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As the Fall sets in, it's time we started preparing to depart for Fort Lauderdale. We spent 10 weeks in The Ballaeric Islands, friends and family joining us with only a short flight from the UK. My first trip here was exactly 40 years ago, "Pontinental Package Holidays"; my second is now wrapping up. A very different era, in a different world, seen through different eyes, how our lives have changed. For anyone transiting the Western Mediterranean, Palma really is a glorious stopover. Large marinas are less costly than many. A cosmopolitan population, good subcontractors, and English as a common second language. The weather is kind, the scenery beautiful, and the food to die for. The latter may happen as we have frequently overindulged. We have explored two large islands and multiple ports, the biggest two being Palma and Mahon. Multiple anchorages and about 500 miles of cruising in mostly short daytime hops. In my naivete, I regarded cruising as getting from A to B, but it's generally not so. Being at A or B with a transit in between is more to the point and far more relaxing. We are not on a ferry or on a fixed-liner schedule. The best weather has varied from an almost mirror-flat calm, the roughest passage a Force 6 gusting 7 with 3m seas on the nose. Mostly, it's been much less than that, aided by Windy and Predict Wind. A typical day starts with a "Hello" or "Good Morning" in four or five languages before the first coffee. We have conversed with ex-UK Marines, Liverpudlains from the MCA Training Center, Belgian racing yacht captains, Australian, Dutch, and German wanderers, American youth in search of adventure, Russians and Ukrainians in search of peace, Thai, Ghanaians, Cubans, Columbians, Italians, Chileans..... you name it. Steaks and salads, Tappas and Currey's, English Breakfasts or French Croissant, Italian Pizza or Columbian "who knows what" all helped down with local Cervasa or Spanish Riocca. Castles and Cathedrals, cafes and cellars, cliffs and bays, windmills and parklands, I need to get started on the contemporary art pieces that seemingly litter Palma. Beautiful or, as often, thought-provoking. My wife, Sebrina, has had a well-earned rest and some pampering. Our youngest son, Rhys, can now competently handle our tender, stern-too-mooring lines and is learning right next to me daily, along with his schoolwork. We have caught up with all but two of our children, friends, and relations from our scattered diaspora, even with Malaysian friends who visit locally by chance. We have found space to get into the details on Vanguard. Work once less important has risen up the fix-it list. Thanks to Darren from Hartnell Marine Electrical, our biggest wiring demon has been finally laid to rest. (Vessel Management Cabinet). Our tank sensors work reliably for the first time; batteries charge and discharge in the background, and solar behaves and is much more productive. Drawers stay shut; ceilings stay up; showers drain; sinks have stopped smelling; and tanks pump. Lighting and entertainment system automation now works! We even tick off all but 5 of the MCA Category (0) survey requirements from an initial list of 60 failures when delivered by Naval Yachts. Subcontractors here are easy to find, generally responsive, and professional. It is a good place to get work done, especially as the season winds down. And best of all, AMAZON.COM exists here; it's beautiful! We had zero trust in our fuel tank gauges throughout the 3-month journey from Turkey, culminating in extreme range anxiety. Now that the tank gauges operate reliably, we striped each fuel tank until the transfer pump lost suction or the indicator read zero, whichever was first. I now know that our two service tanks and four fuel wings tanks can all be emptied to "zero" on the gauge with a small reserve, and the transfer pump never lost suction. What we see as a fuel reserve is real and can be accessed. Another reliability box ticked. Onward to Florida In the midst of all this happening, we needed to decide how to get Vanguard to the USA. An island hop from the Ballaerics to Canaries, Cape Verde, and the southern Caribbean. Putting her on one of the many transatlantic delivery vessels that run this time of year to the Islands and Florida. Given the cost of going on her own keel, her newness, and my existing range anxiety, we opted to cheat and send her via a larger hull. ETA Fort Lauderdale is the last week in November. The marina is booked thereafter, and we will travel down to the Caribbean early in the New Year. Chris Leigh-Jones

Let's take another shot at our solar system, which aims to enhance the rather disappointing performance of the installed panels. Despite having 6kW of panels, we're only able to generate a maximum of about 1.5kW of power, due to factors like shading, geographic location, and the time of the year. Admittedly, we might be a bit ambitious, but we're convinced that we can do better. Improving the efficiency of these panels means replacing them, which we probably will do at some point. So, the next angle of attack was to link them differently, as discussed in an earlier Blog (HERE). Our remaining option was to understand better how they could be optimized to maximize power production throughout the day. Aiding this understanding is the rather good VRM Portal app from Victron, which gives great insight into what's happening with their equipment. Our solar panels turn off when batteries are at 100% (as one might expect), but the system is set up to maintain that 100% charge state from whatever available power source. The upshot is that Solar is mostly turned off without manual intervention when connected to three-phase shore power! So, off we set to make some changes! When first configured, the