Bali to Borneo

We did one of the most dangerous things in a S-E Asian country – we ate the bar snacks while watching rugby. Touched by a zillion germy hands. No excuse, we knew better even at the time. And so it was that we left Lovina with a mild sore throat which steadily got worse over the next few days and developed into a head cold with lots of coughing, sneezing and rheumy eyes.

We had a head wind from Lovina to Menjangan Island so we motored all the way. Robert had spent time re-aligning the engine mounts and it was much smoother and less noisy. 

We dropped anchor in the channel between Menjangan Island and the mainland with two other yachts coming in shortly after us. It was low tide and we saw monkeys foraging on the mud flats and deer on the shore. The area is part of the West Bali National Park.

The absence of small fishing boats led us to think that perhaps the no fishing zone in the national park is actually enforced here. We were not disappointed when we went snorkeling. The corals are mostly dead but there were so many different coral fish it was fabulous – we had not seen anything like this since Gili Banta (a remote island near Komodo).

Apparently it ranks 3^rd on Discovery Channel’s The World’s 10 Best Places for Snorkeling – and probably the least crowded as we almost had the place to ourselves. It just goes to show that if over-fishing can be controlled in Indonesia, the fish stocks are plentiful. We suspect that this is already too late in many areas as we’ve seen fishermen with very fine nets trawling over the reefs catching very small fish.

We were invited to one of the boats for sundowners and enjoyed the company of fellow sailors in this lovely spot, even meeting an ex-South African from Witbank!

Despite our sore throats, we snorkeled again the following day, probably not a wise move but we were making the most of this opportunity. The other two boats left and we decided to linger another day – the wind howled all day and we stayed on the boat nursing our throats and coughing away. Among our arsenal of medicines onboard, we found some meds to ease the discomfort.

On our 3^rd day we were lucky enough to see a family of deer swimming across the channel at low tide to reach the opposite shore. Bambi at the back lagged a bit in the strong current but made it across. Absolutely amazing in 30 to 40 metres depth.

Our next leg was a long 65 miles to Raas Island. We started off in good wind and happily moved along between 7 to 8 knots. After 3 hours the wind dropped and Robert put up the spinnaker.

After more than 11 hours we arrived at Raas. It’s a shallow muddy anchorage surrounded by rocky reef so we anchored very far from the shore. Just as well as I spotted an abundance of mosques through the binoculars. The distance muted the loudspeakers. We were approached by a couple of fishermen selling “lobsters” - more like giant mud prawns. We declined as they are not suitable for boiling, only frying and we’re not keen on cleaning them and doing a smelly fry up in the small galley.

We stayed a full day at anchor to rest and get over the worst of our colds. We binge-watched Years and Years. 

Robert fixed another puncture on the dinghy. We haven't been able to find the correct Hypalon glue and have had to resort to using epoxy resin, which works but it is difficult and messy!

 

Our next destination was Bawean Island about 150 miles away which meant an overnight sail. We hoped to cut the length by first overnighting at Slopeng on Madura Island. Robert had seen a reference to it on another blog by someone who had sailed along the north coast of Madura. It was an unknown anchorage but on the charts it seemed suitable if the wind was from the south. We checked the Windy app – yes, wind from the south and the next morning we set off. Except the wind was from the east and so were the swells which were building up.

By the time we reached Slopeng the swells were big and there was very little protection on the straight coastline. We crept into shore as close as we could and dropped anchor in about 4 metres. Slopeng doesn’t get many yachties and Pegasos was clearly a curiosity as some of the local boats came out for closer inspection. Their fishing boats were very different to the ones we have seen before so we were equally impressed.

We stuck it out for 3 hours rocking and rolling and being thumped by the swells. It was too wild to take the dinghy to shore. The wind didn’t appear to ease off as forecast by dear old Windy so we upped anchor and set off for the overnight sail to Bawean.

Robert took first watch as it involved dodging various fishing boats and larger barge type boats crossing the route. Further out to sea, there was very little boat traffic on my watch. The moon was only a crescent and the inky blackness did nothing for my night blindness. It wasn’t a comfortable sail as the swells were still big but at least in approximately the same direction we were sailing. It was too bouncy to make food or boil water so we had biltong and cooldrinks for supper.

We saw quite a few fishing boats and FADs on the north east corner off Bawean Island and the wind blew strong enough for us to surf down the swells at over 9 knots.

We were happy to reach our anchorage after a bouncy night – a big wide bay on the north of Bawean at Labuhan beach. It was an easy anchorage but the wind blew strongly for days.

At first we were the only rally boat, with some tugs and huge barges off the entrance of the bay waiting for the sea conditions to improve.

We watched two men fishing off the beach with a net. Their typical catch seems hardly worth the effort – very few tiny fish is all that is left in many areas.

We snorkeled on a nearby reef – great corals but the water was a bit cloudy. 

We hired a scooter and explored the area to the south and the small town of Sangkapura.

Stopped for a cool-drink ...

99% of all vehicles on the island are small motor cycles of some sort.

This is a petrol station!  Petrol gets sold one liter at a time in used plastic bottles. Note all the mangoes on the tree. Mangoes everywhere.

A few days later some of the other rally boats arrived and it was great to have company again. We hired a car with another couple and took a drive around Bawean Island – there is only one main road all the way. After some tricky very narrow winding side roads through villages we found the deer reserve – these are endemic hog deer, a highly threatened species found only on this island. Apparently there are only about 250 left so we were happy to see several fawn in the group.

The very friendly islanders are delighted to see westerners and we were often asked to be included in their photos. Andy and local girls:

In chatting to some of the older men we found that many older Bawean men had worked on cruise ships and cargo ships for MSC and Maersk and had been to ports all over the world including SA. There seems to be an active recruitment drive for Bawean seamen and so many men work elsewhere that Bawean is often referred to as the Island of Women. The people are devout Muslims and the island is totally dry – not a beer in sight. We guess that friendly teetotaler crew are an advantage on cruise ships. 

We had some pretty unusual ice creams ...

We got caught up in the "Wonderful Sail to Indonesia" yacht rally and the festivities organised to welcome them by the local tourist authority. It was all very bright and colourful with balloons and dancing girls and cheerful soldiers and the local governor and even Miss Tourism Indonesia. We were treated to a "Gala Dinner" with a great spread of giant prawns, lobsters and fish.

     

We left Bawean Island at first light for the southern tip of Borneo in a group of about 10 rally boats. The swells were high for about the first 12 hours and not very comfortable. Then as night fell, the seas settled and it wasn't too bad except for a tug boat that took an interest in us and came too close for comfort. We did a full 180 deg turn to move away from it but it seemed to move closer and shone a light at us. Annoying but the rest of the night was uneventful. Lots of fishing boats. The rally boats spread out over the Java Sea with the bigger, faster boats way out in front. We kept up in the middle and were glad to see these other boats on AIS. We took turns keeping watch and listening to audiobooks. The next morning the boats were strung out even further apart. We reached the wide mouth of the Kumai River and moved up the long river until we arrived at the town of Kumai. Over 32 hours later mostly motor sailing all the way. We dropped anchor next to the river bank opposite the town looking onto thick forested jungle. Hello Borneo!