Long Passage Completed
With appreciation to all who stuck with us on this long passage from Vanuatu. After bearing with us through the trudgery and the drudgery of it all, the big prize at the end of the journey is this news of our safe arrival at Kupang harbour.
For the last three days of the journey, we were unencumbered by any wind whatsoever. Meaning, we had to grin and bear the noise and the fumes of constant motoring. But on the flipside, with no wind for days, the sea was unimaginably calm – flat calm, smooth, almost no ripple, no swell. Frankly, quite weird in the middle of a huge expanse of ocean, for days on end, out to the horizon in every direction. Weird, but so very comfortable.
Captain Bill managed to time our arrival almost perfectly. We wanted as much daylight as possible to navigate through the last 15-mile-long channel from the open sea, along the southwest end of Timor Leste, to Kupang harbour. But still, we wanted to arrive early on Friday morning to improve our chances of completing clearance formalities by end-of-day. We were motivated to avoid the additional “tips” that would be required to clear-in on the weekend. And otherwise to avoid the additional days of captivity on Turtlebones, in quarantine in the harbour, if we had to wait until Monday morning to clear.
I especially wanted to avoid the quarantine delay – because we have Flores and pink sand beaches and Komodo dragons and other Indonesian delights, all ahead of us en route to Lombok, and we’ll need the extra few days to explore all of that.
As we motor-sailed westward through several time zones, grabbing an extra hour here and there along the way, Bill timed it so well. We came up the channel just after dawn, in low but safe light – or so I’m told, it’s all hearsay to me, I was on my second sleep shift of the night – and then we arrived in the harbour and dropped our hook precisely at 8 AM. Jury’s still out, but hopefully we’ll clear in today. Formalities have gone smoothly so far.
The elusive wind picked up almost as soon as we arrived at the anchorage. After so many calm days at sea, an expectedly rolly night awaits us. But not just that – the wind and waves made it challenging for Bill who, exhausted from the long journey, was called to make so many mandatory dinghy deliveries throughout the day.
According to formalities in Kupang, you take your dinghy ashore to the so-called beach – a rather sludgy and disgusting shoreline, littered with garbage – dodging bommies at low tide and poling your way for the last 20 metres to shore. You climb out of your dinghy into the shallow water and onto the dank shore – sinking into slimy sludge.
There, at the beach beside the old wreck, is where you meet the officials – three separate groups, three separate trips, there and back, one for each of Quarantine, Customs and Immigration officers,
You pick them up off the beach and bring them to your boat where they go through the motions. It’s a bit of a charade, really. They bring a stack of documents – forms that I previously completed and sent to them by email, that they printed out, and now they’re here on board our boat to present them to Bill for his signature as Captain. They ask for their picture to be taken in faux inspection poses – seriously! – Customs Officer Emmanuel Joseph mightily lifts up a bunk and pretending to look underneath it, but actually looking over his shoulder, he says “take my picture”. They snap pictures of my 2021 covid vaccine certificate – I offer to send something current, but it’s OK, there’s no need.
Throughout the process, to a person, they’re all very friendly and good natured. When they’re done, you shuttle the officers back to shore in your dinghy – banging and bouncing in the wind and the waves, dropping them at the sludgy beach. What an enterprise!
Kupang harbour is not especially beautiful, not even in the same league as so many South Pacific anchorages, but nonetheless it looks pretty good to us. We landed here after 2,783 nautical miles – that’s 5,154 kilometres – and after 17 days 19 hours at sea – not that I’m counting!
Now we look forward to a delicious dinner of local Indonesian fare, some refreshing bevvies and a full night’s sleep.
Wonderful news that you made it to Indonesia. Happy belated birthday Sharon.🥳🍾🎉🥂 What an amazing way to spend your entry date into the 70’s. Enjoy some good night sleeps and much deserved relaxation on the pink sand beach.🏖️
Hi Joanne. Many thanks for your good wishes. We’re already underway to our next anchorage – one that promises more eye candy, more rest and more fun. Kupang wasn’t uninteresting, not in the least, but it felt more like a business trip than an exotic travel experience. :/ Looking forward to seeing you soon. At Lobsterfest? Hugs to you and Ken.
That’s a heckuva long passage! So glad you’ve arrived safely, and in good spirits.
Hi Brian. Yes, a mighty long passage indeed. I think we won’t do that again! 🙂
Sharon, Bill — I’ve loved everything I’ve been learning from your posts. I had heard of the Torres Straight, now I know where it is. And now I know where Kupang, Indonesia, is. When you, Sharon, said in a recent post that you’d been averaging 200 miles a day for a while, I looked it up — that’s the rough equivalent of driving from my home near San Francisco, clear across California to Reno, Nevada. Three and a half hours on an interstate highway at 65-70 mph. Lots of scenery in between. That’s quite a day, quite a lot of water. I had no idea…
Here’s something I wonder about:
How do you two handle the “not-knowing”? You’re out there in this big world, not on firm ground, by god, but on the endless water, broken now and then by reefs and even terra firma itself. You’re in absolutely new territory for both of you (I do believe). For me, it’s challenging enough to be sitting here at the kitchen table (30 years and counting) and trying to fathom what’s going on in 2025 USA, what are our lives going to look like a month from now, a year from now…? Are you two so focused on the requirements of your present situation(s) that you can’t be bothered with such conjecture? Do either of you ever find yourself wondering if you might not mind waking up at “home” and “safe and sound” in your own bed in Canada? Or do you find it a relief to “be away” from “all of this”? I know you’re well prepared and you’ve planned meticulously, but do you ever come upon uncertainty? How do you handle it all? Do you talk about this between yourself, or are you too busy dealing with so-called reality, the all-important weather, underwater hazards, the next customs officials, etc? Or…?
