Lorelei’s
Sailing Adventures
For
Episode 38 we had been down at Rote Island (Right at the SE tip of Indonesia) surfing
the world famous T-Land break.
We
had to return to Kupang for a visa renewal.
Our
location for this Episode of the Blog.
Our
route for this Episode of the Blog.
KUPANG
We
had been to Kupang before (In Episode 37) to clear in and had spent over a week
there exploring, etc…
So
this time it was a case of reprovision, refuel, get our visa and customs
paperwork completed and get out of there.
It
still took 5 days to get all that done.
We
were in Kupang for the beginning of the holy month of Ramadan.
Each
afternoon in the city people would set up a long line of road side food stalls
selling lots of yummy food, smoothies, fruit shakes, drinks, sweets, etc…
At
around 5pm many people would flock to the area to buy food which they would
start eating from around 5:43pm which was sunset.
It
also meant the night markets were really packed each evening.
We
loved the food, but there was the issue of leaving the RIB onshore at night
(security and the rough weather) and the many people eating at the markets.
So
we had a great system where Lisa would stay with the RIB and Paul would walk up
with a large Tupperware container, fill it with food and return just a few
minutes later.
Our
favourite was the Satay Chicken Sticks (Sate Ayam).
We
could get 3 servings of rice and 3 bundles of Sticks (10 in each) with the most
amazing Satay sauce for just A$6.
Kupang
has the most amazing red sunsets we have ever seen and it happens every night.
We
would sit upstairs with a meal or a drink and enjoy it.
The
sunrises aren’t too bad either…
When
we first arrived in Kupang (7 weeks prior) we asked some nice local ladies who
have a small sewing business to do some sewing for us.
They
were very busy so we left the material with them and collected the finished
product on our return.
They
made some new sun covers for Lorelei’s windows, some new shorts for Lisa and
some cushions for Lorelei using the local Batik material we brought in West
Papua.
The
end result for all 3 was fantastic, particularly the cushions.
Once
again we used the local agent Napa for our official stuff and also his friend
Max to run us around the city on their motorbikes.
BRING ON THE SWELL….
In one respect the timing was terrible for us to have to return to Kupang.
In
another opinion it may have been a good thing.
We
(along with every other surfer in Indo) had been monitoring a large low
pressure system that was developing in the southern Indian Ocean.
The
models had it looking like it was going to be big – REAL BIG!!!
For
10 days we watched it progress into a really intense system and 4 days out it
was all over the net with 50-60ft waves reported in the epi-centre.
This
would push the swell onto the West Australian Coastline and most of southern
Indonesia’s surfing hotspots.
Massive
surfable waves of up to 25ft were forecast in some areas.
"We have seen multiple satellite passes
confirming seas of 50 feet, with one pass indicating seas of just a hair under
60 feet. Satellite-confirmed seas of 60 feet have happened only a handful of
times around the globe in the last decade."- Kevin Wallis (weather
forecaster)
In
some respects we were sad we had to leave Rote but in reality Paul would not
have surfed it at that size with 30ft+ faces.
Additionally
and more importantly - what was the anchorage going to be like for Lorelei? It
faced SW and that’s the exact direction the swell was coming from. It had the
potential to be very rough and uncomfortable.
Either
way we had to leave and so did Harry and Hayley off Jack the Toad as by pure
fluke their visa also expired on the same day.
We
looked for alternate options and the most promising was Savu which is a small
island 120nm away and on the way to Sumba.
However
it is only a little island and was due to get bigger waves than Rote with still
the anchoring issue for Lorelei.
We
simply couldn’t stay in Kupang either as it also is a very exposed anchorage
facing SW.
So
with all that in mind we ran north to escape it.
It
seemed crazy as we wanted big waves to surf – but just not that big!!
Safety
for us and Lorelei was paramount so run we did.
1 week later were amazed to see footage and photos of monstrous
waves from around the Margaret River (SW Australia) area and the famous big
wave spot of Cow Bommie.
One wave from local big wave surfer Jarryd Foster made the Annual
Billabong Big Wave Awards and is reportedly one of the biggest waves ever
ridden in Australia.
It did come at a cost though and he snapped his leg in the
process….
