ONWARDS TO JAVA

7 May 2024

My stay in Teluk Banyuwedang has been enjoyable.  I have had a good explore around the place, been ashore for a few beers and picked up some fresh provisions.  I gave the hot pools a miss, can’t think I would enjoy them in this climate, the aim is usually to cool down and not heat up.  Now its time to leave Bali.

We departed at a reasonable time in the morning after a proper breakfast.  Once we passed through the entrance channel and were clear of the reefs a welcome breeze greeted us.  The breeze became fresh from the SE, we romped along with just the yankee working well, no need to break out the mainsail.  I was a bit concerned about the currents in the strait between Bali and Java, I know from experience they can run strong to the south.  But today for some reason they were pushing us north, such luxury.

Across to the west I could see Mount Ruang standing proud in the distance.  The sail across to Java was splendid, with a good breeze, favourable current, wonderful visibility, scenery and Micky in control of steering, nothing for me to do but enjoy.  Mount Ruang is just behind Banyuwangi where I once worked.  I was always too busy to spare the time to make a trip up the volcano, some of my coworkers did and said it was a fantastic experience. 

 In the afternoon we entered between two reefs into the anchorage for the night.  The outlaying reefs reduce the easterly swell coming into the anchorage so its quite peaceful.  The scenery is magnificent, the anchorage is inside the Baluran National Park.  The anchorage was so peaceful and scenic I stayed for two nights.  Unfortunately it was a bit too windy to go ashore in the dinghy, there is a nice looking beach and some mangroves to explore but just too distant and windy for my little dinghy. 

The anchorage was completely deserted apart from the occasional fisherman passing by.  On the second day I decided to make some fresh water.  When I turned on the water maker seawater started pouring out of the filter housing.  I removed and disassembled the housing to find that two small ‘O’ rings had perished on the vent caps.  Marvelous that they had both decided to fail at the same time.  Anyway, I found a fix for the problem and after a few hours work had everything back in place.  When I restarted the water maker I discovered that one of the high pressure hoses was spraying out a fine seawater mist.  Nothing I can do about that, it needs a new hose to be made up by a hydraulic shop.  In the meantime I have tied a rag around the leak to stop the spray and use a bucket to catch the drips.  There is always something…

My next stop was Kutupat island where there is an anchorage behind an offlaying reef.  The sail up was good but took longer than anticipated due to the wind going light in the afternoon.  As I approached the south of the island we encountered strong tide rips with standing waves, that delayed us further.  This delay resulted in arriving at the reef entrance just on sunset, really too late.  I entered through the entrance slowly with the motor running and using a satellite image as the Navionics chart was not accurate.  Eventually I passed through into deeper water, the shallowest point being 4 meters.  By the time I anchored it was pitch dark, I was ready for a beer. 

The anchorage was not too restful, being open to the wind, although the swell didn’t enter too much.  It was a jiggly, joggley night and I was quite happy to depart in the morning.  This time we took the longer northern route through the reef and the shallowest point was 10 meters, much better.  

The next stop was Gili Ijang.  Although only thirty miles distant it was an all day sail in very light winds.  The anchorage looked quite good on the chart, protected from the prevailing winds.  I thought I may stay a couple of days and get ashore for a wander around.  We arrived late afternoon as the sun was going down.  Firstly, I anchored in 10 m but the anchor would not set.  Then I moved out a way and into 14 m and found good holding.

Unfortunately, the anchorage turned out to be a disaster, the environment was awful.  The mosques started up with the loudest speakers I have ever heard, headachingly loud. After the mosques finished the dance music started, it was almost like they were using the same speakers.  Then it was fishing boats, shouting, industrial noises, burning rubbish fires and continuous disturbance during the night.  Added to this disturbance was a roll coming into the anchorage from the south. 

At first light the anchor was aweigh and we were on our way without a backward glance. 

• Facebook
• Instagram
• YouTube
• LinkedIn