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| Arriving at Banda just before daylight |
Surrounded by islands the harbour of Banda Naira is well protected from both winds and swell. The harbour is very deep up to 100m in some places close to shore so it is difficult to find a place to anchor with sufficient swing room. Our preference was to drop our main anchor in 25m then lay back with stern to the shore and tie 2 ropes to the shore. It was similar to the European way commonly seen in the Med but instead of a ladder to access the shore we used our dinghy.
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| European style tied to the shore |
Banda and the surrounding islands are also known as the Spice Islands and are infamous for 2 reasons. It was once the only place on the planet where nutmeg was grown and because of this, caused frenzy within the European countries “barbarians” to create a monopoly to supply the produce and own the trees.
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| The humble nutmeg with the nut in the middle, the red mace around it and the outside pith is made into a really tasty candy. |
In the sixteenth century the Dutch invaded the islands and systematically over the next 50 years decimated the local inhabitants in order to create and maintain with little success a monopoly to control the supply of nutmeg and mace to the rest of the world. It was a farcical process with horrific results and their domination lasted into the 1900’s before the eventual independence of Indonesia after WW2. Today the location is the Middle East with oil as the precious commodity.
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| This fort has stood the test of time but has many horrific stories to tell |
Many of the buildings and forts constructed during the Dutch control remain despite severe degradation over recent years partly as a result of the recent Christian vs Muslim disturbance.
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| One of the remaining Perkeniers (Dutch farmers) estates now run by locals but in much need of repair |
Banda is a truly beautiful place with an active volcano “Gunung Api” as its focal point on the western side of the harbour. The other islands are less impressive but do have white sandy beaches and crystal clear water, full of healthy coral and many fish.
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| Larva flows still visible after the last eruption in 1998 |
The local economy still focuses on the nutmeg trade and of course tourism but because of the dominant Muslim control they can’t seem to be able to advance either industry, too busy praying!!
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| This large passenger ship is the only decent form of transport for tourists to Banda |
We met up with one local who guided us around the nutmeg plantations, Dutch forts and old homesteads, full of interesting information which we absorbed like sponges. We walked the streets of Banda and the neighboring island of Banda Besar enjoying the interaction with locals and experiencing their cruisy laidback lifestyle.
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| Our private ferry across to Bandar Besar, outside in the hot sun was much more pleasant than the noise and smell under cover |
With the winds forecast to freshen from the west we decided to relocate to the western side of the harbour beneath Gunung Api, so we surveyed the best area with our lead line and found a spot with suitable trees ashore for fastening our stern lines. The holding was poor due to the volcanic rubble so in addition to the main anchor we deployed a danforth anchor out from our port bow at 90 degrees to prevent pivoting backwards and up into the shallower water. It was a longer dinghy ride across the harbour to town but at least the “Call to Prayer” was more tolerable.
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| Resetting stern ropes to anchor in deeper water on the western side of Banda Harbour, we managed to get a bit too close to the bottom at low tide |
We had a wonderful meal at a local restaurant/guest house and sampled food cooked using the spices the islands are famous for and found it totally different to anything else tasted in Asia. It was equal to the best in Thailand but a totally different sensation. The main spices were nutmeg, mace and cinnamon with a host of local fresh vegetables, local kanari (almonds), chicken and a large jackfish.
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| Giving the local children of Banda a history lesson |
Sitting beneath an active volcano which last blew its top off in 1998 was a little nervy so we decided to hike up to the top about 600m above sea level and check it out. The climb was straight up without much deviation along a bush/rock track which was extremely difficult as the rocks were loose and for every 2 steps forward you would slide back 1 and much of the way required physically climbing up or crawling.
It took 2 hours to reach the summit and from there we had superb views of Banda Naira and the surrounding islands, as well as looking down into the crater. In some spots steam was escaping from cracks in the ground and rocks were so hot you could not touch them.
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| The stunning view of the harbour and Banda Naira from near the top of Gunung Api |
After an hour at the summit recuperating and replenishing our fluids we virtually slid on our bums all the way back down the track to base camp. We were totally knackered and just fell into the sea to refresh before diving into the fridge for a few cold beers.
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| On the edge of Api |
After about 10 days it was time to move on again so we left early morning and headed west around Gunung Api then SE towards the Kei Islands 180nm away. It was another overnighter which we sailed for about 12 hours out of the 30 hours it took to get to our next destination which was an anchorage to the south of a large pearl farm in the lee of a small island called Ut
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| Not sure what the breed is but it enjoyed our bow wave for about 30 minutes |
We stayed for a couple of days swimming and relaxing then moved on to the capital city of Tual, in a pleasant well protected harbour. It was here that we had to get clearance out of Indonesia so a visit to Customs and Immigration was on the agenda. We had a visit from the Navy wanting to check our papers which was very cordial and friendly without any incident. Thankfully the Harbour Master didn’t bother us.
