Sailing Almazul

We are back on Almazul in Indonesia after over a year away.

She sat on a mooring at Marina Del Ray in Gili Gede in SW Lombok, being dutifully inspected and cared for a by a diligent marina employee. The wet season saw rain, storms and flooding, and we are grateful that Almazul was in pretty good shape when we arrived in March, but some of the local homes and infrastructure did not fare so well. Our marina helper lost the roof from his house in one of the storms, and the floating dock at the small local port was smashed to pieces. Water damaged roads remain, and life goes on.

During the time away I’d been imagining black mould smothering Almazul’s interior, and a mouse infestation at the very least; and Magnus worried about worn mooring lines and diesel bug. The only one of our dire predictions that was partially fulfilled was the diesel bug, but with a nifty little pump and some assistance with disposal, we were able to drain, clean  and refill the tank – situation sorted. Of course there were other glitches, but more of that later. After much hot hard work, parts ordering, cleaning, and repairing, we were finally on our way from the quiet Secret (southern) Gillis, all the way to Malaysia. Some notable stops include Gili Asahan, Gili Air,  an Organutan Tour in Borneo,  beautiful Belitung, the Rieu Islands, and a hairy passage through the Singapore Strait.

One  moment that stays with me happened  as we left Gili Asahan to sail back to the marina to collect some long awaited parts. We hit the most magical time of a sailing morning, quietly joyful as we weighed anchor with the sun still low over the horizon. The pinks of the sunrise lingered in the sky, the water was opal green, still and clear. With the whisper of a breeze, it transformed from absolute glass to an antique rippled glass; the tiny ripples making the sun’s rays a festoon of fairy lights strung out on the water in front of us. Mesmerising.

Not much time to be mesmerised however, as the myriad of uncharted pearl farm fields and fishing nets, as well as reefs that are located slightly differently than the charts depict all require attention and careful navigation.  But it was a perfect moment in time, thankfully burned in my memory. (for the meantime, anyway!)

THE BOAT BIT

The sailing was largely quiet with little wind, except squalls of course. We motor sailed much of the time. The fishing nets directed our decision to do mostly day sails, and that meant that we stayed in many beautiful anchorages along the way. A slight hiccup was the anchor winch not quite being up to the task sometimes, even when there didn’t seem to be an excessive load. A couple of times we had to abort an anchoring attempt while I went down into the anchor box and sorted out the chain – usually not a problem. The failing batteries required the revs to be quite high when weighing anchor so as not to cause all the instruments to shut down, so maybe it was a power problem. TBC.

The charts in Indonesia are sometime inaccurate, so keeping a keen look out is important when sailing close to charted reefs., and the lookout for tiny flags marking the ends of fishing nets is constant.

Sailing up the Kumai River in Borneo felt like crossing a frontier, as we were the only sailing boat there at the time. The enormous barges that transport goods down river and across the sea to Java and Sumatra among other places looked quite regal, pulled slowly along by their faithful tugboat.

NEW EXPERIENCES:

• Taking a private tour. We sailed to the Kumai River in Indonesian Borneo and anchored outside Kumai town, and took an Oragutan tour on a klotok with an experienced guide and crew into the Tanjung Puting National Park. The wildlife we saw was multiplied many times by the crew’s experienced eyes. We were able to observe Orangutans in the Park at feeding times, but also on the river banks as we motored quietly through the jungle. Sitting on sun lounges on the bow, swathed in long sleeves and hats, binoculars in hand, we felt suspended in time.  We saw hundreds of Probiscus monkeys, macaque monkeys, maroon langur monkeys, crocodiles, Rhinoceros hornbills, kingfishers, and many other bird species as pointed out by our keen eyed crew. It took some time to become accustomed to be waited upon hand and foot and served generous and diverse meals 3 times a day, having the bed made, and umbrellas provided (and held!) for us if required. We realised that we really had the best guide of all, when in addition to the umbrellas  he also presented us with personal fans and chilled neck wraps as we sat sweltering waiting for the Orangutans to appear. We can highly recommend the Orangutan Applause Tour company in Kumai. As well as spoiling us rotten and teaching us a lot about Borneo and Orangutans, they provided a boat boy to stay on our boat to keep it safe from the floating islands that occasionally drift down the mighty Kumai River, dragging anything in the way along with them.
• Being in Bali for Nyepi Day. It is a Day of Silence observed mainly in Bali as the Balinese Hindu New Year, meaning 24 hours of silence, stillness, fasting and meditation, and all work, travel, entertainment and even lighting are prohibited. We saw the remnants of the Ogoh Ogoh parade lying around the next day; the giant demon effigies carried aloft and then burned to banish evil. We just happened to land the day before, and were grateful that the hotel still served food as we were unprepared with supplies of our own.
• Seeing the Singapore skyline from the sea. The city skyline is filled with cranes, industry, smoking chimneys, and skyscrapers. Mining scars mark the opposite Indonesian landscapes. Such a contrast to the empty horizon that we are used to scanning for small black dots that turn out to be fishing boats or cargo ships.

