I think I can, I think I can.

We are still pushing on to Sabang, Indonesia, as the wind has been playing tricks on us. Every time we think we have enough breeze to sail, it dies down and we have to turn on the engine again. It's frustrating. A few knts of wind can make the difference between us sailing at 4.5knts or 6knts. Our cut off for sailing is 5knts - any slower and it's engine time. Sometimes we can sail for a few hours at a time but it's impossible to know what's going to happen.

The nights have been beautiful, with a full moon lighting up the sea and the stars. We have seen some ships on the horizon, but not too many to worry about. We have also tried our luck with fishing, but so far we have not caught anything. I don't mind, though, as we have plenty of food on board and I don't like killing fish unless I have to.

We have a little over 600 nautical miles to go. That means we should arrive in Sabang in about four days, if everything goes well. I have been looking at the chart and I can see that we are passing by some amazing cruising grounds. There are islands, reefs, bays, and lagoons that look like paradise. I wish we had more time to explore them, but this is a delivery trip and we have a schedule to keep.

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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