Pulau Serasan, Last Stop in Indonesia
Wednesday, September 14th, 2022
September 2022
It was very pleasant hanging out at Belitung. The water was crystal clear, the fine white sand beach, colourful boats and imposing granite rocks, all made it a very beautiful place to be. The only problem for me, on a small monohull, was the fact that every afternoon or sometimes mornings too, a relentless, lazy swell rolled in to the bay. At low tide the reef close to where I was anchored kept my patch of sea flat, but when the water rose the swell was unstoppable. Getting ashore was sometimes a problem in my little dinghy but Rob and Muzzi were wonderfully helpful and were always there when really needed with their powerful inflatable.
After a bit of dithering I decided to use Joni Oan as an agent to help me with the clearing out process. He took care of all the details and there were only a few trivial hitches, but it would have been quite tricky for me to negotiate it on my own. Both Immigration and Customs had to come out to the boat to take pictures and the Quarantine people had to inspect my first aid kit. It was deemed deficient and I was given a list of essential medicines that I had to acquire before leaving. Joni picked everything up for me in town and handed me a bagful of pills and potions. I was interested to see what was there – Antibiotics? Morphine? Inflatable Splints? No such luck, but a hodge-podge of flu remedies, antacids, headache tablets, etc. Not even any sea sick remedy. A little disappointing. Oh well, I won’t have a problem if I get indigestion or a headache.
Armed with some impressive-looking official documents and a precious stamp in my passport I was ready to go. There had been some very heavy rain showers and the water tanks were full so after breakfast on Tuesday morning we set off heading towards Kuching, Sarawak in Malaysian Borneo, a distance of about 400 nm, hoping to be able to make one or two short stops along the way.
My first idea had been to anchor for a few days at a small uninhabited island called Serutu which was only about 80 nm away to the NE and would have been a good place to stop for a full night’s sleep. Unfortunately the wind was more East than South East and I found myself battling to make progress hard on the wind. It was slow and uncomfortable and then it started to pour with rain. I held out for nearly a day but was still less than half way there. I decided to alter course for an easier sail further north and forget about that full night’s sleep.
Now it became a different thing altogether. Speedwell goes wonderfully well with the wind astern, and the sea was beautifully calm. The breeze had dropped considerably and we spent two days and nights just gliding along over the South China Sea doing 1.5 to 2 knots. It was much more comfortable than being anchored in roly Belitung. We were out of the main shipping lane to Singapore and there was much less big ship traffic, although at one point two enormous container ships were approaching from opposite directions. The AIS showed that they would pass either side of me, each less than a mile away. I held a steady course and there were no problems. It made me think of two elephants trying to avoid a mouse in their path.
At 02:00 on Friday we crossed the Equator.
The Navik wind vane has been coping magnificently lately and really comes into its own in strong winds and rough seas, however, it is getting a little old and arthritic and doesn’t manage too well when boat-speed through the water is under 2.5 knots. But then the wonderful electric Simrad autopilot takes over (thanks again Annie) and due to the fact that we now have excess battery power (thanks to the new solar panels) we can carry on steering a course almost until all motion ceases, at which point it really hardly matters which way you are pointing. It was a wonderfully gentle couple of days and best of all, we made nearly 50 nm miles progress each day with no need to start the engine.
Midnight on Saturday/Sunday after 5 days at sea, we only had about 30 nm to go. I had been taking a nap when something woke me and I went out to have a look around. The wind had changed and we were sailing too fast and in the wrong direction. No moon. Very dark. I had the full sail up after all the light winds we had been having. It took a few moments to wake up properly and after reefing right down to just 2 panels I decided to turn up into wind to prevent the now torrential rain from coming straight down the companionway and hove-to to let it pass. I blessed the wonderful junk rig which makes a manoeuvre like this so easy, even in the pitch dark, even for an ancient crone. Then I went below to make a mug of coffee and wait for things to calm down.
An hour later we were on our way again and soon there was enough light to see our surroundings. A nasty little unlit islet had to be avoided and I was glad to be able to have it in sight.
