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All is well on board but there is a lot of traffic. 

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A New Adventure Begins

Location: Departing Denarau, Fiji And so it begins! The journey from Fiji to Southport is officially underway. I arrived in Fiji yesterday and had a fantastic handover from Karl, the boat's owner. It was a proper, detailed session, which is always a treat and makes the whole process so much smoother. It's rare to get a handover at all so that level of thoroughness was a huge help and saved a lot of time, and I'm very grateful for it—it makes a huge difference to a delivery skipper. This morning was all about final preparations. We filled the tanks with a massive 15,000 litres of duty-free fuel. By midday, customs and immigration were on board to complete the paperwork, and with their stamp of approval, we were good to go. The moment you first take the helm of a new boat is always a mix of excitement and a little bit of nerves. No matter how much you've been briefed, you're never quite sure how she'll handle. Will she respond to the helm? How will she behave in t...
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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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Racing the Clock to Brisbane

                          A ship at 2.5nm  We are now officially heading south down the coast of Queensland, and while I know Australia must be somewhere to our starboard side, it’s currently impossible to tell in this persistent gloom. It’s that final, stage of a long passage where the land is close, but not quite visible. The good news is the wind didn't increase as much as the forecast suggested. We're still getting some movement, but I am certainly pleased to be getting some shelter from the vast landmass now. In fact, I'm especially happy the wind stayed mild, as I washed the boat down a few days ago, and I'd been bracing for the PC52 to be immediately caked in salt again. A small victory to end a long journey! Now, the final stressful race: clearance. It's touch and go whether we can get cleared in today, and honestly, it’s looking a little doubtful. We still have around 70 nautical miles to cover, a...
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