Estrela’s Indonesia Photojournal -- 2006

Estrela’s Indonesia Photojournal -- 2006

Kupang, West Timor, Indonesia to Singapore Strait

July 26 through October 22, 2006

July 26 to August 1, 2006 – (10 deg 09.7’S / 123 deg 34.1’E) Anchored six nights in Kupang harbor, West Timor, Indonesia.

Here is the banner that welcomed us on July 26, 2006 at the Sail Indonesia Rally headquarters in Kupang, West Timor, Indonesia after our four-day sail from Darwin, Australia. We joined the Sail Indonesia Rally for $400 to ease our concerns about safety and the bureaucratic challenges of getting through Indonesia. It was a great investment, worth every penny. And through the rally we made some mates for life.

There were 100 rally boats. Occasionally we bunched up in major ports, such as Kupang, Bali, Singapore, Port Dickson and Langkawi. But most of the way through Indonesia, Singapore and Malaysia and on to Phuket, Thailand we were spread out. It was unusual to see more than a half-dozen of us in one anchorage. The exceptions were the ports where the Indonesian tourist and rally officials and local leaders had organized elaborate welcomes, cultural events and tours. These ports are listed on the banner.

With children aboard, Estrela and the five other “kidboats,” who often cruised together, had to pick and choose carefully when and where to join these event stops. The attention showered on children by the well-meaning local people was often overwhelming and sometimes intimidating. Parents on one rally boat watched helplessly as their two year-old girl and three year-old boy were scooped up and passed tumultuously through a large crowd, as if in a mosh pit. They were returned safe and happy, eventually, but the parents had some anxious moments. We on Estrela generally did better in smaller communities and less structured settings.

In Kupang, despite constant attention whenever we went ashore, however, we still made some wonderful local friends. Many students from the two Kupang colleges had volunteered to assist in interpreting for yachties. For them it meant a rare chance to practice their English with native English speakers.

These “bemos” were everywhere in Kupang, part bus, part taxi and always an adventure. They competed with each other ritualistically for customers. The loudest, base-thumpingest bemos attracted the most (and the coolest) guys. And the vans with the most charming and outgoing male tout hanging out the always-open side door attracted the most and the cutest young women. Inside, the scene was friendly and very social. It seemed to be a major meeting place for young people -- all terrifically entertaining for us foreign tourists.

The local organizers in Kupang asked the yachts to “dress up” one day when a high government official was coming to town. On Estrela we hoisted all our courtesy flags and burgees. In the lower left you can see our Minute Man Yacht Club and Block Island burgees.

August 1-2 – Overnight sail north across Savu Sea from Kupang to Lamakera Strait, west of Lomblen island.

After six days in Kupang, enriched by cultural events and fascinating day touring, we sailed overnight across the Savu Sea to Lamakera Island, also part of Indonesia’s East Nusa Tenggara province. Indonesia is enormous and culturally varied. In this area communities, especially the smaller ones, are distinctly either Christian or Muslim; though they seemed to co-exist without animosity toward each other, at least that we detected. This was the first place in the world we have experienced the ritual of the call to prayer, hauntingly broadcast five times a day, usually over mosque loudspeakers. Sometimes more than one mosque in a community meant the sung or chanted verses from the Quran overlapped and competed with each other.

August 2-5 – (08 deg 30.5’S / 123 deg 13.4’E) Anchored three nights in unnamed bay west of Liang Meah point in Lamakera Strait, Lomblen Island.

Liang Meah. We anchored off a tiny family settlement near this large beached freighter. Though the story was difficult to piece together because no one spoke much English and we were only just beginning to learn some Bahasa Indonesian, the family managed to explain that the captain had intentionally grounded the steel ship when its engine failed. We watched villagers unloading it bit by bit with tiny boats, including dugout canoes.

August 5 – Day sail up Lamakera Strait from Liang Meah to unnamed bay south of Kroko Lagoon off the northeast coast of Adonara Island.

Sailing from Liang Meah to Kroko lagoon. Kidboats on the move . . . behind us are (l. to r.) Ocelot, Vagabond Heart, and Kindara. The wind is great but we’re bucking a strong current.

August 5-7 – (08 deg 14.6’S / 123 deg 19.5’E) Anchored two nights south of Kroko Lagoon, Adonara Island.

Kroko Lagoon. Everywhere we looked we saw puffing volcanoes. That’s steam, smoke, and ash above the cone, not a regular cloud. We snorkeled with turtles here.

