Saturday, October 27, 2012

LWH – Week 16 : Gove

Sat 20 - Sat 27 Oct
Well it has been an extraordinarily frustrating week. We ordered our water pump on Monday 15 October. On Tuesday 23 October it finally turned up in Melbourne. By Thursday 25th it was in Brisbane, the 26th in Darwin and we finally got it today – Saturday 27th October. And it took the skipper less than 15 minutes to install it. What can you say!!!!!! We did have a lovely day on Friday. We hired the ute again and shared it with two lovely gentlemen off a yacht called Some Time who are also stuck here awaiting parts. We did all our shopping and went up the lookout and had a lovely day with good company. We have met quite a few lovely people passing through on their way east. Anyway tomorrow we are going to head off and start the Gulf crossing.
Love to all.
Fair Winds and Calm Seas
Dell and Peter

Saturday, October 20, 2012

LWH – Week 15 : Gove

Sat 13 – Fri 19 Oct
Well I wont bore you with a day by day blow of our time in Gove. Gove consists of an alumina plant and the Gove Boat Club. The water is an incredibly beautiful colour but other than that there is nothing here. The nearest town is Nuhlumbuy about 11km away. You need a liquor permit to be able to buy alcohol at Woolies and we couldn’t get that until Monday and you cannot buy casks of wine – it is bottles only. We have had a couple of meals at the Boat Club which is open from Thursday to Sunday and a lunch at the Walkabout Tavern in the town. We have met a few fellow yachties passing through but they have been able to continue their journeys while we just sit and wait and hope our part will eventually come in and a weather window will open up for us to get across the Gulf. A lovely man came out and found the problem with our water pump. The bronze housing of the salt water pump has corroded and so the metal wear plate isn’t sitting straight and flush against the impellor so it sucks air and not water. He did a temporary repair with sicaflex behind the wear plate so it acts as a flat bedding which may last five minutes, five hours or five years!!! Either way we cannot risk going home without a new water pump. We did however, move a little closer to shore so it is not so far to go in Bob. We hired a ute for the day and dumped the 80 litres of diesel from the deck which we bought in Indonesia (dirty fuel) and have jerried out enough to fill the tank with good fuel. We also paid for our 2 – 3 km tow - $500 – yep!! So add that to the $330 we had to pay to Quarantine and it has cost us $830 before we even set foot on land. – Welcome home!!! We continue to do the radio sked with the boats still in Indonesia and one of them has engine problems up there and we feel so sorry for them. It is bad enough here but at least we are home! We are enjoying the showers and we actually used a washing machine the other day! Wow how easy was that to do the washing! Anyway this is Arnhem Land – homelands and not only do we need a permit for liquor but if we wanted to go anywhere other than town I believe we have to get a permit for that too. Not so much the land of the free up here – in fact not anything like the real Australia where you live. We are keeping ourselves busy – the skipper has been doing a bit of fishing – score 5 reef sharks.

Much love to all
Fair Winds and Calm Seas
Dell and Peter

Tuesday, October 16, 2012

LWH – Week 14 : Arafura Sea Crossing

Sun 07 Oct – Day/Night 1
We left at 6.15am and stayed well clear of the headland. We motored into a reasonable swell with a few very big waves which was a bit of a hang on and close the eyes job! As we got further away from the islands it settled a bit and we tacked to try to keep wind in the sails – motor sailing. We emailed (sail mail) off our letter of Intent to return to Customs. Saw a big clump of seaweed with a turtle floating beside it eating the seaweed. The skipper saw a pilot whale. Just on dark a beautiful booby bird started circling and flying alongside us. A magnificent beautiful bird. He landed at the bow of the boat and preened himself but it wasn’t a comfortable place to be and he fell off a couple of times. Once he landed on the deck but took off again and by now it was dark and he came in from behind and hit the wind generator – he didn’t see or hear it. I looked back and he was lying in the water stunned – I cannot get the vision out of my head. He took off and went a short way and disappeared. I fear we killed him. What a horrible horrible thing. Still haunts me. We went through the night with breeze on the nose and lots of current against us. The seas were very comfortable though.