The waves in Indonesia’s central surfing areas of Bali, Lombok
and Sothern Sumatra all had great waves but unfortunately the swell didn’t push
as far east towards Rote as everyone there was hoping.
The swell at T-Land only peaked at 5-8ft for 36 hours.
SAILING TO ALOR
We took off the day before the peak of the swell for the 130nm run north to Alor.
Rather
than split the trip into 2 full days, we decided to do a 24hour overnight run.
By
9am the wind was already 15knots and we sailed straight off the anchor and were
ripping across the bay at 8.5 knots boat speed.
As
we headed up the coastline the large swell was smashing onto the rock faces causing
some big waves and spray which looked and sounded awesome.
The
overnight passage was pretty routine with a large moon creating enough light to
make it easy to see for any structure or other vessels.
The
fast passage came to a screaming halt when we entered the Alor Straight at 5am. The south setting current was ripping at over
3 knots and we were down to less than that in boat speed. It took us over 5
hours to travel just 20nm to get up into the bay.
The
upside was we ran the desalinater for the entire transit up the straight and we
filled the tanks and washed the huge amount of salt off Lorelei.
We
passed a large amount of the Bamboo fishing pontoons on the way up the bay. It
was interesting to see the winch systems were all made out of natural
materials.
Getting
close to the main town of Kalabahi we started to see more boats.
We
passed this very packed ferry.
We
anchored at 10am in a delightful little bay just a mile from the main town of
Kalabahi.
There
were a few friendly locals on boats going in and out of the bay.
They
always had a friendly smile, a wave and would yell “Hello Mister!!”
DIVING ALOR
The main reason we came to Alor was for the Scuba Diving.
Alor
has some world class diving and a mixture of muck diving in the bay and reef
diving in the pass.
We
wanted to try and do a bit of both.
The
muck dives we could do easily enough on our own but the reef dives in the pass
could prove to be an issue as the area is renowned for strong currents (which we
found first hand in getting to Alor in Lorelei) and drift diving is a common
practice with local dive operators.
So
we jumped on the internet to try to find out dive site locations and dive maps
or briefs that would assist us.
Whilst
there are 3 dive operators in the area, the most established and highly
regarded is Donovan Whitford from Dive Alor/Dive Kupang.
Donovan
and his father Graham (who are Aussies) have lived in Kupang for over 20 years
and are the ones who put Alor on the diving map.
Donovan
runs regular charters to Alor from Kupang and has done over 4500 dives around
Alor.
Whilst
looking on his website, we noticed he had a 10 dive charter booked to start in
just 3 days time.
Maybe
just maybe we thought we might be able to join in….
A
few emails and phone calls later and we were booked on.
It
had all fallen into place perfectly. There were only 4 guests, they all wanted
to do reef dives in the pass and not
muck (which was perfect for us) and to top it all off – the charter boat was
moored only 40m from Lorelei.
PERFECT!!!!
However
we still had 3 days to kill and so we wanted to get some muck dives in first.
We
walked outside on the morning of our first full day in Alor to find another
yacht anchored next to us.
They
must have arrived only hours prior so we left introductions until later and
went diving.
Perfect
conditions to go diving….
We
took the RIB 5nm down the bay to one of the premier dives on the area “Mucky Mosque”.
As
the name suggests, it is out the front of a waterfront mosque which we easily found
and went diving.
It
turned out to be an ordinary dive with not many interesting critters and we
were disappointed.
A well
camouflaged Cuttlefish
We
checked the internet later that day and found a photo of the mosque and we
realised we were at the wrong one.
We
needed to do some more research to find the right location.
At
midday we received a visit from a local guide named Adi who was taking the
couple off the other yacht on a day trip into the mountains the next day and
wanted to see if we were also interested.
After
some discussion we signed on with him too.
For
the afternoon we went around to dive the Pertamina Fuel Pier but it was windy
and onshore and the viz was terrible so we aborted and dived in the small
protected bay where Lorelei was anchored.
We
found scores of Fire Urchins with Brooks Urchin Shrimp living in them.
The
shrimp are only found living in association with the Fire Urchins and hence was
a first for us as we’d only seen a few Fire Urchins prior to this.
The
difficulty was getting up close to photograph the 10mm long shrimp without
touching the urchin spines as they can inflict a painful wound.
