Belitung to Borneo

A rainbow of fishing vessels rafted-up

Feb 25th. Having completed our reprovisioning chores, the Brahminy crew were keen to take advantage of the favourable tides for an early departure.  Rosi and Mike on Shakti were of a similar mind. So leaving the catamarans still at anchor, the deep keelers set off heading south along the west coast of Belitung. The passage between mainland Belitung and the smaller island of Mendenau had a cluster of satellite islets forming a well protected strait. With current assistance, we made a very calm but quick journey until finally gaining some light south-westerlies for the final run of the day.

Weather coming

The morning had been reasonably cloudy but with our approach to Tangung Genting,  the conditions thickened and darkened. The point (tangung) provided sufficient sea wall to deflect the swell as was evident with
dozens of fishing vessels taking shelter closer to shore.  Their colourful hulls rafted together forming a bright rainbow contrast on the turquoise seas. A long startlingly white band of sand was punctuated with those memorable granite boulders. Like our previous journey west along the northern shores, we were to experience a series of similar formations as our route ventured east along the southern coast.
And what of El Misti and Hybreasail?

They had remained in port attending to boat jobs and awaiting parts sent via mail…

⚓ 03.15.204 S
107.32.241 E

Sailing east into the sun, again

With rather limp sails and thin cloud,  we ventured further east to our next anchorage near Tanjung Batu Hitam, a mere 30nm jaunt. Having virtualy no wind,  Hans employed the desalinator while motoring and did some hand washing. Solar and motor charged the batteries well, as we glided passed the local sea port of Tg Batu where sand is regularly loaded.

Tg Air Hitam anchorage and sv Shakti

Tucked neatly off a fringing reef,  we anchored near Shakti with a grove of coconut palms lining the beach. The afternoon rain clouds rolled upon each other but the little bay remained calm and comfortable. With an extremely low tide,  the exposed reef  became a meeting spot for locals foraging the shores. Several smaller fishing boats lay careened on the narrow strip of beach-head and we settled in for a quiet evening.

Lowtide foraging

It had been a very long time between swims in clean saltwater….

It looked inviting…

Our next planned anchorage was to a cluster of coral atolls off the south east corner of Belitung. We may have been able to swim there?

Shakti had up-anchored and departed to scout-out the possible anchorage while we went for a morning walk and explore. “Take the opportunity when you can”

The tide was high affording an easy beach landing for the inflatable where we had seen the boats high and dry the previous afternoon. It was the only break in the reef and the vessels were gayfully bobbing offshore. While Hans collected fresh coconuts, Burney pursued the birdlife in the surrounding trees. Not only did she identify a quail scurrying in the grasses, it was a Barred Buttonquail ( new bird for her) scampering for camophlaging brush. Squirrels piped an alarm call from branches and other colourful birds had Burney talking to herself while sharpening the focus on her bins (binoculars). Another lifer, the Sooty-headed Bulbul. How great was all that!!

Later after stretching the legs, we did a couple of laps in clean clear aquamarine waters before watching an elderly fisherman haul a small beach net of silvery fish ashore. There were challenging times and there were times when we loved this life.

Swim and swing in the shade

Local fisherman with a beach net

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The giant white granite marbles that crowded the bay with tall palms seemed to gather into a postcard frame as we pulled out. With departing, heading just south of due east and passing numberous fishing platforms with suspended netting between their spidery legs,the main island of Belitung was left astern.

Destination: Pulua Ayermasin, one of several tiny islands off the south east corner of the coast. Our “Cool Cats”, the catamaran duo: El Misti and Hybresail were following a little further behind.