Mon 8 Oct – Day/Night 2
Cannot get the booby bird out of my head. So sad. The skipper said he should clean the filters before they clogged again but I wasn’t keen to stop the engine. Something about if it aint broke don’t fix it. Well at 11.30am that was proven to be folly when the motor stopped. The skipper had to change the engine fine fuel filter (we have only one left!) and the pre fuel filters (we have two left). We had been unable to secure anymore in Tual. The dirty fuel is proving a disaster. He was able to get us going again and has tried to clear up a used engine fine filter just in case There is not enough wind to sail so are following the rhumb line and it is so painfully slow. Doesnt feel like we are making anyheadway. And its so worrying about the motor. We have very calm seas but no wind so we cant sail. Heaps of small dolphins travelling with the boat in the late arfternoon. I did a three hour stint through the night but apart from that the skipper let me sleep. Tired and depressed so needed it. Slept really well.

Tues 9 Oct – Day/Night 3
What a gorgeous day – amazing what a goodnight’s sleep does. Sea so calm, current not quite as bad. Have seen six turtles snoozing on the surface. The skipper did the 8am sked, cleaned both filters and went to bed. Had both sails out for a while but the wind was on the nose – its really just a breeze. Have been able to read a book this passage which is really good as it certainly passes the time. There is nothing but sea to the sky all the way around. So lovely and have got used to stopping the boat in the middle of nowhere! We crossed into Australian economic waters at 11.08am so took down the Indonesion courtesy flag and put up the yellow Q (quarantine) flag. Passed a big tanker in the afternoon on its way to Singapore. Saw a few tankers on the AIS after that. One changed course to go behind us. We heard the coast watch plane call up a couple of boats but they didn’t call us. The half moon came up at 1.15 and the sky is so full of stars. Saw five fishing buoys which we hadn’t expected to see here.

Wed 10 Oct – Day/Night 4
11⁰23.071S / 136D53.237E
The sea is so calm and its a beautiful day. We motor sailed and rounded Cape Wessel at 3pm – as far as crossings go it was pretty good – just long. And then the nightmare began. The skipper turned the motor off and was so excited because we were sailing and doing 6 knots but when he went to start the motor again there was a terrible smell and though the water pump was pumping it wasn’t pumping water. We sailed till around 8pm with the skipper working on the motor the whole time and then we lost the wind altogether and were slowly heading towards land with the current. So we had to anchor 20 miles out to sea in 43m – the first time we have had to use the 100m of rope.

Thurs 11 – Day 5
12⁰10.919S / 136⁰40.060E
We didn’t sleep terribly well and had the anchor hauled in and the sails out by 6.00am. We knew our weather window was closing and strong winds were predicted for the afternoon. We sailed with not a lot of wind so we got the jenniker out and that got us along quite well and as always we left if slightly late to get it in and thats a huge struggle. We saw a tanker on the AIS go right over the spot where we had been anchored!!!! Australian Customs called us around 3.45 as they had been expecting us in the morning so they told us to anchor where we could and they would contact us at 8am. As we got closer to Gove the wind was building and then it changed direction and went on the nose so we had to tack all the way across the harbour to the beach in gale force winds with spray coming off the top of the waves. The skipper estimated 30 – 40 knots and 3-4 m waves. The conditions are the worst we have experienced as we had to head into it. He sailed across to the beach on the other side (I say he because I was a screaming wreck on the cockpit floor) but that was no good so he tacked back towards Gove just behind the big jetty and we anchored there. He pulled in the headsail first and we slowed too much so had to use the motor to get us a bit further in – an awful knock coming from it. Dropped anchor and luckily it grabbed immediately so he dropped the main and laid the anchor out and I secured the sail. It was a little more sheltered from the waves but the wind was howling – its a horrible noise. The skipper cooked a pork roast bless him. Went to bed but didn’t sleep well.

Fri 12 Oct – Gove, Australia
12⁰12.043S / 136⁰41.919E
We didn’t sleep well. The wind howled all night but the sea settled till the early hours of the morning. Customs called us at 8am and they said they weren’t coming to where we were and we should move so we advised that we needed a tow so they had someone contact us but he couldn’t come till 11am. The Michael J came for us after 11 and towed us the extra 2 – 3 miles round to the anchorage. It was very rough and still blowing like mad with waves. We anchored about 1 km from the shore and just sat. An hour or two later we had Customs, Immigration and Quarantine on board. They were pleasant young men (one was from Pine Rivers) and of course they took all our meat and fruit and veg and noodles which we had expected. But we had to pay them $330 for the privilege. No it is not a fine – it is what we Australian citizens have to pay to come home and if we come in on a weekend you can just about double it!! We don’t pay it if we fly in – these guys get paid for doing their job so why the fee! It cost us about that to replace all the stuff we lost. Had a quiet night on board feeling a little bit traumatised!
Miles: 480 TTT: 2,460

Well here we sit in Gove awaiting a new water pump. The weather is too bad to leave yet anyway so we have an enforced stay. Which is probably good recovery time. There are a few boats here waiting to leave – some have left and come back a couple of times. For those who think we are nearly home – we aren’t!! Its still around 1800 miles to go and its all pushing against the wind and waiting for weather windows. We are grateful that we made it and are here to tell the tale!!!

