Meet Skipper; a scrawny little indonesian ginger cat (ironic?) that was on his way out of this world, having spent a mere 5 or 6 weeks on it. I didnt mean to save him, it just happened. So Ashika is brightened with a furry little life again although perhaps slightly more encumbered. Such is life. I'll take bright every time. It worked out well for him, but... we are constantly on the lookout for a new home for Skipper because he cannot go to Hawaii, our likely path home. And then we were three again...We got it! The exhaust manifold that took only 5 months to get here; Tual, Maluku Tenggara, Indonesia. The part is probably the 2nd most expensive part on the engine (transmission wins that label) and we ordered it last March from TransAtlanticDiesel (TAD). We could not start the boat without the manifold, so we were stuck in the middle of the bay. TAD shipped it to my international shipper (MyUS.com) and they lost it for over 2 months. When they found the wayward part, TAD had recalled the unit for possible weld flaws, so... I shipped it back to Virginia from Florida. I paid for shipping the unit back to them and because of all the hassel, TAD offered to pick up the shipping to Indonesia. They had quoted me DHL and Fedex earlier, so I said great... ship on...figuring they would choose one of those. They did not and shipped it by US mail. It would not reach us for another 3 months. It was particularly hard being being chained to one spot this time. We were literally in paradise and other cruisers were coming and going, exploring pristine islands, beaches and dive spots all around this archipelago. We were stranded by the extreme distance from our needed parts and not a small amount of beaucracy. While the Covid19 Pandemic played a roll in keeping us in place for the first couple of months, our wayward spare parts were an added frustration. Covid kept us confined to the Archipelago, our missing part kept us stuck to the mud. The view from AlcatrazBasic boat supplies were not available on the island; like caulking, stainless screws and hose clamps, sunbrella, or any other boat part and the pandemic crisis had stopped any boat from bringing supplies other than essentials. But we didnt let that stop us (much); we took on boat projects with the supplies we had on hand. I sanded and varnished the cockpit coaming while Dois worked on the battery box in an effort to shore it up. We bought a Charger/Inverter from a cruiser using the coconut Facebook and that turned out to be a huge challenge. Dois discovered our boat has been wired wrong since the beginning of time? That meant... the charger/inverter he removed was probably just fine. How did we get here? The view from the bimini. As usual, boat maintenance projects were in abundance. I sewed on reinforcement patches on chaps, made new house curtains out of shower curtains, chased mold. I did laundry by bucket, cleaned lockers and musty things, fixing some things... throwing others away. Dois did the heavy lifting. He installed a new windless solenoid, worked on our refridgeration and generally kept us from sinking. Dois installed the manifold and the exhaust system although the new part was not quite right (just couldnt catch a break), and TAD had stopped responding to our emails (no way to treat a client). A bolt hole was drilled too close to a wall and a bolt had to be modified to fit. Then the ports that mount to the engine did not seat flush. But Dois was determined to make it work, and he did. We were mobile again and planning our departure. Above is the original beast. Dois re-installed the exhaust pipe and the custom heat wrap (in the left bottom of the pic. But the old red and rusty iron manifold has been replaced by the sexy stainless steel model. Our main transportation around town was by Bemo (a strange little mini bus decorated with stuffed animals and such on the dash board and painted the bright colors of this culture). Dois and I found them frightening. The small enclosed space with 5 to 7 people shoulder to shoulder and maybe 50% mask compliance was a sure sign we were sharing air. But our alternative was more terrifying; Ojeks (motorcycle taxis) are helmet-less "Mr. Toad's Wild Ride" through the narrow, pot holed, crowded streets of open sewers and crumbling buildings. I think the Ojek drivers tried hard to scare the Americanos so we chose Bemos mostly. Not exactly FDA standards...Acquiring food was especially time consuming although I secretly looked forward to these trips. Dois finds shopping agonizing, but everything was so cheap. I found it exhilerating filling up our bags at the bazaar for $12 or $15 and no matter how high I piled the shopping cart at the main supermarket on the other side of town, the bill was rarely more than $100. We would usually do Bazaar shopping and Super shopping on seperate days because everything we bought had to be humped back to the dinghy by backpack and boot bags. We needed to go the the local public hospital to get a covid antigen test. That test is to check your blood for covid antigens and if it comes back positive, then you get a swab jammed up the nose. We were extremely cautious about going to a public hospital and took every precaution. Covid was still relatively rare here, so the people dont always wear their mask correctly (if at all) and social distancing is not a common practice, even in the hospital. So you make your own space as well as you can and we do not share air. These are all hospital workers, only one wore a mask appropriately.When it rains, it pours... in.Jumper.thirst, all the time.The following pics are all from our walk back to the dinghy dock from the hospital. I have found Tual to be fully occupied by unusual beauty, generousity, tragedy and extreme poverty. But underlying it all is a peace and happiness that is always at the surface. Kids come running (or riding). We feel famous.Thoughts and prayers for this little one.Since we were unable to move about, filling our tanks with potable water became an issue quickly. Ms. Ena to the rescue again. She has 13 siblings and 9 children and works every day of the week. Each time our tanks got low, I would text her to bring 30 Sparketts bottles (not really Sparkletts) of filtered water to Ashika. This kind of effort would have taken us 10 trips in the dinghy and a rented truck from the water store. For her and her brothers or sons efforts she made about $20 for each delivery (and I believe her family owned the water store). She also brought her brothers and her son Sabahn to help Dois clean the bottom of the boat and she often supplied us with fresh fruit and veggies from her market stand. An Amazing woman whom we will miss. Sabahn. Always a pleasure to have aboard.I can see clearly now...In retrospect, Tual wasnt such a bad place to get stranded. Covid risk was very low, friendliness was very high and we saved a ton of money not being in a marina. But now that we were mobile again, we have headed out for the port of Sorong. Keep an eye out for my update on the journey! Kitten Gallery
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Ups andDowns - part "Dua"Ashika galloped out into the Arufura Sea, free from the constraints of reefs and shallow waters. With 20 kts of wind from the SE, she flew across a smooth sea. It was a majestic romp until the next day when Cyclone Gretel yanked on her reins by sucking up all the wind. Ashika came to a screeching halt. We resorted to motoring for the next 5 days in overcast skies and dark waters. The occasional squall was an uncommon relief; they brought respite from the hot and humid air of the tropics as we edged closer to the equator. Update: Photos from this blog forward, are CLICKABLE! Older blogs will be clickable soon.Cozy Beach Cottage for Rent or BNB. |
SailorsDois brings at least 5 decades of boating experience to our journey. Lauri brings years of love for the ocean. Archives
October 2020
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