To Ketawai Island
Beez Neez now Chy Whella
Big Bear and Pepe Millard
Fri 21 Oct 2016 08:30
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To Ketawai – off Bangka
Island
 Up came the anchor at twelve thirty,
Beez Neez the last of the yachts to leave the wonderful experience that
Belitung has been. We poked out of the bay, Lengkuas
Lighthouse a tiny image in the centre of the picture.
 To our right thunder and lightning
indicating the edge of a squall, tucked nearby we
found good winds and within two hours of leaving WE SWITCHED THE ENGINE OFF.
Bliss, that hasn’t happened since we arrived in Indonesian waters in July.
Racing along on flat water, I lost badly at backgammon, five nil I think you’ll find. Growling and snarling.
Then I had eight wins on the trot at Tri-ominoes. My
turn to growl.......
 Several chums out
and about on the AIS, the closest to pass half a mile in front was
OOCL Guangzhou, I pulled up her stats, a big girl.
 I adjusted our
course slightly and OOCL Guangzhou passed in
front by nearly a mile.
 A fine looking
chum.
  Chums always seem to take a very long
time to near you but as soon as they pass they are soon a long way off. We hope OOCL Guangzhou has a safe passage over the
next five days to Shekou. Time to settle for dark, tricolour lights on for the
first time in months.........
   Whilst Bear slept I had fun choosing
a track between three chums, I opted to adjust to have two pass in front and one
behind. MS Eagle was the nearest at nearly a
mile off, at 14.3 knots it didn’t take her long to disappear on her way to
Jakarta.
  I came on at two after an excellent
and nearly solid four hour sleep to find lightning behind us. On the horizon in
front loads of tiny lights. Another squall, this time over us had gusts to
thirty four knots. I swear I heard Beez Yeeha as she cantered along for
a few minutes at 8.2 knots. I wound in half the genoa in to slow us down as we
had a waypoint to near at first light and not before. At first light I could see
why. Hundreds of fishing platforms looking like baby
oil rigs – some lit – some not.
 All looking exactly alike, I could see people working.
  I went to bed at six leaving Bear to
the remaining hundreds in rows and
rows. I saw some occupied with nets down, some with nets up and one lying
on its side....
 Bear woke me at eight and I came up
on deck to see Ketawai Island with all our new
friends on the Sail Indonesia rally (they set off from Darwin), have a different
set of anchorages to our Sail 2 Indonesia – except Bali where we all
met.
 We neared the
anchorage to Mel and Ian on Indian Summer welcoming us with
their fog horn and loads of waves from others – so touching. An immediate
invitation to lunch, gala dinner tonight and a Bangka Island tour tomorrow. This
rally has now a very special place in our hearts and thrilled to know loads of
them are on the Sail Malaysia Rally too.
  Our passage of just shy of ninety
miles looks very busy with detail but if I move the
chart across and take a picture quickly before the detail
appears we can show the route clearer. Of twenty hours at sea just two at
the beginning with the engine on and half an hour at the end. What a lovely
change.
ALL IN ALL A CRACKING SAIL –
HAVEN’T TYPED THOSE WORDS FOR A WHILE......
GREAT TO HAVE A GOOD AND DECENT
SAIL |