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Another meeting on board with gun toting officials, this time the Indonesian Navy
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Tual was a dirty town full of noisy bemo’s and extremely poor internet service, we couldn’t wait to get out, so after fueling up and buying fresh provisions we cleared and headed south to a small village called Debut. The clearance was trouble free and no bribes requested.
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| Returning home with some basic supplies with our local boatman Ricard |
We hung around Debut for about a week waiting for a weather window for our 500nm trip back to Darwin. We planned to leave on Thursday but severe squalls associated with a developing low pressure system attached to the Monsoonal Trough came through with strong winds and heavy rain all day. We had to traverse the trough to get back to OZ and it had been a concern since commencing the trip in Malaysia, where would we meet it and how bad it would be??
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| Not the best place to anchor a ship |
The next day offered much better conditions and better than we could expect for several days to come in this location so we braved ourselves and left on a Friday, something we normally never do as it is usually a cause of bad luck.
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| Something different a Christian church in Indonesia |
We motored for the first 2.5 days in light south to SW winds then had a good sail for about 6 hours with a SE wind just before dark. With the boredom of motoring we decided to have a competition with the four of us each nominating a time and location for the first boat to be called by Australian Customs Coastwatch. It was Just Magic which received the first call at 1630 on day 2 (Sunday), Chad was closest with the time and I was closest with the location, so that meant both girls were our slaves for a day (I wish), no we won some free drinks when we arrived in Darwin, both girls reckoned they were always our slaves so that was not a suitable prize.
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| A lovely sunset over the Arafura Sea but no wind!! |
After all the motoring we noticed that the alternator light had come on during a fridge rundown and wouldn’t go off and a smell was coming from the engine compartment .NOT GOOD!! The heat in the compartment even with all hatches open was extreme and the alternator had been playing up ever since it was installed back in Langkawi, we thought this time it was terminal. The batteries were getting low and our only charging device was the genset which ran for 2hrs a day along with the main engine creating even more heat.
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| This is the only water supply for some locals on Banda Besar |
We arrived at Cape Don at the entrance into Van Diemans Gulf at about midnight and pushed a 3-4kt current for about 4 hrs till we were hit by a severe squall line which we saw building on the radar, with it came heavy rain and 30kt winds from all angles, the current turned but we were blinded by the continuous squalls and darkness till after daylight. We continued motoring through the channel with varying strengths of current both with and against us till we had a favorable wind for sailing so we continued on without the motor for about 4hours.
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| Making our way through the rainforest on Gunung Api |
When the breeze died we turned on the engine but it wouldn’t start and we were just 5 nm from Fanny Bay in Darwin so I checked the fuel filter and found it clogged with muck, I quickly changed it and away we went until we heard a clink of breaking glass and to our horror the fuel filter glass bowl had shattered probably from the extreme heat. I quickly connected the main engine fuel supply to the genset filter and away we went to the anchorage arriving at 1840hrs, a bit late for Customs to clear us so we raised the Q flag and sat well out away from other yachts. Just Magic arrived at 2100 and anchored of our starboard bow.
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| Surveying the view from the top of Gunung Api |
I found a spare fuel filter glass bowl and reassembled the broken filter and reconnected both engine fuel lines, cleaned up the mess and then guzzled down many cold beers, the exact number I can’t recall, but here we were back in OZ where we left almost 3 years ago.
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| The others in an adjoining turret at the Banda Fort |
The next morning after a solid sleep we called Customs to alert them of our arrival and we were asked to proceed to Cullen Bay wharf to be cleared by them and Quarantine. After some pleasantries it was down to business and to our surprise it was all over without any fuss. Quarantine removed our prohibited entry goods which were few and Customs removed our emergency drugs which we declared. They were returned to us several days later when they advised us we did not require a permit.
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| The Australian Navy, a bit more formidable than our Indonesian Neighbours |
We were informed by Quarantine that if we intended to enter a marina here in Darwin we would have to undergo a free decontamination and have all our orifices thoroughly probed and cleansed, thankfully it wasn’t personal and only the boat had to suffer the indignity. It was arranged that fisheries would do the decom that afternoon and that we would have to remain at the wharf all night with our inlets closed then we could go to the marina.
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| Drying the nutmeg, mace and what appears to be fish fillets |
We entered the lock to Tipperary Waters Marina at 0830 and were safely tied up in a pen soon after ready for a complete DE-ASIA-ING and a fresh clean start back in OZ, and of course fixing the many problems that have developed since departing here 3 years ago.
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| About to exit the lock into the marina |
Bye for now,
Beers and Cheers with a margarita or 5 glad to be back in OZ, well we'll see??
J&J
