Straits of Melacca to Port Klang

Goodbye Singapore with its clean streets, efficiency and English language. Hello Malaysia with huge gaping holes in the pavement and lots of rubbish again. Mind you we are in a dock area, so the local scruffiness may not apply to the whole country, we will see. Not much English spoken here either except by officials.

The passage here was up the Straits of Melacca which must be one of the world's busiest shipping channels. A continuous stream of ships travelling in both directions, about 15 always showed up on our computer screen on a length of 25 miles. We sailed along just outside the marked channels, and although there were quite a lot of fishing boats during the night, and tugs towing barges of sand (for the reclamation going on around Singapore island) during the day, they didn't cause us any trouble - just kept us awake and alert! What was more of a handicap was a 20 knot wind on the nose and current against us for the whole of the first morning. Even with the engine on we were barely making 2 knots much of the time. It got better in the afternoon as the tide changed and the wind swung but then there wasn't much wind so we were still only averaging 3 knots.

A slow journey altogether. Still, we had a full moon so good visibility all night.

Now we are in Port Klang, the port for Kuala Lumpur. There is a huge new container port near the mouth of the river, probably a mile of docks and cranes, 3 cranes to each ship and all busy loading and unloading. Quite a sight with ships from all over the world. We sailed very close to them as we got a counter current at the side of the river, so had a really good view.

The Royal Selancor Yacht Club is where we are moored, tied up to a pontoon midstream. The club must have been started in colonial times, and now has a very smart new building which, a bit like Raffles, makes its money from 'functions' and its waterside restaurant. The view is interesting rather than scenic, with boat repair yards working on decrepit looking, mainly Indonesian, fishing and supply ships. Plenty of coming and going so plenty to watch from our deck. It is very hot and humid but we have the sun cover up and have spent a pleasant afternoon with a cushion and a book on deck under the cover. A club launch takes us to and from the club when required - just as well, as the tidal flow is very fast and our slipping outboard prop wouldn't cope.

We went to check in with immigration this morning, and the area around the building was swarming with people and their baggage. They were only being let into the building a few at a time. Our hearts sank, but hey, we're British, and we were ushered straight in to the lovely cool air conditioned building, past the queues inside, and into an office where an official put aside the pile of passports he was dealing with and attended to us! Evidently the crowds were Indonesians checking out ready to get the ship home. Very little paperwork, no costs, and a stamp in our passports. A very big difference from Indonesia.

Tomorrow we set off for another overnighter to Pangkor where we will be hauling out.

Singapore

We are moored in the  classy Raffles Marina in Singapore.  Like a 5-star hotel.  Swimming pool (with towels supplied), and a water bar.  Various restaurants looking out over the water,  a games room,  nursery, and central atruim with plants and fountains.  A  free shuttle bus takes you to a shopping centre and railway station from where it is an easy journey into the centre.

Not only was this the first flushing toilet since Darwin, but an automatic flush at that!

So we are enjoying a bit of comfort though it is extremely hot and muggy and it poured with rain last night.

The trip across the shipping lanes was not too fraught.  No use looking at all the ships on AIS, far too nerve wracking.  Just have to look at the ones closest an decide whether to detour round their stern or speed through in front.  Of course the sky darkened as we crossed, and it started raining so visibility was just about nil.  Luckily it din’t last long, and we had mentally worked out our plan so just went on blindly – a bit hairy though.

Once across we had to go round the west side of Singapore Island where a lot of reclamation is in progress.  Literally hundreds of ships at anchor from all over the world.

Belitung to the equator

Having checked out of the country didn't mean that we actually had to leave straight away.  There was a beach that we wanted to anchor off not far away in Belitung, so we headed straight there.  It has a long white beach and huge granite  boulders.  This is where the big farewell party will be held for the rally in a few weeks time, and it is going to be a very big thing.  The president of Indonesia is supposed to be coming along with lots of other dignitaries.  Already small cafes and restaurants are being built along the beach, paths and garden areas are being prepared, and a brand new tarmac road leading nowhere has been completed.  Maybe the president is coming, but nevertheless we feel that the money could be better spent where it is more urgently needed.

Joni came across on his motor bike to visit us, and we took him in the dinghy to Pegasus for a visit.  He said that he would arrange for the little restaurant on the beach to cook us the local speciality, a fish soup with pineapple.  We went across in the evening, and got chatting to three young people who wanted to practise their English.  One was an English teacher, one ran a small travel agency and is going to be one of the tour guides when the rally fleet arrives.  The third was a musician.  They were very keen to take us on a trip the next day and show us a bit of the island.  The soup was spicy and delicious, with chunks of the head of a large fish in it.  The fish pieces are eaten off the bone with the fingers, and there's a bowl of plain rice to go with it.

So the next day off we went.  The plan was to visit a pepper plantation belonging to the brother of Anto, the teacher.  It turned out to be right at the other side of the island so quite a long drive.  Interesting though. We passed a lot of open cast tin mines (the first tin mine was started by a Dutch company who named themselves Billiton after the island, then Shell Billiton, now BHP Billiton.) Now the mines are all Indonesian owned, quite small operations, and there is no control over them so big patches of land are just red scars full of dips and peaks and with all the topsoil washed away so it will be many years before they grow over.  Clouds of smoke hung over the road where jungle was being cleared by slash and burn to grow palm oil trees.  One of the things we will remember about this country is the smell of smoke everywhere - if not burning off growth then burning rubbish or just cigarette smoke.

We bumped down dirt tracks to get to the pepper plantation.  The brother wasn't there, but we met one of his 4 employees.  Quite a plantation.  The peppers grow up poles about 8ft high, and the poles are only about 4 ft apart.  Each plant produces at least a kilo of pepper corns a year, so quite productive on the 30 hectares farmed.  When the plants are a few years old they plant rubber trees between the rows.  These take 8 yrs to mature to the stage where they can tap the latex, by which time the pepper plants are finished.  All very efficient, and other plants like ginger, and hot pepper bushes grow along the edges.  Now we know (and when I checked with Delia it is all written in her Complete Cookery Course!) that black pepper corns are the whole seed dried, white corns are minus the outer husk so hotter in taste.  Here they soak the seeds to remove the husk.

There was a little wooden building up on high stilts, just a room with a covered verandah outside.  It is used as a resting place for the workers, and being high catches the breeze.  We were taken up for a drink of water and were assured the water was good.  It had a smoky taste as it had been boiled on a wood fire.  We just drank a little to be polite, but normally only drink water from sealed bottles or our own supply that we always take with us.

On the way back we stopped at the house where Anto was born and brought up, now belonging to his nephew and wife.  A very simple though spacious wooden house with very little furniture.  All of our companions disappeared to another room to pray as all are Muslim.  We were given cordial (bottled water this time!) and mango, then set off to see the Regent who is the governor of the eastern part of the island.  They were sure he would want to meet us being honored foreign guests! but he was away on another island as it transpired.  Then lunch at a large smart restaurant, the sort of place that hosts weddings and functions.  We would much rather have eaten at a little local place, the food wasn't even that good.  However it was the sort of place that our young hosts would never normally come to, so we were happy to treat them.

I gave Siska, who had organised the whole trip (and had borrowed her father's car to  do it) our old Lonely Planet guide to Indonesia.  Belitung isn't even mentioned in it, but I thought she might like to practise her English by reading the general sections.  She spent much of the time on the journey back reading bits out loud to us to check on her pronounciation, and it turned into a bit of an English lesson on how to pronounce th and t and f and make them sound different!

Bastian, the musician, was dropped off at his house, and we met his wife and two little children.  A beautiful family who live in a tiny wooden house, and obviously have no money; he is dependent on what he earns from playing in a group in the evenings.  His English was the best of the 3, and he was a quiet, relaxed and thoughtful person, happy with his life.

Siska would not let us give her any money for the day's outing, not even petrol money.  She just wanted a promise that I would email her - which I promised to do if she writes to me first!

Early the next morning we set off again, for the long 2-night passage to an anchorage on an island just north of the equator.  Lots of shipping around, and our AIS system took the opportunity to stop connecting with the computer.  G managed to re-route it to the cockpit GPS, but it is not as user friendly there, partly because of the size of the screen. (It now seems to be working OK again, just had an off day.  The humidity is very high now which is not good for electronics.)   We knew that we were entering the zone for squalls, and had two vicious ones as an introduction.  The first had torrential rain and winds gusting just over 40 knots, staying at 30 knots for more than an hour.  The second was dry but stronger winds, hitting 45 at one stage.  For both we just had a tiny bit of sail out, and the motor on to drive us through the increasing seas.  Another boat, single hander, arrived in the anchorage today with a torn sail from a squall.  Luckily both happened in daylight, as the nights were very dark with no moon.  A fleet of small fishing boats were a bit of a worry at night, but we kept the radar on and weaved our way through them, just hoping that they all had lights and didn't have long nets behind them.   With one thing and another (and the boat was rolling a lot with the wind behind much of the time), not much sleep.  So when we crossed the equator G was asleep, and there didn't seem much point waking him up.

