TOTAL MILES TRAVELED ON SAIL to SEE EXPEDITION: 19,640 NM
THE LAST PASSAGE
Total Miles traveled on last passage – 983 NM
Miles traveled using SAILS – WIND POWER ONLY:
514 NM
Miles traveled using both SAILS & ENGINES together: 421 NM
Miles traveled using ENGINES – FOSSIL FUELS ONLY: 48 NM
Average Air Temperature: 85 f/ 29.4 c
Average Sea Temperature: 84 f/ 28.8 c
Strongest Wind: 35 Knots (knots are a wind measurement of Nautical Miles per hour)
The crew was very busy on land on this leg and took a short break from citizen science, but will resume after Bali.
PASSAGE NOTES:
Our new crew members, all from one family, joined us in Ambon for the journey to Bali. It was great having another family on board with us. We had to sail about 350 nautical miles South across the Banda Sea to get to Flores Island where we would start exploring some exciting parts of Indonesia. The first part of the passage was quite rough and there were some seasick crew members on board. Fortunately, the seas calmed down and everyone soon started feeling better. Life aboard Elcie during long passages includes relaxing, making your own fun, games, schoolwork, and bucket showers off the stern!
Our second day of the passage was a beautiful sailing day and we passed close by a towering volcano rising from the ocean. This would be the first of many volcano sightings in Indonesia. We fished every day but did not catch anything. The autopilot continued to steer well which was a relief to all the crew. It had stopped working for a while on our last passage. A sliver of moon started to show on the early night watches.
Approaching Flores, the winds increased sharply. Where one would expect a wind shadow and the need to motor, instead we were down to two small sails, working hard to get up to the anchorage just east of Maumere (see map above). We came off every wave with a hard smack that shook the boat and made sleep impossible. This is where we had the strongest winds of the trip, about 35 knots.
Eventually, we sailed into some calm conditions close to shore off of Sea World Resort, a place that is much more low key than the name sounds. We had anchored here 20 years ago on our last boat. Soon after the anchor was down everyone jumped in the water. Fishermen in small outrigger fishing canoes came by to say hello. One man had pointed to shore and told us the snorkeling was very good so we swam up to the reef. We were eager to get in the water after Ambon where it was not very clean for swimming. Brilliant blue and green corals and anemone fish and other bright fish occupied the reef. We swam until we were all rather pruned and cold. Laying on the aluminum decks of Elcie is a good way to warm up!
That afternoon a few crew hailed a taxi for an adventurous trip to the local town of Maumere for food shopping. At the traditional market we stocked up on cabbage (also known as 'sailor's lettuce'), limes, eggs, and 2 Indonesian staples - snake beans and tempeh. At the more modern grocery store, we found some treats like puff pastry, chips, and cookies. Later that evening, the whole crew enjoyed dinner on the beach at the resort, with local Indonesian favorites including fresh fish, nasi goreng (fried rice), make-you-cry spicy sambal, and live music. What a nice break from the galley for me!
Cultural Side note: Tempeh /tempā/
This Indonesian staple, made by fermenting soybeans in banana leaves until a firm, earthy patty forms, has been a common meat substitute since around the 12th century. Tempeh contains more protein (31 grams per cup!) and dietary fiber than tofu, and its mild nutty flavor works great in a wide array of recipes. Today, tempeh is readily available in a variety of brands, and you can buy it unseasoned and season it to your liking!
Ready to get started cooking with tempeh? Place sliced tempeh in a saucepan and cover with water or vegetable broth. Bring liquid to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer for 10 minutes. Then remove the tempeh and proceed with marinating, grilling, baking, or otherwise seasoning and cooking it.
Ashore, the resort was quiet and pleasant and very welcoming to cruising boats. The reception desk helped us arrange a van for the following morning for an inland trip to Kelimutu National Park, known for its three different color crater lakes.
