Nongsa Point, Batam Island
Jackamy
Paul & Derry Harper
Thu 18 Nov 2010 16:46
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01:11.784N 104:05.790E
Thursday 18th November
We made our way out of
the Kumai river on Sunday and started our journey to Nongsa Point
to check out of Indonesia. Yet again we had no winds whatsoever and of course
any time we did have a few knots it would be on the nose, sods law! Amanda got
into the whole sailing (motoring) business and eventually found her sea legs,
just in time for her to go home!
Our days were filled with reading and our
nights were filled with dodging ships as we made our way through busy waters.
Some tankers were radioed and were happy to alter course others were rude. When
Amy radioed only her 2nd tanker who was actually on a collision course with us,
a gentlemen answered and asked for our position, Amy informed him and
his response was 'I love you', she asked him to repeat, again he said 'I love
you'. Just what you need! He then chose to ignore any calls until Paul was
pulled out of bed and called him up. There was no messing about then, although
the man was incredibly rude!
 Enjoying life at
sea
 Our final meal before
landfall.........With a lovely sunset
 A whole tree floating
by............A little birdie for company, nestled under the canopy
We began to make our way up the
busy channel between Batam and Bitam Island around 04:00 so it was still dark.
There were tankers and tugs moving around and there others were at
anchor. Some at anchor had ships carrying cranes alongside, who also had a
barge alongside them with a tug next to them. It was all very
interesting!
We eventually arrived at Nongsa
Point Marina at 10:15 where a speedboat guided us in through the
channel. We liked it instantly! Nongsa Point Marina is actually a resort and a
nice one at that. With a huge swimming pool and a lovely restaurant you can see
why this is a weekend retreat for Singaporeans.
The check out procedure
began on the Friday when we handed our passports in to the officials and it was
completed on Sunday morning all relatively stress free considering the
difficulties we had with checking in.
I have to say although
we've had a lot of problems in Indonesia - trying
to avoid hundreds of fishing boats as they emerged at night in a sea that
appears to be a garbage dump, having our hopes raised as the fishing line began
to squeal on more than one occasion only for us to find we had caught a plastic
bag, a sweet packet and plenty of seaweed, and of course the whole checking in
fiasco. But compared to others we have got off lightly - we have had no
fishing lines wrapped around our propeller, no fines for not wearing
helmets inside a car and no arrests for buying fuel at a petrol station. We have
thoroughly enjoyed sailing through Indonesia and could have spent a whole
lot longer exploring the beautiful country with it's very friendly people. It's
just a shame that the corruption puts a downer on things.
 Following the speedboat
into Nongsa Point.............The resort
  The swimming pool
 The marina
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