Anyway we are now at 1 degree north, having crossed the equator heading south near the Galapagos in March 08.

checking out

When we left Kalimantan we had less than a week left on our visas, so sailed to Belitung where we could check out.  We were expecting it to be a long process so left a couple of days spare in case the offices were closed (it's a Muslim island, so is their rest day Friday, their holy day, or do they stick to a Sat and Sun weekend ??  It turned out that Sunday is really the only day when offices are closed.)

 Being well ahead of the fleet now, we knew we wouldn't be guided through the process as we were when we checked in in Kupang.  We tied our dinghy up to a helpful ferry boat who put down a ladder specially for us, and said they wouldn't be leaving that day.  They were able to guide us to the nearbye customs and port captain's offices, which seemed good places to start.  None of the five officers in the customs office knew what to do with us!  They made a couple of phone calls, and another man arrived who spoke good English.  He said he would take us to the Sail Indonesia rep in town, and borrowed a government car to do it.  After stalling a couple of times and crashing the gears he said that he was 'just learning'.  No driving test here, you learn on the job.  We slowly made our way up the street, turning right a few times in front of oncoming traffic, and nearly wiping a couple of motor cyclists off their bikes on our side of the road.  Luckily the traffic wasn't very fast moving.  He stayed in 3rd gear, and we put our seat belts on.  The Sail Indonesia rep wasn't there so that involved getting into reverse gear and turning round; only stalled twice, not bad.  Next to a government office to look for him.  Wrong office, so a uniformed lad led the way for us on his motor bike to another office.  Here we had to parallel park next to other cars.  He was having a triple dose of practise today.

  Another phone call, and a bit of a wait, and Joni turned up.  He is a local teacher who speaks good English, and who has been seconded by the government to help with the Sail Indonesia organisation in Belitung.  He was our facilitator, and did a grand job.  We had to go to 4 different offices, and had a government car and driver for our use.  There is so much paperwork and stamping involved that when lunch time came at 11.30 we were only half way through.  So we took Joni and our driver for lunch to a great local place where you helped yourself from bowls of food arranged around a room in a little wooden building.  It was very basic, but clean and delicious.  To our amusement the women who ran the place were busy taking photos of us on their mobile phones.  There is no tourist industry on this island and the arrival of 80 or so rally boats in a few weeks time is a major event for them.

  Finally, by 3pm, we had been to Immigration, Health, Customs, and Port Captain, and had given and received lots of papers at each, all duly stamped.  We worked out that about 20 people and 2 cars had been involved with something that in other countries takes 5 minutes and one official!  All very friendly, not at all officious, and they are obviously not overworked in their jobs.  The final fling was when our Customs man said that he would now come to our boat to check it.  We said that it was 30 mins each way in the dinghy (very slow because we need a new propellor, it is slipping so we go at walking speed) and he said OK, he was sure we were honest types!

  In the dinghy we had 4 empty diesel jerry cans, but by this time the fuel station was closed, so Joni said he would meet us the next morning at 9am.  We said that we could probably manage and maybe his class needed him.  However the next morning there were about a hundred jerry cans around the pumps, and a young lad said that there would be no fuel until 11pm.  Not good news as we had hoped to leave that morning.  Phoned Joni who immediately said he would be there, and he drove up on his motor bike only a few minutes later.  He pointed out another fuel station so G took the dinghy round while I hopped on the back of the bike.  Difficult to get the dinghy anywhere near as the place was full of rotting hulks of fishing boats;  he eventually tied up to a couple that looked as if they would float for a while, and clambered over to an equally decrepit jetty.  We were told we could only have 40 litres, not the 80 we had hoped for.  Fuel is difficult in this country.  It is heavily subsidised, so in theory only available to nationals.  We are not allowed to buy direct, and, to prevent resale at higher prices, jerry cans may not be transported in another vehicle.  Also supply is poor and fuel stations often run out, hence the rationing.  Don't know what Joni said, but they filled up all our containers, and for the first time we paid pump price.  Normally about 75% is added on which is a nice little income for the boat boys who take our cans.  Also the cans never contain quite the 20 litres that we pay for!  It was a very slow journey back to Pegasus with our heavy load, but we were free to go.

apes and monkeys

It is possible to do a 3-day trip up the river, African Queen style.  Wooden boats with a couple of loungers on a high deck to watch the view pass slowly by, beds are mattresses on deck with a mosquito net, food is cooked on board.  They can sleep 6, but we mostly saw just two passengers with a cook, driver and guide.  Very cheap for what you get.  We had decided to do a 1-day trip in a launch, partly because we were a bit short of time, but also we spend a lot of days on board just travelling very slowly.  Not such a novelty for us.  We were very happy with our choice.  A boat boy sat on Pegasus for the day to look after it.  And on our rather ropy little launch we had a driver and guide.  Off we went down a narrow tributary of the main river.  Quite a lot of floating branches and plants so every now and then the outboard would cough, and with a grinding of gears Anwar would reverse then raise and lower the engine to clear the debris.  He enjoyed his driving, curving round obstacles, zooming up the straights, and slowly passing other boats.  Our guide, Jenie, was great, he noticed all sorts of things, a fresh water crocodile, a large water snake, a monkey in a tree, various birds.  He was brought up in the area on a small farm in a family that knew the jungle and its plants and animals from lifetimes of family experience.

A station was founded by Richard Leakey up this river to rehabilitate the many orangutans found in captivity.  It has been such a success that 2 more stations have had to be opened to give the apes the area of territory they need.  Baby animals are still caught by local people to keep as pets (illegally) but they are usually not wanted when they grow and need half their body weight in food per day.  Also smugglers are caught trying to export orangutans.  We stopped to take a walk to a feeding station.  The apes are given bananas once a day and a plastic bowl of milk - not enough for their daily diet so they still have to find their own food.  Being very intelligent animals (97% same genetic code as humans), they know when it is food time and gradually appear swinging through the trees.  Some mothers with little babies hanging on.  Some younger ones with attitude.  And a dominant male who arrived last, and all the others disappeared from the table, a couple of submissive young females edging on the table ready for flight, grabbing a mouthfull of bananas to skin and eat later, and scampering away.  We stayed and watched for a couple of hours with about 20 other people, mainly European, including several British.

Lunch was on our launch, tied up to a tree on the bank.  A ready-prepared lunch box of rice, spicy veg. and chicken, then bags of little bananas and a small fruit like a lichee.  Jenie asked if we would like a walk in the jungle, and if so how long.  We said couple of hours and he was really pleased as he usually gets people who only want to sit at the feeding stations and on the boat, rather boring for him.  He pointed out food plants, plants used to get water to drink, and medicinal plants.  Also poisonous plants either to touch, or that could be used by the dayaks (who still live in remote areas) for their poisoned arrows and spears.  He was a mine of information, only 29 yrs old, and rather worried that he wasn't married, very unusual in his community.  He has a girlfriend, a photographer, but says they are too different to get married.  Maybe social background we felt.  They go trekking in the jungle and sleep out and both obviously love it.  We saw and heard orangutans sucking termites out of lumps of nest which they have to dig out of the ground.  Also a family of wild boar.   At this point it started to rain, a real tropical downpour.  We had macs with us, but just put them over our heads and shoulders, much too hot and humid to wear them.  Soon we were paddling along streams rather than walking the paths, and soon we had little leaches attaching themselves to our ankles.
So we arrived back at a second feeding station rather wet and muddy, and orangutans weren't very forthcoming in the rain either so we headed back to our launch.

Late afternoon is the time that monkey congregate to feed in the trees beside the river.  Jenie had promised that we would see plenty and he wasn't wrong.  Probiscus monkeys are only found in Borneo.  They are strange looking creatures with huge noses and bulging stomachs.  The males have noses that hang over their mouths and they swell and turn red when angry which must be quite a sight!  They only eat leaves and unripe fruit and have developed special stomachs which have cellulose digesting bacteria.  They can swim quite well, and have partially webbed feet.  Not surprisingly these monkeys and the orangutan are threatened with extinction because their habitat has disappeared due to clearance for the palm oil business and logging for timber.  Only 6.500 probiscus left, 4,000 of those in Kalimantan.

We had expected the trip to be much more commercialised with stalls selling postcards and tat.  Not at all, there was nothing, not even an information centre.  A few buildings used by rangers, and boardwalks to the feeding stations.  We were just in the jungle.  A great day.

passage to borneo

The passage to the island of Kalimantan (the Indonesian part of Borneo) took 2 nights.  It was a busy trip, no relaxing with a book.  For once we were able to sail all the way until we got into the shelter of the river Kumai.  Also we were catching fish - landed two mahi mahi, one of our favourite fish.  Had a large barracuda on the hook as well and it took ages to get it unhooked and back (we hope) to live longer.

There were a lot of ships and boats.  Ships over a certain size have to be equipped with AIS (automatic identification system).  We can receive the signals but don't transmit.  However on this trip huge tankers passed by and no signal was given out.  Others when called up couldn't speak English (the international language between ships), and some didn't answer even when called by name.  This all meant that we had to be super vigilant, and had to take avoiding action, probably unnecessarily, as we were unable to communicate.

Some fishing boats were very inquisitive, coming very close and even cutting across our bows.  Friend or foe?  It was a bit worrying, though all seemed to be friendly and waved as they passed only metres away.

