Another Pacific Day

We had a great day sailing yesterday, with some very accommodating winds giving us a nice push. I was hoping to smash the 200 nautical mile a day barrier. We did 95 in 12 hours, but the wind eased off around 2 am, so I'm expecting our 24-hour run to be around 175 nautical miles. Not too shabby, but it would be nice to be cracking out 200 a day.

I had a couple of near misses with flying fish last night. While I was standing in the cockpit, one came whizzing towards me, hit the coach roof, and shot past my ear. Another huge one crashed into the coaming below, giving me a huge fright right next to me. Other than that, I don't have much to report.

I had left the clothes, a shirt, and shorts I jumped overboard in to soak in a bucket of water to get the salt out. Unfortunately, it was left right at the bottom of the steps into my cabin, and I stepped in it last night on my way to bed, soaking my only pair of socks. Things are warming up, but it's still not tropical, so a dry sock would be a nice bit of comfort on watch.

The wind has been hovering around 18 knots, and we've been keeping it around 90 degrees, adjusting slightly and bearing away a few degrees if it starts to pick up. It's been a pretty comfortable ride, other than the constant expectation of getting smashed in the kisser by a flying fish in the dark.

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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