The fleet settles down for the night in Wanci, Wakatobi.
Departure from the lovely Banda Neira was in a slight rain....which we were accustomed to, because it seems like we've had some rain every day since Cairns.
The overnight crossing to Namrole wasn't our most comfortable, with awkward winds directly behind us, a fair swell, and rain most of the night....the wind ensuring the mainsail was going to flap and bang around, and we were going to be wet and a little chilly upstairs in our highrise bridge-deck steering station.
Once daylight returned, we seemed to be surrounded by squalls, and as we approached Namrole's obvious headland it disappeared into the greyness. We know that our charts aren't dead accurate in Indonesia, and to run the gauntlet of an unknown coast, fishing nets and floating debris in a grey blanket of rain wasn't enticing at all.
But things began looking up when we had a radio call to let us know that there was a ferry stationed outside the port to guide us in. Wonderful! Our own personal pilot, who led us into the anchorage. And even better, once we'd dropped the anchor, a wooden longboat with guides from the Tourism Dept. approached us, said hello, and returned half an hour later with hot take-away lunches in styrofoam boxes for us. Welcome to Namrole!
The overnight crossing to Namrole wasn't our most comfortable, with awkward winds directly behind us, a fair swell, and rain most of the night....the wind ensuring the mainsail was going to flap and bang around, and we were going to be wet and a little chilly upstairs in our highrise bridge-deck steering station.
Once daylight returned, we seemed to be surrounded by squalls, and as we approached Namrole's obvious headland it disappeared into the greyness. We know that our charts aren't dead accurate in Indonesia, and to run the gauntlet of an unknown coast, fishing nets and floating debris in a grey blanket of rain wasn't enticing at all.
But things began looking up when we had a radio call to let us know that there was a ferry stationed outside the port to guide us in. Wonderful! Our own personal pilot, who led us into the anchorage. And even better, once we'd dropped the anchor, a wooden longboat with guides from the Tourism Dept. approached us, said hello, and returned half an hour later with hot take-away lunches in styrofoam boxes for us. Welcome to Namrole!
A Brass Band to greet us, with a flash Drum Majorette wearing cowboy boots.
Later in the day, we were loaded into the longboats to partake in the festivities which had been arranged for us, primarily by the local Regent and his wife....who happened to own the beer tent. Needless to say, official ceremonies and dinners went on for days while we enjoyed the Regent's hospitality. Which was all a little difficult to deal with after a sleep-deprived and uncomfortable overnight voyage, but I escaped most of the arranged tours as our vitally-important generator decided to misbehave, so it was out with the spanners.
Escaping the local kids wasn't quite so easy, as even out in the anchorage there were whole school groups brought down to wave at the visiting yachts and cries of "Hello Mister!!!" seemed to start from sun-up. (Not too long after the local mosques started broadcasting their calls to prayer, actually.)
Escaping the local kids wasn't quite so easy, as even out in the anchorage there were whole school groups brought down to wave at the visiting yachts and cries of "Hello Mister!!!" seemed to start from sun-up. (Not too long after the local mosques started broadcasting their calls to prayer, actually.)
Pre-school visit to shout "HELLO MISTER!!!!" at the cruising yachties from the harbour wall.
Things weren't all perfect in Namrole however, and a consistent swell invaded the harbour, making things quite uncomfortable. At the outlying island, waves wrapping around the point were almost surfable. Our Cat doesn't roll with the swell like the monohulls do, but while we had to deal with a few (well, constant) annoying creaks and groans from the boat, single hulled yachts were swinging wildly from side to side, making life miserable for the occupants. Many of whom were starting to become ill....and "Namrole" became "Damnrolly" fairly quickly.
Kids! Even little ones have a cellphone and demand selfies with yachties and the yachts. That's El Gato rolling around in the background.
Okay, it doesn't look rolly but it was. It does look rainy though.
But the illnesses became worse, and it wasn't just the rolly anchorage and fatigue from the overnight voyages that we'd all been doing.
Fortunately, I was a little remote from all of the ceremonies and shorebased tours while I was busily wielding spanners and trying to nurse my problematic generator back to health. But not having any symptoms, we skipped the medical checks and just tried to go about our normal daily business....eating, drinking and throwing spanners around.
Not so for many of the crews however. The Regent had generously laid on a doctor on shore, who earnestly took on the task of examining most of the afflicted, as well as their partners who may not have been ill. And promptly diagnosed most of them with various strains of Malaria, for which she issued the appropriate drugs.
