Sydney to Phucket  from December 13th 2021

“Huna” Fountaine Pajot 44ftCatamaran

Position Reports Here

oppo_0

Emergency Contact for this delivery

Position Report and other info UTC (+11 Hrs Sydney Time)

Cut and paste the GPS location below into Google earth, you can place mark This position and follow our Progress.

Tuesday December 15, 2020, 1330 Hrs

38 43 S, 145 13 E, Around 12 Nm South of Phillip Island. Getting close but we were not quite close enough to make slack water at the Port Phillip Rip. We have slowed down and waiting for the wind to swing more south and delay our arrival at the rip until at least 2000 hrs meaning arrival in Geelong in the very early hours of Wednesday. After a lovely sunny morning we are looking at some damp weather ahead. (must be too close to Melbourne)

Monday December 14, 2020, 2330 Hrs

Wilsons Promontory

1500 hrs

38 44 s, 147 16e ,30 Nm East of Port Albert Vic, all well

Sunday, 13 December 2020, 1100 Hrs

37 03 S, 150 12 E, Around 15 Nm East of Eden. Finally the sun is out giving us a chance to dry out our very wet weather gear. Hopefully we are leaving that weather to the North of us. We had a brief call into Ulladulla yesterday afternoon to top up fuel and a quick catch up with an old friend there before pushing on through the rain. Please disregard comments about a Northerly current of JB. The problem has been corrected as the boat speed was reading 20 % higher than it actually was leading to the error.

Saturday, 12 December 2020, 1030 Hrs

35 02 S, 150 54 E, 5 Nm North of Point perpendicular, We have just altered course slightly allowing some sails to be set as we head towards Ulladulla to top up on fuel before continuing on. Quite slow since leaving Sydney as the current has been running North at up to 2 kts. Very surprising as it always heads south particularly this close to Jervis Bay. Updates again tomorrow.

Friday, 11 December, 2020, 1530 Hrs

Leaving CYCA Sydney

Sunday December 6, 2020, 1615 Hrs

Arrived at CYCA

1130 Hrs, Leaving the Royal Motor Yacht Club for Sydney

Position Report and other info UTC +8 Hrs (Perth time)

Cut and paste the GPS location below into Google earth, you can place mark this position and follow our Progress. Should this page not be updating then updates may be occurring via Satellite phone on a text file

Saturday, 31 January 2015, 2330 Hrs
32 40 S, 115 45 E, Fremantle Sailing Club Collector Jetty! Well Done to all
safely in Fremantle
1130 Hrs
33 06 S, 114 54 E, Only 80 Nm to go, a little slow going last night as the
Leeuwin current and moderate seas kept us slower than hoped. Current ETA is
around 2200 hrs tonight so will update our arrival probably on Sunday after
preliminary celebrations. Thank you so much David and Mary for your kind
comments, much appreciated by all of us. See you sometime on the big Blue Highway!

Friday, 30 January 2015, 1700 Hrs
34 17 S, 114 57 E, We are on the final leg now, have passed Cape Leeuwin and are
5 Nm off Cape Hamelin so just under 150 Nm to go. All is well but getting up to
40Kts at time from behind so the sea is up. Hopefully with this SSE the land will
start to shelter us from the currently big seas. Thanks to Kevin for your well
wishes yesterday as well.

Thursday, 29 January 2015, 1600 Hrs
35 14 S, 117 34 E, Around 5 Nm SW of West Cape Howe travelling well whilst motor
sailing towards Chatham Island. We left at 0930 Hrs this morning a little later
than planned but had visitors for Philippa and celebrations for Dinah’s birthday.
Thank you Jane and Duane for Dinah’s birthday messages, she is having a great day
and excited about cooking tuna tonight! PS messages can be sent to
881631430767@msg.iridium.com (SMS size only please)

Wednesday, 28 January 2015, 0930 Hrs
35 02 S, 117 53 E, Albany Marina, well done crew just under 8 days and 1030 Nm,
Philippa now also qualifies for nomination to the Ocean Cruising Club. Thank you
as well Duane, the weather was exactly as expected with no surprises which over
8 days is quite rare. Will have Daryl joining us this afternoon and we should
be underway again in the morning for the final leg to Fremantle.

