The Adventures of Captain Ray Penson
Sailing Yacht Truce
Last week I took a trip into Mataram to pick up the replacement toilet part which was being fabricated for me. The workshop said it was ready for collection so off I went. How stupid of me, I should have known better after all the time I had worked in Indonesia. Of course, when I arrived the part wasn’t ready!
The emotional distress suffered when something valuable goes over the side (nothing of inconsequence or low value is ever attracted over the side) can only be understood by other sailors. It is a feeling like no other human emotion, complete helplessness as experienced in an earthquake, coupled with this are the emotions of futility, incredulity, disbelief, frustration, dismay, shock and anger.
The trip around from Gili Sudak was just a twelve mile hop and as there was only a slight breeze from ahead we motored all the way. It was an easy motor in calm seas, I took care to keep well away from the reefs which can be seen on the satellite images but not necessarily on the charts. We arrived at Gili Gede and anchored off Marina Del Ray just before ten in the morning.
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.
Of course, the reality of cruising an area or coast is often different from the perceptions. This was very true of my cruise inside the Barrier Reef. I started the voyage in Gladstone, Queensland and finished the Barrier Reef section In Siasea, just around Cape York in the Gulf of Carpentaria, amazingly still in Queensland – Australia is a big place.
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.
Late afternoon, we anchored in 20m just off the beach at Kilo. The children watched from the beach and by the time we had settled at anchor they had found a leaky canoe as transport to Truce. They had mango and coconut to trade for pencils and biscuits.
The Adventures of Captain Ray Penson 