3^rd June 2026 – Labuan Bajo

Have had a lazy week swinging on a mooring in the outer harbour of Labuan Bajo and visiting the town to catch up on things we have missed out on over the past couple of months.

Labuan Bajo is the centre for the tourist trade around the Komodo National Park Area.  It apparently used to be a fairly small place but is rapidly expanding to cater for an increasingly popular tourist destination.  The town sits on the western end of Flores and overlooks the spectacular Komodo archipelago situated between Flores and Sumbawa.  There are three main islands (Komodo, Rinca and Padar) and countless smaller islands.  The big draw here is the Komodo Dragons but there are also spectacular dive sites due to the amazing marine life and onshore trekking routes to explore.  The islands are accessed either by charter Phinisi or day tripping speedboats.  There are also a bunch of onshore activities visiting caves, villages, volcanic lakes etc on Flores.

Labuan Bajo sits on a hillside and is protected from the North by a couple of small islands and the south by the main island of Rinca.  It is a busy port with God knows how many Phinisi are moored in the anchorage and nearby areas.  There is a marina complex which is not really a marina but more a commercial wharf area for the tourist trade.  The town has the feel of Bali from thirty years ago – not too big, laid back without the drawbacks of excessive mass tourism.  There are cafes and restaurants and bars, shops and supermarkets.  Most of the tourists seem to be European with surprisingly few Australians. And the rubbish situation is nowhere near as bad.  There is still some garbage but nothing compared to Raja Ampat.  The locals are as friendly as anywhere in Indonesia but not as persistent as in Bali.

Labuan Bajo Anchorage/Mooring Field South

So given all the shore side amenities Nik and I have been like kids in a candy shop.  We go out in the morning and wander around buying food and having coffee and then in the evening have found a cool bar to watch the sunset over the islands before having a diner which we did not need to cook and comprises of more that just variations on vegetables and rice.

We had sailed non stop from Raja Ampat to Labuan Bajo which took approximately eight days and Nik had decided to stay with me for the crossing.  This is a big deal as Nik is not a fan of long distance sailing but I reassured her that the conditions would be calm and we both want to stay together on the boat rather than travel separately.

We departed the Fam islands on the morning of the 20^th May.  The total journey is over 800Nm and consists of a couple of legs.  The first is approx. 250Nm to the Kelang Strait off the west coast of Seram near Ambon and then from there its another 600Nm to Flores.  The forecast was good if a little light especially for the initial stage of the trip.  There were a number of islands all along the route where we could have put into if necessary.

The Raja Flores Route

We sailed for most of the first day but then motored in the afternoon once the wind died.  It was forecast to pick up again in the night so we anchored for six hrs until the wind came in.  After sailing most of the night into Thursday the wind died and we ended up motoring the whole day to the Kelang Strait which needs to be carefully navigated due to the string currents.  Once through the strait we picked up south easterlies which were anywhere from 2 to 15kts.  Generally the sailing was great akin to trade wind conditions but every now and then the wind died and we just had to wait it out.

There were a couple of squalls which were the only time Nik was really on edge.  She has a phobia about the boat leaning over and even though I explain the physics she cannot overcome the feeling in the pit of her stomach.  Anyway we got through those and I think she enjoyed the rest of the trip.  It was a huge achievement and I am very proud of her for doing it but do not think she will be doing the Indian Ocean with me.

Calm Crossing Conditions

We reached Flores on Wednesday 27^th May and anchored at a small island near Labuan Bajo for a couple of days to get some rest before heading into the town.  Finding a spot to anchor proved difficult.  There are charter phinisi  everywhere and small boats darting around between them and shore.  The whole of the anchorage is taken up with moorings for the charter fleet so it looked impossible to anchor anywhere and so in the end we picked up a mooring which we managed to hang onto for a couple of days before we were asked (very politely) to move to another spot.

A couple of mooring shifts later and we are still here in the outer harbour with the town dingy dock a short dingy ride away.  We have completed most of the necessary chores I.e. laundry, fuel, water, visas, provisioning etc. We have decided to take a tour on a Phinisi – get off Sea Otter for three days and let someone else drive us around and cook for us.  The trip starts on Friday and goes to a number of spots around the islands.