Detail: Ayermasin (Ajermasin) cluster

Departing for Ayermasin

 

Pulua Ayermasin rising up on the horizon

As we drew closer to the Pulua Ayermasin island cluster, low profiled islands rose off the horizon like down-turned saucers. Silica-white sand contrasted with a clear aquamarine sea. A mix of mangrove and scrub vegetated the islands with brown reef slowly becoming apparent with the out-going tide. Suspended between this seascape hovered Shakti on a hazy mirror surface. Following some very helpful wpts, Hans tippy-toed between reef and rock while Burney wore her polaroids on the bow watching for wayward bommies. “Turtle!!” she shouted as a magnificent 1 meter-shelled Green Turtle suspended in clear waters dove deeply from the surface to the depths beneath our hull. Wow!! A little later the occasional circular footprint of elluding turtles caught the eye. Exciting. But in the distance the skies grew heavy and rumbled. The daily afternoon rain was approaching.

It had been a very long time since we had enjoyed the underwater wonders of snorkling. Making quick work of digging in the anchor we were launching the dinghy and cleaning goggle masts soon after. The sandy atoll nearby was unreachable as more reef became exposed. Anchoring the tender just off the shelf, we finned towards the closest coral growth. Seriously, delightful – although not as healthy as we hoped. It appeared as if too many nutriments from the neighbouring fish farms may have increased the weed growth. Colourful corals and sponges were partially visible below layers of green grey growth. Plate coral still provided shelter for colourful fish although their numbers and species were minimal.

Fortunatly, the ” cat duo” arrived before a shower of rain damped our decks and made the anchorage slightly choppy. However being further south east of the landmass we experienced only an itinerant cell rather than the apparent downpour blotting part of our view.

Here come the cats

Talks that evening were of our intended route towards Kalimantan.

Which destination would it be?
Would we push on further avoiding Borneo completely as one skipper suggested? Considerations, decisions and differences of opinion…

Central to the discussion was a potentially alarming report Burney had noted from a previous sailor.
To quote:
“SV Island Pearl was sailing alone at the time just around midnight on the direct line route between Bawean Island and Belitung at coordinates 03¤08.380 S / 109¤01.998 E. This area is also not far from the route from Kumai (Central Kalimantan) to Belitung.

“From 4 miles away we noticed on the radar, a large fishing boat was sitting idle a quarter mile off our path to port, and a few smaller fishing boats scattered in the area. We sailed carefully past one small fishing boat by a good margin, and diverted slightly to starboard to leave the large fishing boat further to port. When we were about one quarter mile to the large boat it suddenly started moving into our path.  Thinking nothing of it, we turned 10 degrees further starboard, but this boat simply steered further across our path and increased speed. To cut a long story short, this guy’s intentions were very aggressive and not good. We do not know why, as we are certain we did not cross any of his nets, nor do anything to harm him or the other smaller fishing boats in his area other than to sail through there.

What followed was a rather harrowing experience of trying to firstly communicate with the boat on CH16 which was ignored, we made multiple changes in course away from him, but each time he responded by turning his much larger boat than ours towards us and speeding up. We stopped almost dead at one point and he kept coming at us, so we had no option but to keep dodging him and to motor away from him as fast as we could (9.5kts) but were pursued with equal speed and him gaining on us. Unfortunately, in the heat of the moment we were not able to get any photos or video as it was pitch dark, and have no information which would identify this boat, but eventually, with our engine screaming at 3600 revs, we threw all sails up and in 15kts breeze in following seas and managed to maintain just over 10.5kts long enough to start losing him and get away, but were still pursued for at least 15mins. We were indeed lucky.

We write this not to be alarmist, as we are so enjoying our travels though this wonderful country, and this was only one isolated bad experience for us. However, we do feel it important for others to be aware of the incident as, since arriving here in Belitung we have heard of other similar recent incidents in the area, some of which did not end so well, and therefore we want to be sure that any boats following on this route avoid these waypoints if travelling alone at night. Once again, the coordinates to ideally avoid by a couple miles are
03¤08.380S / 109¤ 01.998 E.” End of quote.

Although there were no guarantees that the aforementioned location was static, we decided to follow a rhum line several miles away from the “hotspot” and remain in close proximity of each other. 5 knots was the agreed speed to ensure each vessel was on equal footing. Departure time was 6.30 am.

