Category Archives: sailing adventure
Underwater at Lankayan Island
This story is old news now but I’d written it and it continues the story so I decided to post it.
The entrance to the resort
We spent the next couple of days making our way south stopping at average anchorages. The wind had been quite strong making everywhere quite rolly. We were with the rally group of a dozen or so boats. One of the original stops had been the island of Lankayan but we had been told by one of the cruisers that it was expensive because they were charging for anchoring, snorkelling and even to walk on the beach and to give it a wide berth. Wednesday 9th July we decided to head south with our friends on Jackster, an Amel, who soon disappeared over the horizon. The original plan had been to sail as far as the Turtle islands but the wind had been very fickle and we realised we couldn’t catch Jackster up and wouldn’t make Turtle island before nightfall. As we were passing Lankayan I contacted them to see if one of their buoys was available, luckily all three were. It was very hard to spot because it didn’t have a buoy attached to it just the line lying in the water. Luckily the resort sent one of their little boats out to show us where it was.
The lodges on the beachfront
For those coming behind us the waypoint for the buoy is
06º30.1N
117º54.7E
it’s the nearest one to the resort the other two are just behind it. The resort listens to VHF16. It was only 3pm so we decided to go ashore and see how much they were going to charge us. It turned out they didn’t charge for their buoys or even to anchor they just charge MYR25 (£5) per person per day conservation charge. For that you can tie up to their jetty, snorkel their beautiful coral round in front of the resort, walk on the beach, and do what you like.
Looking out to the restaurant built over the water
So we were glad we stopped, it was a beautiful spot. The island was very small and could easily be walked in less than an hour. Interestingly all around the seaward side were manned machine gun posts. There has been a lot of trouble recently with the Filipinos coming over and bothering the tourists. We don’t think any one has been harmed but they didn’t seem to want to take any chances.
Looking from the restaurant back to the island
Beautiful coral
The next day we decided to get in the water. We had two snorkels that day. We took the dinghy to the jetty and just swam off of it and the second one was further out which needed the dinghy.
Blue stag coral
We found an amazing amount of the most superb coral, some of the best we’ve seen since Fiji, and in wonderful colours. The water clarity wasn’t as good as Fiji but the coral was beautiful. Further out was even better away from the tourist area.
Plate coral
Each one of these plate corals is the size of a dining table.
We saw several of these blue starfish
Blue starfish
Blue clams embedded in the rock
And the most remarkable clams of vibrant blues
Angel fish
Little blue fish
So many fish of all sorts. Angel fish, parrot fish, sergeant majors,
Parrot fish
Little white fish under the jetty
A big Billum fish
And a big Billum fish.
So it just goes to show you should always see these places for yourself and don’t be put off by other people’s comments.
Joining the Rally in Kudat
Leaving the Rig support vessels behind
At the beginning of the journey to Kudat a gentle breeze in filled our sails and gave us 2.2kts of speed, hmmmm this was going to take a while. We realised that the island was shielding us from the wind and, despite hoisting the cruising chute, we’d have to motor. We soon left the rig support vessels behind us in the distance. If you look in the foreground of this photo you can see the tips of part of a tree sticking up in the water. That’s the sort of thing we have to look for on this coast, the tropical equivalent to icebergs.
Mount Kinabalu shrouded in cloud
We had decided to do one more night sail mainly to catch up with the rally but also, with the swell that was running, any anchorage on this side of the peninsular would have been untenable. By 15.00, when the sea breezes set in, the mainsail and the cruising chute were back up and the engine was off; we were sailing again. By 18.00 the wind had got stronger and the cruising chute was replaced by the genny and the sea was getting rougher. By 23.00 the wind died completely and the engine was back on. I went to bed at 2am, although sleep was impossible in the swell that was hitting Camomile from the west. Bill came up on watch just in time for the squalls to start; poor Bill got soaked. The wind was up and down during the night, as the squalls crossed our path. At 6am I came back on watch and we were sailing although it was like a washing machine down below and I hadn’t slept much. Bill went down to try to sleep but by 10.00 he was back on deck as we started having 30/35kt squalls. This is Mount Kinabalu, I had hoped to see it in all its glory but it was shrouded in cloud for our journey. Unfortunately we had the tide against us giving us wind against tide and we were only achieving a boat speed of 4kts.
