22 August 2016 Moonrock Lagoon to Pulau Pengedung, Anambas
My ear was a little less swollen than yesterday and the throbbing has reduced, so I guess that the antibiotic and Ibuprofen tablets are doing their job. It’s going to be a frustrating week, waiting for the infection to clear and it’s especially infuriating being unable to go snorkelling or diving. My ear felt tender about a week ago and I’m kicking myself for not having it looked at before we left Tarempa.
First thing in the morning, the weather was overcast and didn’t look too good, so we lurked around for hours waiting to see if it would improve. Finally at eleven o’clock, we cracked up and decided to go out exploring some other islands.
We motored around the north end of Sagudampar and then motor-sailed into wind to Pulau Selai where we dropped anchor in 17 metres on a sand patch at 03°12.20N 106°29.30E. It’s a pleasant bay with good protection from the south, but there’s no pretty sand beaches to stare at. We had lunch and moved on.
After negotiating the narrow, but deep passage between Pulau Selai and Pulau Penilan, we headed south west and anchored off an island called Pulau Pengedung at 03°09.37N 106°23.934E in 13 metres over sand. This is another well protected anchorage off a rocky coast line, but not particularly impressive - I think that we’ve been spoiled by Moonrock Lagoon.
23 August 2016 Pulau Pengedung to Pulau Pedjaul, Anambas
It was windy at times last night, but this is a very well sheltered anchorage and we slept well. We woke to a beautiful morning and even better, my ear seems to be on the mend. Only another four days of antibiotic tablets to go.
After breakfast, we dinghied ½ mile over to Pencil Dot Island - Warren Blake gave it this name because the island is so small that it appears as a pencil dot on paper charts. Despite being only 200 metres long, it’s a perfect uninhabited tropical island - a white sand beach; coconut palms swaying in the breeze; rocks to scramble on; and surrounding corals reefs.
We spent a pleasurable hour there, checking the beach for shells and scrambling up the surprisingly steep rocks on the south-west side. Glenys went for a snorkel, while I kept my ears dry and read a book on top of the rocks. Unfortunately, the reef was nothing to write home about.
It was such a nice sunny day, that we decided to go over to Sandspit Island - another anchorage recommended by Warren Blake. We anchored at 03°09.53N 106°25.61E in a depth of 9 metres on good holding sand. It’s a little bit close to the fringing reef and the anchorage is exposed to the prevailing south winds, but for settled conditions or a quick lunch stop it’s very nice. There’s a long sand spit that joins the main island to a small island.
A small fishing boat anchored nearby, so we went over and had a chat. They were planning to go out to sea tomorrow, so unfortunately, they didn’t have any fish for sale. We carried on ashore and walked along the sand spit looking for shells, but couldn’t find anything worth having. As usual on Indonesian beaches, the high water line was covered with plastic rubbish. However, there are lots of coconuts lying on the ground at the far end of the beach, so I grabbed a sprouting one and a brown one.
Back on the boat, we upped anchor, headed back past last night’s anchorage and carried on ½ mile further to a more protected bay at Pulau Pedjaul . We anchored at 03°09.24N 106°23.45E in 15 metres. It felt like soft sand when we backed the anchor in, but it held well. The anchorage is surrounded on three sides by land and fringing reefs, so we’re a long way from land, but it’s pretty enough.
24 August 2016 Pulau Pedjaul, Anambas
A cracking squall came through at seven o’clock and gave such a strong gusts that it ripped our big awning and had us running about to tame the beast. We decided to stay put and Glenys spent most of the day dominating the saloon, repairing the awning and strengthening the seams. I had a day of leisure, keeping out of the way, playing my guitar and reading.
25 August 2016 Pulau Pedjaul, Anambas
We We didn’t have a particularly restful night because of katabatic gusts shrieking down into the anchorage, making us veer around. It was still very windy in the morning, but at least it was sunny, so we went out exploring the bay.
Yesterday, three floating fishing platforms arrived at the end of the bay and anchored together. They are like a large raft about 15 metres square topped with a wooden structure that looks a little like a roof frame. We went over to say hello and they invited us on-board.
The fishermen call their vessel a “Bagan” which translates to “Frame”. Underneath the raft, there is a large wooden frame, which holds a very large fine net. The fishermen anchor their Bagan out at sea, then at night, lower the net frame and turn on powerful lights that illuminate the sea. Small Whitebait fish are attracted by the light and gather underneath the Bagan. The fishermen then raise the net frame and scoop up all the Whitebait.
