Click to see current location and track.

September 25, 2023

Halfway to Mauritius

As mentioned previously, we are undertaking the second longest passage of our circumnavigation, traveling from Lombok, Indonesia, to the nation of Mauritius near the east coast of Africa. The great circle distance is approximately 3450 nautical miles, and we are currently halfway! Hooray for us!

We had quite an auspicious start. Once we had officially cleared out of Indonesia, we departed in the early afternoon and headed for the notorious Lombok Strait. This is the body of water between the islands of Lombok and Bali, and it is known for its powerful currents and waves. The Lombok Strait did not disappoint; we were gifted with an eight-knot current (in our favor) and long-faced, house-sized waves, not to mention plenty of wind. As a result, we experienced a swift and terrifying exit from Indonesia. We rode the current as we turned westward for our destination. Our good fortune ended the following morning when we sailed into a wind hole and needed to motor for about 18 hours. Eventually, we rediscovered the trade winds and resumed a fast sail onward.

The first third of the passage was marked by consistent southeasterly trade winds and beautiful weather; in other words, perfect sailing conditions. We caught a nice mahi, and we enjoyed the solitude after the hustle and bustle of Indonesia. Predictably enough, we soon began to tire of the journey. I’m sure that I have mentioned before, but it bears repeating: the ocean is large. We have gone a week without any signs of non-piscine life (nary a bird, plane, or other ship). Also, our nice weather has departed, and we have been smothered by two days of incessant squalls. Nonetheless, we continue to make progress, chewing up the miles, and now we have reached the midpoint: 1725 miles logged, and 1725 to go!

September 15, 2023

Last Days in Indonesia

Our days in Indonesia are growing short, and the specter of a long ocean crossing permeates our mood. We are anxious to move on, but a little apprehensive of a long passage across the Indian Ocean which is reputed to be rough and unforgiving.

Last week, we sailed to the island of Lombok and set a new speed record as we entered the narrow pass between Lombok and Sumbawa, the island to the east. We were flying our symmetric spinnaker and as the wind accelerated from 15 to 27 knots, we encountered huge standing waves which allowed us to surf down each face like a runaway freight train. Our top speed was 21.3 knots. We anchored at Medana Bay on the northwest side of the island. Over the next few days, we reunited with the rest of our rally fleet who have spent the last six weeks in Australia.

Lombok is becoming a popular tourist destination, and we are told that it is much like the Bali of forty years ago. We toured the west coast of the island by bus and enjoyed feeding the monkeys, shopping at the downtown open market in the capital city of Mataram, and visiting an old Hindu temple. The scenic Gili Islands are a few miles offshore, and I spent a day scuba diving there while Yong repaired our mainsail (hand sewing). Over the next few days, we completed all of our boat chores including refueling and provisioning.

Indonesia is a fascinating place. It is a majority Muslim nation but all the major religions coexist in apparent harmony. The people are very friendly, helpful, and hard-working. Tourism is booming. Indonesia is best known for its tropical beaches, world-class surfing, Komodo dragons, orangutans (on Borneo; we did not visit there, unfortunately), outstanding cuisine, and economical prices. At the top of my list of favorite Indonesian highlights, I would place the Indonesian action/martial arts movies The Raid (Redemption) and its sequel The Raid 2 (Retaliation). These rank up there with the John Wick series, and the antagonists Hammer Girl and Baseball Bat Guy in the sequel are unforgettably great. I highly recommend both films.

Tonight is our last night in Lombok. Tomorrow, we set off for Mauritius. The weather routing software estimates a 17-18 day passage.

September 12, 2023

Island Hopping in Indonesia

Indonesia is comprised of some 17,000 islands, and the Komodo National Park is located in the center of the archipelago and includes the islands of Rinca, Komodo, and Padar along with dozens of smaller, mostly uninhabited, and spectacularly beautiful volcanic islands surrounded by lush tropical reefs with the most diverse and healthy coral population in the world.

We relocated to the north side of Rinca Island to visit the National Park. We had a walking tour which included many dragon sightings. The dragons look lethargic, but the guides informed us that they are capable of incredible speed over short distances. They hide in the tall grass next to game trails in order to capture prey (deer, buffalo, monkeys, etc.). The Park Museum has photographs of park rangers that have been attacked (wounded or killed) on the job.

The main hub for the area is the town of Labuan Bajo (LBJ) on the nearby island of Flores which is a beehive of activity centered around ecotourism. We had another beautiful daysail to LBJ. The next day, I went diving with a local outfitter (Dive Komodo). The underwater flora and fauna were amazing with multiple encounters with Eagle Ray Mantas and various sharks.

Our final destination in Indonesia is Lombok, which is the island just east of Bali. We are not stopping at Bali because it has become too popular and choked with tourists and superyachts. We have a number of boat repairs to accomplish before we undertake our next passage to Mauritius, which lies nearly 3500 miles away near the coast of Africa.

September 3, 2023

Here Be Dragons

The Lenox Globe, dating from 1510, is one of the earliest globes and famously bears the inscription “Hic sunt dracones” which translates from Latin as “Here be dragons,” referring to dangerous or unexplored territories off the coast of Asia.

We have found this phrase to be quite prescient in describing the Komodo dragons of Indonesia. The Komodo dragon is the largest variety of monitor lizard and resides on just a few Indonesian islands including Komodo, Rinca (our current location), Flores, and Gili Motang. Komodo dragons are apex predators and their habitat is currently protected within a sprawling National Park.

We sailed from Kupang and arrived at Rinca Island where we anchored in an isolated bay in the south. We explored the shoreline from our dinghy, but we were reluctant to wander on shore. The guidebooks state that the dragons often hide alongside trails to ambush prey. We had given up and were relaxing on Leviathan when all of a sudden, we glimpsed movement on the shore. Two dragons strutting their stuff! We quickly hopped into the dinghy to get a closer look. Very impressive beasts. The island is rocky, mountainous, and uninhabited – practically prehistoric – and dinosaurs walk the earth here!

Tomorrow we move to the northern part of the island for more exploration.

Older Posts