Alore to Lembata

6 -8 August 2011

All on board Nae Hassle arose for an early departure not all that long after the competing  Mullahs surrounding the anchorage called their faithful to morning prayers. There’s hardly any need for an alarm clock when the wailing starts at 4.00am.

Boat secured, coffee swallowed, 20 metres of scope, 65 metres of chain and the anchor were hoisted aboard and we were underway by 6.00am for the run back out the harbour, north through the channel and then west towards Lembatti. We headed a group of five or six other boats who had also decided to leave early to try to best the strong currents between the islands. Nae Hassle motors along at a very respectable 6.5 knots through the water but the GPS shows our true Speed Over Ground. Heading out of the harbour we had the tide with us but when we turned north in the channel our SOG dropped from 8 knots to 5.5 but fortunately the current only slowed us by 2 knots a worst on our way to the clear water north of Pantah Island. Showing how quickly things change the boats that were half an hour behind us ran in to 4+knots and with virtually no wind they endured a very slow trip up the channel.

Although the wind picked up a little, it was almost dead astern and not strong enough to push us far so we motor-sailed through the day to our planned anchorage in Telek Balurin Bay on Lomblen. The waters here are incredibly deep and clear taking on an amazing cobalt blue colour which despite our best efforts couldn’t capture properly on camera. We dropped anchor just offshore mid afternoon in crystal clear water between two coral reefs and quickly broke out the snorkelling gear to check out the reef. Indonesia is so heavily populated that there are very few uninhabited places as bays like this everywhere support small fishing communities. As eight yachts and catamarans progressively arrived to fill the small anchorage the local kids soon arrived in dugout canoes with welcoming “Halo Meesters” all round. We left Darwin with a small supply of note pads, pens and pencils to give away to children which we have all but exhausted already. Forget chocolates or lollies, something as basic as a pencil is a much higher prized gift to these kids and makes us realise how much we take for granted at home.

To the west of the anchorage the skyline is dominated by the classic cone shaped Lli Wariran volcano with a constant stream of steam and smoke issuing from the crater and sulphur gasses venting from fissures on its slopes. By the time we settled into Nae Hassle’s cockpit for a few wines with Kevin, Katie and Andrew of “Landin” from Gosford and Brits, Wil and Margaret from Atlantia, we were treated to a very cool sunset over the volcano.

Next morning we enjoyed what is becoming a tradition of a bacon and egg fry up Sunday breakfast rather than our usual cereal and fruit before upping anchor to meander further along the coast. We had info of another anchorage in the next large bay directly under the volcano but after spending a couple of hours exploring the area we found the sea shelved incredibly quickly. The depth sounder read 150 plus metres one second and 4 the next as we approached the shore. With the boat drawing 2.6 metres and plenty of coral bommies visible and after nudging one with the keel we quickly backed out of there. With no safe spot found  in that bay we headed back out and set sail in a nice moderate breeze further west to an anchorage on Ne Adunara Island on the western side of the Channel to Lembata, the next port of call for Sail Indonesia Rally.

It proved to be a great decision as the second choice anchorage was a truly magnificent spot, off a small, golden white sand quay behind three small, offshore islands. This corner of Adanura Island is dominated by the Boling volcano which provided another spectacular backdrop to the turquoise blue water and palm lined shore. There’s excellent snorkelling over the reef to the west and a sweet left hand surf break off the other side had us wishing we had boogie boards with us.



Sunrise at Adunara Island

 Eight of the rally boats were already swinging at anchor when we arrived with Rick on “Endangered Species”  telling us he’d been there for a number of days enjoying perfect conditions. The  Canadian catamaran “Cop Out” followed us in to the anchorage and after dropping their pick hailed all boats present on the radio. They had caught a big Maihi Maihi on the way and then followed it up with a huge 35 pound Wahoo so with their deep freezer already almost full they invited the fleet on board to help them eat their catch. It’s a good thing catamarans have such big cockpits and rear decks because we and the rest of the hungry hordes flocked aboard and devoured the beautifully barbecued fresh as you can get delicacies. A huge thank you to Ken and Wendy for their hospitality and artful valet parking of so many dingys off their stern. Both the fish had been caught using a hand made lure they had obtained in Mexico so we are still left wondering whether we’ve been unlucky since leaving Australia or if Indonesian fish  simply don’t like our chrome spoon lures the way their Aussie counterparts do.




