Saturday 29 August 2015

Following prolonged night of tequila, wine and fish bites with Champagne Charlies who also brought champagne, but no Charlies, departed Lewoleba at 0700 to time Boling Pass for northward tidal current into Flores Sea. Late yesterday afternoon had picked up additional 80 liters of fuel in jerries ($.72 US/liter delivered) and, after waiting around 30 minutes, laundry ("you mean you want it when you said you did?") so that early escape could be perpetrated. VHF net at 0800 revealed that a meeting tonight at acoustically challenged "gala dinner" venue would include free food (cruisers are psychologically incapable of resisting anything free) if those left in residence would tell the locals reason this stopover was such a debacle. We're not going back.

Have motored to Pulau Bani, a small island about 11 NM from previous anchorage, and now luxuriate in - not the pop pop pop of unmuffled longboats that seem to drive through your cockpit at 0500 or amplified, tone-deaf caterwaulers starting at 0415 or fishing boat generators that run all night or booming port and cruise boat horns that end late and start early - but rather blessed serenity. Have resolved to stop at every viable, uninhabited anchorage between here and Maumere to enjoy continuation of same before re-immersion into cultural diversity. Tomorrow may be Serbete, offshore reef, then Monday night Tanjung Gedong, dinner with monkeys, on northeast tip of Flores.

Since boat was rocking too much yesterday for re-bedding starboard light (window in regular English), would do it here if not suffering from a hard case of don't-give-a-craps. Urgency has evanesced (had no prior knowledge that urgency could do such a thing) due no rain, little wind and calm seas for the foreseeable future. There are other jobs, of course, that could be undertaken. They will also succumb to above related condition as we relax in the cockpit, nibble cassava chips and begrudge having to exert ourselves to discharge previously ingested coffee.

Jack