Strategies and risk management of what to do in the event of an aggressive boarding were also discussed. Being Australians we were not armed with weapons, we agreed to all converge upon the distressed vessel with every spot light directed at the aggressor in an attempt to identify and intimidate. Distress messages on channel 16 and flares were added into the action plan.

Hybreasail and Shakti close at hand

El Misti up close and personal

And so Feb 28, arrived with a supporting ENE wind of 10+knots. Anchors rattled and a careful choreography of boats circling each other to raise sails into the wind began. In close formation, we set off for our overnight journey to Kalimantan. With only a slight deviation for a reef and some current, we followed a rhum line to the cape, Tg. Nipah, the south west aspect of Kalimantan, Indonesia’s part of Borneo.

Our combined red track and vector crossed the south/north Java Sea shipping lane. Green triangles were approaching tankers.

By nightfall, we were half-way across the very busy south/north Java Sea shipping lane. With only a couple of days till the full moon, our bow plunlged along an illuminated lunar-stream. Such a comfort when sailing at night. Rumor had it, that fewer fishing boats ventured out with a full moon. Bonus!!

With each of us having 3hr watches, the night plodded along, in the company of our neighbours running lights, an occasional voice on the VHF radio and the dimmed chartplotter screen. The winds became lighter and swung. Puffs came from the north than the west. Hans tethered the boom to one side and hauled the genoa to the other, his goosewing formation. Our average speed decreased slightly but with the engine ticking over through the night the 4 boats remained loosely abreast.

Well that was untill the early signs of daybreak. Burney noted the engine temperature was high when an alerting lamp switched itself on. Rubbing sleep out of his eyes, the motor was stopped, up came the floor boards…and what did Hans find – the alternator belt had died. For the next couple of hours our ole gal sailed a sedate 4 knots while the engine cooled and Hans napped. Considering it had been 2yrs and thousands of miles since needing to change an alternator belt – we had done well. Fortunately, spares were always onboard.

As our anchorage drew closer, the occasional flicker of lightning from distant cells followed the fleet. Shakti, the fastest in our little convoy, cruised ahead to scope the depths of the chosen anchorage as the clouds banked into an impressive grey beast looming over our stern. The approaching storm whipped the bay into a rolling swell but delivered only a deck cleansing shower of rain and moved on. Murky brown Borneo waters took our anchor and chain as we nestled Brahminy by our sailing companions for an afternoon of napping. We had been delivered safely.

Photo by Rosi and Mike from Shakti. In the distance is Brahminy coming into anchor under the cloud

 

The Back to Oz 2018 mini Fleet

sv Shakti heading into a dawn

By morning, on a clear sunny daybreak, we all set off, like 4 ducks in a row, for a big day (-and a-half) at the office.

Traveling from north of Banka to west of Belitung

Destination Tangjung Pandan

Departing Pecakang for Belitong

By 8.30am we had reverted to sail power and clocked 5+knots, Shakti being a faster boat was above 6 knots. The catamarans as always were further ahead. By midday, none of their masts were visible on the hazy horizon. The AIS indicated that they were taking a line closer to the north east shore of Bangka than Hans had plotted. He preferred to avoid the coast with its rocks and reef patches by a wider margin. Although the wind was swinging more to the north west it remained under 10knots forcing us to engage the “steel sail” to maintain our 5knot plod. Nevertheless miles were slipping under the keel.
Doing 3hr watches, we advanced into the night. Stars dusted the sky with only a slight film of cloud. Most ship traffic that registered on our AIS was further east. Only larger, brightly lit phinisis-style fishing vessels ventured along these channels. Curiously, while yachts were required to install AIS neither fishing vessels nor tugs with their barges which we encountered, appeared on our screen. Hans thought that it was more about surveillance (of us) than maritime safety.

Phinisi, a traditional Indonesian craft originally built by the Burgis-Makassar folk used for cargo and fishing.

