Saturday, 20 January 2018, 1300 Hrs

Port Macquarrie Marina. Thank you to VMR Port Macquarrie for the Tow!

1030 hrs

31 30 S, 152 56 E Oops engine alarm is on, 2 Nm South of Taking Point

Friday, 19 January 2018, 1300 Hrs

32 53 S, 152 07 E, around 10 Nm South of Port Stephens under engine as expected. Currently the sea breese is very much N-NE but with a bit of luck may go East to give us a little push along in the afternoon / Evening. Approximately 100 NM to Port Macquarrie, all is well. Update again on approach to the entrance of Port Macquarrie.

Thursday, 18 January 2018, 2200 Hrs

Left the CYCA, unfortunately D’Abora Marina no longer supplies fuel after 1730 Hrs despite being a swipe card self service for some reason. That meant a quick walk up the road to the 24 hr petrol station to top up our fuel containers. Anyway finally underway.

0700 Hrs

About to head off in the next hour for Port Macquarie. Minor hitch just before the chandlers closed required a fuse so have packed several spares and about to down a meal. Update in the morning.

Wednesday, 17 January 2018,

Delivery from Sydney to Port Macquarrie, Short notice due to the weather window. Hope to depart on Thursday January 18^th.

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 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

Thursday, 21 December 2017, 1600 Hrs

Ransa Sailing Club, Rushcutters Bay

0800 Hrs

34 31 S, 150 58 E, 4 Nm East of Port Kembla, making good speed again under sail after waiting for 10 Hours for the current Southerly to kick back in. Unfortunate for the crew who had some arrangements in place on arrival in Sydney but that’s how it is with the weather only being a forecast so timing can not be relied upon. Current ETA APPROXIMATELY 1500 Hrs

Wednesday, 20 December 2017, 1900 Hrs

35 26 S, 150 33 E, 5 Nm East of Ulladulla which gives us around 100 Nm to the heads, currently in light northerlies but expecting the southerly winds to kick in again in around 3-4 hours.

0700 Hrs

Leaving Bermagui. Current forecasts show Southerlies all the way to Sydney, expecting to arrive sometime before lunch tomorrow.

Tuesday, 19 December 2017, 1000 Hrs

36 25 S, 150 04 E, arrived at Bermagui. Expect to leave again first thing Wednesday morning on a forecasted Southerly. Bit of boat cleaning, a long awaited shower and not much happening in town.

Monday, 18 December 2017, 2230 Hrs

Leaving Eden for Bermagui

1500 Hrs

Eden, Parked and arranging fuel. Will leave in a few hours for Bermagui to wait for Tuesday’s northerly to blow through before continuing on Wednesday.

0700 Hrs

37 27 S, 150 00 E, 4 Nm North of Cape Howe. Rounded Gabo Island at around 5 am, currently motoring into 15 Kts of Northerly wind. Have just added the last of our spare fuel to the tanks so should be sufficient to make it slowly to Eden with an ETA of around 1500 Hrs. On the current forecast it looks like the wind will change to the South on Wednesday Morning and it should hold long enough for the last 200 Nm to Sydney from then. Will update on arrival in Eden

Saturday, 16 December 2017, 1500Hrs

39 10 S, 146 20 E, 3 Nm South of Wilson’s Promontory with 10 Kts SW wind. Motor sailing still and about to do a fuel check, Reasonable speeds of 6-7 Kts and hoping not to have to back off to insure enough fuel for the rest of Bass Straight depending on what wind assistance we end up getting. Next phone reception in at probably 24 Hrs so contact only via sms to the sat phn if required.

0530 Hrs

38 43 S, 145 16 E, 10 Nm South of Phillip Island. Variable wind as predicted so still under engines, hoping for a little bit of wind assistance to save fuel for the Bass strait crossing. Will update later today when reception returns off Wilson’s Prom.

Friday, 15 December 2017, 1100 Hrs

Leaving Fuel dock at St Kilda Marina. Slight problem with one engines gear selection. Resolved with a spare part for the second engine in tow. Good to have a shipwright (Brandon) on board sorting out any teething issues.

0830 Hrs

Leave the Royal Melbourne Yacht Squadron. Finally found a troublesome fuse on the auto pilot.