There are five guys to each Bagan and a Pom-pong (30 foot wooden boat) as a support vessel which tows the Bagan around. They work on the Bagan for one month and then have five days off. It’s a tough life, but they have a sturdy hut on the platform which has a TV, radio and some creature comforts.
After 30 minutes chatting with the fishermen, we went ashore to Palau Pedjaul. Someone is building a resort on the island, but there was no work going on, so I guess that they’ve run out of money. They’ve dug out a rough road system, which meanders around the island and there are two half built buildings that look like they are going to be staff quarters.
Other than that, it’s a nice little island with a lovely windward beach with stunning water colours and swaying palm trees. After half an hour, we dinghied over to the other side of the bay to a small beach, but couldn’t find any paths across the island.
One of the things we’ve noticed all over the Anambas Islands is the number and variety of butterflies. We came across a very boring looking tree, which was swarming with butterflies all intent on sipping the nectar out of small white flowers. Then we saw what looked like a tiny 40mm long hummingbird, hovering next to a flower and then flashing across to the next flower. I managed to get a photograph of it and it’s not a Hummingbird, but some kind of moth - a HummingBug?
It was still very windy when we got back to the boat, so we decided to stay for the day - the next island is 9 miles directly south and we don’t fancy pounding for 1½ hours directly into a 25 knot wind and big waves.
26 August 2016 Pulau Pedjaul to Pulau Akar, Anambas
The wind lightened up overnight, so after breakfast, we decided to head south. When we turned the corner out of the anchorage we had 15-20 knots against us and a 1 knot current with us, making the seas steeper than usual. The wind was from slightly west of south, so we were able to motor sail with the mainsail on a 30 degree wind angle, but it was a bit of a bash for 1½ hours.
The visibility was down to about 4 miles caused by a thick haze. We can smell that it’s obviously smoke and we think that it must be coming from clearance burning in the palm oil plantations in Borneo. We encountered thick smoke last year on our way up through Indonesia, which seemed to start in September, so it’s a little depressing to think that we might have this for the next three months.
The anchorage at Pulau Akar (03°01.95N 106°24.28E) is a little awkward because the fringing reef system narrows the further that you go into the bay and we’ve eventually had to anchor in 20 metres of water about ½ mile from the head of the bay. The anchor dragged slowly on our first attempt, ploughing through what we think is very soft sand. On our second attempt, we straightened the chain; let the anchor start to plough; and then left it for 30 minutes to “settle” into the sea bed. We then backed it in as normal and it held well.
Thankfully, the smoke cleared away in the afternoon and we went for a look around in the dinghy. The inner part of the bay is edged by rocks and mangrove trees and we couldn’t find anything of interest ashore, so we soon returned to the boat and relaxed for the rest of the afternoon.
The skies were grey and overcast, so Glenys didn’t feel the urge to go snorkelling and I can’t go in the water because I’m still taking antibiotics for my ear. However, the good news is that the pain and swelling have disappeared, so I’ll be back in the water soon.
27 August 2016 Pulau Akar to Pulau Bajau NE, Anambas
We had a very peaceful night and woke to an overcast sky with light winds. There wasn’t much to keep us in Pulau Akar, so we meandered our way through the small group of islands to Pulau Semut South. This is a very picturesque anchorage next to a long sand spit sticking out from a small island.
It took us three attempts to anchor to the north of the sand spit. Our first attempt was rumbling on coral. The second attempt dug into sand, but when I snorkelled down I could see that we were right on the eastern edge of a large sand patch and our chain was lying on coral. Our third attempt was in the middle of a sand patch at 03°02.465N 106°22.611E at a depth of 14 metres - I put out 60 metres of chain.
When I snorkelled down to check the anchor, the anchor and most of the chain was on sand, but there were some coral heads just below our boat. I felt that there was a chance that our chain might snag on a coral head, so I clipped two fenders onto our chain at 45 metres to lift the chain off the sea bed. "Amulet" arrived shortly after us and eventually found another sandy patch at about 03°02.437N 106°22.624E, but it was much closer to the reef.
Now that my ear is better, we went for a snorkel and found that the reef fringing the island was colourful and healthy. As we were snorkelling, we could see dark clouds building up to the north and, by the time that we’d got back to the boat, there was a 15 knot wind from the east. This is very unusual for this area - the wind is usually from the south or south west.
