Lovina Beach - North Bali 08.09S 115.01E

Its nigh on two weeks since we last communicated. Our only excuse is we may slowly be going troppo  as these 30c plus days have that affect. Since visiting the land of the Dragons we have continued sailing west day-hopping across the north coasts of the islands of Sumbawa and Lombok before reaching  our current anchorage on the island of Bali.

We spent over a week in a number of anchorages in the northwest corner of Lombok. The highlights here were a group of islands called 'the Gilis' which are very popular with the backpacker set. These coral reef surrounded isles have no mechanised transport, only cidomo's (ponies and trap) and tens of little  beachside hotels & restaurants where you can have a meal for around $5.  On the subject of food, local dining out is very economic but also very predictable with us. P mostly has fish because as he says they can't disguise fish. Whereas B normally goes for something like nasi goreng which (Peter says) could be any kind of meat they could catch that day....the mind boggles?

In contrast we splurged in Lombok and treated ourselves to a night in a 5+ star hotel, The Lombok Oberoi. Have peep at (http://www.oberoihotels.com/) it was just the best and worth the hit on the cruising budget. The driver for this was it was a Saturday and surprise surprise we (ie P) were looking for a hotel or bar on
Lombok that might be showing the final match of the Tri Nations / Bledisloe and we ended up cruising up to dock of this hotel and going ashore to check it out.  Reception informed us that there were no screens in public areas but all rooms have satellite TV. On this basis we accordingly checked in and had a magic 24 hours with Musketelle anchored off the  front of the hotel just like the 'YachtSet' in the Caribbean or the South of France.

Lombok is the first of the islands we have come across in Indonesia that has luxuriant tropical growth and as such is somewhat cleaner and tidier than those we have visited to date. We took a day tour around part of Lombok and were instantly impressed with land utilisation with crops grown on every inch of good ground.

Another memorable experience was sailing into an anchorage on Lombok as literally hundreds of traditional fishing boats with multi coloured sails were returning from a nights fishing to the same bay we were entering. Small fishing boats play a major role in the local food supply chain and as we move west hundreds of these traditional boats are pulled up on every available square metre of beach. Its not that different when they are out on the water, at night forming daisy chains of light like an LA freeway.

We were forced to leave Lombok by the competition between 3 mosques blasting their messages into the wee hours over supercharged loudspeakers. Being Ramadan they were still going for it at midnight and then again at 4am. At home the noise control officer would be in your face with a hefty fine.

Thankfully our passage from Lombok to Bali was a speedy affair with 20+knot winds in the Lombok Strait and seas to match....first real wind for months. We had contemplated sailing to Benoa Harbour on the south coast of Bali near Denpasar and the Sanur/Kuta area but the aforementioned wind, which was against a strong tide in the Strait, was on the nose so like good cruisers we just opted for the soft option and reached off for Lovina North Bali.  In the other life P would have insisted on the bash'n'crash so he is mellowing!!

Bali is even more luxuriant and cleaner than Lombok due to its long term reliance on tourism. We took our lives in our hands and hired a scooter and scooted up into the mountains on a circuitous route that gave us a good view of everything. Once again very impressive land use, classic terraced padi fields and picture postcard views everywhere. The populace is largely Hindu with a sprinkling of Moslems so we are sleeping well in this anchorage.

One disheartening side to Lombok and Bali is the number of hotels and resorts that have closed and have bankrupt signs up, all due to the continued fallout from the Bali bombings. Although on the flipside there is a building boom as major hotel chains are investing again around Sanur/Kuta in the south of Bali and a new international airport is due to open in Lombok with Arab backing and Emirates Air the key carrier. All in all, we think Bali is once again an excellent option for a holiday destination.

As we look at our passage planning we are about to commence moving north to Borneo and a date with our forebears... the Orangutans which is one of the biggies on our "to do" in Indo.
Regards P and B

Inside the Dragons Den - Rinca Island

We are sitting 100 meters off  Rinca Island in the most magnificent anchorage surrounded by high peaks in the Komodo World Heritage Park that is better described as the Dragons Den !!!!

