sv evi

We have been in Horn Island, across from Thursday Island for 5 days now, preparing for the voyage to Indonesia. I’ve been provisioning and pre-cooking meals. Riki fixed our starboard winch and the manual bilge pump. We have been across to Thursday Island 3 times on the ferry: we took Jade to the doctor for a persistent tummy ache (nothing found and it has since gone away), had a birthday breakfast in a sweet cafe for me, visited the hardware store, and checked out of Australia at customs.

I feel like I have been preparing for Indonesia for months! It looms large among cruisers because of the stories one hears. Stories about intense bureaucracy and corrupt officials and the need to use an agent to facilitate check-in. Stories about solar panels getting stolen and unwanted visitors coming aboard. Stories about unlit FAD’s (Fish Attracting Devices), fishing boats, and fishing nets all posing hazards to nighttime sailing. Stories about a language barrier — how most Indonesians do not speak English. Of course, there are also wonderful stories: about people who are very kind and invite you to their homes, about amazing snorkeling, underwater life, and experiences on land. Stories of lunch for a family of 4 for $6 USD. We are excited! and also a little nervous.

So I started learning Indonesian via podcasts back in New Zealand. I’ve ramped it up a bit in the past month, now doing Duolingo and I joined a website called Indonesianpod101. I can say some things. But man, I have a long way to go!! It’s been fun to learn a new language though!

I downloaded the satellite images for SE Indonesia, where we will make landfall. I also added a bunch of Indonesian tracks and waypoints as a layer in our OpenCPN program thanks to the tutelage of Sherry on SV Soggy Paws. Then when in doubt we can follow where other boats have been before. The Navionics charts for Indonesia are reputedly not very good, so satellite images are a must have.

I’ve reached out to different sources asking for advice on the visa and the Vessel Documentation Service (VDS) process. I applied for our visas in Fiji, and received them. We had a boat stamp made in Savusavu, reportedly a requirement in Indonesia. I have many copies of our passports, our boat papers, our VDS (screenshot each page & printed), our visas, our Covid vaccination certificates, our medical inventory list, our Customs clearance from Australia, and our crew list stamped by Australian immigration. I have cigarettes that we bought in duty free en route to NZ to use as bribes or to get out of tight situations.

So, my plan is to try to check in by myself, but I have an agent’s phone number in case it goes awry. It’s about 700 miles from here to Tual, Indonesia. We will head due west for about 200-250 miles to try to avoid the fishing fleets off the coast of Papua, Indonesia. We expect it will take us 5-6 days. We are as ready as we will ever be!