Gili islands Stopover
Fleck
Sat 14 Aug 2010 07:46
|
Position 8:24.3S 116:04.5E
Taluk Kombal, just south of the Gili Islands,
Lombok.
Saturday, August 14th
Just a stones throw from Bali now, but a tricky
one, with currents, tide rips and overfalls in the Selat Lombok all threatening
to upset our plans to arrive there on time. I have a great chart showing
how to avoid the worst of these currents by calculating the times of the moons
upper and lower transits. Unfortunately I have no clue what these might
be all about, and no almanac either. Times like this I wish Vicky was on
the boat again, I'm sure she can calculate that sort of thing standing on her
head. Other problem however is that tomorrow has to be the day, and you have to
arrive at high tide, so with those constraints, I'll just forget about the rest
of the problems, stick my finger in the air at 05.00 tomorrow morning, and hope
for the best!!
We had a difficult final 24 hrs getting here with
constant wind changes during the night, and a lot of local traffic close to the
mainland, we did however manage to keep sailing until dawn, thus covering the
greater part of this leg without recourse to the iron sail, and saving a lot of
diesel fuel to boot.The Gilli Islands are a hedonistic location for those who
tire of Bali's scene: Day trips at about 100USD, or you can arrange to stay in
the many resorts. An anchorage in the Islands is described, but when we passed
it at midday it was blowing through with a sudden SW land breeze, and offered no
shelter. So we are tucked into the mainland, but in 25 metres, and now the
midday rain has passed over it is baking hot again. Local boats, servicing the
Islands, are all around us on moorings, and a pearl farm stretches over the reef
to the west. It is an attractive spot, high and fairly verdant hills all around.
I hope the locals will allow us to remain here in peace for just one
night.!
Some usual repair work when it cools a bit towards
dusk, and then batten down everything in preparation for a bumpy ride
tomorrow!
|