August 7 – Day sail from Kroko Lagoon along north coasts of Adonara and Flores Islands to bay west of Gedong Point, Flores Island

Sailing Kroko Lagoon to Gedong Bay. This is a pearl farm near our Kroko anchorage. A group of men slept on this covered raft the night we anchored nearby, we think to make sure we didn’t get nosey. Another rally boat anchoring on the south coast of Adonara Island had been greeted somewhat hostilely by suspicious pearl farmers carrying rifles. This area of Indonesia just doesn’t see many yachts passing through.

August 7-8 – (08 deg 04.6’S / 122 deg 50.7’E) Anchored one night at Gedong Bay.

Gedong. The Indonesians’ boats left us in awe. Encountered in every imaginable shape, function and color combination, their boats always made us smile. And what respect we developed for the Indonesian sailors! Motor- or sail-powered, their seemingly fragile boats went out (and returned) in all sorts of weather and often traveled far offshore. Most impressive were the ubiquitous one-man outrigger dugout canoes with only a single shiny plastic sail.

August 8 – Day sail west along north coast of Flores Island from Gedong Bay to small unnamed bay on north shore of Teluk Hading (Hading Bay), Flores Island.

This sailing cargo boat passed us going the opposite direction loaded high with cut lumber and people. Look at the dugout canoe tender she’s towing.

August 8-9 – (08 deg 13.6’S / 122 deg 46.0’E) Anchored one night in bay in Teluk Hading.

Teluk Hading. Doug spent a couple hours in the water here cleaning barnacles and other growth off the propeller and waterline and changing the sacrificial zinc anodes on the propeller, propeller shaft and bobstay. These little pieces of soft metal protect the boat’s exposed underwater metal surfaces from corrosion, but in doing so they are corroded themselves and must be replaced every three months or so.

August 9 – Short day sail westward from Teluk Hading to idyllic bay west of Watawulan Point off Wailamung Village, Flores Island.

This was a one-man speedboat, though powered by the typical loud diesel engine. He seemed to get as much of a kick out of motoring past us as we did sailing beside him.

August 9-14 – (08 deg 25.3’S / 122 deg 35.4’E) Anchored five nights off Wailamung Village.

Wailamung. Doug borrowed our new Indonesian friend Zil’s outrigger dugout. But the old river paddler never did figure the thing out. Although we only stayed at Wailamung five nights the village won our hearts. Zil, a student home on holiday from his college in Kupang, sought us out to practice his English language skills. He offered to escort us around his village and interpret. Many, many doors opened and the girls especially attracted crowds of attention.

Everywhere Eliza and Abigail walked a village child held her hand. A crowd of mostly kids and moms but some men too would meet us whenever we arrived at the beach by dinghy and would see us off when we returned to Estrela.

August 14 – Day sail from Wailamung westward to small bay in northeast corner of Besar Island (Pulau Besar).

Behind our dinghy, named Note, the plume of smoke marks Wailamung village, situated in an exquisite half-moon bay protected by fringing coral reef. Eerily, many grey skeletons of large trees ringed the shallows at the eastern end of the bay. The land beneath them had dropped several meters in elevation, drowning the trees, when a large earthquake and resulting tsunami had devastated this area a decade ago.

August 14-15 – (08 deg 26.8’S / 122 deg 24.5’E) Anchored one night at Pulau Besar.

Pulau Besar. We anchored off this very small but otherwise typical, poor Muslim fishing village. The small building on the far left is the mosque. Even here we heard the chanted call to prayer five times a day. The tsunami ten years ago hit this vulnerable community very hard. The stilts you see supporting all the buildings provide some protection from small to medium tidal waves. Life here seems so tenuous.

August 15 – Day sail from Pulau Besar to Wodong Bay on north coast of Flores Island.

A scene we would see more and more often as we traveled westwards through Indonesia – fires set intentionally to clear new farmland or leftover vegetation in last season’s fields. The smoke reduced visibility at sea as well as on land; it also made villagers cough and have watery eyes. We were sad to see forests lost to the fires. But no one complained; this was the life people were used to.

August 15-16 – (08 deg 36.4’S / 122 deg 28.5’E) Anchored one night in Wodong Bay, off Ankermi, small dive resort.

Wodong, Flores Island. As happened here, occasionally an anchorage was suddenly filled with Sail Indonesia Rally boats. Ankermi, the delightful no-frills dive resort in Wodong Bay offered its rugged backpacker-type guests open air huts with grass mat sleeping platforms and mosquito netting. Ankermi entertained a dozen or more “yachties” for dinner two nights running. What an amazing spread they served, and for an embarrassingly low price.

August 16 – Day sail westward from Wodong to Nagarujong Bay, Flores Island.

Abby approves. She and Eliza announced these were the best loaves of bread ever baked in Estrela’s galley. They are discerning customers. In the little foil pie plates are Abigail’s Awesome Chocolate Chip Shortbreads. Abby created the recipe, adapted from Kyle’s shortbread formula, and baked them all herself.