Victron Multiplus Inverters maintained house battery charge at 100% using either shore power or drawing from the large Praxis hybrid power batteries. The Victron MPPT Solar controllers charge the batteries from Solar between charge levels of 0% and 100%. Once batteries are >95% charged, the charge current ramps down until 100% charged, and then they effectively go open-circuit and turn off. They provide Solar power only once the battery charge falls below 100%. So if the system keeps house batteries at 100%, no solar energy is made. Our journey was made smoother with the help of some excellent subcontractors in Palma, particularly the invaluable assistance of Magda from AkuPalma. She programmed and installed a program (Node-RED) onto the Victron Cerbo controller via their remote communication platform. Once installed and enabled, Node-RED allows us to configure the Victron Cerbo controller so that, in this instance, we can trigger systems to start/stop charging at different battery charge levels. Using Node-RED, we reconfigured the Multiplus inverters to start charging batteries at 80% and stop charging when 100% full. Batteries then discharge from 100% to 80% before the cycle repeats. See the figure below. 80% is a random selection and can be varied through experience. The advantage of this is that as the batteries begin to drain, the MPPT controllers are triggered, and we maximize solar power as the batteries drain to 80% and recharge back to 100%. Batteries now spend only a few minutes at 100% charge before the cycle repeats. We do not produce more power from solar panels per se, and the panels are no more efficient, but we maximize solar energy production for a far greater duration each day. This was achieved by preventing the MPPT from shutting down with a 100% charged battery. Have a look at the figures above. The maximum we achieved was Turkey in May at 163 kW.H for the month when we were experimenting with the house battery charge. Spain is at a similar latitude, and October typically produces 30% less Solar than May/June. We have operated the new Node-RED software app for 18 days, generating 120kW.H of solar power. Projecting forward from 18 days to a 30 day month and referencing "May," we generate around 120/0.7x30/18 = 285 kW.H . Heck, an improvement of 75% or an additional 122 kW.H of power from the same system.

Family visiting and a cousin on holiday in Menorca gave us the perfect excuse to stretch our legs with a 240NM trip around the islands. The weather forecast was good for early October, and in any event, our stay at Marina Palma de Mallorca had run its course. Palma to Mahon At mid-morning, we departed for Isla de Cabera, some 24NM South West, intending to anchor overnight in sheltered waters. 2 engines, 60% load 8.5KN. Easy trip with calm seas protected from the prevailing northerly. We then discovered the mooring buoys at the Island have to be pre-booked, so we motored onward up the coast in search of an alternative anchorage. There are few to be had along this rugged coastline, and it was only in Es Castell that we found one suitable for our size. Mooring buoy again, but we had help hooking up, which was handy given that it was dark by our arrival.   This also shortened our hop to Menorca to a convenient five hours before entering the harbor at Mahon. Passing inside of the lighthouse at Isla Del Aire, the bottoms shallow significantly with a deep water swell running through. It created conditions that allowed us to surf just a few KN, but testing the Furuno 711 autopilot on a fast-response setting was fun. Mahon is quite the harbor, with significant Spanish and British fortifications. 18th Century Barbary pirates would not enjoy its embrace. It's also deep, you find proximity to cruise ships and large ferries as they ply their trade. Our mooring was in town, directly opposite bars and shops, so we happily spent the next few days doing approximately nothing. Mahon to Palma Our guests must return to Palma on the 10th of October. On the 8th, the weather map could have been better, to be frank. Winds from the SW increased force 5 to 7, continuing for the next few days. Our weather windows were few, and shelter was hard to find. Still, Vanguard is built with the weather in mind, so off we set, the only yacht on the radar for most of the trip. 2 engines, 70% load, 7.5-8KN. Wind 25-30KN on the bow or thereabouts waves 2.5-3m also on the bow. In reality, we pushed into a Force 6 most of the way with a more gentle start after the first night at anchor and the odd squall. This was the best test yet of her seakeeping, and in summary, she did well, rolling little and staying fairly dry except for the steepest seas. When the bow did bury itself, the water drained quickly and without incident. We shipped a big one only once, soaking those on the flybridge before departing over the stern. Most was a wind-blown spray, with anything more solid being stopped at the main helm. Still, after two days, we were thankful to arrive at a sheltered anchorage in Magaluf, pending our return to Palma the next day.   What went well Seakeeping, DMS stabilizers, and systems functioned as intended.   We charged batteries underway from the hybrid drive and ran on battery for a day without charging.   At anchor, we topped them up at an impressive 46kW or 30 minutes to full charge. Our Chinese FLIR was very useful when underway at night in mooring fields, and the gyro stabilization worked as intended, even at higher magnification. Improved securing to the galley drawers and cupboards; nothing spilled this time, so the duct tape remained unused. What went less well We still have overheating issues in one of our control cabinets and must add forced ventilation to overcome this.   Hatch drains were problematic when we pitched significantly, causing the overboard discharge to pressurize the drain line. We need to add small non-return valves to eliminate this effect. The harbor at Mahon was always active, this cruise ship coming in, looked pretty but something not quite in proportion so we guess a more modern facsimile. My sister, Allyson, looked a bit distraught at one point when we shipped a big wave. She had been sleeping on the flybridge. I suggested most good adventures are not much fun at the moment but in hindsight ........ Her answer was rude. Chris Leigh-Jones

