2:33S, 107:40E

Belitung, Indonesia

We arrived in beautiful Belitung yesterday morning, still en route to Batam.  Unfortunately there was very little wind and we had to motor sail the majority of the way, hence we decided it was best to detour to Belitung to get more fuel to ensure that we could cover the remaining 300 miles to Nongsa Point Marina.

The five day/night 600 mile passage was eventful – on the second day Dadang found that there was no fresh water – a fitting had broken on the fresh water pump and we had lost 300 litres of fresh water.  Dadang and Greg had just finished fixing it when the engine suddenly stopped – the main fuel tank had run dry.  After four hours we were on our way again - with the guys having bled both the generator and engine and replaced filters.  The engine had used considerably more fuel than we expected and we had not yet transferred fuel from the auxillary tank.  Greg now believes that there may have been an airlock in the filling line as the boat has never used that amount of fuel per mile (8 litres per hour – normally it is 6 litres). 

The only real highlights from the passage were some beautiful dolphins bow riding for about 45 minutes and the excitement of passing through the Archipelagic Sea Lanes where the shipping traffic increased dramatically.  We learnt very quickly how to use the AIS and to judge different vessels at night from their lights.  Tugs are the ones to watch out for because often what they are towing is not lit – they carry all manner of things from loads of coal to mining equipment.  We found all of the large cargo vessels fascinating – their size and speed. The most traffic we had on the AIS at any time was 12 vessels – it will be interesting when we get to Singapore – it will probably increase to the maximum of 150!  We also saw many local fishing boats, most of them fishing for squid with several bright lights.

The trip was very hot (41 degrees) for the first 2 days and then we enjoyed wet season squalls every day around lunchtime which cooled us down and gave some extra wind.  With lots of heat and little wind I was amazed to find that mosquitoes can travel at 5 knots too and they are ferocious!

Belitung is a stunning anchorage with very clear water and many limestone boulders on the surrounding islands.  There are white sandy beaches and some local restaurants (warung) on the beach where you can get grilled fish and rice for about $5 a head. This is our favourite anchorage in Indonesia and by far the cleanest - we all enjoyed a swim when we arrived after being on watch during the night. It is very calm and there are several large turtles swimming around – it is so quiet that you can hear them come up for air and take breaths while swimming around the boat. We also bought some freshly caught squid from a local in his canoe for $5 and had that for breakfast.

We had read about a local man Harun who can help to organise fuel for yachties and we made contact with him during the week.  His colleague Wempy met us yesterday and had arranged to pick us up at 10am today to get fuel from the petrol station at a local town 45 minutes away.  Unfortunately while Greg and Dadang were being driven by Wempy into town they hit a small boy on a bike (the car was travelling at 40kms).  The 6 year old boy was riding erratically and Wempy beeped his horn several times to warn him to move off the road – the boy just ignored it and turned right in front of the vehicle.  He was OK and they took him with his mum to hospital.  Unfortunately every time this happens in Indonesia it is seen as an opportunity to make money – it is normal for the family to ask for a bribe. If the driver refuses, the victim’s family gets the police involved and that is when the police include their bribes – where it can total thousands of dollars. Wempy had to pay them $50AUD which is one month’s salary plus the medical bill – luckily the police were not involved.  Greg will give this money to Wempy tomorrow as he was only helping us out and it was not his fault. On a lighter note after taking the child and mother back home after the hospital Greg said to Wempy and Dadang – “good driving, great shot, got him right between the headlights”! After the hospital they went in search of the fuel only to find that the 3 petrol stations had run out of diesel and that it wouldn’t arrive until tomorrow.  So all in all an unfortunate trip into town.  Hopefully we will have better luck tomorrow and then can leave for Batam.