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Showing posts from December, 2024

Monday 30th Dec '24

This is getting a bit like “Groundhog Day”. We have had the same conditions today as yesterday and the day before that and the day before that………… We have seen a few ships passing in both directions. If one comes up behind and overtakes we move over a little bit more to give them room to pass safely as the shipping lanes can get a bit tight in some places and these ships are pretty long and wide! We have really enjoyed coming down the coast as we have “all you can eat” Starlink internet connection for the movies etc, some amazing scenery and relaxing watches. Kel has been trying to catch fish since we left Hong Kong, weeks ago, without success then caught that Spanish Mackerel yesterday and would you believe it he caught a little Tuna today. And his time I remembered the camera! Fish steaks tonight and probably a few more few fish themed dinners coming up on the last leg to Sydney. The temperature and humidity has been reducing as we go further south which is actually pretty nice as it...

29th Dec '24

  So we went past Thursday Island and the other Islands of the Torres Strait last night and hooked a right.  We are now cruising down the east coast of Northern Queensland dodging all the islands, islet's, sand banks and ships, not too many ships to be fair.  It has been yet another day of amazing conditions, we certainly got lucky on this leg from Darwin. We dumped the 2,000lts we had in the IBC tanks in the aft cockpit and you will notice in one of the photos the blue drums on the upper aft deck.  We put them up there after we emptied them as they were no longer required plus it freed up all the front cockpit making for better visibility forward when we are running the boat from the saloon area. Kel managed to catch the 1st fish of the entire trip today!  A decent sized Spanish Mackerel which he filleted and is now waiting in the fridge to be consumed.  Unfortunately we were both caught by surprise and neither of us thought to take a photo, bugger! We mov...

28th Dec '24

First of all I would like to say thank you to everyone who sent me birthday wishes, it is much appreciated. Another amazing sunrise this morning.  If you look closely you can see we even picked up a hitchhiker needing a rest! We are only 100nm from the Torres Islands at the tip of Australia and the point at which we enter the shipping channels, turn right and head down inside the great Barrier Reef.  We are really looking forward to that. Gone are the glassy waters and zero wind.  The replacement is 1m waves on the nose and 15kts of wind.  This is forecast to reduce as the afternoon goes on. If you have been following us on my tracker page ( https://share.garmin.com/FKHAP ) you will notice we had a slight change of course, that’s to make it a more comfortable ride.  There’s not a lot of distance between these waves and they are coming from directly where we want to go. If we head directly into the waves the boat rises up on the front of a wave, drops over the ba...

27th Dec '24 my birthday!!

  27th Dec and my birthday!! The 1st picture shows what the weather gods and Neptune gave me as a present this morning when I came up for my 06:00-12:00 watch. WOW!  The water was like an oil slick it was so shiny and not a ripple to be seen. Very impressive. During Kel’s early watch he nearly had a heart attack when he noticed a red nav light that looked really close but nothing on radar.  Turned out to be a very low flying plane, possibly an ABF plane doing a low pass to have a look at us.  Then he had 2 ships pass at the same time about 3nm one off the port side and another off the starboard side.  It’s getting to be a bit like rush hour out here! I had the amazing sunrise and a small pod of very lethargic dolphins this morning and a turtle yesterday. 2nd picture is taken out my cabin window today. 3rd picture is just showing the sort of conditions we have been experiencing since leaving Darwin 2 and a bit days ago, amazing! As the day draws to an end it fini...

Boxing day

*  A note for my mate Pete in Guernsey  - with reference to your comment from Christmas Days blog see note 4 below!!!  When we arrived in Darwin I would have put a reasonable sum of money on us not moving for a week or more due to 1.  It being right on Christmas 2.  Being given a “Restricted to Port” notice by ABF as their was an offical form missing for the importation of the boat 3.  Having something wrapped around the starboard prop or shaft causing a vibration 4.  No way in hell am I diving into the murky Darwin waters only to have a chat with a prehistoric salt water crocodile! Sends shivers down my spine just thinking about it. Apparently they get around 300 of them a year inside the port area. 5.  Also the nasty jellyfish etc etc etc It seems everything up here wants to kill you. Needless to say nobody goes swimming in the sea in Darwin. In the end the miracle happened and all the stars aligned albeit at a cost. We left around midday and th...