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

Friday, 20 October 2017, 1545 Hrs

Arrived in Townsville, all well. Thank you to Steve and George for your help

1100 Hrs

18 52 S, 146 42 E, Still out here! As the crow fly’s its 25 Nm to Townsville but do you think we are able to draw a straight line? We have now travelled 100 Nm more than needed due to the SE winds and the need to shelter behind the reef during Wednesdays storm. Anyway I’m not giving any ETA because every time I do the time doubles, suffice to say ‘we get there when we get there’.

Sorry I missed your call yesterday Duane but was taking one of half a dozen hours sleep that I have managed in the last few days.

Thursday, 19 October 2017, 1100 Hrs

17 38 S, 146 19 E, Just 100 Nm to go to Townsville, A very long day and night yesterday but now motoring inside the Barrier Reef in less than 10 Kts of wind, the torrential rain has turned to drizzle. Customs have now been advised of an ETA of 5 AM tomorrow.

Wednesday, 18 October 2017, 1600 Hrs

17 14 S, 146 45 E, main down and course changed for Flora Passage. Winds ESE 35-40 Kts, seas 5 + Meters. We have a bit on, looks like a long day / Night

1300 Hrs

16 46 S, 147 32 E, Winds SE 30-40Kts, Course changed for a better angle to the waves.

1100 Hrs

16 31 S, 147 36 E, Still 100 Nm to Palm Passage, another night of rain and thunder squalls making it difficult to keep east enough to enter the reef far enough South. Murphy’s law, as soon as I update Customs on our ETA shit happens. Will see how we go today, hoping the wind may go more East and maybe a bit North but looks like it wont be until Friday morning when we can get clearance now. Currently we are getting 25-30 Kt SE winds and the seas are up to 2.5 M Mainsail up and engine off to assist our course.

Tuesday, 17 October 2017, 1100 Hrs

15 08 S, 147 38 E, Now 130 Nm NNE of Cooktown. Wild elactrical storms last night saw gusts of up to 45 Kts from all compass directions and buckets of rain. Ended up with 10 Kts ESE wind this morning so motor sailing back on course now. Just 250 Nm to go so looking like landing in Townsville on Thursday afternoon.

Monday, 16 October 2017, 1100 Hrs

13 29 S, 147 31 E, Almost half way to Townsville, around 60Nm NE of Osprey reef. Currently having rain squalls which is making it a little difficult to maintain easterly bias in our course which has been reasonable till now. Duane’s weather reports are telling us it could drop off from around 15 Kts to under 10 Kts of wind so will use those lighter winds to motor a bit more on an easterly course. Looking to make our passage through the reef at “Palm Passage” hopefully by Wednesday to bypass Cairns and head straight to Townsville. The stronger SE winds are expected back again on Wednesday.

Saturday, 14 October 2017, 0730 Hrs

Leaving Beagle Bay, the plan is to make as much SE distance today as able under engine before turning South and sailing Towards Townsville. The wind is forecast to drop off by Sunday to 10-15 Kts and turn a bit more Easterly hopefully giving us a better angle. After a busy day navigating through the reef it was great to have a decent meal (meat tray won at the Yacht Club) and a full nights sleep.

Friday, 13 October 2017, 1930 Hrs

10 03.5 S, 147 42 E, Anchored in Beagle Bay PNG, Started off nice and calm as we motored inside the reef along the Coast. The wind as forecast, gradually built through the day until we were bashing into 25-30 Kts S-Easterlies.

0645 Hrs

Leaving Port Moresby, Currently motoring down the coast in the Lee of the land, expecting or hoping the trade winds will ease off for the first time in weeks over the weekend so as to make a reasonable course towards Townsville. Update in around two days.

Tuesday, 10 October 2017, 1700Hrs

Still in Moresby but should be able to clear customs tomorrow and leave towards the end of the week. George will be arriving tomorrow as well for the trip so a big welcome aboard. Updates soon, thanks Duane for the detailed forecast, nothing more to say a few days ago but “the weather is shit for days” or words to that effect.

Monday, 9 October 2017, 1700 Hrs

Still waiting on customs clearance, looks like a couple more days whilst paperwork is issued. Oh well at least the wind looks like dropping off a bit as the week progresses anyway so should give us a better run when we finally set off.

Thursday, October 5, 2017

Royal Papua Yacht Club

Waiting for Customs Clearance. Looks like they wont be showing up today.

Friday, 22 September 2017 0930Hrs

33 51S, 151 13E, RSYS Pond. Thank you Tubby for your help on such short notice. Happy Birthday as well!

