Yacht Delivery Blog

We're keeping a close eye on the weather forecast and preparing for a bit of a blow. The GRIBs all suggest that the wind will be southeasterly, which should make for a fast ride over the final 1000 nautical miles and perhaps we can smash the 200nm a day record. We're still on track to turn west by tonight and catch the wind starting to blow first thing tomorrow and bring it over the port quarter. The weather at the moment is fantastic, with clear skies, a few fluffy clouds, and 10-14 knots of breeze. There's no sign of what's coming around the corner. We're motor sailing to make as many miles as possible, which goes against my sailor instincts, but we're gaining around 30 nautical miles a day with the engine running. Yesterday evening, I found myself being hoisted up the mast again, an activity that's never pleasant, even in the safety of a marina. But at sea, with a partially raised mainsail swaying above me, the task becomes even more daunting. The upcomin...

I've realized that the focus of the blog has been slowly shifting towards flying fish and clouds, and even the clouds have started to take a backseat. so I decided to refocus the blog back on sailing and crossing the Pacific. Until last night, when I came off watch and went into my cabin, I didn't realize how much of my day had been consumed by flying fish (or avoiding them). I immediately knew something was amiss when I detected the telltale perfume of my scaly little flapping friend. There was a flying fish asleep on my bed! I poked it with the BBQ tongs, but it wouldn't wake up, so I picked it up by its wing and threw it off the back of the boat. Now, my whole cabin and bedding stink of flying fish, and our laundry facilities are slightly primitive, so I've had to soak all the bedding in a bucket of soapy water all night. I've spent the morning washing the smell out of my sheets. I'm aware the blog has not done a great job of shifting away from flying fish to...

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...

We’ve made great time yesterday, with an average 24-hour run that will be over 150 nautical miles, I will need to check at midday. We had a nice breeze for most of the day, steadily sitting at around 7.5 knots with 12-14 knots of breeze on the beam. The wind died off during the evening, so we dropped the sails and carried on motoring. There were a lot of fishing boats last night, not compared to Asian standards, but we could see six or eight at once, which seems like a lot for the Pacific. Presumably, they're local boats from the Galapagos. They had no AIS or visible navigation lights other than large white lights they used for fishing. I woke up for my watch just before sunrise, and Adam handed over to me and went to bed. I did a quick check of the instruments and surroundings before putting the kettle on. I then followed with my usual morning routine of chanting internally “COME ON!!! WHYS IT TAKING SO LONG????!! HURRY UP!!!” while staring at the kettle. Standing in the galley lo...

In the beginning, there was the sea. A vast, endless expanse of blue that called to me with a siren’s song. I was just a young lad when I first felt the pull of the ocean. The lure of adventure and the promise of freedom were too strong to resist. So, I did what any sensible person with an insatiable thirst for adventure would do: I ran away to sea. My journey began with buying a copy of Bob Bonds ' Handbook of Sailing ' and then seizing every sailing opportunity that came my way. From small dinghies to large schooners, I sailed them all. Each voyage was a new lesson, a new experience that added to my growing knowledge and love for sailing. Then came the day when I bought my first boat, a 31ft beauty that was as stubborn and willful as the sea itself. Owning my own boat was a dream come true. It was my ticket to freedom, my passport to adventure. I spent as much time as possible hanging out with sailors, listening to their tales of high seas and distant shores. Their stories fu...

We are on the final stretch of our journey from NZ to Phuket. The wind has been teasing us for the last few days, sometimes giving us enough to sail, sometimes dying down and forcing us to use the engine. But at least it's been blowing from behind, so we've been making good progress towards our destination. The weather has been hot and calm, which has its pros and cons. On the plus side, we've been able to open the hatches and let some fresh air into the boat. On the minus side, we've also had some unwanted visitors. Last night, we woke up to a strange smell and a loud flapping noise. We discovered that four flying fish had somehow managed to jump through the hatches and land inside the boat. They were flopping around on the floor, making a mess and a racket. I was about to spring into action and save the day, but Rhona beat me to it. She bravely picked up the fish and threw them back into the sea. I'm sure they were grateful for her mercy. I was grateful for her co...

