Yacht Delivery Blog

Yesterday was a day of easy miles. We had a pretty consistent breeze that kept the boat speed up around 8+ knots. But then, around midnight, just as I came on watch, we got nailed by a huge squall! Thank goodness for a good radar! I saw the squall from several miles away and furled the headsail, bringing us up into the wind about 40 degrees hoping it would pass in front. But there was no missing it completely – luckily, we just caught the edge of it as it passed. I could tell what was going to happen as I got hit with an icy blast of wind and thought, "Hmmmmmm." As the wind started picking up to 25 knots, we dropped the mainsail, pulled out some headsail, and got back on track. We watched as the wind picked up to the mid to high 30s, and then we followed it around as it shifted from the north. It stayed gusty and rainy for a few hours. We finally got the mainsail back up at 4 am and are now back on track. The next leg of our journey takes us through the Torres Strait and in...

Well, I'm sure you can all guess what finally happened, judging by our course and speed! After some frustrating, slow, and far-too-hot days, the wind has returned. It's still easterly, but we've got around 15 knots over the deck, giving us a good, healthy push – even if it's not quite in the direction we'd prefer. Either way, it's good news! To the north of us is a long chain of islands and reefs called the Louisiade Archipelago. Somewhere in there, there must be a gap wide enough to fit two ships side-by-side because there's a veritable highway of traffic coming and going from the east coast of Australia (and probably New Zealand) heading to Korea, Japan, and maybe Hong Kong. They're all heading north or south, and we had to cross this busy shipping lane last night as we're making our way west. It's quite an experience having a cargo ship that could be over 600 feet long and 100 feet wide heading straight towards you at nighttime at 30kph! Typi...

Well, it seems there is at least one bird left in the South Pacific, and guess what? It decided to pay us a visit! Not just any visit, mind you. This feathered friend decided to perch on the boat and, well, it did more than just rest.  Seriously, why do they always perch facing outwards? You know, with the messy end pointed inwards? I wouldn't mind so much if they at least had the decency to release their, ahem, deposits overboard. I have no idea what this bird's health status is (didn't get close enough to ask!), but I can tell you it definitely wasn't wearing a mask.  Despite the lack of social distancing and questionable hygiene, it was a pretty photogenic bird. So much so that I decided to grace the blog with its presence instead of yet another picture of flat water or a sunrise. But hey, even though it was a worthy subject for a photo, I still wouldn't have minded if it had chosen a different perch. As for the weather, it's still calm and doesn't look l...

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...

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...

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 ...