Not a bad way to spend a Monday morning

After another incredible sunrise over the volcano next morning, we headed for the sand quay in the dingy for a great swim and an hour or so of just soaking in our incredible surroundings. As crew mate Marc pointed out, we were having a much nicer Monday morning than most people in the world. Definitely no Mondayitis here. When we returned to the boat Rob donned the snorkelling gear to check for any damage to the keel from our little nudge on the coral the day before. Apart from a small scrape on the antifouling paint all was fine. An indication of how clear the water is in this little piece of paradise, the anchor chain was visible laying on the sand bottom 25 metres below the boat.

Karen on lookout duty on the bow as we make our way through swirling currents

By 9.30am we were on our way through the narrow Boling Straight for the short hop to Lembata. The currents were again very strong but fortunately flowing with us producing up to 10.8 knots over the ground. We lined the rails on lookout steering around the worst of the whirlpools through the straight then had a relaxing run into the bay to be anchored up by lunch time.

Alore to Lembata – 110.3 nautical miles – 16.55 hours – average speed 6.48knots – only fish supplied by “Cop Out”

 

 

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Alore

August 3 –5 2011




Sunrise over Kalabahi Harbour - Alore Island

Waking up early and sitting on the stern of the boat looking across the harbour at the 40 or so yachts sitting serenely on the glassy water provides instant reinforcement of why we’re doing what we’re doing. The absolute sense of peace is overwhelming. Since boarding the boat in Cairns we’ve sailed over Fifteen Hundred nautical miles to reach this spot but Kalabahi, Alore Island, Indonesia certainly feels more like Fifteen Million miles away from life in Ipswich, Queensland, Australia.

We crew trio, Rob, Karen and Mark headed ashore after breakfast to explore a bit of this town of 60,000 people. While predominantly Protestant, 20 percent of the population here is Muslim and this is the season of Ramadan when all members of the Islamic faith observe a period of fasting between sun up and sunset. As a result the vast majority of local restaurants were closed during the day however all other commerce seems to continue as normal. At least the mosques’ pa systems are much quieter here and don’t tend to blast us awake with the call to prayers at 4.00am.

Once again the array of decoration on the ever passing parade of Bemos kept us highly entertained. The local markets offered a huge range of produce including fresh vegies, fruit, live chickens and eggs as well as fish displayed on open trays in the 28 degree heat. Funnily enough we weren’t tempted by the fish, coral trout or not. Good thing we still have a supply of fillets and tuna steaks in the freezer from our earlier fishing successes. There’s very little English spoken here so Rob’s translation app on his i-phone has been getting a work much to the bemusement of the locals. As he types a question in English into his phone they looked confused until he hits play and the phone repeats the question in a slightly metallic Indonesian voice. Sometimes they still look confused so we’re a little unsure of the accuracy of the translation sometimes but it has helped so far.

The water front here is a small but busy commercial port with the main shopping and commercial areas a block or two back from the sea. A welcome and information marquee has been set up at the temporarily installed dingy pontoon but the lack of a beach front bar/restaurant like the one in Kupang has meant there is no central hub for the visiting yachties to congregate. While we are already missing the camaraderie over Bintangs, it may encourage us to spend a bit more time exploring what the island has to offer.




A pod of humpback whales visited us in the harbour

The second day in port we were treated to a surprise while kicking on back Nae Hassle enjoying a couple of cold Bintangs with Allan and Noi off “Rogue”. Two humpback whales surfaced in the harbour just 40 metres off the boat’s bow. The anchorage is at the extreme end of a very narrow but deep 12 kilometre long inlet so we certainly didn’t expect these visitors. We were even more surprised to see a pod of five or six more in the distance heading down the other side of the inlet. A great way to end a day.

The following night we enjoyed the hospitality of the Alore Regent who is head of government on the island and put on a great event for the 35 crews who attended a slap up dinner and entertainment at the “White House”, his official residence. We did keep a look out for Obama but he wasn’t to be seen anywhere. The quality of both the food and traditional entertainment provided was fantastic however as was the genuineness of the personal welcome extended by the Regent. A real contrast to the two welcome dinners in Kupang where the hosts absent. The only slight downside was no Bintangs in deference to the Islamic faith but they came later back on board.




