John Bouma s Journal from Bali to Mauritius

Size: px

Start display at page:

Download "John Bouma s Journal from Bali to Mauritius"

Loren Merritt
5 years ago
Views:

This route is common among those transiting the Indian Ocean, however most stop at several islands enroute.

1 John Bouma s Journal from Bali to Mauritius I departed Bali Indonesia on the day I turned 64. The 24 th of May, for what was planned as a non-stop, 3500 mile, singlehanded sail across the Indian Ocean. This route is common among those transiting the Indian Ocean, however most stop at several islands enroute. There was a chance I might stop off at Cocos Keeling (Australian), so I d acquired a visa (online) in the event I decided to stop. Although I had the ABILITY to stop, I was feeling good, making good time, so I pushed on through. The bottom line is the trip across the Indian Ocean took me 23 days, making great time. When I left Bali, another single-hander departed at the same time sailing down the channel with me. When I arrived in Mauritius, he was 1080 miles behind me, and it took him 33 days for the same passage (he also made no interim stops). The arrival was pretty impressive I was VERY impressed with the skyline as I arrived other than Hawaii, it was the most impressive of all the places I d stopped. The island was incredibly

lush, with raised peaks, a beautiful shoreline, and as I arrived, a great place to tie up and clear cus toms.

do some more checking, and sure enough, I found the cap of a 2 liter soda bottle stuck inside of the seawater suction, just prior to the seawater strainer.

One thing I ve discovered since leaving Norfolk is that the cruising community is a pretty close knit group.

2 lush, with raised peaks, a beautiful shoreline, and as I arrived, a great place to tie up and clear cus toms. I d been plagued since Bali with a feeling I wasn t getting the amount of water through my cooling system that I thought I should have, so once I was settled at the marina in Mauritius, I decided to do some more checking, and sure enough, I found the cap of a 2 liter soda bottle stuck inside of the seawater suction, just prior to the seawater strainer. Fortunately all use of the motor while enroute (for battery charging and refrigeration) was at low speed, so I was able to use the motor without overheating. One thing I ve discovered since leaving Norfolk is that the cruising community is a pretty close knit group. After arriving in Mauritius, I was invited to go with the crews of 3 other boats, to attend a horse race that was within walking distance of the marina. So.. that weekend was spent at the racetrack, and we were lucky enough to learn the track had (for that day), allocated one of their high dollar private boxes, for the visiting yachts. The bottom line is we were hosted in a private box that ordinarily would have cost the equivalent of $500 USD for the day. Wow. That was pretty cool. To top things off, I was making some small bets (with zero idea of what I was doing), and wound up leaving the track with more money than I arrived with not much, but a win is a win. I ve met soooo many people since arrival. I m moored at a marina right in the heart of their tourist section, so there are people from all nations constantly wandering the docks, looking at the

As a result of the chatting, I ve been invited to the homes of two Mauritian families, and they ve taken me on tours of the island seeing places I d otherwise probably never see.

3 boats. The locals also meander through, and I ve made it a point to be friendly, answering their questions, and even inviting them onboard. I ve even had a couple of the locals out sailing for day trips giving them a taste of something they d otherwise NEVER be able to do. As a result of the chatting, I ve been invited to the homes of two Mauritian families, and they ve taken me on tours of the island seeing places I d otherwise probably never see. The economy and the lifestyles of the locals is NOTHING like we enjoy in the states, so what might seem a bit on the rough side for us, is a typical dwelling for the locals. In one of the pictures you ll see one of the locals with his daughter (12), and her cousin (17 years old). It was very convenient to have the cousin along for the tour because she was the only one who spoke fluent English and I learned a LOT from the visit. I happened to arrive just before the Muslim Ramadan, and was impressed at how the people dress up for the final day. In one of the pictures you ll see a young lady who came onboard with her husband all dressed in white. I ve seen a LOT of the printing on her hands which I first thought was a tattoo but it s not.. it s an ink drawing, done by hand by the local artists. The ink peak. will last about 3-5 days before its washed off. I ve included several pictures I took during one of the excursions with the local friends I d met here in Mauritius. In one of them you ll see an amazing rock balanced at the top of a mountain.