As we approached Kalimantan, in the night, the sky was lit up with a blaze of lights from a large fleet of shrimp or squid boats.  They attract their catch with lights strong enough to floodlight a football field.  We just didn't know how we would get through them, and with those lights they would certainly not see us.  However radar showed that they were in two groups with a clear 'road' through the middle.  It actually wasn't a problem at all.  They have huge outriggers with nets on both sides, and very noisy gear to raise and lower them.  Lights and noise were quite something.

We had to sail about 20 miles up the Kumai river.  It is mostly wide with many shallow areas so it is essential to be armed with waypoints.  Quite a lot of barges being towed, and palm oil is big business in Kalimantan (to the huge detriment of the jungle) so many tankers too.   Anchored off Kumai town with a couple of other boats.  Their owners were away on river trips, so only boat boys aboard looking after them.  We phoned our contact to arrange a trip, and to our surprise were able to go the next day, it is low season at the moment, and a great advantage being ahead of most of the rally boats.  He sent someone over to collect copies of passport, visa, boat papers etc. (all this paper must be filed somewhere never to be seen again) and payment.  All arranged for 7.30am next day.

The town looked unusual as we approached, several tall ugly grey concrete buildings.  They looked like blocks of flats with slit windows and no decoration at all.  None of the towns we have seen in Indonesia have high rise buildings, and this isn't a large place.  During the evening we could also hear the tweeting of lots of birds, and it seemed to be coming from the town with not a tree in sight and not from the wooded banks of the other side of the river where we were anchored.  Eventually we found out.  They are nesting buildings for cave swifts who make nests from strands of saliva - yes, you've maybe guessed, for birds nest soup.  So these are huge 'dove cots'.   The male birds make the nests from interwoven strands of saliva which are stuck to the walls.  Of caves in nature, and now on concrete walls.  All exported to China, and some to the Chinese communities in the USA. A kilo of nest brings in something like US$2,000 so it is big business.

on passage

We arrived at 11.30am, having sailed the whole way except for the last bit up the river. Have booked a trip up the river tomorrow to the Richard Leakey reserve so that we can see orangutans, proboscis monkeys, and hopefully other birds and wildlife. So will write more later.

on passage

Just an update to say that we have been at sea for 2 days and a night now, an should arrive in Kumai, Kalimantan tomorrow afternoon.  120 miles to go.  Good wind all the way so we have been averaging 6 knots.  Rather a lot of fishing boats which near Bali were banana shaped, very low in the water; and out here are more like Chinese junks with several layers of superstructure.  All painted in bright colours.  They tend to be rather inquisitive, and come rather close then cut across our bows.  For sure they do not know the rules of the sea so we just have to avoid them.  Called up one large ship by name (it had an AIS signal) as we were just about on a collision course.  He replied in Indonesian but obviously didn't understand a word I said, so we had to take in sails and motor around him.  If we had been sure he would stick to his course and speed we would have been through him!

So never a dull moment.  We have also caught 3 mahi mahi (released one) and a large baracuda (released with difficulty), and have had a pod of dolphins playing around the bow and escorting us along.  Good moonlight all night, it is just about full moon, and that makes a huge difference.

Bali Blog

Did you know that Bali was 'famous' for a type of coffee made by feeding civets coffee beans (ie the whole fruit), then collecting the beans which pass through their system, washing, roasting, grinding, and selling for exhorbitant sums. It's called Kopi Luwak. Evidently the acids in the animals stomach affect the composition of the bean giving it a special flavour. Now who thought that one up and did a good bit of marketing?

We have been anchored off a low-key resort area in north Bali for the last few days. Strange to be in an area with mainly European tourists, and a few Australians. There is a German baker, and the little grocery stores sell muesli and yoghurt. At dawn each morning the 'dawn patrol' sets off, a group of small local boats with a few tourists in fluorescent life jackets. They head out to find dolphins. When seen, they home in, only to find that the dolphins are far too intelligent to be herded like this, and they dive down out of sight. Then another fifteen minutes waiting for them to surface again. Hope the punters at least get a good sunrise for their money!

Yes, it's a tourist island. Every time we go ashore we are politely offered beads, carvings, fruit, clothing, transport, laundry done. We've had jerry cans of diesel fetched for us, laundry done, and have eaten in the local restaurants so feel we are supporting the local economy. We are not on holiday, and really don't want the goods on offer!

Yesterday we hired a car and driver to take us up into the cooler central mountains. We wanted to do some walking, and had the company of a Canadian whose wife has had to go back to Canada for a couple of weeks. He is a keen hiker. We were taken to a place where we could get a guide, and chose a 2 - 3 hour walk through the jungle and beside a couple of lakes. It was lovely, and saw no one else until we were nearly back to the road. The jungle had huge ancient fig trees, hanging moss, and creepers (one of which we were able to swing on Tarzan-like). A little 10-family village was tucked in among the trees. Self sufficient with cow, chickens, a bee hive, fruit trees and vegetable plot, and a lovely view from its hilltop position. Not far away was a Hindu temple in a clearing in the trees. Every day someone visits to sweep up leaves and leave offerings of rice and flowers. It was in the middle of nowhere, only footpath access. Another temple was beside one of the lakes, a quiet peaceful spot, again only accessible by footpath. From here steep steps, 350 at least, G counted, led back up to the road. A few muscles complaining today.

From there we drove to the main rice-growing area to see the bright green terraced paddy fields. Had lunch overlooking the fields - the men chose lemon chicken which turned out to be greasy deep-fried chicken skin. I did better with traditional mixed rice. Then to the coffee growing area (where we visited a place producing kopi luwak), to a market selling the locally grown mandarins and passion fruit. Also strawberries, but mainly for tourists we felt, the climate just isn't right.

I made the mistake of wanting to visit a famous temple, Puru Danau Bratan which is situated on a lake with mountains all around. A beautiful setting, and the temple has multi-storied thatched roofs and is set in lovely gardens. But it was swarming with tourists - some dressed in short shorts and sleeveless t-shirts, in spite of notices outside. A dawn visit would be necessary to appreciate it we felt.

So that has been 'our Bali'. Tomorrow we leave for Kalimantan, the southern part of Borneo. We will leave early and hope to get to an island where we could anchor for the night, but if we don't make it in time will just keep going, in which case we will be two nights out.

Markets and things

  A few days ago we visited the town of Bima on the island of Sumbawa. It is the busy port town for the island, about 10 miles down a creek.  We anchored close to all sorts of interesting traditional wooden cargo and fishing boats.  It's a very Muslim town, and from the anchorage we could see a variety of mosques, a gold dome, a cream concrete dome, a large bright turquoise dome, and a dull metal dome perched on a tiled roof with the sickle moon hanging at a broken angle from the top.  At 5am, they all sang out their calls to prayer, and it was a signal for the small fishing boats with their single cylinder diesel engines to start chugging out to sea.

  So an early start, and we decided to walk the couple of km to the market rather than get a pony cart, ride in a bemo (communal taxi) or hop on the back of a motor bike.  Along the road a group of men were shovelling cement into bags and loading it onto a lorry.  The air was thick with dust, and only a few of the men even had a piece of cloth tied around their faces.  They, the road, and the building was thick with the dust.  Plenty of health and safety hazards around.  Always deep holes in the pavements, maybe there were once manhole covers but probably not since independence.  The waste water drains below look awful, and we watched as a young guy put his motor bike too close to the edge of one of the open ditches and he and his bike toppled in.  No harm done, but hope he had a shower available not too far away.

  The market was larger and more crowded than any we have seen, an absolute swarming mass of humanity.  Very narrow passages between the stalls, which are only low wooden platforms, and many people sell their goods on the ground.  We actually found chicken - dead, plucked, and oven-ready!  There are places at the edge of the market where the live chickens are prepared, best not to look!  At least you know it is fresh, and although there were flies, we've seen worse.  (Cooked that night it was delicious).   All the inner bits and pieces were for sale too, including yards of intestines.  Could also have got beef, they were busy hacking up a carcass with a machete at another stall.  Huge range of vegetables, lots of green stuff, and several things that we didn't recognise at all.  Long strings of tobacco on one stall, betel nut of course, bottles of diesel for the motor bikes, and piles of rice and grains.  Ancient machines grated up coconut.  Huge piles of eggs (one thing there is no shortage of).  There were 4 of us, and we decided to get a ride back to the boat in a pony cart.  The carts are 2-wheeled, so climbing on and off needs care, and they are made for a population a head shorter than us, so getting legs, heads and bags of produce under the little sun awning was quite a feat.  I had quite forgotten that I'm quite allergic to horses, so spent the next hour or so wheezing like mad.  Worth is for the fun of the ride though.

  We have now arrived at Medina Bay Marina on the island of Lombok.  Next island is Bali!  It's not really a marina, but is a pleasant place with mooring balls, a beach, a restaurant and bar, and cold showers and a 'proper' flushing toilet (a first).  The mooring balls are far too close together, and some are right on the edge of the shallows so you have to choose carefully.  We, like several other boats have picked up a second mooring on a stern line so that we don't swing into another boat.  Only 50 yds from the dinghy dock so we row over in seconds.  And on the dock is a water hose, the easiest water we've had in this country.  It's not drinking water, but we put some bleach in it and are filling up the tank.  Actually scrubbed down the decks today, not a drop of rain since before Darwin so quite grubby.  Easy to organise diesel and laundry so all in all a good place for a few days.  The manager is married to an Englishman and has a good idea of the standards required for westerners.  Everything clean and swept.  Vegetable materials composted, and plastic bottles and drink cans recycled.

