Passage and Arrival

To All

Our passage is complete and we have now been anchored here in Kupang, island of Timor since our arrival on Wednesday, Kathy's birthday. We had a good passage making our normal 120 to 130 miles each 24 hour period. The wind was quite variable with periods of calm and times of 25 to 30 kts. This made for lots of sail changes, meaning times when we both had to be up, Kathy driving and me going to the mast to either tuck in or shake out reefs in the main sail. For you non sailors reefs are ways in which we reduce the total sail area by either raising or lowering the sail. We also have two foresail's, a jib and a staysail, that we let in or out by rolling them up on what is called a furler. A nice thing about the passage was leaving with 60 other boats allowed us to always be in visual and radio contact. Especially nice was that we only experienced a few mechanical problems.

Since I know some of you have neglected to google Indonesia and have no real idea where in the world we are, perhaps if I say Bali you have a better idea. Here are a few basic facts that I have gathered from different sources. The total population is in the area of 190 million belonging to 300 different ethnic groups. It has the worlds largest Muslim population. Indonesia is the worlds largest archipelagic state scattered over more than 2 million square miles of ocean and composed of more than 13,000 islands. It basically lies north of Australia and southwest of the Philippines. Between 5 degrees north and south of the equator. The money here is the Rupiah and on changing money in Australia we became instant millionaires. One US dollar is equal to 10,000 Rupiah. So far it appears goods and services are quite inexpensive here and after the high cost of everything in Australia that will be most welcome. If you want any more on the geography or history you're on your own.

The first boats arrived in Kupang on the 27th and we followed in the early morning of the 28th. We had been cautioned that being in Indonesia the first thing to remember was they had no conception of time, the amount of paperwork needed for checking in was astounding and lastly patience was most important. Customs and quarantine officials arrive within 20 minutes of dropping our anchor and were most efficient. Lots of papers were involved with us supplying several copies of our crew lists, documentation, passports, cruising permit etc. As in most 3rd world countries officials love stamps, we have one with our boat name and documentation number so on every piece of paper they would stamp and we would follow suit. We were done, at least with the first step in about 15 minutes. Later when we went ashore Kathy, being the captain, had to go through the same thing more papers and stamping. The good thing was this was all done at "Teddy's Bar" where I could enjoy my first "Bintang" beer. The rally organizer's had done a very good job having everything set up and running smoothly, of course that's why we had joined a rally. Beers and lunch were consumed. Two lunches consisting of one beef steak sandwich and one of about a dozen very large prawns, 2 bottled waters, five large [650ml] beers 270,000 R. It was then back to the boat for a quick rest before we were to be back on shore to attend a "gala" dinner hosted by the governor. We were bused to a large outdoor facility where we had a nice dinner, saw a number of traditional dances and other entertainment along with the required speeches. All in all a big birthday event for Kathy.

As cell phones seem to be a necessary evil, our job for Thursday was trying to get at least one of the three "locked" phones we own unlocked and a local SIM card installed. We also hoped to get our dongle modem working so we could get internet service on the boat. After 4 and a half hours with a local tourist guide and a taxi we now have one phone working and get the internet here in the anchorage. The costs, all in US $! Guide $10, taxi $25, SIM cards $1.50 each, internet connection $5/month, labor to unlock the phone $10. The phone was the most amazing. Picture 25 small booths in the front of a clothing store all selling and repairing the latest in phones, blacberries, etc.. Yes, I said repairing. I watched as phones were taken completely apart, circuit boards soldered, LCD screens replaced, re-assembled and given back to the customer. All at a labor charge of about $10/hr.

Today Friday we have been taking it easy though tonight is another dinner hosted by the mayor of Kupang. We did cleaning and putting away on the boat and as we are still without a watermaker the never ending job of procuring bottled water. Tomorrow we will go to the open fruit and vegetable market and spend a bit of time touring around the city of Kupang. As the rally has scheduled stops and activities at approximately 16 towns or villages over the next 3 months we will be moving on shortly with the next stop the island of Rote with at least a few days in several different anchorages.

For us there is lots to see and do in a country that we had no conception of, I hope you enjoy reading of our adventures and I am still hoping to post some photos. We hope this all finds you happy, healthy and enjoying the summer. J&K