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Cruising Indonesia
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| The Spice Islands Voyage, In
Search of Wallace Little, Brown & Co. 1997 by Tim Severin Great book about a modern day journey and quest in a traditional vessel to follow the voyage of Alfred Wallace, a naturalist who traveled these waters 140 years ago. A contemporary of Darwin who contributed to the origin of the species which Darwin is famous for. Wallace is the man behind the scenes. Very good reading! |
On 9 August, we departed the coral quay at 0505 hrs amid a heavy squall, rain with poor visibility. There was a bit of drama getting off as the wind was blowing us quite hard as we lifted the anchor, We had to take great care not to be blown onto the reef. But all worked out well and we continued our voyage along the passage between Ambon and Seram Islands. Seram is the largest of the Maluca region and looks quite dramatic with high mountains and heavy forest. We are headed toward the Island of Manipa, a distance of approximately 75 nm. We hope to be there before sunset.
Once we passed the two islands, we are in fairly open sea. We had planned one course to get to Manipa, but winds were giving us a hard time. We changed course to go a bit more north to go between the islands of Manipa and Kelang, a bit farther, but more comfortable and better speed. This turned out to be a wonderful decision, as we had a great sail between the two islands.
We set anchor at 1700 hrs. in a beautiful bay with a small village on the shore. It feels as though we have anchored in the front yard of the village. But no one seems to mind and the men go about their fishing. Looks like a bit of paradise here with crystal clear waters and reef not far from the shore, tall, steep hills covered with pristine rainforest. Spent the night at this anchorage. In the morning we take a dingy run into shore for a look...rainforest down to the waters edge, a bit cleared for cassava gardens with strong fences around them (Protection from the deer/). We go along the shore of the village, thinking to go ashore to visit. The first family we encountered was a bit shy, so we continued on. The next family invited us ashore and we had a really great visit with them, despite the language difference. At first if was just the women and children outside, but once we were all greeting, chatting, the men came out. There was a dugout canoe in process of being made and this seemed like a good way to start the interaction, to discuss all of this...definitely worked and we were trusted guests.
The children were very curious of course, some shy and others more outgoing. The women also curious about me, just as I am curious about them. The family had a small deer which is kept on a leash. It was quite clear that this deer would be future food for the family. The teenage son had a pet fruit dove, a beautiful rainforest bird. It seems it had a broken leg and he had been caring for it.
Rob and I wanted to return to the boat to get some gifts for this family...paper and pencils for the children, t-shirts for the grown-ups. All the men of the family decided to come along, as they were very curious about our vessel. So we all piled into the dingy and went out. Once aboard, the men seemed intrigued by all the gear and "stuff' we have on deck. They were respectful of our "ruma" (house) below and did not attempt to go there. Meanwhile, some children had sailed out in their dugout canoe. Rob took this opportunity to go for a sail with the kids! Everyone was smiling...Rob seemed a bit large for the delicate canoe, which made quite sight.
This was our first encounter with village people and it was a memorable one for us. The picture of the tidy house, yard, family and dugout with sail as we returned to Sea Fever is one we shall not forget.
Our next destination is the island of Buru. This will be Rob's and my first overnight run without crew. We set up a watch schedule, four hours on, four hours off. This means you have to rest and sleep even if you are not ready for it! If you don't you will get too tired to be effective on your watch.
Buru is a big island. We arrived at our anchorage at 11:30 in the morning. Quite a spectacular bay with 8000 foot mountains less than three miles from the waters edge. Extremely steep cliffs, covered with rainforest...very "Lord of the Rings" feeling here. We are visited by a few locals in a friendly way...many just go by in their dugouts or long boats out of curiosity and give us a nice hello.
We rest up here for the two night voyage across the Banda Sea to Sulawesi, a new region of Indonesia,
We have averaged about 5- 7 knots under sail. I have been learning more about navigation and to read the wind to get the sails right for best speed. When I am on watch at night, it is really a special time. The moon on the sea, a trail of phosphorescent light in our wake, and sometimes the stars are out.. Once in a while, Dolphins come around at night, making phosphorescent tunnels of light as they play around the boat.
At anchor, there is always something that has to be done, fixed, fiddled with, or cleaned. We are really starting to get adjusted to life on Sea Fever, and it feels good. Our first anchorage in Sulawesi at Wawoni Island was not a pleasant experience. Some locals came over and came on the boat of their own accord...asking for cigarettes, booze, Rob's shirt. They picked up everything, looked in the hatches and just generally really impolite and imposing. I get out our Indonesian dictionary and get the necessary words to get them to leave. Finally they got off the boat without incident, although the most impolite one stayed on the stern platform fishing. I told him "No! No!". as fishing line can get in the propeller. Finally, after the rain stopped, he left!
We had to stay here for a few hours, as Rob had to get some sleep. I was very tired too, but quite uncomfortable going below as there was a lot of interest in some of the things we have on deck. So I stayed on deck, reading and keeping people from tying up to the boat and coming on board. So much curiosity about the vessel. These are people of the sea and they really checked out the rigging, our outboard motor. If was like they were seeing a UFO or something.
After Rob had a good rest we went in search of a quieter anchorage. We found another beautiful spot on the other side of the island. Reef, mangroves, and hills, a town in the distance. The ever present fishermen in dugouts and longboats not far away. Both of us still very tired from the voyage across Banda Sea. We go to bed very early and sleep for thirteen hours!
Over the three days at this anchorage, people stopped by to say polite hellos and we also did some trading. A bottle of cooking oil for two fish and a kilo of rice for two coconuts. Great interaction with everyone. We were invited to come to the town, but we never made it. We plan to return here before we head south.
We had a snorkel and were pleasantly surprised to find a large number of species of fish and coral! The water is pretty clear. Also the mangroves nearby quite nice. Had a good look in them. Great to have mangrove and reef right next to each other!
On 17 August, we head toward Kendari crossing Wowoni Strait. We come to a bit of paradise as we near the shore. Beautiful villages, with children learning to sail their dugouts inside the reef, families fishing, and crystal clear water. We have trouble finding an anchorage as the water is 90 deep...40 meters (and this is less than 100 yards from shore) but we decide to put down the pick at least for lunch in 34 meters of water. Sea Eagles flew above as the children came out to visit us...they were singing, so I sang back. They had a good laugh at this! My attempts at some Indonesian words for conversation were met with polite blankness, like "what is this person trying to say?" After a couple of hours, we look for another anchorage and explore the coastline a bit, checking out places to go after we pick up Louise. Lots to do and see...We will give her a good time!
We anchor in a small bay twelve nm from Kendari, our next port of call. We have a list of many things to do. Including stocking up on fresh foods, fruit and veggies. Hope the markets have some good things to buy for provisions.
We have crossed three seas to date: Gulf of Carpenteria, Arafura Sea & the Banda Sea. Seas to me are measured by how far you can see around you and how many days it takes to cross it. It is not how big they are, or how small you are in the middle of it. The water world really is quite small when you can only see about 4 miles in any direction.
We pick up our crew tomorrow and then Louise, our first guest, two days after that. Lots to do!