Fortunately, I was a little remote from all of the ceremonies and shorebased tours while I was busily wielding spanners and trying to nurse my problematic generator back to health. But not having any symptoms, we skipped the medical checks and just tried to go about our normal daily business....eating, drinking and throwing spanners around.
Not so for many of the crews however. The Regent had generously laid on a doctor on shore, who earnestly took on the task of examining most of the afflicted, as well as their partners who may not have been ill. And promptly diagnosed most of them with various strains of Malaria, for which she issued the appropriate drugs.
More kids! Often helpful, sometimes annoying, but always happy and laughing and enjoying life.
Not all of the kids are Indonesian...Pepe from the British yacht "Beezneez".
 Burnice and her gang. |  Yep, more kids. It's actually really great to see these Indonesian kids and how free they are. There doesn't seem to be the need here to keep them closeted away and guarded all the time like we are starting to do in Australia. Kids seem to be allowed just to be kids, and they look pretty happy about it, too. |
And finally it was time to skulk out of Namrole, missing the very final, final ceremonial dinner and speeches, and facing yet another overnight sail....this time heading for Wanci in Wakatobi. The Malaria-afflicted had not much choice...sail on!
As it turned out, it was an absolutely blissful sail through the night. Winds were lighter and consistent, and because we'd broken the link between our sail and the lower mast slide, we were reefed all night to hold the foot of the sail securely. Which made for a relaxing cruise.
Coming toward the harbour at Wanci, which is built inside a natural coral reef, we were greeted by the HarbourMaster Mr. Gino, who piloted us in and directed us to an appropriate spot to drop the anchor. And the sun was shining, and the water was clear and clean.
Every one of the Rally crews has been upset at the sight of so much plastic garbage at every stop so far, but here at Wanci, Gino made a great statement as he was leaving our boat. "See how clean the harbour is? We want to keep it that way....don't DARE throw rubbish overboard!" Good onya Mr. Gino!
As it turned out, it was an absolutely blissful sail through the night. Winds were lighter and consistent, and because we'd broken the link between our sail and the lower mast slide, we were reefed all night to hold the foot of the sail securely. Which made for a relaxing cruise.
Coming toward the harbour at Wanci, which is built inside a natural coral reef, we were greeted by the HarbourMaster Mr. Gino, who piloted us in and directed us to an appropriate spot to drop the anchor. And the sun was shining, and the water was clear and clean.
Every one of the Rally crews has been upset at the sight of so much plastic garbage at every stop so far, but here at Wanci, Gino made a great statement as he was leaving our boat. "See how clean the harbour is? We want to keep it that way....don't DARE throw rubbish overboard!" Good onya Mr. Gino!
No more rain! The harbour at Wanci (Wangi Wangi)
Another day, another dinghy dock. A great boarding spot for the odd rat wanting a change of scenery.
In Wanci, we really started to relax and enjoy being in Indonesia. Another very official ceremony on our first evening in port, where somehow Mr. Gino had decided that I was the official spokesman for the evening and I made a lengthy one minute speech, vs. the local dignitaries who rambled on for hours, in Indonesian. It was a tasty dinner, but the fleet was all a bit baffled about what was going on for the night and we all felt that the Cruise2Indonesia was just an add-on to whatever the Regent had planned anyway. None of us had a clue what the night was about.
The next morning, taking the advice of one of the several doctors who are sailing on the Rally, we decided that those who hadn't been checked already, should make their way to the local hospital for Malaria tests.
Mr. Gino was adamant that we should all travel together, by ambulance, so we went into waiting mode outside his office until the ambulance arrived. All 13 of us. And the ambulance was tiny, with just a small stretcher in the back. But we all squeezed in, the doors were forced close, and with faces pressed up against the windows, we zoomed off towards the hospital...WITH THE SIREN GOING! People on the street looked on curiously.
After going through routine blood pressure tests and filling out lots of paperwork, we finally had our fingers stabbed and the tests were done. We all tested negative.
So the testing back at Namrole was probably a bit dodgy, and some of the poor buggars who had been fed Malaria pills were actually suffering from something else...like Salmonella or Typhus, which were both diagnosed later in the trip.
The next morning, taking the advice of one of the several doctors who are sailing on the Rally, we decided that those who hadn't been checked already, should make their way to the local hospital for Malaria tests.
