27^th March 2026 – Seram Island

Another 2 day / 2 night sail followed my departure from Saumlaki.  Winds were again far more northerly than expected but lighter so the sailing was not too uncomfortable but a bit longer in duration and it did mean that there was a few hours of motoring towards the end.

Route Saumlaki to Tk Ingelas

I was aiming for the south east point of the island of Seram.  I had identified an anchorage just on the northern side as that would provide some degree of protection from the prevailing weather.  To get there necessitated passing through a narrow channel between the main island and an outlining smaller island.  This channel has significant tidal currents given the constriction it presents which unfortunately can generate very rough, but very localised conditions when there is a wind against tide situation.  Unfortunately I hit this at the wrong time and endured about 15mins of rough seas which was not too bad apart from just before the end where one wave reared up over the stern quarter and dumped itself into the cockpit soaking me at the helm and taking out my Ipad which I was using as a secondary navigation tool.  I was so close to coming through unscathed.

I dropped anchor for the night around 1700 in a small exposed bay just off Seram.  In reality the anchorage was too shallow and i only managed to scrape in due to Sea Otters very shallow draft, but I wanted to set down and get a decent nights rest.  Anchorages here in Indonesia are tricky as many are just too deep or they shelve very quickly leaving little swing room.  I carry about 75m of chain and so anything over 20mwater depth is a challenge.  Next day I moved north about 10Nm to a more suitable location just off an island called Pulau Akat to wait for a favourable weather window.

Next few days were spent relaxing on the boat and doing odd jobs.  There was a small village/town on the shore but it was a bit too far in the dingy given the weather.  I was anchored between the mainland and a small island and each night I would watch from the deck as hundreds of large bats took off from the island and made there way to the mainland presumably to feed.  These were big, some with wingspans not far off a meter.  Very spectacular.

I left the anchorage heading for Sorong on the Tuesday 24^th March however contrary winds again forced me back to Seram about 50Nm further up the coast in a place called Teluk Ingelas.  This is quite a nice anchorage and have now been here for the last three days.  I will try and strike out for Sorong again tomorrow.

Teluk Ingelas is a small village/town.  The main focus looks to be around a large ferry terminal which has had a number of vessels arrive and depart while I have been here.  I went ashore the first day and had a look around.  It looks typical provincial Indonesia – primarily wooden houses, crumbling infrastructure hewn out of the lush vegetation and most people looking pretty poor.  Chickens roam everywhere and many cats lounge around between the buildings but interestingly there are no dogs here - could be because its a predominantly muslim?  Any pools of water look pretty disgusting and are covered in garbage .  The people however are extremely friendly and polite  - unfortunately there is the language barrier but have been making great use of Google Translate.  

Ashore I was a huge hit with the kids as I doubt very many foreigners visit these places.  They mobbed me and then followed me around town shouting meeeester, meeester and trying to scrounge some money.

The kids in Tk Ingelas

Alem - my go to man for veggies

I managed to get some fresh vegetables but no fruit so next day I went further afield to Bula, a larger town about 10Km down the road and was more successful bagging watermelon, bananas and a pineapple.   I also bought a small fresh tuna for dinner – the first protein In have had for quite a while.

Bula was an interesting place – not pretty by any stretch of the imagination but it used to be an oil producing area and all the old “nodding donkey” pumps are still there on manmade sand spits off the shoreline.

Bula Oilfield Equipment

One thing that is endemic here is garbage.  It is everywhere.  I guess when every day is a personal struggle, cleaning up rubbish is pretty far down the list of daily priorities but it is a real shame to see the scale of it.  Some areas along the coast have plastic bottles and other detritus covering the ground almost 100% and others are clear and you can see how beautiful it can be.

Beach off Tk Ingelas

Early tomorrow morning I will head off again and try and make it across to Sorong.  Winds are light but may just be able to sneak through.