Sulawesi Indonesia

We caught up with Chad and Kelli from “Just Magic” at Tawau after first meeting them in PP. Another yacht heading in the same direction at the same time. It’s a Lidgard 36 with a fractional rig and quite a performer especially in light winds. We enjoyed the comforts and hospitality of the yacht club while sorting our entry visa to Indonesia, provisioning and getting as much diesel as we could carry. We had already received our CAIT (Cruising Permit) for Indonesia a month earlier after applying for it while in PP.

A farewell from the Malaysian Authority all very friendly

A weather window presented itself just at the right time as a low pressure system was expected to cross further north changing the wind direction from the prevailing NE through North and then West during our 500nm passage across the Celebes Sea. The Celebes Sea is reported to be “Not Fun” during the NE Monsoon and the North Coast of Sulawesi “Downright Inhospitable” according to the SE Asia Cruising Guide so our expectations were filled with trepidation and anxiety.

A "FAD" more like a torpedo which has to be avoided at night, they are spread all over the Celebes Sea and are unlit

Up early on departure day and the weather grib files indicated that we could expect heavy rain in the location we would be the first night and that the wind would still be NE at the top of Sulawasi when we arrived so we decided to delay a day and relocate to another anchorage 50nm ENE where we had overnighted on our way to Tawau. We set off at 0800 and motor sailed out of the harbour and then sailed with a light westerly wind. Clouds began to build and the wind freshened from the north then backed to the NW giving us a better angle on the wind and we then sailed at good speed all the way to the anchorage. A couple of rain squalls accompanied us along the way but we were fortunate to avoid the worst and set anchor before the heavens opened on us. The conditions had taken their toll as I had developed a sore throat and cough similar to the PP epidemic.



A hut attached to a FAD which is hundreds of miles from land and a guy lives on it

The next morning was overcast with drizzle but the gribs were good so we headed off for the NE tip of Sulawesi leaving Malaysia for the last time. After clearing the inner islands and reefs we lost our depth sounder as the bottom dropped away to over 1000m deep, its over 5100m at the  deepest section somewhere in the middle of the sea. The variable winds changed dramatically as a 30kt squall hit us from the NE as we approached the most easterly reef and with double reefed main and staysail we were closehauled on a course well south of our intended 107 degree track, drenched with rain and not happy. The squall lasted about an hour and the wind held in at NE for the rest of the day, we were also pushing against a 1kt current which made our progress SLOW!!

One of the westerly squalls which hit us enroute

By nightfall the wind had died and backed to the NW so we motored with just the mainsail up in sloppy seas left over from the earlier squalls. The head current persisted and at times increased to 1.5kt but we were happy to continue on at low engine revs maintaining visual contact with the other yacht and try getting some rest. At 0300 after the half-moon had set and all was dark and I was trying to sleep Jen calls out to wake me with the news that we have a ripped mainsail and that a storm is brewing with lightning to the north and perhaps I should get up. These are NOT the dreams I want to be weaving!! More like a NIGHTMARE!! The mainsail was pulled down and inspected, a seam had separated below the top batten caused by the flogging from the lack of wind and slop we found ourselves in. The sail could not be repaired during this passage but I thought it could be at anchor in Bitung, but at our current speed that would be another 3 days.

Chad helping stitch the mainsail, it's a 2 man operation trying to keep tension on the twine

After daylight the wind freshened from the north so we sailed with our headsail and set up our storm trysail which is a replacement for the mainsail when in storm conditions or when the main is damaged. It’s only a small sail and is hoisted in its own track which runs parallel to the main track up the mast. It helped to counter the roll from the northerly swell and kept us sailing all day and night at a slow but acceptable speed. We had to manoeuvre around several ships we encountered that night which were traversing across the Celebes Sea to and from the Makassar Strait, in addition to the ships we had to hope we didn’t hit a FAD (fish attracting device)  which are somehow anchored in this deep sea and have boats and huts attached to them without any lighting. They are hard to see in daylight and impossible at night.

Repairs to the mainsail seam and patch on the luff, the sail then had to be hoisted so the leech line near the batten could be stretched and secured

On day 3 the wind backed further to the west as predicted so we played with a few different sail combinations which proved to be successful as we were still keeping up with our companions, the sloppy seas were slowing them more than us and by dark we were actually ahead. A westerly squall hit us just before dark at 30kts but passed quickly and then the wind dropped to about 6kts so we motored through the night and at 0200 the head current weakened then by daylight changed to a favourable current of 0.5-1kt and the seas calmed to a more acceptable state.