A 5mm
long Squat Lobster
A
Brook’s Urchin Shrimp
That
night we had Thomas and Annette onboard Lorelei for drinks from the German
yacht Anke-Sophie.
They
are a great couple and we were looking forward to having a fantastic day trip
with them the next day.
Abui and Kabola Traditonal Mountain Tribe Tour.
We were picked up at 8am and first went to Adi’s house for breakfast and to meet his family and our tour guide Mila.
Mila
was great as she spoke Indonesian, English and the traditional mountain tribe
languages.
Adi
showed us some very old carvings from the local area too.
With
the lack of rain in the area, many homes have wells for fresh water.
Adi’s
well was very deep.
The
drive up to the first village took 1 hour.
The
views over the bay as we climbed into the hills were amazing.
We
took the car as far as it would go and walked the rest of the way.
At
the base village we stopped to see a lady doing traditional weaving.
She
also showed us some handmade jewellery and a very old sword and scabbard that
was nearly 100 years old.
We
were completely blown away when we arrived at the Takpala village and home of
the Abui Tribe.
It
was awesome!!!
Traditional
houses well laid out in a very clean setting with 180 degree water views.
We
were able to walk freely around the village and talk to the people (who
thankfully also spoke Indonesian) and have a look inside their houses.
For
centuries the village has not worshipped a god but instead has believed in
their ancestors spirits.
Now
with religion being popular they have had to adapt.
The
2 different cappings on the rooves below are for the Muslims.
One
building serves food that is halal friendly and no pigs or dog and the coloured
flags indicate which is which.
The
head man of the warrior clan showed us some traditional dress and weapons
before proudly putting them on and giving us a fighting and bow and arrow
demonstration.
One
highlight was seeing the Moko Drums which are very old bronze kettle drums.
Whilst
they are found in a few locations around Nusa Tenggara in Indonesia, they are
most famously associated with the island of Alor where they have long been
prized in ceremonial exchanges.
Moko
Drums are still generally required as part of the bridal dowry.
Before
we left the local ladies set up some stalls showing and selling traditional
jewellery and woven cloth (like Tais in Timor Leste).
For
the second village we had to drive back down to sea level and around to another
side of the island before tackling a windy road that was in bad repair with
lots of pot holes and wash-outs.
We
stopped a few times to have a look at the awesome view.
This
time we were looking up the bay instead of out over the pass.
The
Kabola Tribe received us in an area built for ceremonies and visiting tourists.
Their
traditional clothes are a little out of the ordinary as they use the bark from
a local tree to make them.
They
dressed Lisa and Annette up in bark dresses that were amazingly one piece of
unjoined bark.
The
2 local men demonstrated to us how they made fire from bamboo and how they
remove the bark from the tree and prepare it.
By
the time we had arrived back in the main town of Kalabahi for lunch, we were 2
hours too late and the food stalls were all but empty.
Being
Ramadan also didn’t help…
Fortunately
Adi’s wife is an excellent cook and they made us a very late lunch at their
house.
We
visited the local stores and markets and finally arrived home at 4pm completely
stuffed but very happy after an awesome day out.
We
had a rest day the next day to sort out our dive gear, rig cameras and sort
through the 600+ photos from the village tours.
Thomas
had heard about our diving adventures with Donovan booked for the next day and
decided he would like to come along as well for the first day.
Diving with Dive Alor
At
an early 5:30am we were in a very packed RIB and heading over to the charter
boat.
From
there we departed at 6:15am for a 7am pick up at the main wharf at Kalabahi for
Donovan and his other guests.
While
we were waiting for them to arrive, we were able to have a walk around the
wharf and take some reflection shots in the glassy early morning conditions.
One of
the traditional local Phinisi’s at the wharf
Heading
out down the bay was great. It was glassy flat and there were loads of large
Tuna and Spinner Dolphins jumping out all around us.
We
passed a lot of the Bamboo fishing platforms on the way.
Ahhh
now there it was – the correct Mucky Mosque location which was a little further
down the bay. Donovan confirmed this also.
The
12m/40ft boat was perfect for the amount of people we had. There was a lot of
room both up the front, down the back and a great central space out of the sun
where we could sleep, eat and relax.
