Gary's Deliveries

 Tuesday 30th Dec '25 Route Overview This last leg of the Nordhavn 76 delivery was a short but operationally sensitive transit from Nongsa Point Marina into Singapore waters, finishing at Raffles Marina . The final passage of a 5000nm trip! Departure was at first light to manage traffic density in the Singapore Strait , one of the most commercially congested shipping corridors in the world. Even on a short passage, timing matters. The route involved a westbound exit into the Strait before turning north through the channel separating Malaysia and Singapore, finishing just south of the Johor–Singapore Causeway. For a 76-foot long-range motor yacht, this is not technically demanding in terms of range or endurance. The challenge is traffic management, AIS monitoring, radar plotting, and disciplined bridge watchkeeping. Commercial vessels move fast and with limited manoeuvrability. Positioning decisions must be made early. Routing Decisions This delivery follows earlier offshore work...

  Monday 29th Dec '25 Arrived at the entrance to Nongsa Point Marina, Batam Island, Indonesia at 09:00, waited till we got the all clear to go in.  Put the boat on to berth number B6 with 1/2 a metre either space either side between a dock and an 80ft boat which was very tight, just as well we have bow and stern thrusters and they were working overtime for this docking.   Then it was off to the office to do the paperwork and pay the silly money to berth for 1 night and clear in/out.  NZ$650 was the total for those 2 things! An hour or so later we had a visit from a Customs guy to come onboard to take photos of the main engine, the auxiliary engine, VF radio which showed our unique MMSI number, if you don't know what that is, don't ask :-) then he went up to the fly bridge and took photos of both radar units.  That was it - very strange.  12:45 now and waiting for all our paperwork to come back from the marina office, including our passports then it wil...

Day 21 of this Nordhavn 76 yacht delivery from Cairns to Singapore positioned us off Batam Island , staging for final arrival into Singapore waters. Anchorage Selection – Shelter and Security Initial arrival into a bay on the eastern side of a small island at 14:30 revealed excessive residual swell. Rather than accept unnecessary roll at anchor, we relocated to the western side between two islands where the landmass provided effective protection. Anchor was set at 15:30 in well-sheltered water. Following seven days of sustained sea state, the vessel required a full exterior freshwater washdown. Salt accumulation accelerates corrosion, particularly in tropical humidity. Cleaning commenced from the upper superstructure downward, ensuring exhaust stack, rails, and decks were cleared. Security considerations in parts of the Indonesian archipelago remain relevant. Opportunistic boarding incidents have been reported in certain corridors. Standard protocol included: All access poin...

Saturday 27th Dec '25 and my BIRTHDAY!!!!! It's not everyday you celebrate your birthday at sea, well, for most people anyway.  This happens to be the 2nd year in a row for me but this time it's the BIG one - 65!  Whoop whoop. It has been a quite, chilled out day with not a lot of traffic to worry about and not a lot happening.  In the late afternoon the guys put a nice dinner on.  We had really nice steaks along with a rack of spare rib.  Super chef known as Alex cause I can't pronounce his Estonian name!   Where the magic happens  So the birthday came and went as it always does but it was a pretty good one considering I am at sea.   T o cap off the special day we also crossed over the equator meaning we are now officially in the winter half of the world even though it is sunny and 35c!    Lat/long showing us just crossed into the northern hemisphere  At our current speed we would be arriving at the marina in Batam around...

 Boxing day  So last night I was having a bit of a snooze as it was my off watch.  Around 18:00 I got a call on the internal phone system, one of the boys telling me to come down to the saloon for Christmas dinner.  Well you will see from the photo it was a bit of a feast!  The salmon didn't get cooked on Christmas eve as planned as it was a bit too rough.   Honey glazed salmon as well baked salmon was the treat of the day along with green beans, roast potatoes with a chocolate cake for desert all washed down with a couple of shots of Estonian vodka!  What a feast. Christmas day feast We had a bit of a water leaking onto the saloon table from the ceiling today.  It's actually the second time it's happened.  We finally tracked it to a small crack in the fibreglass on the upper flybridge lounge deck area.  It only happens when it rains hard and we have a slight port list due to wind on the beam or fuel tank in-balance.  It took u...

Arafura Sea / Indonesian Throughflow The last 2 days we have had wind and short sharp chop waves on the nose.  We do have hydraulic stabilisers which really help to stop the rolling from side to side but does not stop the nose from lifting with the wave and dropping over the back of it into the next wave.  This has meant the last 2 days have been slightly unpleasant.  I was almost thrown out of my bunk a couple of times and made sleeping challenging. Thankfully Christmas day has brought a bit of a reprieve from the waves as they have settled down overnight and allowed us to go from an average speed of 5.5kts to 7.2kts and that was without changing the rpm.   Christmas Eve is the main day that the Germans, Estonians and probably a few other countries have as the main day they celebrate Christmas, not Christmas Day itself.  It's the day that families get together and the day that the presents are handed out and opened.  The 2 crew who are full time and b...

