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07:52.04S 129:35.47E
Babar
Saturday 4th
September
Captain’s Log: Saturday 4th
September 2010 Towards Babar Island
Awoke to another windless day - leg
still a bit painful but no temperature now! Checked the generator and cleaned
out the seawater strainer, checked engine oil and all well. After everyone
taking a swim, we motored slowly towards Babar Island. We had been given
some rough waypoints for a possible anchorage but to our delight discovered a
small jetty, some two miles short of our planned destination, capable of
taking a coaster. We anchored amongst some fishing boats in 6 metres of
water, the bottom having shelved quickly from 50 metres. Would you believe
as we arrived the wind got up to 18 knots - you never know we might be able
to sail tomorrow!
Position 07:52'.046s 129:35'.48e
Days run 27.1 miles average speed 6.02
knots
Ollie preparing to drop the anchor
outside this village in Babar, with both a Christian and Muslim Church in
evidence. The Blue roofed building is a market
Indonesian boat building
is so much art of their culture
Its the only method of
transport between the islands for the vast majority of the population
Here the carpenter is
hammering in the wooden dowls, holding the planks onto the cross beams
There seems to be no
set style for the boats either, they seem to be designed by each individual
boat builder
They don’t have
sails either, now that fuel is so cheap
The wind in this
region of the tropics is generally very placid, so its faster to use the
engine
Taking a walk ashore,
we struck at the design of this Christian Church, with the cross coming out
of a boat on top of the tower
There are muslims
living here too, hence the goats being let free to keep the weeds down round
the graveyard. Great shelter for them too when it’s too hot or it
rains!
The Saturday school
football match was ini full swing
And the girls had
their smart t shirts on
The cows look well fed
and content
And a few plots of
land near another Adventist church had been well planted with veggies
Taking a walk in the
woods, I’m struck by the sculptured face in this tree trunk
But most of the large
hard wood trees had already been cut down to make these dugouts
On our way back to the
boat, we were followed by 4 girls paddling a dugout. They tipped it up on
purpose so that they could come aboard our boat! Here Ollie is helping them
bale out the water from it,
Whilst the girls watch
him helping them
How stupid I was to
offer them sweets, it was Ollie who was the sweet they wanted, insisting that
they be taken back ashore in our dinghy by him, rather than get back in their
dugout! A little boy came over in another dugout and he paddled it back with
his flip flops!
Watching the sun set
on the aft deck with a drink in hand is always a good end to a day
The sound of the Koran
coming over the speakers in the village ensures that the Christians here are
aware that they are living in a mixed cultural society
David’s skin
infection on his right calf was gradually healing up
Poor David, confined
to the boat as he cannot go ashore yet. The dinghy has to be beached, which
means he would always get his feet and legs wet, not recommended with blood
poisoning
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