Our trip to Kelimutu National Park required a very early start the following morning! We planned to meet the van at 5AM for the 3 hour drive to the park. This meant getting up at 4:15 AM to eat breakfast and to get everybody ashore with what they needed for the day. The van was brightly decorated with many decals and blue racing stripes. Captain Richard sat in the front seat but maybe he regretted it as it was not a very relaxing ride, swerving around motorbikes, trucks loaded with bananas, pedi-cabs and pedestrians. The roads were at times very scarily narrow, but the views were stunning. We saw many trucks loaded with bananas and passed through many small villages clinging to the sides of steep hills. As we rose into the mountains it was cool and misty and green and many people on the roadsides were wrapped in large pieces of traditional, woven Ikat cloth.
Cultural Side Note: Ikat cloth
Ikat cloth is a type of textile (fabric) hand-woven in certain island villages in Indonesia. The yarns are tied and dyed BEFORE they are woven into intricate patterns, requiring highly skilled labor, making Ikat one of the most unique textiles in the world. Ikat is a word used to describe the process and the cloth itself regardless of where the fabric was produced or type of pattern.
The last few miles to Kelimutu were nerve wracking, skidding along and climbing muddy tracks where the roads leading into the park were under construction. We stopped at the ticket gate and used the restrooms. For many of the crew, this was their introduction to squat toilets – a porcelain fixture with rippled foot placements on either side of a hole in the ground and a bucket of water with a dipper to “flush”.
The hike up to the three-color lakes in Kelimutu was only a couple of kilometers on mostly paved track and steps. A band of macaque monkeys hangs out in the trees above and the brush along the track. The lakes are deep down inside three craters atop a volcanic mountain. One lake was a brilliant aquamarine, the second was light green and the third was dark green – almost black. When we went to the park in 1999, one of the lakes was a rich, red color. The lake colors change with the mineral contents present in the water. There were many visitors to the park including a group of high schoolers from the USA on a summer learning experience trip.
Atop Mt. Kelimutu, we enjoyed a cup of Indonesian coffee with ginger made fresh by a local vendor. The ride back down the mountain was also exciting and terrifying at times. Crew member, Jeff, traded with Richard for the front seat. I believe our driver was doing his best, but we were just not accustomed to all the horn blowing and high speed passing on curves. We were grateful to enjoy a late lunch of traditional Indonesian food on Koka Beach.
We got back to the boat around 5:00 PM in time for a swim before the sun set. Another boat had come in and anchored during the day. It was an older steel boat with a Danish flag and a large crew including several kids. We swam on the reef in the morning before heading west to the Komodo National Park. Again, we passed close by a large volcano en route. Motoring in light conditions, we saw a large pod of Pilot whales, smallish black fins lazily breaking the surface. Among them were a few large dolphins who came over to say hello and swim in our bow wake.
I started calling the area “Windonesia” because it seems we either had too much wind or not enough. In any case, the varying wind strengths create a lot of extra work for the crew - reefing and un-reefing (making sails smaller and bigger) and switching the head sails frequently. Engines were turned on and off. Night watches were particularly busy as there was so much boat traffic, small and large. The larger ships might show up on the AIS (a computerized system for identifying boats) though sometimes they didn’t. Smaller fishing boats would sometimes shine a spotlight at us, but many times they were only apparent once we heard a loud PUTT-PUTT-PUTT, the sound of their motors very close by.
By morning, we rounded the northwest corner of Flores and approached the islands of Komodo National Park.
We decided to put the anchor down in a protected bay just before the park to have a swim before carrying on. It was a good choice as the reef was again healthy and beautiful and we could swim right off of the boat. Everyone felt refreshed and awake and we continued on to Rinca Island (pronounced Rinja) where we would anchor near one of the ranger stations to arrange a guide for “dragon hunting” the next morning. This area was NOT suited to swimming as there were Crocodile warnings so we were glad that we’d had a swim in the morning. Tour boats that were anchored in the bay when we arrived starting departing before sunset. We thought we might have the bay to ourselves for the night. However, a whole new set of boats came in to replace them and by morning it was full with boats.