The dingy dock was far from an engineering marvel

Alore reputedly has some of the very best diving and snorkelling sites in all of Indonesia so we were keen to get in the water and see for ourselves. Some of the other crews booked trips on to a local dive boat and reported enjoying their day but no one was quite as enthusiastic in their words as the guide books.  Nae Hassle’s owner Colin and his partner Milin are not the swimming and snorkelling type so we booked on to a bus tour that was going to visit a traditional village and then go to what was described as “white sand paradise beach with number one snorkelling”. We were told the buses were leaving the dock at 9.00am but typical of Indonesian organisation, Keith and Claire on “Panuliris” were told 8.00am, Colin and Milin were told 9.30am and everyone we spoke to seemed to have been told something different. So away we went just past 10.00am but after all and sundry had been standing around waiting for various lengths of time depending on the departure  information they were given, our convoy of three oversized bemos drove all of three blocks and pulled into the regional museum for a previously unannounced stop. Ahmed, the local Rally representative, read profiteer, took great delight in personally narrating details of each exhibit in the two room museum which was even more underwhelming than the one in Kupang.




The traditional song and dance is almost hypnotic in tone.

By noon we actually reached the village of Takpola and were treated to the genuinely friendly welcome we’ve received everywhere so far and a demonstration of traditional dancing and mock sword play by the warriors. In times past these people were genuine headhunters but these days they get by through subsistence farming and entertaining the odd tourist group like ours.The village is perched under a grove of giant tamarind trees, high on a hillside with magnificent views over the ocean to the north. Talk about location, location, location. The traditional houses on stilts feature steep raked, thatched roofs with wide eaves extending well out from the edge of the lower or meeting level, The next level is for cooking with a small third, attic sized level used for storage. The visit was really interesting and well worthwhile.

 Like Timor, the island of Alore is fairly dry at this time of year but it keeps the humidity from becoming oppressive and with temperatures in the high 20’s it has been quite pleasant. We reached “white sand paradise beach with number one snorkelling” on the eastern end of the island to find a crushed coral beach with a patch of sand. A shelf extended about 60 metres out from the beach to a sharp drop off to the depths of the channel between Alore and Pantah Islands. A local advised us to enter the water at the southern end of the beach and drift north with the current which worked perfectly for half the way and then the tide turned and we got an instant encore of the all the soft corals and small fish we’d just seen. A long walk north up the beach was then followed by a rapid drift south along the drop off as the current started to hit its 5 to 6 knot peak. All very enjoyable but not quite the Great Barrier Reef or Komodo National Park despite Ahmed’s insistence that it was the second best dive in the world. We really did enjoy getting in the water though and can’t wait to repeat the process as soon as possible.

 

 

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Kupang to Alore

August 1-2 2011
 

We upped anchor at 10am and set sail for our next stop at Kalabahi on the island of Alore. We timed our departure to try to take advantage of a strong tidal flow that runs through the channel between Pandah and Alore Islands for our approach to Kalabahi the following morning. Most of the boats in Kupang emptied out of the harbour a various stages of the day depending on their timing for the run to the tidal gate.

We left harbour with good winds and enjoyed a great broad reach sail for a few hours but were warned by the boats ahead of us that near the next island the wind switched to almost on the nose. Despite the prior knowledge we were surprised at how quickly the wind change happened. One second we had 15 knots of south easterly with the sails were nicely set and producing a pleasant 8.5 knots of speed over the ground when wham, nearly 20 knots straight out of the north. It settled back to about 15 knots pretty quickly so we made some snappy sail adjustments and continued on our merry way close hauled.





Cruising along the West Timor Coast

The wind proved fickle throughout the day as we sailed along the north coast of Timor but we were able to avoid motoring for most of the day until it died out after sunset. A group of boats behind us reported encountering a pod of whales but unfortunately we missed them but were often joined by playful dolphins as we made our way north enjoying the coastal scenery. By Rob’s early morning watch the breeze had picked up producing nearly 8 knots of boat speed so we actually reefed in the main sail and genoa to slow the boat down so we didn’t reach the channel too early. Karen had the slowed dawn watch 4am -7am and was mesmerised by the sight of the Islands emerging from the darkened sky. New lands with a new set of discoveries to be made.

Amongst the Sail Indonesia fleet there had been a lot of discussion on the subject of this current and the best timing to run with the five knot flow instead of against it. After studying the tide times, the consensus had been around 8.30am in the morning should be about right. On Nae Hassle we reached our target a little after 8am so were expecting a good run through but it appears the collective brain trust of the fleet had got it wrong. We though the initial knot and a half against us was the end of the southerly run with the flow about to reverse. Instead it steadily gained to its full 5 knots against us in conjunction with wind dropping. Result 1 = a stunning 5.4 nautical miles in three hours as we tried to be purists and stick to sail power. Result 2 = throw in the towel and hour later, furl the sails away and fire up the motor.