Tuesday, 27 January 2015, 1400 Hrs
34 51 S, 119 56 E, Now only 100 Nm from Albany, Just getting the signs of regular
internet and phone service. Sorry for no update yesterday as I thought we would
have communications off Esperance but not so. I hope everyone enjoyed Australia
Day as we did! Have had the engine off for 24 hrs now with good following winds,
lightening off a bit now but hoping the updated forecast has not changed from
my download of last week.

Australia Day

Sunday, 25 January 2015, 1300 Hrs
33 45 S, 125 47 E, Now we are 200 Nm from Esperance and back under engine as the
wind is again light which will be the case for 24 Hrs probably. As forecast the
wind yesterday started off light from the west before building to around 30 Kts
from the SW at 1500Hrs before lightening off at sunset and going to the South.
Had a good sail overnight until it dropped to 10 Kts again this morning. The
swell was up to 3m and still around 2m now (sorry for all this weather talk but
Duane the weatherman likes feedback on his forecasts). Anyway all is well and
looking forward to some phone reception in the next day or so to catch up on what’s
been happening whilst out of range. This will be the last Sat phn update as will
wait for reception since we are almost across the bight, for some reason the Sat
network has been terribly slow and hence expensive the last few days. Expecting
to bypass Esperance and weather permitting possibly Albany as plenty of supplies
still on hand, also the crew have some time restraints so if needed I will hang
around in Fremantle a few days to run through the working of the boat with the owner.

Saturday, 24 January 2015, 1100 Hrs
33 19 S, 128 23 E, 340 Nm as the crow fly’s to Esperance, not that we can steer
that direction at the moment. Currently winds are 15-20 Kts from the WSW and
expect they will go to the south by this evening after increasing a bit through
the day. Finally however we are under sail as the light winds of the last few
days have gone. Still unsure of whether we will be stopping at Esperance,
Albany or neither at this stage. Will be leaving the Sat Phn on today and this
evening to discuss or message with Daryl alternatives as the weather should
improve and stay good for at least a week after tomorrow. (SMS details at the
bottom of this page)

Friday, 23 January 2015, 0800 Hrs

33 30 S, 131 20 E, Due south of the “Head of the Bight” (120 Nm) still under engine with light winds again. We had a 10 hour spell of up to 20kts south wind overnight which kicked the seas up making it a tad uncomfortable and it’s currently still a bit bumpy but at least we are still making good progress. An attempt at fishing yesterday saw us loose one of our 2 lures within 30 seconds of it hitting the water. The official crew story is that a great white took it with the size of the shark growing each time the story is recounted. The weatherman’s forecast will see the wind gradually turn more west in the next 24 hrs before increasing on Saturday to probable over 20 Kts on the nose for Saturday evening. All is well, we are however looking forward to Sunday morning when we should see the wind lighten and start turning to a favourable sailing angle. Current ETA is now for the 27^th in Esperance OR late on the 29^th in Albany due to the expected headwinds.

Thursday, 22 January 2015, 0500 Hrs

34 38 S, 134 24 E, Into the Bight now, 50 Nm west of Coffin Bay and heading on a course of around 300 Degree T in order to stay north of the worst of the winds expected in a few days. Plenty of fuel on board at the moment as we will be needing it for the next few days until the weather settles. (Note to owner, most places in WA require a “Baileys” fuel card if you haven’t already organised one?) For the weatherman, currently winds are light NE around 5 Kts, seas calm and the swell hard to guess but probably 1-1.5m at the moment. Settling in well as under engine allows the crew to get into a regular watch pattern. Next updates will be daily via the Sat ph probably by midday our time.