Approaching the northern tip of Borneo
At 2pm we rounded the tip of Borneo, this is the most northerly part of mainland Malaysia.
Much calmer on the eastern side
Thankfully the swell disappeared as we started heading south on the other side of the peninsular. I was hoping we would arrive in time for the trip the rally were running to a Longhouse further inland that was leaving at 4pm, the GPS was giving us an arrival time of 16.01! As we approached I called our friends on the boat Jackster and asked them if the coach would wait for me, although Bill wouldn’t be able to leave Camomile if we had only just anchored. As we arrived at the anchorage and dropped the anchor it was indeed 16.01, how clever is that? Dave very kindly came out to get me in their dinghy and I was whisked away leaving poor Bill to sort the boat out. Luckily he didn’t mind.
A traditional Long house
After a drive of about ¾ of an hour we arrived at the traditional Longhouse, which is one of the distinctive features of Dayak life. The longhouse was raised above the damp jungle floor on stilts and built alongside the beach. In fact this was the stretch of coastline we had battled along earlier in the day. Some longhouses have whole villages living in them but this one was available for guests. It consisted of a long covered veranda along which were rows of doors giving access to the basic rooms.
Drinking from a fresh coconut
We were invited to sit down inside the veranda and offered fresh coconuts with the top sliced off allowing us to drink the delicious liquid inside them.
Village girls in local costume
The rally was invited onto the beach to watch local girls performing some traditional dancing. Their costumes were beautifully made. The guy on the end seemed to be doing his own thing.
Clever dance using bamboo poles
The rocks behind the beach made a wonderful backdrop. After the sun had gone down we were invited into the living quarters of the longhouse for a meal. As we are in the time of Ramadan at the moment many of the locals fast from sunrise to sunset. A delicious buffet meal was served but with very little light it was difficult to see what we were eating; perhaps that was the idea! It all tasted very good and it was nice to have finally caught up with the rally.
Beautiful sunset
Kudat was a funny little town. It had quite a few Chinese hardware stores, a couple of small supermarkets and a handful of eateries. After 2 days of wandering around we decided we wanted to get out into the surrounding islands rather than sit in anchorage surrounded in murky water.
Scenery surrounding island of Banggi
So Saturday 5th July we left early and headed north to Banggi island. It was beautiful. We tucked ourselves into an enclosed anchorage with little islands to the south covered in jungle. We took the dinghy on a little tour of the anchorage but there were mangroves growing down to the waterline and we couldn’t find anywhere to land. For those following along behind us the waypoint for the anchorage is 07º10.15 North 117º09.5 East.
Happy Birthday Bill
This was the furthest north that we were going this year so the next day we headed south again. Bill wasn’t happy being on our own as we were now in the Sula sea, one of the areas in the world that claims to have pirates. The rally have arranged for us to have a naval escort when we get further south into the more notorious area. We headed to Silk island where many of the rally boats had arrived having just left Kudat. As it was Bill’s birthday we invited our friends Dave and Jacqui from Jackster to come and join us for a meal. We had a wonderful evening together.
The Kingdom of Brunei
Finally got internet coverage so I can continue the tale of our adventure.
The east Malaysian coast
After stopping at the island of Pulau Satang Besar we continued on our journey North East. There wasn’t time to visit Kucking and so we motored about 50 hours until we reached Miri (I’m pointing the pencil at it) on the Sarawak coast. We arrived at the marina entrance on 23rd June about an hour before low water and we knew the entrance was shallow. We had a tense half an hour as we slowly edged towards the entrance in a 1-metre swell watching the depth dropping. Fortunately it didn’t go below 1 metre below our keel. Bill had calibrated the depth transducer before we had entered as it had been set wrong. First things first – air conditioning on. The plan had been to check in and do some shopping but the next morning I discovered the marina was right outside the town and a taxi was needed to get there. I managed to get a few bits of shopping in a local shop. After which a plan B was developed and we decided to move on to Brunei. Originally we didn’t think we would have time to visit but after talking to friends who said fuel was the equivalent of 15p a litre the decision was made.
