already connected without visiting a shop, international travel eSIM providers Airalo and Holafly offer Vanuatu data plans purchasable entirely online before departure. These are data-only plans — no local Vanuatu number — but for most cruising needs ashore that's perfectly adequate. WhatsApp handles calls and messages, and navigation, weather, and email all run over data without any issues.

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The Bottom Line for Pacific Cruisers

Starlink on the boat, local SIM in your pocket. That's the combination that covers everything.

Switch off roaming before you leave home waters. For New Caledonia, pick up a Helia Liberté Kit in Nouméa — via eSIM if your phone supports it, or from Nouméa Yacht Services or Micromedia if you need a physical SIM. For Vanuatu, get a Digicel SIM in Port Vila or Luganville, use the MyDigicel app to top up from the anchorages, or sort a travel eSIM through Airalo or Holafly before departure.

Between Starlink on board and a local SIM in your pocket, you will stay connected throughout New Caledonia and Vanuatu without ever paying a roaming charge, hunting for a wifi hotspot, or queueing at a phone shop on arrival day.

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Planning a cruise to New Caledonia or Vanuatu? 

The Rocket Cruising Guides cover anchorages, passes, hazards, facilities, and everything a yacht captain needs for a safe and enjoyable cruise — written by sailors who live here. 

Find out more at rocketcruisingguides.com.

Links on this blog may be affiliate links and we earn a slight commission at no cost to you.

 

New Caledonia 2026 — The Real Situation for Cruising Yachts

By Richard Chesher PhD, Yacht Moira, Noumea, New Caledonia

Travel advisories are scaring sailors away from one of the most beautiful cruising destinations in the Pacific. As someone who has lived aboard in New Caledonia for over 25 years — through COVID, through the 2024 civil unrest, and through everything in between — I want to give you the real picture for 2026.

S/V Charmierre Just Did It — All of It

Last month, S/V Charmierre — an Australian yacht skippered by Martin and Christine — completed a full circumnavigation of New Caledonia. They sailed up the west coast of Grande Terre, day-hopped down the east coast, crossed to Ouvea and Lifou in the Loyalty Islands, worked their way back to SE Grande Terre and down to Isle of Pines before returning to Noumea.

I was in contact with them throughout the voyage. They stopped at many anchorages along the way, went for walks ashore and shopped in villages. Their verdict: big smiles, friendly chats and a genuinely delightful time throughout.

Martin and Christine liked the Rocket Cruising Guide to New Caledonia so much they made a short video about their experience:

The Kanak Situation Is Political, Not Personal

The independence movement is a dispute between Kanak leaders and French politicians — it has nothing to do with foreign yachts. If anything, a yacht flying an Australian, New Zealand, American or European flag and a Kanak courtesy flag is seen as a friend.

The Kanaks are counting on international opinion and the UN to support their cause for independence. They know the Australian press in particular has been sympathetic to their cause. Foreign yachts represent exactly the international community they want on their side.

Beyond that, yachts bring money. They buy fish, fruit, vegetables and handicrafts from villages. They are genuinely welcomed.

I told Charmierre before they left: the Kanaks have a dispute with French politicians. They have no dispute with you.

At the height of the 2024 riots, not one yacht was hassled. Not a single one — including local yachts like my own Moira.

Why Some Areas Restrict Anchoring — And It's Not Politics

There are places where yachts cannot anchor, and Isle of Pines is the most notable example. Yachts are restricted to Kuto harbour and a few moorings. But this has nothing to do with independence politics.

It has everything to do with the past behavior of some yachts. Loud music late at night. Women sunbathing topless on deck in full view of conservative Kanak communities. Trash left on beaches after picnics. Reef fish taken from the same reefs villagers depend on for sustenance. And in one memorable incident that sealed the deal — a yacht that pumped its black water sewage tank upwind of a village beach, then fired a gun over the heads of residents who paddled out to complain.

The chiefs made a reasonable decision. Yachts that behave like that are not welcome off their villages. The good news is that yachts that respect Kanak culture and courtesy are welcomed warmly almost everywhere else in New Caledonia.

The Rocket Cruising Guide to New Caledonia covers cultural sensitivity, courtesy protocols and exactly where yachts are and aren't welcome in detail — information you simply won't find on your electronic charts or social media.

What's Changed Since the 2024 Unrest

New Caledonia's economy suffered during the civil unrest and COVID years. That means visitors are now being welcomed with real warmth and gratitude. Locals know that cruising yachts bring spending money to communities that need it. The lagoon is as magnificent as ever. The anchorages are waiting. The villages are open and friendly.

The Bottom Line for 2026

New Caledonia is open, beautiful and welcoming foreign yachts right now. The lagoon is magnificent. The Loyalty Islands and Isle of Pines are accessible. Villages are friendly. The political situation is what it is — a long-running dispute between Kanak leaders and Paris that has no bearing on your cruise.

Don't let outdated travel advisories written by bureaucrats in Canberra or Washington who have never set foot in a Kanak village stop you from cruising one of the great sailing destinations on earth.

Come. You won't regret it.

Plan Your Cruise With the Rocket Guides

The Rocket Cruising Guide to New Caledonia covers 220 anchorages with personally surveyed depth overlays, GPS routes, high resolution aerial and underwater photos, cultural guidance, services, regulations and everything else you need to cruise New Caledonia with confidence. Updated four to six times a year with current information.

The Rocket Cruising Guide to Vanuatu covers 170 anchorages across 83 islands with the same depth of information.

Both guides work offline — no Starlink bandwidth required once downloaded.

Richard Chesher PhD
Yacht Moira, Noumea, New Caledonia
WhatsApp +687 879563
cruising-newcaledonia.com | cruising-vanuatu.com

Tags: New Caledonia cruising 2026, sailing New Caledonia, Kanak independence yachts, New Caledonia travel advisory, cruising South Pacific 2026, Rocket Cruising Guide New Caledonia