19th May 2026 - End of Raja Ampat and onto Flores

Nik and I made a call after Waisai to start heading west as we believe we had seen enough of Raja Ampat and the remaining places we wanted visit could be seen on the way out of the area over the following couple of weeks.  The overall plan has to take into account the other places we want to visit and the dates required to meet seasonal winds for voyaging past Indonesia.

Not to say there is not a lot more to see in Raja Ampat but it all revolves around island beaches, limestone karst formations and underwater life and we had seen a lot of that over the last 6 weeks. Originally I thought I would cruise here for up to three months but I guess I get impatient for the next destination.  Also there are a couple of areas here which are iconic but which are off limits due to issues with the locals who are annoyed at the government closing down a nickel mine in the area.  

After the Blue River we headed to the island of Gam.  Gam looks like part of the main island of Waigeo but is actually separated from it by a large bay called Kabui Bay leading to a very narrow channel called the Kabui Pass which we understood was navigable for a vessel of our dimensions.  We wanted to explore the bay and transit the channel.

First stop was on 9^th May at an island in the mouth of the Kabui Bay called Pulau Ura where we wanted to stop for a couple of days to rest up.  There is a resort called Katembe on the island and we contacted them out of courtesy and got permission to drop anchor in a small protected bay just around the corner from the resort.  

Sea Otter at Anchor - Palau Ura

Now when I say “resort” it is not a 5 star hotel type place but more an upmarket homestay consisting of nine over the water bungalows and a main restaurant bar /socializing area.  All the structures are wood and thatch.  It does look very comfortable if a little basic.  There is also a dive charter business on the island to cater for guests who wish to dive.  There were only three guests at the resort and so on one night we went in and had a beer and dinner with them and a couple of staff who are the resident coral rejuvenation techs. 

Katembe Resort - Palau Ura

After two days at anchor we transited further into the bay to the start of the Kabui Pass and anchored amongst a scattered collection of small karst islets.  The area looks a bit croki (as in saltwater crocodiles) so there was no swimming but we did have a look around in the dingy through the channel and visited a big cave full of large bats that you could wander into.  The karst islands are classic Raja Ampat and provide a spectacular backdrop for the anchorage.  As usual there were no other boats around except for the locals moving through the channel and across the bay.  We had one visit from an old fisherman with a couple of small fish on offer which we passed on but we did get some fresh water from him.  All in all it was very peaceful and serene.  Have had to plagiarise the picture below from the internet as it is best viewed from above.

Kabui Passage

Kabui Passage Anchorage

The transit of the channel was a bit nerve wracking as it narrows to maybe 20m at its narrowest point and has quite strong currents swirling along its length.  The minimum depth was reported to be 7m but we found shallower. 

Our next stop after an overnight stay in another secluded bay was Airborek Island.  Airborek is a very small island of 200 people located in the Dampier Strait and surrounded by coral reefs.  Its main claim to fame is, of course, the diving around the island but also has two manta ray spots nearby.  

Airborek Island

We stayed three days here and it was fantastic – probably one of our favourite places so far.  The first day we we hired a local boat and a guy called James took us out to Manta Ridge.  Within 10minutes in the water he had us snorkelling over a manta being cleaned.  It was amazing.  We stayed watching it for about 15minutes until I guess he figured he was clean enough and swam off.  That evening we had dinner at James’ homestay with his other guests.  Another plus for Airborek was that there was a beach bar.  This is the first bar as such that we have found and it was just a shack with a fridge right on the waters edge near the town jetty.  Once discovered Nik and I had our evening ritual established.

James, our Manta Guy

Nik at the Airborek Beach Bar

The rest of the time at the island we spent snorkelling or looking around the island.  The snorkelling just meters from shore is some of the best we have seen this trip.  The island itself is very neat and tidy with a couple of really basic shops.

From Airborek we travelled to the Fam Islands about 15NM further west.  This was to be our last stop in Raja Ampat.  Again we anchored off a homestay and we had previously arranged with the owner Ridwan to do a trip with him to the nearby island of Pyanemo which is iconic Raja Ampat.  There are a couple of lookouts and the views are incredible.  When we got back to the boat the heavens opened which was actually welcome as we both needed showers and we managed to collect some water.

Pyanemo Lookout

The next day at first light we started the passage to Labuan Bajo at the western end of Flores.  This is a journey of over 800NM and Nik is very bravely doing it with me.