The entrance through the reef to Serasan Harbour is open to the south and reef patches have to be carefully negotiated. I was planning to use the OfflineMaps app to help. As I started to change course to approach the entrance a very strong rain squall hit with 20 to 30 knot southerly winds whipping up a nasty sea. I made a quick decision to rather sail around to the leeward side of the island where there are two possible, easily approached, places to anchor.
It was a downwind run keeping a safe distance away from the surrounding reefs and small islands. Once in the lee of the archipelago I was able to find a reasonably comfortable place to anchor in 8m. There was a bit of a swell but I had become used to that after my time at Belitung. I enjoyed a peaceful night’s sleep and early next morning set off to try the harbour entrance again, now that the weather had calmed. There was enough wind to keep us moving at 2-3 knots, but of course now I had to make a few tacks to get safely past the extensive reefs.
The entrance channel to the anchorage had some markers showing the gap in the reef and it was easy going although I would not have enjoyed doing it with 20-30 knots of wind behind me. I found a good spot to drop the anchor near to the stilt-village that lines the coast. There were a few fishing boats about and each time one approached they would make a bit of a detour to get a good look at this strange little craft that had entered.
By now it was nearly lunch-time and I went below to make something to eat. Just then I heard some loud whistling and went up to investigate. Two small canoes made from blue plastic barrels, each with two boys trying to attract my attention. Big smiles and ‘hellos’, waving a good-sized squid to give me. All the usual questions – where was I from? Was I alone? How old was I?! My very few words of Bahasa Indonesia helped. After they had left I made a gruesome mess of cleaning and slicing the inky fish into strips. I couldn’t manage restaurant-style rings. It was delicious sautéed with garlic and lime on a bed of basmati rice. What a treat! Lunch problem solved.
After that it was time for a short nap. But it was not to be. More whistling and this time a big, solid wooden fishing boat was edging up to Speedwell and wanted to come alongside. There were about 10 mostly uniformed men on board all peering down at us. I took their line and they settled fairly calmly against some tyre fenders, towering over my little ship. When I objected to the entire contingent boarding Speedwell, they agreed to let me rather clamber across to their boat, bringing my papers with me. I had been told that this would not be necessary, but each island seems to have its own rules. A barrage of questions again, all trying to talk at once, much laughter and good spirits. This was obviously an unusual event. Google translate worked hard at helping us understand one another. I explained that I was just stopping for a short rest and hoped to be able to get some diesel and fresh fruit and vegetables. Eventually it was agreed by all that this would be fine and I could wait until I was happy that the weather was right for the next leg of my passage to Santubong still about 90 nm away. Diesel was a bit of a problem as there was nothing easily available on the island, but the skipper of the fishing boat agreed to sell me 20 litres and came aboard with a big jerry can to siphon it into Speedwell’s tank. Wonderful!
I was able to get a reasonable internet signal for my phone and the weather forecast showed a good west wind on Thursday – 2 days away. Getting ashore to go shopping was my next objective. The newly rebuilt harbour is not designed with small dinghies in mind and it was quite a scramble to get ashore after being helpfully shown the only possible spot in a rocky corner. Helping hands secured us safely and promised to keep an eye on things. Really friendly, helpful people.
It was about 2km to the village where there is a small market and I was looking forward to the walk and getting some exercise. Of course, walking here is not the normal thing. Almost as unheard of as walking in a place like Los Angeles. Only difference is here everyone goes by moped rather than car. All along the way passing bikes stopped to offer me a ride, but I explained that I wanted to walk jalan jalan kaki and after the obligatory chat they let me go my lunatic way. The surroundings were lushly tropical with small, often wooden houses along the way. Each small village has a mosque. I was the only traveller on foot.
I took a side turn and found myself walking along a concrete causeway heading out over the lagoon. Stilt houses all along both sides. Many small shops and restaurants. Friendly comments all the way. Before heading back I was able to buy a big bag of fresh stuff at a very good little market. I took a side road to get back to the harbour and there was less bike traffic and ride offers. When I reached the harbour entrance I was given two freshly picked green drinking coconuts to take back to the boat. Bokkom the dinghy was still safe and again helping hands were there when needed to see us safely away. What a wonderful place.
Early on Thursday I set off on the way to Santubong, wishing that I could have stayed longer at Serasan, but I had already cleared out of Indonesia and needed to be on my way before the change of season.