August 16-17 – (08 deg 30.6’S / 141 deg 41.3’E) Anchored one night in Nagarujong Bay.

Nagarujong. We anchored in this bay just to sleep. It had little to offer but good holding for the anchor in black volcanic sand, and a welcome swim. Like most unprotected bays, or open roadsteads, Nagarujong had an uncomfortable swell all night. We left at dawn, not very well rested.

August 17 -- Day sail westward from Nagarujong Bay to isolated bay near Mbarungkeli village, 2 NM west of Riung, Flores Island.

Flores Island’s long north coast was parched this time of year, the reds, yellows and browns of the hilly terrain reminiscent of the southern California and Baja California coasts.

August 17-18 – (08 deg 23.4’S / 121 deg 00.4’S) Anchored overnight near Mbarungkeli village.

Mbarungkeli village. To find this remote, well-protected anchorage we motored Estrela slowly a couple miles through mangrove-lined channels. This lone fisherman in his dugout canoe appeared at dusk and politely introduced himself. After a friendly conversation, helped by our Lonely Planet Bahasa Indonesia phrasebook appendix and lots of gesturing, he began his all night work of setting out two gill nets not far from us and checking them now and then. Through the still night he sang to himself with a beautiful, mournful voice.

August 18 – Day sail westward from Mbarungkeli to unnamed bay off Ica (pronounced “Incha”) village west of Cape Beci, on north coast of Flores Island.

An Indonesian sailboat that passed us in the afternoon -- see the bottom picture -- could have been the twin of the one on the cover of our cruising guide. The sails were made of the same shiny woven plastic material used for the big plastic zippered bags we have encountered throughout Southeast Asia. Apparently it’s strong enough to hold up as sail cloth in the intense UV sunlight for as long as three years. And relative to the cloth our sails are made from, this material is also very inexpensive. It’s been inspiring as well as humbling to observe the Indonesians’ sailmaking, boat-building and sailing skills.

August 18-19 – (08 deg 16.6’S / 120 deg 24.3’E) Anchored one night off Ica village.

Inca village. Two young men paddled out in a dugout in this bouncy, open roadstead and banged on our hull around 11pm. It was difficult to get them to understand we did not want to invite them aboard. They were very persistent. This was one of only a few experiences we had in Indonesia when the contrast in wealth and the cultural void between us and local residents made us pretty uncomfortable. We were glad to raise anchor and head out early the next day.

August 19 – Day sail west from Ica village to Eco-Lodge, Labuan Bajo, Flores Island.

Labuan Bajo. This medium-sized town is home to several small-scale dive operators. Our friends on the rally kidboat Calypso JJ invited us to anchor off Geoff’s parents’ family run eco-lodge, which is several miles out of town, on the water. A small dive operator, Bajo Dive Club, owned and run by an East German couple, is right next door to the Eco-Lodge. The choice of where Kyle could take a PADI Open Water dive course was obvious. By chance, no one else had signed up for this course. So Kyle ended up getting a private class, with Doug invited to join the pool session and the final dive as a refresher.

August 19-27 – (08 deg 31.1’S / 119 deg 52.0’E) Anchored eight nights off Eco-Lodge, Labuan Bajo.

The Eco-Lodge pool was the site of Kyle’s first underwater breath. Amazing. That’s our instructor, Frank, with no sleeves.

This is the Bajo Dive Club dive boat. After 4 intense days of late-night studying on Estrela; morning tutorials with Frank on scuba theory; and afternoons in the pool, at a shallow-water instruction dive site, or in the exam room, Kyle was finally ready for a real dive. Our friends on Vagabond Heart took the girls for the day so that we could concentrate on scuba. Doug was just as excited to get a chance to dive -- his first time in several years. We had an exhilarating day. Kyle was hooked. So we signed up for another day of diving. This time we could bring the girls, who would do school, take pictures and remain on board while their parents disappeared in clouds of bubbles!

Doing our buddy check. Dive one.

School.

Okay, so Kyle has a bit of the deer-in-the-headlights pre-dive anxiety. Kind of like the pre-show jitters.

Waiting our turn to jump off the boat. Doug is one happy guy, sharing his love of the underwater world with his wife! Now we just have to get the girls to join the club.

Life is A-O-K. I am surrounded by my diving mentors—Stephanie the Austrian Dive Master, one of the Indonesian assistants in charge of the tanks, and Frank—instructor extraordinaire. I had total trust in him. If he told me to do something or demonstrated an under-water skill, no matter how difficult or scary—like taking off the regulator while underwater and sucking air out of the rapidly released bubbles, I would just do it. No questions, no qualms.

