Final Days

We spend a fews days doing boat jobs and finding boat parts, bolts, washers, hose, portable air-conditioner etc etc.  Its time for Graeme and Heather to leave (a week early) due to family stuff at home.  Brian and Lyn enjoy their last week at Singapore.

Puteri Harbour

We check into Puteri Harbour, Johor Bahru, Malaysia - the final home for Steel De Breeze for the next 3 months.  The marina is clean and secure with some very friendly cruising people in residence on their yachts.  Johor Bahru is popular for cheaper shopping than its close neighbour, Singapore.

Leaving Indonesia - Arriving in Malaysia

Finally we reach Nongsa Marina in Batam after some good days sailing.  The marina is clean and very welcoming.  We all move to a hotel in Nagoya for a few days - about and hour's drive from the marina.  Its good to have our laundry done and to sleep in air-con.  We find an excellent Italian Restaurant and enjoy fine food and fabulous wine - yey. We have a fun night at the local bars checking out the ex-pat nightlife complete with girlie escorts.  This is a duty-free island which is very popular with Singaporeans who are after a fun time.

Miss Kitty Shop - Asians love Miss Kitty

Car accessory bling

Show shopping buddy

The interior of the hotel lift

Western band in the Italian restaurant!

The guys have a 'blokey' day watching the WA Derby, playing pool and enjoying the Ashes on TV at a local ex-pat bar.  Its Ramadan here so some places won't sell grog until 9pm at night.  They overcome this by serving beer in white tea-pots with white tea-cups - its hilarious.

Nongsa Marina

We check out of Indonesia with no hassles and motor across the Singapore Straits with no problem.

Island hopping and equator crossing to Nongsa (via Pekacang, Sayer, Lingga, Mesanak, Karas Besar)

We catch up with Boomerang and again enjoy fine times with Rod and Jen.  They are loads of fun and excellent at negotiating with the local fishermen for fresh crabs and fish.  They often exchange biscuits, coke, cigarettes etc for 6 fresh crabs. We cruise in company and it’s quite handy having our beer getting cold in their freezer (we have no more ice) – like following our own 43ft personal esky – tee hee.

Deserted bay until the locals anchor nearby!

Nothing like a bit of company!

The islands are pretty, often quite elevated with dense jungle terrain cascading to white sandy beaches. Many of the bays are too deep and too close to shore to anchor.  Some have bombies and bullets – a bit like the Whitsundays.  We do however always find a reasonable anchorage for the night.  The islands are mostly uninhabited, often with a few fishing boats seeking shelter overnight just as we are.  We are sometimes joined by local boats anchoring very close to us – they have huge smiles, wave alot and are generally very curious about our boat and everything about us – quite amusing really.

We cross the equator at 9.30am on 10 July.  We pull down the spinnaker for a celebratory swim and a couple of warmish beers.

 

Crossing the equator

Swimming  at the equator

We enjoy a mix of calm seas, tropical storms, torrential downpours, amazing currents, big tides, no wind, lots of wind, beautiful sunsets, cool mornings, hot nights – you name it we get it.

Local shop selling milo!

Local houses built over the water

Renovators dream!

Two guys fishing

Local fruit - not sure what it is

Pet eagle

Bangka

We overnight at the lovely remote island of Gelasa before continuing to our next stop is the large island of Bangka, famous for its tin mining.  

Palau Gelasa

The Indonesian word for tin is wanka however it has been changed to timah for obvious reasons!  We aim to anchor at the port of Pangkal Pinang so we can meet Sam and Josh when they arrive in Bangka however it is decided that it may be a dirty, bad anchorage so we continue for a couple more hours to Parai Beach at Sungailiat where a very popular Indonesian beach resort is nestled in the bay. The white sandy beach is clean and inviting.  We venture to shore in the dinghy to explore and Graeme and Heather are accosted by security and then taken to hotel reception.  We explain that we have arrived by boat which causes much confusion. Finally, there are smiles all round and in the evening we dine at their restaurant to dreadful karaoke and average food – oh dear.  Later that evening, we are contacted by phone by the local Harbour Master and the bureaucratic fun begins.  Brian heads back to shore with the ship’s paperwork and it is all settled – we think…  

Squidding Platform - there are hundreds of these around Bangka

Fireworks street seller

Local minimart

Curtain making shop

 

The next day, Graeme and Heather hire a car to journey to meet Sam and Josh at Pangkal Pinang where they have booked a few nights in various hotels.  The car arrives at reception and they are told they can’t leave without speaking to the Coast Guard.  Strangely, the Coast Guard has been sitting next to them for 30 minutes and has not said anything!  They apologise and tell him they can’t stay as they must go to meet their children at the airport at Pangkal Pinang, an hour away, and off they go.  It’s great to see the guys and they spend some quality time catching up. 

