Yacht Delivery Blog

Well, it's definitely feeling and looking more tropical now, but those steady trade winds seem to have taken a break. Yesterday, as the wind started pushing us south, we gybed, expecting it to shift - which it did, for a while. Then it would sneak back to where it was before gradually coming around again. Everytime we thought about changing course there would be a hint of a wind shift. Talk about indecisive. Around midnight, it was clear another gybe was in order. So, here we are, pushing on even as the wind decides to take it easy. We had a little burst of excitement last night when it picked up to around 18 knots, but now it's back down to below 15. And if the forecast is right, it's going to ease off even more and shift behind us. I've been moaning about the lack of seabirds for a while now, blaming it on overfishing and the damage it does to the environment. Even a few years ago, it wasn't unusual to have boobies and other seabirds hanging around the boat durin...

We managed to pass clear of the reefs extending north of New Caledonia today, all thanks to the wind! For those who don't know, we have an autopilot that steers the boat. It has two main settings: Compass Course: This setting keeps the boat on a specific compass course (e.g., 266 degrees). It's great for keeping us on a straight line, but it won't avoid obstacles or adjust for wind changes, so we still need to keep an eye on things. Wind Angle: This setting is a bit more complex. It steers the boat to keep the wind at a certain angle to the yacht (e.g., 93 degrees). This means the yacht's direction will change with the wind to maintain that angle. Again, vigilance is key! In these conditions, the wind usually blows from the same direction for days, even weeks. So, we're currently sailing to the wind angle. Yesterday morning, our course was heading straight toward a series of reefs north of New Caledonia, and we were preparing to gybe later in the day as we ar...

We're making good time since leaving Port Vila. We are almost heading straight to our destination which is always a plus. Every so often, the wind decides to play a little game of "let's head to Torres," but it swings back. You'll hear no complaints from me as long as we're generally heading in the right direction! One thing that's been a bit strange but definitely welcome is the lack of fishing boats. Since we left Port Vila, we haven't seen a single one. I'm starting to wonder if it has something to do with stricter fishing regulations around New Caledonia. Maybe the French have more resources to prevent dubious or illegal fishing. Speaking of New Caledonia, it looks like those reefs extending north are going to force us to gybe later today to head around them. That is, unless we get a lucky wind shift!  On the plus side, the sea has been relatively calm, giving us a smooth ride despite the gloomy, gray skies. The GRIBS are still forecastin...

Well, we're back at sea. We decided to pop into Port Vila since it was so close and the forecast showed a few days of light winds ahead. Figured we might as well top off the fuel while we had the chance. Things have certainly changed here over the past few months! The Australian Border Force has been through and provided a bunch of new equipment and some basic training to the local authorities. However, let's just say there are still a few gaps to fill. Apparently, having a visible track history on the chart plotter is now a big deal, and no one seemed to grasp the concept that after a certain point, the oldest data gets deleted to make room for new data. Trying to explain it was like trying to teach Mr. Bean about quantum physics! We also had a whole saga with the AIS system and our lack of visibility. So, not exactly the warmest of welcomes. After being biometrically checked, we were finally free to grab some fuel and then head back to the office later for another round of bi...

You may have noticed a significant decrease in our speed. This is because we've encountered completely flat calm conditions with only the occasional gust of 4 knots of breeze. So, while we're still heading in the right direction, it's not as fast as I'd like. We're passing right by Port Vila, and it's quite tempting to stop in for some fuel. We filled up with extra in Fiji before we left, but the GRIB files are showing several days of calm across the Coral Sea next week, and it would be nice to keep moving. I'll see how I feel later. We sent our advance notification of arrival to Port Vila yesterday just in case – this is one of the fantastic things about Starlink and having internet access on board. Not long ago, it would have been impossible to tell the authorities you were going to arrive, and there would have been some explaining to do as they find it hard to understand why you might need to unexpectedly pull in. And it's much easier to explain to t...

The GRIB files have been spot on since we left, and we're currently in a large area of blue on the weather map, indicating almost no wind. It seems like the breeze won't return until tomorrow as we approach Vanuatu. We've had a quiet 24 hours, without even a chance to trick Rhona and getting her to stand under the boom. The only excitement has come from dodging fishing boats. Last night, we encountered a 25 nautical mile stretch of sea so crowded with fishing vessels that we had to navigate around it; I'm not sure we could have squeezed through between them. I hope this isn't a sign that there are no fish left in Asia so they are over here taking the South Pacific fish. I am sure Fiji , Vanuatu and the rest of the Pacific islands don't have the resources to monitor their waters, and even if they do then actually getting out to sea is a different story. The Fijian 'navy' recently put their latest high tech patrol boat through initial sea trails which unf...

The last 24 hours have been windy, wet, grey, and mostly uneventful. We had a few squalls and encountered several long-liners that seemed a bit suspect, but otherwise, it was pretty quiet. There was one moment of excitement, though. We were shaking out a reef, which meant Rhona was standing under the boom while I was on the coach roof prepping things and getting the sail ready to be hoisted. When Rhona started to raise the sail with the winch, about 100 liters of rainwater that had pooled in the sail poured directly over her head! It wasn't a steady stream like a shower; it was more like a ginormous bucket had been tipped over her head.  I also found one of my pesky nemeses in the main - a flying fish! It must have been 15 feet in the air when it hit the sail and fell into the sail cover. I cant say I am overly enthused about being attacked daily by smelly flying missiles like when we crossed the Pacific a few months ago. The weather to the south wasnt looking too peachy, so our t...

We cast off on time yesterday! A sea breeze was blowing as we hoisted the reefed mainsail and made our way towards the pass. We did a bit of a test sail and unfurled the headsail in the protected waters of the bay before heading out to the open sea. But as we reached open water, things were looking a bit "spicy," so we put in the second reef. We made good time heading west for a few hours at 8-10 knots, and, of course, I fell into my usual trap of calculating our arrival time (never a good idea!). Gradually, the wind started to increase and shift further east. Keeping our angle to the wind meant we were steadily heading further south, and as the wind started to pick up so we slowly started to furl the headsail as we went. By around 4 pm, the sky had darkened considerably, looking particularly ominous to the south. With the wind starting to gust to over 30 knots, we put in the third reef and gybed. With almost perfect timing, the wind eased right off, came around to the north,...

We're here in Fiji, eagerly awaiting our departure! We have a customs appointment at 10 am to finalize our clearance procedures. We arrived at Oxygen a few days ago and had the pleasure of a thorough handover from the boat's owner. This was a welcome surprise, as we're usually thrown right into the deep end! The weather forecast looks decent for the first 24 hours as we head west-ish, planning to sail slightly south of Vanuatu on our way to the Torres Strait. However, there's a developing disturbance near New Caledonia with heavy rain predicted. We're aiming to pass it on the north side to avoid the worst of it before continuing west over New Caledonia. Rhona did a frantic dash to the supermarkets yesterday and managed to return with everything we will need for the voyage. While she was gone we hung around off the fuel dock jostling for position with ferrys, water taxis, high speed tourist boats and unfortunately a cruise ship also decided to berth near by so it was...