BEST:

• The snorkelling and kayaking around the small islands of Gili Goleng and Gili Asahan was really pretty, and the Gitanda Marine protected area is a veritable coral garden being cultivated by SORCE (Sustainable Oceanic Research, Conservation, and Education), a non profit marine conservation organisation. I had a good look at several rainbow parrot fish, angel fish, and a yet unidentified fluffy black coral that was new to me. It looked like a synthetic mesh shower loofah ball. Another new coral was a pink flat growing type, sort of like brain coral, also as yet unidentified. In this particular spot we beached the dinghy and swam upcurrent in order to drift slowly back over an aquarium’s worth of coral and fish varieties.
• Finding a new mate and paddling buddy all in one. We met a nice Aussie couple and she happened to have a spare kayak and asked me to join her, and it was a lovely few days of poking around together, in the kayaks andgoing out for meals, often involving some level of difficulty. (One day on the way to dinner we walked for about half an hour and scaled steep rocks and stairs at low tide. On the way home we decided to return by boat, as the rising tide in the dark would have made life difficult. However the long walk from shore through the water to the boat in the dark was a balancing act – thongs sucked into soft mud had to be forcefully pulled out, then we had to try NOT to lose our balance and stagger onto the corally bits, before plonking the foot down again, hopefully in a non corally, not too muddy part of the bottom.) Worth it though.
• The Orangutan tour, for sure!
• Visiting some familiar places in Lombok. Its nice to know your way around, and refresh acquaintances, and the ease of doing things and going places for the second time cannot be underestimated when most things/places have to be figured out as firsts!
• Visiting Gili Air in the dinghy. It was fun to visit a tourist hotspot as a contrast to our other stops, and we loved hiring a bike to tootle around the island on, swim, admire the many ponies and traps, and gawp at the sheer number of people that piled off the ferries. It was apparently the quiet season… August must be crazy!
• Beautiful Belitung. The rock formations, the water, the odd quiet warung, welcoming people, helpful immigration officials; it was a perfect place to check out of Indonesia.
• Crossing the equator again!! This time Neptune got some Bulldog Gin to thank him for carrying us safely back into the Northern Hemisphere, as the rum had run out.. The last crossing was mid pacific, somewhere in the six week passage from Panama to The Marquesas in French Polynesia. We scrubbed up with a wash and fresh T shirts, and Magnus even shaved for the occasion! This time was less momentous as we were only travelling on a short hop between Belitung and Malaysia. But an occasion none the less.
• Watching razor fish skipping across the water’s surface, and then foiling along on their tail at an angle between vertical and 45°. Like watching dolphins, it is hard to look away.
• Visiting the Rieu Islands, a tiny swathe of tiny mostly uninhabited islands in the north west of Indonesia approaching Singapore. We anchored off one side of a tiny island with a veritable city on stilts built on its minuscule coastline. Inexplicably (to us) there was another identical looking island 100 m away whose white sandy beaches appeared completely untouched by the human hand.

WORST:

• Not much to complain about, but I got a rotten heat rash when I first arrived which I could not shake, and I spent a couple of pretty uncomfortable weeks working and sweating away while my face, neck, shoulders and LIPS became increasingly lumpy, inflamed, and itchy. In the end i went to a Dr and he did his best, ultimately prescribing cortisone, dispensed in lots of 2 capsules. It helped things simmer down a bit.
• Another first world bummer was our SUP pump hose rupturing, and my hopeful repair being ineffective. No SUPPING FTM.
• A battery emergency in the Singapore Strait, one of the busiest maritime chokepoints in the world. Around 1300 ships pass through the strait every day, and of course things go wrong at the worst possible time. Magnus and I had both (separately) noticed an odd smell, but attributed it to one of the many industries we were passing. Eventually we figured out that the smell seemed to be coming with us, and had a look at the bow thruster battery under the fore peak bed. It was steaming!! Ok, now to get this battery off the boat before we are in real trouble. Magnus went down to remove it, I stayed up dodging ships, periodically calling out to make sure he hadn’t passed out down there, while planning an emergency anchor spot just in case. When he had managed to cut the cables, we had to leave the autopilot to it while we both lugged the battery out from under the bed and up the stairs. All good – we got it to the back of the boat dropped it overboard and resumed the helm. But goodness we knew we were alive that day!
• Rodents! We had a furry visitor onboard for the first time!! As it turned out he didn’t do too much damage, and hopefully left the boat of his own accord because we certainly didn’t catch him.