Wednesday, 21 January 2015, 1030 Hrs
Leaving Port Lincoln, note the time zone change in order to keep from changing
watch times too frequently. The weather is still expected to be a bit unsettled
until Sunday when easterly flows should prevail for the rest of the voyage.
ETA currently for Esperance is 5 days or to Albany is 7 days. Hopefully Daryl
will join us in Esperance on Australia day or perhaps Albany a few days later.
Will try to update ETA as we go or you can estimate yourself using the
Cruiseaider website (see link on “Current Delivery” page)

Monday, 19 January 2015, 1235 Hrs
34 44.5 S, 135 52.5 E Port Lincoln Marina. All went well with the first leg
getting to know the boat and its systems. Expecting a SW change for Tuesday Morning
which looks like it will drop off early Wednesday so should be underway by then.
Will update on leaving with some rough ETA predictions for Esperance or Albany.

Sunday, 18 January 2015, 1200 Hrs
34 47 S, 138 29 E, Leaving North Haven, Adelaide. Will be heading for Port Lincoln
to wait out a brief SW change before heading off again on Wednesday

The crew are all smiles now and seem quite innocent. I have however heard rumors of a mutiny so have hidden all the cable ties just in case!

Adelaide to Fremantle WA

“BlueWater II”, Adams 42ft Sloop

Commenced January 15th 2015

To Estimate passage times try this website using our current position from the “Text File” position update page. This website is provided by one of my previous crew and has been popular with friends following our progress

http://www.cruiseaider.com/

Welcome aboard Dinah, Phillipa,  Daryl will hopefully be joining us in Esperance or perhaps Albany

Note:- Dinah has just completed her 7th  Sydney to Hobart race last year on board “Wax Lyrical” an X 50ft Yacht where they recorded 5th position in PHS division. Well done!

Go to “Log Summary“

23/9/19, 2230 Hrs Arrival RPAYC

22/9/19, 1215 Hrs, Leave Batemans Bay

Position Report and other info UTC (+10 Hrs Sydney Time)

Cut and paste the GPS location below into Google earth, you can place mark This position and follow our Progress. Should this page not be updating then updates may be occurring via Satellite phone on the Posts page. You can contact us by sending an SMS (via email) To Satellite Phone. Please Note SMS is a maximum of 160 Characters and you need to leave the subject or message header blank

UPDATE PENDING

Thursday, 2 May 2019, 1030 Hrs

42 28 S, 148 23 E, 18 Nm West of Triabunna, still not much wind and its been very foggy since yesterday evening. Plenty of phosphorescence about last night with a huge pod of dolphins playing around the stern of the boat, made being soaked in the weather a bit more fun. Current ETA Hobart is looking like early Friday morning.

Wednesday, 1 May 2019, 1700 Hrs

41 14 S, 148 24 E, 5 Nm Off St Helens Point TAS !! Finally some limted reception. Again under light winds but hopefully the NE and Northerlies forcast for tomorrow will speed us up again. Current ETA is looking like Friday morning in Hobart, getting there !

Tuesday, 30 April 2019, 0900 Hrs

38 37 S, 149 57 E, 65 Nm South of Gabo Island and around 100 Nm North of Flinders. Seas are about 2 M with 20-25 Kts of wind. Making good speeds but have just Gybed to take us closer to Flinders where the seas and wind are predicted to be less, so  a bit more comfortable on board. All is going well.

Monday, 29 April 2019, 1100 Hrs

36 31 S, 150 10 E, 15 Nm NW of Tathra slowly motoring into a light 13 Kts Southerly as we await the forecast variable winds followed by Northerlies as we approach the strait. Expecting to have good following winds for the next few days to send us on to Hobart. All is well

Sunday, 28 April 2019, 0800 Hrs

34 52 S, 151 00 E, 15 Nm NE of Jervis Bay, Although the forecast says it should be variable winds this morning we are currently getting a 25 kts SW wind which is slowing our progress considerably. It shouldn’t be too much of a problem however as the wind down south is not expected to ease until Monday afternoon for a better outlook on the Bass Strait crossing.

