Email: send@yit.co.nz

Subject: Mersoleil
Body of email:
[password] kudzuu1114
[position] 10 09.507s 123 34.355e
[weather]NE 25-30kts, 96F, 1010.2,
[speed] at anchor[
heading]
[status] Mersoleil arrived in Kupang, Timor and dropped the anchor at 09:30 this morning. There was no wind on Saturday. We motored. There was no wind on Sunday, but we sailed anyway, lazing our way quietly through the water and it was good. There was no wind on Monday, ditto Tuesday and we motored again. We tried a few clever sail combinations, but realized fairly speedily that when there isn't any wind, there's really nothing you can do with sails to change things. For example, we could have set the spinnaker which weighs nothing and fills with the tiniest amount of wind, with a pole to hold it out in the breeze. But with wind speeds as low as 5kts, if the spinnaker did, perchance, fill with air and press Mersoleil forward at 6kts, the apparent wind would be higher from the bow than the true wind would be from the stern... and the spinnaker would back and just slow us down or impale itself on the rigging. And so we motored some more. But we slept well, and were able to enjoy meals, something one can't always do on passage, and miraculously (as often happens for us, thank you God) we arrived at the Roti Strait just as day was dawning this morning. We wouldn't have negotiated this strait in the dark and were very glad we didn't. Daylight enabled s to miss the pearl farms, fishing traps and bobbing floats marking who knows what, and we passed through uneventfully to the anchorage at Kupang. Then two interesting things happened, at least we think they were interesting. Things that make one wonder why one ever bothers to make plans. First, as we were setting the anchor and snubber the wind picked up, and not just a little. It's been blowing about 25kts since we anchored, Mersoleil is bouncing around more than she usually does in 2m seas and people on several other rally boats are reporting seasickness at anchor. One boat, behind us fortunately, has already dragged off into distant deep water and was rescued by other cruisers who boarded, unfouled the anchor, started the engine and brought her back to the flock. The foresail of another yacht at anchor unfurled by itself and tried to flog itself to death on the bow, the expensive price one pays for leaving that cute but purposeless little triangle of sail exposed rather than furling the sail completely and wrapping it with its sheets to keep it secure. (We'll never understand this practice, we wrap the sheets a full six times around the completely furled sail and secure the sheets in clutches so they can't escape and destroy our sails.) We can barely walk around inside the cabins - it's just like being on a boisterous passage! All this after four days of windless calms. To tell the truth, we admit to being very glad we're not out sailing in this wind. It's a bit too brisk to be fun, and it is exhausting. The other interesting thing, and one we kind of expected, but we did not expect to be the lucky recipients of the perfect arrangements, is the folly enacted by the officials here as they run around trying to clear all the yachts, more than forty, into the country. Kupang is not accustomed to serving great numbers of vessels at one time, nor are they accustomed to dashing out into the anchorage in high winds and three to four foot wind waves, Not fifteen minutes after we had secured the anchor a black inflatable with six officials on board pulled up at Mersoleil's starboard side and announce that they were ready to board our yacht. We weren't ready for them - I was still wearing shorts (a huge no no in these Muslim lands) and I know Robbie wanted a nap at that moment far more than he wanted to visit Indonesia, here they were and it's always wise to respond in the affirmative. I've been rehearsing my meager bahasa Indonesia on the passage, so was able to spout off a cheery ,"Halo, apa kabar! Nama saya Bev," which pleased them enormously and suddenly we had seven laughing and chattering people below and I was frantically searching for paperwork that I hadn't even thought about yet. These bright smiling uniformed officials were young, not a one over thirty five, and they are having a ball today. While those on Mersoleil signed and stamped and printed legibly, the remaining two played in the waves with their rigid inflatable and refused to return to collect their colleagues after the paperwork was finished. They circled Mersoleil, sending splashing fans of water through the air as they cut curves at high speed. Finally, after another half hour of hide and seek, and several photographs of us with them, them with each other, and many chants of happy anniversary (yes, 14 years) the tender returned, collected our officials and they were off. Rather than clearing another yacht, and there are still several who arrived here yesterday and are awaiting their initial visit from customs and practique, they took a few breakneck spins through the anchorage, followed the dragging vessel out to sea for a while before apparently deciding that rendering aid in this case did not fall within their job descriptions, stopped at Bella Vita and announced to Brett and Stacey that they were going to lunch and would come back later. This was followed by some excited conversation on the VHF among vessels who feel imposed upon and ill-served. This is not the way government functions in "our country," and you may substitute nearly any Northern hemisphere country for the "our country," but it is Indonesia, quirky and sweet, well-intentioned but relaxed. There are about twenty vessels who arrived here long before Mersoleil who are still in the holding pattern and we, for no good reason, are now free as birds to leave the boat, stop by Immigration (who wisely elected to meet visitors on land) and then explore our first Indonesian city. Tain't right, tain't just, tain't fair, tain't even logical! But this is Indonesia. Our turn will come to be inconvenienced and I hope we'll accept it with poise and good humor! BTW, just for the record, the engine block chicken was delicious and we have not seen a single croc yet! Although the health guy, surely he couldn't be a physician at his age, told us not to swim here. A couple of crocodiles have been seen in the anchorage today. And so begins our Indonesian odyssey! Bev
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