We
did 3 dives that day starting with a protected bay with loads of unusual
critters, followed by a great wall and ending with a sloping wall dive with
lots of ledges. It was a fun first day and Lisa took some nice macro shots of
Leaf Fish and Frog Fish.
Juvenile
Clown or Painted Frogfish
Leafy
Scorpionfish (or Leaf Fish)
L: Giant
Frogfish face R: White Leaf Fish
Right: 2
in 1 – Note the 2 shrimps in the one shot….
For
Paul it was great to have some other models aside from Lisa.
Paul’s
highlight of the day was a Giant Frogfish that yawned for him – twice!!
The
next day was supposed to be a 4 dive day including a night dive.
However
by 4pm we were all stuffed and a little cold so everyone canned the night dive.
One
diver named Istiani had her 17 year old son Kefas onboard as it was Indonesian
School Holidays.
Whilst
he didn’t dive, he was a keen snorkeler and photographer and brought his Nikon
camera onboard.
Between
Paul and Kefas, they had 3 Nikon camera bodies and 6 different lenses to choose
from so Kefas took loads of pictures of us and the other divers gearing up and
getting in and out of the water.
The
group L-R: Istiani, Lisa, Paul, Pipiet, Tonny
The
conditions stayed flat for the whole day making it very pleasant to travel
between islands to get to the dive sites.
Looking
forward as we motored to Reta Island.
Looking
aft as we travelled from our first dive site at Pura Island
Anchored
up at our 2nd dive site.
Paul
enjoying lunch on the bow
In
the afternoon we dived below an old Mosque.
Its
claim to fame is it houses the oldest printed copy of the Koran in the world.
We
did get some great photos during the 3 daylight dives.
This is
a very small Snapping Shrimp (carrying eggs) on a Starfish
We
surfaced from the 2nd dive to find this canoe sailing around us
The
shallows at the end of the dives made for great sunlight shots.
By
the time we got home that night Thomas and Annette on Anke-Sophie had left.
They only had 60 days in Indo and wanted to see as much as they could. We had
shared a great few days with them though.
Tonny
and Pipiet had to return to Jakarta for the last day so day 3 just had Donovan,
Isti, Kefas and us onboard making for a load of room.
Having a
cuppa, fruit and pancakes for breakfast
The
morning was still and hazy making for some eerie photos as we travelled down
the bay.
Looking
back towards the 1000’s of buoys at the Pearl Farm
It
was spring tides that day and the currents in the pass were brutal and Ambon
the captain had a very hard time keeping the boat going straight.
At
the first spot we had to wait for 20 minutes for the current to subside before
going in. We only had a small time window so we didn’t want to go in too late
and still entered as there was a little current.
The
cave and wall was incredible and the colours on the wall were amazing.
The
photos below are virtually straight from the camera with no colour editing or
enhancement.
We think
this is the biggest Barrel Sponge we have ever seen
The
afternoon didn’t go so well and we did the premier Bommie called Cal’s Dream
which is a pinnacle that comes up to within 6m of the surface.
20
minutes into the dive a roaring current hit at around 6 knots. It was by far
the strongest current we have ever felt whilst diving.
Thank
goodness we had our reef hooks and were able to hook into a small hole in the
reef top to do our safety stops. The funniest thing was watching this poor
little white leaf fish near our feet. He was tucked up against the reef edge
looking for current protection too and didn’t look too happy about it.
The
boat was sitting out watching for us and we had travelling over 100m underwater
from the time we unhooked to the time we travelled the 6m to the surface.
Thank
goodness for good crew….
Donovan
making sure we are OK. Note Lisa’s
safety sausage to the right
A week of Sickness
We
had an invite to meet Donovan, Isti, Kefas and the crew for dinner that night
but we were both very tired so we politely declined.
It
was just as well… Paul was starting to feel sick that night and for the next 3
days he had terrible Flu symptoms and was stuck in bed.
Oh
well at least it gave him time to sort through and edit the 1500+ photos from
the 3 days.
However
by day 3 the pics were done and he was sick of watching movies.
He
was climbing the walls in frustration but could barely get out of bed.
The
weather was perfect, there were loads of boats chores to be done and the muck
dives were calling…..
