Heading to Torres Strait

It's your favorite yacht delivery skipper here, back with another adventure on the high seas. This time, we set sail from Port Moresby, but not without a few hiccups along the way. Our plan had been to arrive on Thursday, get settled into our marina berth, do some maintenance on Friday, rest on Saturday, and then head to the fuel dock and back to our berth on Sunday. We were all set to leave bright and early Monday morning and arrive at the entrance to the Torres Strait late afternoon Tuesday.

But as they say, the best-laid plans of mice and men often go awry. Customs took much longer than expected, so we ended up leaving Port Moresby much later than planned. And now we were behind schedule before we even left.

The Torres Strait is no joke - 150nm of congested shipping lanes, reefs, current, tides and strong wind. The first 40nm seems straightforward so I planned to do that at night and arriving at a busy area in the morning so we can navigate through in day time. And about 3hrs ago I was given permission to anchor at night by the Australian border force as long as we are not in Australian waters of Thursday Island. So it's all got a bit higgeldy piggledy.

But as usual, we will figure it out! We're resilient sailors and we always find a way to make it work. Like I say - it's Yacht Delivery Solutions not yacht delivery problems!

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 ...

Motoring

We've officially crossed the halfway point on our journey to Darwin, and things are looking good. The weather continues to cooperate, offering us smooth motoring so far. However, forecasts predict a shift in wind direction sometime tomorrow, with easterlies potentially changing our arrival time. The stronger the easterlies, the later we'll pull into Darwin. It's going to be time to transfer fuel later and the only pump available in Singapore was a rickety, hand-cranked contraption that leaked like a sieve . Transferring fuel has been a nightmare. It turned a simple task into a full-blown mission, complete with showers for everyone involved afterwards and a thorough boat cleaning session. Thankfully, things are much different now. Thanks to Rhona's keen eye, we snagged a fantastic electric transfer pump in Lombok. This beauty is a dream come true – just two hoses and a simple switch, and we can effortlessly pump 250 liters of fuel in a matter of minutes! Needless to say,...

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