Year 2- 3rd October 2025 –Benoa Marina- Pandang Padang Beach -Bali
We woke about 7.00am and it was already warming up. We wanted to leave today but we had ordered 800 lts of diesel and it had been agreed we would go out to a fuel barge to refuel. I had been told the night before that the barge was waiting for more diesel as they had run out and were expecting a delivery early morning. I was not too impressed about this. We had a fruit and yoghurt breakfast and then whilst waiting some went off for a shower or had a swim. I then went through all the emergency procedures for us all as a crew so everyone knows what to do in the event of various emergencies including
A marina man came to disconnect the electricity and he then rewired our plug on the end which had been taken off. We prepared the lines to leave and waited. At about 9.30am the agent told us we could leave and gave me a picture and a location of this fuel barge. We therefore released the lines and slowly motored out of the marina and through the red barrier. We then bore left and motored on to find the barge which we did about a half a mile further on. It had its bow against the shore and they indicated for us to go alongside on its starboard side. I was a little concerned about the depth so we motored slowly in and the aim was to only attach to the bow and midships and to keep our stern out. This we did and we just about had enough depth as the depth was 2.5m so we were almost on the bottom. The barge people said they had no diesel and were waiting for a delivery. You can imagine I was not impressed and got hold of the agent. She said that a truck was on way. The tide was going out so I thought we cannot wait here and we decided to reverse out and anchor whilst we waited. I had already paid for the fuel so did not want to miss this opportunity. We therefore reversed off and anchored. There were lots of trucks coming to the shore but they were just sucking up water.
After about 45 minutes I contacted the agent. There was no sign of this truck and then she said they were trying to get another barge. Then it was that a boat would come with jerry cans. It was all very frustrating and a mess. At about 1.15pm a boat came with a load off jerry cans like were had in Labuan Bajo. The jerry cans were 25 lts and they had brought 28 of them and so only 700 lts. We had rigged up the fuel pump and had got the special funnel out which filters out water and other impurities. We therefore had to do jerry can by jerry can. I was on the pump; Steve was putting the pipe into the jerry cans and Keith was holding the funnel. Mark was turning the pump on and off. This took an hour and a half in the heat and it creates such a mess. In the end we put about 650 lts in the port tank and 50 lts into jerry cans. It was a hell of a job but it was good to get the diesel. Our filter did well but there was clearly some water in the diesel which it would not let through and so emptied it from time to time which was good.
Once the job was done we then had to clear up the mess and paper towels and washing up liquid does the trick. I wanted to get underway quickly as I knew there was an anchorage about 20nm away so we needed to get under way if we were to be there before dark. We therefore upped the anchor and got going out of the harbour. We had to follow the buoys as we went out. There was quite a lot of things to sort out and put away which we did but we also had a late wrap about 3.00pm..
We motored out of the channel and then headed South down the Southeastern end of Bali. There was quite a lot of traffic but we carried on and an ocean swell was coming in. The waves were probably about 1.5 meters but were spread well apart. We also noticed the breakers on the reefs alongside the shore. There was a fume or spray and it looked a little like smoke on the shore. The wind was a good strength but of course it was on the nose so we could not use it if we wanted to be at the anchorage before dark.
We motored on and began to pass the South of the Island and then round the corner. As we came round the end of the Island cliffs started to appear and the South part has high cliffs along the Southern shore. These cliffs were between 100-300 feet high. There were a lot of buildings and hotels lower down on the cliffs and a lot at the top. You could see lift/funicular tracks going up the hill and areas where they were flying lots of kites.
We motored on then began to see lots of colourful paragliders circling around various sections of the cliffs. In addition there were lots of breakers on the shore and then eventually we had an angle to sail with. We therefore put up the genoa and then the staysail. It was good to get the engine off and the silence apart from the swish of the water was lovely. The wind started to decline a bit and I thought we should sail until 5.15pm and then motor if we are to get to our anchorage before dark. We sailed on and then motored and came round the promontory where the waves were breaking quite heavily on the reef and the shore due to the swell.
As we carried on round the shore we saw lots of nice houses and then suddenly there was an aircraft stuck on the top of the cliff. It seemed to have become a residence with a hole in the fuselage from which they could see the sunset. We also saw a large statue of a man with a walking stick. We came round the headland and headed for the shore and beach. There was a catamaran anchored already and some fishing boats. We came in and anchored in about 14 m of water. It was just getting dark and we could just see/hear the breakers on the shore.
Once we were settled we had a beer and then Ruth and Janet cooked some white fish with potatoes and red cabbage (yes Alex!) which tasted very good after a busy and frustrating day. Hey ho we were on our way. We chilled and listened to music and will get up early to get under way to Boom Marina on the East side of Java.
The picture of the day is a picture of the cliffs I have described.
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