Indonesian Cruising Notes
Vega
Hugh and Annie
Tue 24 Sep 2019 14:12
After several days of wonderful day sailing along the northern coast of Flores the weather grib files are now showing no wind at all for our further progress west. Recently we sailed north from Rinja Island (pronounced Rinca) in 30kts of breeze and where the wind funnels up from the south between Flores and Sumbawa islands. We had a wonderful genoa run up to the top of Komodo Island, passing yachts at anchor where those snorkelling were treated to manta rays along the edge of the reef. Later that evening when we read the cruising guide properly Annie was upset to be reminded that we had passed one of the best snorkelling and diving sites in this part of Indonesia and should have stopped for the night.
Today we are motoring to the west across a windless millpond towards Sumbawa. After this leg I will need to think about topping up the diesel tank from our spare containers. These we filled with “Solar” which is what I had taken to be the generic name for diesel here. It turns out to be a deep amber colour and smells quite acrid. Someone told me that it is the low grade sulphurous fuel commonly used out here - good for the engine (at least older ones, not good for newer engines designed for clean low sulphur fuels) but bad for the environment. We have read also that Solar is made from plants (it is, but I have noticed there are both Solar and Bio-Solar in the garages); a mixed bag for the environment as Bio Solar is not petroleum oil based (good, although prone to diesel bug growth in marine applications) but rainforest is being cut down to grow the fuel crop (bad). Apparently the higher grade diesel (that we are used to) is available in some places. Not that we are becoming totally obsessive about the environment! Today we had a practice man overboard to retrieve a plastic bag that Annie had accidentally dropped over the side. Luckily it was bright orange and easily seen to get back to. Half an hour later we had to retrieve a pudding bowl that I dropped when tipping out food waste. I am amazed this has never happened before. Fortunately we were towing the dinghy and after several uncoordinated circles around the bowl (not good for matrimonial harmony) I was able to grab the bowl from the towed dinghy.
The fuel issue is yet another factor to be aware of when cruising in Indonesia and about which we received no prior advice from the rally organisers. At least three boats have now hit FADs (fish attracting devices suspended from rafts that may be floating freely or anchored in thousands of metres depth). This includes one catamaran that neatly caught one between its two hulls at night and was stuck until the morning - as monohull sailors we weren’t sure whether to see the funny side of this. Two boats have become entangled in nets, we have sailed through and broken two nets, and at least three yachts have gone aground on reefs (all were assisted off by other rally crew). Initial contact for the rally is through John and Lynn, based in New Zealand and who otherwise write cruising guides for Fiji and other parts of the South Pacific and who retain most of the entry fee. Their information packs contain a lot of generic cruising information nearly all of which is unnecessary and completely irrelevant, nothing useful or indeed essential for cruising these waters. Through them the Indonesian entry requirements are filled out for onward transmission but those contacting Indonesia direct had no problems. The Indonesian itinerary is organised by Raymond Lesmana of the Indonesian tourist authority and seems to be prepared with little understanding of the practicalities and requirements of cruising yachts. Detailed arrangements are often last minute and errors in the Ministry of Tourism rally guide book itinerary remain uncorrected years after first being published. The schedule is too hectic and little allowance is made for downtime, reprovisioning, sailing and anchoring conditions and so-on. We usually receive a wonderful, colourful and enthusiastic reception from the villagers we visit but timings and even the visit itself may not be communicated to our local guides (or ourselves) in advance. Idiosyncratic and arguably part of the fun but it is why so many choose to skip rally events from time to time with the need to balance the rally with a more relaxed cruising schedule. In fact at least a third of the fleet has gone on ahead or is following a different route. This is not to say that joining the rally is a mistake; we are having some wonderful experiences now we know what to expect and how to manage our cruising requirements. Hopefully Raymond will be open to some constructive feedback to make the whole event safer and more enjoyable.
On the way down to Flores we had a major mechanical failure when one of the two pins supporting the cooker in its gimbals sheered off. The thought of no cups of tea at sea was almost too much to bear. I was planning how we would contact the cooker manufacturer, organise a spare part, operate the cooker without gimbals. However, within two hours of arriving at Riung three yachties, fresh from repairing a broken backstay, had the pin replaced with a bolt and we hadn’t missed a single cup of tea! There is a lot of mutual support within the cruising community and at times like these we are very grateful to be the recipient!
