Yacht Delivery Blog

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...

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 ...

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...

 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.

After a much-needed night’s sleep, it was time to officially tackle the bureaucracy. The only problem? Despite asking officials three times, no one had actually told me the clearance itinerary. The only hard timeline I had was that Biosecurity would meet us on the fuel dock at 9 AM , so we pointed the PC52 there and hoped for the best. To be fair, the actual officials were reasonably smooth, and we cleared in efficiently. However, the subsequent logistics were an absolute marathon. We had so much to do before the final leg, and the endless loop of form filling, visiting offices, going to the ATM, going back to the ATM (repeat), waiting for people to come and collect or drop off forms was seriously pushing my patience. Our main goal was to take on around 4,000 liters of fuel . To get the duty-free rate, I had to complete a specific application. The bureaucratic circuit went like this: Go to the Ministry of Works and find Josephine to pay the harbour dues. Take that receipt to Customs...

We made it! The Horizon PC52 arrived in Port Vila and we got the anchor down at 14:00 —though it wasn't without some frustration. The anchoring area isn't exactly massive, and a few other yachts were already claiming the prime spots. The worst part is the surrounding area drops off to about 30 meters, which is definitely a little outside my comfort zone for an overnight stop. We found one pinnacle that came up to 12 meters, but it was tricky to get the anchor to sit nicely on top; it kept slipping off! After some patient juggling, we finally got properly set and secure for a safe night's sleep. On the plus side, the officials have moved from the main port area into town, which actually made clearance pretty straightforward. Most of them remembered me from previous visits, which always smooths things over! We conducted the entire clearance process right on the fuel dock. Given the dock is only about 12 feet long and the PC52 measures 52 feet , it took a bit of careful mane...