It's been a calm 24 hours on the high seas. We've managed to do a bit of sailing despite the light and at times no wind. The moon is gradually illuminating our path like a silver highway.  The fishing boat scenario has taken a turn for the better as we are now farther offshore. I suspect the commercial shipping is also hugging the coast to save time. An interesting phenomenon we've observed is the reception of AIS signals from over 90 nautical miles away. This is quite unusual and likely due to atmospheric conditions causing signal reflections. We even received a return signal from the other side of an island, defying the typical line-of-sight range. Apart from these intriguing developments, life on board has been relatively quiet. However, I've established a bread making department in the cockpit, and I must say, the results have been nothing short of spectacular! The tantalizing aroma of freshly baked bread wafts through the air, ensuring Rhona is up on time for her w...

We are now looking forward to reaching our destination which is in sight. We expect to arrive at the west tip of Lombok around 9 am, and then it's just a few hours further to a secure mooring. We can't wait to get some rest and relaxation after this trip. The wind has been light and variable for the last few days, which means sailing was slow and frustrating so we've done a fair bit of motoring. One of the most curious things we have encountered is the mysterious appearance and disappearance of fishing boats in this area. Yesterday, during the day, we sailed for hours without seeing a single vessel on the horizon. We thought we had the sea to ourselves, enjoying the calm and quiet. But as soon as the sun set, things changed dramatically. Within minutes, we spotted seven fishing boats around us, all with bright lights and presumably nets or lines. We wondered where they came from and what they were doing. We tried to keep a safe distance from them, but they seemed to multipl...

We are sailing towards Lombok , the next stop on our yacht delivery adventure. We have been on the water for a few days now and we have encountered a sea full of fishing boats. It was like a floating city, with what looked like hundreds of vessels of all shapes and sizes and of course it was nighttime. I'm not sure what the collective noun for fishing boats is, but I suspect I can't write it here without offending someone. Let's just say it was a very crowded scene. The funny thing is, you only see fishing boats at nighttime with all their lights on fishing. You never see them in the daytime or driving to or from the fishing ground. It's like birds - you only ever see fully grown ones, you never see young birds. Maybe they have some secret hiding place. Another thing that caught our attention was the huge FADs that dotted the sea. FADs are man-made structures that attract fish, but they can also be a nautical nightmare. They don't show up on radar until you are abou...

A few days ago we arrived in Kupang, Indonesia, where we cleared in to Indonesia and planned to stop for a night or two to rest. Kupang is a bustling city on the island of Timor, and a popular destination for sailors crossing from Australia to Asia. But what I thought was going to be a peaceful nights rest or 2 in Kupang was exhausting. I quickly realized that Kupang was not a place for relaxation. We decided leave as soon as possible. I had enough of Kupang and we wanted to get back on the water and continue our journey. The next morning, I went to do my routine deck walk to inspect all the sails, lines, blocks, pins, clips and look for anything else out of place. Everything looked good. The yacht was ready to sail again. We weighed anchor and set sail for Marina Del Ray where we could fill up with water and fuel before heading to Sabang on the last long leg of the trip before hopping over to Phuket, Thailand. Sabang is about 450 nautical miles away, which will take about three and a...

We are beginning to encounter Asian fishing boats as we approach Indonesia. These boats are usually small, wooden, and poorly lit, making them hard to spot on the radar or even with the naked eye. They often fish at night, using bright lights to attract their catch, but sometimes they don't turn them on until they are very close to us. This can be quite nerve-wracking, especially when we are sailing in almost completely flat calm conditions, like we are right now. Another thing that I find exciting about this delivery is the opportunity to see some gas platforms that are marked on the chart. These are huge structures that extract natural gas from the seabed, and they look like mini-cities floating on the water. They have lights, cranes, and helipads. I am looking forward to passing by some of these gas platforms soon, as they are located in the Timor Sea, between Australia and Indonesia.  The wind has been very light for the past day, barely reaching half a knot at times. This mea...

