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...

 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 ,...

 Sunday 9th Nov '25 After a couple of days in Las Palmas doing some provisioning, refuling, buying spares and doing a couple of repairs it was time to leave. Belinda, the owner, decided that the big passages were not for her so she booked a flight to Martinique via Madrid and Paris.  She also took Coco the dog with her.  Now Coco is the cutest and most loving dog you could meet and she gives cuddles as good as our dog Tori so I am going to miss her!                                                         We got some final items from the shop this morning, stowed everything, lifted the anchor and out we went.  Heading down and around to the bottom of Gran Canaria into 20-25ktrs of wind from behind and a decent little chop.   After a few hours we finally managed to get the nose pointing down sort of in the direction ...

  Moderating Seas and Anticipation Builds for Fiji on the Fountaine Pajot Tanna 47 By Gary, Delivery Skipper at Yacht Delivery Solutions It's now 19:00 on Monday night, and we're pleased to report that conditions are slowly but steadily settling down. The forecast indicates that both the wind and sea state will continue to drop a little through the night, promising a calmer approach to our destination. This moderation is a welcome relief after several days of intense and dynamic weather. The Fountaine Pajot Tanna 47 has continued to perform in her stride through everything the Pacific has thrown at us. This catamaran has proven itself to be an incredibly capable and comfortable offshore cruiser, giving us full confidence as we approach the final leg of this yacht delivery. The ability of the vessel to handle significant seas while still providing a relatively stable platform for the crew has been a defining feature of this passage. As the weather improves, a palpable sense of ...

  Continuing the Dynamic Passage – Fountaine Pajot Tanna 47's Resilience By Gary, Delivery Skipper at Yacht Delivery Solutions Date: Tuesday, June 17th, 2025 Today, the dynamic conditions persisted, though not quite with the same intensity as last night's peak. We continued to experience 20-30 knots of wind and substantial seas, often exceeding 4 meters. Fortunately, these waves remained predominantly from aft of the beam . You can see the angle of the hull. While this still meant a lively ride, throwing us around a bit, it prevented the jarring impacts of head-on seas that can be so punishing on any vessel. The Fountaine Pajot Tanna 47 continued to handle these conditions with impressive resilience. Her robust construction and stable catamaran platform meant that even as large waves built and occasionally broke into the cockpit, the boat remained composed, shedding water quickly through its efficient drainage system. These are the moments that truly test a vessel's desig...