Curious,
Brad
Dear Curious Brad. Many thanks, we love getting your comments and your musings. 🙂
C is for Curious. C is for Cruising. C is for Challenging, for Contemplation and Conjecture. We too have a kitchen table – well, it’s our everything table – where we often sit and contemplate and conjecture. It’s true, there’s a lot of immediacy on a sailboat – but not really so much more than all the daily demands at home – maybe it’s just a little more immediate at times when at sea. Plus, we’re spoiled with the gift of time and calm conditions to just let ‘er rip – let your mind wander. And you’re right, we don’t really know what’s around the next corner – but that’s also true at home, again it’s all relative. The unknown is more tangible out here – but so that makes it perhaps a little more exciting, a little more stimulating – more food for thought! I assure you, we can just as easily fret from here as we can from home about any horror – you name it, the mean monster dictator in the White House. Turtlebones is not a fret-free place! 🙂 And home, do I miss my place and my peeps at home? Oh yes, every single day!
Well, Mazel Tov to you guys!! You finally made it to the sludgy harbour! Your description of the customs officers was like watching a Broadway musical farce!! But Lombok, Flores with pink sand, Comodo dragons all sound fabulous! Have a well-deserved rest, and enjoy the delights of Indonesia!!
We look forward to this next leg of your unbelievably amazing journey!
Good winds, and fantastic foods!
Take care,
Shelley and Danny
Hey DanShell. Many thanks, we love having your company on board and your encouraging comments. We’re already underway to the next anchorage – one that promises far less urban blight and fewer farcical encounters with the gov’. 🙂
Sounds like smooth sailing all the way to exploring some cool things on solid ground. Enjoy!
Hey Horselover. We didn’t stay long in Kupang, already underway to more cool things. Although, there’s a caveat – as we poke along in this northwesterly direction, we get closer and closer to the equator – and the daily temp is getting hotter and hotter. Cant peel off any more clothes!
So happy to hear you’ve reached your destination & have so much exploring to look forward to. What a journey! wow!
So happy to hear you’ve reached your destination & have so much exploring to look forward to. What a journey! wow!
Many thanks, Ann, for your company and encouraging comments all along the way. 🙂
Congrats and welcome to a new shore, even if it is “slimy sludge”. Nancy and I are enjoying the last few weeks of “summer” along the Halifax coast to Chester, Mahone Bay, Lunenburg, Liverpool. No customs but like you, no winds (3 knots). Looking forward to hearing abbout the dragons!
Hi Shawn and Nancy. It doesn’t get better than the South Shore of Nova Scotia in September. Fair winds!
Congrats on your safe arrival in Indonesia after this challenging passage!
Thanks always for the detailed blog posts and pics, so many fascinating details to ponder and wonder about as your adventure unfolds.
Glad to have read recently about your acquisition of the Project X device and its open source navigation support rather than having to depend entirely on the commercial products (and the old iPad). I expect that this will prove to be more dependable over the long run. I recall an earlier post when you described having lost Starlink connectivity due to an account glitch. Yikes! Do modern cruisers keep a sextant on board for backup LOL?
Cheers to you both!
Hi Barry. As usual, your company and encouraging comments are much appreciated. Although Bill is sextant-certified, we don’t carry one on board. Some cruisers do, but I dare say, they’re a dying breed. However we did meet a Canadian sailor in Opua NZ who had recently circumnavigated as a solo sailor using only a sextant for navigation. Definitely not for me, I can’t imagine. Could be why he’s a solo sailor!
Hi Sharon and Bill,
Happy belated birthday Sharon. Finally time to confess that I feel a bit of an intruder on your travels this time. Nico and I greatly enjoyed the first leg but now it’s just me. Nico passed away very unexpectedly in June of 2024. I had no way of letting you know and after getting your new posts in February and greatly enjoying them again I wasn’t sure how to let you know. So now you know and I hope you will keep me on your list.Is there a chance we will ever meet in Mexico again?
Safe travels,
Tineke
Hi Sharon and Bill,
Happy belated birthday Sharon. Finally time to confess that I feel a bit of an intruder on your travels this time. Nico and I greatly enjoyed the first leg but now it’s just me. Nico passed away very unexpectedly in June of 2024. I had no way of letting you know and after getting your new posts in February and greatly enjoying them again I wasn’t sure how to let you know. So now you know and I hope you will keep me on your list.Is there a chance we will ever meet in Mexico again?
Safe travels,
Tineke
We’re so happy to hear that you have arrived safely in Indonesia. Enjoy some time on terra firma, I’m sure it feels weird to walk on land after that so so long passage.
Fantastic. I’m sure you have been asleep for a week!
Such a huge crossing and accomplishment. Congrats!
Patti and I can’t wait to catch up.
X