Much love to all
Fair Winds and Calm Seas
Dell and Peter

Sunday, October 7, 2012

LWH - Week 13 : Tual

Sun 30 Sept - Tual Channel - Tual
05 38.248S 132 44.360E

Best sleep in ages! So calm wouldn't have known you were on a boat. Put Bob in and headed to the small beach thinking to snorkel but it was rocks not coral so we had a very welcome swim off the beach. We then went to the next beach over which was lovely and walked to the end. Found a large starfish which we put back into the water but think it may have been too late for him. Also found a dead seasnake - black and white bands but we didn't put him back into the water - he may have been faking it! Saw a fisherman diving for clams. Lots of clam shells on the beach. It was starting to blow up. A big blow is due tomorrow for at least five days. We were going to head up to the channel to Tual tomorrow but a bit worried the blow may come in early and don't want to get caught in 20m. So we put Bob on board and followed the red and green markers up the channel and anchored in 12m opposite the town just before the bridge, beside a seaweed (we think) farm at 2.15pm. Very happy to be here and looking forward to exploring the town. There is a big cemetery just over the way on the hill. It seemed to be a ship grave yard on the way in - lots of rusting and sunken ships. A beautiful red orb sunset and a huge full moon rising!
Miles: 8 TTT: 1,988

Mon 1 Oct - Tual
Well the wind came in a day early. We are anchored beside a mass of small water bottles and floats which is either a pearl or a seaweed farm. Eddie came by in his long boat to see if we needed solar (diesel) so we gave him our jerries and he got our diesel. The skipper was not that thrilled with the quality of it though. Bit cloudy. We filter it before we put it in the tank and we are going to buy a heap of fuel filters (when we can find them!) so we should be ok. Other than that a quiet day on board.

Tues 2 Oct - Tual
Happy Anniversary Amy and Pete
Happy Birthday Ann
The wind drops off at night but comes back with a vengeance through the day. We are watching the weather via grib files and also listening to the HF reports and have Debbie on weather alert and we think we may be able to move in five days or so. Went ashore - took Bob in where there was a rubbly bank where the fishing boats are tied to the shore. It is very deep until you hit the shore - have to step out of the front of Bob! We struggled to get Bob up the rubbly incline and tied him up and checked with a fishing boat that it was ok to leave him there. Walked down the port road to the town. Most people said hullo though some people were a bit reticent. We walked down the street till we got to a police post where the skipper asked directions and the crew walked further up a side street. There were some school boys there and some other men walking towards me and I felt uneasy so went back. We caught a minibus to where we thought the fuel filters were and they werent. It was very hot so we walked back to the supermarket and picked up a few things then walked all the way back over the bridge looking for a restaurant. There really wasn't anything around. We found a little makan place and had a nasi goring freshly cooked. Most of the places had their food already prepared and all deep fried. We walked to the market and everyone said hullo how are you - it got rather wearing. All the same the town doesn't exactly have a friendly vibe. We went back to the boat. Eddie drives past in his boat most afternoons to check on us! Each afternoon there has been a game of soccer on with quite a crowd cheering. It is on a small soccer field specially set up near the port (bare dirt/gravel not lawn). All the fishermen who go past wave and are friendly.

Wed 3 Oct - Tual
We were going to go ashore around 10 but a tug bought a great big barge in and headed straight for the bank where we had previously left Bob. At the last minute the tug reversed out of the way and the barge kept going. It was a deft piece of driving! We watched for a while and finally went ashore at 1pm. The skipper took an ojek to Lenggur across the bridge looking for fuel filters while I went to the market to do some shopping having every single stall owner say hullo and I didn't feel like bargaining so walked up the street and up the hill to find an interesting looking building we had seen from the boat but after I copped an F you from some youths I retreated back to the main street and just wandered around. Happened upon a shop which sold beer much cheaper than the last town. Finally found the skipper again around 2.30 after he borrowed someone's phone to call me. I had walked back to Bob and met about six young school children, one of whom was Marga who were lovely. We got the beer and I chatted with the children while the skipper went on a further foray for fuel filters. One of the children asked for money but Marga said no. I think when people leave here they may give their small change to the kids but that then only encourages the kids to ask for money. We went back to the boat, both of us just not quite liking the place. There are heaps of mosques around and at 4am they all started singing at once - all different tunes and from different directions and many of them! They don't seem to do the Malaysian call to prayer - this is actually quite nice but not when it goes for an hour and they sermonise then sing all over the loud speakers. 4am to 5am!