  It is the third day of the Ede festival which marks the end of Ramadan.  Lots of local families have been arriving by boat (and probably by road as well) to picnic on the beach further along.  We went for a walk this afternoon, and the beach, the shady area above, and the water line are all full of rubbish.  Three days of picnicing, and it is doubtful whether one single piece of rubbish has been put in a bin or taken home.  This country is the worst we have ever seen for rubbish pollution.  One interesting/amusing thing we noticed is that all the little boys run around and swim naked on the beach, and the little girls are well covered in trousers and t-shirts.

  Going back to the toilet situation, all the toilets we have seen so far, and we tend to make sure that we don't need to see them (not a problem in this hot weather), have had a large tiled tank of water next to the toilet with a scoop.  They may be hole-in-the-ground type or western type, but they don't ever have a flushing mechanism.  And no toilet paper of course, but we were used to that in Oman.  Essential to carry tissues to dry off, ever tried pouring a plastic jug of water onto the right place while keeping your clothes dry!!

Rinca Island

We missed Tony Blair and family by a day. When we went to the Ranger station on Rinca island in the Komodo area we were told that they had been there the day before for an almost un-announced visit. Saw their names in the book above ours! Enjoyed our visit, hope they did. The rangers in this world heritage site are young school leavers who speak good English, ours was trying to save up to go to university in Bali. Armed with a long, stout forked stick he took us on a walk around and told us all about the Komodo dragons which live on a few islands here and nowhere else.

They are large monitor lizards, several meters long, and have some pretty nasty habits. Their saliva is toxic, so they can kill animals much large than they are by biting them and then waiting a few days until the animal dies. Evidently the BBC were here last year making a programme about venoms and it is due to be shown/has been shown this year. Animals like buffalo are bitten from the back while drinking at a water hole - their horns and hard skull are good protection otherwise. Smaller animals like monkeys and deer are eaten straight away, the dragons' mouth opens very wide like a snake's. They have long sharp claws and can run short distances and swim a bit. Not an animal to antagonise! There are 3 males to each female, so they fight to get the woman, a good way to ensure survival of the fittest. The female digs a hole in the soil to lay and bury her eggs, and the babies climb up trees after they hatch and stay there eating insects and gekkoes for a couple of years. The safest place to be as the males are likely to eat them if peckish - and adult dragons can't climb trees.

We did another walk with our lad Eric the next day, starting in the cool of the morning at 7am when there were fewer other visitors. No need for the big stick, all the dragons we saw were pretty sleepy and completely ignored us!

We have spent the last couple of days anchored off beaches on the same island. In the morning and late afternoons dragons come down to the beach to have a snooze and to walk along the sand. They have a very acute sense of smell using nostrils and forked tongue, and one huge brute could definitely smell my frying onions, he even walked to the edge of the water and his snake-like tongue was 'feeling the air'. He decided not to swim over to investigate thank goodness. A troop of monkeys, a family of wild boar, and a couple of large brown deer were also taking their daily exercise.

This all makes a nice change from villages and people, friendly and interesting though they may be. Hardly anyone lives on these dry mountainous islands, and they are surrounded by rip tides rushing between them, not easy in a paddled canoe. The sea is crystal clear and snorkelling really good. Where we are at the moment we can swim to the reef from the boat. The corals are beautiful and there are clouds of small fish everywhere. Note the 'small', there just aren't any big fish. We caught a small tuna the other day, the first edible fish we have caught.

Riung

Actually managed to sail about half the way here, and of course today the wind has come up and we are not going anywhere! We were warned that it is more motor Indonesia than sail Indonesia, and that is certainly true. Most days it is possible to sail a bit with the land breeze in the early morning then the sea breeze in the early afternoon. In between there is usually no wind at all. Which makes for a nice calm sea but a lot of chugging. The fish tally is zero, we have been quite unable to buy chicken (except a live one, but even then not sure if it is for laying eggs or for eating!) so have had to resort to a tin of beef stew one night, bacon omelette another. Today we hope to eat out, but it is Independence Day so don't know what will be open.

We are anchored in a very pretty spot off the small town of Riung. There are several small islands around us where diving and snorkelling are supposed to be very good. One has a colony of fruit bats which flew over us yesterday evening (they eat mosquitoes which is good news). It is mainly a fishing town, and colourful wooden fishing boats are tied up along the long wooden jetty that stretches out over the mangrove shallows to deeper water. The houses closest to shore are built high on wooden stilts, and are presumably surrounded by water at high tide.

While G was changing the engine oil today I rowed over to the jetty and walked up the road to try and find some fruit and veg. The road was very quiet as most people were on the parade ground in their best clothes listening to speeches and singing various anthems and patriotic songs. The road is decorated with long flags of various colours attached to bamboo poles which sway in the breeze. Managed to find some bananas, a few tomatoes, a small cabbage, some carrots and a couple of drinking coconuts. Market day is Monday evidently (today is Wednesday).

Sea World Resort and Keli Mutu

We are gradually making our way westwards along the north coast of the long island of Flores, and spent a few nights anchored off the very low key Sea World Resort. It is run by a German priest and consists of a dozen wooden cabins with terraces onto the beach, a bar and a restaurant. All very clean and efficient as you would expect. On Saturday night there was a beach BBQ with fish kebabs cooked on a wood fire on the beach, and an excellent buffet. Best meal so far. The place also got high marks from us as there were taps everywhere for washing sand off feet and watering the plants. Not drinking water, but we could fill up jerry cans very easily to use for washing.

A couple of dinghies ran into trouble heading back to their boats from the beach in the dark as a fishing net had been put out between beach and boats and they ran straight into it. Large sums were demanded for a new net, and much negotiation took place. We were all quite sure that the net had been put there for the purpose, it was extremely unlikely they would catch any fish in that narrow strip of water. Nets are always a hazard, one boat ran into one yesterday out at sea; the floats were made of cut up bits of flip flops so were nearly invisible!

One of the must-visit places on Flores is Keli Mutu; three volcanic crater lakes close to each other and different colours. As clouds descend on the peaks during the morning and stay there most of the day it's important to arrive early so we arranged a car with driver for 5 of us, and set off at 4.30am. The first hour was dark so we just hoped that we had a good driver on the very winding road. As dawn cam up motor bike traffic increased, and dogs, goats and cows were wandering around. The locals were wrapped in their ikat blankets in the cool air.

For us, the journey up into the mountains was more interesting and worthwhile than the craters. There were hillsides of paddy fields, each small terrace surrounded by mud walls; water for the fields ran in concrete channels down the side of the road, and was used for laundry by the women, with the bushes covered with clothes drying in the sun. Pigs (mostly the small Vietnamese type) had made comfortable mud pools to keep themselves cool, definitely happy pigs. Cocoa seeds, betel nut and coconut were laid out to dry along the edge of the tarmac.

The craters can be visited via a path from the car parking area. Our old Lonely Planet Guide says that you can walk around the edge of a couple of them, but things are much stricter now, and officials with loud hailers call to anyone leaving the official route. The water changes colour from time to time, at the moment there is one bright turquoise, one a greeny turquoise and one a dark blackish green. In the past they have been red, blue, or cafe au lait. All due to the minerals welling up in them. They are an important religious and cultural site for the local people, and many myths about them. We were lucky that we were there on the day when the local elders process up the path to bless the lakes. It only happens every few years, and a large group of elderly men dressed in their traditional finery was assembling when we came down, and music with drums and metal gongs was playing.

Flores Island, Gedong

We have reach Flores, a long, narrow island, and at last we have found a little traditional village that is clean, neat, and delightful. We are anchored in a small bay very close to the rocky shore.  These volcanic islands drop straight into the depths of the sea. so in the centre of the bay we were in more than 200 m.  A couple of boats put stern lines out to the cliffs on one side, but we had a rocky beach behind so thought we had enough depth if we swung. Children paddled canoes or swam out to see us when we arrived, hoping for pens and exercise books (though they don't pester and always say thank you).  The men come hoping to sell bananas and drinking coconuts and asking for fishing lures.

On shore wooden dug-out canoes and larger boats designed to take a motor are being built.  No road access at all, so a motor boat with a chugging diesel engine is used for all communication.  Not even a mobile phone mast here, though most villages of any size do have one these days.  The village was up a steep track, past a suprisingly large school where all the children rushed to doors and windows as we passed to shout 'hello mister'.  The houses are wooden with thatched roofs, and little patches of cultivated ground for banana, papaya and a few vegetables.  All neatly fenced as protection from the pigs and chickens.

How we wish we could speak a bit more Bahasa Indonesia, the national language (a second language for most people)  We can manage the basic good morning, how much, good, thank you etc. and it is a very simple language (eg breakfast is eat morning, lunch is eat midday).  We asked for water and had taken a small jerry can with us, and while it filled a group of women were chatting and laughing around us.  The water seems to be piped from the mountain behind, and looks good though we only use it for washing clothes and ourselves, keeping the Aussie tank water for cooking washing up and drinking.