There are not many places one can travel on this planet to view a natural attraction that delivers as good as the publicity material promises. Komodo National Park promised critter heaven with Komodo Dragons, wild boar, Timor Deer, Monkeys, Buffalo, wild horses and scrub fowl all surrounded by a marine park teeming with tropical fish and coral reefs.

As we dropped anchor in the channel at the south end of Rinca Island we were absolutely in awe as we focussed the binos on everything but the buffalo and wild horses. Within minutes we were in the dinghy and motoring inshore to get some of our best camera footage of the giant Komodo Dragons which are up to 3 meters in length and 90kg plus in weight. These laid back guys are just so impressive but well capable of
running and swimming at up to 17km per hour if the challenge of a meal presents.
They are big time carnivores capable of swallowing a live goat without as much as a hiccup. Needless to say we kept our distance as they made definite body language that we were in their domain.

Last night we were at anchor with an American and British yacht so we invited them over for sundowners and in due course they stayed on to share our last leg of lamb that B cooked with roastvege. They only came for drinks and stayed until 10pm which was a nice impromptu dining experience for all.

This morning we decided to take the remains of the roast ashore for one of the dragons and the lucky one showed his turn of speed as we threw the bone from the shallows of the lagoon. This dragon just hoovered it off the sand and came at us for more as we scarpered to the dinghy and deeper water. Up until this point B had been very trusting as she got close for pictures but this thankfully ended her gregarious endeavors. This afternoon we took to the clear waters fed by the deep cool ocean currents to the immediate south and explored the fish laden reefs.

We will spend a second night here and move west to Komodo Island for more life on the natural wild side.
B&P

Labuan Badjo 08.30 S 119.52 E

Hello armchair sailors...
We have sailed east along the north coast of Flores just 70 miles since we last communicated. Before leaving Monkey Beach we had a good snorkel and cruise around the landlocked inlets viewing the coral formations often just a metre below the dinghy. The two nights we were at anchor at Monkey the local fisherman
positioned their big fishing platforms not far from us for the nights fish killing. The boats consist of a narrow canoe about 20 metres long with pencil thin outriggers 15 metres on each side all linked with a woven matting giving a rather incongruous unseaworthy platform 20m x 30m overall. The thing is powered to the fishing site by a Chinese diesel motor without muffler which means you can hear them coming from 50 miles off !! Once anchored they fire up a small petrol generator (like you see at Bunnings) and then proceed to turn night into
day with a zillion conventional 230v bulbs as a means of attracting the fish.  And there are tens of these platforms in view most evenings. The fish barelystand a chance but at least its more environmentally friendly than the methods used up until 10 years ago when dynamiting and cyanide killing was apparently the rage !!!

Talking about environmental issues disposing of waste in Indonesia is a majorproblem. And it is a real problem for us as cruisers as we are generallyspeaking an earth loving bunch. But we all produce waste and attempting to haveit disposed of satisfactorily is more than a problem in itself. You may recall we told you of the experience in Kupang where the 'dinghy boys' offered to dispose of it only to see it floating passed the yacht the next day having been economically filtered. We break our refuse down into animal vegetable and
plastic/glass/cans with only the vegetable going over the side at sea. Only in some ports are they interested in the cans and bottles. So you get the drift of our problem - simply adding it to the mountains of rubbish deposited by the Indonesians in the drains, waterways and sea does not appeal.

Over the last week we have had some very good anchorages with brilliant snorkelling around some pristine reefs. The highlight was an island anchorage at Bodo Gili 08.22S 120.01E where we anchored in 23m of crsytal clear water and swam the 500m to view the reefs and walk on the white coral sand beach. And
guess what, this is where we saw our first wild monkeys ranging happily on the beach at sunset and low tide. Turns out these guys rely on a shellfish diet (nodoubt due to the absence of vegeation) and have perfected the art of cracking shellfish for a feed. We spent much time focusing the binoculars on these fellows going about their business including numerous babies too. Come dark we could hear them screeching in the trees as sleeping arrangements were being settled.  Yes we loved our two nights at Bodo Gili. 

