The Adventures of Captain Ray Penson
Sailing Yacht Truce
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.
I had my birthday a couple of weeks ago. Not that I really celebrate birthdays anymore, they are sort of running out. As a treat I went to the Eco Resort for breakfast and I tucked into an English breakfast with real pork bacon.
It was hard to see anything through the driving rain, I was concerned about the boats around me dragging in the heavy winds. I had everything ready should we break loose from our mooring as I tried to monitor the boats around us. I saw forty-five knots on the anemometer and suspect we had a couple of fifty knot gusts at the height, but I wasn’t watching. The village ashore took a pounding, I could see lots of flashlights through the rain as the locals tended their houses and boats.
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.
The Adventures of Captain Ray Penson 