As the sky lightened with a rosy tint, Burney attempted yet again to troll for fresh fish at daybreak. All endeavours thus far had been fishless. Even when passing a patch of tuna-like fish leaping near us.
Our final leg saw a warm sunny day with a few cottonball clouds loitering above the horizon. The winds were light. So light that Hans braved hoisting the spinnaker (now with newly replaced shackle). Although we kept the motor gently ticking over, we knew the extra bit of sail added an knot to our mileage. Every bit helped. In the meantime, the faster fleet members had edged their keels over the shallow river entrance to our destination,Tanjung Pandan, the main city on the island of Belitung (sometimes spelt : Belitong). (Yet had they all the government formalities to endure, Indonesian checking-in procedures.)

To our advantage, Shakti had thoroughly scoped the depths and provided us with wpts (waypoints) to supplement the inadequately surveyed charts available. But alas, the neap tides were agin us. While the mini fleet played in town, we spent the evening just off-shore awaiting the incoming current and rising tide. Apart from all the curious fishing vessels welcoming us, waving and smiling, it was a quite evening. Well, accept for a very fast moving ferry. It created such a wash. Expletives…

Daily greetings: “Welcome to Belitung”

TgPandan low tide

When we had visited in 2016, we anchored at Tangung Ketayang on the north west corner. We had fond memories of the granite boulder seascape and white sandy beaches. This time with the prevailing NW winds our port anchorage was well protected. We were in close proximity to all the CIQ and Harbour Master authorities for the other vessels. Similarly, the very large and friendly ‘wet market’ provided lots of opportunities for provisioning and interacting with the locals.

Behind the fishing boats are “bird hotels” for the bird nest industry

Squid boats have spindly bamboo extensions from which they suspend bright (green) lights to attract their catch

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

FRESH chicken

Market day, everyday

Love these baskets

 

 

 

 

 

 

A short walk away delivered us to a supermarket where we met the very lovely Lucy. Soon after, not only was Lucy visiting our boat but we let her experience a couple of the other vessels in our fleet. It was Lucy’s birthday and she’d never been on a sailing boat. Even riding in our dinghy was a new adventure.

A walk into town

Our new friend Lucy.

For yachties who may come this way in the future, we were able to have one of our gas bottles filled in Tg Pandan. This was not always possible for those using Australian fittings in other ports in Indonesia. A very reliable “man on the ground” contact was: Harun mobile +62 811 7178 895

Shakti.
Photo by Lucy

Brahminy,Hybreasail and El Misti.
Photo by Lucy

 

 

 

 

Equator Rituals Rising up on the Horizon.

 

 

We came out of Nongsa Marina into a washing-machine-like confusion of wind and swell. However once the sails were set, Brahminy Too was off and romping!! 15-20 knot winds on the aft quarter. Whoopy!! After rounding Batam Island via it’s north east point, we then headed south down the Riau Straits crossing towards Bintan Island.These waters have seen hundreds of years of trade being part of a busy route in calm equatorial seas.

From north east Batam to south west Bintan below Tanjung Pinang

We had a full day sailing right till we almost entered our anchorage.

What a brilliant run to get us on our way. Little Mantang Island provided a peaceful and starry night. That was what we had signed-on for.

As we regularly write logs citing our position and conditions, we were very aware of our everchanging latitude.

00¤23.94N was our next anchorage tucked into the south-eastern bay of Puala (island) Mesanak in the Riau archepeligo. A mere 25 nm north of the Equator. The vessels we had left in Country Garden Marina, Malaysia were making their first leg over the Singapore Straits towards Indonesia, however their journey varied from ours. The group were to check-in at Belitung, so they plotted a route further west of Batam, along the west coast of Bulan Island, then via Penuba on Selayar Island, and east….

Shakti’s suggested route plan on navionics

Sailing has a freedom to travel to many far off destinations. Once decided, the next challenge was plotting the course, with the route changing many times due to wind and conditions before the final course might be established. Yachties have been known to say: ” plans are written in the sand below the high tide mark, only to be washed away and rewritten another day.”