Mr. Gino was adamant that we should all travel together, by ambulance, so we went into waiting mode outside his office until the ambulance arrived. All 13 of us. And the ambulance was tiny, with just a small stretcher in the back. But we all squeezed in, the doors were forced close, and with faces pressed up against the windows, we zoomed off towards the hospital...WITH THE SIREN GOING! People on the street looked on curiously.
After going through routine blood pressure tests and filling out lots of paperwork, we finally had our fingers stabbed and the tests were done. We all tested negative.
So the testing back at Namrole was probably a bit dodgy, and some of the poor buggars who had been fed Malaria pills were actually suffering from something else...like Salmonella or Typhus, which were both diagnosed later in the trip.
Wanci is a fairly serious Muslim city, so it was difficult to find a beer anywhere. But there are lots of mosques. And phone towers. And old wooden boats.
The Queensland yacht "Serica". Official party boat. The day after the Great Hospital Trip was a pretty happy day, and quite a few of the survivors made ourselves comfortable at a funky old restaurant that overlooked the harbour...in fact, we made a few trips back to that restaurant while we were in town.
The pace of the Rally had been fairly intense up until this point, so it was great when Adam, the skipper of the big steel ketch "Serica" declared it was Party Night and most of the crews descended onto his boat, all having a wonderful time and finally starting to relax. It did pour with rain later in the night, so a wet dinghy ride home, but happy sunshine again in the morning and we skipped another official lunch ceremony in favour of the Resto at the harbourfront.
Just another boat day for us, as the freezer then decided to stop working, so we handed out bits of food to some of the crews, relocated some to the smaller freezers in the fridges, chucked a bit overboard and even ate some. Didn't have time to worry about the freezer too much though as we were also preparing for yet another overnight passage.
The pace of the Rally had been fairly intense up until this point, so it was great when Adam, the skipper of the big steel ketch "Serica" declared it was Party Night and most of the crews descended onto his boat, all having a wonderful time and finally starting to relax. It did pour with rain later in the night, so a wet dinghy ride home, but happy sunshine again in the morning and we skipped another official lunch ceremony in favour of the Resto at the harbourfront.
Just another boat day for us, as the freezer then decided to stop working, so we handed out bits of food to some of the crews, relocated some to the smaller freezers in the fridges, chucked a bit overboard and even ate some. Didn't have time to worry about the freezer too much though as we were also preparing for yet another overnight passage.
 Yes, we live on a boat. Every Room With A View. |  And Wanci has a good market. |
This was to be our last overnighter for awhile, but I had some trepidation about it as we were going to sail due South...possibly into the teeth of the Trade Winds which have been behind us for so long. And just to rattle us a little more, as we were about to have a pre-departure breakfast, we discovered a big hole in the bread packet that had been on the galley bench overnight, and a largish mouse poo next to it. A Rat On A Boat! Not a good thing.
The trip started uneventfully enough, the seas turned rough on us for awhile in the afternoon and early evening, eventually settling a bit until we sailed comfortably on a 15-20 knot Beam Reach (the wind from the side) so the Trades had smiled on us and blew from the East.
We had planned to head straight for the tiny Krobo island, not having a need for a city stopover. But further signs of rat activity were magnified when the little bastard bit Mary on the elbow as she slept. Mousetraps! Poison! we didnt have anything aboard to deal with sharptoothed rodents who are notorious for chewing complex electrical wiring. Of which we have a lot aboard "El Gato". Was the little horror responsible for our freezer malfunction?
War was declared and we changed course for the town of Lowoleba where we assumed supplies of the rat-ridding kind would be available.
The trip started uneventfully enough, the seas turned rough on us for awhile in the afternoon and early evening, eventually settling a bit until we sailed comfortably on a 15-20 knot Beam Reach (the wind from the side) so the Trades had smiled on us and blew from the East.
We had planned to head straight for the tiny Krobo island, not having a need for a city stopover. But further signs of rat activity were magnified when the little bastard bit Mary on the elbow as she slept. Mousetraps! Poison! we didnt have anything aboard to deal with sharptoothed rodents who are notorious for chewing complex electrical wiring. Of which we have a lot aboard "El Gato". Was the little horror responsible for our freezer malfunction?
War was declared and we changed course for the town of Lowoleba where we assumed supplies of the rat-ridding kind would be available.
It's a pretty cool thing to sail through the night and have an active volcano emerge with the sun's first light.
