Shootin Through

We started out at 3am with the seas a bit choppy, and enough wind to put a full main sail and head sail for the first time since being in Indonesia, we were pumped. Happy to take the bumpy seas for no motoring. This journey was actually longer than our journey from Australia to Saumlaki, so we knew what we were in for. About 8 hours in as we were beginning to discuss our plans for the night portion of this adventure when suddenly we hear a whizzing and massive bang. The main sail has come crashing down and thankfully most of which landed in the sail bag. So that was the end of our sailing in Indonesia. Back to motoring for about 28 hours. At least it happened in daylight and seems to be a fairly easy fix. Anchors down and needless to say we both need a good sleep.

Casual motor up to our next anchorage which is where we will rest, do some maintenance and prepare for our long passage across to Wakatobi National Park. We were greeted with a pod of dolphins upon entering this hidden a en very protected little anchorage. With green hills surround us and a cute little village tucked away in the far corner. I am pretty happy to call this place home for a few days.

After a long few days in Ambon battling the business of a fairly major city and a horrifying amount of rubbish, we set sail just before dusk for the first of several long passage’s to get us down to SW Indonesia. The wind was predicted to be none existent but as night fell it picked up to 18 knots, which would have been helpful if the angle was not on the nose. Hudson and Boo Boo had a lovely nights sleep with finally a cool breeze blowing in on them. Myself and Captain on the other hand not so much. I struggle to sleep when we are sailing as I have this constant thought of I should be helping. So my night consisted of making sure the captain was fed and content and lots of studying. Gotta use the time when I have it. We dodged too many FADS to count, which is never fun but especially not at night. We have dropped anchor in 6m of crystal clear water and time to clean up, do the regular maintenance checks and Captain will sleep while I entertain a toddler.

We made it to our half way point, Ambon. It was originally planned for a late arrival tomorrow, but after we pulled into our anchorage today, it didn’t give us great vibes. So the fact that the seas were very calm and we had time on our side we kept on motoring. We will stock up on some additional fuel and relax for a day or so then begin the next stretch of this Indonesian journey. Oh yeah and celebrate NYE.

Left a very rolly and exposed anchorage this morning and decided to head through the passage to an anchorage on the other side instead of our original plan. We were surrounded by storms all day and had very little wind, so it was all motoring again. The passage was pretty bumpy with the currents going in all directions, but as soon as you get through it is delightfully calm. We managed to find a 6m sandy patch just far enough away from the township and passage to anchor. Time for Hudson, Boo and I to stretch our legs around the deck and then in to cook some Katsu Curry.

We had a very slow and bumpy day sailing to our next anchorage. I use the term anchorage loosely as it was basically in the open ocean. It shelved up from 300m to 10m very quickly. The swell was coming through constantly even though there was no wind. We seemed to always be position parallel to the shore, which added to the rolling. Anyway, we were just glad to be stationary. Some storms came through at night and we discovered some new leaks, boat life!!!

It was a hectic old day on the water. Tee finally had some wind but with that came some fairly uncomfortable seas. 25 knot winds and 10 odd hours of sailing. Only to come into an anchorage that had little protection from both the wind and swell. Argh. The anchorage was surrounds by reef and had a cute little town lining the shore. We dropped anchor, exhausted and stressed, only to get little reprieve from the movement of the seas. It was an early night for us, and thankfully we woke to a lovely calm morning, which allowed us to go explore and plan for the next leg of our journey.

Christmas Eve is upon us as we set sail to find a beautiful and secluded location to stop and celebrate Christmas Day on the water. It is the first time we have spent Christmas without the rest of the family around as well as out here on the water. We have been frantically coming up with makeshift decorations, finding random Christmas presents and attempting to create a traditional Christmas lunch with Indonesian food 😳😂

We navigated the hectic exit from the Lagoon at high tide and popped around to another little island in the Boo Island group. After some days of researching we have finalised our route SW, which is a relief. Tomorrow we will set off early and get to our next location ready for Christmas.

Another day of motoring to the very beautiful Boo Island. We were hit with a few thunderstorms, and dodged the usual log, but arrived safely. The entrance is a little sketchy, as it is narrow and lined with bommies. We got to .7m at one stage, and needless to say I was feeling sick to my stomach. I think we will make sure it is the top of the high when we exit. Here’s to a few days of relaxing and preparing for Christmas on the water.