0800 Hrs

33 53S, 151 29E, 3 Nm from Sydney heads after making good progress with the assistance of a few knots of Current. Expected to be tied up in around 1.5 Hours

Thursday, 21 September 2017, 1000 Hrs

31 55 S, 153 00 E, 13 Nm SE of Crowdy Head. Making good progress under engine since leaving, around 100 Nm behind us with 150 Nm to Sydney. All is well.

Wednesday, September 20, 1600 Hrs

All set to leave Coffs Harbour

Tuesday, 19 September, Coffs Harbour Marina

Euphoria! Will be welcoming Tubby aboard soon.

Monday, 28 August 2017, 1430Hrs

22 16.7S, 166 26.4E, Port Moselle Noumea. Unfortunately we used way too much fuel looking for an anchorage to recover the main halyard, in fact one tank emptied whilst parking so despite doing everything possible not to stop it was inevitable. I Was prepared not to have any hot meals if the gas ran out (pre cooked and frozen 10 meals) Not sure how I would have enjoyed no coffee though.

Sunday, 27 August 2017, 1200 Hrs

22 07S, 167 55 E, Its around 40Nm to a passage amongst the reefs south of Noumea, currently with a light wind from the south east we will most likely sail through that passage and anchor amongst the islands to attempt to recover the main halyard from up the mast. All going well and provided the updated forecast still shows favourable winds we should be back into the Tasmam Monday evening pointed at Bundaberg.

Saturday, 26 August 2017, 1300Hrs

21 17S, 169 16E, Now its under 950Nm to Bundy, looking forward to the final turn to Starboard probably on Monday. A Large swell is coming from the North East, hopefully there is no low forming up near or beyond Fiji. Expecting to be under engine until Monday. All well.

Friday, 25 August 2017, 1500Hrs

Update

Oops, just as I’m about to hit send it appears the block on the mainsail halyayd has given way from the shackle sending the main to the deck. After Phil volunteered to try to retrieve it he managed to get quite a way up before showing off and swinging back and forth amongst the shrouds. Anyway that attempt has been aborted, based on the forecasts and having at least 48-60hrs of motoring ahead we have time to decide on sailing under Headsail alone (have done for a majority of downwind sailing so far) or perhaps anchor at the Isle of Pines or Noumea itself to remedy the problem.

1300Hrs

20 02S, 170 27E, Over half way now, 1092 Nm to go with 1145 Nm Behind, Yeah! Currently in light winds as expected from Duane s reports, we will probably be under engine for the rest of the weekend before getting some more (hopefully favourable) winds from early next week. Thanks for such a detailed report as well Duane, you have been spot on, your getting good at this !!

Thursday, 24 August 2017, 1300Hrs

18 58S, 172 07E, Around 1160Nm to Bundaberg so that’s about half way. The wind has gone a bit more easterly and dropped off from the 20-30Kts of 2 days ago. So since this morning we have had the main back up and are back on course. The weatherman tells us it will drop off further in the next few days and swing more east so we are expecting a good run until it drops out completely on the weekend.

Tuesday, 22 August 2017, 1300Hrs

17 09S, 176 17E, 600 Nm to the bottom of Noumea, making good speed but the seas are throwing us about a lot, SE winds at 20kts looks good on paper but add some sloppy waves puts incredible stress on the boat let alone me. Will be backing off now as fittings etc may start shaking loose under these conditions.

Monday, 21 August 2017, 1300Hrs

16 27S, 177 43E, Approximately one third of the way to Bundaberg now. There has been a little bit of rain around today so have now set up the water catcher again. Thanks for your messages Duane, I Hope you had a good extended weekend, please send my best regards to Sue.

Sunday, 20 August 2017, 1300Hrs

15 38S, 179 07 EAST, Yep on the right side of the world again, we have also adjusted our time to Fiji or NZ time so are now at UTC +12hrs. Back under engine since early this morning and currently running down the western edge of Fiji. Its 22 years since I visited the Yasawa island group which we will be passing very close to in the next 24hrs. Oh well next time maybe a revisit.

Saturday, 19 August 2017, 1400Hrs

14 40S, 179 09 W, The seas gradually dropped away allowing us to make speeds like we had hoped for.

Friday, 18 August 2017, 1400 Hrs

14 39S 176 43 W, Counting down (or up) again, 300Nm behind and 1900Nm ahead. The seas are up a bit on yesterday after having a southerly blow in for most of the night, but its now dropped back off and turning slowly more to the east. Not much else happening except a few dolphins yesterday. All well on board.