Darwin stopover - Christmas day departure

We had a night at anchor when we arrived waiting for ABF to call us into the pontoon to clear into Australia. The call came and we were told to go alongside the pontoon for a 09:30 appointment with ABF and Biosecurity. The later took ALL our Chinese takeaway meals we had left over from Hong Kong and all the top up ones we bought in KK . I have only ever had the pork meals taken, but, no not Darwin they take ALL meat! Grrrrrrrr……. Then it came time for ABF. Well, we had 2 officers doing the clearing in paperwork with me, a sniffer dog going through the whole boat, THEN another 4 officers going through EVERYTHING for 45mins! OMG. Nearly 2hrs later and we were all done. Then at the end of all this the ABF officer give me a piece of paper that says “Restricted to Port”. There was 1 piece of paperwork missing for the importation of the boat into Aus so we were not free to leave Darwin till that was sorted and it was now the 23rd Dec and we wanted to leave on Christmas day, BUGGER. Another p...

Sunday 22nd Dec '24

Sunday 22nd Dec '24 Sun Dec 22 2024 13:27:00 GMT+0930 (Australian Central Standard Time) We have arrived! The picture shows what is the most expensive flag pole I have ever seen on a boat! The ships crane. When we arrived into KK I put the flag’s on the bow rail as we do not have a flag staff set up up high on the boat and it was the only place I could think of until I had a brain wave this morning! We have a very nice, shiny, expensive, crane that even extends and is also up high on the fly bridge aft deck . So I thought that would make a great flagstaff and get the flags way up high. It worked so I gave myself a big pat on the back for such a brilliant idea especially as it was still only 06:00! We arrived into Darwin and anchored in the Quarantine anchorage just before dark 18:00. Yah! Just have to wait for all 1 document from the import agent to arrive at ABF tomorrow morning and we can then go to the Quarantine pontoon outside Cullen Bay Marina where we will be met by ABF and ...

Final Approach to Darwin

Photo 4032×3024 704 KB Anticipating Arrival on the Granocean W60 By Gary Watson , Delivery Skipper at Yacht Delivery Solutions What a difference a day makes! Everything truly calmed down overnight, allowing both Kel and I to enjoy incredibly relaxing watches. The Granocean W60 sliced smoothly through the water, making for a much-needed period of tranquility. However, today has been a real mixed bag of conditions. We've experienced everything from absolute no-wind doldrums to sudden gusts of 25-30 knots, from perfectly calm seas to choppy waters, and everything in between. Such variability is a constant companion for any yacht delivery skipper operating in these diverse waters, and the Granocean catamaran continues to handle it all with remarkable grace. We're now on the home stretch, on the "downward slope" to Darwin with only 250 nautical miles remaining. Barring any unforeseen complications, we "should" be tied up in Darwin before midnight tomorrow, Su...

A Sudden Shift – Navigating Squalls on the Granocean W60

Navigating Squalls on the Granocean W60 Yesterday, Thursday, brought a distinct change to our previously calm passage. The tranquility that had graced our journey simply vanished. I came on watch at 06:00, and immediately realized the conditions had shifted dramatically. The calm seas were gone, replaced by squally weather, complete with intense 30-knot gusts, a sharp 1-2 meter short chop, torrential rain, and sheet lightning. With the waves hitting us squarely on the beam, the Granocean W60 was getting tossed around a fair bit, and even the flybridge was getting a thorough saltwater washdown! It was certainly a stark contrast to the peaceful watches we'd been enjoying. However, the timing of our fuel transfer yesterday proved to be impeccable. With all that fuel weight moved off the bow and lower into the main tanks, the Granocean catamaran is riding exceptionally well and handling these challenging conditions with no problem. We just need to brace ourselves a bit more when movi...