Saturday, 27 April 2019, 1700 Hrs

Leaving the fuel dock in Rushcutters Bay.

Sunday, 21 April 2019, 2000 Hrs

CYCA Sydney, Thank you Chris and Annie for your help on the first leg to Hobart

1100 Hrs,

Through the Swansea Channel and Bridge, Sydney here we come!

1000 Hrs

Leaving Lake Macquarrie Yacht Club for Sydney. Thank you to Rod Mackay for your help and great to catch up last night.

Notes on Communication: – Please feel free to send SMS messages via your email
direct to the satellite phone on board. Simply click the “free” link shown on
the top of this page or type the address as 881631430767@msg.iridium.com
It’s only a maximum of 120 Characters and you need to leave the subject or
message header blank

Monday, 8 April 2019, 2230 Hrs

35 42.9 S, 150 11.3 E, Batemans Bay Marina, Sophias new Pen. Thank you very much Pierre and Brett.

1800 Hrs

35 53 S, 150 14 E, Approaching Broulee Island, just 10 Nm south of our destination in Batemans Bay. We will need to wait an hour or two in the Bay for the high tide to cross the bar as it has not been dredged in a while but expect to be moored up in Sofia’s new home late this evening. Will update in a day or two as will have a lot happening in the next 24 Hrs. My appologies for the lack of decent updates on this trip but the lack of autopilot has demanded more time.

Saturday, 6 April 2019, 1230 Hrs

38 52 S, 146 36 E, Leaving Corner inlet. Winds West at 18 Kts expected to assist us well into the Strait tonight before a brief period of easterlies forecast for Sunday. All well.

1015 Hrs

Leaving Port Welshpool

Thursday, 4 April 2019, 1145 Hrs

38 42 S, 146 28 E, Followed the Lewis Channel to Port Welshpool, (Dinah’s Welsh relatives?) Fuel, water and a break for the next 2 days we expect.

0615 Hrs

Leaving Refuge Cove anchorage. Rest, food and sleep Yeah!!

0615 Hrs

Leaving Refuge Cove anchorage. Rest, food and sleep Yeah!!

Wednesday, 3 April 2019, 1430 Hrs

39 02 S, 146 27.9 E, Anchored at Refuge Cove

1230 Hrs

39 09 S, 146 22 E, Wilsons Promontory ! Half way across the Bight. We will be anchoring in Refuge Cove this afternoon before moving on to Port Welshpool very early tomorrow morning. The weather should improve on Saturday Morning for the secound half of the Bight crossing. Looking forward to a good sleep tonight.

Tuesday, 2 April 2019, 1200 Hrs

38 57 S, 142 40 E, 10 Nm East of Cape Ottway and about to run out of phone service for the next 24 Hrs. Current forecasts should have us around Wilsons Prom in about 24 Hrs and from there we are planning to go to Port Welshpool for a couple of days to wait for some more favourable winds. Currently under engine, may have sails for a few hours later but expecting to motor most of the way across this ditch.

Monday, 1 April 2019, 1500 Hrs

Leaving Portland. Expecting variable winds for the next 2 days before we need to stop for a day or two whilst we wait for more favourable winds for the secound half of Bass Strait.

Saturday, 30 March 2019, 0230 Hrs

38 20.7 S, 141 36.6 E, Portland Marina. After the change came an autopilot failure, followed by almost 50 kt squalls then to cap it off hail just after catching something on the prop as we approached Portland Harbour! Not an afternoon evening to want to remember I must say. Anyway we are freezing, hungry and exausted to say the least, so finally some sleep ahead I hope.

Friday, 29 March 2019, 0800 Hrs

37 55 S, 140 06 E, 12 Nm West of Cape Banks SA, The predicted W- SW winds have just arrived at 25-30 Kts so we can finally turn off the engine. Hopefully the wind wont go too far to the South as the sea will be rising with this change making it a bit uncomfortable for the rest of the day.

