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.