Thurs 4 Oct - Tual
Went to Immigration to check out which took about ten minutes and the chap was lovely. We went next door to Customs but it wasn't open yet so walked down the street and saw another cemetery among the houses. When Customs opened there was no one from Customs actually there - they had gone to Ambon (we think) so we walked down to the Harbour Master but he wanted two copies of the Immigration stamped crew list so he sat me down to watch TV while the skipper walked back up the hill to Immigration. There was a National Geo show on about all the bull sharks in the canals on the Gold Coast and also in America. Dont even put your toe in one of those canals! The skipper meanwhile had an entourage of school girls follow him back down the hill! It took about 45 mins with the Harbour Master and that was it - didn't have to worry about Customs. Went to the market and bought our fruit and veg then back to Bob. But the tide had gone out so had to walk Bob along the bank and then put him in between the fishing boats. Good thing he has wheels! We were assisted by 3 or 4 small boys so we gave them a couple of bubble blowers. In the afternoon we had a very loud knocking on our boat and when we went up there was another yacht anchored next to us and its skipper had come calling. He came aboard and was after information on Indonesia. He was Swiss and his wife Belgique and they had come from New Caledonia via the Luissiades. He didn't have a visa or a CAIT and he also had a dog on board so not sure how he will get on with Immigration. Anyway we had a good chat and we gave him some info on anchorages etc so he was delighted.

Fri 5 Oct - Tual - Langgear
05 56.308S / 132 51.289E
We left around 6.30am and went up the channel and out around the island. It rained and got a bit rough but then it settled and we had a good sail for a while and anchored towards the bottom of Kai Besar. It was overcast so hard to see the reef. Anchored in 14m and went back to 20. A very pretty spot with alovely white sand beach. Saw another large fish leap four times out of the water today. Wondered if they were trying to get lice off themselves or whether it is just good fun. The wind came up in the afternoon and we had wind against tide and it wasn't the best anchorage. Wasnt too bad a night though.
Miles: 39 TTT: 2,027

Sat 6 Oct - Langgear
The grib files are showing a weather window so we have decided to try for Gove. We were of two minds of whether to go tonight or in the morning. The crew spent the day stowing everything and having a cleanup while the skipper cooked some meals for along the way. We decided to leave in the morning so had a lamb roast with roast veges and a bottle of wine for dinner - delicious. The wind howled all through the night and we rolled badly enough that we didn't get a lot of sleep!
Well thats the week - we are currently on the first day of our four day three night crossing to Gove. The weather window closes on Friday but we should be there by then.
Brett and Delphine, have a wonderful holiday. Love to everyone and special thoughts for Maureen.

Fair Winds and Calm Seas
Dell and Peter

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Monday, October 1, 2012

LWH - Week 12 : Seram - Tual

Sat 22 Sept - Wahai, Serum Islands
02 47.616S / 129 31.019E

We went past the town of Wahai and came through the red and green markers leading in to where we were going to anchor. There was reef both sides of the markers and we motored in with the motor in neutral to where we thought the waypoint was which was supposed to be in mud. We were very close to the mangroves when a fishing boat came in behind us and started yelling at us to get out of there and then the depth sounder hit 7.8m and Pacific Express's bow was over reef and we had a big bommy just beside the cockpit! We reversed out of there very carefully and went around the jetty and anchored up the back in the mud very close to where the waypoint we had been heading to was. We just had to go around the jetty first!! Thats probably as close as we have come (except for once when the crew was driving!) to putting Pacific Express on a reef! Excuses and lessons learnt - both exceedingly tired, almost home so took the eye off the road; we always have crew up the front when coming in but because we thought we were coming into mud we hadn't bothered! Complacency kills so it has given us both a huge wake up! We anchored at 9.30 in 9m and went back to 4m backing towards the mudbank - at least its only mud! Anyway we are in the calmest place off a little village which is surrounded by mud at low tide. We can also see all the reef where we tried to take Pacific Express into! A little canoe with husband and wife laid a net around right beside the boat and then beat the water to frighten the fish into the net. They didn't have much luck that time but they are still out there trying. The fishing Boat Inkamina anchored beside us to clean their nets and asked if we wanted any tuna. The place is absolutely beautiful. The only blight is the big genny running on the big boat at the jetty. The couple net fishing came over with their daughter to show us the fish they caught. It was a fair size! She looked like she had on one of her father's holey t-shirts so we gave her a new one. So pleased to be here.

