Skip to main content

150nm from Port Vila

The first 24 hours of a passage are always an exciting time. It's good to finally be on the way, with the wind at our backs and the boat going very well at 7+ knots. The wind is blowing at a steady 25 - 30 knts from behind, pushing us along at a good pace.

It's always hard to arrive somewhere and try to jump the queue to get things fixed, but that's just part of the job. We made good progress in Port Vila and managed to tick off our job list pretty quickly. Being a delivery skipper means you have to be ready for anything that comes your way, and that means being able to adapt quickly and efficiently.

Getting fuel in Port Vila was quite an adventure. The fuel dock is a mere 50 meters away from our berth, but a pesky set of power lines stretches across the bay. This meant we had to navigate a tricky route, exiting through a reef pass, circling an island, and then re-entering through another pass. Meanwhile, most other boats enjoyed the luxury of a direct route to the fuel dock, thanks to their more modest masts.

Overall, the first 24 hours have been a great. The boat is performing well and we're making good progress towards our destination. It's a great feeling to be out on the open water, with nothing but the sound of the wind and waves to keep us company. ⛵️


Popular posts from this blog

Arrival in Sydney: Delivery Complete!

 This morning, the Excess 14 slid gracefully into her new berth at Middle Harbour Marina, marking the successful completion of her delivery from the Gold Coast. The final approach into Sydney Harbour is always a great sight, a fitting end to a coastal voyage. This passage was a comprehensive real-world test of the boat's capabilities. She proved to be a joy in light airs, demonstrated strength and stability in heavy weather, and showed impressive maneuverability during a tricky docking. It’s clear that the Excess 14 is a versatile and robust catamaran, perfectly suited for everything the Australian coast can throw at it. The final tasks onboard are ones of quiet satisfaction: coiling the lines perfectly, writing up the final log entry, and giving the boat a last clean and polish. For Yacht Delivery Solutions, it's a pleasure and a privilege to deliver a vessel of this quality. Handing her over to the brokers at Flagstaff Marine clean, secure, and ready for her new owners is t...

Done and Dusted in Brisbane!

We are done! The boat's tied up safe and sound in the marina, the crew has packed their bags and headed off, and I'm here doing the final clean-up before I leave at 6 am tomorrow morning. I have to admit, I was pretty anxious for the last 24 hours. I was on the edge of my seat, hoping those saildrives would hold out for the final stretch. I even changed the oil in both of them around 3 am, because we were going to make landfall around 5 am and its quite a way up the river, and the tide was going to be dropping as we went up, meaning they'd have a bit more work to do. And the final approach was definitely… engaging. There was a fair bit of tide coming out of the river, which dropped our boat speed down to around 4 knots. We also had the added obstacle of river traffic to contend with, and the channel margins were tight – about half a meter on either side. It was one of those situations where you're constantly running through scenarios in your head. I was thinking things ...

Last 24hrs

This is our last full day and night at sea. Tomorrow, we'll be tied up in the marina in Tahiti , and I'll be turning off the engines for the last time. The main and headsail will be dropped and stowed away, and I won't be touching the sheets or halyards again. It feels peculiar to think that Namarie and I have kept each other safe throughout this incredible journey, and in a few days, I'll be on a plane heading home. On this yacht delivery Namarie and I started in the Bay of Biscay and headed south into the Atlantic, getting to know each other along the way. We made a brief stop in the Canary Islands, our last contact with Europe before heading further south and leaving footprints in the red dust of Cape Verde. We left West Africa behind and headed further west across the Atlantic, dodging hurricanes and grabbing fuel and provisions in the southern end of the Caribbean. From there, we pushed onwards through the Caribbean Sea to Panama and the canal. Pretty soon after, ...