Perhaps we need to…
by John Curnow, Editor, Sail-WorldCruising.com 14 Dec 2018 23:00 UTC
2,000kilos worth of desal plant, and only hands, backs, and legs to move it by © Ray La Fontaine
In They'd all been there a few weeks ago, we looked at how Lombok, Indonesia, was rapidly becoming a bit of an epicentre for cruising activity. Lombok Marina Del Ray on Gili Gede, off the Sou'west corner of Lombok, is a deepwater haven with moorings, pens (slips), hardstand, and also has more than just the odd amenity to assist global travellers. So as a clearance port, it is absolutely ideally placed to handle all your needs.
The other thing is that it is outside of the cyclone band, and generally has just a two-month wet season over the Christmas period, which is about half some of the other favourite ports in South East Asia. Now in continuing communications with Ray La Fontaine, I got to learn how the desalination plant you see in these images was manhandled into position for use by the marina and its guests.
La Fontaine commented, "I wanted to share this as a way of demonstrating how well we are integrated into the local community, and how much they also appreciate the marina, and what it all means for them. We have no cranes here, so manoeuvring the two tonne behemoth was a huge task. Members of our local Mosque all banded together, as you can see, and manhandled it into place."
"It is a great example of how marine development sparks economic and social development. In all my travels over the years, I have seen just how few economic and social benefits half of the Indonesian population on the small islands receive. The real exception is what the sailors provide. By the time we are at stage five of the development here, we should be bringing in USD300M to the Lombok economy, which will represent 7% of its annual GDP."
The Medana Bay Marina up on the North side of Lombok recently took delivery of a hydraulic slipway trailer, and last week they hauled out their first two yachts. They are now really the only haul out facility for yachts between Darwin and Singapore. Again, it pays to know where the people in the know reside, so that you can saddle up next to them...
La Fontaine is one of those who are always thinking, and his visions include getting all the boats that might be stuck in Phuket or Malaysia for the monsoon season into Lombok by December. Boats can stay there safely whilst you return home for Christmas, and then come the end of April he plans to organise a rally to Australia, sailing past Sumbawa, Flores, Komodo, Sumba, and Timor and be ready to jump across the Timor Sea to Australia in early May. You could either head for Darwin, or keep going to Cape York. There's a great place to hang in the Wessels group off the coast of Arnhem Land in the Northern Territory. By May you could make it Cairns, and in June even get down to Southport in the predominantly light offshore winds."
So yes, perhaps we need to go sooner, rather than later, ourselves...
One now for the propellerheads, and in no great shock, daggerboards in multihulls perform better, and over a wider range of conditions, than keelsons. Caveats and codicils aside, like extra room in the hulls and ease of use, if you want to read it all by some serious boffins, then read balancecatamarans.com/project/daggerboards-versus-keels. This paragraph is short, but the interesting detail in the article is much longer.
OK. Today you will find that we have information for you about whales, crew gear, climate change, the ARC, what happens when it all goes to custard, Greenland (which of course is actually ice land) is melting quickly, ditching the Diesel and going fully electric thanks to Fiona and Kevin Horig, reefs, Santa by jetpack, Xmas gifts from Musto, Multihull Solutions looks to the Thailand Yacht Show, as well as much more.
So you see, there are stories, lessons, inspirations and history to regale yourself with. Please do savour... We're really enjoying bringing you the best stories from all over the globe. If you want to add to that, then please make contact with us via email.
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In the meantime, do you love being on the ocean? Well remember to love them back too. They need our help. Now more than ever! Until next time...
John Curnow
Editor, Sail-WorldCruising.com