Sun 23 Sept - Wahai

We walked to town about 10.30 - quite hot and a couple of kms but we decided we needed the exercise. We walked through the town being greeted by the 'hullo mister' and 'hullo missus'. The petrol station was just at the end of the road at the port but it was closed and had been for quite some time. We went to the market which was just some sari stores and a few veges for sale on the street. The town is almost enclosed by reef. We bought some bananas and then ran into an Australian who knew where to get beer - of course! There were three Aussies working doing thermal seismic work in a plane and helicopter to find minerals - apparently a joint venture between the Australian and Indonesian Governments. Had lunch then caught ojeks back. An ojek is on the back of a motor bike. The tide was way out and if Bob didn't have wheels we wouldn't have got him back in. We did not locate any diesel. Around 4 we were sitting on the deck and there were some kids on the wharf whooping and waving so we waved back and next thing they had jumped in the water and were swimming out. We suspect they had under estimated how far it was to the boat! We told them to go to the back of the boat so the five of them stood there so excited. The skipper got the map out and showed them what we have done/are doing. Gave them some orange juice and biccies and they were full of boyish exuberance and just such a delight. They were high school boys and shook our hands and had their photos taken on the bow of the boat - so polite. The skipper took two of them back ashore in Bob - the other three were yelling that they were going to Australia. The skipper then took the other three in - it made their day and it made our day too.

Mon 24 Sept - Wahai

A fisherman stopped by at 8.30am so the skipper gave him some fishing line and hooks. We walked to the little village off which we were anchored. Too muddy to take Bob in and we watched a bloke making a dugout canoe from a tree trunk. We then did the long hot walk to town, got some eggs and more beer (it is a long way home!). The beer shop always seemed to be closed but the locals yelled through the windows and they then opened! Very funny. When we were walking through the markets a little girl started crying - she was scared of us! We gave her a bubble pipe but it didn't seem to help much. They dont see that many farangs, though the kids are all learning English as they now get around 5,000 tourists a year here. We walked right to the end of town and we could not find anyone to sell us any diesel. We ordered lunch and the skipper waited outside and the makan place was right by the police station and a policeman came over and told the skipper he had to fill in some forms so off he went. The police only wanted to know what we were doing and were amazed and they had a good old laugh and chat - no forms. Then the skipper came back for his lunch. We caught two ojeks back. We were sitting on the deck around 5 when we saw four heads swimming to the boat. We had already put Bob and Freddy on board so had no way of taking them back. This lot were aged 14, 16, 18 and 19. They asked for cigarettes - tidak!!. The skipper did a good job talking to them. It was starting to get dark and the skipper explained they would have to swim back and they asked if he would like them to go now and he said yes so off they went and swam back - it was still exciting for them to just stand on the back of the boat and even though sometimes we don't feel like it, to an extent we are a window to the world for them. And they are so polite. We had a little rain the previous nights, not enough to give us anything really so the skipper took the rain catcher down so of course it bucketed down! We caught enough in the buckets to do a wash at any rate.

Tues 25 Sept - Wahai - Tanjung Malakabo
02 59.207S / 130 07.965E

We left around 6.30 and all the guys on the big boat waved us off - bless em. Motored into a 10 knot breeze and current against us but it was a pleasant day. The scenery changed from mountains to rolling hills. Around lunch time the wind came up on the nose and it got quite rough. We got the main down and headed to the beach we were going to anchor off. We just got the anchor down and the rain hit and it poured. The other thing that happened at the same time was the height adjustment bolt holding the tiller up sheared off and the tiller collapsed! We anchored in 6m off the beach thinking we were going to have a rolly night. The skipper made some multi grain bread as we were unable to buy any in the last town. The skipper then went to his shed and just happened to have the right bolt with the right thread - he could open a shop with what he has in there! And the tiller was soon fixed. A pod of dolphins came in swimming not far from the boat but were very shy. Talk about an isolated spot - no lights, no cooking fires - absolutely no one here!
Miles: 42 TTT: 1,743

