Yacht Delivery Blog

The last few days have been quite the adventure, in fact its been pretty hectic! We've been battling torrential rain and squalls, along with one of my biggest annoyances – unlit fishing boats at night. I'm not sure if it's a blessing or a curse that they're big enough to show up on radar. On the one hand, at least we can see them, but on the other hand, hitting one would definitely ruin our day, where as a small one would just bounce off. This is an island 1/3rd of a mile away. 

Merry Christmas everyone! Well, it's Christmas Day, and we're still out here pushing forwards. We can see a little sliver of land on the horizon right in front of us, which is exciting! We have to go around the bottom of a small island, then up a channel before turning right over the top of a larger island and into Tual. It's not looking very likely that we'll get there before dark, and heading into an unfamiliar Asian port at night is definitely not a good idea. So I'll need to come up with a Plan B for tonight.  If you're looking at our track, you'll see there's been a big change in direction. This recent change is a lot more positive than the changes of the last 10 days, which have all been in mostly the wrong direction! And even if they were in the right direction, it was only just!  This change is because the wind died off almost completely – as forecast – and we're now motoring in exactly the right way albeit slowly. Luckily it appears the...

Merry Christmas Eve everyone! We're 65 nautical miles in a straight line from where we anchored for the generator repair, but we've probably sailed at least double that zig-zagging into the wind and current and dodging fishing boats.  On the way out of the anchorage and along the south end of the island, the wind was westerly and looking fantastic for the trip up to Tual. Unfortunately, as we got out to sea, it started to swing around to the northwest, so essentially blowing from exactly where we want to go.  The generator has run for a few hours since the patch-up, but it's nerve-wracking! The life expectancy of the repair is unknown, and every beat of the engine puts pressure on it. With two electric motors for propulsion, the generator is essential for us. So if you're wondering why the blog isn't as upbeat as usual, that's why. And it's Christmas Eve, and we have at least 150 nautical miles to go in a straight line to the next place to try and get a be...