Oil rigs in the distance
We didn’t want to do any more night sailing because this coastline is littered with oilrigs and their entourage of supply ships so a day sail to Kuala Belait was planned. We passed many oilrigs on the way mostly a fair way out to sea but some were closer in.
Some were a little closer
Oil rig construction
We entered Kuala Belait at 4pm and motored up the river for about a mile and a half before dropping the anchor. In front of us was a bizarre sight as this was the base where the rigs were built and there were a row of them along the riverfront. They were a hive of activity until 5pm when it was down tools and home time. It left an eerie silence except for the cicadas chirping in the untouched jungle opposite.
opposite untouched jungle.
Beautiful sunset in our wake
We left at 5am the next morning for the 63 mile journey to Bandar Seri Begawan, Brunei otherwise known as BSB. There wasn’t any wind so we motored all the way arriving at the entrance channel just after 6pm leaving a beautiful sunset in our wake.
Pink glow over the container port
The container port looked striking in its pink glow as we approached the anchorage. Fortunately there was enough light coming from the land to guide us in.
BSB yacht club
The following morning we took the dinghy into the yacht club. It had a wonderful colonial feel about it.
Camomile sat and waited for us.
Camomile waiting for us.
Lots of washing to do
I’d heard there was a FREE washing machine, yippee, cruiser price. The lockers were emptied and all the washing was taken ashore; don’t know where the next washing machine will be.
Lovely outlook
Delicious chocolate fondant pudding with ice cream… yummmm
While the washing was churning away we sat and used the free internet service to download emails and facebook then enjoyed a delicious meal.
Lovely swimming pool
They even had a swimming pool but we didn’t get a chance to try that out. We contacted Allan Riches of Sailmail who, its reported, can arrange a fuel run. His van was booked that day but it was arranged for Zahir to pick us up the next morning with our jerry cans and take us first to a supermarket then on to a fuel station. We retired to Camomile for the evening. Sharia law has limited the bar to soft drinks and beer so we opened a bottle of wine on board instead.
Striking buildings
Zahir was a funny little man in his early 30s and insisted on calling us Mammy and Daddy even though we had given him our names, quite weird. It took almost an hour to drive into the city during which time Zahir ‘grilled’ us about out life. We in turn found out a lot about Brunei from him. Contrary to popular belief the people don’t lead a suppressed life, far from it, Zahir was extolling the virtues of the Sultan and how he looks after everyone handing out money to the children at the end of Ramadan and inviting the whole country to his palace for Hari Raya (the big feast at the end of Ramadan, their equivalent to Christmas). Also they have no income tax, no capital gains tax, no VAT, free schools, free health care, all in all they have a pretty good life. The supermarket was bizarre because it was full of English products, some of which were from Waitrose, right down to the price printed in pounds on the products, although they were being sold for the equivalent of twice the price. I managed to get some things that I haven’t seen since Australia like yoghurt mixes for my yoghurt maker, cranberry juice and really nice museli. I filled the supermarket trolley and it was loaded into the back of the van before we moved on to the fuel station. Bill was really pleased because it was B$0.31 a litre which is the equivalent to 15p a litre….. 15P A LITRE! That’s the cheapest we’ve found since Gibraltar, luckily Bill had borrowed some jerry cans from the yacht club.
Chinese temple
As we drove back to the yacht club Zahir took a different route so we had the chance to see a bit of the town. There were some very modern buildings on the way as well as some traditional ones like this Chinese temple.
The water village on the opposite bank of the river
BSB is home to the biggest water village in the world. Founded at least a thousand years ago it has its own schools, mosques, police stations and fire brigade and is home to an estimated 20,000 people.
School on water
A mosque on water
One of the car parks for the water village
On the opposite bank there were large car parks with luxury cars parked in them, many of which belong to the water village residents.
