Cheetah II

It’s nearly a month since we left Darwin and we’ve only covered about 1000 nm, well down on our usual 500nm a week but this is the cruising life. Since departing Lembata our first stop was quite something, we anchored in 22m and could still see the anchor on the bottom, both of us agreeing it was the clearest water we had ever seen. We took our spot amongst another dozen rally boats and under the close watch of a smoking volcano and put our feet up for a few days. The local village saw the rally boats as a great opportunity to do some business and we actually ended up with a couple of lobsters for a few dollars each!.

At the time our anchor winch was not working so pulling up the anchor took some time and effort in 22m. So onwards we went heading west towards the next rally event in Larantuka, we are a bit over the rally events as they are all quite similar and involve a bit of rigmarole however this event coincided with the Indonesian Independence day which marked the day Indonesia freed itself from the Dutch occupation. We pulled into Larantuka to find a tricky anchorage with deep water and strong currents, apparently a parade was about to start so we hurried ashore to find the whole town on the streets, we were the only foreigners in sight and seemed to get more attention than the parade itself, we seemed to get swarmed wherever we go and cellphone cameras are pointed at us from every direction. Pulling out my camera sends local kids and teenagers into a frenzy of excitement.

The next day there was a tour organised and although we were a bit over these events we thought it was only two hours so wouldn’t be too strenuous but this is Indonesia and time is hard to interpret. Eight hours later we were back on Cheetah after visiting the market, the tourism office, a remote mountain school cashew/banana/coffee plantations and even an orphanage. The school was a crazy experience, we pulled up in a convey on buses full of yachties, there was no mistaking who we were with the ten metre long “Sail Indonesia” banner along the side of the bus. We had a look around the school and sent kids into a sugar fuelled riot by supplying lollies and pulling out cameras, there was literally a stampede of kids fighting to get in front of my lens. We jumped back on the bus and left the teachers to deal with a hundred over stimulated kids. This was a contrasting experience to the orphanage, we arrived to find that we were the first foreigners to ever visit. This experience was quite moving for everyone, they are trying to do so much for these kids but with so little, we handed out some treats to the kids and all the yachties chipped in to make a sizable donation.

The following day was Independence day, we were invited to the Regents (similar authority to Mayor of Auckland etc) compound for a Gala dinner. We thought this might be a formal affair so we dressed up with our best jandels and least stinky shirts. Walking through the front door we were greeted by a room full of government and military dignitaries in regalia, after some speeches we didn’t understand we took our table amongst the well maintained garden and enjoyed an impressive dinner, including whale meat. It seemed like we didn’t deserve to be there and we were treated better than the high-ranking government officials. The Indonesian tourism board sees as ambassadors to our home countries and go to some effort to ensure we spread the good word of Indonesia.

The last week has been very relaxed, we left Larantuka and anchored in a beautiful small bay with a stony beach and monkey equipped forest. It was very deep here and anchoring tricky so we put a stern line to shore, another first for the Cheetah but the reward was the calmest anchorage we’ve had so far. The clear water meant we could see the sea floor below in the middle of the night with the help of the moon, something neither of us have every experienced. The local village is quite remote and the sight of yachts cause great excitement for the local kids, it was rare if Cheetah didn’t have three or more children hanging off the side with their canoes, actually pretty awkward as it seems clothes are optional in this village. Needing some land based exercise we took to the local trails to explore the headland and were immediately flanked by a contingent of local children, our sign language seemed to entertain the locals and we were invited for lunch, I had been a bit crook from some local food so declined the offer but Mike indulged and survived the night.

The next anchorage was in front of the Sea World dive resort, the yachties all enjoying the beach front bar and happy hour specials. From this resort we hired a car and guide to take us to Mount Kelimutu which is famous for its three coloured lakes, this required a 5am start and 3.5 hour drive. The roads were surprising good and the scenery unique, we left the dry coast and ventured into the lush central highlands, a great contrast. After an easy walk we arrived at the summit of Kelimutu and pulled on our jerseys for the first time since Cairns.

Our anchorage for the past three nights has been the best so far, a small enclosed bay surrounded by barren ridges. The snorkling on the outer reef was the best we’ve seen in Indonesia so far. We hiked up the local peaks and were rewarded with a fantastic view over the headland. We enjoyed some fantastic meals and company aboard the yachts Green Ghost (Canada) , Double Time (Australia) and Comodo (Germany).

Now we are underway towards the next town Riung, being Indonesia there is no wind so its 11 hours of motoring and sweating, I can’t forget about the sweating.

Nemberala truly is paradise and it was great to put our feet up for a few days, we didn’t end up getting out for a surf as the stories of experienced surfers constantly smashing boards doused our enthusiasm. “Janets” was the place to eat and also the place to meet and greet, given the small community vibe we met a lot of people including Nik and Jenny on the yacht Green Ghost. We also met Paul who races his 40 ft catamaran solo across from Darwin each year for some surfing, apparantely this thing happily does well over 20 knots although he “has to concentrate too much” so normally just relaxs at 15 knots (3 times faster than us). On our final night we jumped in a mini bus for the cross-country mission to Ba’a where a cultural show had been organised for us. As it turned out only a few crews from the yachts came along so there was over 100 local performers and 8 foreigners, it was a bit awkward at first but they put on an amazing performance and everyone had a great time, we even scored gifts in the form of a ikat scarf (traditional weave) and a traditional Rotenise hat (which doesn’t fit very well in the confined space of the Cheetah). All the locals are amazingly friendly, they dont see too many tourists in some of the areas we’ve been so its pretty standard to get swarmed by locals who want a picture with us or a signature.

