Gary's Deliveries

  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...

 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.                             ...

  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...

Open Ocean Serenity and Shakedown Relief (Apologies again for any blog formatting quirks – still getting the hang of this platform!) Yesterday offered a welcome respite with beautiful conditions: calm following seas and light winds. It provided a perfect opportunity to appreciate the rhythm of being truly offshore. Stepping outside instantly envelops you in the thick, warm, humid air of the tropics – making the cool interior of Pikorua, courtesy of her effective air conditioning system, feel even more luxurious. This level of climate control really enhances comfort and endurance on long tropical passages. Relief and Reflections   There was also collective relief onboard knowing the vibration issue was caused by external factors (the fishing net) rather than any inherent mechanical problem with the new yacht's running gear. Discovering and resolving issues like this, whether environmental or minor system glitches, is the very definition of a " shakedown " cruise. It’s Yach...