Saturday 30th Nav - Departure day!

Finally! Departure day arrived. After the Yacht Delivery Solutions crew ran through all the final pre-departure checks – engines, nav gear, steering, the works – making sure everything was spot-on for the trip, we tossed the lines off just after 10 AM this morning, Saturday, November 30th.

Getting out of the Kwun Tong anchorage required a bit of careful maneuvering, but Pikorua handled beautifully, showing how nimble this Granocean 60 can be even in tight spots. As soon as we left the shelter, we were greeted by the usual Hong Kong harbour chaos! It took some careful timing and a sharp lookout to weave our way through the traffic – plenty of big container ships and fast ferries zipping about.



Thankfully, the view from the helm station is great, which was a huge help. Pikorua took the wakes from passing boats in her stride, feeling really stable right from the get-go, which was reassuring.

Once clear of the main shipping channels, the next game was dodging the local fishing fleet and their seemingly endless longlines streaming out behind them. You definitely have to keep your eyes peeled! It all came flooding back pretty quickly though – my previous experience navigating these waters really paid off today.

With the buzz of Hong Kong finally fading astern, Pikorua settled down nicely and found her groove for the passage south. We've dialled in a good cruising speed, running the twin Cummins QBS6 engines at an easy 1550 RPM. She's making a steady 8 knots through the water and using about 15 litres per hour on each side. She feels solid underfoot and handled the initial slight swell easily – definitely feels like she's going to be a great boat for long passages like this.

First stop is Kota Kinabalu in Borneo, which is just under 1,100 nautical miles across the South China Sea. If the weather plays nice and everything keeps running smoothly, we're hoping to pull in there sometime Friday or Saturday next week.

It feels absolutely fantastic to be properly underway and putting some miles under the keel.



Yacht Delivery Solutions provides professional sail and power boat delivery services throughout Asia and the South Pacific.










Location: Hong Kong

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

In Hong Kong commissioning "Pikorua"

Image
Date: Saturday, November 23, 2024 Location: Hong Kong The Intricacies of Commissioning in Hong Kong Greetings from a bustling Hong Kong ! It's Saturday, November 23rd. The Yacht Delivery Solutions team has been immersed for over two weeks in the detailed process of commissioning "Pikorua," a stunning new 2024 Granocean W60 destined for Sydney. Our temporary home is a barge in the Kwun Tong typhoon shelter, a far cry from a typical marina – no shore power, no water hookups, and the constant rhythm of nearby construction. Even simple trips ashore require hailing a local sampan to avoid the barnacle-encrusted seawalls. Commissioning: More Than Just Checks Commissioning a brand-new yacht, especially one of this complexity, goes far beyond simple pre-departure checks. It's a meticulous process managed by Yacht Delivery Solutions, involving activating, testing, and calibrating every system onboard – from engines and generators to navigation electronics, plumbing, and sa...
Read more

Tuesday 3rd day 4

Image
The mystery of slightly higher fuel consumption and a subtle vibration has unfortunately been solved. The fouled prop The picture shows the starboard propeller and rudder – entangled with the remnants of a Chinese fishing net that decided to hitch a ride. Around lunchtime today, sea conditions moderated just enough for us to safely stop the vessel. Using an underwater camera on a 3-meter pole from the swim platform (duckboard), we were able to inspect the running gear. The footage confirmed our suspicions: we are trailing fishing net debris. No real surprise given the waters we passed through initially. However, the sea state (1-2m swell) is still not safe enough to attempt diving under a 30+ tonne yacht that's constantly moving. Clearing the propeller will have to wait for calmer conditions. In the meantime, the YDS crew has adapted: we are now running primarily on the port engine at 1800 RPM (consuming 30 lph), with the starboard engine just in gear at low RPM (600) to lubricate ...
Read more