Lombok to Singapore
Digiboat's "Product Testing"
Simon Blundell
Fri 7 Feb 2014 03:33
08:21.62S 116:07.76E
0300z
07/02
After a month
lay-over at Gili Trawangan, it's time for the crew to depart before they are
held accountable for too many late night promises that may been made in a
fit of passion.
My 9 yr old son,
Bligh, and I flew back to Aphrodite from Aus to rejoin for the final leg of the
Spain-to-Singapore delivery. Lucian and Ryan still onboard and rounded out by
Sam and Will who are en route to Singapore for various reasons. Unfortunately,
Robbo is still on leave form the boat and wont be completing the Odyssey with us
but will join again in Singapore. We are sure to take advantage of this lack of
military discipline he instils when aboard. There's likely to be all sorts of
conflicting stowage and using the wrong tea towel for hand drying, and wrong
bucket for deck swash etc.
After a couple of
days at our mooring off the Beach House Resort on Gili Trawangan, taking on
final fuel, water and provisions, we managed to drag Bligh out of the swimming
pool ashore and headed around to Medana Bay to collect our Clearance papers,
then loaded the duck aboard and headed NW under motor.
A slightly
depressing start as we punched into a small, but steep, wind chop and head winds
and contrary current which knocked our speed back to embarrassingly low
values.
The outlook is for
consistent headwinds up to max about 15kn. The NE trades are well and truly
underway in the South China Sea and wrap around the SW corner of Borneo into the
Java Sea. Our game plan will be to close reach N, with as much W as possible
across to the Borneo S coast and then motor, with a chance of nightly land
breeze on the beam, to the W edge, then hope for a favourable sailing angle
across to the S Riau Islands and then it's just a day motoring up to Singapore
through the Riaus.
SJB