23rd June KOBA south end of the east coast of Banka Isl 2'27.909S 106'25.630E
It was only about a 25nm run today so we took it easy and arrived around 1.30pm after a pleasant sail through the beautiful azure blue waters of this coast. The anchorage is reef free and very calm with the main town just slightly inland. There were lots of families gathered in small groups enjoying a day at the beach. In the evening after the mosques it sounded like there was a Bob Marley concert on! Lots of drumming and reggae type music, it went on into the small hours. We were tempted to go take a look but resisted as we had an early start next morning to go to Gelasa Island. 36nm east
24th and 25th June
At dawn we were headed to Gelasa.
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| This very elaborate fishing house near Koba where there were a number of floating houses. |
The wind was such that we could do it in one leg. That was a short lived assumption as the wind continued to head us all morning and it all went down hill from there!
Seas got shorter and steeper and the current got stronger against us until by 3pm we decided to motor to the anchorage. No to be!
The fuel filter on the Yanmar somehow got blocked even though the Racor filters it before it gets that far. Then things got really bad when we discovered that the spare fuel filters were oil filters not fuel filters! Just to make matters worse we couldn't get the generator water pump to prime in the heavy seas so power became precious!
We decided to sail all night and get to Belitung where we hoped to remedy the situation. Well it took 26 hours to do 86 nm as the crow flies... But with all the tacking we did 120 nm thanks to the adverse conditions it was a dreadful leg! We were pleased to sail into the anchorage and drop that pick!
The fuel filter on the Yanmar somehow got blocked even though the Racor filters it before it gets that far. Then things got really bad when we discovered that the spare fuel filters were oil filters not fuel filters! Just to make matters worse we couldn't get the generator water pump to prime in the heavy seas so power became precious!
We decided to sail all night and get to Belitung where we hoped to remedy the situation. Well it took 26 hours to do 86 nm as the crow flies... But with all the tacking we did 120 nm thanks to the adverse conditions it was a dreadful leg! We were pleased to sail into the anchorage and drop that pick!
NORTH BELITUNG 2 33.4824 S, 107 38.9479 E,
Baraka and Estrellita are already here and have arranged a trip in to deal with all the officials and we tagged along. It was a great day with Mr. Harun Cahyadi, our guide chauffeur and adviser interpreter. He has an amazing hardware store in town and business exporting quartz sand and silica sand to Java with his own barge and tug.
Harun organized new fuel filters for us and they should arrive from Jakarta tonight or tomorrow. After extensive research he has been unable to locate steering chain for us as its an imperial size so we will have to hope it hangs in there to Cocos. Back from town pretty late and aboard again. Fridge and freezer off till we sort out the power issues The solar panels made some improvement in the power position today but tonight they are getting low again. As I write David is in the engine hole plumbing in a new pump for the generator.
By 2am this morning David had the genset running again and the batteries back into good condition and was ready for a well deserved sleep? Today has been house chores and getting fuel aboard with jerry cans. We, also with the assistance of Barakas dingy, moved in closer to the beach. I think this is the most beautiful anchorage we have ever been in. It's crystal clear, huge granite boulders scattered around on 4 sides, pure white sand beaches, and warm with a great breeze day and night. There are some reef areas close by which we will have to explore when time permits
