Crew Wanted: Cost of Skippered Delivery Australia to West Coast USA

[Island Girl 1]

Happy New Year to all .
Just out of interest, would anyone know roughly what it would cost to have my boat delivered by a delivery skipper from Queensland Australia ( just north of Brisbane ) to the west coast of the US or through the Panama Canal to the Western Caribbean? The boat is an Island Packet 380 monohull, registered in Australia. The boat was sailed over by the previous owners 4 years ago, having been bought in Florida. My wife and I are now thinking it would be good to spend a prolonged period of time sailing the Caribbean on our own boat, but we don't fancy the daunting challenge of sailing it west to east across the Pacific.

At this stage we are looking for a ball park idea of cost so we can either take the idea forward or go to plan B. All advice would be most welcome.

[Paul L]

You could ship it from Newcastle to Palm Beach, Fl for something in the order of $40k. Even at a few dollars a mile a delivery crew will not be cheap, plus you have all of the wear and tear and repairs required on the way.

[Dave852]

+1 on shipping her over. That's a trip that will be tough on the boat and you would be on the hook for cost of repairs on top of the delivery fee. If you are flexible with timing last minute discounts can be had with dockwise, sort of like an unsold airline seat

[boatman61]

Hi again Island girl.. you asked me in the other thread and I put a crewed delivery at around €25K.. the boat would need to be in good order for the trip.
More info would be needed as to tankage, watermaker etc to firm up things.. one option would be going East and following the currents up to Ecuador..

[belizesailor]

Not to detract from Boatie getting a gig, but even he has already suggested shipping it on another thread. By the time you properly prep the boat and pay crew + expenses...you are going to be in the same ball park as shipping it. For such a long arduous journey, there are also fewer unknowns, risks, delays, unexpected expenses if shipping.

See: https://www.yacht-transport.com/yach...per-servant-4/

Super Servant makes stops on the W coast of Central America. Ive seen them loading/unloading in Golfito, CR....not far from Panama.

[Tricolor]

Hi @Island Girl 1, You might consider to sell the boat in Aussi land and buy an Island Packet 38/380 in the US and safe a lot of money.

[stormalong]

I have sailed from New Zealand to BC Canada. It is a long slog to weather and the boat had better be in top notch shape. You are very alone on that passage. From one day out of NZ to Hawaii, including a stop in the Australs we never saw another vessel. Almost the same from Hawaii to BC.

To pay a delivery crew would not be cheap an the wear and tear on the boat might be high.

Shipping the boat as deck cargo might be cheaper and would definitely be safer.

[boatman61]

Originally Posted by belizesailor

Not to detract from Boatie getting a gig, but even he has already suggested shipping it on another thread. By the time you properly prep the boat and pay crew + expenses...you are going to be in the same ball park as shipping it. For such a long arduous journey, there are also fewer unknowns, risks, delays, unexpected expenses if shipping.

See: https://www.yacht-transport.com/yach...per-servant-4/

Super Servant makes stops on the W coast of Central America. Ive seen them loading/unloading in Golfito, CR....not far from Panama.

Don't worry about detracting.. my aim in life is to provide the best advice.. even if it means me passing a job on to someone more local to the area.
One of the bonuses in my life.. no need to hustle..

[millhouse_44]

I'm with Tricolor. Even with the difference in exchange you won't be better off when all is said and done to sail it back especially if you go through the canal. Why not fly to Oz and cruise around there then head up to SE Asia?? Summer all year round! Good luck!

[Valmika]

Originally Posted by Tricolor

Hi @Island Girl 1, You might consider to sell the boat in Aussi land and buy an Island Packet 38/380 in the US and safe a lot of money.

Plus 1 on this idea. You can sell in Australia for probably 20% more then you could buy a good used one here. I heard there may be issue with title and taxes but you might be able to make money instead of it costing you money

[Compass790]

Yep I'm with the buy in Florida vote. Not sure what current market is like but when I looked you could buy a lot cheaper in USA than Oz

[a64pilot]

Even if you broke even, you save $40K, that is almost a half the price of a boat in Fl. Or 1/3 for an outstanding example.

[boatman61]

Originally Posted by a64pilot

Even if you broke even, you save $40K, that is almost a half the price of a boat in Fl. Or 1/3 for an outstanding example.

https://www.yachtworld.co.uk/boats/c...and+Packet/380

[Island Girl 1]

Originally Posted by Paul L

You could ship it from Newcastle to Palm Beach, Fl for something in the order of $40k. Even at a few dollars a mile a delivery crew will not be cheap, plus you have all of the wear and tear and repairs required on the way.

Many thanks to you all for the excellent advice, which seems to confirm the idea of selling and re-buying in Florida is best. Shame, we love the boat, but there are others I'm sure.

Best wishes

Mike

[Compass790]

Yes but changing boats can often be an eye opening experience. You may think why did I put up with that so long? If you are stuck on that particular design you can search for a sistership.
There is no such thing as the perfect boat sadly. The trick is to prioritize what is important to you?
Mite be a few storm damaged ones in Florida, do be careful. I've seen a few ruthless people when looking for a boat do very bad patchups that were not seaworthy to sell for a quick profit to newbies so it's buyer beware as it ever was.
I wish you all the best, good plan!