August 27 – Day sail from EcoLodge to Lehok Ginggo (Ginggo Bay), Rinca (pronounced “Rincha”) Island, within Komodo National Park.

In the early morning and late afternoon the low-angle light made the parched scenery even more spectacular, enhancing the reds, pinks and yellows of the rugged, other-worldly terrain within Komodo National Park. Here we are en route from Labuan Bajo to Lehok Ginggo, where four kidboats would be meeting up again for the first time in a couple weeks -- Vagabond Heart, Ocelot, Kindara and Estrela.

Kindara left Labuan Bajo after us but they are faster, sailing or motoring. It’s an Australian boat with a Chinese mom and a Brit dad. Their kids are Jing-Yi (10) and Kai-Song (7). We first met them going up the Queensland coast when we were all en route to Darwin for the start of the rally. They plan to keep cruising on Kindara in SE Asia.

August 27-30 – (08 deg 42.1’S / 119 deg 39.5’E) Anchored three nights at Lehok Ginggo.

Lehok Ginggo. This wild, uninhabited bay on the west side of Rinca Island within the Komodo National Park had komodo dragons (large monitor lizards), macaque monkeys, and indigenous wild deer and pigs roaming the shores. This is Eliza resting during our hike to a look-out.

August 30 – Day sail from Lehok Ginggo to Lehok Uwada Dasami, bay at south end of Rinca Island, Komodo National Park.

This wild view met us as we turned east into the channel that led to Lehok Uwada Dasami.

August 30 – September 1 – (08 deg 47.2’S / 119 deg 40.2’E) Anchored two nights at Uwada Dasami bay.

Uwada Dasami. Our first night here we shared the anchorage with a large live-aboard dive boat from Thailand. They’d come for a famous scuba site – Cannibal Rock. Despite strong currents and cold water we snorkeled in the same area. What a thrill! Nearby on the beach we watched a jittery troop of macaque monkeys, a wild pig trying to haul off a large shark carcass and a couple of malevolent-looking komodo dragons, one of which appeared to be six or seven feet long.

September 1 – Day sail from Uwada Dasami to Red Beach, Komodo Island, Komodo National Park.

The currents running against us in the channel between the islands of Rinca and Komodo were incredibly fierce. We tapped Doug’s paddling expertise and pretended that Estrela was a big canoe. We worked the eddies and hugged the coast of Rinca before ferrying (crabbing) across the main channel. It was nerve-wracking and exciting at the same time. Vagabond Heart and Kindara were also making for Komodo. We all took very different routes and eventually all three made it safely to the mooring field.

September 1-2 – (08 deg 36.3’S / 119 deg 31.4’E) Moored overnight off Red Beach.

Red Beach. It really was a pinky red beach colored by coral sand. This popular anchorage off Komodo Island had many wood carving and pearl jewelry entrepreneurs plying their wares by boat. Suka, on the left, became a good friend. Abby’s holding the Estrela ladies’ Christmas gifts – necklaces all around. Eliza’s holding “Chompkins”, a komodo dragon we mailed home to Connecticut.

September 2 – Daysail from Red Beach, Komodo Island to north side of Gili Lawa Laut island.

This is a squid fishing boat. A fleet of dozens of these was based in Komodo village. It’s difficult to see in this picture, but a big frame extends on each side and holds an array of very bright lights. These face downwards, making a pool of light which attracts squid. The boats spread out over a large area, anchored and fished all night, creating a city of lights on the water.

September 2-4 – (08 deg 26.8’S / 119 deg 34.1’E) Moored ½ night and anchored 1 ½ nights at Gili Lawa Laut, Komodo National Park.

Gili Lawa Laut. Estrela is second from right. Vagabond Heart and Kindara are the two boats to the left of Estrela. Just beyond the picture is Castle Rock, which barely broke the surface at low tide. We had our first scuba dive with Bajo Dive Club at this famous site. When we sailed back to this anchorage with our friends, we took our dinghies out and snorkeled on the rock. The scuba diving and snorkeling here was some of the best we’ve found anywhere. Every afternoon, manta rays came into the bay to feed on “stingers”. We swam with the manta rays and though we all got stung by the tiny jellies, just like Dory in Finding Nemo, it was worth it. The first night we had a bonfire on the beach. Magic.

Gili Lawa Laut. About 2:00 AM our first night here strange noises and rocking motion woke us up. We discovered the mooring had broken somehow and we’d drifted a couple miles out to sea. “Estrela, Estrela, where are you?!!” Bill from Vagabond Heart called us over the VHF. What’s amazing is that we didn’t hit any of the coral heads, or run aground. We are very thankful. Here is part of the thick mooring rode before we jettisoned it, motored back to the harbor and dropped anchor, all in the pitch dark.

