We’re heading to Waisai, the main town on the island of Waigeo, and the gateway to Raja Ampat. The name means “Four Kings”, for the four islands that make up the Birds Head Peninsula – Batanta, Waigeo, Salawati and Misool. It’s an archipelago of over 1500 islands with the richest, most diverse marine ecology on the planet and we can’t wait to explore it.
Continue reading “The Four Kings – Waisai, Raja Ampat”
There’s not much more we can do until the new prop arrives so we decide to head over to Batanta Island for the weekend, about 20NM north of Sorong. It’ll also give us a chance to do a sea-trial of the gearboxes and new oil seals as it’s unlikely we’ll get enough wind for sailing.
Continue reading “Batanta and Back”
Prior to arriving in Sorong we’d been in email contact with Warwick (Wick) Alliston, an ex-pat Aussie who owns Helena Marina, and also happens to be the OCC (Ocean Cruising Club) Port Officer (email: wick.eon@gmail.com; ph: +62811485371). Everything we’ve heard about Wick is positive, and our experience proves to be no exception – he’s simply a godsend, and one of the nicest people you could ever meet.
Continue reading “Mr Fix-It – Sorong, Indonesia”
We have wind! We don’t care if it’s on the nose, we’ll tack our way to Sorong if necessary. Anything to avoid using the engines (and all that oil). However, we discover this is the least of our dramas on this passage….
Continue reading “Pirate(s) of Manokwari – Passage to Sorong”
Welcome to Indonesia! It’s only 350NM from Vanimo but we’ve been transported into a completely different world. Mosques, calls to prayer, big boats with big outboards zooming past, fishermen’s houses on stilts over the water, the smell of the fish market, the noise of traffic. Our senses are bombarded by it all, and we sit slightly overwhelmed in the cockpit figuring out how to get ashore.
Continue reading “Selamat Datang! Biak, Indonesia”
Our sail from Vanimo towards Biak is almost perfect – flat seas and 12 kts of wind from the right direction for almost two days. Wow, that’s got to be a personal best for this trip! Our calculations see us arriving late on Friday afternoon, so we decide to hang out in the nearby Padaido Islands for the weekend before checking into Biak on Monday morning.
Continue reading “Spinning Out – Padaido Islands, nr Biak”