Tag Archives: Indonesia

Banda Bintan Telani and Bintan Resort Cakrawala for Wonderful Sail 2 Indonesia farewell party 6/11-7/11 2018

6/11 We are sailing for motor but get some wind in the end. Finally we arrive to the end destination for Wonderful Sail 2 Indonesia rally. We took the dingy in to the ferry terminal and got our check out Indonesia paper. It was very bad weather with lots of rain and wind. A shuttle bus took us to the resort for Indonesia farewell party. Unfortunately, at the start of the show not all rally sailors were there. We got nice food in a small air-conditioned restaurant. There were speeches and some of the men got traditional hats on. The show continued outside from a large stage in the heat. Lars and Max got a price for visiting all 20 destinations. The organizer forgot Sandi and Maria! Everybody got up dancing now with all sailors there and beautiful dancer.

Tanjung Pinang old city, Bintan island 2/11-5/11 2018

2/11 We sailed for motor, some hour for main and jib and then motoring again. At the Melin hotel we checked in. We explored the town and, with some of the others, we had dinner at a chines restaurant.

3/11 We delivered 14 kg laundry at the Melin hotel and did some shopping during the day. In the evening we had dinner at the seafood restaurant on the dock with other sailors. The popular lobsters were sold out but we got good seafood.

4/11 Tour by local boats to the island west of Bintan island, Penyengat. At the Melin hotel we got a shopping bag with gifts like scarf, dry bag, hat, T-shirt and toilet bag. Later on the day the dry-bag came to good use! At 9 a clock we went down to the local boats and get sailed over to Penyengat. We walked to an old culture house and got lunch there sitting on the floor. Bahasa Indonesia is a uniting language in Indonesia. The language come from this island. Sultan Haji was author to the first Malay grammar book and lived on the island. Afterwards we were driven, to and to, in a motorized rickshaw around the Island. We saw an old castle and a new renovated mosque. We walk up a hill and saw 2 cannon from a Portuguese fort. Up there they had Sunday market selling handicraft and something eatable, drinkable or toys. You could exchange money for market money, made of wood, and go shopping. It began raining and we harried down the hill and took protection at the cafe. When it almost had stopped raining we harried down to the harbor and find our boat for getting back to Bintan island. In the evening we had a nice dinner at the hotel. Afterword dancing.

5/11 Tour by bus to Buddhist temple. Also a Chinese village with a tree growing inside a small temple. The village were built on poles. We also saw a chines temple. You could go up the hill behind the temple. At last the bus took us to a shopping centre for provisioning and that was most appreciated.

Benan Island, Linga Regency 31/10-2/11

31/10 In the morning we sailed in to the pier and climbed up, the provisional ladder, to reach the pier at high tide. We walked to the beach were they had welcome party for us. As usual we got a box with goodies and water. There were important people, speeches, entertainment etc. We were also visiting a school. After Baking bread and relaxing on board we sailed in to the pier and joined in to dinner combined with Halloween party. As you can see there were creative dressing up! I think Raymond got help from a friend from the US? Cute!

1/11 We relax the whole day and work on the website.

Equator crossing 29-30/10 2018

29/10 Eventful night with anchor alarm and rain. Up 6:30, temperature 27.6 in the salon. Some difficult getting anchor up. We sail out of the bay 8:00. We are lucky having the current with us. At 9 a clock we pas a lot of fishing platforms made of bamboo with houses and two big fishing net on. You also have to look for poles in the water. We got rein a couple of times. We anchor next to Randivåg at the equator.

We were 16 people on-board Alexandra having sundowner celebrating equator crossing. The boats were Randivåg, Volo, Samara11, Joz 4, Ski Bird, Anemoz, Extra-pole. There were a lot of snacks and, at least, three brought a bottle of sparkling white so cheers to us all.

30/10 Before we left we took the dingy together, with Diane, to the equator monument. There were some steps up to a nice viewpoint. At 8a clock we hoist the dingy and the anchor and sail out of the bay with course towards Benan islands west coast. We had 2.6 knob current with us.

Penuba Selayar Island, Lingga Regency, 26-28/10 2018

25/10 2018, 6:30-18:30, Sailing to little island for pit stop together with Volo for motor and sail.

26/10 Continue for motor main sail and jib. Not much wind and very hot. We take the sail down and Lars try to get the motor on overdrive and it helps a little. We are 3NM after our friends.