10^th May 2026  A Reprovisioning Stop in Waisai

We had one more stop before Waisai.  On Saturday (2^nd May) we slipped our mooring off the Palau Dive Resort and sailed/drifted across the channel to a small island called Frewin to try and get a look at some dugong.  

Nik had done some research and apparently there is a small group of them that frequent the shallows around the west side of the island and which have been chaperoned by a local guy named Otto who is now an unofficial guide.  Nik messaged him on WhatsApp to make arrangements for the following day.

We dropped anchor in a small bay off a decent jetty late in the afternoon and went ashore for a look around.  Otto came out to confirm our trip for the following day and gave us a short tour of the island.  The island is small, neat and consists of essentially two dusty dirt streets running perpendicular to each other and houses along the streets and the periphery.  Of course there is the obligatory religious building which in this case was a church.  There are a few different home stays on the shore.  These homestays are very basic.  Normally they consist of thatched huts near or over the water.  There is only power at certain times of the day or night when the genset is on.  Meals consist of basis fish/chicken and rice dishes.  The main attraction for visitors is the access to dive sites.

Kids Playing in the water at Frewin Island

Next day Otto picked us up at 0700 from Sea Otter and we went around to the other side of the island to try and spot the dugong.  Ultimately we were not successful but we spent the morning snorkeling in a couple of spots which Otto took us to.  Back at the boat Otto was very taken with the electric Torqueedo outboard I have.  Not sure if he had seen one before but he was very impressed and amazed at the same time .  That night we visited one of the homestays for dinner.  There were four other European tourists there and we chatted to them over dinner and a beer.

Nik on the lookout for Dugong

The following day we completed the last few miles to Waisai.  Waisai is the main town on the biggest of the Raja islands called Waigeo.  It is the gateway to the other islands and most tourists would arrive through here and then be ferried out to the islands by small boats.  There is a ferry running twice per day which connects Waisai to Sorong on the mainland.  There is also a small marina development called the Meridian Adventure Dive Resort which was where we headed.  The marina was very quiet with only one other boat berthed there.

Local Warung in Waisai

The primary reason for coming to Waisai was for me to extend my visa for another 60 days.  I had an appointment with the immigration people in Sorong for Wednesday and so the following day Nik and I boarded the 0900 ferry.  We had decided to splash out the extra 12 bucks each to travel in air conditioned comfort in the “VIP” class however immediately regretted it when the aircons were set to arctic conditions.  I spent most of the trip outside the VIP cabin and we both opted for warm "steerage class on the return leg".

With immigration formalities taken care of we re-fueled and provisioned the boat.  We had trips to town to find supermarkets and scour shelves for essentials and also to the markets to get fresh fish, vegetables and fruit.  In between we tried to make use of the marina facilities including the bar, restaurant and pool.  

Given the issues with the watermaker, we also had to take on water however there was no piped potable water on the jetty so this had to be delivered to the boat in 19litre containers which were then emptied into the vessel tanks. It is amazing here that whilst certain tasks seem very difficult there is always a way to get things done.  It usually involves a lot of manual labour or someone with inside knowledge but you can get by.

We departed the marina on Friday (8th May) morning and headed east up the coast.  One of the staff the previous night had told us about a spot called the “Blue River” about 15Nm away.  This was a fresh water river / pool which takes on a vivid blue colour.  There is a large inlet in Waigeo island and we headed up this towards the anchorage which we did not make until the following day as we anchored midway to ride out adverse currents.  Next morning we anchored near a river mouth in a spectacular setting and set out in the dingy like two later day explorers in Teva’s. 

The Anchorage for access to the Blue River

We drove the dingy as far as we could, then hauled it further up the shallow part of the river to a pebble beach.  From the beach we left the dingy and waded upstream and found a jungle path which took us to the Blue River.  The path was easy to spot as a bloke at the waters edge asked us for 100k rupiah as an entrance fee.  Once we arrived it was a truly beautiful spot with clear clear, fresh, cool water to swim in.  It was like a little oasis with the dense green forest surrounding the blue water running over white pebbles.  We had the place to ourselves for the first hour and then more people arrived and we retraced our steps back to dingy and to Sea Otter.