Dolphins playing around Contrails beside us

The up side was that we had plenty of time to take in the magnificent scenery of the islands climbing from golden sand and coral fringed beaches up to towering mountains and enjoy our encounters with lone fisherman in the middle of nowhere and the antics of the huge schools of pygmy dolphins in the area. However it was all a bit frustrating considering that if we hadn’t slowed the boat down overnight, we could of been at the entrance hours earlier and had the tide with us for at least three quarters of the way through.  Well, we suppose worse things have happened in paradise. Oh that’s right, one did. After catching no fish across the Timor Sea from Darwin to Kupang we finally had a bite in Indonesia. Unfortunately, something hit us that was big enough to bust the wire trace and steal one of our spoon lures.  BUGGER!!!!! Certainly hope it’s got a toothache from it.

Kupang to Alore – 137 nautical miles – 27.8 hours – average speed 4.93 knots – One stolen spoon lure – no bloody fish again.

 

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Kupang

July 26 – July 31

Like most of the world’s third most populace country, Kupang is a bustling place with over 700,000 people living in the city and surrounding countryside. It has an interesting history with both a Portugese and Dutch heritage and was one of the very first western settlements in the region. Through the early European missionary influence, the population is predominantly Catholic with only 5% being Muslim, however we are still greeted at 4.00am every day by the local Muftis representing the two competing franchises of Islam on shore trying to sing over the top of each other calling the faithful to morning prayers over a very, very loud PA systems.




Capt Bligh landed his longboat here after the Bounty mutiny

The creek that our beachside bar haunt sits beside is the very spot that Captain William Bligh came ashore after being set adrift in the Bounty’s longboat after the famous mutiny. In an astounding piece of seamanship, Bligh navigated the overcrowded 23 foot (7m) open boat 3,618 nautical miles in 41 days from the mid Pacific, through the Torres Straight to Kupang with no charts or compass and only a sextant and a pocket watch.

Being part of the Sail Indonesia Rally has many distinct advantages for sailing cruisers with many aspects of officialdom streamlined for participants. The organisers even had representatives of Telkomsel, the Indonesian phone company, on site at the bar for four days selling local phone sim cards and wireless internet modems. I was able to get three months unlimited internet download, and a truckload of sms and talk time for my i-phone for the equivalent of $11.50Aus a month. No wonder Telstra and Optus are making so much money at home.




Timorese music

The downside of being part of the Rally is that with all of us in town at once the businesses and “fixers” make hay while the sun shines and all the prices go up. Talking to some of the locals we were able to get an idea of the differences. A car and driver for the day more than doubles to $50. Funny thing is it seems if you’re Australian it’s $50Aus, American it’s $50US, New Zealander it’s $50 Kiwi, so on that basis us Aussies are, for the first time in decades, the losers in the currency wars. Diesel that sells locally at 4,500 rupiah (50c Aus)per litre is suddenly 7,500 for the visiting yachts. Even the Bintangs have been hiked to 30,000 rupiah ($3.20Aus) for a 750ml bottle at the bar. With a main meal at the beach bar costing us a whopping 25,000 rupiah $2.65Aus – Oh woe is us.

Karen celebrated her birthday on the 28th so we marked the occasion by hiring a car and driver and toured around the region. Highlights included a visit to a village where the people earn their meagre living by extracting palm sugar from high up in the trees twice a day and boiling it up to produce a very sweet brown toffee like product they sell at the markets. We then went to see traditional musical instruments being made and played. Consisting of musical strings of different tuned length arranged around a round piece of wood with a shell like fan of dried sugar palm leaves to amplify the sound, these unique instruments produce an incredible volume of very melodious sound. We were even treated to a rendition of Waltzing Matilda by the musicians. At just $3 to purchase a small example we were very tempted but stuck to our guns of not buying “stuff” because we need to travel as light as possible.



Karen in shower heaven on her birthday

A trip to the regional museum was particularly underwhelming. It was very, very run down and a great example of how many things in Indonesia are often established very well but then receive no upkeep thereafter. We escaped from there pretty quickly and headed to the mountains for a refreshing swim at an incredible series of waterfalls. Standing under the cascading water of the largest fall was absolutely fantastic after many days of very quick splash and dash showers to conserve water on board. Karen was very difficult to extract from the water but eventually emerged prune like but happy.

