35) Northern Indonesia: Ketawai Island to Malaysia. 24 to 30 October, 2015.

We still had a fair few nautical miles to go to get out of Indonesia and only three days to do it in, so we left early the next morning and had some light winds on the beam. That was good but what made the day very special was an escort from a pod of eleven dolphins as we left Palau Ketawai. It was a long day sailing and we just managed to get anchored by dusk, at the north east tip of Palau Bangka. 

It looked a lovely anchorage and we just wished we could stay and go ashore. But being persona-non-grata we could not. Having already checked out of Indonesia we had no visa and we were nowhere near Malaysia, so we were officially illegal aliens. Indonesia allows sailors a few days to depart their country after getting clearance but you are not allowed to leave the boat and go ashore. It would be a world of pain if we got caught ashore without the necessary documentation. So begrudgingly we moved on.

Leaving at 0400 hours in pitch black the next morning we carefully picked our way out of the anchorage and headed north. Pleased with ourselves for not colliding with anything in the dark we then ploughed into a small dug-out canoe in the daylight. He didn't see us nor did we see him until the last minute, when we swerved madly and he just scrapped the canoe down our port side. The smoke from the fires in Borneo and Sumatra, made it almost impossible to see more than a few metres into the distance.

Pretty Palau Saja.

We safely made it to Palau Saja just by nightfall and helped Barrie (Evolution NT) along with Parley; celebrate his 70th birthday, with a few beverages and a beautiful sunset.

A second from the Equator.

At officially 3.30 pm on the 26 October, we crossed from the Southern Hemisphere into the Northern Hemisphere. My first crossing of the Equator and Peter’s second. We did really have to congratulate ourselves because we had made it all the way from Sydney by ourselves, with only three occasions where we sought assistance from extra crew. 

The Northern Hemisphere claims the Equator as theirs.

 
So we toasted King Neptune by throwing the pre-requisite beverage into the sea. It seemed a shame to waste it but we did want to appease Neptune to ensure a safe and calm sea state for all our passages within the Northern Hemisphere. A quick radio call to those nearest, Evolution NT and Parley, they had done the same.

The next evening twelve boats anchored in the northern bay of Palau Kentar just 3 degrees north of the Equator and we all met on Millennium for the last hurrah as most of the boats were leaving in the morning. Much food and good times were had saying farewell to all the crews as it was the last night of the Sail Indonesia 2015 Rally. Some boats with crews were headed for different destinations – Singapore or Thailand. A lot were going on the Sail Malaysia rally like us, others we would catch up with in the not too distant future in Thailand, but sadly some others we thought we may never see again. 

After another day of rest we left in the company of Ocelot, Per Ardua and MIllenium and anchored in the southern bay of pretty Palau Pedong.
 

5 small islets surround the bay, Palau Petong.

Not long after leaving the next morning, these three boats changed their route, heading north on a more westerly course while we took an easterly direction. There were only a few islands separating us at all times as we were all headed to the same destination, the Malacca Strait, directly opposite the Johor Strait. 

We had made great time heading north and followed the path where lead boat, Gemini Lady had gone the day before. Not long before arriving at our destination we were lucky enough to get in touch with Ocelot by radio and they warned us of two reefs that had been found the night before. This area is peppered with reefs so the information was greatly appreciated, as we didn't have Google images and were relying on our chart plotter to navigate safely through this area.

We altered our anchorage choice to accommodate this new information and as we didn’t have a forward looking sounder, like Gemini Lady, we decided to give their anchorage choice a miss. Coming into the new planned anchorage we suddenly felt very uneasy. Peter slowed the boat to about 1 knot and I was looking over the side to see if I could spot any reefs. This job proved very difficult as the current and water quality made the sea surface impossible to see through.

We were in 16m at the time and Peter said he didn’t feel comfortable about this choice either, after all. I said we are in 16m so let’s anchor out here away from the coast (as it was a very still and comfortable day) or we could turn around and go somewhere else. Peter decided we would be best to go somewhere else and put the motor into reverse. However, the boat had a mind of its own, with the current still taking us forward for about 100m. Within a few seconds the depth gauge dropped like a stone, and went from 16m to 7m and finally to a crunchy 2.1m. Our keel is 2.2m so we knew immediately that it was embedded in a reef.

Near where Reverie came to grief.

We calmly tried everything, reversing hard, swinging the boom out, getting local boats to tow us, but all to no avail, the tide was just dropping too fast. About an hour later, Reverie was settled and over on its port side. The front of the boat up to the keel was resting on the reef, while behind the keel there was 7m of water.
  



Per Ardua appeared around the corner and then Ocelot came over from where they had anchored. Both Peter and Jon offering advice and assisting where they could. I left and waited on Ocelot while Peter stayed with the boat. 

We both were amazed at how calm we had remained when all this was happening. It wasn't until I was on Ocelot that the gravity of the situation hit me and then I started to worry. I lurched from thinking I know the boat will come back up when the tide comes back in; to what if it cannot lift 20 tonnes of steel? But no need to worry the tide came in and up it came. It just popped off by itself as we had not driven up over the reef but had been carried with the current and the keel had just dug into the edge of the reef.

Very early the next morning at low tide you could see a very narrow tortuous channel surrounded by numerous reef systems. It was a mine field. We were so lucky that there had been no damage to our boat nor had any water entered. All in all it was a great outcome for a bad circumstance. We followed Per Ardua out of Indonesia and up to the Malacca Strait where we were both prepared to cross and go into the Johor Strait, and Malaysia.

 

Our route through Indonesia.

It was extremely sad to leave Indonesia. Like many of the participants on the other boats the three months had flown by and we all left with a heavy heart. Mostly because we had only scratched the surface of Indonesia. Yes, it was true we had visited some remote places and islands that few travellers ever visit and seen sights that were magnificent. But really with 17,000 islands on offer - we just wanted more. More time was really what was needed as three months is definitely not enough.