4 The rock is HUGE and the way it s balanced precariously at the top of the peak makes me wonder when it s going to come crashing down. The locals aren t worried about it their position is that it s been there for eons, so it ll probably last a few more years. The view was incredible, and due to the price of labor and materials here, I was astounded at how little it would cost to build a house (with a pool) in what would be one of the most amazing views in the world. It s an amazing place. I ve been at the same slip in the same marina since my arrival on 16 June but my plans are to depart the marina, and head for Grand Bay an idyllic harbor about 10 miles north which is shown in the beach picture attached. Grand Bay is the most common anchorage for visiting boats, so I figured I d go check it out. I d mentioned that I arrived in Mauritius on 16 June. My plans are to remain here until sometime around the 3rd or 4 th week of September. The reason for the extended stay is that my next legs of my voyage will take me to South Africa and around the

cape. Since it s the dead of winter down here, it makes no sense to make best speed for the cape in the rough winter weather.

After departing Cape Town, my plans are to sail across the Atlantic, towards Brazil, and either stopping in Brazil, or possibly continuing on to Grenada.

He explained that it was a short bus ride away, so myself and another sailor took the bus only to learn that it was about a 2 hour bus ride, followed by about a 2 mile walk.

5 cape. Since it s the dead of winter down here, it makes no sense to make best speed for the cape in the rough winter weather. My plans are to wait for spring, then round the cape in the Oct / Nov timeframe, departing Cape Town even as late as December (heart of their summer. After departing Cape Town, my plans are to sail across the Atlantic, towards Brazil, and either stopping in Brazil, or possibly continuing on to Grenada. While in Mauritius, I was chatting with one of the security guards at the marina and he asked if I d been to the alligator park yet. Nope. Where s it located. He explained that it was a short bus ride away, so myself and another sailor took the bus only to learn that it was about a 2 hour bus ride, followed by about a 2 mile walk. That s OK I ve been doing enough walking that the walk wasn t an issue. While there we used the while in Rome. Axiom, and had a hearty lunch of alligator meat. It turns out the alligator park is not only a nature conservancy, but they also raise alligators commercially with about 2000 alligators in their pens, raised solely for meat. I d asked what it tastes like and was told it s like a cross between chicken and fish and was pleasantly surprised to find out that s EXACTLY how I would have described it. The meat was VERY tender, and very tasty. I was impressed.

When going around the other islands on my trip, a common thread is that island living doesn t come with many of the technological amenities of the mainland. That s not the case here.

6 When going around the other islands on my trip, a common thread is that island living doesn t come with many of the technological amenities of the mainland. That s not the case here. I ve attached a picture of one of the award winning structures here on the island. I ve also been VERY impressed with the machining capabilities here on the island. The fitting for the boom vang broke during the Indian Ocean transit, so I figured I d see about getting it fixed since I had lots of time here. The bottom line is pictures of the vang show how it was broken, how it was constructed, and how the local shop manufactured a replacement piece for me. They came to the boat, picked up the boom, disassembled the system, manufactured a (stronger) system, reassembled it, and delivered it (the boom) back to the boat all for the equivalent of about $ I ve zero doubt the same work in the states would have set me back at least I also had a hydraulic place rebuild the hydraulic ram on my autopilot, which they did for about That same job in the states would have been AT LEAST

Since the manufacturing capabilities were impressive, I decided

the pilothouse. The vents cost me about 90.

8 Since the manufacturing capabilities were impressive, I decided I d renovate some engine room vents that are located on the port / stbd sides of the pilothouse. I had the vents made, then powder coated, and installed them on the pilothouse. The vents cost me about to manufacture, and the powder coating was about I d have paid several hundred for these in the states.

All vessels around here which are heading east are very aware of the pirate threat to the east.

As part of their preps, they strung barbed wire around the entire perimeter of the vessel as a

I ve been impressed with the innovation I ve seen on some of the boats.

