Sailor's woes - an unexpected breakdown!
25 August 2008 | In the middle of Java Sea -getting close to the Equator!
Marie-Louise Ansak
We were heading for what promised to be a good anchorage - but then in the middle of the night, the electricity went out! Well, with an electric autopilot, a watermaker and refrigerator plus all the small equipment, this was no fun and created quite a bit of chaos. But after some exploration we found that it was the motor's startup battery that kissed it goodbye! Thank goodness for the house battery back up! We were able to start the motor, recharge the house batteries and be back on our way. All that in the middle of the night and in a bouncy sea! Not exactly what you are dreaming about when thinking of a leisurely cruise. Anyway, today is a new day and everything has worked out and as usual one forgets the problems of the cruising life style. Now, instead of the nice anchorage, we are heading directly toward Singapore - should get to Nongsa Marina on the Indonesian side of those straits where we will rest before heading across to Sebana.
Well, today August 25th we arrived in Nongsa Marina - right across the straits from Singapore. This marina is in the process of getting a face lift and so not much is available but it is quite expensive. In any case on the attached picture you see the facilities with an interesting "fog". This fog is actually smoke to kill mosquitoes. I have never seen that before and kind of wonder what it does to us human beings. But.... no mosquitoes.