The Sabah coastline
We stayed at the anchorage for a second night so we could enjoy another meal in the Yacht club but the following morning we had to leave. If time had allowed it would have been great to stay another couple of days and explore further but we needed to keep heading north to catch up with the rally. This chart shows us just outside BSB and the rally were at Kota Kinabalu and travelling north to the tip of Borneo so we weren’t far away but we wanted to stop at the duty free island of Labuan first for a little alcohol!
Camomile Slowly on the Mend
Week 1
Camomile in Puteri harbour
Our position at the moment in case you want to look it up on Google maps is
01º25.0 North
103º39.4 East
Puteri Harbour.
So this is where we’ve ended up having booked a pontoon for a month that will take us up to 12th June, hopefully we can get the boat restored in that time. Puteri harbour is only 2 years old being part of the Kota Iskander project which is going to see a development not unlike China’s Shenzhen formed over the next 10 to 15 years.
New shopping complex with Starbucks looking over the marina
A new shopping complex has been built alongside the marina. Already there are a number of restaurants and cafes including a Starbucks so I don’t mind being stuck here for a while. Also our friends Jake and Jackie on Hokele’a, Bill on Soltice and Jack and Zdenka on Kite are on the same pontoon waiting for the season to head south so we aren’t alone. It’s a bit out of the way here but the marina runs a free bus to the big mall at Bukit Indah on Thursday morning and they will take us to the beautiful gym and pool at Ledang on Monday, Wednesday and Friday mornings so all in all it’s a pretty good place. Better than Danga bay, I’m never going back there.
So where to start? Having dropped Angela off at Singapore airport we went back into the city to Simlin towers to start looking for parts. It soon became obvious that the sort of things Bill needed to repair the boat weren’t going to be available here. We also went out to Changi Sailing club where there were, allegedly, lifting facilities. This consisted of a little wagon capable of lifting up to 10 tons? and a clapped out tractor to tow it, I don’t think so. The only other option at the other end of the scale and the country was Raffles marina, which, apart from costing a fortune, couldn’t fit us in until mid July. So we returned to the boat.
Bill has stripped out the old instruments
On Thursday the company from Singapore that Bill has been talking to, who looked like they would be able to fix the boat, came over to look at the state of the Camomile and quote for the replacement of all the instruments. Bill managed to borrow some fridge parts to get the fridge going again until our new one arrives. Hooray at least we can have a cold beer. Bill spent the rest of the week on the internet researching and ordering parts in the UK and started stripping out the old instruments while I started writing the story of Angela on board. Royal Sun Alliance has agreed to an interim payment so we can get things going. The wheels are slowly turning.
30 Days in Thailand
Leaving Pangkor
This is our blog for Thailand but it takes quite a while to load so I’ve broken it into two parts.
Part 1
After our land travel and Bill doing more boat jobs, it was finally time to leave Pangkor marina on 15th February, Camomile having spent the best part of 4 months there.
Tim and Rebekah with Ophelia on the left and Willow on the right
We sailed gently up the coast stopping in anchorages overnight and then had a few nights in Rebak marina. Here we caught up with our sailing friends Tim and Rebekah, fellow Westerly owners on their Ocean 49, and their lovely twin daughters Ophelia and Willow. We enjoyed some baby squeezing time between lovely languid swims in the resort pool.
After stocking up the boat on the duty free island of Langkawi we checked out of Malaysia on 28th February but will be back here for the start of the Sail Malaysia East rally on 2nd April giving us 30 days for a whistle stop cruise around the Andaman coast of Thailand.
Bill raises the Thailand courtesy flag
Our first anchorage was off Ko Adang in the Ko Tarutao national park. As is our tradition Bill hoisted the Thailand courtesy flag on arrival.
Beautiful anchorage
The island was uninhabited and a great place for picnics on the beach and snorkelling. This was what we had imagined Thailand to be. As I’d bought a new waterproof camera in Langkawi I was anxious to try it out. It felt strange putting it under the water but I managed to get some interesting shots.
