Bellona High Sea

Bellona High Sea lies off New Caledonia, where a long barrier reef encloses one of the largest lagoons in the world. The reef breaks the open swell and leaves calm water inside, so ships approaching the land had to find the known passes through the coral. Indigenous communities of the island had long read this reef, its channels and its currents for fishing and travel.

Captain James Cook sighted New Caledonia in 1774 and named the island for its resemblance to Scotland. Later French and British ships passed the reef in the early nineteenth century, sailing with care through the barrier openings.