Year 2- 26th October 2025 -Nongsa Marina Batam -Last Day In Indonesia

We woke to a warm muggy morning and we had a good breakfast of bacon and egg in toast which was great. We decided to raise the Blue Baron to dry her out and so we hauled her up with her sock cover on and tied down the bottom.

It was also an opportunity to do some washing and so off went some of the crew to load the machines with mixed success as some of the machines were not that good but it was better than nothing. We needed to do some provisioning so Keith and Steve volunteered and armed with a list prepared by Ruth off they went in a taxi. Once the others had done their jobs then they went off to the pool to cool off and relax.

I spent the morning doing Immigration forms for Malaysia and contacting the agents in Malaysia and Thailand and supplying the documents and information they needed. I will check into Malaysia at Port Dickson where we will stay for a few days. This is about 150nm ahead and up the Malacca Strait. I will also check into Thailand for various reasons (you get a longer visa here and it is where we will check out from in January 2026) at Phuket and reserved a space at a marina there and not the one where we are due on 25 November 2025.  I also contacted the Royal Lankawi Yacht Club and checked we had a mooring reserved and they gave me the names of some workmen trades I need so I made contact with them. I sent a similar email to the marina we will go to in Phuket to get some works geared up in advance. This all takes time.

We had a wrap for lunch and then got the Blue Baron down and it was tied down again to the deck a lot drier and secured more fully this time. The washing came back and was put away. Keith and Steve had a successful trip and got most of what we required and had seen quite a bit of development going on.

I checked with the marina office and our departure papers are ready and we are now just waiting for our passports. I decided to go for a swim and they said they would come and find me when ready.

I had a swim and the office asked us all to go to the office at 5.00am as they needed a picture for Immigration. We went at 5.00pm, had our picture taken and I checked the paperwork and passports or the stamps which appeared to all be on order.  

We all had showers and went to get a drink at happy hour at the bar and we then went to have supper outside opposite the restaurant which was nice and a good end to our time in Indonesia.

 I have now spent over 3 months in Indonesia and I have thoroughly enjoyed it and it is a very interesting and varied country. What has stood out for me is how warm and welcoming the people have been and how they want to share their country with visitors and with pride. Many of the people are very poor and live to exist and it is difficult to see how they can break out of that. Many are farmers of fishermen. Despite this they seem happy and upbeat- a lesson that many in our own country can learn. The young want to learn and to travel and explore but they need money to do so and without it they cannot develop. The Country is vast with many islands with different cultures and traditions which they are trying to maintain. It is largely Muslim yet they tolerate other religions. The call to pray-the Adhan is heard pretty well everywhere and you get used to it. It seems, however, that only a relatively small percentage are devout and regularly attend the mosque to pray.

Housing ranges from wooden shacks to more breeze block houses but very few have tiles and mostly it is corrugated iron. The school children are polite and welcoming and are always well dressed in their smart uniforms and they love to come and practise their English and of course to have a photo or several. The destinations in the rally have laid on some great ceremonies at which they have welcomed us and we have sampled their delicious food which has been interesting and diverse. We have always experienced the different types of dance and traditions and I have collected a few hats along the way! I would come again as there is so much to explore. The highlights for me have been the Banda Islands, the Whale Sharks, the Volcanoes, Orangutans and Sekonyer River and the lovely, lush countryside and the Jungles. There is so much to see so take the opportunity if you can come and explore for yourself. I hope the country had a great future but it has a long way to go.

 The picture of the day is a picture of our supper sitting outside the marina restaurant.  

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