Vanguard has been specified to UK MCA Category (0), meaning she can extend voyages up to 80 degrees north in summer months and an unrestricted distance offshore. The Yard focussed on compliance for the major items but left all the small stuff unattended. Not much passes an MCA surveyor, and our first survey listed some 60 exceptions; by the time of the second one, this had reduced to 30. It can be more than a bland tick-box exercise, let's look at some examples of how it improved our vessel. Enclosed is the first page of the MCA survey exception report. Items in RED have been addressed and are awaiting approval. Items in black have yet to be addressed, or we have decided not to complete them as Vanguard will not enter commercial service, so the requirement is beyond our immediate needs. Let's discuss item 29 - electrical housekeeping. Example 1 Cabinet X3 is our 24VDC distribution cabinet. Its heart is a 1000amp DC Bus bar from MG Systems. We first noticed that the cover had been secured with self-tapping screws ( someone had lost the originals ), and the heads had been stripped, preventing removal. That's not great. So, we cut around the heads and removed the cover, resulting in a blackout when the breaker trip switch was inadvertently contacted. Bringing systems back online showed that: We had a single point of failure: no spare was available. (It is now, and we have refurbished the existing one.) The isolator would not engage if loads remained connected to the output bars. DC Power was directed to our inverters via fused connections, so we installed an additional isolator to allow for disconnection. The control circuit needed a 10amp slow-burn fuse, but we had none on board; we do now. Wiring uses ferrules to strengthen the conductor when clamped in a terminal. These had been poorly constructed, including exposed conductors and trapped insulation. Now, all are checked and replaced as needed. Then we vacuumed out this and the remaining cabinets, removing all the conductive debris! Example 2 My skill set here fails me beyond deciding it won't do, so we brought a team from Hartnell Marine Electrical in the UK. Two by one-week visits to Vanguard, and the wiring is now in fine form, and we have an English-speaking support backup in the event of future issues. Other cabinets did not display the same problems so we won't be playing the blame game here. I'll put this down to training or supervision rather than something more significant. It still requires fixing and should have been identified earlier by the Yard, though no one can fix the past. Cables extended with poorly made multiple crimp connectors. A rat's nest of intertwined cable runs, making tracing signal lines, at best, difficult. 12 VDC supply cables linked up with temporary Wago clips in Daisey chains. 0 VDC negative wires treated similarly Some I/O wired incorrectly, explaining at least two of our tank sensor issues. There was also contention between software and hardware settings, each providing an independent 0 VDC feed. Random use of cable numbers and no specific labeling Insufficient ventilation allows internal heat buildup. ( Crossing to Menorca, some electronic components reached 56 deg.C, too high! We added large vents to assist in natural convective ventilation and will monitor using a small "Ruuvi" Bluetooth-connected temp probe. ) Again, we checked the Ferrules (see photo's below) and vacuumed the cabinets internally. Maybe it's OCD, but work remains on this cabinet. Specifically we will terminate incoming signal cables at a Wago connection strip and then use jumpers to the I/O panels. The relays and line fuses will be moved to the same location, and some remaining I/O will be installed. It's a lot better, but not there yet! Example 3 Armed with the knowledge of what we had found in the cabinets, we opened the pantograph door at the main helm, as this had been unreliable from the get-go and contained a lot of wiring and water damage. The hidden rat's nest was irredeemable this time. The easiest solution was to scrap it all except for the actuators. Hartnell fitted their design ( used by Sunseeker, center and right photo ). Then, we added panel gaskets to prevent water ingress when it rains on an open door, it happens.   Finally - It's not all work; the proportion of "Play" is now increasing. The family joined us in Palma and decided to run out to Magaluf, a short hop across the bay and a chance for a few new hands at the helm. We opened her up on the return trip, 10.5/11.0 kN, outrunning an incoming squall. No one wants to get soaked just before dinner! Chris Leigh-Jones