Thursday, 28 March 2019, 0800 Hrs

35 54 S, 138 28 E, 20Nm SE of Backstairs Passage under engine in light conditions. All is well

Wednesday, 27 March 2019, 1400 Hrs

Leaving Marina Adelaide for Portland. Welcome aboard again Pierre! Daily updates whilst in range. My apologies for the lack of updates prior to now.

Position Report and other info (UTC -11 Hrs Sydney time)

Cut and paste the GPS location below into Google earth, you can place mark
This position and follow our Progress. Should this page not be updating
then updates may be occurring via Satellite phone on a text file

Wednesday December 14th, 0200 Hrs

Arrived Sydney, Thank you very much to Hamish and Darcy. Great job guys putting up with a grumpy old bugger for 25 Days and 3340 Nm. Duane once again thanks for your input on the weather throughout the trip will catch up soon. Final thanks to Dinah for keeping everyone informed whilst we were unable to update offshore, very much appreciated.

Tuesday Dec 13th, 0930 Hrs

33 27 S, 153 12 E, Winds NW at 27 Kts. Only 100 Nm to go to Sydney heads however it will be a long few hours. The 3rd gas bottle which we were under the impression was half full turned out to be empty so last night’s meal was tepid at best. Very little in the way of ready to eat snacks or meals so will be a very hungry crew when we finally land ashore. Arrival looks like very early Wednesday morning and hopefully customs will clear us as early as possible. Could use a coffee!

Monday Dec 12th, 0930 Hrs

32 16 S 156 00 E, Winds Variable. Still waiting on forecast Northerly winds, we had a few hours sailing yesterday afternoon however have been motoring since the SW-S winds dropped off.

Sunday Dec 11th, 0930 Hrs

31 42 S, 158 15 E, Variable winds, By again around 1600 Hrs the SW had changed more Southerly and dropping off fast. The seas were very confused so difficult to get on course until they had dropped down considerably overnight.

Lord Howe and Balls Pyramid at Sunrise

Saturday Dec 10, 0930 Hr

31 35 S, 160 26 E, Winds WSW 22 Kts. The Barometer fell fast through yesterday and by 1600 Hrs the SW had established itself at around 28 Kts stopping forward progress from here the course was as much West of North as possible.

Lord Howe at “Happy Hour

Friday December 9th, 0930 Hrs

32 06 S, 162 15 E Wind NNE 20 Kts

Thursday December 8, 0930 Hrs

31 50 S, 164 40 E Back under sail after again motoring the second part of the night. We’re going great until the early hour wind shift to the South. Managed 170 Nm in 24 hrs despite averaging over 8 kts till the change. First night of tinned emergency meals tonight so have done pretty well provisioning as Quarantine will only have our garbage to take away on arrival.

Wed Dec 7th, 0930 Hrs

30 50 S, 167 22 E, Wind NNE 13 Kts, changed to the north at around 2230 Hrs last night and has built to 13 kts at the moment. Finally a wind strength and direction to give us a good fast course. Hopefully this will hold until the SW winds up to 35 Kts arrive which is forecast for Friday morning. Now 820 Nm to go and with luck a lot faster than the previous 10 or so days.

Tuesday Dec 6th, 0930 Hrs

30 22 S, 169 35 E, Wind back again this morning to ESE 6-9 Kts after again motoring overnight. Sailing the only angle possible for most of this trip. At least there has been some weather forecast for the coming weekend so it will be a change from what we have had for the majority of this trip at least.

Monday Dec 5th, 0930 Hrs

29 44 S, 171 35 E, Ground Hog Day, wind again died overnight and was back again light in the morning. The wind direction has moved slightly more South and currently back up to around 10 -12 Kts. The rising barometer tells us we are getting closer to the next big high which will likely leave us motoring for a couple of days, hopefully a good sailing angle after that to point us towards home. Have just past the 2/3 thirds mark to Sydney. Still another 8 days of main meals (breakfast lunch and Dinner) however the range of between meal snacks is starting to concern the sweet toothed crew members.