Thursday, 17 August 2017, 1400Hrs

14 38S, 174 43W, Had a fair bit of motoring overnight but currently under sail with a light Northerly. Hopefully this will last a while before the engine needs to fire up again as its a pleasant sail. Should we be able to maintain the current course we will probably keep to the North of Fiji as the weatherman suggests. The navigation will also be easier over the top. We definitely will however be making our way to the south of new Caledonia so as not to be caught with any winds south of SE to clear into Bundaberg. Also as Noumea is to the South its reachable should we need to stop for any unforeseen reason.

Hey Happy Birthday to Gemma!! Looking forward to you visiting OZ in October

Wednesday, 16 August 2017, 1400Hrs

14 04S, 173 02W Still not on the correct side of the dateline yet and just 84 nm behind us. Lots of rain overnight with wind at times but giving us a very varied course over the ground.

Tuesday, 15 August 2017, 2000Hrs

Underway, update in a few days. Australia here we come!

0900Hrs

Well I tried to get going over the weekend, Immigration assured me several times it would not be a problem so managed to clear out on Friday despite Phil not arriving in Samoa until Saturday night. Customs however would not have a bar of it so today in an hours time I will be back at customs for another attempt. Not much happened here in Samoa over the weekend, Sunday was Fathers day and absolutely everything has closed, yesterday Monday was a public holiday for the Fathers day so again nothing much happened. Will update again as we leave.

Noumea to Mackay

Friday, 8 September 2017, 1600Hrs

Down tools, Marina needs booking into but customs and quarantine are done with us so we can finally venture ashore.

Thursday, 7 September 2017, 2130 Hrs

21 06.7S, 149 13.5E, Mackay Marina

1200Hrs

21 25S, 150 00E, 48nm to Mackay but who’s counting. Note the time change to AEST, I think that makes it time change no. 28 since January. Not sure if customs will clear us tonight or not but either way hope to be heading off as soon as they do for the last leg to Shute Harbour, Not quite as glamerous amongst the mangroves as HI Marina is but thats where Sunsail would like us to hand over “Wind Sprite” Shite Harbour it is!

Wednesday, 6 September 2017, 1300Hrs

22 14S, 152 11E, 180Nm still to go to Mackay, We only managed 90Nm made good to our destination with the angle the wind would allow us so around 25 Nm further travelled, painfully slow unfortunately.

Tuesday, 5 September 2017, 1300Hrs

22 42S, 153 41E, Around 260Nm to Mackay, hope to be able to make it during busiess hours on Thursday. The wind came in from the North last night right on the weathermans schedule which allowed use to make good speed under sail and give a good boost to the average. Its now gone a bit more westerly and expected to drop right out again, hopefully soon so we can point in the right direction. Next update when within reach of regular phone service.

Monday, 4 September 2017, 1300Hrs

22 24S, 156 04E, Under 400Nm to Mackay so around 450Nm to HI

Sunday, 3 September 2017, 1430Hrs

Engine on, sailing game over but don’t expect we can travel faster under engine, that never happens.

1300Hr

22 17S, 158 06E, about 550 Nm to go, thats to Hamilton Island. Slow going but at least today the wind has swung more east, albiet light. The current is also against us at the moment. We were unable to make a course far enough South for Bundaberg and now the distance to there is 50nm further than the mainland to the West. Anyway that means some dissapointed crew, sorry to Andrew and Dodo who were excited to join us there and appologies to Phil who wanted to get off there however its going to be just as quick to clear customs etc at Mackay.

Thanks again Duane for your update, it seems you were not on the farm this weekend? Its fortunate in a way that we did stop at Noumea for fuel (duty free as well) because we certainly didnt have enough to make Bundaberg based on your update. Currently we are making the most of the remaining wind in order to have sufficient for the last few days under engine. Hopefully the next update will be via regular internet.

Friday, 1 September 2017, 1300Hrs

22 36S, 161 45E, Still 535 slow and painful Nm to Bundaberg, wind S to SSW at 15-20Kts and I’m told thats until Sunday lunchtime. Was hoping to at least have good averages for the final ocean leg but its not to be.