Gili Lawa Laut. The next night Eliza and Abigail had a “Girls’ Club” sleepover on Estrela with their buddies Jing-Yi from Kindara and Alice from Vagabond Heart.

September 4-5 – Overnight sail from Gili Lawa Laut to Kanaga (pronounced “Kananga”) village, north coast of Flores Island.

Entry from ship’s log at 2300: “Light wind -- motorsailed most of day. Read Many Waters [by Madeline L’Engle] in cockpit and ate deviled eggs for lunch. School in afternoon. Hard to pass the big volcano/island, which felt like it was sucking us in. Eventually managed to get around it with extra boost from engine. Strong tidal currents here. Wind up now. Engine off and having a lovely sail. Moon is bright. A silent lone fishing dugout with a sail passed closely by like a shadow, no nav lights.”

September 5-6 – (08 deg 08.4’S / 117 deg 46.1’E) Anchored overnight off Kanaga village.

Kanaga village. Here we got a close look at a traditional Indonesian cargo ship for the first time. This village used to ship large quantities of tropical hardwood timber in wooden ships like this one. Sadly, they’ve just about cut down all their jungles.

September 6 – Day sail from Kanaga village to bay on north side of Pulau Medang island.

This is a photo from Vagabond Heart on their day sail to Pulau Medang (Medang Island). They were ahead of us the whole day trip. Pictured are mom Debbie, Alice, Wil and Edward. Bill, the dad and captain, had the camera. They live in Sydney, though Debbie and Bill are originally from England. She is an emergency room doctor and he a business consultant—and avid surfer. Their circumnavigation will take them through the Red Sea. We first met them in the Whitsunday Islands, Queensland, Australia.

September 6-7 – (08 deg 08.6’S / 117 deg 22.3’E) Anchored overnight off Pulau Medang for Wil Hawkins’ beach birthday party (age seven).

Pulau Medang. Estrela, Vagabond Heart, and Kindara met up again with Ocelot at the Medang anchorage to have a beach birthday party for Wil of Vagabond Heart. Treasure hunt, Duck Duck Goose, Simon Says, Pass the Parcel, cake and pressies . . . what more could a seven year old ask for?

September 7 – Day sail westward from Pulau Medang to Gili Lawang, small island off northeast coast of Lombok Island.

En route the next day to Gili Lawang, looking at mountainous Lombok Island.

September 7-12 – (08 deg 17.7’S / 116 deg 41.4’E) Anchored five nights on the southwest coast of Gili Lawang island.

Gili Lawang. This is a shot of Lombok Island looking west across the reef at low tide, taken from atop our mast. Behind were thick mangroves. Our small group of rally kidboats—Estrela, Vagabond Heart, Kindara and Ocelot—parted ways here for awhile. VH and Kindara were eager to get to Bali while Estrela and Ocelot were taking a slower pace by staying put. We had started a radio net, the Sandykid Net, to keep in touch when we weren’t sailing together. So someone always knew where we were.

Gili Lawang. No, the sewing machine has not been photoshopped in. Kyle, not the handiest when it comes to textiles, pulled out our 40-year old Swiss Elna—a gift from another cruiser—and actually, well, sewed! She rescued several pieces of clothing from the brink of the rag bin. After finishing schoolwork the girls practiced on scrap cloth. We finally got through a list of long put-off chores and just slowed down in true Estrela style. Our buddies on Ocelot, an American catamaran, stayed here for a few days and they too pulled out their sewing machine. The Ocelot crew, Seattle-ites, are Jon—an ex-Microsoft guy, Sue—his writer wife and 17-year old Amanda. Their eldest child, Christopher, is now at the University of Washington. They’ve done a wonderful job of homeschooling their teenagers through the challenging high school years. After Ocelot left the anchorage, another rally boat, Anwyn, arrived. We two were the only ones in this quiet, calm anchorage for a couple more nights. When we finally hauled anchor in the very early morning, we felt relaxed and rejuvenated.

September 12 – Day sail westward around the Lombok coast from Gili Lawang to Kompal Bay, Lombok Island.

Departing through Gili Lawang pass. This is one of several Indonesian fishing boats that had anchored all night to fish on the reef.

September 12-16 – (08 deg 24.3’S / 116 deg 04.6’E) Anchored four nights at Kompal Bay, Lombok.

