On November
9, 2014 @0800 hrs, we heaved up anchor and got U/W for Mepar Island anchorage
(00-15.630’ S x 104-35.780’ W). It’s
only 12 nm to Mepar from Penuba. Mepar
and Lingga Is anchorages are one and the same but two different islands. Mepar Is is the small sister to Lingga Is
which is the Regency for all the Lingga Islands. The capital city of Lingga is Daik. The island is an exporter of tin and other
minerals. Daik was once the center for
one of the Sultanates and the remains of a glorious palace and past can be
seen. All of these islands comprise the
“spice islands”: cloves, nutmeg, pepper, cinnamon and others can be seen drying
outside homes.
Upon
anchoring we noted that the waters were quite cloudy with no visibility
whatsoever. This must be because the
bottom is mud and clay and the currents run strongly. These islands are rather remote when it comes
to the tourist scene. They have little
to offer and few amenities other than the beautiful sand beaches, snorkeling,
fishing and diving. They have never
hosted a fleet of sailboats so this was a very exciting event for them. The
fleet has dwindled down to eight boats participating in the events. At least ten boats have sailed on to
Singapore. We are at the transitional
weather stage between the dry (SE Monsoon) and rainy (NE Monsoon) seasons. We are starting to experience thunder storms
and rain squalls.
On November
10th, the office of tourism in Daik arranged for a bus tour to the
local market for shopping. It was a
rainy day so we did a little shopping for fresh vegetables and fruits. Lunch was prepared by one of the local chefs
at an open-air restaurant with thatched roof.
Daik has nothing special to recommend it. It is a small town of wooden buildings and a mixture of wooden and
concrete sidewalks. There is a fresh water river that runs
through the town and houses on wooden stilts are built out over it. It’s really a ramshackle affair but one sees
a certain amount of prosperity in the suburbs.
There are two banks, none of which took a Visa or Master Card Debit
card: “bring it with you when you come”.
On our
second day at the Mepar anchorage, we were invited to visit the small village
on Mepar Island. There are about 400
fishermen and their families living there. We were officially met and greeted
by the local chief and his councilors.
Maize is thrown on your head and there was an exhibition of a martial
arts dance by two men. He island has
several forts that were built by the Dutch to protect and control the spice
trade. Nothing remains of the forts but
a few rusted cannons. The town is
prosperous and has a local specialty of small smoked fish. We were given a “Welcome Drink” of a green
drinking coconut. Afterwards, a walking
tour of the island and forts and then a meal was prepared using the smoked
fish.
This is the
first time we have seen shamanism in practice.
There was a small woven wicker basket, on a concrete volleyball court,
turned upside down. Underneath the
basket was a metal receptacle with charcoal and incense burning in it. There was a double ended kind of baseball
bat: same as if you joined two baseball
bats together at the handle end.
So we have a
container burning charcoal and incense with an upside down basket over it. The double ended baseball bat is place on top
of the inverted basket. The shaman has a
piece of cardboard that he is flapping on the concrete. Occassionally, he picks up the basket and
fans the charcoal. Someone is selected
to either grab the basket or the baseball bat.
This requires two people. If the
spirit is present, the basket will begin to move and be forcefully taken away
from you. If it’s the double ended
baseball bat, the same thing happens with it being moved and pounded on the
concrete. I wasn’t overly
impressed. It seemed to be a very
lighthearted affair and anyone could participate.
The
following day, November 11th, we were taken to a waterfall on Lingga
Island. This island is quite
mountainous. The roads are narrow but in
good repair. At one point, the grade was
so steep that we had to get out of the bus and walk up it. Lots of jungle and forest before we finally
reached the waterfall. It had a
wonderfully deep and cool water pool where many went swimming. The place is being developed for the local
population and has toilets and gazebos where meals and a barbecue can be
prepared.
The
highlight of Lingga is the batik that is being done at a few of the
boutiques. One can see the women putting
the patterns and wax on the cloth. It’s
a long tedious process. The designs are
unique to Lingga. By the time we got out
of there, many of the participants were wearing their new batik shirts. We went from there directly to the formal
reception given by the Regent of Lingga.
Once again, the group chose me as their leader and speaker. What this means is that the “leader” will be
seated with the Regent and officials and give a speech praising the
hospitality, friendliness and generosity of the Indonesian people. This is certainly true and easy to do. There
will be a formal greeting by beautiful Indonesian girls in costume and they
will bring a ceremonial box that contains beetle leaves and several
spices. The box is opened and a beetle
leaf is taken along with some of the spices.
This is chewed, as everyone looks on, and is a sign of respect and
acceptance of their hospitality. Then
the speeches are given followed by wonderful Indonesian food and ending in
karaoke and dancing. These joyous people
know how to have a good time. It’s that
easy going, relaxed way that make these Muslims so pleasant to around. It’s a land of beautiful women, handsome men,
and children with smiles and enthusiasm capable of making strong men weep.
On November
13, 2014 we departed Mepar Is for Tanjung Kelit (00-00.0’ N/S x 104-29.944’ E). The distance from Mepar anchorage is about
26nm. It’s significance is the fact that it lies on the Equator, and for those
Northbound, it’s back in the Northern hemisphere! It has an Equatorial monument. The voyage up was one of rain squalls
followed by light winds. About five
miles South of Kelit, we started to see bamboo and wooden structures (kelongs)
built a few miles offshore. These are
built by fishing families that live and fish in them most of the time. There were over 100 of these dwellings in our
approach to Kelit anchorage. We dropped
anchor in 45’ of water depth with 165’ of chain out (00-01.020’ N x 104-29.953’
E). The Wonderful Sail2Indonesia Rally
2014 had five boats there. We hired an
Indonesian boat to take us over to the Equatorial Monument for a celebration
with “bubbly” and beer.
Afterwards,
the village chief and his wife took us to one of the islands where a small
group of sea gypsies were living. They
gave us a “welcome drink” of green coconuts that were delicious. The sea gypsies were reserved and shy but
friendly and welcoming. We note that
they are darker in color from the average Indonesian and some seem to have skin
disorders that might be from vitamin deficiency. The Indonesian government has provided housing
for them on this small island. All the
houses are built on stilts over the water.
November 14,
2014 Kelit to Benan Island
We departed
Kelit at 0600 hrs this morning enroute for Benan Island (00-27.996’ N x
104-26.937’ E) about 36 nm to the Northeast.
There is a strait that runs from West to East so we chose to cross over
to the Eastern side since the wind was from the West. The island narrows at this part so it’s only
3 nm to cross from one side to the other.
We had a Westerly wind blowing the whole way to Benan Island. It was a motor sailing trip but, at least, we
could us the jib.
We dropped
anchor at 1218 hrs in position 00-27.996’ N x 104-26.957’ E in 40’ water depth
with 165’ chain out on a sandy bottom.
The town of Benan is remote and consists of a ramshackle bunch of wooden
houses built over the water. Here we see
that the people living in these houses have fishing nets extending out from the
home. It appears that they keep their
captured fish in these nets. Access to
and from the homes is on wooden walkways extending out over the water. Tomorrow there will be some kind of welcoming
ceremony and then we have been invited to go out fishing in the wooden boats
that are common throughout Indonesia.
These boats are long but have very little beam for their length. They are fast but rolly and one has to sit in
the center or you feel that it is going to roll over.
Our next
stop, before exiting Indonesia, is Tanjung Pinang (00-55.2’ N x 104-24.4’ E) on
November 25th. It’s about
32nm from Benan Island. What a long
glorious voyage it has been.
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