Thursday, 31 August 2017, 1300 hrs

22 50S, 163 54E, Just on 640Nm to Bundaberg. Been hanging around in the engine compartment since 7am. I didn’t think my fuel consumption calculations or the fuel tanks under stated size. Turns out there was a blockage in the fuel filter causing the engine to cut out. Despite filter changes and bleeding crap from the fuel tank some must have still been in the system somewhere. Anyway last spare filter installed, fixed and running well now. Whilst rumaging around in the spares I found a block Doug bought for us before leaving Greece, happens to be the exact spec’s for the fatgued one that failed on the main Halyard. Next job.

Thanks for your updates again Duane. Sorry but we are already below 22 S as Noumea is also further South than that. Will continue pretty much Westerly but need to keep the hard fought Southing in the bank.

Tuesday, 29 August 2017, 1600 Hrs

Leaving Noumea, unable to find a suitable replacement block for the main Halyard so we will be using one or two reefs and have jury rigged a shackle until it can be replaced corectly. A few other small jobs as well as the critical fuel, gas and water.

Bora Bora to Samoa, 28/7/17 – 9/8/17, 1220 Nm

Samoa, 9 August 2017

Arrived Apia 1230 hrs

Quarantine were fast and efficient. Customs made us wait then wanted original clearance documents. We’ll Tahiti gives it electronically now. Wasn’t good enough for her so let’s take my computer to her office. By the time we got there her superiors must have said it’s fine so at least we were driven 100 meters back to the boat. Beer o clock so have internet now. Update when I’m next upright.

Tuesday, 8 August 2017, 1300Hrs

13 13S, 169 56W, Goodbye Monday! Cancelled through lack of interest. Well Joe decided he doesn’t mind the odd Monday so he had what he called Smunday yesterday. Regardless the ships time is now UTC +13 so until Samoa we are now 3 hrs ahead of EST in Australia. The wind kicked in yesterday afternoon after days of motoring so now we are making good speed and hope to be in Apia within 24hrs. Looking forward to catching up with you Phil on Saturday night.

Sunday, 6 August 2017, 1300Hrs

13 33S, 167 49W, Still 233Nm away, At least the weather brought some rain to keep things a little cooler today. Another whale sighting this time with a breach.

Saturday, 5 August 2017, 1300Hrs

13 35S, 166 06W, Only averaging a bit over 4 kts whilst under engine. We could up the revs whilst under engine however with the fuel filter problems (fixed for now) and with no more spares I’m very reluctant to push anything too hard. Still with more than 300Nm to go and a date change coming up its definitely a mid week arrival

Friday, 4 August 2017, 1300Hrs

13 38S, 164 23W, Still over 430Nm to landfall. Have spent all morning cramped into an engine bay trying to stop a small drip from the engine fuel water separator. Hopefully this is the reason the engine cut out last night. Currently waiting on a gasket seal product to set before we can test it. This appears to have been glued closed previously so when draining this filter a week ago we must have broken the previous (temporary?) repair. Fingers crossed that this was the problem.

Dinah please SMS to verify this post has happened, will follow up should I not hear a response.

Thursday, 3 August 2017, 1300Hrs

13 42S, 162 36W, Past half way at least, now we have around 540Nm to go with the wind pretty much directly behind at 10-15 Kts so still slow going under sail at least. Nothing much more to report at the moment. All fine on board.

Tuesday, 1 August 2017, 1300Hrs

14 53 S, 159 13 W, A slow last 24 Hrs, not quite half way as expected by now. The forecasts from Duane are showing winds lightening further so will persevere for today but its looking like we will need to be under engine for the duration to Samoa unfortunately. Currently more than 750 Nm to go with 460 Nm behind us in a crooked line. Note we have changed time to UTC -11Hrs

Monday, 31 July 2017, 1400Hrs

15 22S, 157 49W, Slowly getting somewhere I think. Saw a Whale right up close to the boat this morning but that’s all to report apart from the usual birds out here in the middle of nowhere.

Sunday, 30 July 2017, 1400 Hrs

15 50S, 155 53W, 940Nm to Samoa and 250 Nm behind us. A bit slow going the last 24 Hrs but expecting the wind to pick up a bit and hold until Tuesday night. We may just miss out on Monday and put ourselves on the other side of the dateline tomorrow just for convenience in communications.

Friday July 28, 2017, 1100Hrs

Leaving Bora Bora again. Test of position report via Sattelite has worked so good to go. Joe’s luggage finally arrived this morning so he is currently collecting it now. Have made some adjustments to the rudder alignment and will take another swim to check the hull but hopefully the autopilot will behave itself. Wind looks good so hope to be in Samoa in 8 days plus 1 day for crossing the dateline. Update in a few days.

