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!).

Can you canoe?

 

The villagers in Ninigo sail outrigger canoes. When we visited Longan, we (along with our friends on Field Trip) were privileged to be taken out sailing in one of these sailing canoes. It was a welcome change to speed along in a sailboat that rivals Hobie cats for their speed. Our captain and crew were two local boys who expertly raised and trimmed the sails by tying knots and bracing wooden posts against one another. It was truly impressive what they could do with a wooden canoe and plastic tarps.

 

They also showered us with local delicacies like lobster and sago pudding, after a joyous welcome song. We were presented with handmade gifts, including a miniature outrigger sailing canoe just like the one we had sailed in. We had to draw the line at their proposed goodbye feast where they wanted to kill a pig in our honor. It was just much too generous for our short stay.

It has been a running joke that Matt has a knack for making the village babies cry, just by virtue of being  Big White Guy. I always thought it was pretty funny but the tables were turned the other day when I looked and smiled at a tiny toddler, only to have her start bawling.

Here are a few pictures we couldn't post with our sat phone while we were in Internet exile. Meanwhile, it's off to Indonesia.

Sunken Japanese WWII mini-sub

 

 

 

Just happy as a...

 

Dinner!

 

 

Nice manta just happened to stroll by while we were diving.

Tunung, The Hermits and Ninigo

Our time since leaving Kavieng has been relaxed and full of friendly villages, beautiful corals and abundant fish. We spent a day at Tunung and dove the World War II submarine and ship wrecks there with Clem. Clem runs a laid back surf resort and is about as well-spoken and savvy as any Papua New Guinean that we have met.

We had heard so many rave reviews of welcoming and generous villagers in The Hermits and Ninigo that I thought there was no way that it could live up to the hype. I was wrong, especially about Ninigo. We have been greeted everywhere with friendship and gifts. We have been enjoying the diving and snorkeling as we wait for a wind and weather window to Vanimo, where we need to get our visas for Indonesia.