On the way to the village from our last anchorage we anchored off a reef for a couple of hours to snorkel.  The water was incredibly clear, in the high sunlight you could see the bottom 15m below the boat.  The coral was beautiful, lots of different types of soft corals, sponges, and feathery worms.  Very very few fish though, and the ones there were were of home aquarium size.  This whole area is very fished out - the markets are selling fish that we would normally put back in the water.  Not that we have caught anything at all recently - and were very happy to be invited to dinner on another boat as they had managed to hook a mahi mahi and a large wahoo on one day.  The only two fish we have heard of anyone catching around here.

In fact this rally is not an epicurian feast!  We have eaten out in the small towns we have been in, and have had various 'gala dinners' of welcome, but it is very rice based, and any fish or chicken is very over-cooked.  Vegetables are quite good, so it is a good place for vegetarians.  On board we still have a vacuum packed ham, but will soon be eating tins of tuna, stew and bully beef if no fish appear.

Balurin

A long day trip yesterday, no wind so 11hrs motoring. Wanted to find an anchorage with swimming and snorkelling and no town. (and away from dozens of other boats, only 3 of us here) Are in a lovely spot with a gently smoking volcano at one side. Small village but not very close. We were straight in the water when we arrived, no crocs, no stingers, and lovely temperature. Look forward to doing some snorkelling.

That is the plus side, on the other side our inverter packed up yesterday, and we have a new portable one (the sort to charge phone and computer in the car) but that stopped working too, and then the battery monitor went on strike. This morning G. got monitor working, and the portable inverter too, but it's not really powerful enough for charging and using computer (which we do en route to navigate with electronic charts).

So if you don't hear from us for a while that is the reason. We are in company with other boats so our whereabouts is known!

No fish, not even a nibble, but we did see a whale yesterday, spouting spectacularly for us.

ALOR (Kalabahi town) 3rd August

We left Kupang (East Timor) on Sunday for an overnight sail (140 miles) to Alor and the town of Kalabahi. Not much wind as we had been warned, so too much motoring for our liking. And no fish, just a large baracuda. We sailed when we could, so were well behind many other boats who started their engines as soon as their speed was less than 5 knots. Not a good idea in this case as they arrived at the inlet leading to Kalabahi as the tide was pouring out, and could hardly make headway. By the time we arrived it was slack water and then we had the flow with us so were doing 8.5 knots at one point and we all arrived within an hour of each other.

It is a pretty anchorage with the small town nestling below steep volcanic hills, and like Kupang, slightly smoky and misty which makes for wonderful sunsets and sunrises. It is a much cleaner place than Kupang though (or they had a special clean-up for our arrival). We were greeted by children in wooden outrigger canoes who have a few phrases of English, but get quite stumped when we answer them. This morning they were doing the rounds at 6am shouting their "hello, how are you" to the fleet who, if still asleep, wouldn't be much longer! Ramadan started on 1st Aug, so there are extra long calls to prayer from the mosque at 5am - luckily not very close to shore.

Managed to get some diesel yesterday ('solar'). Our jerry cans and those of 3 other boats were thrown into the back of an ancient pick-up, the men folk climbed in, and us two ladies sat up front with the blaring music. It was a good way to see a bit of the sprawling town. Bits of productive garden around each house with vegetables growing, and chickens and pigs roaming around. Lots of fruit trees - bananas, papaya and mango, the latter not quite ready yet. Went to a proper filling station, paid for the fuel, and then just paid our driver and assistant for their efforts. 35p a litre in this part of the world.

Also got a jerry can of water to use for washing - straight from a well with a bucket to lower down. It's slightly brackish, and not suitable for the water tank. Unfortunately our water maker is out of action, mainly because we haven't needed to use it for 3 years, so various replacement parts are needed. Still we left Darwin with all containers full of good water, and can buy drinking water and get washing water quite easily.

Before leaving Kupang we had a load of laundry done by a local lady, and it smells so powerfully of fabric conditioner that we have had to rinse it all again. It would have been better to have got it done here where they wash in a local stream and spread everything out over the bushes to dry.

Only 12 boats here the day we arrived, but yesterday many more came in so we are now about 35, too many for our liking, and we are looking forward to moving on to less frequented spots. The official activities start tomorrow with a welcoming ceremony in the morning and a dinner in the evening, but it is all very vague, and we heard some music and announcements in English booming out late yesterday afternoon when most people were back on their boats. We were told to put away out watches in Indonesia as time really doesn't mean anything!

We were looking for a chicken to buy on the market yesterday, having seen plenty in Kupang. Our 'guide', a teenager who wanted to practise his English was doubtful we would find one. When we returned to the dinghy we asked a tour guide who was hovering hopefully. He asked if we wanted a live one, and when I said that I would prefer it dead and ready to cook he said that we should just buy a live one and get it prepared - he could organise it of course. Later we heard that if we hunt down a Chinese grocery they will probably have frozen ones. And in the meantime we found a simple but clean restaurant and had nasi goreng, much less effort!

Kupang, 29th July 2011 - first impressions

Friday today, so the holy day in this mostly Muslim part of Indonesia. We have slept through the 5am call to prayer the last couple of days, but this morning it went on much longer. Much more tuneful than the rather harsh wailing we became used to in Oman, but a bit early nevertheless. So out on deck with a cup of tea at first light to watch mist and smoke rising off the land, the roar of scooters on the streets and a background of chickens waking up. No dogs barking (Islamic country) which seems strange as this is usually a part of the morning sound of similar places we have visited.

We arrived in the early hours of Wednesday, and had to stay on board until our boat had been inspected - as you can imagine most boats arrived within 24 hrs of each other, so 75 plus boats to be checked in. Eventually though two smiling officials came on board; and started to fill in and stamp with their stamps and ours, lots of bits of paper. They both wanted to inspect the boat, but really seemed most interested in where we kept our alcohol - and dropped many hints about maybe acquiring a bottle. (No sir, you have a job to do that doesn't involve presents).

Then yellow Quarantine flag down, red and white Indonesian one up, and we were ready to go ashore. A team of young lads were on the beach and paddled out to catch the dinghy then carried it up to be parked with rows of others. A wizened little man, with very few teeth and a mouth stained red with betel, had the job of taking the daily fee for carriage and storage.

The town is very dirty, rubbish everywhere. There are stories that bags of rubbish taken in by cruisers and given, as instructed, to the boat boys, are just thrown into the sea. The pavements are full of holes - slabs missing and just a large gap down to the drainage flowing below. The roads have a never ending stream of scooters and 'bemos' (communal taxis) hooting, playing loud music, and weaving in and out of people and other traffic. And having said all that there is a great atmosphere, cheerful friendly people, nobody loitering or drunk. There are streets of little shops selling a bit of everything - you could probably find almost anything you wanted but would have to search for a while.

I managed to lose my sunglasses overboard and didn't think I had a hope of finding more Polaroids, but am now looking very flashy in some wrap-arounds with a mirrored top strip!

We walked to the local market, narrow alleys, either dusty underfoot or muddy in the fish market where water is thrown over to keep the fish fresh. The Indonesians are a short race, and the strings fixing one stall to another were about forehead height for G to the great amusement of the stall holders.

There were 2 gala dinners given for the fleet, one by the governor and one by the mayor. Evidently a bit of competition to outdo each other! Both had traditional dancing and local music, a buffet dinner, and then a group playing western music for us to dance to. So two good evenings, and no need to cook on board. In fact we have eaten out every day since arriving. Rice with everything, and some unidentifiable meat - could be dog - but the vegetables are good.

Pegasus in Indonesia

   We finally got the anchor down at 2am (Wed), and are now waiting for customs and immigration to come on board.  They are with the boats next to us so hopefully we will be next.  When they have cleared us we have to go ashore for immigration,quarantine, and port clearance.  Lots and lots of form filling and paper work - our cruising permits issued before we left had stamps from 4 different people.  We may, or may not, be given a 'ratting certificate'  That would be something to hang on the wall!

  Not too much of a problem coming in in the dark, though fishing boats are either lit with a dazzling array of white lights, or with flashing green or red or white or nothing at all.  Luckily they mainly come and go at dawn and dusk.  Lots of fish farms to avoid though we had waypoints and info from a boat that had come in during the day.

en route for east timor

Well that was quite a start line with more than 100 boats. Some left early, cheats! There is a prize for the best dressed boat crossing the start line, and as we had done a last minute bit of laundry that morning we contemplated festooning the rigging with undies. However in the end just put the bunting flags up - very few people did anything so we are in with a chance.

As it is a 4-day trip we decided not to motor unless really uncomfortable; consequently we landed up near the back of the fleet. Didn't matter (except to our moral) as on the whole we have had good winds and are now in the middle of the pack with many people slowing down as they don't want to arrive in the dark. It is likely that we will arrive in the dark too, but are waiting until tomorrow morning to see how far we have still to go.

So our position is 11 19.568 and 126 14.496 at 16.00 25th July. One small albacor tuna in the frig. Hardly anyone in sight, amazing how they all spread out. G talked to a (British) tanker last night who was having a job wending his way across with all the blobs on his radar. He didn't know what was going on!

Darwin

It is evidently the coolest July in Darwin for many years, and we are enjoying the fact that although temps rise to 32 C in the middle of the day, it is pleasant and comfortable the rest of the time and humidity is low. We had heard many complaints about the place, the heat being one, so we are lucky.

