Indonesia so far.....

  After a good sail from Oz we approached Kupang in the early morning,the smokey smell and twinkling lights welcomed us, but it was still dark,and with no navigational lights or markers we were on the lookout ,especially for small fishing boats as we went up the channel,some have lights and some don't ! At first light we saw  about 12 masts already in the anchorage .As the day progressed another 50 yachts arrived.We raised our 'Q' flag and awaited the local customs officers who randomly went to whichever yacht took their fancy! No kind of order. Paperwork is King in Indonesia.We had made multiple photocopies from a list of different paperwork that the rally had advised, the officers were very polite ,we filled out more forms, they  took a look below decks and gave us  clearance to go ashore to start the real paperwork! I must say the rally had organized all 5 different government departments of officials in one building which was extremely convenient and actually made the process of checking in run smoothly. The local bar was next door with free wifi, and cheap cold beer,the local telecommunications people were there with sim cards ,etc etc this bar became the local hangout for all events.our captain was unable to get the answers he needed for our wifi needs so a local guy kindly took him 10 km on the back of his skooter  to the local head office to sort things out, an exciting  ride in the chaotic traffic ,a town with few road signs, and only one traffic light that he could see!( 350,000 population) The local buses are small vans called bemos, with no headroom ( fine for little people like myself) ,that are highly decorated, play loud music ,have 2 benches on each side and pile as many people in as possible.The side door is always open with a young boy (13yrs or so) who stands ready to jump out to stop traffic when they make a turn etc( remember no traffic lights) as you will see from the photos we did a tour seeing the highlights of kupang using a bemo,this included the local wild monkeys,the traditional musical instrument ,and hat maker and,a look around the local museum that was crumbling ,as is most of the colonial dutch and portuguese architecture here. The majority of people are very ,very poor in this region ,and life is lived on the streets.A group of us went to visit the local orphanage,which presently houses 70 + children,the sail Indonesia rally organizes our donations to go to a scholarship fund for some of their brightest students to attend university. We also donated clothing ,other supplies etc .They grow most of their food and raise chickens,pigs, and goats ,the surplus is taken to market to help earn money for the running of the orphanage.it was amazing to see how happy the children seemed ,caring for each other just like a very large extended family.I will post an address if anyone would like to send a red cross parcel ( clothing, shoes, toothbrushes,band aids etc. Next day we set sail for Alor, stopping overnight 10 miles off the east Timor border. The captain mentioned the strange tides and currents we encountered. We have been welcomed here and entertained.Unfortunately there is smoke from the Volcano nearby and trash burning, so breathing  when the breeze has dropped is irritating. We were graciously shown around the traditional village of Talapaka  including inside their houses.There are 2 floors within the thatched roof that can be reached by a precarious bamboo ladder, the cooking area and the corn storage,see photos. The regency governor laid on a dinner for us and honored some of the yachties by dressing them up in ceremonial clothing! We hope to set off again tomorrow  ,the weather here is the dry season, so no rain, hot sun in the day (30 C in the day, 20 C at night).

Kalabari, Alor, Indonesia

We arrived in Alor last night are a difficult passage from Kupang. We left the day before yesterday and had a nice day sail for about 45 miles and anchored in a cove on the north side of Timor. There was 80 miles to cover to the anchorage at Alor so we left at 0400 H and thought we could cover the distance in daylight. This was not to be due to adverse currents and light wind. There was huge current of 5 kts plus between Alor and the islands to the west and even with a powerful motor we were making less than a knot over ground. Fortunaly the current was much less close to shore but going 100 meters off the coast in the pitch black was exciting. Also, dodging fish traps and pearl farms added to the fun. We made it fine and we are about the sixth boat here and all the rest will arrive today and tomorrow. Photos of Kupang soon if we can find good internet.

Kupang,West Timor, Indonesia

Well, we certainly are not in Oz any more! This place is much more like Mexico but there are no Mariachis and they don't speak Spanish. We are back in the land of the 40 oz.  beers at $2.50 each, this is an improvement.

Position Report 31 July 2012

Arrived safely in Kupang Indonesia at 0600H LT awaiting customs clearance. 

Position Report 29 July 2012

We have made good progress over the past 24 hours. The wind and seas have 
moderated a bit and the conditions are much more comfortable but we have been 
able to maintain reasonable speed.
Current position at 0745 on July 30 LT is 11 00 S, 125 44.5 E, Speed is 6.5 kts. 
Course is 283 degrees and the wind is 13 kts from the SE.
We have about 150 miles to go and arrival is timed for dawn tomorrow. All well 
aboard

Position Report: July 29 0800 LT

We left on the SailIndonesia rally yesterday at about 1000H We started of with 
nice breeze from the SE and made good progress. The wind then went forward and 
light and we had to motor for an hour or two. The wind came back from the west 
and then veered back to the southeast and has built to about 15-20 kts. We are 
going well but it's bit bumpy with confused seas, all well aboard.
We have made 150 miles and have 292 miles to go to Kupang. Position is 11 45.9S 
128 26.3E speed 7.5 kts wind 20 kts SE . Swell 6-8 feet from SE.

Darwin, NT, Oz

It's Friday night and it's yet another public holiday in Darwin for the Royal Darwin Show which is some kind of county show with livestock and the like. Fifty thousand people are expected, go figure!
 Our new crew, Tracy, arrived in the early hours this morning after a much delayed flight from Sydney via San Francisco.
We had a busy day getting cleared out of Oz. This was achieved at the Darwin sailing club by teams of Customs guys who worked through the 130 boats in the rally in very good time. I even got $130 AUD back from the government for GST refund.
We did a final boat clean and got the AIS running after a fair amount of hassle including upgrading the software in the chart plotters before the wretched thing would work . All well now and I can see all the shipping targets again at up to 50 miles. This will come in handy approaching Singapore in a few months.
We are out of the lock at 0850 tomorrow and the rally starts at 1100. I'm looking forward to getting to sea again and some new horizons after being in Oz for the past eight months.