Yacht Delivery Blog

Another day, another battle against the elements. We're making progress, but the current makes it feel like trying to climb a greased pole with oven mitts on. The tracker will show just how slowly we're inching forward. It's like trying to win a marathon while running uphill through knee-deep mud. Yesterday, we tried a tack, hoping to find a more favorable angle to the wind. The results were, as expected, less than ideal. Our GPS must have thought it was on a rollercoaster, as we swung through an astonishing 155-degree course change on the GPS in a single tack. On one tack we had been making 3 knts the right way and the other tack showed us going 2.5knts away from our destination. We’ve tried various combinations of sail and engine power. Motoring on both engines proved necessary to maintain steerage, but it's a fuel-hungry option. Single-engine motoring is more economical but less effective in these conditions. Ultimately, we’ve found that motor sailing with the headsa...

Another day, another challenge. We’ve been making decent progress considering the conditions. The current and headwinds are a constant battle, and while the fishing boats are becoming less frequent, they still manage to pop up at the most inconvenient times. We are still seeing a fair amount of ships all heading towards Panama though they are becoming more spread out. The weather around the equator is notoriously unpredictable, and the past 24 hours have been a prime example. The wind seems to have a mind of its own, shifting direction constantly, which creates a choppy and uncomfortable sea. In fact its favourite direction to blow from is the way we are heading. Our only respite from the wind is when we head west, but then we’re fighting the current. It's a never-ending cycle! There have been a few moments of respite, thankfully. The sky cleared up yesterday afternoon, allowing us to make some decent headway and we made 155nm yesterday - even if they were diesel miles at least we...

Okay, so I thought a blog about the Panama Canal would be great, but let’s just say the last 24 hours have been a bit of a whirlwind. I’ll save the canal for calmer days. First things first, we’ve got a new crew member! Say hello to Adam, our resident yacht owner and videographer extraordinaire. We’re hoping he can work some drone magic and capture some truly epic footage. My attempts so far have been… less than stellar, and at this stage I am just happy not to have crashed the drone into either the sea or the mast. And then there’s the weather. Oh, the weather. We’ve been spoiled rotten with pretty calm conditions up until now, excluding the few days of 40knts heading to Panama, but at least it was from the right direction. The weather maps and what we are experiencing are very different pictures. Yesterday morning, we were feeling pretty confident as we motored out of the marina. That confidence didn’t last long. Around 2pm, the sky turned an ominous black. It was like someone had f...

The wind and waves finally started to ease off yesterday afternoon which continued  throughout the night, offering a much-needed break. We're now motoring directly towards Panama and aiming to be anchored by this evening. A good night's sleep will be very welcome. This marks a significant milestone in our journey. Since leaving France on June 5th, we've logged an impressive 5,900 nautical miles (or 12,000 kilometers). Factoring in stopovers (4 days in the Canaries, 3 days in Cape Verde, and 4 days in Trinidad), our total sailing time comes to 37 days – and weve gone roughly a quarter of the way around the world! We're more than halfway through this incredible trip, and we can't help but breathe a sigh of relief. Navigating the Atlantic hurricane season without incident has been a welcome accomplishment. It will be interesting to see how the rest of the season unfolds. The next hurdles involve getting measured for the Panama Canal and securing a transit slot. Hopef...

The wind is a steady 40 knots now, whipping up seas to an impressive 5 meters. For our landlubber readers, 40 knots is around 80 kilometers per hour, so imagine sticking your head out the window on a  motorway – that's kind of the feeling we're getting right now! While things wouldn't exactly qualify as comfortable onboard, we have plenty of sea room and most importantly, we're safe. An extra layer of challenge emerged as we're beginning to encounter the shipping traffic who are also approaching Panama. Craig had his work cut out for him on watch, dodging ships with the AIS alarm blaring its warnings. A couple of monster waves have crashed into the cockpit, forcing us to keep the doors shut. Our trusty fans are working overtime trying to keep things a bit more bearable inside. With belongings gradually migrating to the floor and joining the existing floor covering that's already relocated to the starboard side, it's clear things are a bit rough out there! As...

We had a real spicy night last night! Winds topped 30 knots and the waves were absolute monsters. That's why this blog update is a bit late – I was determined to capture a photo of these giants, but taking a decent picture of a wave in those conditions proved impossible. Just imagine a massive wall of water chasing you down, finally catching up to the boat and starting to break at the crest, ready for its close-up... only to have the resulting picture show mainly a splash. Maybe I will see if Craig will go in the dinghy to take a pic! Yesterday evening brought a shift in the wind direction. As it started pushing us uncomfortably close (and by "uncomfortably close" I mean less than 50 nautical miles) to the Venezuelan coastline, we initiated a gybe (a sailing maneuver to change direction). There are a few reasons we prefer to keep our distance from that particular shore: Heavily armed Venezuelan fisherman with a penchant for piracy (need I say more?) The aforementioned mon...

The weather forecast is now playing out around us. We're currently enjoying a healthy 20-25 knots of wind from behind, pushing us along nicely in the right direction – a welcome boost on top of the favorable current. This stretch of Venezuelan coast is known for its strong easterly winds and large waves. That's why we've strategically stayed well offshore, beyond the 1000-meter line. This not only provides calmer seas but also keeps us clear of most traffic. We anticipate many vessels will try to cut the corner for a quicker route, but we're happy to avoid the potential chaos! We are also happy to keep off the coast for security as its not considered to be a safe area. The forecast predicts this following breeze for the next few days, which will put us within striking distance of Panama. With the wind coming directly from behind (aft), we're currently sailing efficiently with just the headsail. Back in Trinidad, we debated squeezing in another fuel run. The heat, th...