Attitude is the difference between an ordeal and an adventure. Or at least that’s what I’m telling myself! The passage to Timor was hot and noisy, motoring nearly all the way with virtually no wind. As we turned into the Salat Semau Strait, trying to negotiate fish farm buoys and ships, we got up to 40kts of wind, bouncing our way into a rolly, uncomfortable anchorage outside the city of Kupang.

It took two days to complete clearance procedures. The administration is one of the most frustrating things about Indonesia! They love their paperwork and stamps! We visited the offices of health, immigration, customs, and the Harbour Master…twice each! The customs and the health officials needed to come out the boat, none of them had a clue about boarding or disembarking from the dinghy. They nearly tipped us all into the drink to swim round amongst the plastic bags. One of the customs officers was turning green and sweating with sea sickness. Thankfully, he was keen to head to shore after a cursory look around…under Angus’ pillow🤣. We were grateful for our driver and dodgy little “agent,” Ayam, who spent two days with us, driving all round Kupang for a total of $70. Then there were the bribes… The Harbour Master and his sidekick wanted $100,000 rupee each (about $10) for “administration costs,” but wouldn’t issue a receipt. All the while smoking three cigarettes at a time. This part of the journey was certainly more of an ordeal than an adventure.

We’ve started referring to our Indonesian cruising guidebook as “The Book of Lies.” It wasn’t at all helpful with descriptions of anchorages or clearance procedures. We headed for the island of Roti to de-stress, have a swim, and have a decent night’s sleep. The Book of Lies said it had white sandy beaches and good swimming….the reality was mangroves, murky water, and a rocky foreshore. At least it was a calm anchorage.

The next ordeal was 500nm to Lombok. We encountered everything from no wind at all, then some quite good sailing, then terrifying currents as we tried to motor up the Lombok Strait between Lombok and Bali. We were going backward at one stage. Of course, this was all happening in the dark when we were exhausted after four days of sailing. We anchored safely at 2am Monday.

I’ve just read that Jimmy Buffet has died. He provided the soundtrack to our last thirty years of our sailing and inspiration with “Latitudes and Attitudes.” The son of a son of a sailor will be having a cheeseburger in paradise. Rest in peace, Jimmy. I’ll be playing your songs tomorrow.