The way back to the harbour was a drive along the sea front road with a stop at an area of caves inhabited by hundreds of monkeys. As soon as we pulled up on the side of the road they swarmed down from the trees and rocks looking for a free feed of peanuts. In other places we have visited such as the monkey forest in Bali, the monkeys have been quite aggressive in the pursuit of a handout, climbing all over you and fighting each other. These we were very polite monkeys who waited to be offered food and would happily take it from your hand. Combined with the playfulness of the young ones, this made it a very, very enjoyable monkey experience.

That night we lashed out for a slap up dinner, $6 meals instead of $2 ones, and Bintangs again at the beach bar so by the time Karen collapsed in our bunk back on the boat she’d enjoyed a particularly memorable birthday.

With over 70 boats at anchor in the bay, the beach area in the centre of town is a hive of activity with dingys coming and going all day and night. For the locals it’s the perfect opportunity for commerce. First there’s the valet parking. When you arrive in at the beach, a group of likely lads descend on your dingy, hold it while you alight and then physically lift the thing shoulder high and walk it up the beach. In exchange for 35,000 rupiah (a bit under $4.00Aus) you’re handed a ticket which covers you for as many coming and goings as you like that day. When you want to go back out to your boat they simply relaunch the dingy and give you a shove on your way. If you have brought your rubbish ashore they take that off you as part of the service. We’re not too sure about their disposal arrangements though because we’re sure we’ve seen some of our refuse float back past the boat next morning. The boat boys can even arrange to have your laundry done, $15 for a large bag washed, pressed and returned to the beach for collection. If you want a taxi, hire motorcycle, tour, buy beer or just about anything else, there’s people on the beach competing for your business, all at inflated prices of course.

Local public transport is provided by thousands of mini van Bemos with bench seats in the back arranged along the sides instead of across so more people fit. Every Bemo seems to have its own musical horn tune, used almost continuously, and is brightly decorated with huge stickers and signs, many of which keep us shaking our heads in disbelief. You’ll have the “ Jesus is Master” Bemo decorated in a last supper theme driving down the road followed closely by the “Love Sucks – Sex is Good” Bemo plastered with Playboy stickers and images of half naked girls. They certainly provide constant entertainment while walking the streets.



This dancer became a rock queen later in the night

Friday night saw the first of two official welcome dinners for the Rally participants. Held open air by the beach, this one was hosted by the Governor, who was obviously a busy man and didn’t actually turn up but had his official speech read by a local tourism official. Read first in Indonesian it went for what seemed like twenty minutes. The MC then read it in English which lasted all of three so we feel something may have been lost in translation somewhere. Speeches were followed by some traditional Timorese dancing which is very different to other parts of Indonesia we’ve been to. Once again the local food provided was very, very good but the biggest surprise was the after dinner entertainment. First off, the absolutely beautiful lead female dancer in full traditional dress walked up to the microphone and started belting out western rock and roll numbers. When she took a break she was replaced by a lovely girl in Muslim headscarf who launched into pop and country rock songs. If there was ever a case of the image reaching the eyes not matching up with the sound in the ears this entertainment program was it. By the time the beach bar owner joined in the vocals with a Beatles melody the place was really rocking on with the cruisers up and partying big time with the locals.

Having survived the Governor’s welcome dinner we then backed up the following night for the Mayor’s welcome dinner. Like the Governor, he is obviously also a very busy man and didn’t actually turn up either. However all us yachties gladly devoured the free feed he so generously provided on behalf of the city and were again treated to an eclectic program of entertainment.

Sunday was spent topping up the boat’s fruit and vegetable provisions from the local market, picking up our laundry from the beach boys, haggling with the local money changer about the exchange rate and generally getting ready to go back to sea tomorrow. That evening, we attended Trish's (Brittish cruiser from the yacht Curious) birthday party held on Further( one of the very few motor boats on the rally) and then in the morning headed for our next stop on Alore Island off the eastern end of Flores.

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If you have only recently discovered our blog and would like to read how it all started, or work through our previous adventures, click the link to go back to our first blog entry. Stuff it. Let's just go sailing anyway.  We hope you enjoy reading the previous posts to catch up on our story.