The
upside was Lorelei was in a very protected anchorage with no one to hassle us.
On
the afternoon of day 3 Paul was starting to feel a little better and could get
up for 15 minute periods and at least sit outside for a while.
After
a really good night sleep the night before we surmised one more good sleep and
he would be much better.
It
certainly wasn’t the case and he had a terrible night with no sleep and
virtually cried most of the night with extreme throat pain.
He
was having trouble breathing and couldn’t swallow at all.
At
10am he awoke and rolled over in horror to find Lisa under 3 blankets and
shivering violently with a really bad fever.
Paul
could barely lift his head off the pillow and there was nothing we could do –
we just had to ride it out.
For
36 hours we were both in a hell of a state. We couldn’t eat, could barely drink
and had no one to turn to for assistance.
Our
sheets were a sweaty mess and we couldn’t even change them.
On
day 6 at 3pm Paul started to come good and was able to get up to run the
generator as we were pretty low on battery voltage.
It
was a comedy of errors and he overfilled the generator and spilled fuel
everywhere.
He
then tried to cook some custard for us both and nearly set the galley on fire
and made a hell of a mess.
By
day 7 Paul was up and about and spent the day doing 1 hour on/1 hour off and
trying to get Lorelei and us back together again.
However
Lisa slept most of the day and still had a fever.
However
we weren’t clear yet.
Lisa
still had 3 days of fever and spent most of that time in bed.
After
10 days (and probably the worst week and a half ever full time cruising) we
were up and about and going again.
Along
with the fever we had in Gizo in the Solomons 2 years ago, it was the sickest
we have been with the combined issue of a crossover period where we both had
it.
The
10 days certainly was going to put a dent into or travel plans as we were due
to meet our next guest on the island of Flores in 2 weeks time.
We
had 3 weeks’ worth of activities to do between Alor and there so now we had to
prioritise and remove a couple of stops or at the very least cut them short.
Back into the Alor Muck Diving
Either
way we weren’t going to miss the muck dives in Alor so that’s what we started
with once we were better.
We
ventured down to the correct Mucky Mosque for a dive there.
However
Lisa got cold after only 60 minutes and we cut the dive short.
A
Lionfish being cleaned by 2 Cleaner Wrasse
Miniature
little bugs crawling over the soft coral
The
next day we did a double dive on another site called The Mini Wall.
It
had a lot of soft corals on the sloping wall with many unusual critters.
Lisa
was having camera problems and didn’t take her camera.
Yawning
Lionfish
Mushroom
Coral Pipefish – a first for us
Sailing to Flores
We
downloaded the weather and the forecast looked OK for the 300+nm sail to Labuan
Bajo on the Island of Flores.
We
were due to pick our next guest up there in 10 days time so we had to get
going.
However
Paul’s head cold had returned after getting cold the day before whilst diving
and Lisa was still far from 100%.
So
we decided to break the trip down into a series of smaller day trips.
We
left Kalabahi at 6am with lots of waving from the residents of the bay.
The
conditions were glassy until we hit the main pass.
As
we transited down the bay we spied a large Humpback Whale travelling up into
the bay.
In
the main pass the wind came up early and it was from the south so we hoisted
sails and weaved around the islands as we headed north out of the pass.
We
spied a small sailing canoe that was struggling with the windy and rough
conditions.
We
turned west for the run across the top of the islands of Nusa Tenggara.
The
currents are brutal in this area and the spring tides didn’t help.
We
pushed tide most of the way and sometimes had speed down to only 2 knots.
At
noon the wind picked up to 20 knots and came straight in from the west and was
really rough.
What
the @#%$& was going on with the weather??
We
were right in the middle of peak trade wind season which should have given us
S-SE-E winds. The weather forecast also indicated a week of Easterly winds -
NOT 20 knots of damn Westerly….
We
couldn’t turn back as the tide in the pass had already changed and we would not
make our planned overnight stop before dark (and it faced west anyway).
So
we scoured the charts for an alternate anchorage to give us westerly protection.
We
found a possible option but either way we had to bash and crash into the wind
and current. We had green water all over the boat and were not happy at all.
At
4pm Lisa remembered she was given a huge amount of goggle earth overlays from
another yachtie months ago and a quick check revealed we had one for the
proposed anchorage. Thank goodness!!