The clouds continued to build and darken and the wind increased to 20 knots from the east. Suddenly, the wind backed to the north and within a couple of minutes, we had 35 knot winds from the North. This was not good - the nice picturesque sand spit and reef had now become a lee-shore with a seven mile fetch to the nearest island to the north.
The seas very quickly built up to 3-4 foot and started to break, causing the boat to pitch violently. Then torrential rain arrived. The reef was only 30 metres behind us, so we started the engine to be ready to motor forward if the anchor dragged. “Amulet” were 30 metres behind us and right over the reef with only a depth of 5 metres of water, so they were in a worse predicament. There was nothing that we could do, but sit in the cockpit and wait for the wind to abate.
After thirty minutes of pounding, the gale decreased and the skies brightened and an hour after it all started, the wind was down to 20 knots from the north. We debated whether to stay at Pulau Akar - the wind was likely to continue backing and return to the south as the weather system moved away. After a quick discussion with “Amulet”, we decided that we’d get the hell out of there because we’d spend the rest of the day and night worrying about another north wind.
Our initial plan was to head west and then up through sheltered channels to the Temburun Waterfall, but by the time that we’d got our anchors up, the wind had backed to 20 knots form the west and it didn’t make sense to bash directly into such a strong wind. We turned north and headed for an anchorage at the north end of Pulau Bajau, which looked okay from our Google Earth images - we had no other information about the bay because the charts have no depth soundings.
When we arrived in the large bay of Pulau Bajau NE, the skies were still overcast and we had slight rain, so we spent ten minutes motoring around the edge of the reef to figure out the size of the anchorage, which is about 200 metres in diameter.
We dropped the anchor in 17 metres and it held okay when we backed it in, but I could hear the chain dragging across coral/rubble. “Amulet” anchored a little further north in 20 metres and said that they thought that they were in soft sand. The best place to anchor is 03°08.86N 106°19.89E. The bay is very large and there’s a small fishing village at the end of the bay.
We dried out the cockpit and collapsed with a nice cold beer - my first for seven days and it tasted great.
28 August 2016 Pulau Bajau NE to Temburun Waterfall, Anambas
We had a lovely peaceful night and woke to a very calm day with a bit of sunshine. The wind is forecast to be light for the next few days, so we’re keen to start heading south towards Bawah, where we’ll wait for a favourable weather window to sail back to Nongsa Point Marina. Our new main sail should be waiting for us to pick up.
After breakfast we upped anchor and motored around to Temburun Waterfall. On the way, we spotted some kind of small factory with lots of fishing boats moored alongside a dock. There was even some kind of conveyor system from a large building to the dock. At first I thought it was a fish processing plant, but then I saw big white blocks sliding down the conveyor to the fishing boats - an ice factory.
The entrance to the anchorage is a little tortuous, but it’s easy to see the shallow reefs in good light. We anchored at 03°10.63N 106 16.77E in 13 metres of water. The anchorage is a little way out from the big village ashore, but we’ve got a nice view of the big waterfall.
Once we were settled, I started to work at my laptop and heard a strange vibration. I switched off our fresh water pump and the noise stopped. I looked at the water gauge and our tanks were empty. I’d left a tap running slowly this morning and have dumped about 400 litres of fresh water over board - bummer! We ran the water maker for two hours to half fill our tanks.
After lunch, we went ashore, tying our dinghy up to a rough concrete dock. We strolled along the road to the Temburun Waterfall and found a wide path about 100 metres to the south side of the waterfall. This leads up some steep concrete steps to a point half way up the falls, where there are various gazebos and a pool deep enough to swim in. The water was brown and scummy and didn’t look very inviting. It’s a grind up the steps, but the top half of the waterfall is worth seeing.
“Amulet” came over for sundowners.
29 August 2016 Teburun Waterfall to Tarempa, Anambas
Our plan is to start heading south tomorrow, so we upped anchor early and set off to Tarempa Town arriving at about ten o’clock. Fifteen minutes later, we were strolling down the high street, anxious to get to the fish and vegetable markets before they start shutting down for lunch.
We did quite well and by noon, we had bought everything that we wanted (apart from potatoes which are not available until the next ship comes in.) Sadly, there were a number of market stalls selling turtle eggs, so I guess that someone has managed to raid some nests in the area.
My ear has started to trouble me again, with some tenderness and it feels like the ear canal is blocked, so I went to the hospital. There’s no reception in the tiny hospital and it took me fifteen minutes to get someone to even try to find a doctor for me. No one spoke English, so all I could do was repeat “Doctor. Saya masala” - “Doctor. I (have) problem” and point to my ear.
