Year 2- 1st October 2025 –Back in Benoa Marina -Bali
We had planned the night before that we would provision as Steve Cottrell arrived today and Keith Winstanley tomorrow, meaning we would be 6 going forward. Janet had already made an inventory and we discussed quantities etc of what to buy. When you are provisioning for 6 it is a little different than 4 in terms of quantities etc. The freezer was working well so we could stock that up which was helpful and would give us greater flexibility.
We decided to cook up the last of the bacon we had and had a cooked breakfast with the last of our eggs. It was already getting quite hot. We then got a cab to the Lotte Market – which is a wholesale market and bought a whole load of provisions which was about 5 trolley loads. I then managed to persuade the store to transport all our shopping and Mark and Janet back to Stormbird for a small fee I should add. Ruth and I went on to the other more western supermarket and managed to get the rest of what we needed including the Bali wine which they have in boxes and which is drinkable. We then returned to Stormbird to help the challenging task of where to put everything. This takes time but we managed it even if the fridge and freezer were completely full by the end and there are been cans stored under the main table in the saloon.
At the marina they were clearing rubbish out of the water which Mark says they do every day and it is such a beautiful country but it is plagued by a lack of waste management and lack of education of the population. There is so much plastic and rubbish around and when sailing we regularly come across plastic and bottles etc in the water. They need to resolve this as it may put people off coming and they need tourism for the income. In addition they need clean water to ensure the fish, wildlife and corals survive.
We had a light lunch and then Mark had a look at the bow rollers. These rollers are what the chain rolls over when lowering and bring up the anchor and they were damaged and no longer rolling, causing more friction for the windlass. I had brought two new ones out with me and he managed to fit the first and most rear one without too much of a problem. However, the front one is looking more problematic to remove and we will tackle that tomorrow. Keith Winstanley (ex- navy and who has been on Stormbird a number of times) and his wife Ruth (who came on board briefly in the Galapagos) came by to drop Keith’s luggage off. They had been having a holiday in Bali before Keith was joining. It was good to catch up with them whilst having a Bintang in the local restaurant. They have recently spent some time with Mark & Corinne (Malitskie -who have both been on Stormbird) on Miramar (their boat) in the Mediterranean -so hi to Mark & Corinne and hope to see you both soon. It was good to catch up with Keith and Ruth and Keith will join tomorrow.
We had been invited to a welcome dinner at Gapura Marina which is only one pontoon at present and was as the crow flies about a mile East of us. The agent agreed to pick us up at 5.30pm to take us to the dinner. Steve Cottrell arrived at 5.15pm and after a brief welcome and following my orders was ready poor chap by 5.30pm to go to the dinner. Steve shares a boat with Mark Godwin who is on board and has been for a month. Mark had told him about his travels on Stormbird and Steve wanted to come and share the adventure.
When we arrived at the Gapura Marina there was a large open sided hard marquee set up with a stage and lots of chairs and tables which was set up for the Sail2Indonesia Rally. They plan an International Marina with good facilities here over the next two years. One of the company members, a Dutchman, showed us the first pontoon and there were about 5 rally boats moored along it. Unfortunately the other rally boats did not come as there are few facilities here and so the event I am about to describe was for only 13 of us, 5 of which were from Stormbird.
We had a drink and met a number of officials and we were being photographed and videoed no doubt for promotional material. We were greeted formally by an official from Bali and a garland of orange flowers was put on our necks which smelt beautiful. We were then asked to sit down and there were a number of speeches welcoming us to Bali and to briefly explain about the planned marina. There were then some local dancers who gave us a display of traditional dance and rather oddly we were welcomed by the 3 Bali Miss Worlds as it were who were 13, 14 and 15 respectively. They all looked like they were about 20 and had sparkly dresses and sashes. We were then invited to take dinner and they had set up a large buffet with all sorts of local and western dishes. In short we had a lovely dinner with plenty of variety.
After dinner various members of the rally were invited up to dance the traditional dance with the dancers and to their credit Mark and Steve participated much to our amusement. A band then started to play western music and they were very good. They tried to encourage us to sing and when playing Angels by Robbie Williams the singer came out to where we were and so I joined the man in belting out this song – I will never learn!!.
Then the dance floor opened and some danced and then a DJ set up and played some good music and everyone in the rally had a dance including all 5 of us from Stormbird. The night went on and they had made such an effort for us and only for 13 of us from the rally. There were locals and other guest from the Police, Customs, Fisheries etc present as well. Once we had had enough we were transported back to Stormbird. We had all had a great night out. Thank you to those that organised it and I wish them well with their plans. We got to bed after midnight. It was good to be back and to get straight back into enjoying Indonesia.
The picture of the day is us all enjoying the party.
Need/Opportunity Year Three
In year three I will be going from Thailand to Sri Lanka, India, Maldives and then on to Chagos, Mauritius, Reunion, Cape Town, St Helena, Azores and back to the UK. I am looking for crew from Mauritius/ Reunion Island to Cape Town and from Cape Town to the UK. If of any interest do email me.
The blog will continue as we continue the journey. If you have any comments or suggestions about the blog then do email me on hine.nick9@gmail.com