We planned to be ashore at 7 AM to meet a guide. We opted for the long hike, about 90 minutes, that provided some great views of Elcie in the narrow bay and also the surrounding hills. Along the way we saw water buffalo, monkeys, and deer. Our guide pointed out a Komodo dragon nesting site, a large dirt mound with an indent in the center. The Komodo Dragons are more scarce in the wild during mating season so it wasn’t until we were all the way back at the ranger’s station village (just 50 feet from where we started!) that we finally saw them. The largest was a male about 7 feet long from nose to tail. There was a pregnant female that was almost as big, as well as several smaller dragons milling about the ranger kitchen. Our guide mentioned that they enjoy the chicken bones thrown out to them after meals.
Back at Elcie, we got underway to motor around to Padar, a smaller island in the park. After departing, a small boat with two young men that had approached us the previous night just after sunset, reappeared to show us carved dragons, bowls and pearls that they had to sell. We drifted along while purchasing some of the bowls. There was some trading as well.
A ferocious current, running at up to 5 knots slowed us down to a crawl in the narrowest part of the pass between the islands. In the bay at Padar, a large yellow mooring can was available so we fished up the pennant and tied onto it. Ashore, a stairway led up and away to a mountainous peak above the bay. The climbing party headed ashore and summated this peak. The views were amazing and Elcie looked tiny in the bay below. Richard flew the drone above us standing on a knife edge ridge. Back in the bay, tour boats starting filling in all the empty spaces. At low tide, with an 8 foot drop, the bay closed in on us, feeling much smaller. A large, local charter boat came astern and asked to tie onto Elcie. We let them but I’m glad it was only for a couple of hours and not for the night. It was a bit strange to see them so close out our back door.
On the way to the north end of Komodo, we passed by Manta Alley, an area that is known to attract large manta rays. It was near slack tide so conditions were good to jump in and look for them. Several other boats were in the area. I stayed aboard Elcie and drifted while the rest of the crew jumped in the dinghy with snorkel gear.
I could tell even from afar that they had found one, paddling excitedly to keep up with it. All of the other boats left already so I motored Elcie up closer as our crew were starting to get rather far away. Richard told me there were two huge Mantas and that I really shouldn’t miss them. I grabbed my gear and we traded places. Soon, five giant Manta Rays, each about 10-12 feet wide were circling a "bommie" (giant coral head) about 25 feet below us. They floated gracefully, swirling around the dwarfed coral head. The current had started to run so it was hard to stay in one place. We stayed another 15 minutes then climbed in the dinghy and went back to Elcie. An amazing experience and unplanned birthday present for one of our crew!
We anchored around the north end of Komodo in a deep bay. It was deep in two ways – a large indent in the coast but we also dropped the anchor in 100 feet of water. The morning found us hiking up yet another tall hill and this time we carried our breakfast to the top. Several other groups of hikers looked at our breakfast of granola, yogurt, juice and coffee with envy. Again, the views were breathtaking in every direction!
Back at Elcie, we spent some more time in the water and then continued on sailing East. Our original plan was to go all the way to Lombok, the island just before Bali. Instead, we stopped off at an island called Banta (see map above) where there was a good anchorage we had read about. We were able to anchor in 25 feet over sand and snorkel on the reef near the entrance. It was by far some of the best soft and hard corals and fish we have seen anywhere - amazing colors and variety.
Several small fishing boats were anchored in the bay with us. Each one had 4-5 young men on board. One of the boats came alongside Elcie to say hello. They laughed with big grins at my cheerful greeting of “Good Afternoon” instead of the more proper “Good Evening” in Indonesian. They seemed excited to learn we were from the USA. We offered them some chocolate bars and fresh water. They were hoping we might have had an extra set of swim fins to give them. Unfortunately, we had already given away all of our spare pairs in previous trades. All of the boats left soon after for a night of fishing.
Off we headed in the morning with one more volcano called Sangeang to pass close by. The ash fields were obvious spilling out of the cone at the top. A few houses dotted the hillsides beneath it. This always amazes me. We had a lovely sail through the whole day with steady winds and flat seas.
