Day 116 - Sunday 16 August - Wangiwangi, Wakatobi
Heard one of the yachts on the radio saying that someone was calling for help so Peter headed in and there were two kids hanging on to a tyre and plastic bottle. Peter asked if they were ok - yes and if they were alright - yes. So he headed back to the boat and they started calling again so he went back and asked the right question - do you want me to take you to shore - yes!! Peter picked them up and the little one was saying dingin dingin - cold cold. They were freezing. Peter dropped them to shore and they were so grateful!! Got caught in the current and weren't good swimmers. Went for a walk to find a grotto we were told about where the locals do their washing - looked very nice. Went to the market and had dinner at the restaurant.
Day 117 - Monday 17 August - Wangiwangi, Wakatobi - Indonesian Independence Day
We were asked to get dressed up and were the Regent's guests at the Independence Day celebrations which just seemed to be for the Regent and his guests as there weren't many people around. There was lots of marching - the school kids found it hard to stay still (typical kids! A children's choir was seated next to us and they sang a couple of songs and then the Regent and other important guests signed a plaque and I had to sign on behalf of Sail Indonesia (I had a red and white hat on - Indonesian colours) and that afternoon they took the plaque to the sea not far from our boats and heaps of divers took it to the bottom of the ocean to leave it there. We put on our snorkel gear and went to watch but it was too deep to see but all the bubbles coming up from the divers looked fantastic in the sunlight and was like being in a spa bath!!! There's not much good reef for snorkelling as in the past fishermen have dynamited the reef to kill fish. There was a little bit of seaweed growing on a rock which looked just like a red rose. Got dressed up again in the evening and were guests at the Regent's house. We all had a snack pack and the band playing was the one that we had seen at the music school. There were lots of speeches and the winners of the marches were announced. They gave us a plaque for our efforts in the march and thanked us for coming early. It was 11pm when we got back to the boat.
Day 118 - Tuesday 18 August - Wangiwangi, Wakatobi
It was very windy and a couple of buoys floated off with boats attached! Jean (Whistle) and I went to find the washing waterhole we had found which was 5 minutes away. Didnt find that one but found another one almost out of town. We did our washing with the locals - had kids swimming, people bathing and ladies washing - lots of rubbish around but water looked clean. It was an experience but hard work and then we had to carry all the wet washing all the way back!! One lady had a huge heavy blanket she was washing by jumping on it so we joined her and helped jump on it!! An experience but I don't think we will repeat it - hard work!!! Went to Whistle Down the Wind for sundowners. We wrote every boat's name on the plaque of the people who participated in the march and tried to give it back to hang in the restaurant so everyone could see it but were told it would be an insult to give it back so it is still on board!. They did decide to make another plaque so all the boats could sign it and we gave them an Aussie flag to hang up.
Day 119 - Wednesday 19 August - Wangiwangi - at sea - Night one of passage
Upanchored at 9am which unfortunately was an hour before they had the plaque ready for signing. A nice breeze and good seas. Started off with 2 reefs in the main but took them out and were doing 5 - 6 knots. Saw 3 huts on stilts on a reef and then a fisherman in his canoe with a fishtrap out in the middle of nowhere - bit of a worry! Had the best sail through the day and night that we have had for ages.
Day 120 - Thursday 20 August - at sea - night two of passage
The fridge/freezer stopped working and we realised we would have to slow down or we would reach land in the middle of the night - not an option. We took the mainsail down and just had the headsail. After lunch we totally lost the wind and had to motor sail - we stayed between 2 & 3 knots all day and night. Seas were so calm I was able to read a book through the day and also on my night shifts. My early morning shift - 2-5am was occupied by trying to stay between two islands on the chart plotter in the dark - was so glad when it got light so we could see what we were doing!
Day 121 - Friday 21 August - Wakatobi - Palau Besar, Flores
08°26.33S 122°24.22E
We arrived at Paulu Besar at 8am and went through a gap in the reef. Actually, we went over the reef and went down to 3.9m of water. Anchored in 10m just off a little village with 8 - 10 huts and a mosque which surprised us as we thought it was a Christian area. We had a swim and a man and his child came out asking for pens and books so we told him we would swap for some bananas.
Miles 240 Total 3,395
Day 122 - Saturday 22 August - Paulu Besar - Sea World Resort Geliting, Flores Island
08°38.128S 122°18.404E
The man didn't bring our bananas and I felt really bad that we didn't leave anything for the village! We upanchored at 11am and we managed to find the right channel out through the reef instead of over it this time. It was a beautiful day with no wind so we motored all the way to Sea World Resort which is a restaurant with about 10 hotel style huts (no aquariums or anything). Anchored around 3pm in about 17 metres right opposite the resort - Peter was not happy with the depth. As soon as we anchored a lot of boat boys in their canoes came out to sell fruit etc. Bought some really nice pineapples, cucumbers and pawpaw. We went over to collect Jean and David and they told us they were in 12 metres so we raced back to the boat to move a bit closer in. He who shall remain nameless just jumped on the boat and started hauling in the anchor. I looked back and there was our dinghy just sitting in the water floating as if we had told it to stay put. He who shall remain nameless had forgotten to secure it to the boat!! A boat boy retrieved it for us. Had dinner at the restaurant and they had a band - real Melanesian feel to it here. Ordered some mangoes and watermelon from the boat boy.
Miles: 18 Total: 3,413
It is finally starting to feel like we are cruising and should not have any more overnight sails for a while. We have heard that the guys that went north are encountering bad weather in their efforts to get back and we don't know where Cilentro is at the moment.
Miss you all. Fair winds and calm seas
Dell and Peter
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