Thursday, 27 July 2017, 1800 Hrs

Checked out again, “take two” for the leg to Samoa, It was what seems too simple to a matter to remove one crew from the list and add another, particularly after the hassle last November trying to clear out and the red tape involved, I guess because last time the boat was under new ownership when leaving. Anyway welcome aboard to Joe! Will hopefully we will be underway by lunchtime tomorrow with just a few minor tasks like garbage, fresh bread and another look at the hull and a check of the rudder alignment. (still looking for the Gremlin in the Autopilot)

Duane I will send through Joe’s passport and NOK details shortly, I know you are probably on the Farm this weekend but will hear from you no doubt in a couple of days.

Next update on leaving and will do a final Satellite test prior to that.

Wednesday, 26 July 2017, 1430 Hrs

Bora Bora Yacht Club

Final test of uploading position reports to the crew website.

All going well I think the problem has been fixed.

First the iridium mail apps updated and failed on all devices. Windows updated on me yesterday which took out the computer for almost 3 hours. “Postie” the add on to wordpress for posting via email also had and update at some stage to keep up with wordpress updates. Unfortunately I couldn’t update wordpress so nothing was working.

Fortunately the Author of “Postie” was able to get back to me immediately and gave me a link to the version of his “add on” that works on my version of the WordPress site (crew website)

So a big thank you to Wayne Allen for solving my long running frustrations with communication.

Monday, 24 July 2017, 1800Hrs

Bora Bora Yacht Club again!
Still problems with the posting to the website but bigger problems with crew.  More on that later.
All fine though accept very disappointing in the further delay.

Leaving Maupiti, 1030hrs

Monday, 17 July 2017, 1630 Hrs

Iridium System apps are down, thanks for the upgrade!

Bora Bora, Temporary mooring off Bloody Mary’s but not for long. Private Party tonight so no go for free Wi-Fi at the bar. Now moved to the public Jetty in the Viatape as there were no moorings at the Maikai Yacht Club. Bloody internet woes still. I understand none of my posts have one up on leaving Bora Bora, updated iridium apps are not sending so hopefully this post is up. Will try to resolve this when a reliable connection can be established

Sunday, 16 July 2017, 0945 Hrs

Leaving Papeete Harbour. Heading for Bora Bora for the last top up on fuel and water. ETA 24 hrs. Under engine as wind is very light. Will update after arrival.

Position Report and other info UTC (-6 Hrs Wind Sprite 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

Wednesday May 17, 2017, 2300 Hrs

00 44.83 S 90 18.5 W, Anchored in Academy Bay Santa Cruise, Galapagos Islands, No WiFi available so will update further once ashore tomorrow.
Sent from Iridium Mail & Web.

Monday, 15 May 2017, 1200 Hrs

01 21 N, 88 41 W, Now just 150 Nm to go to San Cristobal Island. Also around 85 Nm to “Neptunes Party” at the equator. Thanks again Duane for your weather update, Its been a relief over the last couple of days to not be contiguously running the engines. Wind direction has been sending us predominantly west but have managed to get a bit south. The current is increasing from the South East as well as the swell which has added to our unfortunately slow progress. All hands are busy cleaning and sorting garbage to satisfy the authorities on arrival. Signs are in place to not discharge our holding tanks or throw garbage overboard. I’m glad to have scrubbed the hull last month as its possible they will put a diver down to check for barnicles. Should we have to re-clean the hull we will have to go 40 Nm offshore to do it again. Current ETA looks like some time on Wednesday. Oh and we just got buzzed by a red helicopter, I guess they now know to expect us soon.

Friday, 12 May 2017, 1200 Hrs

03 41 N, 84 58 W, Under 400 Nm to go so over half way. Finally managed a full 24 hrs of sailing in a straight line. Doing an extra update today as I needed to log on for Dinah so that she can ask her travel agent to change flights out of the islands. Its now doubtful she will be able to make them let alone have a look around the islands on arrival. The rain has cleared up so starting to dry a few things out. All are fine onboard.

Thursday, 11 May 2017, 1200 Hrs

03 47 N, 83 39 W, Still not quite half way so incredibly frustrating. Today and a bit of yesterday saw us sailing but rarely in the right direction. Currently on a heading that’s only 30 Degrees off course which gives some hope. Will certainly be glad to finally arrive hopefully in 3 days but could be 6 should the wind and currents continue as they are.