Crown of Thorns starfish
Beautiful clams
This starfish, beautiful as it is, is a member of the crown of thorns variety, which destroys the coral. Luckily this was the only one we saw, but it reminded us of reefs visited on our voyage that have been devastated by these creatures. It was a striking specimen.
There were lots of lovely clams, which draw themselves in as you swim near them; the colours were stunning. Difficult to photograph though so I probably need to play around with the cameras settings.
We watched the sun go behind the tiny island
We took pleasure in spending a couple of days there while enjoying sundowners and watching the stunning sunsets before stopping off at Ko Rok Nai for 24 hours to do some more snorkelling. By this point we were getting pressed for time as we needed to get to Phuket to meet James again.
James on board
The official port of entry for Phuket is Chalong bay. We only stopped there long enough to check in, do some shopping and washing and pick up James. Chalong is full of bars with white men of the age 60+ being entertained by girls of between 16 and 25. Some people think it’s ok but I think it’s awful. Some of the older women offer ‘masssssaggge’ but they all looked like Ping Pong from the TV programme ‘Little Britain.’ You had to run the gauntlet trying to get past them walking to and from the boat jetty.
We left Chalong and sailed to a bay on the south west corner of Phuket island called Hat Nai Han and anchored off of the Royal Phuket yacht club only to discover it wasn’t a club but an upmarket hotel and they didn’t have any yacht facilities.
Sailing on up the west coast of Phuket we anchored in Karon bay. Within 10 minutes Camomile became victim to the jet ski brigade. As there wasn’t anyone else anchored in the bay the jet skiers thought it would be good fun to come and have a look at us. After about the 10th jet ski that came whizzing passed us in half an hour it was time to move on again! We continued past Patong bay and Surin bay because through the binoculars all that could be seen were rows and rows of deck chairs literally right across the beach and yet more jet skiers.
Took the dinghy into the waterways
Refuge was finally found at the northern end of Ao Bang Thao, the deckchairs being at the southern end. With only half a dozen boats anchored in the bay we got a peaceful night. At the northern end of the bay a channel led to a very interesting waterway, which was great fun to explore in the dinghy.
This old girl won’t be going very far.
Lovely sunsets
It was very calm with lots of local ‘long tail’ boats up on the side; some wouldn’t be going anywhere any time soon. We all went ashore for a nice beach side meal that evening and watched the sun setting again.
The fishing port of Ngan Yong
The 10th and 11th March found us doing a couple of long hops up the coast to Ngan Yong so that James could spend the day ashore renewing his visa. It’s possible to get a 30 day visa-on-arrival but it can’t be renewed inside the country so then it’s necessary to do a ‘visa run’ to Myanmar (Burma) or Langkawi. If you want to stay longer it’s best to get a 60 day visa before you arrive but James hadn’t and he’d already been in the country 3 weeks. Bill dropped him off at the fishing port where he managed to catch a bus to the border town of Ranong then he took a boat to Kawthoung in Myanmar to get his passport re-stamped.
Sailing out to the Surin islands
Thursday 13th was a lovely sail out to the Surin islands, a group of islands with pockets of white sand beaches and rocky granite headlands creating some nice little anchorages. The water was really clear enabling us to see the wonderful marine life. We picked up a buoy under a headland on the northern island of Ko Surin Neua and joined a group of cruisers on the beach for sundowners.
A beautiful scene …….
The next day started with a dinghy ride around to the Park Headquarters where there’s a café with basic but nicely cooked food.
….. until someone stuck their face in it!!
Bill loves Magnums
Stunning views
After lunch we walked around the bay while looking out at some stunning views; more real Thailand.
Panorama of the bay
James with his Mum
More coral
James free diving
and Bill
2 metre Moral eel
We got in the water for a snorkel and found lots and lots of fish including a 2 metre long Moray Eel.
‘Long tails’ anchored
That night the wind got up and was licking round the headland making us roll really badly. As none of us could sleep Bill decided to drop the buoy and make a night sail to the Similian islands some 55 miles south. It was a slow sail through the night under main and genoa and once everyone was up in the morning the cruising chute went up. Camomile made good time and by midday had picked up another buoy this time off of island No 4 Ko Miang. It was packed with tourists but fortunately by 3 or 4pm most of them have gone leaving just a handful of campers and the yachties.
