Departed Nongsa Point

Hi everyone,
We departed Nongsa Point Marina at 0930 today after obtaining our port clearance and topping up the "pulsa" (aka credit) on my phone. Our stay at Nongsa was very pleasant.

We are currently at 00 36.7N 104 29.2E, making 7 knots on a course of 150M. The wind is 18-22 knots from the NE, making this a nice beam reach. We have a single reefed main and No 2 jib up. Zen Again is loving it.

We have had a variety of conditions already. We departed in a 12-15 knot NE breeze and once around the point had a nice reach down the channel east of Batam Island. We had up to two knots of assistance from the tide as the wind gradually faded away in the lee of the island to our east. We spent several hours with boat speed of less than 3 knots but with the tide still assisting us. Eventually we ran into a "hole" and had to motor for half an hour. Then we found wind again. Since then we've been sailing along very well.

Trust all's well where you are.

Nongsa Point Day 3

Hi everyone,
Today we took care of the final set of jobs preparing the boat for the passage across the Java Sea towards Bali.  These included:

• Topping up the main fuel tanks and refilling the emptied jerry cans;
• Fitting sound insulation panels to the front, side and rear access panels to the engine; 
• Downloading detailed GRIB files for next week or so;
• Setting up our PredictWind Satellite Communicator to email us routing recommendations;
• Fitting the Aries wind gear water vane; and
• Hacking off yet more barnacles.

The last item was terminated at the now time-honoured milestone of my becoming sufficiently tired to let one of the barnacles draw blood.  After stemming the slightly spectacular blood flow and applying antiseptic I went for a swim in the resort pool which was very refreshing.

Robert and I had lunch at the resort - a three course meal with one free drink for S$13.  Excellent value.  It's a nice day here at Nongsa with very little cloud and a reassuring wind which lasts all day and night but is strongest in the afternoon and evening.  Enjoying a lazy afternoon with the to-do list empty of priority items.

Zen Again at Nongsa Point

We have arranged for our port clearance to be issued tomorrow morning, and as soon as that's aboard we'll depart Nongsa Point towards Bali.  We currently expect to take a break at Bawean (Google it to find it), but may stop earlier if we need more fuel.  Hopefully the wind will be as forecast - about 10 knots or so.  Or more please hughie!  It looks like the westerlies are gradually fading away but we hope they'll last another month for friends who are doing the same trip then.

Trust all's well where you are.

Nongsa Point Day 2

Hi everyone,
We had a pleasant day at Nongsa Point today.  I spent this morning working on the to-do list which included:

• Check engine overall, and oil and coolant in particular (all OK)
• Fill water tanks and secure filled jerry cans in forepeak
• Fill fuel jerry cans and stow in cockpit locker
• Attempted to connect gps/instrument data to laptop (failed due to driver incompatibility)
• Rigged shock-cord to hold checkstays forward when not in use.

This afternoon Robert and I took the resort bus to the Megamall in Batam City where we did some provisioning,  I bought an Indonesian SIM for my phone and we enjoyed a good coffee at Starbucks.

Impressive new Telcomcel tower in Batam City

This evening Robert and I hung out at the resort bar with a colourful bunch of expat Scottish, Irish, Swedish and Dutch folk.  They are working here on oil & gas projects, movie animation and boat design & construction.  Apparently the population of Batam has grown from less than 10,000 to over 1 million in about 30 years.

We have a few more jobs on the to-do list prior to departure and currently plan to depart on Monday.