After anchoring off Ile Ouen last night, we had originally intended to stop at Ilot Amedee and Ilot Maitre en route back to Noumea, but after a very blustery night, we decided to head straight for Noumea instead and we are very glad we did. The weather has turned very nasty indeed with winds up to 28 Kts in the protected area of Port de la Moselle, so we hate to think what it's like outside. With yet another early start, we were safely anchored by 0930, but not before we had to make way for a passing cruise ship. While most sailors will admit "it's a race" as soon as two yachts are sailing together in the same direction, we were obviously "out gunned" on this occasion. We still had plenty of time though to drop off the laundry and enjoy deux grande cafe au lait and French pastries at Le Marche de Noumea. However, with the cruise ship beating us to the port, it was a very busy Saturday morning market. We also enjoyed having decent internet connection again, which meant we were able to catch up on a few landlubber matters. A walk along the promenade to stretch our legs, a visit to the grocery store and a stop at the bank concluded our errands. Afternoon refreshments were enjoyed at Bar Brasserie before heading back to Paw Paw to ride out the bad weather. If we have one criticism of the French islands, and it's the same one that applies to all the French islands we have visited around the world, it is that they do not announce their securite messages or provide the weather forecasts on the VHF radio in English. Very irritating, not to mention potentially dangerous. Guess we will just have to knuckle down and learn French! We had a rather pleasant surprise this afternoon when Aaron, off Alchemy I, another Leopard 46, which had just arrived in the anchorage, came over to introduce himself and suggested we all get together once the weather improves. What a great gesture and to do so in th is dreadful weather. It appears they are heading back to Australia around the same time we intend to do our passage, so we should have a bit of company based on the number of yachts we've met heading the same way.