Everything hoisted at the bow running with a westerly wind and our little storm trisail replacing the mainsail, this combination kept us sailing much longer than we expected

We continued motoring all day and saw land at 1600 to the south east, a prominent volcano which is typical for Indonesia, we rounded the northern tip of Sulawesi at 1800 then headed south towards Bitung through a maze of brightly lit fishing boats and finally dropped anchor at 2345. My flu had worsened and moved to the chest so as well as the panadol I was on a course of antibiotics. Thankfully it was time to get some real sleep so after a couple of beers we both crashed out till the following lunchtime or later.

The anchorage in Bitung and 'Just Magic' in the foreground

When we arrived at our anchorage we were tired and it was dark so we could see very little we had pretty much sailed in by instruments, in the daylight we were surprised to find ourselves behind this beautiful small island covered in greenery and situated in the Bitung Channel with clean blue water and surrounded with lovely lush rainforest hills and two dormant volcanoes in full view, simply stunning.

Survival training at the Academy where we left our dinghy for the trips to towns with the girls

After a full 36hr rest we set to mending the mainsail, so with the help of Chad and Kelli we first glued and stitched the separated seam and glued a patch over a section of sail which had pulled away from the luff. This took 2 days as the winds had again freshened from the NE and it was hard work with the sail partly raised. The sail was finally repaired and fully zigzag stitched then the stitching covered with sticky-back sailcloth courtesy of 'Just Magic' who had a large piece tucked away for such emergencies. Our stock of sticky-back was depleted at Kudat where we had patched up some small sections of the mainsail after hauling out.

A local lunch in town, we actually ordered 4 ice waters and this is what we were served, it was shaved ice with toppings and who knows what but was absolutely delicious

The next job on the agenda was to clear in to Indonesia, a daunting task we believed after our previous experience at Kupang with the rally. We had only a general idea where to go so Chad and myself headed to the port 2nm away in our dinghy. We decided to leave the dinghy tied to a large police boat thinking this would be safe and to our surprise they offered to give us a lift to Immigration our first office to call on. All was good till we arrived at the office only to be told it was the wrong office, however the Immigration Officer offered to take us to the right office which happened to be just 100m away from where we had left the dinghy. Immigration was easy and we had our passports stamped within 30 minutes.

The locals are extremely friendly and love getting their photo taken, this one was at the local Pasar (market)

 Next was Customs which we were told was around the corner about 500m away. The Customs Officers were great, we had an informal interview sitting on a lounge and filled in our declarations and handed them our ships papers, etc. They insisted on coming out to our boats which was a concern when they declared that their boat was broke and could they use ours. Surprising how quickly it was repaired when they heard we only had a small inflatable and our yachts were 2nm away. The visit was brief and we actually caught both ladies coming back from a kayak adventure, in fact the trip to the yachts and back took longer in their poor excuse for a Customs boat. We had a few laughs with them which broke the ice and all in all it was a pleasant experience. We avoided any contact with the other authorities Quarantine and Harbour Master as they are usually the ones who cause the most grief and we don’t need their clearance to get back out of the country. We hope!!

Chad and Kelli share a bike taxi our main means of transport in Bitung

After clearance was completed we needed to find a fuel supplier to fill our drums, we headed to the shore and after a couple of attempts to land and find a service station we found a fuel depot on the water front which would sell us diesel for 8000Rp/litre which is about A$0.80/litre. We arranged to return at 0800 the next morning and fill all our drums.

The hole in the wall natural archway close by to the anchorage

With the fuel run completed the next chore  was provisioning with fresh produce again, this time the ladies came with us and we secured the dinghy at The Marine Academy jetty adjacent the anchorage and under the watch full eye of a local boatman. We then tried to catch a taxi but were informed the only way into town was on the back of a motorbike so we hailed down 4 bikes and were delivered to the local fresh produce market. We became the days entertainment for the locals as we traversed the market buying our fruit and veges. Next was a taxi down to the main street and supermarket to get some basics and beer, then after some lunch at a local restaurant we caught another taxi back to the dinghy landing and then back to the boat for some well earned R&R.
Bye for now,

Beers and Cheers with a 3 Amigos beer at Bitung

J&J