Raja Ampat

Raja Ampat is renowned for diving. It's also a huge area with relatively few people. So far, we have been to a couple of spots in Wayag and an isolated anchorage called Uranie. Any one of these anchorages could be used as a base for weeks upon weeks of diving. The other day, we were with our friends on Field Trip, talking about our cruising experiences (they have been out six years to our five). We all marveled at how many more cruising boats there were in the U.S. and Caribbean than in this neck of the woods. Here, there are live aboard dive boats, fishing boats, and tourist speed boats. We even met some of the crew from the jaw-dropper Octopus, owned by Paul Allen of Microsoft fame. But, besides each other, we have seen only three other cruising boats in the month or so that we have been in Raja Ampat.

True to its reputation, the diving has not disappointed. The variety and number of coral and fish is impressive. In many cases, it seems the best diving corresponds with strong currents. It is good to have two boats of certified divers and two dinghies so that we can coordinate the best way to approach various dives, including having someone sit in the dinghy during some dives (thanks Mary Ellen and E!).

On one recent dive, Matt and Mark on Field Trip got a good long look at a wobbegong shark who patiently sat still like a well behaved dog while Matt clicked off photo after photo from just inches away. Unfortunately, Matt's footage was lost when the Faux Pro (an Akaso--a less expensive Go Pro-like camera) went missing somewhere between when Matt hooked it onto his BCD and when he got back to the boat. The camera wasn't expensive but finding a replacement in these parts isn't going to happen. I'll save the story about the expensive Ikelite camera housing and strobe debacle for another time. Let's just say that Ikelite is a bad word around here lately.

Since Sorong, we have celebrated Thanksgiving and Mark's tenth birthday. We're waiting to hear from a haul-out facility in Indonesia before we decide if and when we go to Darwin. Something as simple as a price quote gets to be very complicated without a cell phone signal and not speaking the local language.

The Idiot Tax

The first replacement Automatic Voltage Regulator

Our friend Matt Myren refers to The Lottery as the 'Idiot tax.' We apparently have our own version of the 'Idiot Tax' on Perry. Basically, it's the extra money (and time) we spend because we are too optimistic about how well any given boat project will go (and consequently how long it will take and cost). But more so, we really need to learn that if it ain't (completely) broke, don't try to fix it.

This time it was our generator seal. It has been leaking slightly for a couple of months but the conventional wisdom is that a slow leak is not a big deal. We planned to address it the next chance we got (which we thought would probably be Australia when we work on our prop shaft and strut). But, after talking to some knowledgeable local contacts here, we decided to have an Indonesia mechanic take a look since the labor rates would make the whole project much cheaper than getting it done in Australia.  The mechanic originally recommended worked for about $50 US a day but wasn't available right away. Another mechanic, Rudy, also came highly recommended and would still cost a fraction of the price we would pay in Australia.

With our limited Indonesian, Rudy's limited English, and Google Translate, we negotiated a fixed price (starting at 6 million rupiah, we settled on 2.5 million rupiah--$450 US down to $185 US). Rudy started work. It was going relatively well, though he had trouble getting one of the parts off (which is nothing unusual for pretty much anything on a boat). Eventually he came up and said that the seal was actually fine and that the leak was actually coming from someplace else which you couldn't see until everything was apart.  We took care of the leak and Rudy started to put everything back together.

During all this, Rudy was sweating profusely in the hot engine room and at one point near the end had to come up because he was getting dizzy. Matt had rigged up a fan to try to get more air flow and supplied lots of liquids but it is just really hot and humid here and being cooped up in a hole roughly the size of a port-a-potty with half the head room. It's the last place you want to be when the boat is in full sun, less than one degree away from the equator. 

In the late afternoon (he started work in the morning and worked all day except for lunch and a few breaks), Rudy reassembled the generator.  Matt started up the gen to test it. The motor started up and ran but it wasn't putting in any AC power (which is what we use to charge the batteries, desalinate water, and fill our dive tanks). Everyone's spirits sank at that point and the troubleshooting started. To make a long story a bit shorter, one of the windings was damaged during the work and Rudy was able to re-solder it. When we started it up again, he decided to tap on the windings with his screwdriver while the unit was running, to see if it would 'spark' to indicate voltage (why he decided this, we'll never know).  It sparked...and also shorted out the Automatic Voltage Regulator (the fuse that blew apparently wasn't enough to protect the unit).  So now the unit was only producing 310 volts--waaayy more than the 230 V it should have been making.