Another complaint was that anchored as we are in shallow Fannie Bay, tides can be up to 8 metres, so huge expanses of soft mud are exposed and it is difficult getting the dinghy in. Also wrong, tides are only that big at springs, and we have managed to go in at high or half tides when the hard sand (no mud) is no problem at all.

In fact we are really enjoying being here. Darwin is a small city and we can cycle to the centre easily. Buses are cheap so a trip to the more distant large shopping mall is also easy. Most of the boats have arrived, and it is fun meeting up with old friends and making new ones. 110 boats registered for the rally, but a proportion of those are in the 3 marinas, and the anchoring area is huge anyway. The first time we will see everyone together will be at a BBQ next Saturday. In the meantime we head over to the Darwin Sailing Club where we all have temporary membership and can have a beer on the large outdoor terrace to watch the sun go down. No rain and very little cloud in the sky so sunsets are pretty good.

Darwin was just about destroyed in cyclone Tracy in 1974, only 400 houses remaining undamaged. Consequently it has been rebuilt with more substantial buildings and more thought to planning hence walkways, cycle tracks and pedestrian shopping areas. The Northern Territory has the largest percentage of Aboriginees, and their culture and art is visible everywhere, in museums, craft centres and street art. There are still huge gaps between these communities and the country as a whole. Life expectancy, general health, educational levels, unemployment, alchohol and drug abuse, domestic violence, and crime levels are a worry. So at least it is good that after years of abuse and neglect the Aboriginal culture is being appreciated.

For the last few months we haven’t looked far beyond arrival in Darwin, so now are starting to think about Indonesia and what we will see there. I’m pretty sure we will find the corruption and disorganisation infuriating at times, but are looking forward to seeing somewhere that is new to both of us.

Darwin

After shooting through the narrower channels with the tide at over 10 knots we arrived in Darwin at about 8pm yesterday evening. It wasn't all fast as you have to ride the tide from Cape Don, then have a middle patch which is against the tide but wide so not much flow, then pick up the tide again for the last part. We came in with the radar on so that we could pick up anchored boats, and suddenly saw a large area of blobs just where we were planning to anchor. It was a strange shape so thought it was a fish farm so anchored to one side of it. This morning of course we realized that the blobs were all anchored boats! Haven't counted but there must be about 50 yachts here (plus 3 marinas all full). At the latest count 110 boats on the rally.

As we have mentioned the tides are up to 9 metres in Darwin, so the best time to get the dinghy to land is at high tide or you have a long drag up the sand. Our new dinghy wheels will be put to good use, though they do have 2 trolleys for the purpose at the yacht club. We went in to get our bearings and find out where things are, and tomorrow will take the bikes in as it looks as though we can easily cycle into the city from here. We have to visit customs for duty free fuel permits, and get our visas from the Indonesian consulate.

Glad we are anchored out as it is quite hot - 32 C today. A breeze on the boat and we have the sun awning up so not too bad. More when we have explored a bit. Nice to have radio reception and to have mobile and internet access again.

On to Darwin

We left Two Island Bay yesterday morning, having had another day there walking the beach and finding fresh croc tracks and a pretty old whale skull. Lovely spot. The idea was to do an overnight to Oxley Island, across the big bay to the north of Arnhem Land. We are going really well though, a fast a pretty comfortable trip so have more or less decided to keep going to Darwin. May have to stop somewhere to wait for the tide which runs very strongly and gives you a fantastic run for 84 miles!

hello from the northern territory

We have arrived safely in the Wessel Islands after a passage that was quite reasonable. Having waited for a few days for a bit less wind, it was still forecast 20 - 25, but for the first few hours we had next to no wind and had to motor; not what was expected. We had current with us, but the waves were quite large and we were rolling around so had to put on more speed. After that though the wind came up and the motor was only on to get into the anchorage at this end.

There have been a lot of sailing boats to keep an eye open for - probably because everyone was waiting for better weather. Some were coming from Thursday Island so were on a different trajectory. And the nights were very dark, no moon until a little bit comes up near dawn. Shipping wasn't a problem as they keep to recommended routes, and we were well away from them. No fishing boats at all which was a relief!

We, and about nine other boats were 'buzzed' by the borderland protection patrol plane. With Papua New Guinea so close the waters are strictly patrolled. Must be quite a fun job flying around in a little plane going low over the boats to read the name then calling them up. A couple didn't answer, not sure what happens then.

I ran a net for the half dozen boats that left Seisia with us - it was G's idea, and he volunteered me. Thanks. Anyway it is good to know where boats are and the conditions they are experiencing - the last boats have had lots of rain, and we've just been ahead of it.

The anchorage is lovely, a large calm bay by these low-lying islands. Will probably stay for at least a day, evidently you can walk on land, though it is croc country so no swimming.

Good fishing - a small mahi mahi for dinner tonight, and a medium sized albacore tuna for the next couple of days. Did I tell you that, in difficult windy conditions, we smoked some of the last tuna?

Hello from Seisia

Dawn found us sailing round the tip of Cape York, following in Capt Cook's wake; he was celebrating having clear water ahead at last and having reached the end of the reefs that had caused him so much trouble. There are lots of little islands around here but they are easy to see and mostly steep to.

At one stage we were doing 7 knots in 6 knots wind as we had left early to get the tidal flow. By 9am we were anchored between Red Island and the little township of Seisia. This is the destination for the 4-wheel drive tours that do the 'far north' trip. Consequently there is a camp site with laundry and lots of drying lines, a kiosk for ice creams and snacks, and a small but very well stocked supermarket. Prices higher but then you would expect it here so far from anywhere.

It's a dry little place of red dust and scrub, mostly aboriginal inhabitants. Notices in the supermarket say no school age children allowed in the shop between 8am and 3pm; truancy is a big problem as is alchohol. Unemployment is huge. Nevertheless the town is neat and clean, plenty of government money pumped in I should imagine.

Still haven't seen a croc though there are warning signs on the beach - don't paddle or swim, be careful launching dinghies, don't gut fish on the beach. Not that the locals seem to take much notice.

We'll be here a few days until conditions are right to cross the Gulf of Carpenteria.

we've reached the top

We have now sailed all the way from the (equivalent of) the southernmost point of mainland Australia, somewhere in the middle of the Bass Straits, to the (equivalent of) the most northerly. Left in the early hours of the morning for the 85 miles to Mount Adolphus Island, NE of Cape York.

Our frig is full of fish, but had we needed more it wouldn't have been a problem, there were flocks of seabirds pecking up the jumping shoals of little fish, no doubt being herded by bigger ones. And as we entered the anchorage kingfish were jumping out of the water, also to escape something larger. We haven't seen a croc yet, but others have and they are certainly around. Yesterday we went for a bit of a bush walk (marked with blue bits of plastic, shoes, bottles, floats etc. by other cruisers) and saw a couple of bush pigs, quite exciting enough, particularly as we had to paddle through some bits of mangrove swamp, perfect croc habitat.

A day off tomorrow, we've been on the go for 5 days now. It has been the best 5 days of sailing ever I think with constant winds, no big waves, and great speeds. Also for me a completely non-queasy experience.

Hello from Margaret Bay

A short trip, we were anchored in Margaret Bay for lunch. (Beat Hocus Pocus today) And lunch was a very freshly caught albacore tuna - thin slices raw with lemon and teriyaki and freshly baked bread. This life is not all roughing it!

The next leg is a long one, nearly up to Cape York, the top of the east coast, so it will be a 2 or 3 am start. We're getting quite used to being in bed by 8pm! Not easy to do overnight passages unless you stay in the shipping lanes, but then you have ships to contend with.

hello from portland roads

A mainland anchorage tonight, Portland Roads. Only possible to get to shore at high tide and we've missed that and will be off tomorrow so are taking it easy on board. Caught another mackerel today, so no lack of fresh fish.

Forgot to mention yesterday that a couple of largish ribs with double powerful outboards came into the anchorage. They came beside us for a chat and it appears they are circumnavigating Australia in aid of polio eradication. What a trip, in open boats where they sleep and presumably cook, only a sun awning over them. They have a website - followtheyellowboatroad.com which would be worth having a look at.

For the last three days we have been travelling in company with a couple of Swedish boats, one of which is very similar speed to us. When crossing the Pacific there was a boat called Kelsey, and Catch Kelsey became our aim as we got a little closer each day. Now it is Hocus Pocus we have to catch, so it's Hammer Hocus! We beat him yesterday but he was first in today by a few minutes.

Hello from Morris Island

Another rather slow day until the sea breeze picked up about 2am. Even had to motor for an hour. Arrived by 4.30 behind a little sandy atoll, Morris Island, which has one tall palm tree and one short one and a good crop of sisal. The story is that palms and sisal were planted on these little islands for the benefit of those who might get marooned there - the long stalks of the sisal being used to get down the coconuts, and I suppose practical sailors could also make themselves some rope and maybe a bit of clothing from the sisal. On this little patch of sand the sisal has done better than the coconuts. There is a grave under one of the palm trees, no name on it, but probably someone died on a ship and was put ashore here. People have decorated the grave with various shells and choice bits of flotsam and jetsam.

hello from flinders island

A long sail today, left at 4am, and arrived here at 5pm. Not quite such good speeds as recently, but a very pleasant calm sail. Being inside the Barrier Reef (which as I mentioned is closer to the mainland here than further south) the water is pretty calm considering the wind strengths. So we are anchored between two islands of the Flinders Group with 5 other boats. Fishing boats also come here for the day and go off fishing at night time.