 We skipped the whale-hunting village near Loweleba..... |  .....and simply enjoyed the hospitality. |
One of our local tour guides gave me the seat on the back of his motorcycle, and we were off on the Grand Tour of Hardware Shops, eventually coming back to the boat with packets of poison and a great big cage with deviously-designed and counter-balanced trapdoor.
It was Game On with the odds in our favour. Sure enough, overnight there was some snacking on the poison and after another day we were confident that our furry hitchhiker was defunct. Or had vacated the boat anyway...we also found droppings in the dinghy and ruthlessly flushed the false floor by pulling out the bung plug...
And a couple of days later, our friend Olaf from the German yacht "Antares" helped us find the freezer problem, which wasn't a hungry rat but just a loose connection. So our rat problem was over, and we moved on to the next adventure which was much more pleasant.
It was Game On with the odds in our favour. Sure enough, overnight there was some snacking on the poison and after another day we were confident that our furry hitchhiker was defunct. Or had vacated the boat anyway...we also found droppings in the dinghy and ruthlessly flushed the false floor by pulling out the bung plug...
And a couple of days later, our friend Olaf from the German yacht "Antares" helped us find the freezer problem, which wasn't a hungry rat but just a loose connection. So our rat problem was over, and we moved on to the next adventure which was much more pleasant.
A smoking volcano and beautiful boat, Loweleba. We motored out of the harbour, up the entry channel and into a tiny channel towards the anchorage at the even tinier little island of Krobo....which proved a little too windy and exposed, so we followed a mark on my charts of dubious origin, into an enclosed lagoon in front of a small village, and set the anchor precariously close to the coral edge. Which turned out to be absolutely fantastic, with friendly locals calling past the boat, crystal clear water and excellent snorkelling amongst lots of fish and healthy coral. I'd inflated my blow-up SUP and we both floundered around for hours. Good stuff!
From there, it was onto Sagu Bay, just around the corner, which was unfortunately not so friendly with a few teenagers in canoes being exceptionally rude and aggressive...one of them pinching an expensive fishing rod from the deck of "Serica". But we did have a pleasant Sundowners session on "El Gato" with the crews from "Serica", "Antares" and "Paw Paw" but we moved on from there pretty quick in the morning.
From there, it was onto Sagu Bay, just around the corner, which was unfortunately not so friendly with a few teenagers in canoes being exceptionally rude and aggressive...one of them pinching an expensive fishing rod from the deck of "Serica". But we did have a pleasant Sundowners session on "El Gato" with the crews from "Serica", "Antares" and "Paw Paw" but we moved on from there pretty quick in the morning.
We found ourselves in another little paradise just a few hours on...the bay of Tanjung Gedong was a little beauty. Again, crystal clear water, happy, friendly kids, snorkelling, SUPping, and yet another party on "Serica" at sunset. We stayed for a couple of nights and didn't actually set foot ashore.
The local bus.
From there, it was dodging fishing nets and weaving through a tightish channel to the port of Wodong, where we anchored outside a funky backpacker-style dive resort. Slow and sleepy, tasty food and a nice vibe but not much to do and not worth more than a night....I'd been a little spoiled by the couple of out-of-the-way places we'd visited. So, it was onward, to the city of Maumere and a comfy anchorage off Sea World Resort, a much more up-market establishment which put on a great night of food and dancing for us.
Yes, we're a long way from Geelong.
Maumere has everything that we needed in terms of supplies and services, the resort was lovely, and welcoming, and it also happens to be the narrowest part of Flores. So it was just a short drive across to the southern coast, and when invited to share a car for a little surf trip, I jumped at the chance. A few of us piled into the tiny little car that we rented, and along with the driver, set off on our little "'Search" and found a crumbly little wave to paddle out amongst. Not an excellent wave but it sure felt good to be back in the water.
Our little surf break!
 Yep, that'd be an Indonesian flag up our mast. |  Our Search engine. |
And almost finally, another wonderful thing about Flores is it's terrific Ikat fabric. Hand woven by the women in the villages, and on sale in the markets or from the ladies themselves, there's some beautiful work available....
 |  |
And even more finally, thanks to our fellow cruisers for being such a wonderful bunch. And in particular, extra thanks to Bruce for the help with the battery bank, to Olaf for fixing the freezer, to Adam, Lance and Mark for helping with the generator, to Sandy for organising the surf trip, and of course thanks to Mary for helping keep "El Gato" afloat. And there's sure to be some I've forgotten....
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