Tuesday, 9 May 2017, 1200 Hrs

04 45 N, 82 12 W, Frustrating last 24 Hrs with less than 50 Nm made towards our destination. Wind 5-15 kts directly on our nose predominantly and the equatorial and Humbolt currents doing its best to delay our arrival. Memories of slogging it out westerly in the Med come to mind, Bring back the trade winds please. Currently the sea state is all over the place and the wind has dropped right out, maybe it will change for the better.

Monday, 8 May 2017, 1200 Hrs

05 25 N, 81 40 W, Just on one third of the way to Galapagos at the moment. Slow traveling as our weatherman has been warning for the last month there wont be any favourable winds on this leg. Lots of rain and slowly motoring on one engine to conserve fuel. All well in the extreeme heat / humidity but plenty of time for sleep and reading.

Friday, 5 May 2017, 1500 Hrs

Leaving Balboa Yacht Club for the Galapagos Islands. Updates every 2-3 days, we are not expecting any favourable winds unfortunately so will probably be motoring most of the way.

Thursday May 4^th, 2017

Cleared immigration etc this afternoon so all set to go.

The last few days have been hectic with a big provision for the next crossing, finally organised a new gas bottle and conversion to US style for the ports that can’t fill our European bottles, all fuelled and water filled as well.

Now the crew are running about gathering their last supplies and are looking forward to their first leg on board. So a big welcome aboard to Dinah, Harun and Sebastian (soon to be renamed Bruce or maybe Baz to help us Ozzie’s remember his name)

Will do a final update in the morning as we leave and will update the crew list for you Duane at that time.

Saturday April 29, 2017 1730 Hrs

Arrived at a mooring at Balboa Yacht Club. All went well so a huge thank you to my crack team of Danish line handlers. Well done guys was great to have you all on board.

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

Antigua to Panama 9/04/2017 21/04/2017 12 Days 1224 Nm

Panama Canal 28/04/2017 29/04/2017 1 Day 45 Nm

Position Report and other info UTC (-5 Hrs Panama)

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

Saturday April 29, 2017 1730 Hrs

Arrived at a mooring at Balboa Yacht Club. All went well so a huge thank you to my crack team of Danish line handlers. Well done guys was great to have you all on board.

Fri, 28 April 2017, 1645 Hrs

09 21 N, 79 55 W, Anchored in “The Flats” Christobel awaiting the boarding of our Advisor. Panama Canal here we come! What could possibly

Thursday, 27 April 2017

So within hours of being measured and paying the canal fees I receive a message my transit is booked for May 13.

OK that was quick booking us but the timing for the crew (Sorry Dinah) is not looking good. Our Agent says he is working on getting us through sooner. “Yes I will be ready tomorrow” so I have been on the case since then.

PHONE CALL, 1800 HRS THURSDAY, “ARE YOU READY FOR TOMORROW” (FRIDAY) YOU BET. So Its confirmed we are going through the canal transit lunchtime tomorrow. My next job is to find 4 x line handlers by 1300 hrs tomorrow. Onto it so next update will hopefully be after the transit on Saturday / Sunday YEAH HAAA

Tuesday, 25 April 2017

Update from Shelter Bay, Friday we cleared the Port Authority and immigration, bit of a mission as always as a taxi trip to Colon can vary in time by a couple of hours depending on the ships going through the Canal

This morning the “Addmeasurers” came on board to run the tape over to confirm our size, more paperwork and to check that we would look after the advisor with suitable food toilets and sun protection etc. All done, next I have paid the Canal fees through an agent this time.

In the past I have done all of this agency work myself, in fact have right up till now organised it all, however as it seems every time I arrive the talk is of extended delays. I am hoping that an agent will improve our waiting time but who knows around here. Anyway have paid the canal fees now through the agent so will be advised in a day or two of a transit date.

I keep saying we but currently I am in the middle of a crew change so its just me. Thank you very much Pawal and Mia, hopefully you will make your next destinations safely.

So I am off now to start filling the freezer again for the next long haul over the Pacific. Also new for me for his trip is hiring a car instead of taxi’s. Just picked the car up yesterday afternoon, it was my first time on the wrong side of the road driving for years but all went fine. Thank you mister google. Anyway should be considerably cheaper than taxis as each trip is $25 US to colon recommended but the taxi drivers do see you coming and bung it on. Sick of agueing with them so they can miss out for a few days at least.

Will update again when I am advised of some form of transit date.

