Tual, Indonesia

We departed from Port Moresby at daybreak on Tuesday, August 28th.  The whole trip was a down wind sail and the first three days were super fast with 20+ knot winds.  We sailed through the Torres Strait over 30 or so hours and were contacted by the Australian Boarder Patrol who firmly, but politely asked us what we were up to...  After we cleared the shallow water of the Torres Strait the winds subsided down to 10-15 knots for the rest of the journey.

Our last day in Port Moresby....

We had some luck fishing and caught a good size Wahoo.  We also (unfortunately) caught a small shark and had an awful time getting back in the water without hurting it, or it eating us....  We also had company for most of the trip from a young Noddy Bird.  He (or she) would arrive late every day and roost somewhere on the boat overnight.  The next day, he would take off and do whatever Noddy birds do, only to return the next evening for a rest.  He stayed with us all the way to Indonesia, and it was only after we anchored did he not return....

As we approached Indonesian waters we began to see large numbers of unmarked (and often un-lit) fishing boats. Our digital radar came in very handy as we navigated through these waters.

There are times when technology really does make what we do safer!

Over 21 vessels and not a single one had AIS!

After 7 1/2 leisurely days of downwind sailing we arrived in the beautiful city of Tual Indonesia. We are anchored about 200 meters from the main shipping wharf in a calm bay.  Our main reason for being here in Tual is to check in and get settled for what we hope will be a 3-4 month visit in Indonesia.

Checking in to Indonesia has been a fairly complicated exercise, but thankfully not futile.  We were given our 60 day renewable visa before we left PNG, however, our boat paperwork got held up by a computer glitch in the Indonesian yachters registration system...  After 2 wasted weeks of failed attempts in Port Moresby, we finally hired an agent to file our paperwork and headed off for Tual... 

When we arrived, we still did not have the paperwork we needed...  We started the check in procedure knowing it wasn't until we reached customs that it would be a problem.

The procedure for checking into this country is quite complicated, but everyone we encountered were friendly and professional.  They even found someone to help us in English wherever we went.

Our day started in Quarantine where they asked all the important questions like were we sick, or are we bringing a disease into Indonesia...  We ferried an inspector out to our boat who looked everything over and photographed all our prescription medicine.  From Quarantine we hiked up a big hill to Immigration so they could do whatever they do...  We sat comfortably in an air conditioned room (the only one all day) while they worked on our visa which had already been issued in PNG...

We were now on our way to Customs where we knew we would have our problem with our unregistered yacht....  They listened politely to our long story about our failed attempt to preregister, and even tried to help us get online in their office...  Fortunately, they failed too.  In the mean time someone else contacted our agent and he forwarded our completed documentation to them....  We were now on our second trip to the boat with two young customs officers who thoroughly inspected the vessel.  After returning to shore we went back to customs where they declared we could stay! 

All we had to do now was visit the Harbor Master, for one more clearance....  So back down the hill we went only to find the Harbor Master out for lunch, and that we should return at 3...  So back to the boat for some lunch and a short siesta.  Promptly at 3 we were at the office and our paperwork was started....  One of the first questions we were asked was for our clearance papers from Port Moresby.  Unfortunately, Customs wanted to keep that document, so we no longer had it... Fortunately, my wife is a genius and took a picture of it before she gave it to customs!  Good enough, all we did was hook up to their Internet and we emailed the picture to them...

In the end, we spent 8 hours checking into Indonesia!  To be clear, this was not an unpleasant experience, just very involved and long...

Today, we found Internet, got local currency, bought some groceries, and got a bit of a tour of Tual and Langgur (the town across the bridge).  We met Tukan who speaks passable English and drives yachties around for $10 per hour including fuel.

YES, Shelley and I are MILLIONARES here in Indonesia!

 

Government Building

 We will likely stay here for a few more days before we set out to explore this very different (to us) part of the world.  The two words that come to mind so far are COLORFUL and FRIENDLY.  Eveywhere we go we see vibrant colors and incredibly friendly people....

More soon...