Wed 26 Sept - Tg Matakabo - Bula Bay
03 06.308S / 130 32.692E

A surprisingly comfortable night. Just a gentle rock at times or else calm. Got up at 5.30am just as it started to sprinkle. Upanchored at 6am and motored along on calm seas in the rain. Cleared and saw a huge tuna swimming along with its fin out of the water about 6ft long - at least thats what we think it must have been - it was not a shark. We sailed for an hour or so and then the wind went on the nose and the chop picked up a bit. When the tide changed the current went against us so we decided on a short day and anchored at 11.30 behind a sandspit off a beach quarter of a mile east of a big jetty. We could see the town of Bula right across the bay. It was a little rolly during the afternoon but once again it settled through the night.
Miles: 29 TTT: 1,772

Thurs 27 Sept - Bula Bay - Waru
03 24.044S / 130 40.616E

At 1am we awoke to the worst sewage smell ever. It was truly awful and really strong and lasted through the night. Smelt like they were emptying the entire town's septic tank!!! Apart from that we had a comfortable night and left at 6am to try to get around the Cape before the wind and the tide picked up. The swell really picks up around the Capes. The sea was flat but there was a large rolling swell. We had a pleasant journey around. The seas were flat with a slight swell. Anchored in 14m off a village at 10.07am. A very pretty place. Three boys in a rather large boat came to visit and the skipper spoke to them and showed them how to tie a hook and they went off happy. Two little boys came out in their canoe but weren't game to approach. Had a restful day. It was sunny and very protected. Late in the afternoon two boatloads of men came in to the village - we thought they may have been working on the outlying island. There was activity on the beach and a truck drove along the beach. We had a feeling they may have been dropping off firewood for the cooking fires which sprang up in the evening. We could hear the mosque but we could also hear what sounded like a disco - quite a contrast! A lovely calm night.
Miles: 22 TTT: 1,794

Fri 28 Sept - Waru - Night crossing
We left at 5.45am in calm conditions. Our original plan had been to island hop to Tual but the weather across the region is blowing up in four days time so we have decided to do an overnighter to an island 20 miles short of Tual. The islands on the way are reefy and deep and we would have to feel around to find somewhere to anchor and you need good light for that. The seas started out calm with a nice breeze. Full sails up with motor assist. Lovely day till we got to Gorong Island around 3.30pm and then the wind went on the nose and we had current against us with a choppy sea - not uncomfortable though - 2200 revs for 4.7 knots! In 600m of water a huge fish leapt out of the water five times - we think this one was a baraccuda. Passing Gorong Island with a few small villages and we can see four mosques - one with a huge gold dome. It looked a very pretty island but we kept going. We motored through the night with a lovely full moon and a slight chop on the sea and it was a very comfortably night and we both managed to sleep.

Sat 29 Sept - Crossing - Tual Channel
05 34.426S / 132 40.419E

The wind came up and the seas picked up a little. The fuel filter went so the skipper switched to the other one (dual system). We were heading into wind and current and the seas had chopped up a bit. About 10am they were calming down, wind dropping off when the motor stopped. Scary moment No. ???!!!! The other filter clogged as well so we floated around while the skipper changed both filters and the one on the motor and it was a heart stopping moment when he started the motor - and it went!!! We were 40 miles from Tual when a little sparrow landed on the deck. We fed him and watered him and he kept taking off but all he can find is us - no land so he kept coming back to us and made himself quite comfortable. We went through a bit of a squall but the sea state remained comfortable. We had both sails out for a time but then it went on the nose again. Our little bird found shelter under Bob and we fed him bread crumbs and water. He stayed with us for over 40 miles and left as we were coming into the island of Tual. We had intended to stop at an island 20 miles back but the angle of the wind and current just pointed us towards Tual. We tried to go around a little island to anchor but it was full of pearl farms so we came back and anchored off a tiny beach in 20 metres at 5pm. We couldn't get closer because of reef. It is very calm in here. In the whole two day and one night crossing we saw one tanker and two small fishing boats - there's not much out there. A boat went past waving and a huge tuna leapt about 10m out of the water behind hem - amazing. The crew actually put a cardigan on today!! Another night sail out of the way - so pleased to be here!
Miles: 186 TTT: 1,980

We are now anchored at Tual which is where we check out of Indonesia. So far we have been blessed with good conditions and good weather. But it now looks like blowing strongly for a week so we will probably be here for a while!

Hope all is well. Miss you all but we are making headway.
Fair Winds and Calm Seas
Dell and Peter

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