Navigating the South Pacific in pursuit of dream locations

Australian entrepreneur Jason Squire loves to push beyond the boundaries of ordinary cruising. He has voyaged 17,000 nautical miles, thanks to the combined power of his Riviera 6000 Sport Yacht and Volvo Penta IPS. He talks about his favorite voyages and a desire to pursue further exciting explorations in the latest episode of Volvo Penta’s Boating Dreams series.

With a passion for travel, and a wish to relax on the water, Jason Squire and his partner Caitlin Harvey, have explored some of the most exotic and beautiful places around the South Pacific. Australia’s Gold Coast, Tasmania, Fiji, Vanuatu, and Papua New Guinea, are among their favorite destinations so far.

“I love to travel long distances to discover remote places,” says Squire. “Growing up in Australia, which is surrounded by exotic places and destinations, I have always had an interest to learn about new cultures and to see new coastlines and landscapes. I’m always curious to see what’s around the next corner, what’s in the next bay. The ocean absorbs your mind, it makes you live in the present.” 

After working seven days a week running his online flower business in Adelaide, he realized he needed to take a step back and de-stress. Taking to the water in their Riviera 6000 Sport Yacht, named The Silver Fox, Squire and Harvey’s amazing journeys have covered around 1,300 engine hours. They have found great joy in exploring fascinating locations, meeting delightful people, and engaging with life underwater while scuba diving. 

Incredible vessel performance enables amazing voyages

The Silver Fox is powered by a twin installation of Volvo Penta D11-IPS950, which provides optimum performance with superior maneuvering and excellent fuel efficiency.

“The best thing about the Volvo Penta IPS system is that it gives you really great fuel efficiency, so you can potentially go 40 per cent further than with a standard drive,” says Squire. “That is great when you are going longer distances, so if your destination is 800 nautical miles away, you need as much efficiency as you can get.” He adds: “When you’re in close to reefs, the maneuverability of the pods is amazing. You can travel sideways, forward and back, spin on the spot and you’re always in total control.”

The yacht is also equipped with a number of Volvo Penta features that enable easy boating, including Glass Cockpit – an interface that facilitates the monitoring and control of all operator information in one place – as well as a Dynamic Positioning System, and joystick.

“The thing I like most about Glass Cockpit is that it is so streamlined,” says Squire. “Everything is integrated – all the engine data, all the fuel data, along with navigation and sonar. Even the boat’s cameras and night vision are all tied in, so I can easily flick between one screen and another. It’s great to have all the controls in one space, so you don’t have to be looking at different gauges here and there, you can just click through on the screen very easily. 

“The dynamic positioning system is really great. When you’re out looking for good dive sites, you might be tucked in amongst various reefs, you really want to go outside and have a look and see where the various access points are. It really acts like a handbrake, so you simply put the button on and hold your position, and the boat will just stay where you want it to be.”

Squire is equally impressed with the joystick’s driving and docking capabilities: “It gives you ultimate maneuverability, you can steer the boat, you can maneuver the boat in close quarters. All those controls can be handled by the joystick. It’s simply incredible.”