Welcome to Sailing Navasana!
We are Chet & Jessy sailing around the world on a Nautitech 46 Open performance catamaran sharing the highlights and lowlights as well as some tips and tricks that hopefully someone might find helpful. Hoping not to be an insomnia cure 🙂
With Jessy finally back on the boat, we stocked up on provisions in Sorong and set sail for Misool to explore a couple of spots we missed last time we were here in Aug/Sept… which is impressive considering how much time we spent ‘thoroughly exploring’ the area.
This time we made it to Balbulol, quite possibly the most beautiful anchorage we’ve ever seen. Towering karst islands, turquoise water, and we have the whole place to ourselves!
Mar 6
With Jessy finally back on the boat, we stocked up on provisions in Sorong and set sail for Misool to explore a couple of spots we missed last time we were here in Aug/Sept… which is impressive considering how much time we spent ‘thoroughly exploring’ the area.
This time we made it to Balbulol, quite possibly the most beautiful anchorage we’ve ever seen. Towering karst islands, turquoise water, and we have the whole place to ourselves!
Jessy flew back to the Netherlands for three weeks and I stayed behind to “relax” on the boat… by knocking off 50+ jobs from the boatjob list.
Some of my friends don’t believe I actually worked the whole time. Apparently they think I was sipping Bintangs in paradise (well only after 5pm 🙂) It was 30+ degrees and I was slowly melting while servicing the Volvo engines and the outboard, rebuilding the engine seawater pump and watermaker pump, servicing the steering system, windlass and winches, fixing the washing machine… and chasing about 40 other boat jobs that I had been putting off.
Now I need a holiday to recover from the holiday 😉 #boatlife
Feb 22
Jessy flew back to the Netherlands for three weeks and I stayed behind to “relax” on the boat… by knocking off 50+ jobs from the boatjob list.
Some of my friends don’t believe I actually worked the whole time. Apparently they think I was sipping Bintangs in paradise (well only after 5pm 🙂) It was 30+ degrees and I was slowly melting while servicing the Volvo engines and the outboard, rebuilding the engine seawater pump and watermaker pump, servicing the steering system, windlass and winches, fixing the washing machine… and chasing about 40 other boat jobs that I had been putting off.
Now I need a holiday to recover from the holiday 😉 #boatlife
Come to Kabui Bay for the majestic limestone islets and scenic passage. Stay for the... well, actually, stay in the dinghy. The snorkeling is supposed to be top-tier, but after hearing about a resident croc we decided we really liked our limbs intact 😉
Feb 15
Come to Kabui Bay for the majestic limestone islets and scenic passage. Stay for the... well, actually, stay in the dinghy. The snorkeling is supposed to be top-tier, but after hearing about a resident croc we decided we really liked our limbs intact 😉
Nice to be back on Navasana in Raja Ampat! We had some settled weather so decided to check out Pulau Tapok, which is just a bunch of reefs and sand banks in the middle of nowhere. We’re suckers for a good sandbar, so we did the full circuit and hit all four!
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#rajaampat #sandbank #sailing
Jan 30
Nice to be back on Navasana in Raja Ampat! We had some settled weather so decided to check out Pulau Tapok, which is just a bunch of reefs and sand banks in the middle of nowhere. We’re suckers for a good sandbar, so we did the full circuit and hit all four!
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#rajaampat #sandbank #sailing
Growing up in Kenya, you’d think I’d have spent my weekends brunching with rhinos. Instead, I had to come to Singapore to finally meet and feed a white rhino! We also fed some hungry manatees and watched some very ravenous panda bears. Watching everyone else feast left us so famished we did a high speed tactical sprint to the nearest hawker centre 😉
Jan 28
Growing up in Kenya, you’d think I’d have spent my weekends brunching with rhinos. Instead, I had to come to Singapore to finally meet and feed a white rhino! We also fed some hungry manatees and watched some very ravenous panda bears. Watching everyone else feast left us so famished we did a high speed tactical sprint to the nearest hawker centre 😉
We had a brief dalliance with civilization in Singapore before fleeing back to the boat in Raja Ampat. We ticked off the tourist boxes, but the best bit was definitely buzzing through the city seeing the sights in sidecars.
Jan 25
We had a brief dalliance with civilization in Singapore before fleeing back to the boat in Raja Ampat. We ticked off the tourist boxes, but the best bit was definitely buzzing through the city seeing the sights in sidecars.