Meanwhile Brian and Lyn are unable to hire a car from the hotel as they must stay there to meet the Coast Guard, Immigration and Harbour Master.  Meetings, phone calls and text messages swirl around between Brian, Graeme and the bureaucrats.  Requests for passports, visas, ships documents and port clearances ensue whilst Brian and Lyn are under ‘house arrest’ much to their disgust!  We are politely insistent that do not require Port Clearance as all our paperwork is in order.  Later that day it seems to have been settled however unusual phone messages continue with the final message to Brian being:

“OK..heppy hounny moon memoris this nigt whit your wife sir … enjoy plese… be carefully at the sea way captain.”

The next day they are able to hire a car to sight-see around the island – phew.

During all this drama, Brian discovers the engine mounts need replacing – not good when you are in the back of beyond. The Monkhouses continue gallivanting around Bangka re-provisioning, buying wine and phone credit etc.  They are lucky to buy some lengths of mild steel and have them pre-cut so Brian and Graeme can temporarily ‘fix’ the engine mounts.

Then we are on our way – yey.  We sail to Belinyu, a small town on the north of Bangka.  It’s a fairly average anchorage in the port – noisy, dirty and no good for swimming.  We start to walk to town and Graeme flags down a ute - we all jump in the back and zoom off to the only hotel in Belinyu.  The Monkhouses again check into the hotel and Sam and Josh enjoy their last night before they head to the airport to continue their holiday at a surf spot in Java.  Early in the next morning, Graeme and Heather re-provision at the traditional market.  There are hundreds of locals all vying for the best produce.  We buy the usual fruit, veges, eggs, bread and fresh chooks (head, feet and guts included), fresh beef cut from the hanging carcass …mmm.  We have diesel, ice and water – and off we go … 

Chickens complete with head, feet and guts

Buying beef at the market - tough as old boots

Hitching a ride in the back of a ute at Belinyu

Buying phone credit at Telkomsel

Monkeys for sale at the market

Belitung

We discover amazing beaches and rock formations at Belitung, Sumatra. We arrive at Tanjung Tingii (Pingii) Beach to what looks like a white sandy beach with loads of people frolicking in the bay in front of a resort- yey – perhaps they have ice cold beer and great food!  We dinghy to shore to find the locals and tourists from Jakarta frolicking at the white sandy beach in neck-to-knee lycra swimsuits, warm beer served with a glass of shaved ice and the usual chilli hot fish and green veges – mmm.  Heather spots a young street seller cooking fresh, hot, yummy chicken sate from his cart.  Its chicken sates all round – excellent!  Graeme chats to some young teenage boys who have very good English.  He manages to organize diesel from a local school teacher called Jonny.  Jonny recommends the next anchorage at Tanjung Kelayang – just an hour away.  Heather and Lyn take the laundry bags and venture to the next bay in the front of a stinky old ute whilst Graeme, Brian and Monique shift the boat to the next anchorage.  

With the local boys who helped us find diesel

Tanjung Tingii

We stay here for 5-6 days.  There are a number of warungs on the beach however we frequent one warung owned by a local fisherman, Rusdie and his wife.  They are very friendly and accommodating and we dine here for lunch and dinner most days.  They organise our laundry and stock the fridge with cold bintangs daily.  Every evening they supply us with an ice-filled esky and wonderful food, especially the squid – the world is a wonderful place!   

Rusdie's warung

We rent a car for the day to travel the 30km to town to re-provision food and beer, buy local phone credit, purchase wire so that we can re-position the cabin fans (it’s still very hot at night). We also visit a local pepper farm – a big industry on Belitung. 

Pepper Farming

Drying Peppercorns

We also buy an Indonesian red/green flashing torchlight to attach to the backstay.  It starts flashing as the sun goes down.  The local fishermen all use them so we feel safer at night time as they can all see us. 

Graeme meets a young local English teacher called Ayu, and is invited to her school so her students can have some English practice.  Graeme and Heather rent a motor bike the next day for AU$5 and follow Ayu to her school.  We find ourselves at Ayu’s grandparent’s house in a small classroom giving lessons to her students aged 7-10 years old.  How do these things happen!!

Ayu's classroom

Giving an English lesson

We organise a day trip on Rusdie’s fishing boat to the lighthouse island of Langkuas.  He takes us to the starfish atoll, and we enjoy some fantastic snorkeling. We climb the lighthouse which was built in the late 1900’s by a Dutchman.  These islands are a haven for local Indonesian tourists especially from Jakarta.  It is school holidays so it is very busy.  Again, we are a novelty attracting lots of smiles, photographs and English practice.  

Rusdie pumping the bilge

Monique leaves us at Belitung but not without drama!  Brian and Lyn organise a car to take her to the airport.  The car is 30 minutes late by which time panic has set in and Rusdie is called to the rescue.  She climbs on the back of his motor bike and off they go.  The car then arrives with much apologizing and then tears off after them.  The car catches them and Monique is safely transported to the airport – all good.