It was quite hard to motivate ourselves to pull up the anchor and head back to sea for the 160nm overnight trip to Lembata but it was time we caught up with the rally fleet. So we left early in the morning and sailed in company with Green Ghost the whole way. The 20 knots in the morning died out and we ended up motoring for 20 hours across an eerily glassy ocean. The currents here are really strange and it seems we are always battling against them so we only just made it into Lembata before dark. It was a great sight to turn the corner into the bay and see dozens of yachts anchored, we had finally caught up with the fleet. It’s quite a strange place and from our anchorage we can see 9 volcanos. Lembata itself is pretty basic little town but everyone is charming and the water is surprisingly clear, no problem seeing the anchor in 10m.

So all is well on board, this is the first time since leaving NZ that we’ve only had two so it means three hours on three hours off if we are sailing through the night but the extra space onboard is a bonus, life gets pretty cosy with three and especially four. We are looking forward to getting away from the towns and exploring everything this coast line has to offer. Now most of the boats have headed east and hopefully we will do the same later today, the next stop is about 10 nm from here and marks the beginning of our time on the island of Flores.

My eyelids are pried open by a piercing bright light. I half expect to find a doctor or dentist looking back at me. Instead I have mike floating over me. His mouth is moving but ear- plugs muffle his yarns. I know exactly what he’s saying though… And it’s nothing to do with wisdom teeth extraction or any other surgery, “you’re up bro”. I undo the strings, cords and clips that have been keeping me in my bunk and off the floor for the last few hours. On goes the harness, and I do up it’s associated strings cords and clips. Time for my watch – I’m up. In two hours time, it will be me looming over Kim, figuring out the most diplomatic way to wake him for his watch. And back to bed I’ll go.

That’s a typical night on Cheetah II whilst at sea. The days were much more leisurely. Tasks like prepping lunch become a major part of the situation. The important things in life are all that’s important.

It was roughly 5 days at sea (and a mellow sea it was apparently) between Darwin and Timor. Timor is the eastern most part of Indonesia. The island of Timor is split in half – the western half (where we made landfall) is part of Indonesia and the eastern half is “East Timor” in its own right.

Kupang was our port of call and what a state it’s in, truly third world. Mike observed that the local boating community run a fairly consistent nav light system. This normally comprises the skipper lurking somewhere near the stern of the boat with the dull glow of a cigi marking the vessels position. If she’s a long vessel then there is often another character also heaving on cigi up on the bow. They kept us on our toes as we approached through the night.

Life on the boat was definitely an experience, but the real craziness began when we first stepped foot on the garbage-infested beach of down town Kupang,  the place was teeming with people. A small army met us on the beech, offering to carry our tender and to also keep an eye on it for the rest of the day. The leader of the gang claimed he was a local tourist guide and started offering us diesel, a car and driver and all sorts of other hoo-ha. We couldn’t even get a word in with this bugger. Then from a wall above, came the voice of David – the “sail Indonesia” rally organizer. “Get out of here man, leave them alone!… Lads, welcome to Kupang, come up here.”
We were more than happy to join David “up there” in what turned out to be our “local” for the rest of our stay. It was an open walled bar with big bottles of beer and a view of the yacht at anchor. Perfect.

It wasn’t long before our “tourist guide” friend was back. It turns out that he was a tourist guide, and he proved to be worth his weight in Indonesian RU. He took us to a whole barrage of offices for hours of document shuffling, head scratching and heavy handed stamping. It took a few hours of taxis, about 8 handshakes, 3 cans of coke for the harbour master and his mates, countless repeated questions from various department officials, the request for us to spare 2 bottles of rum for the customs inspectors, and a little bit of charm and we were sorted. Well done for holding the rum close to your chest Mike!

It wasn’t too long before we had the place dialed and were getting amongst the tourist activities. It also wasn’t long before I had to leave Mike and Kim to jump on a jet plane for the next leg of my journey. Another story for another day.

Thanks for having me guys and keep on sailing the dream!

Charlie

After clearing customs and re-provisioning in Kupang we were pretty keen to get away, Kupang has its charm for a couple of days as its a crazy place whose best description would be organised chaos.But its a pretty dirty place and the anchorage was rolly and featured alot of rubbish. Highlight was visiting a crystal lagoon deep down inside a cave. We are now 80NM SW on the Island of Rote, currently anchored in Nembrala which is one of the top surf destinations in the world. Coming through the reef entrance was interesting with a big swell running but after chickening out on the first attempt we actually realized it was legit and came through with no drama. Nembrala is a cool spot with palm fringed white sandy beaches and a great lagoon. There is a cool community of hard core surfers who come from around the globe to hit the left hand break. Its way past our skills so until the swell dies down we’ll be watching. Quite strange being anchored so close to 8 ft breaking surf. Water is a mild 26 degrees and the Bintang are refrigerated to a refreshing 4 degrees to quench ones thirst after a hard day in the sun doing bugger all. But in all honestly this is the first time since leaving NZ and covering 4500 nm (8400km) we have actually been able to completely put our feet up and not have to push to make a looming deadline. We will chill out here for a few more days and then probably sail over night to Lembata which is 150nm north and meet up with the rest of the rally boats.

What an easy passage, never had more than 15 knots and the swell just didn’t exist so it was The smoothest sailing possible.
Arrived in kupang earlier today and now sitting on the beach front enjoying a cold bintang! Will be here a few days and then head off to the surfing meca rote. Better update to follow!