Morning and evening scheds on the HF radio  kept us in contact. As we ventured around these tiny islands, internet became less reliable. Sometimes nonexistant or when present often intermittant and of narrow bandwidth as was our experience. No 4G, no 3G, just G flashing in and out. Occassionally only E, whatever that was? Hence the advantage of a HF radio schedule to share weather, sea conditions and possible routes.

The anchorage was pretty with lovely clear turquoise waters, sandy beaches and coconut groves. A few fishing platforms dotted the bay while stilted village homes clung to the foreshore. It was your basic tiny Indonesian fishing population. Hans ventured ashore to strech his legs while Burney still nursed her back. A sneaky swell was wrapping around the eastern headland giving us the occasional beam-on roll. Clambering into dinghies may have been still a thing of the near future?

calm view

Fishing platform

By the early hours of the still dark morning that sneaky ground swell was a persistent nuisance. Tins rattled in cupboards, even the ball-bearings in spraycans joined the chorus. Not such a comfortable spot. Needless to say, we up-anchored with the dawn light and headed due south across the bay. While Burney kept watch for fishing boats, FAD’S and nets, Hans prepared the spinnaker pole since the winds were only 5-10knots.

Suddenly, our depth sounder went from 8 meters to 1. We were on a reef!! Yikes. Our K-charts on the chartplotter didn’t indicate that! Wearing her polaroid sunglasses Burney stood on the bow while Hans reversed Brahminy Too off the coral, carefully picking our way into deeper water. Okay, no corner cutting, due east to deep water for awhile and then south to the Equator. We are definitely awake now!!

She’s up and then she’s not!

It was a day of little mishaps. No sooner had Hans the spinnaker billowing when the snap-shackle failed and that great expanse of silk fell over the side. Man, was that heavy to haul in!. Of course the halyard was not immediately to be retreived as it remained at the top of the mast. Steam clouds plume from nostrils….

A job destined for a calm anchorage with Burney hoisting the bosun’s chair while Hans climbed the mast steps. Love those steps!

And so we motor-sailed with a soggy sail drying on the foredeck. Time for a cup of tea and some quiet time while Seymore, our Coursemaster Autopilot, took the helm.

sv Shakti had said that for their Equator crossing, they intended on taking 7 nips of alcohol, as it was their 7th time sailing over “the line”. Some yachties have felt inclined to go for a nude swim. We preferred to have another dress-up event. For this 2nd crossing, as Shellbacks, we donned our Pirate garb and watched the degrees, minutes and seconds count down to several zero’s.

You may note a small Lego character.

We borrowed him from Hans grandson, Leon, while visiting family in Australia. He’s named Zheng He, after a remarkable Chinese adventurer from the 15 century who sailed throughout Asia to Africa, among many other countries.

Counting down to lots of 0*00.00’s with King Neptune as witness.

Once entering the Southern Hemisphere, Hans set our course for the calm(er) anchorage of Kongsa Besar Island where we would have a “lay day” and visit the locals.

Lighthouse detail

Sailing towards the lagoon with a lighthouse on the headland

Kongka Besar
000¤ 04.63 S
104¤ 51.52 E

Tucked in the lagoon between Kongka Besar and Kongka Kecil, we were well protected from any ground swell rounding the eastern headland and adjoining island. Several fishing platforms with large hanging nets were perched on sandbars near submerged coastal reef. On the small island of Penoh at our stern was a small stilt village extending from the shore. Settling down to salute Neptune with an obligatory rum, the local mosque started calling the believers to prayer. Although we have heard that regularly for nearly 2 years, Burney still found it charming.

A Kongsa sunset with the call to pray in the air.

After a very calm evening, Burney dared to embark on a dinghy jaunt to the village. (Her first trip down the ladder and onto the dinghy since the spinal operation).

