Yacht Delivery Blog

This is our last full day and night at sea. Tomorrow, we'll be tied up in the marina in Tahiti , and I'll be turning off the engines for the last time. The main and headsail will be dropped and stowed away, and I won't be touching the sheets or halyards again. It feels peculiar to think that Namarie and I have kept each other safe throughout this incredible journey, and in a few days, I'll be on a plane heading home. On this yacht delivery Namarie and I started in the Bay of Biscay and headed south into the Atlantic, getting to know each other along the way. We made a brief stop in the Canary Islands, our last contact with Europe before heading further south and leaving footprints in the red dust of Cape Verde. We left West Africa behind and headed further west across the Atlantic, dodging hurricanes and grabbing fuel and provisions in the southern end of the Caribbean. From there, we pushed onwards through the Caribbean Sea to Panama and the canal. Pretty soon after, ...

Now I'm under a personal gag order to avoid discussing the "watery wingsuiters." I've been racking my brain for a different topic, but it seems that once you've covered weather, waves, and oceanic aviators, there's not much else to write about. Yesterday, we put the clocks back another hour, so the sun was just lighting up the sky when I got up for my watch this morning. It's definitely a cheerier experience than waking up to pitch black until 7 AM. If we adjust the clocks again in a few days, Adam can also enjoy a sunrise, and we can arrive in Tahiti without being too out of sync with local time, and our body clocks won't be too disoriented. We spent yesterday motor sailing with light winds from around 120 degrees. We had the main, headsail, and a Volvo pushing us westwards with 10-14 knots of apparent wind. During the night, the wind died down to 8 knots apparent, so we dropped the main and continued with just the headsail until very early morning wh...

Yesterday my request for the wind to ease off wasn't specific enough. It died down pretty much immediately and it was supposed to be after midday, which was disappointing. As a result, our 24-hour run was only 186 nautical miles, which is still impressive but not quite the 200 nautical miles I was dreaming of. We ended up motoring for the night with less than 10 knots of breeze, except for a brief burst of excitement this morning when the wind picked up to over 30 knots for a while. It's back to less than 10 knots now. We'll need to put the clocks back another hour as the sun didn't rise this morning until 7 AM. The day is pretty dreary so far, with a gray sky and drizzle. Hopefully, it will clear up soon. I'm also hoping the sea state will allow me to take the lid off the water barrels and pump fuel into the tanks this morning without spilling any. We also had a very exciting encounter yesterday: we spotted a ship, not with our eyes but on the AIS! It's the fir...

There’s been a slight improvement in conditions. The current has eased off a bit and changed direction slightly, which is a small victory. Unfortunately, the wind hasn’t died down as predicted, but it has dropped a few knots and shifted a bit south, sitting at 18 knots apparent. The time between waves has increased and they are noticeably smaller, which is also a positive. All these small changes have added up to a bigger win. We're now able to point the boat directly towards the Galapagos and still be around 25-30 degrees off the apparent wind. With the main sail sheeted in tight and a gentle push from both engines, we're making about 5.5 knots - exactly the right way. Running both engines is a bit of a luxury, but it’s essential to make miles the right way while we have the opportunity.  With 400 nautical miles to go, it suddenly looks a lot more promising. Of course, I’m not getting carried away, as things can change quickly out here. But for now, I'll take this small w...

The finish line is getting closer! With less than 500 nautical miles to go, I can practically hear the steel drums playing a welcome song to Trinidad. We've already sent all our clearance documents over to "Junior," and hopefully, he'll have everything ready for a smooth arrival process. My mental image of "Junior" is a bit outlandish – a towering figure over 2 meters tall with a massive beard and a weight to match. It'll be interesting to see how close reality gets to this picture! Cruising through hurricane alley at a leisurely 6 knots isn't exactly the most relaxing way to travel, so there's been a lot of reading happening on board. Yesterday, we came across some interesting information about the red dust I've been complaining about. Turns out, it might actually be a blessing in disguise! These Saharan dust storms blowing across the Atlantic are a common occurrence at this time of year. And here's the good news: the dust disrupts hurri...

We finally left Nongsa behind us this morning, setting sail at first light. Our recent "sea trial" threw a wrench in the plans, requiring Rhona's swift return twice to Singapore for essential spares.  Thankfully, the final stretch through the Singapore Strait was smooth sailing. Ample navigable water allowed us to maintain a safe distance from the main channel traffic. And with a full fuel tank and four additional 200-liter fuel drums securely fastened in the cockpit, we're making our way south. However, the weather forecast isn't exactly sunshine and rainbows. Early predictions reveal a couple of lows forming southwest of Jakarta, forcing us to hug the Java Sea to avoid them. My initial plan was to bypass the Java Sea and head "outside," which would entail a longer journey but significantly less traffic. Unfortunately, Mother Nature seems to have other plans. Speaking of dodging, keeping a watchful eye is crucial right now. While cargo ships, thankfully...