Year 2- 3 September 2025 –Labuan Bajo – Flores – Sebayur Besar
We woke about 7.00am and had some tea. We had decided to slowly move on toward the Island of Sumbawa – which is the rally’s next destination and where hopefully we will be able to swim with whale sharks. We needed to get some more fruit and vegetables and some fuel for the dinghy (I had checked that morning and filled up the dinghy tank). We had a mango for breakfast and headed ashore to the dinghy dock.
We had tried a boxed red wine from the supermarket which was drinkable and so got some more and we found a fruit and veg stall and got some bananas, carrots, mangoes etc. Mark had a blocked ear so we went to a pharmacy and got him some drops and we then had a coffee at a café so Mark could do a few emails etc. We then got some petrol at the petrol station and returned to Stormbird. Jamie of Szel rang me about the diesel I got and I explained about it and offered to lend him my fuel pump. He therefore came to collect it.
I went through with Mark again the whole boat as it is some months since he has been on board and we discussed our emergency procedures etc. We prepared Stormbird for departure and upped the dinghy and took down the solar panels. I remembered that I saw a bar which was loose on the bow thruster tunnel so I got my mask and went to get it. It was only held on by one screw which I undid without managing to drop it. I then saw that there was one loose on the other side so I got that as well. I then had to pay the mooring man and then we could leave.
We slipped the mooring about 13.18pm and headed out of the bay. There was some wind but I decided to get out of the bay a little and to help our angle when we did sail. It was a lovely day with no sign of rain and hot. We motored for about an hour and then we put up the genoa. The wind had been 12+ kts but it had now dropped a bit more like 7-8kts. We still managed about 3-4 kts of speed and I put on the generator and made some water. It was good to see that the main engine was good and that the generator and water maker were back to working well.
I finished off my blog and checked where we were going for the night. There are now more restrictions for anchoring in the Komodo National Park. I wanted to make enough water so we sailed slowly along and I made about two thirds of a tank. We needed to get to our anchorage before dark so there were two anchorages not far away so we headed into Sebayur Besar being the nearest. There was a large yacht called Silver Lining anchored there together with a catamaran called Nautilos which had been moored next to us in LB and we had met the owner in the supermarket. There were two mooring buoys so we picked one up and monitored it for some time until we were satisfied it was ok.
This was a lovely bay off what seemed to be a deserted island although it had a long pier and we could not work out what it was for. We watched the sun go down on the aft deck which was nice and Mark made a salad for supper with some spring rolls.
There are the two Sebayur Islands in Komodo, Sebayur Besar Island which means the big Sebayur Island, and Sebayur Kecil Island, meaning the small Sebayur Island. These two islands are located on the north of Komodo National Park. Although they are surrounded by the best dive sites in Komodo National Park’s northern region, the islands do not belong to the park, so there is no entrance fee to visit these islands.
Today was the cremation service for my late Mother Lady Jill Adele Hine which was being held the New Forest Chapel. My mother and father did not want me to come back for this but I will return for her memorial service in late November 2025. Luckily, through technology I was able to watch the live streaming of the service and I connected when the service started. It felt like I was there and it was a very moving service for a very special Lady. There were a couple of lovely hymns, two readings read by the eldest grandchildren of which she had 9 and my father gave a wonderful loving tribute to my mother to whom he had been married to for 69 years. I was watching from almost the other side the world and it was a very emotional service for me. May she rest in. peace as she so richly deserves.
The picture of the day is our view of Sebayur Besar.
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