Penoh Island visit

A white sandy beach provided a great landing beside the locals’ solar panel “farm”. It did not take long before we had a small party of children walking with us. Burney, never shy to act the fool with children loved to hear them shreik with laughter as she made animal calls for every creature along the path. Ducks and rosters, hens and chicks roamed free around the houses. Cats with bobbed tails slinked into shady corners.  Then there were the adults who smiled and responded as we attempted to greet them in Bahasa Indonesian.With infrequent visitors, English was not to be expected. Many allowed us to photograph them going about their work building fishtraps or drying sardines. There was no fresh market and apart from dried fish no opportunity to purchase any seafood.

Our dinghy as an inflatable was quite the hit, bouncy castle substitute.

It was heartening to see very little plastic litter. Indeed coconut husk was used instead of bags. With no tourism, low population numbers and no obvious commercial industry, the marine environment appeared reasonably clean. Only parts of old polystyrene boxes or dislodged fishing buoys once-in-awhile passed us while cruising these waters.

Sunday morning darkness gave way to a lugubrious grey. No rain had been forecast although fine cloud covered the sky and a pervasive sea haze muffled the horizon. Eventually, the winds picked up, off went the engine and a bright sun chased the doldrums to allow us another fine morning at the office. It was only a short hop but a lovely sail.

As we coasted towards our next anchorage into a bay on the south east aspect of Lingga Island, the surrounding islets provided calm waters. Sitting well at 4.5 knots under sail, it was a delight to hear only the whoosh of the wake sliding along our hull. That’s the joy of sailing, those magic moments when it all came together. Clearing a peak, 15knots of wind piped through sending us whizzing across the bay averaging 6.5 knots. Such a thrill before we needed to round-up and furl the sails. Our skipper, “Half-day Harry” was contentedly lying on the pilot berth before lunch listening to a pre-uploaded radio play.

South Lingga Island

Pecakang

01¤ 10.412 S
105¤ 18.933 E
A tiny spec of an island north of Banka was our joint destination for Monday evening, Feb 19th.

Our companions: sailing vessels: El Misti, Hybresail and Shakti had been speeding along with good winds since setting off at 6.30am. Their venture had a lot of easting which offered beam-on sailing.  Our course had a light northerly wind between 10-12 knots on the aft quarter coaxing a gentle 5 knots of s.o.g. We had hoped that with the midmorning, a stronger force would help us along. Alas, it became weaker, right up until approaching our final few miles. We anticipated joining the other crews at Pekacang and possibly having a beach gathering.

Once there, alternative routes would be discussed. The monohulls, Shakti and our Brahminy Too were considering  venturing wide offshore from the east coast of Banka Island to cover 190 nm hopefully arriving at Belitung Island before dusk, 35 hrs later. Hybresail was considering using the currents running through the Banka Straits between the west coast of Bangka and Sumatra. Both options had positive and negative elements. The Banka Straits was shallow and added 60nm to the journey however day hops and anchorages were possible. The Java Sea option was shorter but involved nightsailing with the usual hazards of poorly lit fishing vessels and possibly unlit obstacles. (When we came north in Oct. 2016 we did an overnighter from Belitung to a rally destination on the north east coast of Banka. An untenably rolly anchorage, that was!) We considered skirting the shipping lanes. Tankers were much easier to spot on a moonless night. Pros and cons, Plan A. and Plan B.?

Just as we were approx 20nm north of our destination 2 dolphins appeared by us. A rare and cherished sight in these waters. Apart from them, we had a clear view to the horizon for 360 degrees. Only one tanker had ventured anywhere near us for the entire passage of.

Reminising, when venturing north we had anchored on the northern shores of Pekacang with a group of rally boats. The tall peaks and sheer precipes offered no dinghy landings. This time heading in a south-easterly angle along the coastline white sandy niches alternated with pretty pink rocky headlands. There, sheltering beyond one of those points was our fleet.

Pekacang, southeast anchorage. There they are!!

Reverting to VHF radio there was much chatter about the recent weather forecast. Another “g.r.i.b. file” had been downloaded. No storms were forecast and the winds looked reasonable for the east coast overnight sailing. The west coast of Banka was predicted to have little to no winds. The Hybresail crew needed to confer. Onboard, Brian and Anne had a sailor friend sharing the adventure, Marie. Sharing watches would be a 3-way split. Shakti and we on Brahminy firmed up intentions. What was El Misti considering?