C, heard a geologist cruiser say there were stromatolites around here??

No fish caught in spite of being near islands and reefs all day - maybe because it is full moon, fishing is never good then. One dolphin seen, the first for a long time.

Hello from Lizard Island

Wed. 15th June


We like this trade wind sailing.  15 - 20 knots SE yesterday, and we never averaged less than 7 kts.  Consequently arrived in Lizard Island for a late lunch.  Although we knew that it was a popular anchorage we were surprised to see about twenty boats here, from US, Canada, UK, NL, German and Scandinavia as well as Australia.  Some Dutch friends last seen in Auckland amongst them.  Ten minutes after anchoring a dinghy came by saying that there was a get-together on the beach for drinks.  We really felt we were back in island cruising mode!


It is a lovely island.  This bay has a beautiful beach, and lots of patches of reef which are supposed to be excellent for snorkelling though we haven't been for a dip yet.  It's the last swimming place as all future anchorages will have the danger of crocs (see more below).  This morning we walked up to Cook's Lookout, a steep hour's scramble with great views all around from the top, including the fairly continuous line of the barrier reef. (depths fall straight down to 2000m outside)  Cook climbed up here to look for a gap in the reef.  He saw one, and they managed to get through although it wasn't the widest, and it must have been pretty hairy in such a non-manoeverable ship.  Cook named the island because of all the large lizards they saw here (goannas).  There are evidently still a lot, and we saw the ground burrows they dig, but it is winter time and we think they must be hibernating as no one seems to have seen one over the last couple of weeks.  The weather is cool for this area at the moment so that could be the reason.


As usual on such occasions we took advantage of the get-together yesterday evening to get info about anchorages ahead, and as well as excellent advice from an elderly Aussy couple who have been up and down the coast twelve times, we have also been able to copy cruising guides for the northern territory, Indonesia and Thailand onto our computer.  Several boats left today, and more tomorrow but we want to stay another day and do another walk and some swimming.


On the technical and maintenance side, which never finishes of course, we have been fitting wheels to the dinghy this afternoon.  Darwin has huge tides so dinghies have to be pulled over considerable distances of sand when the tide is out.  The marinas are only accessed by locks.   Also our outboard doesn't like running slowly, goes fine when we zoom along, then dies when we try to slow down.  So we have been making rather dramatic arrivals either speeding up to our destination or having to row the last few yards.  G has looked at it once, but to no avail.

More on crocs.  The rules are don't go to the beach or in shallow water in your dinghy after dusk, don't fish from a beach, don't throw food scraps overboard, and lift your dinghy out of the water at night.  So there you have it.


Thur 16th June


The lost email popped up again when I just turned on the computer.  Now a bit more to report.  The outboard has been fixed by pricking a slightly blocked jet with a needle.  It seems fine, hope it remains so.  The dinghy wheels have been tried out and are good - though you still have to lift the front of the dinghy like you would a heavily laden wheelbarrow.


We had a snorkel this morning over a patch of coral that is a giant clam area.  And they are huge, some a meter across;  wouldn't like to get an arm or a leg too close.  Not as pretty as the small ones with their bright green and blue edges but pretty impressive.  There was a project here to breed them some years ago as they were getting quite rare, and it has been so successful that they have been able to populate various other areas.


Also went for another (flat) walk which took us past the research station where we talked to a lad doing a PhD project on why coral trout allow some little fish right into their mouths (to clean presumably) and never eat them!  While there we saw a large goanna strolling across the sandy track.  A good morning all in all.


We will be leaving in the early hours tomorrow morning for an 80 mile trip to Flinders Island.

Hello from Lizard Island

Just wrote a long email and have lost it so will write again, but for now will just say that we are in Lizard Island and will stay here tomorrow as well.

And the fishing record is two good sized tasty spotted mackerel. A lot of waters in these parts are protected so no fishing near islands or reef.

Hello from Cooktown

Had a romping sail to Cooktown this morning. Hitting 9 and 10 knots sometimes with the wind behind and sun shining. Cooktown is, as we knew, a bit shallow, but the local volunteer coastguard recommended a spot to anchor very close to the jetty and town. There weren't as many boats as we had thought there might be luckily as with fairly strong winds and a 2 - 3 knot tidal flow we dance around and need plenty of room. Didn't do too much dancing, as at low tide we touched on the soft mud/sand bottom so didn't move for an hour or two.

It is a delightful little town, making the most of the fact that Cook called in here to repair the Endeavour after hitting a reef. He had put a sail round the hull to cover the hole, and then careened her on a beach here for repairs. It is hard to imagine anyone sailing up here with no idea where the reef was, it gets pretty close to the mainland with various patches to be avoided. He was trying to find a way through the reef when he came to grief. This is the last town before Darwin (still about 1,000 miles away), so we did a load of laundry, got rid of our rubbish, and filled a few can of water as well as stocking up with fruit and veg from the only small supermarket.

So we are ready to go at first light tomorrow, and hope to get to Lizard Island before dark. We are looking forward to Lizard which is supposed to be a lovely place with good walks (including the climb up to Cook's Peak from where he spied his passage through the Barrier Reef.)

hello from hope island

It is early afternoon Sunday, and we have just picked up the one and only mooring buoy off a little island, one of the two Hope Islands. Luckily visibility is good as we had to wend our way through patches of reef and a few lone rocks to get here - and getting out is easier, we can head due north. Another (German) boat that was in Low island with us is just making her way in so we will have a bit of company. We have a view of a little wooded island with white sand around it and lots of birds on the beach, patches of reef giving good protection, and a background of the hills of the mainland. We're definitely back in cruising mode! Later.... have 'done' the island which has a camp site, or at least 2 picnic tables and a couple of clearings in the bush. A couple of pelicans standing guard on the rocks and a lot of white egrets.

Spent another day at Low island yesterday, and took a walk around it (15 mins at most). Saw the lighthouse which is the original from 1878, and there is also a research station dating from the 1920's when some of the first surveys of the reef were made. This is where J spends much of her time with her turtle project, and she lives on her boat.

Tomorrow to Cooktown, not far from here and we can anchor in the river. Hope laundry and supermarket will be open in spite of it being a public holiday (for the Queen's Birthday!)

hello from the low isles

Made good progress yesterday and last night, and at lunch time today (Fri) picked up another mooring in the Low Isles. These are just offshore from Port Douglas, so we are now north of Cairns. It's a pretty spot, a little island with sandy beaches all round and a lighthouse; and large areas of reef and mangroves. Very popular with tourist boats, so large groups snorkelling and on the beach. Being a no-fishing area large fishes swim round the boats hoping for scraps. Our visitors are two black tipped sharks, a remora (shark sucker), and some large angel fish. G had planned to go under the boat to clean up the prop, but it is overcast and (comparatively) chilly, and those sharks....... The mainland around here is croc country, but we have been assured that they are hardly ever found offshore or in clear water. The stinger season is over, so those stinger suits will only be worn for warmth now.

Not much time to rest last night. Not as many ships as we thought there might be in the vicinity of Cairns, as they were all at anchor for the night. However fishing trawlers were out in full force, and as you can imagine they make us rather nervous. So we had radar on and a decklight shining on the sails. One decided to pull in his nets and turn towards us just as we thought he was safely past so it was on with the motor and full steam ahead until he was safely astern! Also the Barrier Reef gets closer to land here, so careful navigation is required to avoid various bits of reef and little islands. Not a problem, there's plenty of space, but you can't just steer a straight course.

Evidently Monday is a public holiday for the Queen's Birthday, and Cooktown, a long day's journey further, has a Captn Cook festival over the weekend. We have to go there anyway as it is the last town before Darwin, so we have to have enough food and water on board for a few weeks. Tomorrow we may go part of the way, to Hope Island, then to Cooktown on Sunday.

Progress report

Repairs are progressing slowly. Two stays are up, but the two mast-head ones have to go through spreaders, and the old wires are stuck fast. We managed to get it all down on deck, and our helpful metal worker has all the bits. He may have to make a new piece of railing for the bit round the front as it is too bent to straighten. One of the most difficult things at the moment is the foil that has the front stay through it and takes the stress of the genoa. It is very bent at the bottom and can't be replaced except from Amel in France. Hopefully a cover can be made for the lower section but we have to make sure it is strong enough. Also the motor for the main furler has to have a new bearing, it has been getting noisy and didn't like the extra bashing with the collision. Also very difficult to get apart.

We expect to be here for another 10 days or so; not much point moving until everything is fixed as the next place to get things will be Darwin (except for Cairns which is not far up the road).

Pegasus in gradual rehab

Good to talk to you this morning. You are right that we should be in touch every time we sail - on this particular occasion we didn't 'log in' with the coast guard either (which we usually do for long trips), so no one knew where we were, and if we had sunk........... A lesson learned.

Anyway we are in Breakwater Marina in Townsville, and will be here for at least a week.