The Blue River - Waigeo

Sometimes we have to walk

Nik making friends

The scenery around here is spectacular but there are only so many limestone karst formations or tropical beaches you can anchor off before a change is required.  As such we will probably look to spend another two to three weeks around Raja Ampat and then start to head SW towards a place called Labuan Bajo, the gateway to Komodo. I realise that I have a mission focussed approach and as such am happiest when we are moving towards a specific destination rather than just cruising around without a itinerary.  This is a bit contrary to the image of the carefree cruiser but its the nature of the beast.

2^nd May 2026 – Batanta Island - Secluded Anchorages, Islands and Manta Rays

In the end we spent a couple of days at Ayemi Island.  It was a nice spot with a reef which we had a look around but again there was too much garbage floating around which kind of spoiled the location.  It depends on the tides and the local currents as to how much garbage you see.

While we were here I took the opportunity to put on one of the scuba tanks we have onboard and once the tidal current relented, to go in and clean the hull from a fairly decent covering of barnacles which had been there since Darwin.  Luckily they come off pretty easily with just a hand scraper, however, to do the whole of the hull plus all the appurtenances takes a good hour. 

The next morning (Friday 24^th April) we decided to push on to the North side of the Batanta Island.  We went to retrieve the anchor and after recovering about 10m of chain the windlass stalled and nothing we could do would dislodge the chain.  Clearly we were snagged on something.  It is one of the many anchoring perils here – you anchor and put out sufficient chain to hold you, (typically three times the water depth), but then as the tide and currents swing the boat about the chain is dragged around the seabed and can get wrapped around coral or rock bommies on the seabed.  We were in 15m of water which is too deep for me to free dive so I put the tank back on and went in.  The chain as suspected was wrapped securely around a coral head.  Once you can see it, it is relatively easy to unwrap  it and then recover the remaining chain and anchor but without the ability to dive we would have been in a real fix.

Batanta Island forms the southern side of the Dampier Strait, the body of water running through Raja Ampat and named after the English buccaneer William Dampier who sailed here in 1699.  The north side of the Strait is bordered by the island of Gam/Waigeo.

Batanta is roughly 30miles long running east/west and about 5 miles wide.  It is densely wooded/jungle and the terrain consists of a ridge of high hills running along the length of the island and attaining a maximum height of 1180m.  The hills fall steeply to the shore on all sides and the seabed rises just as steeply for most of the coastline.  As far as I can tell, there are no roads and very little in the way of infrastructure.  All transportation to and from the island is via speedboat.  The northern shore is riven by short fjord like bays and there are some islands offshore.

We started in a secluded bay at the NE just around the corner from our last anchorage which we had been told about by an Australian couple we had met.  Even though it was a short transit we threw a line in and managed to catch a decent sized fish – unfortunately it was a barracuda which we threw back as I have a dread of ciguatera - a toxin that builds up in reef fish and which causes really serious effect on humans if ingested.  The bay we ended up in was completely secluded.  We anchored up and took a line to shore secured to a tree to hold the boat in position about 10m from shore.  The bay looked a little croccy so there was not much in the way of swimming but we had a look around in the dingy and generally relaxed onboard.  It is so peaceful with no noise and no one about.  We had a couple of really heavy falls of rain during which I introduced Nicole to Sea Otters’ outdoor shower.

Secluded Bay on Batanta

After a couple of days we headed offshore to a group of three small islands approx. 5 NM off the coast in the Dampier Strait one of which disappears at high tide.  We anchored off the north side of Palau Tapok and essentially had the island to ourselves.  There were a couple of visits from day tourists but they did not last long and we had the islands to ourselves at night.  It’s a spectacular setting – small white sand islands with minimal shrubbery and a couple of small trees clinging to the surface backed by the turquoise waters of the Strait and the green skyline of the main island beyond.  The anchoring is marginal at times but given the general benign weather patterns its usually safe enough.  We spent the days swimming, snorkeling, lounging around the boat and dreaming up ever more interesting dinner concoctions using the same ingredients that we have onboard,

Palau Tapok

Next stop was back on the main island of Batanta and down one of the fjords.  We anchored in a relatively small bay and went ashore to a small wooden jetty located up a mangrove lines creek.  From there a path took us through the mangrove swamps and into the forests where there was a waterfall.  Diving into cool fresh water after so long on the boat and swimming in salt water was an absolute treat.  Again we were the only ones there.  We stayed for a while enjoying a number of dips and then returned to the boat.  The bay where we had anchored looked like it might get a bit buggy so we moved to anchor off a small village with a big church called Yensawi about 3NM away. 

