Waiting and Hoping

Sunday 5th June

I write these blog entries knowing that I can't post them but feel that I need to do so; much like writing in a diary, something I've never done previously. If I do get to post them, it will be because I've managed to get to another boat's SSB system or have found some source of internet.

Paul returned from a very brief trip to Padang only to have established that the broken coolant pump on our engine could not be welded. Our only choice now is to find a replacement locally or have the parts shipped in from the UK.

Our engine is based on a Kubota block, a fairly common one but that does not necessarily make all parts interchangeable. We could order the parts from the UK to ensure that we receive the correct item but here lies the next problem. The *$#@& debit cards we received do not allow us to use them for on-line purchases and our SA credit cards have expired: they wouldn't send us the new ones until just before the expiry date by which time we weren't anywhere to receive them; we'd hoped to arrange that once we got to Cocos Keeling.

As though things weren't bad enough, to make the entire thing really difficult, our only means of communication is via th SSB where we have managed (sometimes) to get a clear enough signal to speak to Mick on Zoa who has been an absolute pillar for us. We've also met Christie, a chap at a nearby surf camp; he was the one who took Paul to Padang (at great cost I might add) but has also proven to be very helpful with his contacts in Sumatra. At the moment, one of these contacts is trying to source the parts for us locally.

We had to brave the rough conditions to dinghy over to the surf resort 6nm to the south. It was not a pleasant escapade to say the least. Whilst there, we waited for the surf boats to return where we met Christie. We had heard from Pelagic that he would be going into Padang to drop off some of his guests and collect some more and Paul needed to catch a lift. Getting back into the dinghy in the huge swells and waves was a frightening experience followed by a journey through the rough seas for over an hour. I need some time to sette my nerves before I readily jump back into it again.

The weather has been shocking! We've had horrendous squalls after squalls which has given us the luxury of topping up the water tanks but are scaring the wits out of us in case we should drag during one of them. If that happens, we are doomed. We gather that these conditions have been hitting the entire region from way up at the top of Sumatra, all the way down to Cocos. While Paul was away for the two days, they hit one after the other and any semblance of bravery on my part literally blew away with each squall. Today is the first day (so far) that seems settled.

Monday 6th June

Yesterday proved to a great day weather-wise and today has promise as well.

Each night we listen to the fleet of boats heading across the Indian and 35 knots with four metre swells seems to be the norm so a few of them have experienced problems too. The fleet from the north is now meeting up the the southern group and here we sit......

Another couple we met in Borneo, Jack and Sandy on Zorana, are on their way down in this direction so if we can get the parts before too long, we may just have company on our crossing which would be comforting.

Tuesday, 7th June

Another good day with the weather. It seems as though that foul systems has blown itself out, hopefully to have vanished for good.

We received some great news yesterday.. It sounds promising that a replacement for the damaged part can be sourced in Surabaya on Java. If this is the case, it will be a lot faster and cheaper than importing one from the UK providing it actually does fit correctly.

All these negotiations are being done by our own version of tribal drums involving several different people in several different locations and several different methods of sending and receiving messages. Our primary form of contact is via the SSB where, twice a day, we chat with Mick on Zoa. He has done some research on our behalf and allows us to use his on-board email service to relay the sending and receiving of these messages. Secondly, Christie, the chap at the surf resort, has his agent in Padang looking for the parts and occasionally, we hear from him on the VHF radio. And then finally, Paul found out that if he climbs a tree on the top end of the island next to us, he can sometimes get a signal good enough to send an SMS. After that worked, he tried climbing the mast and that also worked from time to time This then enabled him to contact Rob back in Jepara to ask his assistance in paying the account out of monies still owing to us. This now solves another problem.

Wednesday, 8th June

Good news and bad news. The good news is, the offending part may have been order (not 100% sure though) and Rob will sort out the financial side of things for us. The bad news is, we finally managed to take down our shredded Genoa only to discover that the roller furler has seized - we cannot free it sufficiently to make it of any use to us. Even had we had a spare headsail, which we don't, we wouldn't be able to use it en route across the Indian. It looks as though we'll be restricted to either a storm sail or staysail. Assuming we'll get similar winds to the boats crossing now, that's not really a problem but if they turn light, this could be a much slower trip than anticipated. Two thousand four hundred miles to go to Rodrigues and no decent headsail - what more can go wrong?

Our genny, as a whole, looks as though it's still fairly intact which is a good thing but all the protective UV strip has ripped off. There's no way my little sewing machine can handle that but, as we don't have a roller furler, I guess that's not really an option anyway. Sometime there are advantages for simplicity: an old fashioned hank-on genny would be a godsend right now.

On this river, there is little or no traffic besides local canoes but today we got something different. Our evening entertainment was watching an enormous barge laden with cranes, back hoes, front-end loaders, tractors and trucks, pull up to a makeshift jetty which was, just last week, created by dumping sand and stone out into the river. As we can see no sign of a village, we were surprised that this road/jetty appeared out of nowhere in the jungle over a period of a couple of days. Trouble is, they forgot to level and flatten it to allow the vehicles to drive off the barge. As I type this, it's pitch black outside but we can hear all manner of shouting and screaming as they try to unload their cargo. TV was never this amusing.

Thursday, 9th June

Happy birthday Heather - sorry I'm not able to send these wishes to you but believe me, we're thinking of you.

It's has now been two days since we've been able to contact Christie. We still don't know for sure whether or not our part has definitely been confirmed as ordered. It's beginning to really concern us and I, for one, am starting to panic. We're running out of water with no means to make or get more and, true to form, it hasn't rained in the last six day. We're starting to make contingency plans e.g. can we somehow figure out a way to get the outboard strapped to the stern so that we can get some forward power? As we don't have a sugar scoop, this could be quite a challenge.

On the positive side, Zorana is on her way to us. We're stilll not convinced that there is much she can do as it woud be better if she were to head for Padang first with the chance they could do something about our part but communication has been abysmal and they say they'll come straight to us first. At least a friendly face would be a comfort even for a short while. They'll still have to return to Padang to check out but whether or not they'll be willing to return here again is another matter - it's 85nm from here to Padang; imagine doing that twice!

Friday, 10th June

At long last we heard from Christie from the surf camp. He can't possibly have realised how panicky we were getting just not knowing what was happening if anything. He has now confirmed that the part was on its way but his boat was leaving a day earlier than he'd originally told us so it's unikely that it would have made it on time.

However, the great news is, Zorana have arrived to help or at least give us moral support. What an absolutely wonderful sight to see them come around the corner towards us.

They joined us for dinner in the evening and we related all our horror stories and they, in turn, had a few of their own too. But it was just great to have someone help with bouncing ideas around. If the worst comes to the worst, they are willing to tow us to Padang.

Saturday, 11th June

Jack and Paul started working on the furler and discovered that the stainless straps are seriously bent. That probably happened when the samson post ripped out and whizzed past it. They're now trying a belts and braces tactic to see if there's any means of straightening it out.

We still haven't heard from the surf camp as to whether or not their boat picked up our parcel or anything else we requested. Paul needs more fibregass to fix the gaping hole in our foredeck as well as some other small bits and pieces for the engine. We can only cross our fingers and hold our thumbs in the hopes that we find a method to receive our parts if they weren't able to bring them.