Teluk Kombal (Kombal Bay). Fun with diesel! Eliza helps Dad refill fuel tanks from jerry jugs, her favorite chore. We had a wonderful time in Lombok. Encouraged by Ocelot, we took a fascinating tour inland with Mohammed, a young, savvy, English-speaking Indonesian. In partnership with his brother Nat, he had figured out that yachties could be a good source of income, and they gave great value in return. Not only were they tour guides, but also they arranged for fuel and water refills. Nat even took Doug to the immigration office to file for a visa extension, not the easiest procedure in Indonesia. When we left, just 5 days later, we had made two good friends.

September 16 – Very short sail from Kompal Bay across to Gili Air island.

Kombal Bay. A tour boat. Another Indonesian beauty.

September 16-18 – (08 deg 22.0’S / 116 deg 04.9’E) Anchored two nights at Gili Air.

Gili Air, a small island off the north coast of Lombok. We met up again with Ocelot. Estrela arrived in time to participate in the annual International Coastal Cleanup Project sponsored by the American-based environmental group The Ocean Conservancy. Doug often worked with TOC, formerly the Center for Marine Conservation, during his years at Environmental Defense. The Coastal Cleanup Project takes place on the same day all around the world. Dream Divers, a small dive operator at Gili Air offered two free dives to anyone willing to pick-up garbage underwater. Kyle went with Ocelot for the AM dive. In the afternoon Doug and Sue dove while Eliza, Abigail, Amanda and Kyle picked up trash, mostly plastics, along the beach front. You can see our large collection at the end of the day. What a thrill to get to dive and also do something good for the environment.

Gili Air. This tiny island has no cars. People use scooters or pony carts like the one pictured here. We went on an island circumnavigation with this charming Indonesian and his well-kept pony. Sad to say, but not all the ponies were this healthy looking. This man’s son had met an Italian tourist, a doctor, had married her and is now living in Florence!

Gili Air. We ladies and girls from Estrela, Ocelot and a Kiwi boat named Silverfern took a cooking course with Carol, owner and chef of the delightful Gili Air Simple Restaurant. We chose from the menu four characteristically Lombok dishes. Then Carol expertly demonstrated how to prepare each, while we took notes and pictures. We called the men on the VHF radio when lunch was ready and all gathered on an outdoor bungalow platform for the feast.

This is a sunset view of Bali’s largest volcanic peak, taken from the Gili Air anchorage.

September 18 – Day sail from Gili Air to Nusa Lombongan island in Lombok Strait.

Gili Air anchorage. Up-anchoring at dawn. We had a long day of sailing ahead of us to reach a small island called Nusa Lembongan, across Lombok Strait and just east of the main island of Bali.

As we got closer to Bali we saw more of these “spider boats”, small outrigger sailboats with these distinctive crab claw rigs. This one was sailing fast in 20 knots of wind in Lombok Strait.

September 18-21 – (08 deg 40.8’S / 115 deg 26.3’E) Moored three nights at Nusa Lembongan.

Nusa Lembongan. Welcome to Paradise! This was the first time we had encountered “regular” tropical resort tourism in all our travels through Indonesia. It was a bit of a shock to see banana boats, jet skis, booze cruises, and surfers. This is a world-renowned surf spot with 3 break: Laceration, Shipwreck, and The Playground. When we arrived, Vagabond Heart had already been here for a week—Bill finally getting a chance to surf! He and Edward took Doug out for a morning at The Playground. My brother George gave us our very own surfboard when he and the rest of the Holt clan visited us in Australia. Doug says he’s totally hooked and is really looking forward to the first time he rides a wave…standing up, that is!

September 21 – Day sail from Nusa Lembongan to Serangan Island anchorage, Bali.

Can’t wait to get to Bali to see the other rally kidboats, including Calypso JJ, who went an entirely different route through Indo and whom we haven’t seen since Kupang. They are an Aussie boat with three kids, Jade (11), Java (9), and Kitale (6). We’re looking forward to getting to know them better.

September 21 – October 3 – (08 deg 43.08’S / 115 deg 14.4’E) Anchored 12 nights at Serangan anchorage, Bali.

Serangan Harbor. Bali was an official stop on the rally. Lots of the boats crossed paths here and we arrived in time to reconnect with many of our friends. We didn’t participate in any of the well-organized official functions though, because we were hosted so generously by the large family of my cousin Peter’s new Balinese wife. See our Bali photo journal.

Serangan Harbor. Here we are aboard Estrela having a farewell visit with our new Balinese family. Sailors have to say many painful goodbyes. This was a tough one.

October 3-6 – Three night sail from Serangan, Bali to Bawean Island, en route to Kalimantan, Borneo.

This was a rare moment when both Mom and Dad napped underway while the girls stood watch. A wicked sense of humor must have inspired one of the girls to slip below to snap this picture. Thanks girls!!

