Skip to main content

I Dont Believe It!

I've realized that the focus of the blog has been slowly shifting towards flying fish and clouds, and even the clouds have started to take a backseat. so I decided to refocus the blog back on sailing and crossing the Pacific.
Until last night, when I came off watch and went into my cabin, I didn't realize how much of my day had been consumed by flying fish (or avoiding them). I immediately knew something was amiss when I detected the telltale perfume of my scaly little flapping friend. There was a flying fish asleep on my bed! I poked it with the BBQ tongs, but it wouldn't wake up, so I picked it up by its wing and threw it off the back of the boat.
Now, my whole cabin and bedding stink of flying fish, and our laundry facilities are slightly primitive, so I've had to soak all the bedding in a bucket of soapy water all night. I've spent the morning washing the smell out of my sheets. I'm aware the blog has not done a great job of shifting away from flying fish today but these are exceptional circumstances and there will be no further mention of Parexocoetus brachypterus. 

On a more positive note, it's been a relatively calm night, and we spent the majority of the night gently motor sailing with the headsail as the wind hovered around 150 degrees behind us. The fuel transfer from the water barrels went well, and we're now all set for some extended motoring if necessary.

And a big thank you to our resident photographer and first mate for this excellent picture of sunny days and trade wind miles, aptly titled "Sailing Around the World."

Ready to embark on your next sailing adventure? Yacht Delivery Solutions can help you get there. Our team of skilled professionals is dedicated to providing top-quality yacht delivery services around the world. Contact us today for a free consultation and let us handle all the logistics.

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 ...

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,...