Camomile in the beautiful azure water
The island has a very good trail to follow to the top of the hill that afforded stunning views. Camomile looks very comfortable on her buoy in the beautiful blue water.
More islands
Looking to the north you could see the little group of islands that we snorkelled that afternoon.
Climbing back down the hill
That evening a very unseasonable storm blew up from the east with lashing rain and high winds putting us on a lee shore on a very bouncy buoy giving us a nervous night. Fortunately everything held ok but the next morning we decided to leave and motor sailed back to Ao Bang Thao, some 51 miles; not pleasant with wind on the nose most of the way but it felt more secure back at anchor with an off shore wind.
Tuesday 18th we were back in Chalong for more shopping and washing again before leaving to tour Phang Na bay between Phuket island and the mainland but that’s for the next blog.
2nd Week in Indonesia
Mum in July 2011
After hearing the sad news about Mum we sat for a day wondering what to do. I had already told my sisters if Mum passed away while I was in Indonesia I wouldn’t be able to get home but now it had actually happened I wasn’t sure it was the right decision. Our only options were motor to Bali and I could fly home from there, but I wouldn’t be able to get back into the country for a month and it would probably take quite a few days to get there, or continue with our cruise and go home end of October as planned. After a long struggle I decided on the latter. I had flown home for a short visit while we were in Darwin when Mum first became ill and we all feared the worse but she had seemed to be recovering so I returned to Aus but the infection in her heart was too much for her body to cope with. I console myself with knowing I had seen her one last time. I think she would have liked me to continue; she always enjoyed getting our postcards to see where we were. This photo was taken when I went home briefly in 2011 before her heart troubles started.
Bill on the back of the motorbike
Tuesday 6th August we left Kupang with our friends Norman and Sara to head south to the island of Roti. We had a couple of lovely overnight stops before arriving in the town of Ba’a. We landed in the dinghy and were met on shore by a bunch of lads from Sail Indonesia on motorbikes offering us a lift into town. Our first thought was no but life is very slow here and the roads are so bad you can’t go fast if you wanted to so we jumped on. I’m sure our boys would be horrified after I’ve told them so many times not to do the same thing.
Shopping in the market
They took us to the local market where we were able to buy some fresh veggies. The fascination continued with us and everyone wanted their photos taken with us.
Sara with our interpreter
It was useful having an interpreter although I’m sure the prices went up but when you’re only paying a dollar or two we certainly didn’t question them.
The turtle was gone so fast
While walking through the market we noticed a turtle laying on the ground in the sun, at first we thought it was dead but then we realised it was alive. Norman asked what they were going to do with it to which they replied ‘Eat it’. They keep animals alive so they remain fresh but this poor turtle was clearly suffering so Norman asked them how much did they want for it. After some bartering rp200,000 about £14 was agreed. It was carried to the beach and put down onto the sand, as soon as it realised it was free it was scrabbling to get into the sea. A wave picked it up and it was gone so quickly I could only get this photo with it’s little shell just showing in the middle of the picture. Hopefully it will remain free.
Back on the bikes
We jumped back on the bikes and were taken back to the dinghy further down the beach.
Delicious bananas
These are the bananas I bought in the market for rp20,000 about £1.40, they taste so sweet here having only been picked a few days ago. I also managed to get some beans, carrots, spring onions and tomatoes, but no other salad and no apples. I don’t think we’ll see apples for a while.
Norsa being ‘rescued’
Saturday 10th we decided to leave Ba’a and sail around the corner of the island to Nemberala. Unfortunately Norman’s anchor got hooked around a bommie (coral head) and was jammed. We asked our motorbike friends if there were any divers that could come and help. They sent out the local dive rescue, which consisted of a couple of guys in a canoe with a snorkel mask between them! With a lot of shouting forwards and backing after several hours Norsa was free although Bill thinks Norman probably freed her himself but the boys were trying to be very helpful. We arrived at Nemberala just as it was getting dark, which was a bit tricky as we had to pass through a reef but all were safely in by 6.30.