GRIB = GRIdded Binary or Generarl Regularly distribuled Information in Binary form, highly compressed weather data were ideal for downloading

to be continued….

 

Batam Bound (revisiting Indonesia)

Dawn rose on a new adventure.

We had completed our port-exitting procedure on Sunday Feb. 11th. Our companions from El Misti, Hybresail and Shakti dined with us at a local Indian eatery that evening. So with first light we bod farewell to them and to Country Garden Marina. We were embarking on the first leg of your return to Indonesia. Current assisted, Brahminy Too made her way along Johor Straits, passed Puteri Ferry Terminus, under the 2nd Link Bridge and towards Singapore Straits.
10.30 am as we started heading east along the southern coast of “Singers” we had a good puff of wind. We were sailing!! Off went the donk (engine). With about 12+ knots of wind from the north (gusting up to 25), we clocked 6-7knots. Woohoo, back to the life we enjoy.
By 1pm we were in position to bank a hard right and commence our dash across the Straits Shipping lanes. The wind piped up to a persistent 17knots from the NE., a lovely angle. Fortuitously, there was no oncoming traffic while crossing the west bound lane and a large gap between the east bound tankers. Rompted it!! We won’t mention that Hans turned the engine off and sailed across Singapore Straits clocking 7 knots.

However, coasting the northern reaches of Batam Island, the sea became more choppy the further east we went. The bottom shelved possibly creating an upswell. The fetch from the north east was unobstructed and we had tide against wind. Hence our last 12 nm to the marina were the slowest. Our girl pitched and tossed as waves doused our decks and salt sprayed the sails. All things considered a grand excursion.

While still in Singapore waters we had been approached by the water police enquiring what our intentions were. As we came closer to our destination, first the Indonesian Navy then Customs circle us. (Perhaps their vigilence was heighten by the recent drug bust of a huge haul of methamphetimines in these same waters? The offending fishing boat had been towed into Batam.)

“The approach to Nongsa Point Marina is well beaconned”, as per the marina’s communications. Fortunately, our cruising guide book also gave clear waypoints for the entrance since the ferry channel directly beside our approach was similarly beaconned. That could have been confusing. Then, what appeared to be a sandbar stretched across the narrow opening between the lateral seawalls. Hans slowed our revs while Burney read the chart contours and the depth sounder. We had 3 meters under the keel with a rising tide. Enough.
Apparently, it was just a sandy wash due to the choppy conditions.

Huge tankers ply the straits while we sit at a marina rolling

In preparation for the CIQ check-in procedure, Hans hoisted  the Indonesian courtesy flag and the yellow quarintine flag. Nongsa had also requested the blue and white checked N flag be mounted, as well.  There waiting at our berth finger was staff to take our lines. Unlike the usual formalities of shuffling between offices gaining and giving various clearance/entrance forms and stamps or alternatively having several officers from each department board your vessel, we  simply handed the necessary documents to the marina representative who then visited the government offices on our behalf. Of course, the service cost $$ (Aus $100) but the convenience was indesputable.

CIQP Office at Nongsa Marina

As a note for other yachties following this blog, AIS was mandatory for all foreign yachts cruising in Indonesian waters. No longer was a “receiver only” acceptable. Furthermore, the MMSI number associated with the unit was nevessary to complete the registration forms. Officials were enforcing this law and have been known to physically check the AIS, taking photographs for evidence, and checking MarineTraffic.com. Citations and/or letters of warning were apparently being issued for noncompliance.

After photos of our vessel and its engine had been taken we had only till the next morning to wait till our passports were returned. A Domestic  Clearance was also issued which we were required to present at our port of exit from Indonesia ( Tual, in our case) to Australia.

All good, done and dusted. We were comfortably ensconced in Indonesia, again.

View from our cockpit

Dining options

Nongsa Marina

The morning swim