A NorthernLights replacement AVR has a price of almost $700 US exclusive of shipping. Of course, the price doesn't even take into account that it's nearly impossible to get things shipped here, let alone in a timely fashion.  So we did our best not to strangle Rudy, who actually demonstrated quite a bit of competence up to the point where he fried the AVR. Maybe it was the near-heat stroke that addled his brain near the end. He assured us that he could find a new AVR for a lot less in Sorong (or somewhere that we could get it within a day or two).

He found a Chinese-made model for 1.5 million Rupiah (a little over $100), but we're not sure whether it is beefy enough or whether it will be fried if we installed it. We have been spending the last few days trying to figure out our options for (a) getting the Northern Lights part; (b) seeing if the Chinese-made AVR will work; and/or (c) limping along without a generator until we get to Australia. As we mentioned previously, it's a bit of a nightmare to have parts sent into Indonesia.

While we wait, we pray for sunny days and when needed, run our starboard engine with its recently beefed up alternator to charge the batteries. We were getting a bit low on water because it hadn't rained for awhile and Sorong's harbor was way too dirty to make water. Luckily, the day after the 'Breaking of the Generator' was perfect for battery power and water production. It poured in the morning, giving us the much-needed water, and then the sun came out for enough time to give us a good battery charge. We're good for water for now and have had (knock on wood) an uncharacteristic string of sunny days.

So the exact price of our 'Idiot Tax' remains to be seen. If we had to do it again, we would have waited until Australia where there were better options if things went wrong (which they almost always do). Even if the low-cost AVR works, we have paid into the tax with time spent sitting around sweating and some additional grey hairs. Stay tuned for more...

UPDATE: The new Chinese-made AVR seems to work for now!  We found a slightly beefier model at a bit of a higher price. This was after Matt spent the morning fixing the connections so the generator would start (Rudy and his friend, an expert on the electrical side of generators, were down there troubleshooting the day before and knocked a couple of the starting circuit wires loose). There was much swearing, which was fortunately muffled by the engine room. So, final tally on the 'Idiot Tax': we may actually have broken even or even paid less in dollars ($370 USD versus ? for the work in Oz). However, we definitely paid a hefty bill in time and headaches.

But maybe we learned something...or not (old dogs, new tricks and all that).

Around Sorong

Sorong is not a picturesque city, but it has a lot of energy. It is our first stop in 'Asia' and the differences with the Pacific Islands we have frequented in the last couple years are a shock to our systems. There is much more of everything: supplies, cars, roads, people, pollution, garbage.

Happy Mark with rice and hot sauce.  Added
bonus: It's OK to eat with your hands here!

 

We went to Tembok Berlin (Indonesian for 'Berlin Wall') one evening for some local fare. There are dozens of food stalls lined up offering whole grilled fish and pieces of barbecued chicken. We chose a place recommended by one of the Customs officials, placed our order, and sat down. A young man brought 4 bowls of water and placed them in front of us. Matt asked (using the International hand gesture for washing your hands) whether they were for washing our hands. That was apparently a hilarious question and the whole staff cracked up. I guess it would be like someone going into a restaurant in the US and asking if a napkin was for wiping your mouth (versus, say wrapping your food with it and eating it). We laughed sheepishly along with them.

Homemade firecrackers made from plastic bottles, duct tape,
and some sort of flammable fluid. Very loud.

The fish and chicken we ordered was flavorful and moist. We all took a little too much of the sambal (spicy chili paste) and spent the rest of the meal trying to stop our eyes from tearing up. We have a long way to go before we can keep up with the locals who seemingly pour the stuff on by the gallon. It's hard to believe they have any taste buds left.

Visually inspecting the inside of the cleaned tank for corrosion.

While exploring options for hauling out Perry in Indonesia, we met Wick Alliston. He owns Pt. EON Engineering, which hydro-tests Scuba tanks, among other services. Ours tanks were due, so we dropped them off to be tested and Wick kindly offered to show us how they do it. It was fascinating for the adults and children. He also invited the kids to splash around in the pool with his lovely daughter. He has been a huge help and an invaluable source of local information.

Pressure testing the tank with water.

Tricks for Treats

Conrad is Napolean (I think the others are self-explanatory).

Halloween this year was in the middle of our long haul from Papua New Guinea to Sorong. We had been sailing during the day and stopping at night to avoid the logs that had wreaked havoc on our propeller and engine. We were with our friends on Field Trip again and had hoped to have another beach party like we had the previous year. The beach we found had a great surf but was all but nonexistent at high tide. 

