Skip to main content

Chasing the Next Horizon

 

The last 24 hours have been a dream. The weather has approached near-perfect conditions, serving up just a few knots of breeze across the water and nothing more than a minor wavelet. It’s the kind of motoring that makes you forget about the autopilot woes of the previous week.

Our ETA to Port Vila is now locked in for later this afternoon. Once we’ve dropped anchor, the preparation for the next leg can begin immediately.

It seems to be a sign of the times, doesn't it? We’re always in a rush to get in, and then immediately in a rush to leave again. No one is ever truly satisfied; we're always chasing to get over the next horizon. We enjoy the tranquility of this moment, but there's a drive to get the PC52 delivered to Queensland as efficiently as possible. Plus I have a home to go to.

The tranquility of the day quickly vanished once the sun set. My watch last night, from 8 PM to midnight, felt less like cruising and more like navigating an obstacle course, thanks entirely to the long liners and their gear.

It truly seems like these guys must spend hours studying approaching traffic before deploying their lines, just to ensure they cause the absolute maximum disruption. Statistically speaking, it is completely impossible that every single long line you come across is positioned directly over your heading! Yet, here we were.

It was a slow, meticulous game of threading the needle. We had to weave the PC52 through the markers, avoid the culprit vessel that laid the trap, and keep a constant eye on the radar. Just as we cleared that mess, we were greeted by a massive cruise ship barrelling the other way.

So, while we were only travelling at a stately 7 knots, it was about as hectic a watch as you can have! 

This stop is all about fuel, quick clearance, and final systems checks. Let's hope the authorities are feeling as cooperative as the weather is right now, especially with that Sunday afternoon ETA looming. I suspect clearance will be on Monday and hopefully first thing. We’ll be sure to update you on our arrival and the clearance situation in the next post—fingers crossed for that convenient fuel-dock meeting!
Labels:
Location: 5VQC5Q4V+29

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...
Read more

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,...
Read more

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 ...
Read more