Year 2- 24 July 2025 – Arrival in Indonesia-Kei Kecil -Ngiar Varat Island
Adam and I continued to sail slowly just on the genoa and we inched round the island at about 3.5 kts. There was little about and we could see lights from the island of houses or huts. We handed over to William and Nicola who continued the course and at about 4.30pm took in the genoa and started the engine. We took over at 5.00am and we were now motoring round the top of the island and headed over to Ngiar Varat some 21nm away.
We saw a car ferry move across us and then the dawn began to break and the dark shadows became little islands covered in trees and bush with some sand showing. We upped our speed and headed across the bay admiring the islands as we passed and once the sun shoe on them it was like going from black and white to colour. We saw the odd small local fishing boat with a different shape than in Australia and New Zealand. They were long and thin.
We saw a large ferry leave port – it was a large cruise ship shape and we presumed goes between the islands as it was an Indonesian ferry. We motored round the last island and across to Kei Kecil where there were about 30 yachts moored and initially anchored but the anchor dragged when we tried to bed it in. We therefore moved out to the back and managed to find holding in about 15 m of water. We had made it – 1,290 nm and it had taken 8 days and 21.5 hours. We could have done it quicker but took the time over the last few days.
The bay was an attractive one with a lovely sandy beach framing it. There were some tents and flags on the beach and the odd dinghy from the other yachts going to and from the beach. We alerted the authorities that we had arrived and we had to wait on the boat until we were cleared in. We cleaned the boat in the meantime and had poached eggs on toast for breakfast.
The health and safety team came at about 2.30pm with all smiles and friendly faces. They checked the boat over and wanted a picture of us on board. Then the Immigration came and did the same and checked our passports and visas. They took wanted a picture. We then had customs arrive who checked the engine and medicines I had on board. Immigration took our passports and so we had to go to get them from the beach. We therefore got the dinghy down and the engine and when ready motored over to the beach. As we did so we passed a number of yachts and noticed lovely coral as we motored to the beach. As we came to the beach I turned the outboard off and we coasted ashore. However, I turned it off in gear and it would then not budge out of gear. We tried for some time bit could not budge it so it will need to be looked at by a specialist.
The beach had lots of flags and tents to do with the rally. Some were little bars and others were for the health, immigration and custom officials. In addition, there were lots of tours you could go on and other events for the rally. We collected our passports but the other documents will not be ready until tomorrow. We chatted to the locals and there were lots of locals interested in us and what we were doing and wanting to practise their English. It was fun and we felt we had arrived.
We hang around a bit and met some other rally participants and many locals scratched their heads over our dinghy. We could not fix it and then set off to row quite a long way back. En route another participant offered us a tow and we were towed back to Stormbird. We had a drink on the aft deck and then steak au poivre with ratatouille and it was great to go to bed knowing you should get a full night’s sleep.
The picture of the day is the lovely beach at Kei Kecil.
So, Indonesia – what do you know about it?
Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania, between the Indian and Pacific oceans. Comprising over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guinea, Indonesia is the world's largest archipelagic state and the 14th-largest country by area, at 1,904,569 square kilometres (735,358 square miles). With over 280 million people, Indonesia is the world's fourth-most-populous country and the most populous Muslim-majority country. Java, the world's most populous island, is home to more than half of the country's population.
Indonesia operates as a presidential republic with an elected legislature and consists of 38 provinces, nine of which have special autonomous status. Jakarta, the largest city, is the world's second-most-populous urban area. Indonesia shares land borders with Papua New Guinea, Timor-Leste, and East Malaysia, as well as maritime borders with Singapore, Peninsular Malaysia, Vietnam, Thailand, the Philippines, Australia, Palau, and India. Despite its large population and densely populated regions, Indonesia has vast areas of wilderness that support one of the world's highest levels of biodiversity.
The Indonesian archipelago has been a valuable region for trade since at least the seventh century, when Sumatra's Srivijaya and later Java's Majapahit kingdoms engaged in commerce with entities from mainland China and the Indian subcontinent. Over the centuries, local rulers assimilated foreign influences, leading to the flourishing of Hindu and Buddhist kingdoms. Sunni traders and Sufi scholars later brought Islam, and European powers fought one another to monopolise trade in the Spice Islands of Maluku during the Age of Discovery. Following three and a half centuries of Dutch colonialism, Indonesia proclaimed its independence on 17 August 1945. Since then, it has faced challenges such as separatism, corruption, and natural disasters, alongside democratisation and rapid economic growth.
Indonesian society comprises hundreds of ethnic and linguistic groups, with Javanese being the largest. The nation's identity is unified under the motto Bhinneka Tunggal Ika, defined by a national language, cultural and religious pluralism, a history of colonialism, and rebellion against it. As the world's third-largest democracy and a middle power in global affairs, the country is a member of several multilateral organisations, including the United Nations, World Trade Organization, G20, MIKTA, BRICS and a founding member of the Non-Aligned Movement, Association of Southeast Asian Nations, East Asia Summit, APEC and the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation. The name Indonesia derives from the Greek words Indos (Ἰνδός) and nesos (νῆσος), meaning "Indian islands". The name dates back to the 19th century, far predating the formation of independent Indonesia.
In 1512, Europeans began arriving in the archipelago, led by Portuguese traders under Francisco Serrão, to seek a monopoly of the lucrative spice trade in the Maluku Islands. Dutch and British traders soon followed, with the former establishing the Dutch East India Company (Verenigde Oostindische Compagnie, VOC) in 1602, which eventually became the dominant European power for almost two centuries. After the VOC's dissolution in 1799 during the French Revolutionary Wars, the Dutch East Indies was established as a nationalised colony, marking the beginning of formal colonial rule by the Netherlands. Over the next century and a half, Dutch control over the archipelago was tenuous, as they faced continuous rebellions from local leaders like Prince Diponegoro in central Java, Imam Bonjol in central Sumatra, Pattimura in Maluku, and fighters in Aceh. Dutch dominance only extended to Indonesia's modern boundaries in the early 20th century, with the establishment of Dutch posts in New Guinea.
During World War II, the Japanese invasion and occupation of the Indies ended Dutch rule and encouraged Indonesia's independence movement. Only two days after Japan's surrender in August 1945, Sukarno and Mohammad Hatta issued the Proclamation of Indonesian Independence, and they became the country's first president and vice-president, along with Sutan Sjahrir as Prime Minister. The Netherlands attempted to re-establish their rule, prompting the start of Indonesia's war of independence against the Dutch. The conflict lasted until 1949, when the Dutch recognised Indonesian independence in the Dutch–Indonesian Round Table Conference following international pressure. Despite political, social, and sectarian divisions, Indonesians found unity in their fight for independence.
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