Island hopping across the equator - goodbye Indonesia!

The weather was changing as we got closer to the equator. The winds were lighter and thunderstorms more frequent. There is no accurate mariner’s weather forecasting service in Indonesia. Mostly we are using the Windy app which is vaguely accurate but in the transition period at the end of October we seldom experienced SE winds, mostly winds from North – NE and NW, although it was a bit early as noted in various cruising guides. Also our new B&G radar had stopped working shortly after we left Australia and we can’t get it fixed until Malaysia. It would have been useful to see approaching storm cells.

After we left North Bangka we overnighted at Cebia Island, fringed by extended reefs and we didn’t go ashore. There’s about a dozen houses at most. 3 other rally boats anchored around the island. Very early the next morning the sky seemed dark and we thought it was pre-sunrise. We had just moved off along with the other yachts when the storm cell hit and we immediately experienced thunder, lightning, 24 knot gusting winds and torrential rain. We heard on the radio that one of the other yachts had seen the storm cell on his radar and tried to run around it and was “bitch slapped”. The other 3 yachts were monohulls and turned to face into the wind, a large Oystar boat screaming towards us with sails out and I hoped it saw us then it shot past our back. Robert said as a multihull we should run with the wind and we got Pegasos around and it was more comfortable in the rough sea although we couldn’t avoid the rain. We were blown off course for a bit but in less than 20 minutes the storm passed over and we were back on track.

After the storm the sun came out, the seas smoothed and it was a pleasant 6 hours to Saya Island. We saw dolphins swimming near the boat. From a distance coming from the south Saya Island looks steep and mostly granite.

 

As we got closer and moved around towards its west and north side we saw tiny pretty beaches, thickly forested slopes and granite boulders. We eventually found an anchor spot off the surrounding reef on the north side and it was peaceful and exquisite.

 

We went ashore to walk on the tiny beach and swim under the overhanging trees in crystal clear warm water.

It’s a beautiful postcard worthy spot and as always, marred by the plastic rubbish so prevalent in Indonesia.

In the afternoon a small traditional fishing boat came and anchored nearby, sorting out their buckets of fish and ice. Our sundowners on deck in this calm lovely setting was curiously watched by the fishermen.

 

A swiftlet visited the boat inspecting the inside and went off to get Mrs Swiftlet. It seemed to meet their approval as the next morning the bird was still around and stayed on the boat until some distance from the island. We often have hitchhiker swiftlets but none so keen as this one.

There is so much plastic rubbish floating on the sea and we often see the seabirds sitting on a piece of polystyrene floating past or surfing down a swell.

When we left Saya Island the sea was glassy smooth in complete contrast to the previous morning. It stayed flat and windless all the way to our south Lingga anchorage. Once again we saw dolphins nearby. Interestingly, we also saw a sea snake almost every day, the banded variety.

Our south Lingga anchorage had the strongest current we’ve experienced so far and Robert tied ropes onto the boat so we could hang on for our swim off the boat. I certainly couldn’t swim against that current. A few other rally boats overnighted there too.

In the morning some of the other boats headed for a nearby island lagoon for a BBQ but we needed to move on further to keep to our exit schedule. We had no internet for a few days.

Between south Lingga and our next stop we crossed the equator!

As luck would have it, the sea was calm and there was no wind so who could resist a swim over the equator while we let Pegasos drift. The water temperature was a glorious 30 degrees.

Keeping with tradition, we also gave Neptune a hearty slug of rum.

The anchorage at Kentar Island is actually between two islands, Kentar and Bakau. There are quite a few fishing platforms in the area and a stilt village nearby. A young fisherman came up to our boat, sailing along in his small home made canoe with a home made tatty sail. He was interested in our boat and chatted with Robert in broken English. He said he’s 25 and a fisherman although it seems he hardly catches anything. We can’t help feeling a bit sorry for the young man trying to eke out a living in a stuffed up fish ecology. There will be less and less fish to catch each year and the fishes that are caught now are not much bigger than pilchards.

Our next stop was the island of Benan which was also a rally stop. As we moved north we saw more and more plastic rubbish in the water. We had to keep a sharp eye as there are many small white buoys with fishing traps underneath and from a distance a floating plastic bottle or styrofoam looks like a buoy.

We were almost half an hour from Benan island when a strong tropical storm hit us. There was not much else to do but ride it out. We watched the wind gauge climb up to 35 knots! The boat bounced up and down in the churned up sea while everything seemed to strain and creak in the wind. Torrential rain made visibility difficult and we were soaking wet. Robert increased the engine speed hoping to get closer to Benan. It was almost impossible to make much headway and at best we were doing 2,5 knots. I was feeling quite scared as the storm seemed to last longer than normal and the wind wasn’t dropping. Robert decided to edge towards the east side of Benan as the wind was from the west and we should get some protection behind the island. Eventually we got on the lee side of the island and felt the wind drop and the seas clam. Robert motored up and down checking the sea bottom on the sonar – it seemed all sand so we edged closer in towards the beach and dropped the anchor to sit out the storm. One of the rally boats at anchor on the other side radioed us to find out if we were ok – Karen had seen our progress on AIS. Their anchor had dragged in the storm, luckily they were on board.

After the storm passed we dried out the cockpit as best we could and motored around to the anchorage next to a stilt village. In the late afternoon we went ashore with Karen and Frank for some dinner. There is only one “restaurant” and you either get Nasi Goreng or Mie Goreng.

 

Off to the market ...

A market was set up next to the “restaurant” and we bought fresh fruit and veg to take back to the boat. Our food stocks had been getting low and we were resorting to tinned food - “woof” or “meow” dinner menu depending on whether it's corned meat or tuna. We don’t have a freezer and I would rather be vegetarian than eat Indonesian meat or chicken from their open outdoor markets as the cloud of flies is intense. Their fish are small and bony. Fishing off Pegasos is 'fishless' in these fished out waters.

 

Island transport

Robert’s computer with the charts, Google Earth and AIS overlay had been giving display problems and finally crashed in Benan. We had a late morning start from Benan Island to Petong Island as Robert spent time fixing his computer crash. It’s working again but not 100% yet.

Moving northwards now means a light wind always from the north so we couldn’t put up the sails. It’s a bit tedious motoring all the way. At Petong Island we anchored off a mini island – there were several beautiful mini islands scattered about.

We went for a snorkel on a nearby reef and saw lots of “Nemo’s”.

The beach was really tiny and fully covered at high tide.

Interesting to see that there is a lot of varied vegetation thickly covering the small area.

 

Our last day in Indonesia was about 7 hours of motoring along the Combol Strait passing beautiful islands on both sides. Had we known these islands were so inviting we would have allowed more time to explore them. Well, next time…..

We had some rain along the way but just as we were within metres of our anchorage in the north bay of Kepalajerih, the heavens opened and the rain came down in buckets. Typical of these parts it soon cleared up and we sat on the deck having our last sundowners in Indonesia. We were next to the very busy Singapore Strait and could see many big ships passing – a taste of things to come tomorrow when we cross to Malaysia. We could also see the lights of Singapore on the opposite side of the Strait. It seemed a bit surreal to think we have come so far in Pegasos from Brisbane to Singapore. As a real novice back in Brisbane when the first time on a boat for me was when we sailed out the Brisbane river, I didn’t think we could do it. But here we are!

Goodbye wonderful Indonesia – we’ll be back….