Making our way to the waterfall

Batanta Waterfall

At Yensawi we put the anchor down on a steep slope in approximately 10m of water.  As we swung in the tide we went from 5m water depth to 28m.  The situation was not comfortable and so we moved just before sunset to another location which was marginally better.  That night around midnight I was awakened by the grating of the chain which signalled the anchor moving.  I got up and when I got on deck was horrified to see that we had dragged and were now bow onto a pontoon which was moored in the bay.  All hands were called and we proceeded to recover the anchor and back away from the pontoon.  Luckily our anchor did not foul the pontoon mooring which could have made the situation a whole lot worse.

We motored out into the bay to get some room and then rather than try and anchor again we shut off the engine to drift.  The plan had been to head west towards a place called Palau Dayang about 13Nm away in the morning.  Given where we were, we decided to just drift through the night and let the currents push us towards our destination.  There was some wind and so we put up sails and made a comfortable average 2.0kts – 2.5kts towards our destination throughout the night and during which Nik also baked some fresh bread.

Palau Dayang Homestay

The reason for coming to Palau Dayang was because it is a recognized cleaning station for manta rays. There is a channel between two islands and the mantas swim down the channel and cavort in the bay.  It’s a beautiful spot with a couple of homestays located around the periphery.  Homestays are local low key holiday accommodation usually comprising a few simple thatch huts built over the water which offer diving and other excursions.  They seem to be quite minimalist and rage from a couple to a dozen huts.  If you want to see Raja Ampat you either stay in one of these or join a liveaboard boat.

We anchored up and then visited the nearest homestay to say hello and to confirm that we could join them for dinner that evening.  There were only two other guests and they were happy to accommodate us.  Next we jumped into the water and started looking for the mantas which had been spotted earlier.  After an hour or two with no luck we called it a day.  That night we had a delightful dinner of fresh fish (speared that afternoon) with rice, salad and other veggies at the homestay and chatted to an American couple who were staying there.

Next morning we watched the mantas splashing about from the boat but once again when we got in the water we did not see them – this time we even had a local guide with us!  We resolved to get into the water earlier and so the next day at 0730 we were again in the water looking for the elusive mantas.  We had seen one from the dingy as were drove to the site but alas again there was no joy seeing them in the water.  There are a number of places where mantas are common in Raja Ampat so hopefully we will still get a chance to see them in the water.

Our timetable at the moment is dominated by an appointment with the Indonesian Immigration Authorities.  I have to renew my C1 visa which means a trip to the nearest immigration office which is in Sorong.  The date of the appointment is May 6th.  We have decided to put the boat into a marina for a few days in a place called Waisai which is on the island of Waigeo across the strait from Sorong.  We can then take a fast ferry to Sorong and save us the transit across the strait in Sea Otter.  Waisai is about 25NM away from Palau Dayang and so on Friday (1st May) we started back towards Waisai.  To break the journey we pulled in at the island of Kri and picked up a mooring off one of the resorts which allowed us to go ashore and enjoy a couple of beers on their deck in the evening.

We plan to have one more stop before Waisai and arrive at the marina on Tuesday 5th May.

 

23^rd April 2026 – At last we arrive at the first Raja

As predicted this post is from the first Raja.  Raja Ampat means four kings and relates to the four main islands which are Batanta, Waigeo, Kofiau and Misool.  We dropped anchor off Batanta yesterday afternoon behind an island in the middle of a large bay.

The last week has been a bit busy.  I went into the Tampa Garam Marina as planned on Thursday.  As mentioned, it is very basic.  I believe it was originally built as a kind of resort and not a marina.  The marina basin was not built for yachts but as some kind of seawater type park which activities could be used for different activities.  The basin is ringed with chalets and there is a large central building at the end on the other side of which is the biggest fresh water pool I have seen.  All around there are remnants of theme park paraphernalia, a flying fox, pedalos cabanas, etc, all in an advanced state of decay.  Surprisingly the pool looks immaculate but unfortunately is only luke warm.  An enterprising guy here in Sorong called Wick Alliston has leased the basin and provides the marina services along with his other businesses.

