Sailing Down the Bangka Strait Along the Coast of Sumatra (Updated) N02 16 E105 21
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Puteri Marina, Port Dickson Malaysian enabled us to have some R&R before leaving Malaysia to start our Indian Ocean Crossing. Gryphon II is the blue hull in the middle. We
are currently sailing down the Bangka Strait on the east side of Sumatra in a
gentle westerly wind. It is just beginning to get light and we have had an
“interesting” night for our first night passage of many this year. Lorraine had
an assortment of ships and tug and tows to deal with on her watch. These tug and
tows carry an assortment of primary products including coal, bauxite, timber and
sand. The tugs pull the tow rather slowly, at about our speed, which is helpful
but they can hold surprisingly erratic courses. It seems that some go up and
down to waste time if they are too early... presumably easier than staying in
one place, but very confusing for us. The tows which are about 200 metres behind
the tugs are also virtually unlit with just a small flashing light sometimes
perched on the pile of coal or logs.
The start of the Bangka Strait, part of the Java Sea
Nevertheless, Lorraine managed to navigate her way into the start of the Strait and handed over to me at 04:00. The wind picked up almost immediately to a pleasant full sail 15 knots....then a reefed 25 knot blow....and then an all-out storm. The anemometer keeps a record of the highest wind speed and on this occasion reached an all-time high of 60 knots! There was a sustained period of about 15 minutes of 48 knots. Needless to say I rolled the jib away and dropped the main as well as I could. I believe this was a proper “Sumatran”, a local wind which comes off the Sumatran shore during the early hours, but more common later in the season. The rain was absolutely torrential reducing visibility to about 20 metres, but fortunately there was no shipping close and it did not last too long. Thankfully, although there was lightening about none came close to us. Nor did we get a water spout...we had seen a big one of these 2 days ago in the distance which was causing the sea to lift up in spray to a height of 10s of metres where the spout touched the water.
Two hours later and we have just had to start motoring but we hope to anchor in a few hours for a well-earned rest.
Sunshine, good views and a peaceful anchorage help recovery from a weary night.
Typical island off the coast of Sumatra
Fishermen’s houses in the Bangka Strait.
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