Looks like the weather is finally warming up as we head north! Either that or I’m becoming acclimatized to the cold. The wind died off yesterday afternoon and we’ve been motoring on one engine since then. Checking the GRIBs, it looks like we might get a decent southerly push tomorrow as we’ll be on the west side of a low-pressure system. After that, it’s looking like light southerlies or even calm conditions for the next few days. Looks like that duty-free fuel is going to come in handy! And Starlink is a fantastic addition to any yacht delivery.
Location: Departing Denarau, Fiji And so it begins! The journey from Fiji to Southport is officially underway. I arrived in Fiji yesterday and had a fantastic handover from Karl, the boat's owner. It was a proper, detailed session, which is always a treat and makes the whole process so much smoother. It's rare to get a handover at all so that level of thoroughness was a huge help and saved a lot of time, and I'm very grateful for it—it makes a huge difference to a delivery skipper. This morning was all about final preparations. We filled the tanks with a massive 15,000 litres of duty-free fuel. By midday, customs and immigration were on board to complete the paperwork, and with their stamp of approval, we were good to go. The moment you first take the helm of a new boat is always a mix of excitement and a little bit of nerves. No matter how much you've been briefed, you're never quite sure how she'll handle. Will she respond to the helm? How will she behave in t...