Vanguard uses Praxis's commercial-grade Dynamic Positioning system, typically destined for an oil field supply boat. Our props are quite close together, so maneuvering on the throttle does not work well; we must use thrust over the rudders. The DP lets us move those rudders independently, providing both side thrust and station keeping. The system relies on a GPS signal to understand its position and avoids more complex options such as cameras or LIDAR.    Our GPS signal initially came from a Furuno PG700 Fluxgate compass, which we used during our initial commissioning. The compass was made active in port and connected to a Time Zero chart plotter that recorded the signal over a few days. The GPS fix appeared like a ball of wool, showing a deviation of about 15m or 45 feet over time. This unexpected result is concerning, given our system's heavy reliance on the GPS signal for accurate positioning. A 15m deviation could mean the difference between a good day and a good insurance claim! The next step was to switch the GPS signal source to the Furuno SCX-21 GPS Satellite Compass (Furuno claims a GPS accuracy of 5m). As depicted in the enclosed (green) plots from the DP System Control screen, the results show a significantly tighter grouping within our deck area. Additionally, some of the tracking is real, as we are stern-to-stern moored in a typical Mediterranean style and subject to ocean swells refracting around the harbor. As a belt and braces approach, we opted to keep both instruments live to retain redundancy. Fluxgate ( Red track ) is connected to our Time Zero chart plotters, where the variation has no real meaning; the Satellite Compass ( Green track ) is linked to the DP Display. So cross-checking is simply a matter of looking up from one to the other. Wrap up Vanguard is now at a point where we can view her as seaworthy, five months work with a one-month break in the USA. Employing subcontractors in Antalya, Didim, and Palma, help from friends and family, and staff at Naval. The DMS stabilizers were the only system we did not touch, and they worked right out of the box. Our remaining week in Palma will see final projects on the electrical system, replacing the cabinet latches in the galley, a run-through remaining exception on our MCA Survey, and a few further odds and ends. Then, we are off to cruise Menorca with family before shipping her to the USA for a winter in the Caribbean. Her shallow drafts will be handy in the Exumas.

It's hard to delegate from memory and to operate Vanguard; we must write some things down. Our CE certification should have included a basic manual ( they forgot that bit) , and the UK MCA will also require one as part of their own Certification. So it came time to bite the bullet, so to speak, and go write one—well, two, to be precise: a Crew Training Manual and an Operations Manual. These also had to comply with the form and contents of both certifying bodies. Though a web search did not reveal many solid examples, everything has to start somewhere. Commercial services exist to assist in their creation, but the cost is high. This task was going to have to be a homegrown effort. CE is formulaic about what the contents should be. To kick the process off, we located a proforma manual from Wijma Marine Consultants in the Netherlands and built upon that. We then trawled through every system on Vanguard, photographing and documenting what they did and how they worked. Honestly, it is mind-numbing but strangely therapeutic as the process unfolds. The mind has to flip from conscious competence to trying to teach others more pedantically. A constant supply of hot tea is quite helpful. Anyhow, we got there after a two-week project. Rather than squeeze a blog out any longer, I thought we'd post them here and see what you think. Any suggestions or comments are welcomed. The Operations Manual also explains just how she is built and with what. Finally, we added a glossary of terms as I already had it in a spreadsheet, and I would rather make flipbooks. (CLICK ON THE PHOTO FOR A LINK TO THE FLIPBOOK) Our seemingly endless "fix it" tasks are now indeed ending. One more big week on the solar and electrical system, and then she will finally be seaworthy. This week, we attacked the Websato Bluecool Connect system, which now operates from our phones; the Control4 lighting automation and audiovisual that had never worked now does. The Pogues can be played full blast in every cabin! The galley furniture was sent off for more robust seaworthy closures, cabin sinks were equipped with proper U Bends (smell much better), and many minor fiddly jobs were finally ticked off. As the weather in Spain begins to turn autumnal, we have three more weeks of cruising the Islands before Vanguard is loaded for a transatlantic trip to Fort Lauderdale, FL. Fuel and crew costs were similar for a crossing on her own keel, but I'm out of time and need to go home for a while. We will see how she fairs in the Caribbean this winter before heading north to Canada in late Spring. Regards to all, CHRIS LEIGH-JONES

We spent the week cruising around the calm waters of Mallorca or the equally picturesque streets of the capital, Palma. There is a family on board, and our son is now Coxswain of the Tender. Jumping off the flybridge into the sea was fun for a 15-year-old. We used our time to continue stress-testing our systems and commission some of those still orphaned. Our first and foremost concern was the steering system. Reliability is key, and our steering was not up to par. Three specific issues required our immediate attention. The first was the jog levers, or None Follow Up (NFU) steering option, which turned to Port on both Helms but not Starboard. It was great for a circular course but little else. We are not the Bismark. Our suspicion was wiring, confirmed in a conversation with Wills Ridley once we'd eliminated the other potential causes. True enough, two hidden connectors had gone rogue, and the problem was eliminated. We also locally checked and labeled all the different connections for future reference.   