October 6-7 – (05 deg 44.9’S / 112 deg 40.1’E) Anchored one night at Bawean Island.

Bawean Island, in the South China Sea, made a wonderful rest stop more than half way to Borneo. We shared the secure anchorage with this raft of colorful fishing boats, all of which had crew living on board.

October 7-8 -- Overnight sail from Bawean Island to Kumai City, Kumai River, Kalimantan, Borneo, Indonesia.

Departing early from Bawean we passed this unusual looking fishing boat which was returning home. In addition to the trolling outriggers notice the furled sail lashed on the foredeck. We had a very fast sail from Bawean to the Kumai River with a moderate wind on the beam and flat seas – nearly perfect conditions for Estrela.

October 8-13 – (02 deg 44.5’S / 111 deg 44.0’E) Estrela anchored five nights in the Kumai River off Kumai City, giving the crew the chance to travel by jungle river boat for three nights into the Tanjung Puting National Park and Orangutan Reserve.

Kumai is about ten miles up the wide Kumai River. It’s a sprawling, rough city, the landscape low-lying and flat. When we arrived the air was thick with smoke. It would get even thicker as the week wore on. We learned with great sadness that the haze was typical of this time of year. It was near the end of the dry season and farmers throughout southern Kalimantan were using fire both to clear coastal rainforest to make new farmland and to clear already cultivated land of weeds and the remains of last year’s crops.

More tragically, we also learned that the Indonesian government is aggressively pushing the conversion of Kalimantan rainforests into palm oil plantations. Over the last few decades Indonesia has discovered the enormous economic potential of Kalimantan, the name for the Indonesian part of Borneo. The government has encouraged rapid, intensive exploitation for agriculture, logging and mining with scant regard to sustainability and environmental consequences. Moreover, the global market for palm oil is growing at an almost unbelievable rate. Palm oil is used now in the manufacture of a wide range of products, from shampoos to milk powder. In Indonesia and Malaysia, demand for palm oil appears to be the greatest threat to the continued existence of these countries’ remaining rainforest jungles.

We had come to Borneo to take a guided riverboat trip up a tributary of the Kumai, the Sekonyer River, in search of orangutans. We teamed up with Jon, Sue and Amanda from Ocelot. Here’s one of the two riverboats we chartered. We traveled and ate meals together, sprawled on the upper deck of one of the boats. At night we anchored and the two families slept separately under mosquito netting on their own boat. We will never forget the nighttime sounds of the jungle.

Kyle and Abigail figure out the toilet and shower. Although smoky haze extended up the Sekonyer River, the further we traveled the thinner the haze grew. This lucky coincidence, some sort of meteorological quirk, let us enjoy the Tanjung Puting National Park and Orangutan Reserve unaffected by the smoke.

We saw an incredible amount of wildlife as we slowly chugged our way up the river: including orangutans, proboscis monkeys, gibbons, macaque monkeys, crocodiles, and exotic colorful birds. If we saw something in a tree or on shore, we’d call to the captain and he’d maneuver the boat for a closer look. Rudi, our English-speaking guide, would tell us all about the each creature we stopped to observe. It was a bit like The African Queen meets Steve Irwin – minus the leeches.

Here we are at the Camp Leakey feeding station, one of three that we visited in the reserve. We never imagined we would get so close to orangutans. Camp Leakey is the research and rehabilitation station started by Dr. Birute Galdikas in 1971. She, like her fellow primatologist heroines Jane Goodall and Dian Fossey, was commissioned by Louis Leakey to study one of the three species of great ape. Jane studied chimps, Dian gorillas and Birute orangutans.

When Birute arrived at the Tanjung Puting Nature Reserve, this area was a reserve in name only. Her desire to study orangutans quickly turned into a commitment to save them, first by protecting the rapidly disappearing jungle and then by rescuing captive orangutans, hundreds over a 30-year period, from poachers, loggers, farmers and even government officials. These ex-captive animals come to Camp Leakey, where they are rehabilitated and released back into the forest. She created feeding stations to help the ex-captives make the transition to the wild. Eventually, the ex-captives leave the security of the feeding stations.

Got Milk? This ex-captive female and her wild born baby appeared at the Camp Leakey feeding station when we were there. These stations are large wooden platforms in the forest where rangers whom Dr. Galdikas had trained – mostly Dayaks, indigenous people of Borneo – place bowls of milk and bunches of bananas twice a day and call the orangutans in. We handful of human spectators sat on wooden benches and waited in silence. Far off in the distance the sound of branches moving and shaking grew louder and closer. A huge ball of orange came into view, way up in the forest canopy. Like high-wire gymnasts, these beautiful creatures swung their way gracefully to the platform, using branches, vines, and even twigs.

