Your Boat, Your Destination
Custom yacht and boat delivery from wherever your boat is to wherever it needs to go. Every trip is planned around your vessel and your timeline by Capt. Garry Hartshorne: AMSA Master <45, 40+ years at sea and more than 300,000 nautical miles worldwide.
How a delivery works
I’ve worked at sea since 1985 and have run yachts and commercial vessels as captain, engineer or both since 1991. Every delivery follows the same careful routine.
1. Safety check before we leave
Before departure I go through the whole boat and all its safety gear. EPIRBs, flares, extinguishers, life jackets and life rafts must be serviced and in date before we sail. Anything that isn't is sorted out first.
2. Condition report at pickup
At pickup I do a full vessel and safety equipment check with Squared Away Boat Check, my own app. It records the boat with photos, logs the service and expiry dates of the safety gear, and checks the gear against the requirements for where we're going. You get a PDF report, so we both know exactly how the boat left.
3. Updates on the way
Where the boat's communication systems allow, I send you position updates during the trip, so you know how your boat is going.
4. The same check at handover
When we arrive, I do the same check again and share a second PDF report with you, so you can see the boat arrived as it left.
Squared Away Boat Check will soon be available for boat owners to buy for their own vessels.
Queensland-based, delivering Australia-wide and overseas.
A$800/day + GST
skipper fee
Services
Yacht delivery
Custom deliveries for sail and motor yachts. You choose the start and end points, anywhere in Australia or overseas.
Commercial vessel delivery
Custom commercial vessel moves by a commercially qualified AMSA Master <45.
Skipper & crew support
Skipper services and arrangement of qualified extra crew.
Sailing & motor yacht training
Instruction from an AYF Yachtmaster Offshore Instructor.
Meet your skipper
Raised aboard the 41 ft ketch Sandpiper, sailing around the world with his parents between 1974 and 1985, Garry served as an Able Seaman in the Royal Australian Navy (1987–89), worked tugs and salvage in far north Queensland, then captained daily Great Barrier Reef cruises for Ocean Spirit Cruises, and went on to skipper and engineer motor yachts from 76 to 156 ft in the Mediterranean, the USA, Alaska and Canada, Mexico, Central America, the Caribbean and the Bahamas. He is now based in Bundaberg.
✔ AMSA Master <45
✔ AMSA MED 2
✔ RYA Yachtmaster Offshore
✔ AYF Yachtmaster Ocean
✔ AYF Yachtmaster Offshore Instructor
✔ Australian Sailing Keelboat Instructor, with Powerboat Instructor endorsement
Custom deliveries, planned around you
There are no set routes or timetables. Every delivery is custom: your boat, your departure point, your destination, your timing. The boat might be newly bought, going to a yard for refit, or being repositioned for sale or for the season. Either way, you need someone who will plan the passage properly, look after the vessel and keep you informed. That is what Hartshorne Marine does.
I'm Capt. Garry Hartshorne. I grew up aboard the 41 ft ketch Sandpiper, sailing around the world with my parents between 1974 and 1985, and have spent more than 40 years at sea, covering over 300,000 nautical miles. I served as an Able Seaman in the Royal Australian Navy (1987–89), worked tugs and salvage in far north Queensland, then captained daily Great Barrier Reef cruises for Ocean Spirit Cruises. Since then I have skippered and engineered motor yachts from 76 to 156 ft in the Mediterranean, the USA, Alaska and Canada, Mexico, Central America, the Caribbean and the Bahamas. Today I'm based in Bundaberg, Queensland, delivering sail, power and commercial vessels Australia-wide and internationally.
Safety before speed
Every delivery starts with a pre-delivery inspection and a proper passage plan: route, weather windows, ports of refuge, fuel and provisioning. I charge for the days the passage actually takes rather than a rushed fixed price, so there’s never an incentive to push on in poor conditions. If you need certainty, Not-to-Exceed is available on request, set out in the contract.
Qualified for commercial work
I hold an AMSA Master <45 and AMSA MED 2, along with RYA Yachtmaster Offshore and AYF Yachtmaster Ocean. That level of qualification gives insurers and brokers confidence and means I can deliver commercial vessels as well as private yachts.
Clear, honest pricing
The skipper fee is A$800/day + GST (A$400 + GST for a half day), and deckhands are A$400/day + GST (A$200 + GST half day). Rates are ex GST; GST of 10% is added. A fixed quoted total including GST can be agreed for a delivery. To book, you pay a deposit based on the estimated number of days. At handover you get a final invoice for the days actually worked plus receipted expenses, less the deposit, and if the delivery takes fewer days than estimated, the difference is refunded. Marina fees and travel are reimbursed at cost with receipts. Fuel is paid by you directly, or reimbursed at cost plus 5% if I pay for it. You pay for provisions; if I provision the boat, allow A$100 per person per day, with receipts. I don't leave Bundaberg until the forecast suits the passage, and waiting at home costs you nothing. Not-to-Exceed is available on request, set out in the contract.
Getting started
Send me your vessel's details, where it is now, where it needs to go and your preferred timing. I'll come back with an estimate of days, the deposit, skipper and crew fees and expected expenses, plus a copy of the delivery contract. Call, WhatsApp or use the quote form, whichever suits you.
Read the delivery contract (PDF)
Why owners choose Hartshorne Marine
Safety first
Charged for the time the passage really takes, so there's no incentive to rush in poor conditions.
Insurer-Ready Credentials
Fully commercially qualified: AMSA Master <45 and AMSA MED 2.
Transparent pricing
Clear daily rate, a deposit based on estimated days, expenses with receipts, and Not-to-Exceed on request. See the contract.
Recent Deliveries
A few of the passages I’ve run lately.
M/Y Jaciri, 130 ft motor yacht: Langkawi, Malaysia to Brisbane, May to July 2026
Adams 40 sailing yacht: Bundaberg to Townsville, April to May 2026