The Adventures of Captain Ray Penson
Sailing Yacht Truce
I have had a great stay at Medana Bay, so good to have an air-conditioned room for a few nights. The treat is over, I am on my way again, departing in the morning after breakfast and heading out through the outlaying reef into clear deep water, Bali visible ahead.
Both the snake and I did double take for a fraction of a second then things got a little wild. The snake shot out from the quarter berth towards me, I simultaneously sprang up the companionway. The snake was moving fast and headed up to the forward cabin, it reared up and headed back towards me at speed as I retreated to the cockpit.
For my upcoming trip I have bought four large Jerry cans to carry extra diesel. I dislike carrying Jerry Cans on deck and certainly would not do so on an ocean crossing. But, in the equatorial latitudes there are fickle winds and more motoring than usual can be expected. Having a larger reserve of fuel on board reduces the chore of running a dinghy ashore to find fuel and fill jerry cans.
As we progressed south the wind played fickle tricks and the tide and currents toyed around with us. With no firm destination planned in the South Gili islands I just went with the best wind angle, as we got closer to our destination the wind selected Gili Sudak as our destination. I decided to tuck in around Gili Sudak, through a reef fringed channel. There we would be protected from the north westerly winds and in calm water.
Christmas and New Year are over, its time to get industrious again. I hauled out at Medana Bay Marina on January 2. Truce isn’t due for a new antifoul yet but I have been experiencing some knocking from the shaft at certain engine revs. I am sure its nothing too serious but as a precaution I want to inspect all the running gear and find out what the problem is – and rectify it.
For a brief few days we managed to get a Christmas family get together - at the same place and time.
The overnight anchorage at Kananga was OK. I slept most of the night in the cockpit and moved inside when the dew began to settle. After my morning cup of tea I decided to head direct to Lombok. Worst case scenario we run out of fuel and end up sailing the remaining miles. It might take a bit more time, but we will get there.
The Adventures of Captain Ray Penson 