Sunday Dec 4th, 0930 Hrs

29 28 S, 174 03 E, Wind SE 13 Kts, After motoring a lot of the night again the wind finally came in this morning at a reasonable angle. This whole trip has predominantly been light easterlies, not so good for speed when its directly behind you so finally we have a good angle for 2 sail reaching and not just wallowing around trying to gybe north and south.

Now for my product dis endorsement section, I have already complained that windows 10 home versions sucks up any data the sat phn can send our way making updates to my website too expensive, now I find office 365 locks me out of word and excel etc. because it can’t verify my subscription after 2 weeks at sea. Microsoft, you suck! open source for me

Saturday, 3 December 2016, 0930 Hrs

28 43 S, 176 04 E, Another slow night with the wind dropping to 8 Kts from early Friday afternoon. At least it was from the SE allowing us to travel on course at the best sailing angle therefore at least sailing quicker than our fuel conserving motoring speed. Currently the wind has changed to the East and is picking up, now at 13 kts. Full sail up, sunny skies, on course and speed building. Optimistically Hoping for a continuation of these conditions for the remaining 1200 Nm

Friday, 2 December 2016, 0930 Hrs

28 14 S, 178 09 E, What a wet and windy night. Around 30 Kts SE from yesterday afternoon until early morning and it absolutely pissed down. Glad we were not further north near the low centre, in fact further south would have been preferable. Next forecast came in an hour or so ago saying there is yet another hole coming and unless we sail an extra 200 nm north (and South again) we will be motoring. Great I could use the sleep.

Thursday, 1 December 2016, 0930 Hrs

28 03 S, 179 13 W, Wind ENE 18 Kts Current course of around 240 T is too far South for the weatherman’s liking however as has been the case to date its closest to the rhumbline and faster than trying to sail off it. Finally past half way with now just over 1500 Nm to Sydney and just 50 Nm to the dateline (despite changing dates 2 days ago to avoid having Monday at sea)

Wednesday, 30 November 2016, 0930 Hrs (Time change – 1 hr = Sydney summer time)

26 51 S, 176 54 W, Wind Easterly 15 kts, finally getting some reasonable speeds again. Had the Genika up for several hours yesterday and again since around 7 am. Winds forecast to increase and go a little further North over the next day or two so hope to be able to get our average back up again. We are now approximately half way to Sydney which is a bit disappointing after 11 days at sea, hopefully the second half will see some gains on the first.

Tuesday, 29 November 2016, 1030 Hrs (time change + 22 Hrs)

26 00 S, 174 32 W, Currently 8-9 Kts Southerly, under sail approximately on course at just under 5 kts. Another slow night under engine with a daily average of just 4.75 kts.

Sunday, 27 November 2016, 1230 Hrs

25 48 S, 172 51 W, Currently we have the Genika up in 8-10 kts of breeze and 4.5- 5.5 kts boat speed. Better than overnight where we needed the engine to slowly motor at 4 kts as averaged for the last 24 hrs.

Friday, 25 November 2016, 1230 Hrs

24 10 S, 169 57 W, Lost around 20 Nm sailing a westerly course whilst trying to get information on the low set to develop off New Caledonia. Currently in a 20 Kt Easterly so the wind has not dropped out yet as originally forecast, hopefully our course will take us out of the hole predicted previously.

Thursday, 24 November 2016, 1230 Hrs

23 36 S, 167 38 W, A bit overcast unfortunately today so the solar panels which have been doing fantastic till now are struggling to keep up with usage this morning.  We are just on 1000 Nm now into this passage. Weatherman had us tied to the text message editor all day with the possibility of a cyclone forming near New Caledonia.