Instead we had 'Tricks for Treats' on Perry. The kids performed a variety of tasks in return for candy. For example, they had to sing a song, do a small play based on parents disciplining their kids, and choreograph dance moves to 'Ghostbusters'. We all enjoyed the evening and were up early the next morning to continue our journey.

How much does it cost to swim with whale sharks?

Mark with a 'small' whale shark

On the journey from Vanimo to Sorong, we visited Cenderawasih Bay, where big fishing platforms/boats called Bagan attract whale sharks. We got to swim with a couple of 'small' ones that were about 12 feet long. The fishermen threw little baitfish on top of us as we swam in the water so that the sharks would come right up to you. It was disconcerting to see a huge mouth headed for your face, even if it wasn't filled with big teeth.

The Bagan we swam near

It was one of the highlights of our travels, if not very eco-minded. Our friends on Field Trip had gone over beforehand to find out if it was okay to swim with them and to find out the price. Working with Google Translator, it seemed clear that we were welcome to swim and that there was no fee.

 
 

Mark with one of the sharks again.

And again. The other kids were a little less eager to
swim near the big guy.

As we finished our snorkel and got ready to leave, the fishermen started holding up fingers and saying numbers in Indonesian, which sounded to my untrained ears like 40,000. In rupiah, this is less than $4 U.S. Mark from Field Trip and I came back with $20 U.S. and some rice and cookies. We were shocked when they wanted 6 million rupiah, which is almost $400.

Between Google translator and broken Indonesian, we made it clear that we couldn't pay that and that had we known how much it was, we would have left. Knowing that big live aboard dive boats probably do pay that much or more, I tried to explain that we were just a couple of small boats with our families aboard. After some uncomfortable back and forth, mostly involving what the exchange rate was between Rupiah and U.S. dollars for varying amounts, they eventually agreed to take $20 per boat (which is what we had with us). Everyone seemed happy with the deal that was struck.

We read in one of the guide books later that the fishermen on the bagans ask for outrageous amounts and that 'hard bargaining is a must.' In some of the areas with whale sharks, the government has warned people not to deal directly with the fishermen, but I'm not sure how that would work since the sharks are only there because of the fishermen.

 

Officially official

Google translate app is a godsend when trying to deal with the officials!

We are all officially checked into Indonesia (for 60 days at least). Indonesia is definitely up there with having some pretty serious bureaucracy. There are lots of officials that want to come onto the boat and lots of paperwork. They really love stamps here (think ink stamps, not postage) and no document is official until you give it a stamp with your boat name on it. Fortunately, our friends on Field Trip did a lot of the heavy lifting for us when they got here a day earlier. So we knew where to go and what we needed to do. Even still, it took a full day starting at 7:30 and going straight through until 5:00 before we were all checked in.

One nice thing about the whole process was that there doesn't seem to be any corruption. We had heard a lot of reports of requests for extra 'fees' and such but we didn't encounter any.

Being official meant that the kids were off the boat for the first time in a long time and we 'celebrated' by having a lunch at KFC. It was just like the KFC at home except that the meals mostly come with balls of rice, there is a spicy chilli sauce in addition to ketchup, and your choice of soft drink is Pepsi or Pepsi. While it was okay, we're looking forward to trying some of the local food soon.

Although Indonesia is a majority Muslim country (we heard the call to prayer for the first time on the boat), the two most obvious religious structures we have seen so far are a giant statue of Jesus (think Rio) and a church on a hill with a huge cross.

One interesting sight from our trip over was dolphins acting like whales. There was a small pod of dolphins with their flukes sticking straight up in the air. One of them even seemed to be spyhopping.

Bump on a log

Not our log, just one floating by at anchor. The
picture doesn't do justice to how big it is but the one
that got us was much bigger.

When I was growing up, we knew a Filipino family with the surname 'Alog'. The running joke was to come up with new names for kids that went with 'Alog' (think 'Sit on', 'Trip on'). Yes it was juvenile, but we were kids.

The difference in water from the outflow of the Mamberamo River.
This is 16 miles offshore.

Well, you might as well call us 'Hit Alog'. There are big logs floating in the waters here.  Indonesia has some very large rainforests, in which grow some very large trees, which fall into very large rivers, which flood after very large rains and carry the trees out into the sea.  Where they float around for a very long time. So just because you aren't near a river mouth doesn't mean you're safe.  Some of the logs are small and stubby, some are the size of telephone poles and some are really massive.