9 All vessels around here which are heading east are very aware of the pirate threat to the east. I ve included a picture of a tugboat who s heading into the Persian Gulf. As part of their preps, they strung barbed wire around the entire perimeter of the vessel as a deterrent for any boarding party. I ve been impressed with the innovation I ve seen on some of the boats. There s one in particular that I thought was ingenious. This sailor normally uses his wind vane, but wind vanes are worthless when under power with no wind on the vane. If you ve looked at wind vanes,

you ll understand that when using a wind vane, what actually happens is that when the vessel is off course, the wind blows the vane off to one side, and that tipping is what causes the rest

The sole function of the tiller pilot is to cause the balanced mechanism of the vane to tip over, thereby driving the rest of the system. I was impressed.

I ve done a lot of walking since I ve been here, and have gotten quite fond of the street food.

10 you ll understand that when using a wind vane, what actually happens is that when the vessel is off course, the wind blows the vane off to one side, and that tipping is what causes the rest of the apparatus to function. This sailor took a simple tiller pilot and connected it to where the wind vane is attached. The sole function of the tiller pilot is to cause the balanced mechanism of the vane to tip over, thereby driving the rest of the system. I was impressed. The cool thing is that unlike a typical autopilot, the mechanism is balanced so there s never any real force on the tiller pilot, so the electrical load is minimal. Wow. Pretty cool. I ve done a lot of walking since I ve been here, and have gotten quite fond of the street food. I ve included a picture of the place I usually manage to navigate to every day for one of those sandwiches which they call kebobs. This place is on a major sailing route for both yachts and merchant shipping. I was surprised one morning to see Paul Allen s yacht (co-founder of Microsoft) across the way from where I was moored. It remained there for about 3 days before departing to places unknown.

The comment has been made that if it ll break it ll break out there. I can echo that in spades. Even stuff that s normally not subjected to stresses will fail.

Once in Mauritius, I dug into the system, replacing 90 percent of the tubing after finding the lines were clogged, very similar to what cholesterol does to the blood veins.

11 The comment has been made that if it ll break it ll break out there. I can echo that in spades. Even stuff that s normally not subjected to stresses will fail. While enroute between Guam and Bali I found I wasn t able to flush the aft head. Clearly a blockage in the line. Oh crappola (literally). Once in Mauritius, I dug into the system, replacing 90 percent of the tubing after finding the lines were clogged, very similar to what cholesterol does to the blood veins. I ve been keeping a log of the things I ve had to fix, replace, rebuild and it s an impressive list. I ll publish the list later, but it pretty much encompasses every major system on the boat. One thing I ve enjoyed while here is the market place. The place is HUGE with an entire section of the town basically becoming an outdoor mall complete with a food section. The food section is divided into 2 parts the fresh food, and the meats. I paced it off and the fresh food section is literally 125 yards long (longer than a football field), and about 40 yards wide. In it you ll find every conceivable fruit and vegetable you can imagine and it s all surprisingly cheap. The loaf of bread I m holding costs the equivalent of 1.5 cents. Yep that s right a cent and a half. It turns out that because the economy is somewhat depressed, the government subsidizes some of the staple foods (bread and rice being among them), so specific types of

There s quite a bit of talent here with one particular wood carver in particular that caught my attention.

12 bread are almost free.. and they re delicious. Those loaves of bread often never make it to the boat having eaten it by picking away on it while walking back to the boat. There s quite a bit of talent here with one particular wood carver in particular that caught my attention. This guy essentially owns a corner section of one part of the marina area, carving things that very distinctly show his style. He s a great guy, and I ve managed to purchase several of his works. They re pretty neat, carved out of local teak.

Sea Quest YEARS OLD

Sea Quest YEARS OLD Sea Quest 14-17 YEARS OLD 20 21 Nettuno POMPEI SEA QUEST Is a two week sailing expedition around the most beautiful and famous islands off the Italian coast. Our program introduces 14-17 year olds to the