Kumai to Belitung
Gaviota
Wed 12 Oct 2016 08:27
002:33.52S 107:40.61E
Our next
leg of the journey was the 260 mile crossing to Belitung. The journey started well with a nice sailing
wind from the South East. The water
across the whole of the Java Sea is shallow and off the Kalimantan coast there
are many sandbanks. Syd had plotted the
first part of the journey taking us through a network of sandbanks which are
shown on the Charts but cannot be relied upon to be exactly where they say or
the depth they say, partly due to the inaccuracy of the Charts in Indonesia and
partly due to the nature of sandbanks which regularly shift. The weather since we reached Kalimantan had
been cloudy most of the time but very hot, we have had several heavy rainstorms
including 2 which filled the dinghy with water and one day we collected 100
litres out of a small tarpaulin strung across the back of the boat – we had a
good wash that night! This 2 night
crossing to Belitung was to be the wettest we have had for a long time. The squalls started, the first had wind and
rain in it and the boat picked up speed and got up to 8+knots and by midnight
we had negotiated the worst of the sandbanks and fishing boats. The sea had picked up with the wind and we
lurched on through the night. By morning
of day 2 we were motoring again in very rolly seas with lots of rain. Then the next squalls piled in, these were
full of rain so we huddled up under the leaking bimini and willed Gaviota to
get there faster. The wind dropped and
on went the motor as what wind there was was directly on the nose! The rest of the way was under motor (we had
topped up with fuel in Kumai so were on full once again). We spotted Belitung about 4.00pm and decided
if there was a chance of going into a bay and getting a night’s sleep we would
take it. By now the clouds had
disappeared and a lovely half moon lit the tranquil sea as we slowly edged in
and anchored in a bay which had some shelter.
After a good nights sleep we left at 6.00am and motored out in beautiful
sunshine into a glassy sea (what a different day!). The trip round to the North of Belitung was
another 45 miles and it was motor on all the way. We arrived early afternoon at the lovely
anchorage in the North of Belitung with it’s picture postcard powder white sand
beaches and large granite boulders.
