AKAMA REPORT 16
25 January 2004
Our unscheduled stop at Tahuna, Indonesia marked the end of the crossing
of the Celebes Sea. It was an interesting stop on a very nice island.
The mountains there are high enough and the island is big enough that
it generates its own microclimate. There were rain showers and partial
overcast most of the time, providing a respite from the hot tropical
sun.
Having made a stop, we were well rested. It's a good thing, as the
first two days of the next leg, crossing the Molucca Sea, were only
marginally better than the pounding we took on the way into Tahuna. The
winds were much stronger than forecast resulting in waves that were
high and confused. Adding to the confused sea state, we now had the
Pacific Ocean groundswell, which are longer rolling waves, as the
Molucca Sea is bounded on its east side by the western Pacific Ocean .
At one point we wondered what on earth we were doing out there; it was
not fun. However, on the third day, as we entered the Pacific,
conditions were somewhat better, and on the fourth day the wind waves
were nearly gone, leaving just the ground swell, which our stabilizer
system easily coped with.
About six miles from Helen Reef, we spotted what appeared to be a
destroyer, and partially over the horizon behind it, what appeared to be
the rest of a small naval fleet. This was worrisome, in an area where
border disputes are not uncommon. The last thing we needed was to be
boarded by the Indonesian Navy. We slowly increased speed and stayed
off the radio. As we closed on Helen we realized that this "navy" was
just a bunch of rusty hulks. Helen Reef is low, so it does not show up
well on the radar. It is not quite placed on the charts where it
actually is, not at all uncommon by the way. Consequently, in the days
before the dead-nuts accuracy of GPS navigation, there were many
shipwrecks here.
Helen Reef is a raised limestone formation in the shape of an oval,
capped with coral reef. Most of it is submerged at high tide. In the
centre is a huge lagoon about 10-miles long and 3-miles wide, with minor
reefs and rocks inside. There is a serpentine entrance passage in the
outer reef, through which we picked our way. Fortunately for us,
another boat, SAMPAGUITA, had got there a day earlier and gave us clear
instructions, and a second boat, HARMONY-88, waited at the entrance so
that we would not have to go in alone. The sand spit islands are
populated only by wild life, such as sea birds and turtles.
As was the case with Indonesia, we had no visa for Palau. So, we hoped
that it would be unoccupied or at least that we would be allowed to stay
for a few days while we made the ship ready for the next leg. Palau
does not have a reputation for warmth and openness; on the contrary, it
is said that there is paperwork and high fees for every stop. On the
other hand, we had received reports that another yacht stopped there
recently and was welcomed. We need not have worried. We were welcomed
to stay as long as we needed, without hassle, fees or even paperwork.
There are only three people on Helen Island, one of a few very small,
nearly inconspicuous, sandy outcrops on Helen Reef. Currently, they are
Benedict, Flavin & Robinson the Helen Reef National Park Rangers
(they are posted for 2-months at a time). Yachts generally do not stop
here and tourists don't come there, as there are no facilities. About
the only visits they receive are from occasional SCUBA divers, who
arrive by boat, dive and leave. The Rangers told us that there had only
been a presence on the reef for about two years. Prior to that,
fishermen from other countries, mostly Indonesia and Taiwan literally
raped the reef; there was nothing left. We can see that much of the
coral was bombed out (it s making a good comeback), one Taiwanese
trawler was found to have caught what amounted to all of the muscles on
the reef (they are currently trying to restock it). Fish are now
abundant.
We (including the other 4 yachts) had several pot luck meals on the
island which the Park Rangers thoroughly enjoyed, as we invited them to
all of them. We suspect that these three guys get very lonely.
This report comes to you from the Western Pacific (2d 0m N 134d 10m E),
on a course of 108-degrees. We are two days out of Helen reef on our
way to the Ninigo Islands (Admiralty Islands) of PNG, with about 6-days
to go. Only HARMONY left when we did and they are about 20-miles away
and in radio contact. There is nobody out here, no fishermen, no ships,
nothing. More later! |
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