27/10 We wake up outside a sea-gypsy fishing village. Six very cute kids in two outrigger canoes visited us. We gave them water and crackers. We visited the village with the other sailor that have shown up. We bought nice vegetables in the small village. Also nice café making pancakes. Lars got the program from one of the organisers and informed the other sailors on the VHF. Nice sundowner at Randivåg. At Alexandra we got nice Dutch herring with potatoes, bell pepper, and mayonnaise. That was, unfortunately, the last jar from Australia.

28/10 At 7:30 we get in with a dingy filled up with Susanne, Lisa and Sven to attend to a Sea-Gipsy wedding feast. We waited an hour for the three wedding couple to come by sea. The big stage was prepared for them. There were speeches, sermons, dances, local music and especially gipsy music preformed on traditional instruments. Lars and Sven represented the sailor and went on the stage were they got a traditional hat on and Lars said a few words on bhalf of the sailors. We got the usual box with water and snacks to survive in the heat. At the end we got good local food. Also visited stalls with nice handy-craft. We were happy having officials visited us on Alexandra in the afternoon.

Tanjung Persona Banka Island 21-26/10 2018

20/10 We sail 06:10 for motor because no wind. It was a long hot day, 30++, for motor except for a few ours on sail. The whole day Lars was on guard because we sailed on very law water level.

We anchor at 18:00 at Kar Barat Banka on 5 meter of water.

21/10 After a good night sleep we hoist the anchor at 6:40 and motored al the way to Tanjung Persona. We rested and now we got wind and later on big swells on the anchoredge. We went in and got help getting the dingy up on the beach.

22/10 We woke up after an unpleasant night at the anchorage. Many rally boats sail because of the swells from the east. We take the dingy in and arrange with a taxi to town to get net from telcomsel and supermarket. Back to Persona beach we get pancakes and chicken sandwich at the cafe in companies with Mark and Susan. Also good live music from Raymond practising with a young singer.

23/10 On the beach the whole day. We were welcomed on the red carpet by beautiful dancers. There were competition for the locals of making the best cake, vegetarian lunch, professional dancer and us dancing, dinner and music entertainment.

24/10 Bus-tour the whole day. Breakfast at a hotel high up were we could see our boats. We got nice vegetable and coffee or tea.

Next stop was Puri Tri Agung temple for the three religion Taoism, Buddhism, Confucianism. It was situated high up and had a nice view.

Next stop was an animal park with hot springs etc. We got nice lunch there on personal expense. A few bathed in the pool and some biked around in the water. It was not a nice place for the animals.

Pantai Indah Batu Bedaun, coffee brake. Terracotta soldier copies mm. Turtle, 4 years old, sat out by Kiwisummer ´s oldest boy.

Coconut, fruit and t-shirts at the beach to all. Also dancing performed.

BBQ dinner at Ocean Resto and grill on the beach. Also music and dance. Nice end of an eventful stopover.

Toboali South Bangka island 17/10-20/10-2018

Sailing to Pel Sadai fishing village on Bangka island. We met a lot of fishing platforms of a kind we had not seen before. Anchor up 05:30 and arrive at 17:00.

18/10 Lars and some of the others sailed in to the dock and made an arrangement for a tour to Toboali with six people from Alexandra, Randivåg and Volo. First we visited a beach. We saw the tourist office with an exhibition of wooden lids for trays used when serving local food. Also visited a Chinese temple and old Dutch fort with trees growing inside. Also here a lot of buildings for making birds nests. We stopped for lunch in town.

Beautiful cliffs at the beach and boat building. Also nice paintings on the wall. Last stop at the beach was to look at a very big, beautiful stone formation. A stop at a pepper plantation were there time to also. We continued to an old tin mine. The workers had very bad working conditions. We were shocked. We came back to Pel Sadai late and went to town for bred before taking the dingy to the anchorage.

19/10 Next day we had Allure and Blue Rodger on the anchorage. They got the tour in the afternoon and we could relax on Alexandra. But first we had to attend the welcome party at the dock with Bupati and other important local people. We were served well prepared vegetables, and for early lunch good local food, while sitting on the ground and being entertained from the stage. There were some speeches, Bupati in English, and the other in bahasa. Patrick from Allure held a speech for us sailor and for that he received a model of a fishing-boat. Very sweet dressed up children and young people in there nicest dresses. Everybody wanted selfies with us. We felt very welcome.