Have made quite good progress this morning. We had Staylock rigging fittings on board, sufficient for all 3 stays broken. Also one length of new wire rope which is sufficient for the two shorter stays. So we have been measuring and fitting them. Once we have got them up the mast will be more secure and G can go to the top of the mast to undo the top broken stay and inspect the nav light which looks as though it is missing - a top cover was found on the deck.

As I write we have a metal worker on board discussing pulpit and other bits of re-shaping, and modifications to the sleeve of the genoa furler. It is an Amel special so not replaceable here, and anyway only the bottom foot or two is damaged so we hope a new bit can be made and attached. People have been very helpful (and everyone has a tale to tell of major incidents afloat) and as I think I mentioned, a customer in a chandlers we were in yesterday took us under his wing and drove us all over the place hunting for rigging wire of the right size and a metal worker. He has a couple of boats in the marina, and a house in Brisbane, and is the sort of person who knows everyone (a S. African as it happens!).

As to what happened, we were about 26 miles offshore, sailing for another island between here and Cairns. No moon, very dark. G saw lights (but no AIS signal, so not a big ship), and a green light so all seemed well to pass starboard to starboard. Obviously misjudged the distance as he was down below when it happened. The most awful noise you can imagine. I had been asleep, and came up to see a large fishing boat with both outriggers out, well and truly tangled in our rigging and making terrible noises as it clashed against our hull. Fortunately we were not as tangled as we looked (I thought we probably had our keel an prop tangled in his nets as well), and were able to put the engine on and reverse out. At that stage we didn't know that our mast light wasn't working any more, so the skipper of the fishing boat didn't know where we were and thought we might have sunk. I heard him on the radio and we put our motoring lights on and were able to tell him and the authorities that we were still afloat, uninjured, and didn't seem to be taking on water.

G had realised that we had no support to the mast on the starboard side, and did a great job using the halyards to stabilize things.

The fishing boat only had one guy on board, and was obviously busy with his nets and hadn't seen us at all. He followed us most of the way to Townsville, and the coastguard called up every hour. We motored our way very gingerly the 26m to Magnetic Island, the nearest safe anchorage. The sea was fairly calm and there wasn't much wind, but nevertheless every time a wave hit us from the side the whole rig swayed alarmingly; really scary. Arrived at anchor at about 2.30; did some more securing of things, had a brandy, and dropped into bed at about 4am. G up at 7am to have a look at things in daylight.

You know that feeling when you really don't want to face the day, but want to stay under the blankets?! G had thought that the hull was cracked when he had looked by torchlight, and I was dreading the inspection. Well, the hull is untouched though the rubber rubbing strip is very battered and torn. Bits of ragged rigging wire were dangling everywhere, plus the bent remains of the poling out system, a completely tattered genoa was flapping in the wind (we weren't able to furl it properly), and the railing round the pulpit was bent right over. It all looked much better when tied up so that nothing was flapping. Yesterday morning we move the few miles round to this marina (a 5.15 start to get the tide as the entrance is very shallow) and were able to start work.

So that is the sorry saga, but we now realise just how lucky we were to have got off so lightly. The mast must have stayed up with sky hooks. And of course the fact that we weren't injured.

A very bad night

A nightmare come true. Last night we had a collision with a fishing boat out at sea. Its 'arms' wiped out stays and did a lot of damage. Goodness knows how the mast stayed up but it did, and G managed to stabilize it sufficiently to get us the 25 miles to the nearest safe anchorage. Of course it was one of those pitch black nights. We are now waiting for a visit from the marine safety people so can't get on and do anything until they have had a look. More later.

Our other life

(May 16)

Since 3am this morning we have been at anchor in Refuge Bay, Scawfell Island (whole area has islands named after the Lake District). A refuge it is indeed as since nightfall we had had 25knot winds, and increasing seas. Wind on our stern so very rolly. At one point the forecast front found us, so for an hour there was some or lots of wind coming from all directions. Lots of roll and not much progress. Of course as soon as we furled the sails and started motoring the wind came up (to 30) and we were on our way.

So we are a short hop from the Whitsundays, but will probably hunker down here for a couple of days until the wind and seas die down. 3m swell today, no thank you.

As I may have mentioned in my last, we have tuna fish cakes in the frig. and had a tasty blue runner for lunch a couple of days ago.

Anchorage has 2 American, 2 German and a Swedish boat, quite a difference from our Christmas trip up this way.

Bongaree

After a very comfortable couple of weeks in Mooloolaba we thought we had better get ourselves within striking distance of Scarborough, and the forecast looked OK. In fact we motored most of the 35 miles with a light wind on the nose, not what was forecast. Wonder how many times we have said that! And not a bite on the fishing line even though the water is clean and clear now.

Arrived early afternoon at the southern end of Bribie Island, only 5 nm from Scarborough. Bribie has a narrow waterway separating it from the mainland, and is accessible by bridge. Very popular place for retired people to come and live! There is the largest bowls club we have ever seen where a big competition was taking place yesterday; and today the church folk were coming out, hardly a young person to be seen at either venue. Because of this everyone is very friendly and chatty.

Also popular for days out with little children as the water is calm and OK for swimming. Geoff thinks that we came here with Barbara when we visited in 1979 so that you could play on the beach. A large northern part of the island is national park, and we also came here with Barbara and Bob when they lived in Brisbane and camped and kayaked down the waterway, it was lovely.

The Great Sandy Strait

No fish, but with the water a thick brown from the floods don't think the fish could see the lure anyway, and we might hook up something much nastier. Heard on the VHF that someone had reported seeing a piece of jetty floating with 2m of concrete post above the water and goodness knows how much below. Not a thing to bump into at night. They have had mine sweepers out in Morton Bay off Brisbane to detect things on the bottom or below the surface.

A day trip today, carefully calculated for the tides, as we are transiting the Great Sandy Strait between the mainland and Frazer Island. Frazer Island is a huge (120 x 15 km) sand spit, mostly wooded over, and with freshwater lakes. A world heritage site, and has several 'eco' resorts as well as being very popular with day visitors, walkers and campers. The Strait is the shallow, sandy divide. Fairly narrow so tides rip through - from both ends. There is a particularly shallow spot in the middle which is the 'watershed'. Our plan was to get to this point, running with the incoming flow from the north, before high tide so that we had time with increasing depths should we go aground. All went well, and we have a nice sheltered anchorage with a little beach, picnic area, and tracks leading from it. Position 25 37.813 and 152 58.406. Will attempt the rest of the Strait tomorrow or the next day.

We hear that a possible cyclone is forming off the north Queensland coast so are keeping an eye on that though it sounds as though it will head out to sea.

Had quite a funny incident yesterday in our previous anchorage where the current also rushed through at about 3 knots (turning the prop generator nearly fast enough to generate). Suddenly a voice nearbye called us, and when we went out a boat was passing very close by telling us that we were dragging. Actually they were dragging, but had suddenly seen our boat from down below and didn't realise that they had moved. By the time they got their anchor up and had turned around they were several hundred metres further downstream. A bit of a red face there, but we chatted to them later and had a good laugh about it. Just lucky that 'close' wasn't collision or it wouldn't have been amusing at all.

A bit further south

The weather forecast said there would be a bit of north wind for a couple of days, so we left the little marina of Rosslyn the day before yesterday and arrived another 200 kms further south, in Great Sandy Strait, early this morning.

Rosslyn is opposite Great Keppel Island, not far away. It had an ancient battered courtesy car so we were able to drive the 8 km to the nearest shops and do a good stock up. As often happens the indicator and windscreen wiper controls were not on the usual side, so at every junction there would be a great screech of dry wipers! Excitement the evening we were there as a boat caught fire just upwind of us. We smelt smoke and in no time flames were roaring inside. The fire brigade arrived very quickly but we were worried that gas tank or fuel would explode and decided to take Pegasus out of the berth for a while. Evidently it was the second boat in a week to catch fire so arson was suspected and police were on duty all night and the next day until the boat was towed away.

Terrible weather forecast for the coast we were passing yesterday, thunder storms, hail, and lots of rain. Luckily out at sea the sun was shining, and we only had a couple of showers. It was a very slow trip though, and the wind didn't blow from the north all the time. In the early hours of this morning we had 25 - 30 knots on the nose, and were only managing 2 knots under motor as the current was against us as well. So we are pleased to be in these sheltered waters between Frazer Island and the mainland.

Progress report II

We arrived in Great Keppel Island at about 2am this morning, making our way carefully into the bay with a combination of radar and chart, hoping that all boats at anchor were showing lights. We had to pass a big rock on the way in which kept us on our toes. By the light of day - sunny again - it is a lovely spot with long beaches and a network of walking tracks. Not having had much sleep for the last couple of nights we are feeling a bit blotto today, time for another cup of coffee.

As you may have heard, Brisbane is now the focus for flooding. You got out just in time P and S! The tale of disaster just goes on and on with 90 people missing at the moment, particularly due to some unexpected flash flooding yesterday. We are off Rockhampton now, and the water round the island is very brown and murky - not clear and beautiful as the guide book says.

Caught a good size tuna yesterday - the only bite in two days, so quite a surprise!

Plan to stay here for a couple of days. Position 23 09 770 and 150 57 047