At night, we were again dealing with erratic winds and boat traffic appeared out of nowhere – passenger ships, tankers, tugs, fishing boats. This is a busy area with vessels of all kinds. By the following afternoon, we were approaching Medana Bay (Lombok Island) and a small marina resort that made moorings available to yachts. On the beaches, we could see hundreds of fishing boats that looked just like big water striders when afloat due to an outrigger on each side of the hull. Glittery onion-shaped domes and the minarets of mosques dotted the sky above the tree line. We picked up a mooring and a reconnaissance team went ashore to check in. The Norwegian boat we had seen earlier was alongside a floating dock with parts spread out and the smell of fresh paint.
Just before sunset, the Muslim call to prayers flowed out of the many mosques and across the bay at high volume. It seemed to go on for a very long time. A small restaurant that was part of the marina, called Sailfish, looked very inviting and I was glad for another night out of the galley. We had a really nice dinner of traditional Indonesia food. Our youngest crew (9 years old) discovered that Spaghetti Bolognese is also an Indonesian specialty!
In the morning, four crew went ashore to find a taxi that would take us to the market. It was a 10-minute ride and at 7:00am in the morning, the streets were already full of cars, motorbikes and people. In front of the market were at least 200 motorbikes, some already loaded with purchases and others looking like mobile mini-markets. Many Muslim women were wearing full body covering and scarves. Later in the day, when it heats up, this must be very uncomfortable.
The market felt chaotic, meandering down narrow passageways and spilling over into the aisles - fruit, veggies, fish, eggs, live chickens – everything was available. A motorbike was loaded with so much food, it looked like it would be impossible to ride. It was not a plastic-free market like the one back in the Solomon Islands but everyone obliged when I asked them not to put my food in a plastic bag. We came away with what we needed for the next two days and especially the eggs and ripe bananas that were required for the Sunday morning crepes on this crew's last morning aboard Elcie.
Back from the market, all had a swim and got underway for Bali. There were about 55 miles to be sailed across the Lombok Strait. We had a good sail for much of the way encountering huge tankers and cargo ships going north and south in the strait. Part way across I was looking up at the 9,000 foot peak of Mt. Agung, yet one more active volcano, and saw a growing cloud of ash that belched forth from the crater! This was impressive. A few weeks earlier, the ash from Agung had temporarily closed the airport on Bali.
On a mooring in Serangan Harbor in Bali, we spent our last evening with the current crew, talking about all the things we did and adventures we had along the way. It was a really fun couple of weeks and now we are glad to be in Bali where we will stay put for much of the next 4 weeks to do some work, over land travel, and boat projects. We also hope to get many good nights of sleep before we head across the Indian Ocean. Sampai jumpa lagi!
Cultural Sidenote:
Learn some basic BAHASA INDONESIA - the common language of Indonesia where there are over 300 languages spoken!
Welcome - Selamat datang
How are you? - Apa kabar?
What's your name? - Siapa nama anda?
My name is ... - Nama saya ...
Good morning - Selamat pagi
Good afternoon - Selamat siang
Good evening - Selamat sore
Please - Tolong
Thank you - Terima kasih
See you later - Sampai jumpa lagi
WHERE WE VISITED: INDONESIA
Former Name: East Indies
Population: 237.4 million people
Area: 735,400 miles square
Capital: Jakarta on the island of Java
Type of Government: presidential representative democratic republic (the President is the head of both state and government)
Currency: Indonesian rupiah
Language: Bahasa
Highest Point: 5.039 meters
Climate: tropical
Economy: industry including petroleum and natural gas, textiles, apparel, footwear, mining, cement, chemical fertilizers, plywood, rubber, food and tourism.
Major Exports: oil and gas, electrical appliances, plywood, rubber and textiles
Natural Hazards: volcanic eruptions, earthquakes, floods, tsunamis
Country Flag:
Interesting Fact: Being located on the Pacific Ring of Fire (an area with a high degree of tectonic activity), Indonesia has to cope with the constant risk of volcanic eruptions, earthquakes, floods, and tsunamis. Tragically, Indonesia has been in the news recently for the death and destruction caused by several earthquakes in Lombok and a tsunami on Sulawesi. Our thoughts and prayers go out to the people of Indonesia.