The second was a continuous hunting +/- about 3 degrees. Wasteful of energy and will, at some point, wear out the whole system. Having exhausted the possibilities of it being a software issue, we eventually noticed that the Autopilot rudder angle indicator had been secured to the starboard rudder. This is a slave unit; the port rudder is controlled, with the Starboard following being hydraulically locked in most situations. So we had " Port rudder/Stbd rudder/Furuno RAI/Stbd rudder/Port rudder " as the feedback loop. It looked like an opportunity for lag and hysteresis errors. Moving the RAI to the Port rudder shortened the feedback to a direct Port/RAI/Port loop. And yes, our hunting disappeared as if by magic! The third action item was to confirm that the rudders had been set up correctly, and now we'd cured that hunting. Two tests were planned, the first to see if Vanguard could keep a straight course (without Autopilot) and if the Toe in/Toe out or relative angle between the rudders had been set up correctly. We used the Praxis steering control system to adjust each rudder dynamically. Firstly, our course was a slow turn to Starboard. So one rudder was inched to Port until she ran true. Then, we electronically set the zero-degree point. We then locked the engine throttles and adjusted the relative angle between the rudders while monitoring the speed over the ground. At first, the speed was reduced by about 0.1KN, which we surmised made the setting worse—moving the setting the other way increased speed from 7.7/7.8KN to a steady 8.0KN. The rudders were now pointed inwards at their leading edge by an additional 3 degrees, and the wake was noticeably less turbulent. No improvement was seen beyond this, so we also locked that setting electronically. It was a good day. My wife Sebrina got to see the coast and relax on the flybridge, our son went "Zulu" on the Tender for a few hours, the NFU jog lever now functions on both helms, the steering hunting has been eradicated. We've even gained an additional 0.25kN of speed at 8.0KN without any extra cost! We can now also commission our Dynamic Positioning system, but that's for another blog. Next on the list is our Delfin watermaker. It's unreliable, leaks salt and fresh water, rust internally and has a lousy backup. I've personified our relationship, and it's at the level of hate.   This week's highlight was a visit from my friend John Johnson, aka "Yacht Buoy". His video and YouTube channel can be found at this link. More in this next week.:

So, the new hatch arrived from the UK, hand-delivered by my brother David, complaining slightly as it was large and heavy. Fitting the New Lewmar Ocean Hatch In our construction practice, we often verify the squareness of openings by using a simple method of attaching a string line across the diagonals in an 'X.' If the two strings meet at the center, it's a sign of precision; if there's a gap, it's a call for corrective action. Lewmar's tolerance of +/- 1mm overall flatness so that is what we did. We then needed to match the frame corner radius (approx 100mm) to that of the hatch frame (74mm). Firstly, the frame was stripped to bare metal. We then offered up the new hatch and traced the required radius. A cheap Chinese trim router and carbide-tipped bit gently removed aluminum until the new hatch frame had the correct radius and fitted without forcing it. Seeing the damage disappearing is therapeutic. Then, clean up the mess of sharp metal bits and dress all the edges. We then drilled fixings in 2 corners, tapped, and temporarily fixed the hatch rim with Helicoil before adding the remaining holes and Helicoil. The deck covering of "Theadmaster" was cut back appropriately, and the remaining surface was taken to bare metal. Once set, the hatch edge was defined with painter's tape to keep sealant off the Treadmaster. Sikaflex sealant is like molybdenum or "creepy grease." Darn, stuff gets everywhere and is a pig to remove. We left the Sikaflex until the next day, removed the painter's tape, and cleaned any overspill with a pan scrubber. Spot the anomaly? The hinge is backward, done on purpose, as the support underneath at this location is much stronger than the aft side, so there is something for the hinge screws to bit into. Then came the crucial testing phase, and out came the hose again! The result? Tight as a Cardinal's purse strings. Job done. Final Thoughts A tight initial specification would have avoided this problem; do not leave this to chance; decide before the final price is set. That way, untested suppliers or yard-created "masterpieces" can be avoided, and you can put them to sea with peace of mind. I understand that everyone makes mistakes, though the measure of a man or a company is how they handle them. Naval Yachts did correspond, but that is all they did. What is coming up? We had a visit this week from Harnell Marine Electrical, a specialist marine electrical firm based in Hamble, Hampshire, UK. They came out to review our electrical installation with a fresh pair of eyes and different training. The good news is that it is well-installed with good support and separation between AC, DC, and Data cables. However, we still generated a snagging list and started chewing through it! We also met with Dahlberg SA Marine Electronics of Palma de Mallorca. They came to calibrate our Furuno instruments (SOG/STW, Depth, and Autopilot). No disrespect to Turkish suppliers, but speaking the same language was helpful. Multiple duplicated systems now give the same reading, and our relocated Furuno Autopilot is also calibrated. Perhaps the difference between a good voyage and an insurance claim! Lastly, thanks to the local Victron and MG Systems supplier akuPalma . David O'Neil and his wife, Magda, were super helpful in improving our solar performance and identifying a single point of failure on the 1000amp MG Systems DC bus bars (with an easily implemented solution!) More on that in a later Blog. Chris Leigh-Jones Boat cleaning duty this weekend, my family is joining us in Palma for ten days, Sebrina's interior standards and not mine, and I've been sleeping on the flybridge for the last four weeks .... cushions - yikes!