We finished our Philippines trip with a few days in Port Barton and then Sabang to see the Unesco underground river that was voted one of the 7 wonders of nature. We had to wait for 2 days for the swell to subside for the underground river, luckily the hotel had a swim up bar to keep us busy 🙂 Jessy loves caves so we had to visit “hundred caves” nearby but looks like we need to go to “thousand caves” next to satiate her appetite 😉
Jan 22
We finished our Philippines trip with a few days in Port Barton and then Sabang to see the Unesco underground river that was voted one of the 7 wonders of nature. We had to wait for 2 days for the swell to subside for the underground river, luckily the hotel had a swim up bar to keep us busy 🙂 Jessy loves caves so we had to visit “hundred caves” nearby but looks like we need to go to “thousand caves” next to satiate her appetite 😉
The five stages of eating hotpot:
😀 ➡️ 😮💨 ➡️ 🥵 ➡️ 😭 ➡️ 😤
Arrived in Singapore and went straight for a local hotpot.
We’d had hotpot before… but nothing prepared us for Sichuan-level spice. One bite in and Jessy was already dying at the table, tears, sweat, and all 😅🌶️
Jan 17
The five stages of eating hotpot:
😀 ➡️ 😮💨 ➡️ 🥵 ➡️ 😭 ➡️ 😤
Arrived in Singapore and went straight for a local hotpot.
We’d had hotpot before… but nothing prepared us for Sichuan-level spice. One bite in and Jessy was already dying at the table, tears, sweat, and all 😅🌶️
If you’ve been following us for a while, you know our hearts (and cocktail orders) belong to beach clubs. Angkla on Nacpan Beach was a gem of a find! We somehow dodged the rain gods and scored a perfect sunny window. seriously, it poured before we arrived and as soon as we left. I’m giving 100% of the credit to Jessy’s ‘Golden Touch’... because if it were up to my usual luck, we’d have been snorkeling in the resort lobby. 😅
Jan 11
If you’ve been following us for a while, you know our hearts (and cocktail orders) belong to beach clubs. Angkla on Nacpan Beach was a gem of a find! We somehow dodged the rain gods and scored a perfect sunny window. seriously, it poured before we arrived and as soon as we left. I’m giving 100% of the credit to Jessy’s ‘Golden Touch’... because if it were up to my usual luck, we’d have been snorkeling in the resort lobby. 😅
Blog Posts
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Replacing the 20 meter long steering cable on Navasana
When we got to Brisbane after sailing some 23,000nm from La Rochelle, I found some broken strands on the steering cable….
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Setting up a Catamaran for blue water sailing
Yachting World Magazine asked me to write an article on how to setup a catamaran for blue water cruising with Nikki…
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Backup Self Steering
Most of the time we are sailing with just the two of us on long ocean passages and the thought of…
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Atlantic Crossing Autopilot Survey
Good autopilot article from yachting world magazine based on survey of 250 boats that crossed the Atlantic last year including us….
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How to get to Pink Beach in Rangiroa
The pink beach anchorage in the eastern most side of Rangiroa is one of the most beautiful anchorages we have been…
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Excited to be profiled in the July issue of Latitude 38 Magazine!
We were happy to be profiled in Lat 38, I used it read it all the time when I was living…
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Pacific Crossing #2 Recap
I was really excited to complete my second pacific crossing arriving in the Marquesas on the 27th of April from Panama….
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Interviewed in PBO Magazine! How we selected our ideal cruising boat comparing monohulls and other cats.
In May’s edition Ali Wood, the editor asks what makes the perfect bluewater boat. We were lucky to be one of…
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Featured in Practical Boat Owner Magazine! How we configured Navasana for bluewater.
Humbled to be the main feature in the April edition of Practical Boat Owner magazine! I have been reading the magazine…
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Atlantic Crossing Recap, Photos & Videos!
Some quick stats from our Atlantic crossing from Las Palmas, Gran Canara to St Lucia with the ARC Days to cross:…
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Downwind Reefing Setup
On Navasana we reef going downwind which is much safer and easier than bashing into big swells and waves especially in…
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Safety & Emergency Preparations
Since we were planning to cross multiple oceans we wanted to make sure we were well prepared for any eventuality. We…
