“Johanna II” Hanse 355 Melb to Auckland Oct 2019
October 2019... Delivering a yacht across the Tasman always has some days when the weather is somewhat interesting. Not to disappoint, days 5 to 7 were 35-50kts with seas reaching 5 mtrs but Johanna II handled the conditions exceptionally well. What I found most impressive with was the ability of the auto pilot to...
Continue reading‘Oui Ca Va’ Oceanis 43 Sydney to Yamba July 2019
2019... New owner Jay asked me to assist with the delivery of Oui Ca Va from Sydney (Pittwater) to Yamba. On board also were two of Jay's adult children Brodie and Rachael who were delightful company as well as excellent crew who all took their fair share of watches and other onboard activities. Conditions...
Continue reading“Sweetart” Inglis 39 Coffs Hbr to Newcastle July 2019
July 2019... What a great boat! New owner Stephen rang me from my home port marina at Coffs Harbour asking if there was any chance of me assisting him with the delivery to Newcastle 'tomorrow'. Checking my diary, there was only 3 appointments that would need to be rescheduled (including the dentist) so I...
Continue readingJeaneau 319 Multiple – May to June 2019
June 2019... Previously delivered from Sydney for the 2019 Sanctuary Cove International Boat Show. Unfortunately for the brokers, no sale at the boat show so the 319 spent a month at Mooloolaba Marina before we were asked to return it to Pittwater. This time going against the weather, saw the first 3 days beating...
Continue readingCygnet – Etap 37 Gold Coast to Adelaide – May 2019
May 2019... After finding water in the fuel at the Gold Coast, we needed to drain off about a litre from the tank and bleed the system and renew all filters. Finding the fuel in this condition gave us little confidence about the maintenance of the motor. Next we decided to check and probably...
Continue reading‘Just A Dash’ Benateau 40 Mult Deliveries Jan 2013 – April 2019
Just A Dash... April 2019 Sydney to Pt Stephens and return. NSW IRC championships again, this time with a great crew and JAD beautifully prepared suffered from virtually no wind on the first 2 days and variable shifting breeze on the third. Hours of motoring around waiting for the non existing breeze to arrive....
Continue reading‘Scarlett’ Benateau Oceanis 351 Airlie Beach to Brisbane November 2018
November 2018... So Murray and I cleaned up Evening Breeze and transferred our gear to Scarlett. A very enjoyable meal at La Tabella then early start 0500 to catch the favourable tide. A couple of issues, reasonably new Raymarine wheel pilot had gearbox failure and intermittent engine near failures due to partial blockage of...
Continue reading‘Evening Breeze’ 35ft Catalina Sydney to Airlie Beach November 2018
November 2018... A sea change for the owners required their yacht to be relocated to Able Point Marina, just down the road from their new residence. A couple of issues setting up the new CPT auto pilot but once we made several adjustments we were much more confident in its ability.We had a new...
Continue reading’42 South’ Sunfast 3200 Hobart to Sydney November 2018
November 2018... Bruce searched for some time to find what he was looking for and eventually found the Sunfast in Hobart. Previously campaigned by a very experienced sailor, it was exceptionally well set up and maintained. Bruce joined us for the trip north and so at some stage tried every sail plan and had...
Continue reading‘Morning Lassie’ S&S 34 Melbourne to Stanley race November 2018
November 2018... The race was postponed for 7 hours waiting for the weather to abate. Unfortunately although the wind did decrease to 25-35kts, the swells were still 4-5 mts on the beam which was really uncomfortable and after a couple of knockdowns decided to preserve the boat and crew and head back to Melbourne....
Continue reading‘Life’s A Boat’ Farr 37 Brisbane to Sydney March 2018
March 2018... We had everything that could possibly be thrown at us. Our first departure was aborted when 35-40kt headwinds made our timing inside Stradbroke Is too slow and we missed the high tide through Jacobs Well. So another attempt the following day meant getting through safely with no concerns. Overnight at Gold Coast...
Continue readingBeach House Seawind 1160 Hamilton Is to Sydney October 2017
October 2017... Sometimes you can be really lucky and with this delivery, we did. A superb NE breeze the whole way bar one day when we stopped to refuel, re provision and service a sticky winch. !5 knots most of the way and kite up during daylight hours and socked at night. A very...
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