Tuesday 22nd Dec '25   So the boys got themselves a couple of scooters and headed off into the bright lights of Bali to meet up with 15 other Estonian's that either live there or arrived for Xmas.  They did invite me but I graciously declined as I think I would have felt a bit strange amongst a group of 20 somethings talking a strange langue so I gave them some old person advice about riding scooters around Bali and off they went an hour or so after we landed and cleared in. Talking of clearing in - OMG!!!  I thought the pacific Islands were bad.  Roughly a dozen officials came and went in the space of an hour all with paperwork for me to sign.  I must have signed 30+ documents in total!  There were 5 copies of the crew list, all stamped and signed by different departments plus me.  After all these people left my agent went off with passports in hand (never like this process) and said she would be back the next day. The next day she came back, han...

Nordhavn 76 Yacht Delivery – Passage into Bali and Weather Hold at Benoa Marina Twelve days into this Nordhavn 76 yacht delivery toward Singapore, conditions shifted as we approached Indonesia. After an extended period of favourable weather, the final 36 hours presented consistent head seas of approximately two metres, short period, directly on the bow. At a steady 8 knots under power, the vessel remained structurally comfortable, but motion increased significantly. Short, closely spaced seas are inefficient for progress and demanding on crew rest cycles. On long-range motor yacht deliveries, fatigue management becomes a priority once sleep quality degrades. The Nordhavn 76’s full-displacement hull handles this type of sea state predictably. However, even a heavy passagemaker will pitch when running into tight head seas. Engine load, cooling temperatures, and stabilisation performance are monitored closely during extended periods of bow impact to protect mechanical systems. Arrival St...

Wednesday 17th Dec '25 I have been keeping a very close eye on the weather forecast which is changeable to say the least! Managing routing is determined by frequent weather updates on yacht deliveries . There were 2 lows forming and as of yesterday they were forecast to turn from east to south away from Indonesia and into the big open sea then build into cyclones with up to 135kt winds.  Although we would not be hit by these cyclones we would potentially be effected by the waves produced. I checked again this morning and 2 has changed into 1.  Like I said, changeable. So with that in mind and although the conditions don't look too bad I had decided, as always, to be cautious and dive into Bali for a couple or more days and wait till things look a little more predictable or settled as the next leg from Bali to the channel were we change course from west to north into the more sheltered area is 650nm which is 3.5 days motoring.  As there are very few places to hide along th...

 Sunday 14th Dec '25 Arafura Sea Transit – Low Activity, High Vigilance Three days into this leg of the delivery , progress has been steady and uneventful — which, offshore, is exactly the objective. Approximately 600 nautical miles have been covered since departing Thursday Island , placing the vessel now roughly north of Darwin . Over this period, traffic density has been effectively zero, with no commercial shipping or fishing activity encountered. This level of isolation is typical in this sector of the Arafura Sea and reinforces the need for disciplined watchkeeping despite the absence of visible hazards. During the previous night watch, the vessel was overflown at low altitude by an Australian Border Force aircraft. This type of identification pass is standard procedure, allowing authorities to visually confirm vessel details before making radio contact. A brief exchange followed, confirming the vessel’s identity, origin, and intended destination — information already file...

Thursday 11th Dec '25 Vessel Route The transit north along the Queensland coast was completed inside the Great Barrier Reef, providing sheltered conditions and predictable sea states. This route consistently offers a controlled environment for northbound passages, particularly for heavy displacement motor yachts where steady progress and reduced fatigue are priorities. At the northern tip of Australia, the vessel altered course west at Cape York , passing Thursday Island during the early hours. From this point, the passage transitioned from coastal navigation to open-water routing toward Southeast Asia.      Weather Conditions and Arafura Sea Crossing Conditions to date have been exceptionally stable. Wind has been minimal, and where present, has remained predominantly astern, with corresponding following seas. These conditions are ideal for a displacement yacht of this size, allowing efficient progress with minimal motion. As the vessel crosses the  Arafura Sea ,...

 Nordhavn 76 Delivery: Cairns to Singapore – Operational Reality Over Convenience Plans to spend time in the Caribbean are often vulnerable to one thing: the movement of high-value yachts. After arriving in Martinique on 28 November, Yacht Delivery Solutions received a message from an owner whose vessel I had delivered earlier in the year from Bora Bora to Fiji. The yacht in question was a Nordhavn 76 trawler motor yacht , a long-range displacement vessel designed for serious offshore work. The owner needed the boat delivered from Cairns to Singapore , with a targeted departure window of 8–9 December . With a vessel of this scale and specification, opportunities are time-sensitive. Weather windows, crew availability, and clearance logistics dictate the schedule — not personal travel plans. Within 24 hours, flights were booked and the Caribbean stopover was abandoned.                             ...