Tanjung Kelayang, Belitung Island 14/10-17/10 2018

Sailing to Belitung Island.

11/10 For motor 5.6 knots no wind until 16 hour, host mainsail and 6.8 knots of speed and with Jib 7.2 knots of speed.

12/10 The wind disappear during night Two barges with coal pass by. At 05 in the morning we got wind again and mainsail up with jib and sail 7.7/8.5 Lars get a big mackerel on the hook so nice dinner. It is raining in the afternoon so wet cockpit before the night.

13/10 A tuff night with a lot of changing of the sails. Al the time we have 2 knots of current against. So we got westerly winds and try to tack but far to slow 3-3.5 knots. Nice sundowner with goat feta olive and chips to the water because no alcohol when sailing. At 17 hour 1.5 current and we sail 4 knots for motor.

14/10 At 02 in the morning we sail in to the anchorage, at Tanjung Kelayang, in complete darkness and drop the anchor beside the first sailing-boat we notice.

15/10 In the morning we took the dingy to the beach and walked around and find a little shop to buy coke, bred and fresh eggs. Later welcome party with chines show and a box with snaks and water. We sailed in to nice beach restaurant, with lots of sailors, in the evening.

Bus tour and first stop a sand mine. Lunch with entertainment. Visit a historic house with ???? Very important stop at town centre for ATM and supermarket. The latter had no ham or other meat and no cheese. Fine gala dinner in the evening with grilled meat and possibility to by local Bintang beer. Entertainment from the big stage was good. We were also up dancing to I am sailing!

16/10 Working day: start with Lars changing pump for the salt water cooling fridge, cool box and freezer box. After that he went in to get diesel in jerrycans. He came back with 10*20 litre, 11000 (5,149DKK) IDR per litre (1000DKK for all). Before sunset we took a dingy tour to an amazing cliff island not far away. We walk around and into a cave. After that we swam a little but nothing to see. The reef was further out and the sun was going down so not much light for snorkelling.

Kumai, Kalamantan, Borneo Island, 7/10-11/10 2018

Kumai, Kalamantan, Borneo Island, 7/10-11/10 2018

6/10 Sail to Kumai, First 6:00. We get good speed from the start but soon also big swells. We hose main and jib and turn of the motor. Later in the day we take a reef. First night we sail with jib alone. 7/10 At five a clock when Lars came up we sat the main and it gave 2 knots more in speed a short while. We can made water now for 1½ hour. Now we can stop the gen-set and start the motor. We have wind in the nose. Finally we were in the bay and could drop anchor. A boat with an arranger of house boat trips came by and we told her who we wanted to sail with and they talked to al the boats. We go in with Sven end Lisa and met the tour arranger at the little hotel and we pay our part of the trip and Flora and Damien, on Skybird, and Diana on Samara 11 could pay the next morning. We got nice chicken sate at a very small family restaurant on the main street. A little shopping also in the small shops.

8/10 Bus tour with the rally. We were picket up by two big buses and went to a village with old dayak houses. Before entering the main house they had a welcome sermon that meant that a man cut down a bamboo fence with a machete. Everybody got a bracelet out of rope that should give good luck. In the big hall we all could taste home made rice wine served in a bamboo mug. There were things to do outside like blow out an arrow threw a bamboo pipe, see how rise were cocked in bamboo tubes and learn traditional dances. Also try to play on traditional instrument.

The bus took as to another traditional house and also here they had a sermon when entering. Weal got a dot og ash on the forehead. Some local snacks were offered us while touring around the big dark old, but beautiful, building.

The bus took us to a Festival by the river. Unfortunately it was raining a lot so Lars and I did not go sailing longboats in the channel but some did and got very wet. There were a competition on making the best dresses out of trash and that was amazing creations showed there. Also on Esperanza Florian and Trevor on Snow Flight competed in sailing a canoe in opposite direction to each over. Florian, using foul tricks, won. It was a lot of fun, (on U-tube).

Up on the bus again and the dinner were served at a forth place and before eating there wore several speeches. The famous Canadian researcher (zoology and psychology degrees) in orangutang, Dr Birute Mary Galdikas were introduce on the scene. She has lived close to the animals almost al her working life. Michael on SY Henrietta hold a speech both on English and Indonesian!