Today was a great day for sailing. We had lighter winds in the morning, and we were cruising along at a steady 5 knots. The boat was handling well.  Around noon, the wind picked up a few knots. The extra apparent wind made such a difference, and we've been doing 7s since then. It makes the boat come alive.  We have been sailing with the saloon doors open, so we can hear the sound of water rushing past the hull. It is a soothing and constant noise, like a river flowing. Every now and then, we hear the wake and waves breaking behind the boat, as if we are leaving a trail of bubbles.  One of the things I love about sailing is the *ahem* harmony between the boat and the elements. Sometimes, everything is in tune, and the boat becomes an orchestra. If the boat makes a big movement, we hear a symphony of sounds: the cutlery in the drawers, the batteries in the cupboard, the tools, the loose cups, all move in unison with a 'clunk'. It is like music to my ears. The sound of the ...

We are going well as we cross above the Gulf of Carpentaria and today marks a month since we left Marsden Cove and we approach the half-way point of our trip. We have sailed around 3000 nautical miles from NZ so far. The total passage is approximately 6000nm - That's around a quarter of the way around the world! We are hoping to maintain our current pace and reach our destination in a few more weeks.  Currently we have 11 to 15 knots of breeze on the beam, which is enough to push us along at over 6 knots, which is a good speed. We are hoping to maintain these conditions for the majority of the trip, other than potentially a few days of motoring around the equator. Harmony is performing well even with the 'pre-reefed' main sail that we have set up and is comfortable.  With 2 people onboard we do watches of 3hrs off and 3hrs on, which takes a bit of getting used to. Sure, it's nice to sleep longer, but we feel 4 hours is too long to be on watch. We prefer to have shorter...

The wind has been unpredictable, ranging from 2 to 32 knots and shifting around during the day and it's been sitting at 30 most of the night. The weather has been a mix of sunshine and rain, making for an interesting 24hrs. Despite being only 16 degrees south of the equator, it's still not as warm as I expected.  At one point, a ship came within half a mile of us. Before AIS, a ship heading towards us would have meant a lot of drama. We would have to estimate its course with binoculars , and to constantly check the bearings and decide if we should change course to avoid a collision. Now, we have all that information displayed on the chart plotter from 20 nautical miles away. Half a mile might not seem like much, but at sea it's considered a very close encounter.  Before we had chart plotters "back in the day" we occasionally had to navigate with charts which were photocopies of photocopies and were so degraded that they had holes in them. We had no idea what was ...

We have been sailing for 5 - or 6? - days now from Port Vila to Port Moresby, and today was the most challenging one so far. The wind has been blowing at 30 knots all day, creating a couple of huge waves. Around noon, a massive wave picked up the boat and spun it around like a toy. Everything flew across the cabin, and all the alarms went off for bilge pumps, off course alarm and auto pilot off course. Luckily, nothing was broken, and no one was hurt. It's hard to believe that a mere 30 knots could create such mayhem. The wind and waves have eased off now, and we are back on track. Our daily run was 164 nautical miles, which is great considering the conditions. We are making good progress and hope to reach Port Moresby in a few more days.  We even saw about a hundred birds circling around which is reassuring as presumably they were hunting fish. Though I am going to guess the fish are not in commercial quantities which is why we don't see fishing boats.   

The first 24 hours of a passage are always an exciting time. It's good to finally be on the way, with the wind at our backs and the boat going very well at 7+ knots. The wind is blowing at a steady 25 - 30 knts from behind, pushing us along at a good pace. It's always hard to arrive somewhere and try to jump the queue to get things fixed, but that's just part of the job. We made good progress in Port Vila and managed to tick off our job list pretty quickly. Being a delivery skipper means you have to be ready for anything that comes your way, and that means being able to adapt quickly and efficiently. Getting fuel in Port Vila was quite an adventure. The fuel dock is a mere 50 meters away from our berth, but a pesky set of power lines stretches across the bay. This meant we had to navigate a tricky route, exiting through a reef pass, circling an island, and then re-entering through another pass. Meanwhile, most other boats enjoyed the luxury of a direct route to the fuel d...