47' Catamaran- our home for the next 10 days
Would you sail with this bunch?
Underwater playground
47' Catamaran- our home for the next 10 days
Holding Hands in a Fast Ocean
As the Moggy left the marina, we entered a large sheltered bay at the tip of Nusa Dua. This is the epicenter of the tourist craze called, “Watersports”. The Moggy dodged speedboats towing all different kinds of “watersport” vehicles. Depending on the individual’s thrill threshold, there is the relatively safe activity of glass bottom boats, for the slightly more adventurous there is tubing on giant floating bananas. Then a step up in thrill seeking is the para-sailing behind a speedboat. The activity that we’d never seen before is what we called the “flying air mattress.” It starts off like tubing, then this gigantic air mattress takes flight behind the boat. I don’t think that the riders were even strapped in. One of the para-sailing boats came so close to the Moggy that it looked like the lead line was going to cross our mast. I guess there are few the tourists (99% Asian) are not litigious when it comes to water accidents.
The Cruise across the Strait to Lembogen was exhilarating: clear blue skies, large swell & wind from the SE. I rode on the bow wrapped in a sarong to protect from sun & wind. M was on the stern gauging the effectiveness of his Sea-bands. Fortunately, they worked well and he had very little seasickness.
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Next morning M & J surfed at The Playgrounds, a break adjacent to our mooring. They had custom boards made at REDZ Surf shop. Our trip to pick them up was an adventure. The shop was located north of Kuta. Not a long distance by actual miles, yet, a huge adventure due to traffic and our driver taking the most out-of-the-way route.
Before lunch, we cruised to the next island Nusa Penida to Gamal Bay, a very popular stop for snorkeling. Fortunately, we arrived just as the morning groups were departing. We had a chance to discover this spectacular coral reef in relative quiet. There was one boat that did not leave, it was a dugout canoe with a man who lived on the beach. He is a self-appointed guardian of the bay and receives hand-outs from the boats as payment.
Cruised in the late afternoon across the Lombok Strait with the current coming from the north and a BIG swell. Arrived after sunset at cove named Tg Pandanan. It is the home of a fleet of Balinese fishermen with small 2 person outriggers & colorful triangular sails. The Balinese love to gamble though it is illegal in Indonesia. Shouts of laughter and cries of success as the fishermen gambled around bonfires and into the night.
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Awoke before dawn to the whine of dozens of outriggers motoring out. After a hearty breakfast of scrambled eggs, bacon, fresh fruit, coffee, toast, we started to Desert Point, a favorite surf spot just a little south. Sadly, we weren’t making any headway against the current. Upon returning to the fishermen’s cove, Caption Don and Ikat Bagus (first mate) opened up the starboard engine and discovered that the transmission was stripped.
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Lucky for us, we watched all the fishing boats return in a fantastic, colorful parade of sails. The water of the cove was smooth as glass and the water so clear that you could see the sandy tawny bottom. Then Ida took us in the dinghy to a green channel marker close to shore for some very good snorkeling.
The loss of one engine for motoring was a huge disappointment. It meant that our range of travel would be restricted. We could motor with some sail assist close to the north shore of Lombok, however, getting to a couple of surf spots would be impossible. Fortunately, the motor with the stripped transmission could still serve to recharge the batteries.
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Cruised along the north shore to Pt. Giligede, dropped J, J, M & I off at a reef where there were hundreds of fish. J&J saw turtles & 6 huge blue fish swimming out to the deeper reef. We did a short drift snorkel from Pt. Giligede to a jetty at Gili Ringat, then cruised along the east side of Giligede to Secret Island Resort.
The resort and a few moorings are owned by a long-time friend of Captain Don. It was just before sunset and as Captain Don and Ikat & Martin were setting anchor, we saw a dinghy with Polisi marked on the side and 2 men in uniform. Once, we settled, the uniformed men boarded and asked to see the boat’s documents. They were in the stern with Captain Don, Ikat and Martin in quiet discussion, checking and re-checking the documents and sometimes sitting in silence. We 6 sat on the bow, occasionally taking surreptitious peeks to the rear. It was over an hour later and after dark when the Polisi left. It was a shakedown. Captain Don knew that all his paperwork was in order, however, he had to pay them a small amount of money just to get them to leave. The long silences were Captain Don’s method of getting the men to ask for the money.
During the night a big windstorm with rain raked the boat, K & G were sleeping on deck under the shade tarp that was almost blown away. They persevered. Captain Don slept on the stern. Ikat & Martin slept on deck too. M & I, J & J enjoyed the comfort of cabins in the front of the catamaran’s hulls. Pete, the owner of Secret Island Resort rode over in his dinghy for a morning visit. He recommended snorkeling over by the Bungalow Pier. A medium swim from the Moggy, the cove had little current and shallow bottom where we floated like a giant spaceships over the sea world below.
We took the dinghy over to the beach by the resort and walked up the short hill to the restaurant. With Pete as our host and his wife Tia as chef, we enjoyed a fish and vegetable dish in a delicious yellow coconut sauce. M had fish in garlic sauce. Yum! Seven large Bintang beers for the group on the outdoor deck under the shade of the sun.
While the rest of the gang headed back to the Moggy, M & I took a walk half way around the island. Most of the path was a tidy wide lane of pavers. Some money had been spent on this project. In a few places, the high tide or rain had eroded the path. We passed by tidy homes, a couple of “Homestays,” and convenience stores. Not quite 7/11, these tiny businesses offered snacks and drinks, a few staples in small shacks. We met a couple of very young kids that yelled, “Money, money!” Sadly many of the homes and beaches were surrounded with plastic trash. My expectations of finding pristine, idyllic villages were defeated. Near the main jetty, the homes were very tidy and there were signs in English & Indonesian, “No Litter.” We passed a couple of new construction projects. On the westside of the island, we saw a large mosque. All the islands, except Bali, are Muslim. Our hike was a hot 2 hours and on our return to the Moggy, the mosque across the channel had ramped up its sound system and we were regaled with sermons and prayers all evening. Another rainstorm in the night, K & G retired to the dining area to sleep on the padded benches.
