Year 2- 6 September 2025 –Leh Sumar- Batu Monjo -Komodo Island – Gili Banta Island

We woke at 6.30am and it was a lovely calm morning. The water was crystal clear and I could see the bottom clearly and the bits of coral and fish and took a picture. I could see the anchor clearly dug into the sand. I could see the chain coming back from it and the first fender on the chain which then did a loop around a bit of rock/coral and then come back to the bow with the other fender being a few feet under the water. We worked out that if we motored forward and then spun the boat round it should pull the chain out from under the coral and we should be able to pull up the anchor without any issue or damage.

We had banana pancakes which was nice and then we started to do a few jobs. Mark sealed the SSB aerial at the back. I had identified where the water leak was from which was behind the generator in the engine room. Mark tried to tighten the connector but it did not work. I had bought new pipe in Australia and I remember the guy saying if the connector fails then just replace the pipe. We got out the pipe and one end was in the engine room and the other behind my shower where the washing machine was. We therefore poked the new pipe through and Mark connected it in the engine room and then we had to cut it by my shower and we connected it to the fitting that was there. This solved the problem and there was no leak and we did not have an awkward fitting behind the generator. This was very satisfying and we did not have the water pumps going every 30 minutes or so.

Once we finished our jobs we got ready to leave and put away the solar panels. There was a little breeze now and we could not see very well under the water due to the breeze on the water. However, we followed our planned departure and the anchor came round the coral and we could raise it without any issue which was good. We headed out of the bay as a yacht came in. They called us up and asked what it was like so I explained where we had anchored etc. As there was wind once out of the bay we put up the genoa and were soon doing 5.5 -6.00kts in about 11-12 kts of wind. It was nice sailing on a nice day. I could not fish initially as we were still in the Komodo National Park. Once we were out of the area I out the rod out but unfortunately we did not catch anything. However, we did not have the rod out for long as we sailed over to the Island of Banta.

We saw a mast in the anchorage we were thinking of and then it came out the bay. I could see on the AIS it was a British registered yacht but it did not show its name. I called them up on channel 16 using their MMSI number and they answered. They had spent last night in the anchorage which they said was good but not go into too far as it shallows quickly. They left the UK in 2019 and were now on their way to Wera the first anchorage on Sumbawa which we may go to tomorrow. It’s a small world.

We took down the genoa and eased in using our plotter but also Google Earth which is more accurate than the plotter. It was about 50 m deep for a long way and then as we came deeper into the finger type bay it got shallower. We could see the reefs on either side and then we dropped the anchor in about 10 m and were soon well set. We could see the white horses out beyond the Island and the wind had increased a little and we sat there in a good breeze. I decided to make some bread and got that going which requires mixing and kneading the ingredients. You then leave it for 45 minutes to let it rise and then knead again and leave for another 45 minutes and then you put it in the oven for 45 minutes- we just need to remember 45 minutes!!!.

I then got on with a lot of admin, emails, messages, crew sorting and arranging for works to be done in Thailand and by whom. I need a Malaysian Agent so I found one and so on. There is always something to organise and plan ahead each day. We had some lunch and chilled. However, the wind was building and from the South/Southeast which was coming directly into our bay and so I thought we should move to a bay on the North of the Island which may be more sheltered and also mean we could move on to Sumbawa more easily. We therefore upped anchor and eased out the bay where there was an area of quite disturbed water. We motored through this easily and then turned North and went round the top of Banta Island and into the large bay of Gili Banta North. This used to be a caldera – a volcano. There were large cliffs around over two thirds of it. They were tall and quite brown and arid. There was the odd bush here – it was just raw naked beauty. The bay was very deep and we had to find a shallow shelf some way in at which to anchor and I had placed a waypoint as to its position.

We motored in and had to go within about 50 metres of the shore to find the shelf. We initially put the anchor out but with the wind this would push into the shallow reef so we upped the anchor and moved further along the shelf and we anchored in about 15 m of water but after that it shelves quite steeply so although we managed to hold the anchor in about 15 m of water we are actually floating in about 25m of water. Although it was more sheltered than the other bay we got these gusts or bullets which come every now and then and push us around. This is a little disconcerting but we held and over a few hours before the sun went down I felt we were ok and not likely to move.

We sat and watched the surroundings and there was little sign of life. No deer or pigs this time. We watched the sun go down over the hills somewhat earlier than normal due to their height. We had a sundowner and then we had some more bolognaise which has done a number of meals. We sat in the cockpit and listened to music and relaxed. We will move on to Sumbawa tomorrow another large island.                  

The picture of the day is a picture I took on my phone of a coral bommie when I got up. This was not an underwater camera but the iPhone from the deck. This shows how clear and still the water was.  

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