An Ocean Passage from Phuket, Thailand to Opua, New Zealand

The Plan: Board a plane in a few hours, step onto an Elba 46 catamaran in Phuket, and set sail for Opua, New Zealand—a day or so to complete our extensive checklist and depart on a 6,150-nautical-mile journey.

The Last Word: "The boat will be ready on Saturday for departure."

That email from Jack, the proud owner of the brand-new Elba 45, was the last thing Matt and I read before getting on the flight. Jack recently purchased his catamaran in Thailand and was keen to get his new sailing dream back to New Zealand by Christmas. For weeks, he has been working with the broker and technicians to prepare the yacht for this extensive passage.

The search for a suitable Skipper and Crew

Jack biggest logistical challenge: finding a reliable, proven skipper and crew. He had reviewed numerous candidates, but something was always missing. He needed seasoned professionals he could truly trust with his brand-new home.

By chance, Jack had sailed with Matt a few months prior, and reached out for help. The route—which passed through regions we wanted to scope out for our own future Sail Seven Seas adventures—was a perfect opportunity. We agreed to help a mate and fellow sailor deliver his vessel safely.

The Reality Check

The plan took an immediate hit upon landing in Thailand. Instead of being taken straight to the boat for our first introduction and departure prep, we received a sobering message from Jack: "You will not be going to the boat, but to a hotel—the boat was not in a fit state for people to stay on it."

Not a good sign.

The Cruising Reality

I know that new production boats will always have teething problems, and that they leave the factory missing much of the essential equipment needed for long-term ocean cruising. Still, this project has been a powerful reminder of a universal truth in boat work: a simple job will take three times as long as it should, because you always uncover another job along the way. It’s a constant battle of two steps forward and one step back.

Matt and I are going to write a series of detailed blog entries to share exactly what we've been up to. We'll outline the critical issues we uncovered, the essential gear we installed, and the hard-won lessons we've learned in preparing Jack’s new Elba 46 to be truly ocean-ready.

Stay tuned for our first deep dive into the boat's systems!

A Week Later: Preparation, Not Passage

Fast forward one gruelling week. Saturday has come and gone, and we are nowhere near departing. We have traded our sailing sunnies for spanners and spent our days knee-deep in systems that should have been pristine. Thankfully, Jack was a perfect host by providing numerous frosties to keep us going.

Today, however, Jack gave us the highest compliment:

"I am so glad you two professionals agreed to help me sail the boat. Your experience and knowledge has been core to identifying issues and providing advice to make the boat safe and operable. I know that you are only here to sail the boat, but I’m so glad that you’ve rolled up your sleeves and are installing and fixing things."