From Bod Gili it was just 20 miles around to our present anchorage at Labuan Badjo. And what an eventful little passage it was with the engine alarm going off in a narrow coral reef infested passage to tell us Henry was over-heating....cut the engine and raised the sails to tack the final 10 miles and that was fine. Cause could be 3 options...out of oil, cooling water or fanbelt. Just 12 months new and regularly checked by P it was the fanbelt. Fitted another one on so hopefully just a dud belt.

Lubuan Badjo is a grubby, smelly fishing port and tourist hotspot that relies on its location as the western most port on the island of Flores and as the jumping off point to visit the the famous Komdo Dragons !!! Yesterday we went into town in the dinghy and as dusk settled tried to start the Mercury to return to
Musketelle. No joy. Motor simply refused to turn over and we were not in rowing distance. Big problem. Then along came some locals in a big dink from one of the big dive boats. They agreed to tow us back to Musketelle, a couple of miles, in the dark, no lights, past the fishing boats. That was really nice of them and
they did not ask for any money but of course we gave them plenty of rupes for their trouble.

Today we are refuelling and restocking with fruit and vege before our leap into the unknown with the dragons at Rinca and Komodo Islands just 20 miles south of our current position. You will be pleased to know we are gettingsome great digital pics but not pleased to learn we have yet to work out how to upload them to this blog. Continue to watch this space for the next exciting installment.....meeting the dragons !!.
P&B

Monkey Beach 08. 23.11S 120.59.57 E

Hello. Its over a week since our last update. We can only attribute the delay to the heat - and it is HOT. The battery on the barometer/thermometer needs replacing so we can't say what the temperature is, however it is 1915 in the evening of the 25th of August and we have all the windows open and the fans going and the sweat is pouring off us. Not exactly lady-like but then as Peter says, he ain't no lady!.

Worse for Peter is that he had his head stuck in the hot engine compartment yet again working on the recalcitrant stern gland fitting. It is still leaking and has to be adjusted constantly. We need a more permanent solution and will revisit a permanent solution in Bali or Singapore. Yet another case of WIP, work
in progress.

We currently have all the portholes and hatches covered with insect screens and a big mesh awning draped over the cockpit (an insect screen for an outdoor umbrella from Bunnings Darwin) as we are anchored in a nice bay tucked behind an island and surrounded by mangroves, perfect for mozzies.

There are about 10 rally boats anchored in the immediate area and more close by. Allegedly the bay is so named because a family of monkeys was spotted on the beach but we do not hold out much hope of seeing any monkeys as the area has been burnt off. This burning off is a complete mystery to us. The Indonesians
seem fixated with burning anything that grows (and eating anything that moves).
Whilst this burn off was apparently originally to do with shifting cultivation it seems that nowadays the burn off is just to burn off. Cliff faces, rugged hillsides, little islands, anything is burned, with no apparent cultivation or grazing to justify the attack. We along with fellow crusiers have been disappointed at the lack of bird life and wildlife.

Anyway, to recap, starting from our last blog reported anchorage. We left our lovely anchorage with its clear water, pearl farms, sand cay and burnt off islands, on Monday 18 August and sailed to T.G. Gedong at 08 04.68S 122 50.71E where we anchored at 1501 hours in 23m of water, drifting back over 35m. There
were about 8 boats in the anchorage and the usual curious locals, particularly children to whom we gave out stuffed toys.

The next morning we left at 0645, motoring for an hour and a half then sailing in 10 kts breeze to Geliting, just east of Maumere, anchoring at 08 38.03S 122 18.49E. Bintang ashore (ie local beer, really good) followed by dinner at "SeaWorld" a Catholic Church run restaurant/bar which does good work for
disadvantaged children with the profits.

Next day (Wednesday 20 August) was the offical welcoming ceremony at the anchorage and the Kiwis were asked to do the formal thank you to the hosts (yachts Musketelle, Moon Mist, Solan, Nowadays, Pied a Mer, Catala). This we did in style (if we may say so ourselves) - Peter gave the formal thank you speech,
which was translated paragraph by paragraph and went down very well (the Indonesians like long speeches and Peter's was just right and addressed tourism development which is close to their hearts).

Then we did a powhiri, Rob on Moon Mist as the proud Maori Warrior with the Honorable Regent* accepting the challenge, followed by the haka (hmm yes well the timing left a little to be desired but the spirit was there) and then all singing Poekarekare Ana.