This week, we tested Vanguard again, this time unintentionally. It's tempting to create a tale of daring do, but that's not the truth. Late summer weather in the Balearics can be unpredictable, with the chance of short and quite violent storms stronger than the catabatic winds of the Ionian and Aegean. This video was taken from YouTube and posted on Formentera. Our day was bad, but not as bad as this. The warning came via social media and alarm calls from the Island of Formentera. Look at the video above posted on social media at that time. A short, sharp storm brings 80-plus MPH winds and flying debris. This caused absolute chaos at previously tranquil anchorages and partly sheltered marinas. The time delays of posting also meant that as we saw the warning, the skies above Palma were already ominously black, and we were about to get hit by the same or very similar. Here is where fact and fiction should divide. What did we do? I spent 45 minutes in turmoil helping the local Tapas bar owner save his tables and chairs in exchange later on for a replacement lunch and free beer. Vanguard - well moored in a very sheltered and large marina, had to fend for herself. The result was that no damage was done except for the loss of a few socks drying on the rails. A rather expensive carbon fiber yacht moored alongside was struck by lightning but survived seemingly unscathed (B&G instrument package flipped off). The same strike trashed a similar nearby (fiberglass hull and aluminum mast). She will not sail again this season (so said the crew). And the lesson learned - to avoid lightning strikes - is to moor next to a very tall yacht and be nice to Spanish bar owners. This week, we will have more to report on. Hatch replacement, commissioning the Praxis Dynamic Positioning system, revising the solar and electrical systems, a first engine service, and repairing bathroom issues. More on that next Saturday. Lastly - this morning, we were greeted with the most beautiful double rainbow spanning horizon to horizon. Sometimes, life is just so worth living! Chris Leigh-Jones

A blog can be cathartic, putting words to thoughts and deeds. Often, though, we do not consider the end effect on the reader. With that in mind, today's story records a really annoying experience, the players, and the positive end result, hopefully with a salutary warning to others. The players: The owner is competent enough to know what seaworthy is and diagnose a problem. The yard, Naval Yachts, genuinely decent staff who want to do well, management and QC have been an ongoing issue ( starting at the top ). Third-party hatch manufacturer: Naval Yachts subcontracted our hatches and watertight doors and retained QC oversight ( which they ignored ). Ocean Chandlery, Emsworth UK, took my call and acted on it. The problem: Hatches were hose tested and confirmed effective under those conditions. There are a total of 9 watertight enclosures of various designs. The "artistry" on those hatches was rather variable, but nothing couldn't be remediated on-site in the quiet hours. We did this ourselves. A first transit from Turkey to Spain put us through fairly steep 2.5/3 meter seas on the nose, resulting in considerable solid water on the foredeck. The forepeak hatch is a 4-dog design and performed well. The fore cabin hatch is the next in line going aft and was subjected to similar conditions. It leaked badly - not an annoying drip, more like a waterfall. After two days of messing, we could greatly reduce the deluge but not eliminate it. We eventually sealed it shut with Sikoflex. Hinge with missing nuts, studs that are too short, bondo separating from the frame, leaking dog catches (I'm not sure what that is), 5/7mm edge seal runout, and a stripped-out hatch being cleaned up. The diagnosis. The securing of two fitted dogs did not engage the frame properly; the hatch weight created a seal (of sorts). This was easily fixed with some packing blocks. The hatch dogs themselves leaked, an annoying drip, enough to wet everything below. The hatch drain gutter flooded (flush hatches), and water leaked through every unsealed screw fitting. The rim that formed a seal had been machined on site; it was uneven and had a maximum runout of 5/7mm in two directions (not flat). The frame sported a heavy glass panel. Forcing the hatch shut distorted the frame. One of these did not easily bend, and the glass separated from its frame, creating another leak path. Our final conclusion was that this hatch was not fit for purpose. Add sloppy workmanship to this, and the best option would be to scrap and fit a commercially available foredeck hatch approved for this location and likely cruising area. Many good examples exist, and everyone has their stories to recall. We eventually plumbed for a Lewmar Ocean series foredeck hatch. This met the approval and location requirements. It was rated for the application and fitted the existing framework (mostly!). It also drained to the deck and not