Tampa Garam Marina

The amount of rubbish in the marina depends on tidal flow, rains etc, and the day I came in it was particularly bad.  I was really worried about getting garbage into the cooling water intake.  The marina wall is crumbling away so you “med moor” stern to i.e. come in and drop the anchor and then reverse onto the marina wall and lay out two stern lines.  You then need to use the dingy to get to and from the shore.  There were probably about a dozen boats already in the marina when I arrived.

The first task was to refuel.  If you want high spec diesel the only way to do this is by taking jerry cans to the normal filling stations in town.  Given I was after 250litres that was 13 x 20litre jerry cans.  Luckily Wick apart from being an extremely nice guy and helpful also knows his way around this place.  He put me in touch with a driver called Pak Berty and loaned me the jerry cans then it was off to the ATM to get cash, then to the filling station, filling all the cans, back to the boat, unload the cans into the dingy, ferry to Sea Otter, unload onto Sea Otter, empty into the vessel fuel tanks and then shuttle all the containers back to shore.  All in all it was about a three to four hour process all done in pretty hot conditions.

The next day after a very hot night I hired a driver called Pak Nedy and we went to numerous stores around town to complete the provisioning of all the non-perishable foods.  I also had to buy some alcohol for the next part of the trip.  When its just me onboard I do not generally worry about alcohol but once there is two of you its sometimes nice to have a beer or two or a glass of wine.  That night, an Australian couple on a boat near me came over so I could pick their brains on anchorages.  They have been in Indonesia for almost a year and so had a lot of useful information.  One bit of local knowledge was that one of the smaller but iconic islands called Wayag is closed.  It seems the government closed a nickel mine nearby which upset the locals who have taken to hurling rocks at any visiting boats.

Given that I had completed the fuelling and provisioning and that it was very hot staying in the marina, not to mention the garbage, I decided to leave the next morning (Saturday).  I slipped the moorings, retrieved the anchor and went to anchor just outside the marina for the afternoon and night.  It was a relief to get a cooling breeze across the deck.  Next day I motored down to Sorong and picked up Nicole from the airport and got her stowed away onboard.  We treated ourselves to a pizza and beer ashore for dinner.

Fishing Boats at Sorong

We were off early morning with our driver Iky to stock up on fresh food and to clear out with the local quarantine office.  Iky took us to some really interesting fresh produce markets, helped us buy eggs and, after a quick stop at the supermarket, we were back onboard ready to depart Sorong……again.

 

Nik in her element

The days destination was Yefman Island approx. 8NM away which we made by mid-afternoon.  We anchored in a protected small bay where there was a settlement onshore and a jetty.  The idea was to relax here for a couple of days before pushing on to Batanta.  Whilst we did stay for a couple of days most of the time was spent pulling the watermaker apart.  The HP pump of the unit has sheared some bolts so I had to remove the pump unit and the membrane housing.  We toyed with the idea of returning to Sorong to get it fixed but in the end decided to push on, be careful with our water use and start catching rain water.  Luckily the boat has water tanks with over 400litres capacity so we should be OK.

Sea Otter Anchored Off Yefman Island

I did manage a wander on the island to look at some old WWII Japanese bunkers on the beach and some crazy rock formations.  Back at the boat we had a visit from a two local kids who brought us a couple of coconuts and I regaled them with knot tying demonstrations.

Wyner - our local visitor

The next day (Wednesday) we crossed the 15Nm to Batanta managing to sail for half the time.  The lack of wind here means that there will be an inordinate amount of motoring to be done but given the difficulties of obtaining fuel we will sail wherever possible.  We headed for a large bay called Teluk Marchesa with Ayemi island sitting in the middle fringed by reef.  Its getting more and more peaceful the further we get from Sorong however unfortunately there is still a lot of garbage in the water.  The bay is lined with hills covered in dense forest/jungle.  There are a couple of small settlements and a few pearl farms strung out in the water.  The only noise is the lapping of the water and occasional small boat going past and in the morning the pretty loud calls of the forest birds.  We will hang here for a couple of days and have a look around before pushing on to the north side of Batanta.

 

 14^th April 2026 – In and Out of Sorong

Last blog was almost a couple of weeks ago but there really has not been that much going on as I wait for Nik to arrive.