Wednesday, 23 November 2016, 1230 Hrs

22 48 S, 165 18 W, Easterly winds have been building up to 25 Kts, Course is still on the Rhumbline however suggested by Duane to edge further North. Hard call when making some of the best miles so far on this passage. Considering options so keen to know how long the lull will last so as to know how far north is worth it.

Tuesday, 22 November 2016, 1230 Hrs

22 10 S, 162 52 W, Currently around 740 Nm behind us with approximately 2500 Nm to Sydney ahead. Weather s pleasant at 29 Degrees C and easterly wind at 15 kts. Sticking pretty much to the greater circle Rhumb line with forecasts before leaving and updates from Duane suggesting good conditions for now along this track. All is well without too many signs of cabin fever as yet.

Thursday, 17 November 2016, 1300 Hrs

Leaving Bora Bora for Australia! It probably wont be possible to update this log whilst underway on this trip due to a change of operating systems recently. Dinah will be getting an update every 3-5 days so I have forwarded relevant email addresses for updates to her. See you in a few weeks!

Wednesday, 16 November 2016, 1000Hrs

Heading ashore for what I hope is the 6^th and final visit to Gendarmes for our final clearance. Will also be topping up our fresh food, fuel and a few items required that we were not able to find in Raiatea. Will all going well update on our departure.

Tuesday, 15 November 2016, 20 25 Hrs

16 30 S, 151 45.5 W, Moored off the new Mai Kai Yacht Club. Managed to get ashore quickly to have a beer and get the free WiFi password code so now we have internet on board again making things much easier. The trip up from Raiatea is best described as WET. Tropical downpour’s the whole way, The wind 25-30 Kts from the SE just as we hope it will be for much of the crossing ahead.

1200 Hrs

Update, unfortunately the Satelite phone test (below) did not work under windows 10 but will try again before departure. Leaving shortly for Bora Bora so hope to be able to clear and leave tomorrow finally. Duane I will send all the crew NOK from there as I know we will have internet at the yacht Club. Here in Raiatea we can only get access 9-5 if in a certain café hence the lack of communication. Update soon!

Sunday, 13 November 2016, 0900 Hrs

It’s now just 48 hrs since landing in Raiatea, Tahiti. On arrival we found the boat ‘Quatra’ moored at the Marina Apooiti just west of the airport. Not looking good to find the Marina is closed for bank holiday and no keys or access to the boat. Fortunately, a charter company allowed me to use their internet to send a few messages out and call a local car rental company so we would be able to go in search of the internet. None of our Australian phones have service and Monday is the first time we would be able to get a local sim card.

Finally, we found a café that gives you 30 mins of access if you buy a drink. After 24 hrs in transit and maybe 1 – 2 hrs sleep on the floor of Tahiti airport overnight our bodies had no idea what day or time it was so a beer and the check of emails had us cancelling breakfast and heading straight back to the other side of the island to meet the previous owner of ‘Quatra’ to do a hand over.

In short we have now 80% previsioned for departure scraping together essentials at 4 different supermarkets (super is probably not the right term), taken the boat to the other side of the island to get duty free fuel, and most importantly now have a kettle for a long-awaited coffee.

We have to move from the marina in a few hours and hence loose communications again but today we are hoping to get a clearance through the ‘Gendarmes’ for a departure on Monday. Having just a few hours on the internet at this stage looking at the forecast is irrelevant until we are in a state to put to sea on one of the longest legs in the world to attempt as a nonstop passage. Initially before leaving Sydney the wind did not look ideal however I’m sure Duane will give me an accurate forecast and we can determine an actual departure time.

0100 Hrs, 16 43 S, 151 28 W, Marina in Raiatea, Sorry for the lack of an update but all is well. Lack of time and internet to update since departing Friday morning. Will have an hour or so of connection in the morning finally to return a few emails and update properly

Notes on Communication: – Please feel free to send SMS messages via your email
direct to the satellite phone on board. Simply click the “free” link shown on
the top of this page or type the address as 881631430767@msg.iridium.com
Its only a maximum of 120 Characters and you need to leave the subject or
message header blank