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Passage Progress Toward Port Vila and Clearance Considerations

 The last 24 hours have delivered strong and consistent progress, with 163 nautical miles logged , placing the vessel firmly on schedule for arrival into Port Vila the following day. This level of daily run reflects stable conditions and efficient sail handling, and it positions the vessel well for a timely clearance and dockage on arrival. The passage period itself has been largely uneventful — a desirable outcome on any offshore delivery . Sail was carried for most of the day, with conditions remaining stable enough to maintain steady averages without unnecessary strain on the vessel or crew. After nine days at sea, the rhythm of four-hour watch cycles compresses the perception of time. While days tend to blend together, vessel performance, log data, and weather trends provide the objective markers that matter operationally. Weather Management and Power Use Weather conditions over the previous day were warm but manageable, with intermittent cloud cover moderating temperatur...
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Brisbane - Clearance Was a Nightmare

  Well, we are finally tied up safely in Sanctuary Cove , concluding the Horizon PC52 delivery. But before we celebrate the completion of the voyage, let me backtrack and detail the Australian arrival experience. The final run down the Queensland coast was based on a forecast persistently showing 30 knots of North-Westerly wind . Our strategic swing worked perfectly: we kept going further east toward Bundaberg, then turned sharply south, giving us a far more comfortable angle on the waves and a safe run into the Brisbane River. We tied up to the fuel dock in the marina, as the dedicated quarantine dock (Q-dock) was occupied. And this is when the trouble started. The Australian Border Force (ABF) informed the marina that the fuel dock was now strictly out of bounds to everyone while we were tied up for quarantine. Now, that has nothing to do with me, right? Wrong. Apparently, it was entirely my fault. For the next 18 exhausting hours , we were the inadvertent roadblock. Commercial ...
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Racing the Clock to Brisbane

                          A ship at 2.5nm  We are now officially heading south down the coast of Queensland, and while I know Australia must be somewhere to our starboard side, it’s currently impossible to tell in this persistent gloom. It’s that final, stage of a long passage where the land is close, but not quite visible. The good news is the wind didn't increase as much as the forecast suggested. We're still getting some movement, but I am certainly pleased to be getting some shelter from the vast landmass now. In fact, I'm especially happy the wind stayed mild, as I washed the boat down a few days ago, and I'd been bracing for the PC52 to be immediately caked in salt again. A small victory to end a long journey! Now, the final stressful race: clearance. It's touch and go whether we can get cleared in today, and honestly, it’s looking a little doubtful. We still have around 70 nautical miles to cover, a...
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Navigating the Final Weather Puzzle

The last few days have been a testament to luck over planning (and my modesty). After all those frustrating delays in Fiji, the minute the autopilot was fixed for the third and final time, we left immediately. We didn't have the luxury of waiting for a weather window and had to take what came - within reason! Of course I wouldn't have left into poor conditions. My passage plan was simply to stay north to avoid the stronger winds in the Coral Sea and head over the top of New Cal.  Being pushed into the urgent situation paid off. There had been a small low-pressure system threatening to form on the weather models around the 11th, which would have put us right in the washing machine south of New Cal. For anyone monitoring our current course and comparing it to our destination, you'll see we are actually heading quite far north of Brisbane. This is a deliberate tactical choice. We have some more strong North-Westerly winds forecast to start developing over the next day. If we...
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Plotting the Final Approach

We are still comfortably "plodding along on our own little world," with the Horizon PC52 eating up the miles across the Coral Sea. We recently navigated through the scattered reefs around Chesterfield , just west of New Caledonia, and are now officially heading directly for Queensland. However, the weather models are starting to argue a bit about what our final arrival holds. There is a strong, possibility of some gusty Northerlies sweeping through as we approach the coast. To ensure we avoid a repeat of the uncomfortable conditions we experienced a few days ago, we’ve made a strategic adjustment to our course. We are now heading slightly further north of our destination. This gives us the tactical flexibility to turn southwest as we get closer to Australia, which will allow us to have any incoming waves further aft. This significantly improves the comfort and safety of the ride. In tandem with this course change, we've also decided to clear in to Brisbane rather than ...
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Bumpy Horizon

We are officially back in the routine of passage making, which currently involves managing some spirited weather. The 27 knots of yesterday is gradually easing—it's down to around 15 knots now and slowly swinging to the southeast. There's still a significant sea running, however, which makes things incredibly uncomfortable. Typing is a challenge, and cooking is currently impossible (thank goodness for pre-made provisions!). The good news is the heavy spray has finally died down, so we are no longer having salt caked over the windows and everything else on deck. Which meant having to hose things off outside every now and again. I had anticipated things would be a bit spicy as we crossed the top of New Caledonia. So, just before exiting the Grande Pass , I slowed the PC52 down, turned off downwind to stabilize the motion, and we did a fuel transfer, filling the main tanks from the IBC tanks stowed on deck. It is definitely helping the motion to get nearly a ton of weight off t...
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Wavy

 Its too rough to write the blog today. But the weather forecast is looking good for the next couple of days. We have to make the best of the cards we have been dealt and plan around what comes up. Its looking as though the wind is easing and swinging around over the next  24 hrs. We have slowed down and will continue on this heading and as the conditions moderate we will be able to turn towards Brisbane.
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