I managed to hold out in the peace and quiet of Matan island until Wednesday the 9^th April then decided to make the move into Sorong.  It was an easy 3hr motor across to Sorong and I was anchored up by late afternoon just off the main harbour.  First impressions is its very busy, noisy with a lot of trash in the water, making for an altogether unattractive destination but I was determined to give it a go. There was one other yacht also anchored up and I went across to get some local information from them. 

Sorong is the principal town in Western Papua with a population of over 250,000.  Apart from being the jump off point for the Raja Ampat tourist scene it is also an administrative centre for the region and logistics hub for the oil and gas industries operating in the vicinity.  As with most of these places there is a major road running parallel with the coast which most shops and businesses are located on.  The waterfront area has businesses all the way along it from major logistics operations such as a container terminal, fuel receiving terminal, a general freight wharf and a ferry wharf. In between these are a myriad of smaller waterfront service businesses.  All day long and into the night vessels are moving around either arriving/departing the port/anchorage or servicing vessels at anchor or zipping between Sorong and the settlements on the nearby islands.

There is a mooring area further out in deeper water and that is used by all the “live aboards” – a term for the Raja Ampat tourist charter vessels which are mainly decked out Phinisi’s (traditional local vessels) with a couple of modern small diving charter vessels.  There must be around thirty of them at anchor so am assuming this is the off season.

Phinisi "live aboard" vessels anchored off Sorong

I stayed onboard for the first night and then headed out mid-morning the next day.  My objective was to get some food and to get some laundry done.  First stop was directly opposite the anchorage where there were a few wooden shacks and a landing area.  Here I found a laundry service run by a lovely lady by the name of Elka who promised to have the washing done by Saturday.  After that I pressed on into town and had a look around.  The town is typical Indonesian i.e. infrastructure crumbling away, lots of Gojeks and minibuses whizzing around, stray dogs and cats wandering about, churches and mosques dotted here and there and litter everywhere.  Given the size of the place I believe you could get most of what you need here.  There is a big supermarket called Saga which stocks all food items – there are ATM’s (limit of Rph 1,000,000 or AUD90!) and a number of hardware / marine stores.  There are a couple of malls and all the other normal shops you would expect in a decent sized city.

One thing that I have found wherever I have gone ashore is how friendly the locals are – always smiling at you and eager to help.

I loaded up on some fresh food and a six pack of beer and then headed back to the boat.  That night I took the dingy into a boat landing near the commercial jetty where there was a restaurant and had the first dinner I have not had to cook for about six weeks.

Remu River in Sorong

The next few days I took care of a number of issues.  I had to get park passes for the vessel and for Nik and I.  Whilst it was pretty straight forward there are always some issues which means it invariably takes longer than expected.  After visiting the park office I eventually completed the application and payment online but had to re-visit the office to get our passes.  I also went out and hunted down 150m of rope plus chafe protection which we will need to moor the boat in some of the more deeper anchorages in the islands.  I made arrangements to fuel up which is a bit of an exercise here - primarily they supply whats called bio diesel which is diesel containing 30% palm oil.  It can be used but there are issues with moisture.  For proper diesel you need to visit a filling station - more on this later.  The biggest highlight was the pick up of my laundry.  Its amazing that at home the washing machine runs two or three times a week whereas here I get laundry done once every few weeks - admittedly due to the weather the amount of clothing you wear is pretty minimal.

The anchorage location was wearing a bit thin by the end of the weekend.  The constant stream of traffic around the boat which has no concept of a “no wake” zone makes it a rather lumpy experience plus the amount of garbage flowing past the boat was really disgusting.  There is a very basic marina about 3NM to the north, and I have decided I will put Sea Otter in there for a few days around the time Nik arrives.  This will be quieter, cleaner and should be quite efficient to fuel up the boat and carry out the last shop before heading to the islands.

I made a final run into town on Tuesday during which time the outboard propellor was fouled by a used disposable nappy – which just reinforced my decision to leave Sorong.  So Tuesday mid-morning I retrieved the anchor and moved three miles up the coast to a spot which seems very pleasant even if I am anchored off a small shipyard.  There is very little traffic, almost no garbage and only a gentle swell rocking the boat.  I will look to go into the marina on Thursday 16^th April and then Nik arrives Sunday 19th. 

Fingers crossed the next post will be from Raja Ampat.