Friday April 21, 0800 Hrs

09 32 N, 79 50 W, Just 20 Nm from Panama finally. A little slow on the last few days with a short stop over Cayo Holandes, San Blas Islands. Yes Duane I scrubbed the hulls which weren’t actually too bad, I expect the growth will be massive after we sail through the nutrient infested waters near the Galapagos so was good to get a good look and clean underneath whilst we were there. Trying not to arrive in darkness here in Colon, I miss judged the speed to here and still needed to slow down overnight as there are ships everywhere. Not sure how long clearance will take here, hopefully they have lifted their game since my last visit but it usually involves visiting several offices around town carrying photocopies of anything they may ask for. I believe also a second cut for the Canal is now operating. I don’t know if that also will improve waiting time for our transit but am hoping so. it can be a long wait on the wrong side of the canal sometimes. Will update in a day or so once we have been measured (will be interesting to compare no’s ;-)) but once that happens we will probably get a preliminary date for transit.

Tuesday, 18 April 2017, 1100 Hrs

10 35 N, 77 42 W, So much for a couple of good days averages, the wind dropped out quickly yesterday so slowed a bit unfortunately. All well except for the humidity, forgot how the sugar and salt gum up in the wet season. Plenty of zip lock bags to start packing supplies in.

Saturday, 15 April 2017, 1100 Hrs

13 39 N, 72 14 W, That’s probably the best 24 hrs average so far with just on 154 Nm so the increased breese to the south helped

Friday, 14 April 2017, 1100 Hrs

13 04 N, 68 45 W, Approximately half way. Sorry for forgetting to update our position Duane, will sort it out for your return after the weekend. Have headed south for more breese, which is welcome however this is about as close to the coastline as I would like to be so it will be as close to the rhumbline as possible from her.

Wednesday, 12 April 2017, 1000 Hrs

15 09 N, 66 31 W, About 300 Nm behind us and 860 Nm to Panama. A little light on wind since leaving, hopefully it will pick up a bit as the forecast shows. We have been a bit slower than normal as have had an issue with the steering cable, causing us to drift whilst a temporary repair has been made. Thanks Doug for the comprehensive range of tools and supplies on board, it felt like we were on the Apollo 13 mission sifting through what was available to solve the problem. Gaffa tape, chewing gum and a biro. Well not really in fact I suspect we have repaired something that had been repaired earlier, resulting in much less play in the helm and the autopilot not working so hard.

Thanks also Duane for the regular weather updates they have been great, nice and succinct without any messages being truncated. Touch wood but the new satellite system seems to deliver them all in the correct order so maybe you wont need to number them as in the past?

Will update again in a few days.

Sunday, 9 April 2017, 1100 Hrs

16 49 N, 62 22 W Approximately 40 Nm from Antigua, just North of the island of Montserrat not seeing any volcanic action from the island at the moment but its often quite active. Also hearing other boats have spotted a few humpbacks but so far we haven’t been so fortunate to spot them. Just managed to pick up some phone reception which will be our last until arrival in Panama in around 10 days time. Good SE to Easterly winds of around 15 Kts

Fri, 7 April 2017 1600 Hrs

All good to go now. Checked out on the system but will need to top up fuel on departure first thing in the morning. Apart from difficulties getting a mechanic to arrive on the boat, once he did however he had the generator running in no time, fortunately it was a minor issue. Thank you to Libby Nicholson from “Pineapple House” for help preserving our frozen food whilst the freezer door was repaired. I’m’ not sure I can thank her for the damage she did to my crew with her rum mixtures shortly after our arrival however.

And to Simon it was great to have you on board for another ocean crossing. Sorry we were delayed in starting from Cape Verde so your time was too short to make Panama in time before returning to work. Hopefully you will join me again somewhere on the blue highway, you are more than welcome anytime. I Will try to get a post up as we depart in the morning before going back to Satellite updates.

Wednesday April 5, 2017, Island Time

Getting there, Partly provisioned whilst we have a shipwright repairing our freezer door. Also waiting on a mechanic to have a look at our generator which had been doing a great job whilst we didn’t need the engines on the last leg. Now its decided to not play fair. We were hoping to be leaving today but now thats not likely. Anyway will see if the mechanic can help tomorrow now but if not we will be able to wait intil Panama to sort anything else out. We need to make a getaway before this place is decended upon by thousands of Yachties arriving for race week at the end of the month. Will be updating on departure.

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