FUNNIEST:

• Well this is not really funny, but our incredulousness at the strength and agility of the marina boys at Marina Del Ray was comical. They made lugging water, fuel ,or  anything heavy appear effortless, and certainly put us to shame. One day Magnus was removing our defunct hot water heater, and managed to man handle it up into the cockpit to be dealt with later. When Ezran arrived to remove it, Magnus warned him it was heavy, and he blithely proceeded to lift it like a carton of milk and step lightly down into his waiting boat. He stands about 5’ tall and probably weighs about 40kg. Astounding!
• Having a little bat visit on passage, and take up residence in a winch handle holder! His tiny little feet were gripping the top as he hung quietly inside. Convincing him to move was not easy, and when he finally did he flew straight into Magnus’s shin, causing him some consternation and giving me a good giggle.

FOOD AND BEVVY HIGHLIGHTS;

There seems a never ending array of new foods to try; and we have to wrench ourselves away from the solid favourites of mi and nasi goreng, gado gado, satay, and curry. New ones include:

• Soto Ayam; a tasty chicken noodle broth with turmeric, lemongrass, spices bean sprouts, boiled egg, and fried shallots. Apparently this is different everywhere you go.
• Spaghetti Carbonara. Although not your usual Indonesian fare, it was delightfully rich and creamy. We ate this at a resort restaurant on Gili Asahan, another cruiser described as “the best Italian restaurant in Indonesia.” We had pizza here too – equally unexpectedly fantastic.
• Fried banana with cheddar cheese and grated chocolate. Weird good, but we added some icecream to dilute the experience a little.
• Curry with chicken/fish. One of the Captain’s favourite little restaurants serves a divine yellow curry, and it is hard to order anything else to beat this.
• Oloh oloh – a new veggie dish for me. I guess this varies too, but the ones I had were mostly green vegetables like water spinach covered in a rich creamy white sauce. Really satisfying, and I hope the green veg goodness balanced out all the creaminess healthwise!
• Satay goat and chicken eaten with a guy who ferries us around when we need car transport. The three of us ate a filling and delicious meal and fragrant and creamy curry soup for AUD$12.15 at a small local cafe or “warung.”
• Urap urap – a vegetable salad of blanched vegetables tossed with a fragrant spiced grated coconut dressing. Really tasty and satisfying.
• Balado – I had the chicken variety of this fiery West Sumatran dish. Fried chicken is coated in a spicy sambal. Because it is known for its bold heat (and aromatic flavor) the thoughtful waitress warned me that it was “spicy.” Sometimes this has proved to be the understatement of the year, but in this case it was very nice – and okay for me heat wise.
• Banana cooked in coconut milk and brown/palm sugar. No surprises here, just deliciously sweet.
• Thai fish cakes. The best I’ve had! The resort pool surrounds might have enhance the flavour?
• Thai prawn toast. As above; and the dipping sauce was to die for. Possibly sweet soy, garlic, lemongrass, chilli?
• Pepe’s Ikan at Bleu Mathis. A local dish of spiced fish in banana leaf parcels, with rice and a tiny salad. Really nice, and I am grateful for the tiny salad that I guess it was a western adaptation.
• Fruit cocktail. A plastic bag version of tinned fruit that I bought for when we were not able to buy fresh fruit. It comprised papaya, pineapple, lycee, and coconut. Absolutely delicious!
• Cap Cay. Another vegie dish – not new, but always filling enough. It’s basically stir fried veggies with oyster sauce, but I can’t make these flavours at home!
• Beef Rendang – A crew favourite here; the slow cooked beef in coconut milk and complex spice paste is deeply infused with rich flavour, ensuring complete satiety.

BOAT WORK:

Well, there was A LOT of boatwork to recommission Almazul. She was pretty clean, with very little mould to speak of. But still there was work to do:

• Replace dead depth sounder and speed instrument. The heat is brutal on all parts of the boat – so failings are par for the course. A new one was ordered from England and fitted by the Captain.
• Polish fuel and clean fuel tank.
• Wash all running rigging and lines.
• Repair failing spray hood. When we returned to the boat, there was a fair bit of black mould on the spray hood, and as I cleaned it, the stitching just fell apart, resulting in a major repair. We took it to a canvas shop in Mataram, but somehow they made an error which we only discovered back on the boat, an hour’s car trip away. But we were able to sort it ourselves, after the professionals had done the heavy part of the sewing.