At
5pm we managed to navigate over a very shallow reef bar (with less than 2m/6ft
under the keel) and were able to anchor in a small but well protected inlet for
the night.
We
were so happy for a decent meal and a good night’s sleep.
It
was the most un-economical run we have ever done in Lorelei.
We
managed just 38nm for 73 litres of diesel.
(Normally
it’s roughly 6nm for 5 litres…)
Day
2 was kinder to us with light south winds but we still had to push current and
motor/motor sail all day.
We
passed some amazing islands and 2 active volcanos that were 1500m high.
This island
was huge but bare of trees and green foliage
With
the zoom lens we could photograph the steam rising off the outside of the
caldera of the first volcano.
The
smell of sulphur was quite strong as we sailed past.
In
2 full days of travelling we had done only 80nm and still had over 220nm to go.
It
was going to be a long (and expensive) week....
That
night we had a great sunset with a Volcano in the background.
Day
3 of the trek west and things were looking better.
We
had gone past all the smaller islands with the passes in between creating the
brutal currents and were now transiting along the very long island of Flores.
The
currents had subsided and the light winds were anywhere from east to south.
We
were able to motor or motor sail at a comfortable 6 knots average.
By
4pm we were still travelling along nicely so we decided to do an overnighter
and push our luck.
There
was no moon so it was a dark night but the skies stayed clear and the wind was
only light from the south.
At
noon the next day we were motoring along in flat conditions when Lisa spied
what she thought was a large raft of logs about 1000m away.
We
soon realised they were actually small whales just resting on the surface.
We
turned Lorelei around and slowly nosed up to them and switched off the engine
and anything that would make noise or scare them.
Paul
grabbed his camera and freediving gear and jump in to have a look.
They
must have sensed he was there and he just could not get right up close for any
decent photos.
Meanwhile
Lisa sat on Lorelei with the camera and snapped a few photos.
After
looking at the ID books we still are not sure if they were Melon Head Whales or
Pygmy False Killer Whales.
Paul
swimming quietly up to the pod
The
only decent photos Paul got were of Lorelei as Lisa came up to pick him up…
We
had been warned by a few people that the charts for the area were a long way
out.
Well
that is an understatement!!
We
passed one headland and were about 1nm offshore and the charts had us
transiting though the headland. Crazy!!
This is the
distance we were from the headland
This is the
track from the Laptop showing us going over the land
By
3:30pm we had found a protected bay to stop the night.
By
going overnight, we had knocked off a large portion of the trip and only had
32nm to go to reach Labuan Bajo the next day.
We
had to take the long way around for the last 32nm as the short cut through the
islands and reef was like a minefield of shallow areas and with the charts
being so far out and it being overcast we didn’t want to risk it.
We
did pass some great looking islands that had some nice potential anchorages.
Coming
into Labuan Bajo Harbour looked awesome with the many steep islands and
mountain ranges in the background.
We
finally put the anchor down at Labuan Bajo at 2pm on the 20th July.
So
that’s it Episode 39 “Eastern Nusa Tenggara”.
Overall
it’s been a challenging month offset by a few great highlights in between.
Our
long bout of sickness meant we had to skip our planned week of diving in
Maumere and a visit to the Coloured Lakes which are mid way along Flores
Island.
But
hey - it is what it is - and that’s cruising.
We
don’t sugar coat the blog to make it sound like
“everything
is awesome” because with cruising it is often not the case.
We
are particularly finding that while cruising here in Indonesia.
So
now we are at the gateway to the Komodo National Park and waiting for our
friend Nathan from the NSW Central Coast to arrive in 4 days time.
He
is onboard for 3 weeks of fun filled action in and around the Komodo area,
diving, kiting, hiking and looking for large lizards.
We found one
already – on our boat…..!!!
Then
we are off further west for the second half of Nathans stay to try and find
some decent surf on the SW coasts of Sumbawa and Lombok.
Look
out for Episode 40 “Western Nusa Tenggara” towards the end of August.
We have put a separate page together with a collection of our best underwater photos from diving at Alor.
This is the link:
CLICK HERE
Cheers
for now.
Paul
Hogger
Lisa
Hogger
Yacht
Lorelei.