Sometimes, during the summer months, New Caledonia's SE trades stop completely and it goes absolutely dead flat calm. It does not happen very offen, maybe only a few days a year, and you'd have to be really lucky to be on the water when it happened.

Freddy and I hit the jackpot. Talk about luck. We were at Ilot Mato in the great southern lagoon of New Caledonia this past March when the winds stopped for a whole week. It was exhausting. We spent nearly all day every day racing here and there in our RIB, snorkeling, beach walking, photographing.

Magic, shear magic. When there are no waves or ripples you can zip over the coral reefs and look down and see everything just like there was no water there. It's a chance to check out miles of reefs for those choice super dive spots. When there are even small wind ripples the water is distorted enough that you often can't tell the condition of the coral or what's down there unless you jump in. So it's a treat, a delight, to ride on a mirror sea and watch the brilliant coral fish, rays, turtles, and dolphins playing in their coral wonderland.

I took this sphere image of the fringing coral reef at Ilot Ua to try to give you a sense of what it feels like. Look around and feel the magic.

If you want to visit the Great Southern Lagoon of New Caledonia and try your luck at having a delightful clear calm day, get a copy of the Cruising Guide to New Caledonia and come visit.