to an internal gutter. We located one, thereby bypassing the 6-8 week delivery hurdle. The frame is now stripped to bare aluminum. As requested by the MCA Surveyor, we salvaged the original good-quality trim work and repurposed the hinge brackets for an emergency escape sling. Lastly, riping that new but irretrievably lousy hatch from its nest on the deck felt good. Lessons. It's an easy mistake to assume others think alike. Naval Yachts are not sailors and sometimes need help with the concept of seaworthy. A contractual guarantee backed by a self-proclaimed "Yard Reputation" is worthless and often answered by silence, excuses, or blame, at least in my example. That does not preclude an owner from getting a good product inspected during the build; rather, any perceived benefit of that guarantee should be discounted to zero at the outset. It's mostly BS; Caveat Emptor would be a thought to carry to the negotiation. When things look bleak, some people will selflessly move a mountain to help! And finally, Moving the Mountain! A new hatch has been secured from Ocean Chandlery of Emsworth Sussex, UK, and paid for by my son, Jeff, via his yacht delivery company, Polus Yachts , also in Emsworth. It will be delivered to my brother David in Prestatyn. North Wales. He is due to arrive in Palma on 21st August, and we will report back as soon as it's fitted. As luck would have it, Vanguard has a seawater fire main, so we will be using that to test the integrity as opposed to a low-pressure freshwater hose. Might even be fun! Chris Leigh-Jones

Today is not the best day to play at being a sailor. A strong weather system is blowing south from the Alps across a considerable fetch and around the coast of southern Sardinia. It's called a Mistral and is common enough this time of year. It blows through for a few days and then is gone, followed 12 hours or so later by calming seas. Now, sitting at anchor on the South Western tip of Sardinia, waiting to sprint the final 300 miles to Mallorca and our next stop at Palma. We have a growing list of repair items I'd classify as snagging. Unreliable tank gauges, dysfunctional Pepwave router, hunting steering, leaking fuel valves, jury-rigged watermaker ... nothing big enough to stop anything but in the annoying category. The only major item has been our fore-cabin hatch. Nothing we can do will prevent it from leaking quite badly short of gumming it up with Sikoflex ( God's gift to sailors ). Well, it's gummed up and will be ripped out and cast asunder. It should be a guaranteed item. Well, good luck with that sport, and in any event, sailors are generally self-sufficient. Conversely, I wanted to tell you more positive news and give you a direct experience on Guarantees. We have a relationship with DMS, the supplier of our stabilizers. These stabilizers fold flat to avoid damage in docks ( or ice ) and have minimal power requirements. My friend, Rob Westerman, recently asked for an opinion based on our own direct experience; this was my reply, verbatim: Rob - DMS Magnusmaster Stabilisers – I like those things.  They are very effective on our rolly polly hull. They do nothing for pitch or yaw but roll stops in anything up to a 3m sea, which we have experienced so far on the beam. It was also a short sea and quite steep. When time permits, I'll take a video of driving them in Antiphase to show you what I mean.  The build is robust; we fitted them without a cofferdam as they break off externally, so there is no possibility of a connection to the sea. During our ownership, the local area was constantly flooded with 3" of freshwater due to a dry pipe connection that had not been pressure tested. It took us 3 weeks to find it. I kept it pumped, but it frequently submerged the parts. There was no damage, though I'd not recommend the practice.  The system stows automatically when the engine clutch decouples. This is rather disconcerting but handy as it stops the possibility of being deployed when docking alongside.  So far, most of our docking has been stern-to, but that will change.  They deploy in about 10 seconds, and we often run without them. Quartering seas are the worst, and they get deployed if the roll goes above about 5%, as we are not proper sailors. :-)     There is a speed/energy penalty. It is extreme on our low-powered hull; at 8.5KN, we would drop to 8.0/8.1 when deploying them. Conversely, they do not use much power. They have a 13amp 240VAC system, which is about the same as a kettle max but often much less as their effect is proportional to demand. This is tiny compared to a Gyro, for example.    We fitted deflectors forward and have had no problems with weeds or nets, at least in 1500 miles, and the seas have also been pretty clean.    Their technical backup has been first class so far; 40 minutes after recently contacting them, we had our answer with a commissioning issue, from a car speeding down the motorway in Belgium to a yacht floundering about off the coast of Turkey! Don't need to say more, really. Now the 42-degree days have cooled, and the wind is blowing, we can finally switch off the HVAC. At last, our Solar was able to keep up with demand during the day, or nearly so. Well, that's a wrap for today. Tomorrow afternoon, we will push 300NM to our final stop at Palma. Going to "slow boat" it to arrive early in the morning in time for breakfast with luck. Regards to all from some random beach cove on the south end of Sardinia. Chris