*Note Indonesia is divided up into Regencies (ie Provinces) and the head man is the Honorable Rengent with associated minders - security guards, protocol person, chauffeur etc etc.

Next day Barbara spent the day on the boat trying to burn music onto CDs (finally achieved after reading the manual umpteen times) and Peter went ashore to watch and participate in the canoe racing by the locals (as in wooden dugout canoes with no freeboard). After capsizing once, Peter and Grant from SY Nowadays (Hastings) came fourth out of ten. Theory has it that if they had knelt in the canoe instead of sitting in it they may have done even better.

Friday 22 August we went into Maumere to go to the bank and the internet cafe. We went with the cruisers off Catala, Pied a Mer and Moon Mist. Catching a bemo is a fraught experience, we do not know what the correct local cost is and when we ask before we get on, we get told one thing and then when paying the price has mysteriously doubled or quadrupled. We also only got 3/4 of the way to Maumere and had to change bemos (not clear why - our first one may have been unlicensed or there may be some bemo mafia controlling who can take whom where). This resulted in a "discussion" with the bemo driver which a local policeman resolved by determing the fare (considerably less than was being demanded) and we then got another bemo into town.

We went to the bank, big queue for the cash point machine and then spent 2 hours on a pathetically slow internet connection doing about 20 minutes work. This was followed by a walk towards the market, past
drains jammed with rubbish, past pigs checking out the rubbish, past pretty yucky type living environments - but lots of children calling out "Hello Meester" or "Hello Mrss" and "My name is" - by which they actually mean "what is your name".

Couldn't find the market and decided to head back to Geliting and stop at the town where we had had to change bemo and where we had seen a vege market. Much less bemo hassle getting back to the market town. Bought tomatoes and a cabbage, plus eggs, beer and cans of coke. Then caught motor bikes back to the anchorage - ie Peter on the back of one bike and me on another plus beer, coke, veg and eggs. By the time we got back to the absolute sanctuary of Musketelle we were exhausted!

On Saturday we left the anchorage and after motoring for the first hour and a half had a good sail to TG Batu Boga, near Dondo village, 08 27.62S 121 56.57E.  Anchored in 24m but quite close to fringing reef. Next  day, Sunday, we snorkeled, had visitors for morning tea, relaxed and had sundowners, a very strenuous day.

Today, Monday 25 August, we left TG Batu Boga at 0730 intially motoring and then when a breeze came in, having a nice sail the 57 or so miles to Monkey Beach.

Barbara made pizza for lunch (with proper pizza dough - at least as proper as one gets from Alison Holst's Bread Book) and a small white loaf of bread. We got to the anchorage at 1640 and had good waypoints to guide us past the reefs. We anchored in 20m of water.  Anchoring depth has been one of the surprises in this part of Indonesia - it is either very deep or over coral reefs - and we prefer the deep bit as it nerve wracking to a.) try to get a hold on the coral (and very bad for the coral) and b.) then swing with the tide/wind and find the spare 1.5m under the keel isn't there any more compliments of a protruding coral bommie.

Well thats all for now, time for dinner. Hope all is well in NZ, Aussie and France.

