We bid farewell to Thursday Island, Australia, embarking on a journey to Indonesia. The majority of our voyage was an enjoyable experience. We opted for motorized travel for the last few hours, but that didn’t dampen our spirits. For four consecutive days, we sailed off the wind, successfully avoiding numerous nets and passing hundreds of others. We did run over one net and luckily with our full keel boat the net gently slid under. We even managed to catch a good sized Spanish Mackerel. It was a great start to this new country. You can follow our progress on our blog, beginning here.
However, there are a few issues I may have overlooked or briefly mentioned on my blog that I’d like to address.
First: anchoring in Indonesia presents a unique challenge. Anchorages are often deep. Twenty meter or more. The mountains don’t simply meet the sea; they extend beneath the water’s surface. Often, 100 meters from the shore, you can find yourself in 500 meters of water. This depth makes anchoring difficult and at times dangerous. Anchorages that you are familiar with in cruising the Pacific are scarce. For instance, in the Banda Sea are the Spice Islands. An area surrounded by several islands and creating a near-landlocked harbor, we anchored in 30 meters of water. If the winds are favorable, one can tie to the shore at (Meta’s hotel). However, if the winds are unfavorable, the holding off the wall is, well, not the most secure.
Second: There’s a guidebook I fondly call the Book of Lies. It’s the best (and only) book out there, but don’t expect it to be anything like those in the Caribbean or Australia. It’s full of beautiful pictures and sometimes good advice. But, it seems written for yachts entering Indonesia during the rally / Southeast Trades. Many of the suggested anchorages are untenable during the off-season. Enjoy the book, share it, but take the information with a grain of salt.
Third: Expect the currents to be incredibly strong. A cruising friend of mine had so much current that he was sailing backwards when leaving Denpasar, Bali. Unless you have a large motor yacht and a large hp motor, be cautious of the currents. We’ve sailed through standing waves, had whirlpools grab hold of the boat and turn us 20-30 degrees off course. While apps show predictable currents, they’re not consistent in Indonesia. I wouldn’t risk my life, the lives of my crew, or my boat on any predictions. Beware!
Fourth: Weather. Use Windy, PredictWind, Japan, USA, or European GRIBs. But don’t wager on the results. If you’re in the middle of the sea, there’s a slight chance that they might be accurate, but that’s about it. If you’re anywhere near an island, forget it. The islands are so large and tall that they create their own weather. The land-sea breeze drives the weather near islands.
Fifth: Fishing. You might catch a fish. We’ve caught a couple, but we’ve also hooked far more plastic than fish. You name it, you can find it floating in the Indonesian seas. Trees, plastics, barrels, and old fish attraction devices (FADs) are all common. The Indonesians tell us that their fathers caught fish that were 25% larger than what they catch now. The population and appetite in Indonesia are huge. Their fishing techniques are so effective that they’ve had an impact on the number and size of wild fish. While overfishing is a global issue, it’s quite apparent here.
Sixth: Yacht / Boating supplies. If it is a yacht piece of hardware expect to pay a premium for it. You may need to DHL it in (the best way) and pay duty plus an agent. We ordered some parts in Sorong, two months later we had them. They went to the agent in Sorong, she sent to them to a mate in Ambon and he passed them on to us. All extra expenses. And we were thankful. In Belitung I spun the dinghy propellor. We needed a new one. The locals use a lot of outboards for fishing. Here I found it at close to the same price in the US or Australia. Synthetic ropes, lines for yachts. Nope. Special parts for your diesel engine, impellers, belts, good luck.
Seventh:The people in Indonesia are incredibly friendly and welcoming. We’ve never been to a place with such a friendly population. They’re always ready to smile and share their lives with you. We have hundreds of pictures with them, and they have hundreds of pictures with us. One resident even offered us a spot of land to build a home on and live there! Unfortunately, the world is too big and too unexplored for us to settle down.
Eighth:And finally, the online guides/ apps provide heaps of current information. Use them. These are the Facebook group for SE Asia, Zulu Waterways, and NoForeign Lands. In a few of the personal websites like the Hacking Family and SoggyPaws you will find other yacht tracks, history and experiences. Just remember it may be worth what you paid for it. :) Cheers