At the four feedings we observed at three stations over three days there were mostly females and their young; though at each an adult male, or cheek-padder – named for its impressive fleshy jowls, would arrive with great bravado and crashing branches. Even with the appearance of a huge male, however, the apes rarely squabbled. In fact, they never even used their voices when we were watching; almost all communication among them is non-verbal. They took turns gathering food at the platform, the adult male tolerant of the others. Typically an ape would climb a vine or swing to a tree to eat hanging in mid-air. Females shared the booty with their young. We were amazed at how many bananas an ape could fit in its mouth at one time – literally dozens, with the skins on!

I’ll take that, thank you. Camp Leakey also had an informative museum which focused on the human threats to orangutans, the last arboreal great ape on the planet. Threats include habitat destruction from logging and fires and poaching for pets or even food. These are endangered creatures, which will disappear from Earth unless we humans change our behavior. For more information, read Dr. Galdikas’ autobiography, Reflections from Eden, and look-up her organization, The Orangutan Foundation International.

Doug’s 50^th birthday celebration in Borneo, back aboard Estrela. Could it get any better?

October 13 – Short day sail down Kumai River from Kumai City to anchorage at Tanjung Kluang point, near the river mouth.

The smoke was worse and visibility had deteriorated badly by the time we raised anchor in Kumai and headed back down the Kumai River. Here we are passing the mouth of the Sekonyer River. We couldn’t read the signs any more announcing the National Park and Orangutan Reserve.

October 13-14 – (02 deg 53.8’S / 111 deg 42.0’E) Anchored overnight at Tanjung Kluang, just inside mouth of Kumai River.

Kumai River. The smoke was so thick that it was hard to breathe. The lack of visibility made it nerve-wracking to navigate this busy industrial river. We relied heavily on our radar and chart plotter, retracing the tracks recorded when we came up the river.

October 14-18 – Four night sail northwest across the South China Sea from Kumai River mouth to Lingga Island, Indonesia.

We finally escaped the smoke -- briefly. That’s the leading edge of the massive cloud spreading out from Borneo. But eventually the smoke caught up again and stayed with us all the way up to Singapore. This was supposed to be a scenic sail, dotted with islands, but we just saw smoky haze. In Singapore we learned that countries throughout SE Asia were pressuring the Indonesian government to do something to stop this annual cycle of burning and smoke which hurts health and visibility throughout the region.

October 18-19 – (00 deg 18.5’S / 104 deg 59.0’E) Anchored one night at SE tip of Lingga Island.

Lingga Island. This fisherman stopped by our boat just after we anchored the evening before and we had a wonderful chat, using pantomime, Indonesian, and a smattering of English. Note the oar. He would stand and row with two long, thin oars, pushing forward, even against a strong current, or would pull out this small tattered sail when the wind was up. He looked so graceful and natural. Indonesians are truly water-folk.

October 19 – Day sail from Lingga, across equator, to anchorage on north shore of Kentar Island.

Yay! Crossing the equator, we gave Neptune cookies and ginger wine. We’re back in the Northern Hemisphere.

October 19-20 – (00 deg 03.2’N / 104 deg 45.6’E) Anchored one night at Kentar Island.

Kentar Island. Local visitors -- these three brothers enjoyed cookies on Estrela. We were amazed to learn the older one was already married and had a child. That’s a defenseless squid Doug’s nibbling on.

October 20 – Day sail from Kentar Island to anchorage at NW corner of Mesanak Island.

That’s Ocelot at anchor, just after dawn. We sailed side by side all day with our spinnakers. Estrela was loving it!

October 20-21 – (00 deg 26.0’N / 104 deg 30.5’E) Anchored one night at Mesanak Island.

Mesanak Island. In the distance behind Ocelot’s dinghy, Tom Cat, you can just see Estrela on the left and Ocelot on the right. This anchorage seemed remote and isolated – how surprised we were when hundreds of distant lights winked on at dusk all around us as fishermen in boats and on platforms began their all-night labors.

October 21 – Day sail from Mesanak Island to Nongsa Point Marina, Batam Island, Estrela’s last stop in Indonesia.

Ocelot took this picture of Estrela through the smoke. The poor visibility took on a new significance as we and several commercial vessels all funneled into a shipping channel approaching the Singapore Strait.

October 21-22 – (01 deg 11.8’N / 104 deg 05.8’E) Overnight stay tied to berth at Nongsa Point Marina.

Nongsa Point Marina. This is our last stop in Indonesia. We are all VERY excited to return to first-world comforts, like hot showers and a wireless hotspot, after our three-month adventure through Indonesia. We’re on the Singapore Strait now, only ten miles across from Singapore.

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