Indonesia 101 - Kupang - Alor - Lembata

Its a fortnight since we last published and thats because its been full-on for Musketelle and her crew.....Formal Welcoming Ceremonies (tropical formal) with Banquet Dinners and Cultural Shows, sightseeing, bemo and scooter riding, refuelling, the never ending maintenance and of course socialising !!! Its been a crash course in adjusting from the relative efficency of Australia to the topsy turvey tropical tumult of people teeming Indonesia. But so far so good and we are enjoying every minute as we adjust to the ways of this fascinating country.
Unlike most tourists who enter at an international airport at a major city we have slipped in through the back gate so to speak. We are sailing from the less populated and less developed eastern end of Indonesia and moving west toward the mega populated Java where over a thousand souls occupy every square kilometre. Being an archipelago of 14,000 islands sailing is the ultimate way to visit this country. If there are a reputed 300 million living here we are only going to meet a miniscule number. Those we have met are just so friendly and the youngsters are all being taught English and eager for dialogue. The method of approach is to thrust a notebook and pen under the nose and ask for
you to write your name and country as an ice breaker. Becomes a bit of a chore but its hard to resist the eager smiling faces.
The country is politically controlled by Jakarta but each province or regency has a Regent Governor who is "the man" locally !!! It has been the Regent Govenor or Deputy who has hosted these formal welcomes which emphasises the importance this rally of 116 yachts is, particularly in the fringe areas we are
currently visiting. To give you an example one island we visited normally gets 200 tourists per year and we all rock up!!! You can imagine the excitement among the locals.
To bring you up to date with our physical travels we have in the last fortnight sailed from Kupang on West Timor north to the island of Alor where we anchored off the town of Kalabahi pop 40k. To reach this place we battled huge wind against current seas in the Sawu Sea and inquisitive fishing boats in the dead
of night to reach the Selat Pantar passage right on daybreak. This passage has fast flowing currents, depths of not less than 1000 metres and is teeming with dolphins. Most of the time through the Selat Pantar we were headed by the current - going just 0.5 knots under motor!!. Not surprisingly the hills on either side of us took on a very familiar look - since we were effectively standing still!
Then our luck (or was that the tide?) changed and whisked us at times up to 10 knots in 5 knots of wind into Kalabahi passing numerous fishing villages on each side of the passage.
Kalabahi is a noisy little town that comes to life each morning with the call of the mosque and the local cocks. It kept up this sweltering bustle throughout the day meaning that it felt like midnight by 8pm. We hired motor- cycles and cruised to outlying villages and found a sublime lagoon for a dip. Highlight was passing a motor scooter with a man and woman on board and a huge swordfish draped across the bike with the sawn off stump of the bill scraping on the road at one side and the tail the other....fresh fish en route to market forthwith!!!
Our next port of call, travelling westward, was the volcano ribbed island of Lembata and its principal town of Lewoleba pop 10k located on a landlocked lagoon fed by another swift flowing pass that replenished the fishing grounds twice a day with fish for the countless fishers. Highlight of our stay was a day trip over the most backside testing 52km track you can imagine on the back of a ute to a traditional whaling village called Lamalera where the locals catch around 30 whales annually using big row boats and hand thrown harpoons. The boats were around 10m long and built of timber held together with wooden dowels and lashing twine. This village is a classic example of genuine no frills tourism with the visit involving total immersion in this working village along with the pigs, goats and cats not to mention the opportunity to buy local handicrafts including whale teeth. All this whilst surrounded by whale bones in various state of decay and whale meat hanging to dry in the sun.
The next day we recovered by filling our fuel tanks with diesel (locally known as 'solar') and what a fun experience this was involving a visit to the local petrol station which looks nothing like anything you can imagine. The place is identified by the 200 plus scooters always lined up waiting to fill their 5 litre tanks
with petrol, (benzine). Being big volume purchasers and wanting solar not 'benzine' we were invited to jump the queue and we watched agog as the disel was hand ladled in 2 litre amounts into our 20 litre containers, the operator dipping his ladle, bare hand and arm immersed each time, into this big drum being fed by a tap from a bigger tank ouside the filling room. It was a scene of controlled mayhem with the cashier sitting opposite also counting the ladles, as we were. The alternative was to pay a local middleman to bring fuel out to the boat in their containers but our experience in Kupang resulted in dirty fuel and most 20L containers only holding 17 or 18 L with talk of that being further diluted with kerosene and even palm oil to increase earnings for the middleman. Yes, Indonesia is a fascinating place and people are forced to go to extremes to make a buck. Needless to say we filter all fuel before it enters our tanks and then pass it through multiple filters before it gets to the engine or generator.
Our anchorage for the last 2 days has been a coral fringed lagoon at the eastern end of Adunara. The snorkelling here is excellent and to round off the days we have gone ashore each evening to a sandspit island for sundowners and last night a bbq with timber a few of us collected from some nearby islands. With drop dead sunsets and a full moon the general consensus from the 6 boats at this anchorage, paradise found,  10 out of 10 !!!
Our next major island is Flores. We will update soon.