Eventually, I was shown into a room, where a nurse took my blood pressure and sat me down in front of a doctor, who could speak a little English. I had written out all the various drugs that I’d used over the past week and I could tell that she wasn’t impressed by the vinegar in alcohol solution. She had a look in my ear, (using a flashlight app on her iPhone) and said that I have an abscess in the ear canal.
The doctor prescribed Clindamycin 300g antibiotic tablets, Dexamethasone 0.75 anti-inflammatory tablets and some Cloramphenicol antibiotic ear drops. She’s even given me some NSAID painkillers that are stronger than Ibuprofen. I’ve got to take these drugs for at least five days and she’s said that I can’t swim for 1-2 weeks. I’m feeling suicidal - we’re just going to spend the next week in the best places to go diving and snorkelling in the Anambas.
I did some research into my “Swimmer’s Ear” (posh name is “Otitis Externa”) and found that it’s a bacterial infection caused by water retained in the ears. I’m obviously keen to ensure that this doesn’t happen again and, despite the doctor’s disdain of Vinegar and Alcohol, it’s a well-known preventative measure. The alcohol helps to dry the ears and the vinegar stops bacterial and fungal growth. Once the infection is cured, I’ll definitely be using the mixture to keep my ears healthy.
30 August 2016 Tarempa to Airabu South, Anambas
I was up at four o’clock, just as the mosques started their morning call to prayer. The internet connection yesterday and last night was terrible and I couldn’t do anything, so I had to get up early to get a long range weather forecast and do some administration. Glenys got up just after six o’clock and we left half an hour later.
The wind seemed to be light (as forecast) so we turned west out of Tarempa and headed south on a rhumb line to Airabu. Thankfully the wind stayed below 10 knots and was 30 degrees off our port bow, so the waves were small and we could just motor-sail with the mainsail. It was a pleasant five hour trip and we even caught a nice 2kg Tuna.
We anchored in Airabu South, which is a lovely anchorage with a big sandy patch only eight metres deep. After a lunch of pan-fried squid sandwiches, I had a two hour nap to catch up on my early morning start and Glenys pottered about on board - she couldn’t be bothered to go snorkelling even though the water is lovely and clear.
The weather forecast for the next week is for 10-15 knot winds and there doesn’t seem to be much rain about. When we leave the Anambas Islands for Nongsa Point Marina (a 140 mile passage) our rhumb-line course will be 230°. We can just hold a 45° degree wind angle when we’re beating, so adding 15° for leeway and a north setting current, we need a wind direction of less than 170° to sail the rhumb line. If the wind direction is greater then we’ll be forced further north towards Malaysia.
The forecast wind direction varies between 170° and 220°. On the 5th and 6th September, the forecast is for 9 knots at 168°, so it looks like we’ll be leaving the Anambas on the 5th September - just enough time to spend a few nights in Ritan and Bawah.
31 August 2016 Airabu South, Anambas
It was very hot today - we had 35 degrees in the saloon just after breakfast, so goodness knows what it was out in the open. Despite the blistering heat, I persuaded Glenys to come out for a “short” hike up to some Rocky Bluffs to the north of the anchorage.
Most of the shoreline around the anchorage is defended by Mangrove trees, but we found a place where a rocky slab reached down to the water. My target was the highest bluff, which was north-west of where we landed the dinghy. The terrain was very thick undergrowth up a steep hill, but armed with my machete, we set off.
Unfortunately, I forgot my compass. I tried to follow the slope of the hill and mistakenly followed a gully up the hillside, which led us north-east (instead of north-west) and half an hour later, we popped out of the jungle onto a rocky bluff on the other side of the hill - duuhhh! We then had to head west and 45 minutes later, we stumbled upon the target bluff, high above the anchorage.
It was a fabulous view and well worth the effort. Our descent was a little more precise and we made it back to the dinghy in 30 minutes. Altogether, it was a 2½ hour epic and we were dehydrated and starving by the time we staggered back to the boat.
After lunch, we went out in the dinghy to explore the pass to the north of the anchorage. We were hoping that it would be a good snorkelling or diving spot, but the coral wasn’t that good. We headed back towards the anchorage, stopping at a shallow colourful reef. Glenys went snorkelling, while I went for a walk on the beach - I’ll be glad when my ear is better.
There were thunderstorms flashing around us as we went to bed. We had a bit of rain and the wind picked up at one point, so we had a restless night worrying if we would get clobbered, but fortunately, nothing came close to us.
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