Lots of boats in anchorage
Pretty church
There were quite a few rally boats in the anchorage and the next day we all headed into the village to look around. I found this pretty little church tucked away and this…..
Local petrol station
…is the local petrol station. All of these bottles hold a litre of petrol, just enough for a motorbike tank. It’s decanted from a large drum of petrol usually with the use of funnels and tubes and sometimes while the guy is puffing on a cigarette! I kid you not. These ones have proper lids but we’ve seen them with little bits of rags stuffed into the top. Words like cocktail and Molotov come to mind!
Hut on the beach
We walked along the beach and saw several huts like this that have people living in them. Can’t imagine what it’s like in the rainy season, maybe they live somewhere else then.
Sue having a pedicure
We walked right to the end of the beach and found a lovely resort with a spa, Sara and I treated ourselves to Pedicures.
Happy Hour
We found it was serving cold beers, something of a rarity in these parts as many people don’t have fridges let alone the electricity to power them. As you might expect the other cruisers had also found the place and it became our favourite spot for Happy Hour.
Cheers!
Arriving safely in Kupang
Our position at 9.00 Tuesday 30th July
10º 09.6 south
123º 34.2 east
Kupang harbour
A rickety Indonesian fishing boat
Our 4th day at sea had seen some wind and we sailed with the twizzle rig up all day. Now we had a dilemma because as the passage had been slow our predicted time of arrival was going to be after dark. We could motor, but probably still wouldn’t get there in time, or we could slow the boat down. We opted for the latter. I hate doing that, it seemed crazy to slow ourselves down but the approach to Kupang is through a fairly narrow channel and travelling through after dark would be difficult. We were 20 miles from the entrance at 22.00 with 5 other boats around us. After communicating on the vhf radio we all decided to hove-to for the night. We didn’t have the main up so we just winced the gennies in and let the boat drift. We were still travelling at 1½ kts towards the entrance. Bill had 4 hours sleep then let a bit more sail out. At 6am we proceeded into the channel. There were lots of fishing boats on their way back in with their catch plus lobster pot buoys everywhere so I think we had made a wise decision.
Our first sight of Indonesians was in a fishing boat coming towards us on its way out of the channel to go fishing. It looked very rickety with a tatty sail; I don’t think I would have liked to sail in it.
The Kupang fishing fleet
This is the local fishing fleet a little way away from Kupang.
Bill hoisting the Indonesian courtesy flag plus the ‘Q’ flag
When we arrived Bill hoisted our Indonesian courtesy flag along with our yellow ‘Q’ flag to await the customs. During the day the last of the fleet arrived, mostly under their own steam.
Tiare Tiporo III being brought in by the dinghies
This boat’s engine had broken down on the third day and they had sailed with whatever wind they could find. When they arrived at the anchorage I put a call out on the net to ask for dinghies to help tow them in the last bit. The camaraderie of the rally is starting to show.
We’re back on line
Sara, Norman, Bill and Sue on Bill’s birthday
Bill has finally managed to get the website back on line. Sorry it’s been down so long. Lots been happening. We made it safely to Darwin for Bill’s birthday but the next day we had bad news from home that my Mum was very ill. I decided to fly back to the UK to see her even though she might not have been there. Fortunately she started getting better when I got there. Sadly I couldn’t stay long because we are due to leave on Sail Indonesia on 27th July. We will be in Indonesia for 3 months before we move onto Malaysia when we plan to come home for a couple of months for Christmas.
The base of this ‘London bus’ is made of beer cans
Before I went away we went to watch the Darwin Beer can rally. All the rafts were made of beer cans and most of them floated. It was a fun day out with lots of activities going on all day.
Another beer can raft
Any one for tennis?
Bill next to a termite mound
While I was away Bill went a trip with Norman and Sara and our BWR friend Tom to the Litchfield national park where they saw huge termite mounds, saw beautiful waterfalls and sat in lovely crystal clear water.