9-10/10 Two days on a houseboat in the Kumai National orangutang park. We were picked up at 10:30 on our yachts. Alexandra Lars and Maria, Randivåg Sven and Lisa, Sky Bird Damian and Flora and Samara11 Diana. While sailing we got a nice lunch. We went to feeding station number one and waited a while for the orangutan to come and get bananas. The boat stopped at a tree with Male Proboscis monkeys. Lovely dinner with local bintang beer. Night walk. Slept under mosquito net. Next day we visited two more feeding station. we had a great time with the other sailor and also good guide and great food. The last picture show buildings for swallows making birds-nest and for harvesting birds-nests. The chines love to eat them.

Bawean island 02-06 October 2018

30/9 Sailing to Bawean and a pit stop at Rass Island 74.3 NM away. Up at 05 and get the dive compressor packet furtherest away in the aft compartment. So get dingy motor on board and the dingy on the davit. Anker up at 06 in the morning and an hour after Randivåg. No wind so motor sailing. Sat main at 09 a clock. Later on 13 knots of wind. Beautiful sunset and nice sundowner when anchor was dropped close to Blue Rogers, Randivåg and Volo.

1/10 Sailing to Bawean Island over night jib only. First coal barge we saw. Later on we saw many.

2/10 At 10 a clock in the morning we enter the north bay of Bawian island and drop the anchor. After a nap we lower the dingy and went in to register. Two nice “guide/English student” girls went with us a tour around the village. We bought some bread and met a teacher who invited us to meet his university students. They sat on the floor in circle eating fruit and we had to get down on the floor too. We got fruit and the lady at the house gave us bread. Many pictures were taken of us with them.

3/10 Early morning we get picked up from Alexandra by a local boat and sailed to the Gili island. Thanks to Susanne on Erie Spirit who told him that we expected to be picked up at Alexandra. Our captain had a good boat and he pressed the speeder to the maximum. After a while we had only the police speedboat close bye all the other boats were much slower. One of the local boat had a leek and it was not much fun for the passenger. The idea was nice though to get out sailing with a local fishing-boat. Arriving on the Gili island we could go on land on the not so good bridge and the others had to get into the water. On the island Lars and I swam a little tour and Lars catch some corals and fish further out on the GoPro . I saw only see-grass. We bought some chips made from cassava root. Back to the very bridge and after climbing over another local boat we could reach ours and on we go to the Mhumbul Beach. Here we got a big welcome. All off us getting sarongs and hats before entering the stairs up the hill to the area for getting local food. The minister of tourism asked me if I wanted to hold a speech and of cause I could not say no. There were a lot of speeches from the scene further up. My speech was very short just telling about our dream to sail around the world and now being in Indonesia we were half away around. Also telling them how we enjoyed being here because of the beautiful places, historical sights but most because of the nice and friendly people. We got a big basket each with paper flowers and goodies because it was Muhammed´s birthday. Back to the anchorage in the north we were transported by trucks sitting on the let.

4/10 One of the young men took us, Sandie, Max, Lisa, Sven, Lars and I, to a whole day trip around the island. First to a culture centre with dance and batik. We drove a long very narrow road to a sanctuary for a very rare deer only existing here. They were not easy to see but Lars got them on the telephoto lens. We visited a factory making fish stick snacks and a shop selling rugs made of palm leaves. Finally we visited our drivers home and his mother invited us for lunch. It was very generous and we were not allowed to pay. The sweet mother had a pond with gold fish and enjoyed her garden with vegetable and fruit trees. We could taste a couple of exotic fruits. As she was a widow, living with two suns, a daughter in law and a daughter, was a good solution. Our driver could get time for a private prayer while we were eating, sitting on the fine rug, in the big hall. The village with nice houses was a little empty because many people worked in Malaysia. Back again we had no time to dress up but continue to a hot spring bath were we met the others. After that back to Mhumbul Beach again for farewell party on the pier.

5/10 Many rally boat have sail this morning. We stay put and make water for Sean and Sabine on Chevaldy. Sean had an infected wound, so he got eosin red in 10 ampules to put on twice a day, after rinsing the wound. Also they had problems with the motor. They had caught a fishing line in the propeller and the line had pulled the shaft out of the gear box. Sean borrowed an air tank to go down and check the propeller. Cleaning the boat and spray for prevention of getting cockroaches. Sundowner on Randivåg also with Max and Sandi.