Kupang, Indonesia - Friday 1 July and Saturday 2 July 2008

We are at anchor in Kupang. We dropped anchor at 1530 on Wednesday 30 July, 74.5 hours after leaving Darwin.  A very good time considering the wind or lack thereof. We motored for the first 42 hours then had a magic sail using our reacher, incl overnight.

We cleared Quarantine on Wednesday afternoon. Q had quite a few teams available and the yachts with the Q guys on board made contact with other yachts flying the Q flag so the Q guys could be delivered promptly from yacht to yacht.
Unfortunately Customs did not play the same game. We had to put our name down on a list on the local  Customs boat which is moored inshore, then Customs will call up each yacht on the VHF for the Customs officers to be collected by the yacht's dinghy and then returned to the Customs boat after the visit. Customs isn't working through the list in the order of the names so that some boats in for 24+ hours still hadn't been cleared whilst other later arrivals were, causing some grumping on the VHF. To compound matters Customs are issuing "Impound Notices" to be stuck to the cleared boats because of some incomplete documentation - either because (version 1) Sail Indonesia did not get the "sponsor letters" for the boats due to some alleged inter-Indonesian department politicking or (version 2) Indonesian Customs are wanting to enforce the requirement for an import bond on visiting yachts but the Sail Indonesia exemption from this has not yet been put in place. These impound notices mean that boats are not free to leave the anchorage even though the paperwork has been done. Some cruisers are extremely grumpy, whilst others just shrug and get on with being here. Since writing this we have all been advised that the situation has been resolved and provided each
boat completes one more bit of paper and pays 50,000 Rps (about AU$6) then Customs will come out to remove the Impound Notice.
To really make life fun for the 120 + yachts in the anchorage, on Thursday the wind got up, blowing over 20 knots for several hours, fortunately in daylight. The wind was not that strong but the tide enhanced chop really got things boiling. Yachts started dragging all over the anchorage, including one tangling its anchor chain with another, and yachts starting to drag out into the bay. Many owners had gone ashore and teams from other yachts had to frantically conduct rescue forays. The Customs Vessel also dragged onto a couple of yachts and then departed the scene to the relief of the yachts from an anchorage point of view but from a Customs inspection point of view that meant no more inspections for the rest of the day.
We had our own issue. We were not dragging but decided to re-anchor as we were a little close to another yacht. After only pulling up a short amount of chain it came to a complete halt due, we concluded, to the chain being caught on something below. We couldn't budge it. With the wind picking up we also could
not lay out any more chain due to our proximity to the other yacht. The wind forced us back on the tight chain and the pressure on the snubber (the nylon line clipped onto the chain and tied back to the boat to take the strain off the windlass) was huge. Fortunately the other yacht was kind enough to move although that was not easy in the strong winds and our position vis a vis their anchor chain so we had a bit of a scramble as they squeezed past our bow. However we were then able to let out more chain which quietened us down.
We will try to raise the anchor and if not successful will see if one of the divers in the fleet can go down the 20m and take a look at the situation.
Friday saw some more winds, with some more dragging. The tide was also very low and the combination of the wind and the low tide made getting ashore a challenge with some dinghies being swamped by waves on approach to the beach. The prospect of this put quite a few crews off going shore which was a shame as it meant that the Governors Welcome Dinner and cultural displays in evening was not as well attended as it deserved to be as the Indonesians had gone to a lot of trouble.
We went ashore at about 1915. On the way we got tangled in a floating anchor line that had been laid from the yacht "Pure Chance" which had put on a good display of dragging earlier in the day. A dark rope in dark water on a dark night is not exactly visible. Having extracated ourselves from this we diverted to "Keshi" to pick up Leanne, having assured her husband that we would get her safely to shore. We thought we had the waves right but looking over our shoulder we saw a huge breaking wave coming right at us. It caught us just as the bow of the dinghy touched the beach and before the dinghy boys could grab the dinghy and haul it out of the water. Result - dinghy swamped, all persons very wet. Undaunted we batted on and had a good evening.
Today Saturday is delivering winds gusting 25-28 knots and a couple of boats have dragged. Peter is going ashore to watch the Bledisloe 2 rugby match this afternoon which hopefully will be on the big screen.
The town is bustling, there is a mega party area on the foreshore every night, well attended by the locals. The streets are full of motor scooters and bemos (small taxi van/buses) all whizzing around, flashing coloured lights and sounding their horns. Walking in the streets is an exercise in watching where one puts one's feet due to the holes, rubble, disappearing pavements etc plus looking at head height due to low slung wires. It is very interesting but,not surprisingly, slightly chaotic. It is disappointing to see the huge amount of
rubbish just thrown into drains, rivers and the sea. Cruisers who take their rubbish ashore are horrified to see it tipped up on the beach, gone through and then the reject rubbish left to blow or washed away out to sea.
Signing off,
Saturday 2 August 2008.