Beautiful waterfall
Norman and Sara enjoying the cool water
Tom with his 4 x 4
Brampton Island
We stayed in Mackay marina for 4 nights. It was great to be able to catch up with washing and shopping as well as chatting to Norman and Sara about our adventures and theirs. It was strange meeting up in Mackay as it’s almost 3 years since our friends in the Blue Water rally checked into Australia here on their fateful journey home.
Approaching Brampton Island
On Sunday the 5th we were ready to leave after Norman, Bill and I had had one last jog (bet you didn’t think you’d ever hear me say that!) Bill fired up the engine and I released the lines as we reversed out of our berth. Suddenly, without warning, we lost propulsion. It was a strange feeling, like sliding on ice out of control. I called to some passing yachties to take a line, which they were happy to do and bring us back onto the berth. Norman and Sara saw we were having problems and came running. Bill made a quick assessment and found the throttle cable had snapped, fortunately he had a spare. Bill and Norman set about stripping the old one out and replacing it with the spare so that within a couple of hours we were on our way. Norman and Sara were a bit apprehensive as they haven’t sailed for 7 months. They didn’t need to worry because it was a beautiful day, although there wasn’t any wind, and we motored to Brampton island some 20 miles north.
Norsa, Camomile and Inspiration Lady at anchor
We dropped our anchor off Swordfish point alongside Norsa and Inspiration Lady.
Norman and Sara on Oyster beach
On Monday the 6th the 6 of us went ashore for a walk around the island. It was a beautiful day and the walk led us up over the top of the island with wonderful views from the top. We came out on the beach in Oyster Bay where we sat and eat out picnic.
I spotted this beautiful kangaroo
There was a lot of wildlife on the island; I spotted this kangaroo sitting below the path eating the foliage.
A lizard in the undergrowth
These kangaroos were running wild around the resort
I think this is a Goanna, a type of lizard, we saw lots of them in the undergrowth. We continued on our circuit of the island until we came to overgrown resort. We had been hoping for a cold beer at the end of our 8km hike but the resort had closed down 2 years ago and now the only thing that inhabited it were more kangaroos. It was eerie walking among the empty resort buildings and past the deserted restaurants. The beachfront bar still had a price list up.
Beautiful beach in front of deserted resort
Sadly there were half a dozen sailing catamarans that could have been donated to a local sailing school for children to learn to sail in but they lay abandoned on the beach.
That evening we all boarded Norsa for a ‘pot luck’ supper followed by a game of cards; Jackie and Gary are teaching us.
Tuesday the 7th was wet and windy and we all stayed on our boats.
We left Brampton Island on the 8th to sail to the Whitsunday’s.
Sue’s Birthday in Mackay
The chartplotter as we approached Mackay
We sailed overnight from South Percy Island to Mackay arriving on Wednesday 1st May. Our friends Jackie and Gary on Inspiration Lady did the same. We arrived off of Mackay in the early morning to find lots of ships anchored in the approach. This is what the chartplotter looked like. Each of the grey arrows represents a ship and Camomile is the black arrow in the top right hand side of the photo.
Some of the ships at anchor
Mackay is a big coal mining area and we assumed these ships were waiting to be loaded. Our main reason for coming to Mackay was to meet up with our cruising friends Norman and Sara on Norsa. They have been in the UK working for 7 months but they were now back in Australia and we plan to cruise together up the Australian coast. It was great to arrive in the marina and see them standing there waiting for us.
Mini birthday cakes
The next day was my birthday and I started the day with coffee in the hotel alongside the marina. I’ve been really good recently about eating cakes and other fattening things but as it was my birthday Bill bought me 2 little cakes with my morning coffee as a treat – mmmmm.
Sue, Sara, Norman, Gary and Jackie on Camomile
That evening Norman and Sara and Gary and Jackie joined us on Camomile for a celebration drink, then we all went to the Thai restaurant on the marina boardwalk for a delicious meal – another lovely treat.
Sue, Jackie, Bill, Gary, Norman and Sara
Camomile 