Yacht Delivery Blog

We're almost through the Torres Strait and hoping to reach the Arafura Sea this afternoon, as long as we don't have to struggle against more tide. We had a nice ride last night with a few extra knots of speed, but we're paying the price for that now. Yesterday we had a couple of interesting encounters. First, we had some visitors who flew over and announced themselves as ABF (Australian Border Force). And we had to quickly check in with them and confirm our last port, next port and registration number. Interestingly we've been having issues with authorities not being able to see the name of the boat when they check our AIS as for some reason its not transmitted. ABF knew the name! Then, we had some other visitors who swam around but didn't announce themselves – they appeared to be false killer whales. It's a little unnerving navigating through the Torres Strait. There are scattered reefs and islets for hundreds of miles, and we're essentially using a tablet ...

Well, we're still out here, braving what little elements there are to brave! The conditions have been pretty consistent over the past few days, and I keep waiting for a change. Yesterday, was very exciting as the breeze shifted to the north and picking up a bit. "Sails up and away we go!" I thought. That plan went well for a while and of course, I immediately fell into my usual trap of calculating our speed, distance to our destination, and estimated arrival time. You know the drill: "If we're going X knots, that's XX nautical miles a day, and it's XXXnm to our destination, which means we'll be there in XX days!" But, wouldn't you know it, I had barely finished my mental calculations before the wind decided to play tricks on us again, shifting back to the east. This is a very slight exaggeration - I did have time to take a photo. So, to keep the apparent wind up, we had to start heading north, which, as you seasoned blog readers know, mean...

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...

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...

This is shaping up to be the windiest Pacific crossing I've ever experienced. The wind is consistently blowing in the mid-to-high 20s from the southeast, and we're sailing with a double-reefed main. With plenty of fetch, we're encountering some impressively large waves. The flying fish don't even need to jump onto the boat anymore; they just wait to be washed aboard by the swells. We managed to cover 98 nautical miles in 12 hours, so it'll be interesting to see if we can break the 200 nautical mile ceiling. While I appreciate the speed, I wouldn't mind sacrificing a bit of boat speed for a more comfortable ride. The GRIBs are forecasting the possibility of blue (no wind), green (light wind), and orange (our current conditions) over the next few days. So, it's a waiting game to see what unfolds. We still have a substantial amount of fuel left, so a few days of 'blue' weather would be a welcome respite. On previous passages, I've always wished for ...

It feels like we're on the edge of tropical conditions, with a mix of great sailing and calm seas on one side, and overcast squally conditions on the other. Guess which side we're on? I've also figured out a way to translate the weather forecast: randomly add or subtract 30% to whatever it shows. If the wind dies down, turning on the engine seems to make it start blowing again immediately, and putting a few rolls in the headsail ensures the wind dies off completely. Despite this, we've managed to average slightly over 7 knots for the last 24 hours, making solid progress in the right direction. The local population of flying fish seems to have exhausted themselves trying to get onto the boat, and the daily numbers on the deck seem to be dropping off. I had great plans of doing some serious miles with the gennaker, but the conditions aren't really suitable. Maybe we should have gotten the sailmaker in Cape Verde to put some reefing points in it! For any non-sailors, t...

We arrived in Cape Verde pretty excited about its name. Turns out, whoever decided to call it "Green Cape" must have either shared a naming philosophy with Iceland and Greenland, or possessed a truly brilliant sense of humor. Because let's be honest, "Gray Lump Covered in Orange Dust" might be a more accurate, if less inspiring, moniker. In just the short time we were in Cape Verde, the boat got a healthy coating of orange dust. It wasn't the most glamorous makeover.          One thing that did surprise us was the number of yachts in the harbor that looked a bit worse for wear. Sails flapping, masts were broken, and a general air of abandonment hung over some vessels. It was a stark reminder that the Atlantic crossing can turn dreams into nightmares in a hurry. I can only imagine the challenges a serious onboard failure would present here. Spare parts would likely be scarce, and shipping anything in would be a time-consuming and expensive ordeal. Factor in t...