Thursday, 29 July
All boats arriving in the marina are directed to anchor first pending clearance for berthing, and then when cleared to do so, to go alongside to commence 8 days of quarantine during which time you have to stay on board and cannot leave your boat.
I was in the anchorage until the morning of Saturday, 17 July. There was one other boat in the anchorage when I arrived (Stellar Australis) and she, like so many other cruising boats in this part of the World, was making her way back home to Australia because Covid-19 restrictions are making it increasingly difficult to sail around the region. Apparently, Nongsa Point Marina is one of only a few places which is still allowing access to visiting boats.
Raising the anchor on Shahna Bacal was not as straight forward as it should be. My boat has 100 metres of 12 mm anchor chain, which is stowed in two lockers in the forepeak. Unfortunately, the lockers are not that deep (waist height), and with 50 metres of chain in each of them there is little free space left inside. When heaving in the anchor therefore, the chain quickly piles up under the spurling pipe which becomes full and then if you are not careful, the chain piles up on deck and comes off the gyspy. With crew this is not a problem as I always station one man in the forepeak when weighing the anchor to properly stow the chain in locker as it comes in. When sailing solo however, this is not an option, and on Saturday morning I had to heave in the anchor in stages, nipping down below every so often to stow the chain. In the calm sheltered anchorage of the marina this was no big deal but clearly, it would be in a crowded anchorage with a strong wind blowing and/or a tidal current running. Something I will need to address.
I was all fast alongside the outer end of ‘A’ dock by 0930. The local quarantine officials arrived at 1000 and I had my first PCR test; and the local immigration officials arrived at 1300 and cleared me into Indonesia. Although confined on board, I did have the luxury now, of shore power and water, and access to the internet via the marina wi-fi. I was also able to chat now to the marina staff, and the owners and crews of other boats on ‘A’ dock albeit at a distance. And on Shahna Bacal there are always things which need to be done. Looking after a steel boat is like painting the Forth Road Bridge: by the time you have worked your way from bow to stern, it is time to start again at the bow. Then there are the basic everyday things to do, like cooking; and as my culinary skills are next to zero, this was the perfect opportunity for me to start developing them.
I had stocked the boat with provisions before leaving Singapore, mainly tinned foods including a variety of curries, spam and corned beef, tuna and salmon, soups, vegetables, and fruit; and potatoes, pasta, rice, onions and garlic and such like. Plenty of ingredients to play with therefore, and I made some interesting dinners even if in Sue’s eyes, they all looked like something she might put in the our dog’s bowl. Every Tuesday and Thursday the marina staff came round with a shopping list, so I could order fresh food during quarantine – a great arrangement set up by the marina manager, John McGrath. As well as fresh food, I could order drinks, and I spent a couple of evenings having sundowners with John, me sitting on my boat and he sitting on a chair on the pontoon.
The weather throughout was fine with very little rain, and lots of sunshine. As such, I got quite a bit done on the boat. It was hot work, but I rigged my boarding ladder over the outboard (starboard) side and went for a dip every lunchtime, swimming up and down alongside the boat. Evenings I spent in the cockpit relaxing, checking my emails and reading my books. I have fair sized library on board and during my quarantine I enjoyed re-reading biographies of Collingwood, Pellew, and Cochrane, and “Voyage for Madmen” about the nine sailors who set off to sail solo around the world in 1968. Topical stuff.
I had my second PCR test on Saturday, 24 July and was released from quarantine late on Sunday afternoon, 25 July. I celebrated by having a walk around the marina that evening and a shower ashore. Otherwise however, I did not venture far afield as Indonesia has many Covid-19 cases, including two under quarantine in the marina resort; and there were still many things to do on the boat. Nevertheless, it was refreshing to be able to walk around the resort, swim in the pool, and use the facilities including the laundry. Sadly, the bar in the resort was closed for renovation, and the restaurant was limited to providing a take-away service because of the local Covid-19 restrictions. The resort and marina are in a lovely setting but the resort is now very quiet because of the pandemic and looking very tired.
The Indonesian Coast Guard came down to inspect my boat on Thursday, 29 July, to make sure it was fit enough to undertake the voyage to the shipyard in Sekupang. The inspection focused on my life saving gear and particularly the number of lifejackets I had on board (6), and my AIS. Once over, I received my clearance papers and settled my account with the marina; and after dinner I planned my passage to the shipyard.