After sailing in Indonesia waters for nine days and nights, we saw logs around but hadn't hit (or even needed to dodge) any. Then one night, after purposely slowing down in case we did hit something, we heard a couple of big thumps and raced outside.  We shone the spotlight on a big log slowly emerging from under our port transom. It pulled clear after a few seconds, but the damage was done.

The propeller strut had bent and the shaft pulled backwards with enough force to pull the engine off one mount and twist another two.  The movement of the engine caused the oil pressure sensor to be sheared off (which is how we discovered the damage--we only found it the next morning when the engine low oil pressure alarm wouldn't immediately shut off and Matt turned off the engine and headed down to see what was amiss).  Strangely, the shaft saver (which is supposed to be a sacrificial piece that takes the brunt of the impact and protects the engine and transmission) was slightly deformed,  but still in one piece. To prevent the out-of-true shaft from spinning and doing any further damage, Matt put the transmission into reverse to lock the prop down.  This resulted in losing a half knot of speed since the large 3-blade fixed prop had now turned into nothing but a sea anchor.  Luckily our friends on Field Trip had a puller and Matt was able to get the prop off the shaft, so at least we don't have excessive drag any more. Our next step is to decide whether to head down to Australia, where there are facilities to haul us out, get parts and do the appropriate machine work.

The stretch since we left New Zealand almost two years ago is the longest we have ever been away from 'civilization.' So there are a number of tasks we should get done anyway. Besides the auto-pilot issue, our windlass is acting up and our generator needs a new rear seal, so some proper boat expertise and access to parts is sorely needed.

Besides the propeller damage, there was just a light scuff on the bottom paint. The copper coat is sturdy stuff. Ever since the log incident, we have only sailed during daylight hours. This isn't so bad since our first couple overnight sails in Indonesia brought sudden squalls that seemed to hit with rapid shifts and gusts of high wind.  So shutting the boat down for the night has its benefits...

Crabby Mary, Quite Contrary

More updates via the sat phone!  Sorry, but no pics for now...

As we approach two weeks straight on the boat since leaving Ninigo, with a brief stop in Vanimo and a beach visit, the natives are getting restless. The kids seem to be bickering at the drop of a hat, and Matt and I are--try as we might--not too far behind (do as I say, not as I do?--yup, right here). Although we have had other passages that were almost as long and, in the case of our trip across the Pacific, much longer, this one is different.

On our other long journeys, even the uncomfortable week-long passage to New Zealand, we didn't have the same stress factors. There have been many moving targets (logs), frequent unpredictable squalls popping up willy nilly (usually in the wee hours when we're extra tired) and wreaking havoc, and almost constant wind shifts. On top of all that, we are navigating a new language and culture during our brief rest stops. This is the first place we have visited where the language isn't one we have some familiarity with (Spanish or French) and where almost no one seems to speak English.

Hitting a log and damaging the boat doesn't help things (blog post to follow when we get Internet).

I could just be blocking out the unpleasant parts of our other longer voyages, like the pain of child birth. Anyway, I think we'll all survive this trip without anyone getting thrown overboard (except in our fantasies perhaps). Reading back over this post makes me realize that I have made things sound a lot worse than they really are. We're doing pretty well, though everyone will be happy to stop and relax a bit. Gotta go--it's early to rise tomorrow to start the final 200-mile leg to Sorong. There's no wind predicted, but that's better than a headwind.

Vanimo to Indonesia

Our last stop in Papua New Guinea was Vanimo, on the mainland of Papua. We had mostly avoided the mainland because of its reputation for high crime. We spent most of our time in remote islands. Our friend Sarah on Field Trip likened it to visiting the United States and going to Hilton Head, while avoiding Chicago and New York.

We had to go to Vanimo to get our Indonesia visas. Although Vanimo is considered safe during the day, a cruising boat had been robbed at night earlier in the year. So we (along with Field Trip) resolved to get there and out in one day.

We left Ninigo Friday evening. After the first evening (when we caught a nice wahoo) the wind died down and we mostly made our way slowly at about 2 knots, which was all from the current. We motored the last few hours so that we could get to Vanimo in time to get to the consulate when it opened.

We were successful (despite the Indonesian consulate's leisurely opening time) and were pulling up anchor with time to spare.

Around the second day on our journey to Indonesia, the auto-pilot started having fits. Matt figured out that the rudder transducer was sending wrong signals to the autopilot so that it was not turning when it should. Fortunately, the auto-pilot seems to work without the port rudder transducer, except that it has fits when we are going very slowly (which seems to be a lot of the time lately!).