There comes a time in any build when you let go of the reins. Be it a custom home, a company, or a yacht, at some point, it's time to test the reality of what has been built. That simple act causes anxiety, sleeplessness, remorse, and a host of other less-than-positive emotions. But in hindsight, it's not all that bad. Our first hop was to leave Setur Marina in Antalya and dash to Didim Marina, 250 miles to the west—the first proper trials of our drivelines and, in reality, just about everything else. Didim gave us a safe harbor for 6 weeks, allowing a trip to the USA and then two weeks of solid work, best described as the "Fix It" variety. We were also able to commission the John Deers engines fully, our Wills Rudley Steering, and most importantly, an untested Furuno autopilot. Our crew arived a week before departure, three seasoned sailors, one Ukranian Captain (Valeriy) one Russian (Vasilii) one Brit (Ban). Along with myself we will deliver to Palma for final works and whatever corrections are needed. Leaving Didim, we wound our way through the Greek Islands, heading for Athens and the Corinth Canal. The weather was fine, with a 20-025knot wind and rising swell on the starboard beam. In the lee of each Island and the mainland, we had the peace to play with systems, switch off stabilizers, run one or two engines, and generally get a true feel for Vanguard. After Athens, we passed through the Corinth Canal, 20 years since my last visit. Transit was not the cheapest activity we had witnessed recently at Euro660, but the sight was quite memorable. The inland sea between Corinth and the Ionian past Kafellinia was also pretty calm and easy sailing. 8-8.2KN, one engine, no stabilizers, 50% fluids or thereabouts. The Ionian passage from Kefallinia to Messina was a different experience altogether. A sharp 25KN north wind and considerable fetch had generated some short steep swells, 2-3.5M, often cresting. We shipped a lot of green water over the bow, but it did not slam. The forepeak hatch is sealed well, but the flush cabin hatch is not so despite our best efforts and will need to be replaced. 12 hours of this on our starboard bow and we turned south, abandoning thoughts of Messina and instead heading around southern Scility in more sheltered waters. Vanguard was comfortable in the swell on the beam or aft quarter but did tend to throw us around rather with steep seas of the forward quarter on the bow. She also tended to round up in the short swell when on the stern, a situation that did not repeat later the next day when we experienced much longer gentle swells, and she added 1-1.5KN surfing. We need to think about the steering control a little, perhaps. Rounding the eastern point of Sicily, we headed west again through the Malta Channel towards Di Ragusa. This channel gets quite busy, and inshore, there is a swarm of fishing boats often with AIS switched off. Our track at night followed these fishing boats in an attempt to avoid their nets . Not to be, early dawn, we heard a sharp bang from the starboard shaft. Presumably, the Brunton's rope cutters are doing their work. We finally tied up, we donned a mask and flippers to inspect the props, no signs of damage (sorry to whomever about your fishing line). At Di Ragusa, we took the opportunity to bunker some 5000l. I've been suffering from severe range anxiety stemming from tank gauges that need attention before they earn our trust. In Palma we will also probably fit a mechanical flowmeter for the day tank fill as a backstop. We also now know for certain the pumping limit in each tank and can reset the gauge zeros. By our estimation we have used 4700l of diesel in 7 months and dead on 1000 miles of operation. High if calculated by a simple division 4.7l/NM, but that also includes charging batteries when not on shore power, running HVAC (5kW), and sea trials including a reasonable distance at high load on 2 engines. Vanguard's sweet spot appears to be one engine with 90% load, giving 8/8.2kN in calm seas. For planning purposes, we will estimate 3.5l/NM and see how that shakes out once we have better figures to work on. 20% fuel on arrival was also tested; she rolled a little more easily, but that was as easily calmed by the very effective DMS stabilizers. So, after a shower ashore, washing dried on the rails, all sea salt washed off, pizza, and some super Sicilian wine to follow, we grabbed a good night's sleep before setting off for Sardinia, about 300 miles further West. Chris Leigh-Jones