Bawean Island

Hi everyone,
We arrived at Bawean Island at 1145 today after a 44 hour passage from Lovina Beach. We covered 198nm on the log and 219nm over the ground, so had current with us predominantly. We ran the engine for 13.5 hours, much less than most of our recent passages in percentage terms. Our average speed was about 4.5 knots and maximum speed on the log was 8.2 knots (surfing down waves on Monday night). We are anchored in 4.5m over sand at 05 43.93S 112 40.26E.

Zen Again Track

The sail last night was very pleasant with winds from 4-12 knots. The wind held in for most of the night, swinging back from E to SE as the night wore on. We only had to run the engine for two hours, when the wind was so light we couldn't do more than 2 knots boatspeed. We dodged a bunch of ships overnight, and also one yacht which shall remain nameless. The yacht didn't see us coming, didn't answer calls on VHF 16, was showing incorrect nav lights, and failed to give way to us. After closing to 100m we finally alerted them to our presence with a torch. They kept standing on so we gybed away.

This morning the wind held in well, from 6-12 knots from the SE. We gybed to and fro to make the best progress possible. A number of yachts appeared as we approached the island, all of them obviously motor-sailing or purely motoring.

Approaching Bawean

Yesterday evening Kakadu was 15nm east of us. By mid-morning today they had closed up to about 7nm behind. They anchored about 2 hours after us, having started about 3 hours after us. The two yachts are very well matched in light airs. Like us they sailed most of the passage. Some of the yachts here apparently motored all the way!

At anchor at Bawean Island

After arriving we spent 30 minutes swimming around the boat to cool off and to give the hull a bit of a clean. Remora fish found the boat very quickly and were most upset when we started wiping off the slime they were feasting on!

This evening we had dinner aboard Kakadu. We decided to depart together tomorrow afternoon for the mouth of the Kumai River. We hope to complete the 180nm passage on Saturday morning. The wind appears to be more consistent in this area, so hopefully we'll have a good sail.

Java Sea

Hi everyone,
This morning we traversed Selat Sapudi and entered the Java Sea. We're now over the continental shelf and sailing in about 70m of water. Quite a contrast to most of our sailing to date where we've been "off soundings".

The nice breeze we had last night lasted until we approached Selat Sapudi, when it gradually died. We ended up motor-sailing through the strait for a couple of hours. For several hours while clearing away from the strait we were in water only 20m deep and had to dodge many fishing boats. Once the water deepened to 20m there were lots of commercial vessels.

A light S wind appeared as we cleared the strait and we elected to sail WNW. We tried the asymetric for a short while but it didn't help us much in the sloppy seaway. Then we had to get rid of it in a hurry when a LPG carrier came tearing down on us. My scan of the horizon wasn't as good as it should have been while trying to get the asymetric working. Oops. Anyway, we got it down and gybed to pass behind the ship (which showed no sign of having seen us). Later in the day we had to change course to pass behind a small cruise ship / big ferry which again showed no interest in giving way to sail.

As the day went by the wind gradually backed around to the E. We motored for a further couple of hours when it went very light from the SE. We are now sailing in a 6-8 knot E wind, with the apparent wind on the beam and doing 4 knots through the water. In the afternoon we sailed past many fish traps. A bizarre incident occurred when I looked up from my book for my 2 minute check ahead to find a fish trap only 2 boat lengths (20m) ahead. Simultaneously the VHF came to life with "careful careful careful". Really! I grabbed the tiller and we missed the trap. I have no idea who transmitted the warning or if it was intended for us. The nearest craft was a fishing vessel 0.5nm away. Always happy to accept "guardian angel" advice! :)

The sun has now set and we're waiting for moonrise to occur shortly. Who knows how many fish traps are passing by unheralded!

We hope to arrive at Bawean Island sometime tomorrow afternoon. Kakadu is about 15nm east of us, having had to free a fishing net from their rudder in the Selat Sapudi. I expect they'll have closed the range by dawn.

Trust all's well where you are!

Crossing the Bali Sea

Hi everyone,
Tonight we're underway, crossing the Bali Sea towards Selat Sapudi. We departed Lovina Beach at 1530 this afternoon. Once through the strait we'll turn NW and head towards the island of Bawean which is our intended destination at this stage. Bawean is a convenient spot to take a break before heading onward towards the Kumai River in Kalimantan.

At the moment we have a lovely 10-15 knot SSW breeze which is producing a boatspeed around 6 - 6.5 knots. We have a little current in our favour so are doing about 7 knots over the ground. When we left Lovina Beach we had a NE breeze of only 4-6 knots, and that died after a couple of hours. We motored for 4 hours over a glassy sea lit by the just-past-full moon before the SSW breeze filled in.

We really enjoyed Lovina Beach. Today we had breakfast ashore and then did a quick tour of Singaraja. Singaraja was the seat of the northern Bali Raja. Unfortunately the historic buildings and port are not being well cared for, so there wasn't much to see. Pity because the history of the local Rajas and the Dutch and the Japanese occupations seem quite interesting. After the tour we returned to the hotel where we spent much of yesterday, for a final chill by the pool before our 400nm+ sail to Kumai River.

We expect to pass through the strait in the early hours of this morning (Tuesday).