Quietly Drifting Towards Kupang - Tuesday 29 July 2008

As noted in our previous post, we left Darwin at 1300 hours on Sunday and apart from 4 hours of sailing slowly under main and genoa on Sunday evening have motored all the way. It is now 1300 on Tuesday 29 July and we have well and truly caught up and passed the tail enders and are currently in sight of about 14 other yachts, behind, to the side, and in front of us. Darwin is 322 nm astern and the southern tip of West Timor 125 nm ahead.

We have put up our light air sail headsail, our Reacher and are doing 4-6 knots of boat speed in 5-8 knots of wind (the most wind we have had). It is nice to have some peace and quiet, although as the motoring was on dead flat seas it was actually surprisingly pleasant, just noisier.

We have not seen much wildlife, although we did have a big shark about 20 mteres behind us yesterday (nice to see at least one that has to date evaded chinese shark fin soup) and dolphins plus a lot of big mackerel in feeding frenzies at dawn this morning. It was good to hear on the radio sked this morning that one yacht rescued a turtle from a tangle of nets.

Last night we passed close to some large well lit oil rigs in the centre of the Timor Sea just on the Indonesian side of the sea border marking the end of Australian waters. Reminds us that this is why the East Timorese problems were so bitterly disputed.

We are hoping to close on the Timor coast tomorrow morning and make our way north to drop anchor off Kupang town tomorrow afternoon. Kupang has a population of 200,000+ which really makes it a city and among other things we are particularly looking forward to the food - according to The Lonely Planet guide the local specialty is ...dog meat - yeah right!!.

Timor Sea - Bound for Kupang, Timor

Our current position is 11 48 S, 128 36 E. We are underway from Darwin to Kupang. We left Darwin at 1300 on Sunday, 26 hours behind the fleet, having fixed some final bits and pieces, watched the rugby and got some sleep. As expected the wind was light and we motored most of the way out of Beagle Gulf.
Finally at 1600 hours we thought we had some wind, so we put the main and genoa up and the wind, on queue, eased again. We persisted with the sails up, finally getting enough breeze to push us along at 6.5 knots for an hour or so. Then the wind vanished completely so we sat doing 1.7 knots in 0.0 breeze, the 1.7 knots
presumably due to tide. After a lesiurely dinner we put the engine back on at 2000 hours and have been motoring ever since - it is now 1000 on Monday 28 July (Australia Central Standard Time ie 9.5 hours ahead of UTC). During the night we passed 2 other yachts in the fleet who had also left on Sunday and we have made up some time on the fleet stragglers who are motoring more slowly than our average of 7 knots.
There was a spectacular sunset last night, the sun setting scarlet red with a girdle of cloud. Then the sliver of moon rose also red. A flying fish did a death leap onto the deck right next to Barbara so it was his lucky night as he got scooped back to sea. Now to the funniest silliest thing....we recently purchased a neat little portable Waeco 12volt cooler that we use for food we require throughout the day so we are not opening up our main fridge and freezer everytime we want milk, butter or fruit. Well, we accordingly loaded it the day before leaving Darwin with fresh oranges and apples but when we opened yesterday for an orange the fruit was mostly spoiled because the thing had inadvertantly been switched to the food warmer zone. The apples were cooked and the oranges were very ripe!!!
P&B

Darwin - What Still Here?

Hi Everyone, well we didn't make the 1100 start today, Saturday 26th July 2008. We have some final matters to attend to (including two toilets not working due to all the weed in Fannie Bay) - we are off tomorrow Sunday in the morning. Benefit: Peter got to watch the All Blacks get beaten by the Aussies. Robbie Robbie Robbie Oi Oi Oi.
Update later - hopefully once we are on the move via our satellite email connection if we have configured this blog correctly.
P & B.
ps: saw 2 Dugongs in Fannie Bay today which was great. Other cruisers had seen them but we hadn't to date.

Darwin - Two Days To Go

Hello Everyone, well it is now Thursday evening two days before departure. We have a load of washing in the machine at the Darwin Sailing Club and a load of items and food to stow aboard after a very busy day rushing around Darwin doing that last minute shopping in a rental car.
Tomorrow we clear Customs and Immigration - a team is coming to the Club especially for the Rally. Tomorrow is also Show Day in Darwin and a public holiday so most businesses will be shut.
Weather has finally settled down we hope after several days of very strong winds. At the moment it is quite calm. However going back to the boat in the dinghy last night and coming ashore this morning was quite an adventure in itself and was the dinghy equivalent of crossing Cook Strait. Despite this wind, the weather is very nice, fine, sunny, average of 32 degrees C.

On the social front, we had a Kiwi roast dinner on Monday night on Pied a Mer, with Catala in attendance and the Aussies from Keishi, including two year old Jack. Joanne on Pied a Mer did a great roast pork with crackling and Barbara did a leg of lamb with roast potatoes and pumpkin.

Tuesday afternoon was the formal briefing at the new Darwin Convention Centre. The host from Sail Indonesia in Jakarta failed to appear having missed his flight and his Aussie rep fronted the presentation although not with style. The best presentation was from the Sail Malaysia rep who was enthusiastic, funny and informative. So everyone is looking forward to the Malaysian leg.

Big jobs still to be completed tomorrow include putting a new seal in the top of one of the hydraulic backstay rams (a story in itself getting the seal - we got the last one in Darwin), putting up the genoa and a new cap at the top of the furler (meaning P has to go up the mast again), unblocking the toilet salt water flush inlet pipe which is full of weed - there is a lot in the water and we have had to unblock intake pipes regularly, installing the new pump for the anchor washdown (old one cost the same to fix as to replace) etc etc - but yes we will be ready to depart 1100 hours on Saturday.

Peter and Barbara

Last Minute Stuff

21 July 2008

Last Minute Stuff
We are still at anchor in Darwin. Final week and a public hol here Friday so rush rush rush. Got fuel this morning, first appointment for the day which was good as the boats after us are griping on the radio about the queue. Had to chase some Poms away who did not have a booking for the fuel dock. Its tough out here!.

We got too and from the dock without any hassles but yesterday watched a 16m yacht motor over to the fuel dock without due regard for the tidal channels and she ended up going aground and laying over on her side until the next tide. Very embarrasing.

Have hired a car for a few days and just about to go into town with the hydraulic rams from the backstay, one of which needs a service, plus the Davey Pump (for anchor washdown) which has spat the dummy. Having the Mercury outboard serviced and running around generally buying up large....particularly food at the excellent supermarkets. Also getting some smart electronic security kit from Jaycar to install aboard.

Very windy here last night plus a spring tide and wind against tide was very uncomfortable - how to get seasick at anchor!!

Darwin - Preparing for the Rally

It has been another lovely sunny and hot mid winters day in Darwin - 32c and not humid. We are currently working on fixing things as usual e.g. watermaker, anchor washdown pump, outboard motor, sailpack, headsail furler, stern gland (ie big hole in back of boat that the prop shaft goes through), washing machine etc etc. However it is all fun (believe it or not).
Major progress today was getting our second bicycle fixed (by Peter) so we can both now ride around town and save on taxi fares - however the prospect of Peter carrying the 15hp Mercury outboard to the repair shop on the back of the bike is a bit optimistic.
It is Friday night and we are at the Darwin Sailing Club where they have wifi. The place is packed, not just with cruisers either. The place is very popular with the locals, has very good food and the best sunset vista, every night. Due west, nothing to block the view of the setting sun, except of course for the 100 plus yachts anchored in the bay.
Which reminds us, we need to go back to the boat and put on the anchor light!.
We will write again soon, Peter and Barbara.