Fremantle to Bali rally May 2015
PASSAGE: WONDERFUL INDONESIA FREMANTLE TO BALI RALLY
18 – 28 May 2015
Crew: Warren Batt (NZ) Skipper / navigator
Trish Meyer (NZ) First mate / strings / chef
Matt Duff (Aus) Helmsman / trimmer
Robbie Law (Aus) Bowman /Helmsman
Mark Kilkelly (Aus/USA) Trimmer
Tom Batt (Aus) Helmsman / trimmer
Morgan Batt (NZ) Cabin boy
Mon 18 May 2015
Crossed start line off FSC at 1015 hrs bound for Benoa, Log 32133 nm. Noon position 31 52S 115 32E. Log 32145 nm. Log distance from start 12 nm. Course 293oM at 7.1 kn. Wind SSE F3-4. Sea slight, swell WNW 1-2 m. Barometer 1017. Partly cloudy. Water temperature 17.1oC.
Dawn a marked improvement on weekend. Crew arrived 0700 hrs for final preparation. Robbie, “… where’s the masthead halyard?” –and the sinking realisation it’s in the mainsail bag still sitting at the freight agent’s warehouse back in Auckland. Customs arrived 0730 hrs to check us off and deliver clearance certificate. Anchor chain and lazarette stowed, sheets run. Radio check with Fremantle Race Control on Ch. 72 and 4146 (confirmation no. J15) at 0850 hrs. A last minute rush to complete the Rally log sheet and deliver to a waiting Tristan with no time to realistically determine ETA’s of arrival at key latitudes. Left fuelling jetty 0940 hrs, hoisted main and arrived in start area as racing fleet got under way at 1000 hrs.
Hit the start line 1015 hrs on the gun at the favoured boat end clear in front of the rest of the rally fleet and set course leaving Rottnest to port. Wind F4 SE. The stress on the past 9 days evaporated – too late to address any outstanding issues, and a silent thank you to the weather gods who gave us an extra 2 days to complete preparation! Asymmetric cruising kite hoisted shortly after start while a camera boat attempted to take unflattering photos as spinnaker was set and headsail furled. Making over 7 knots broad reaching in 11 knots of breeze until spinnaker suddenly self-destructed just over 2 hours into the “race” as we left the lee of Rottnest and sailed into the 2 -3 metre swell – 14 years old and the seams couldn’t take it anymore. Hoisted Code 0 which performed well running fairly deep on a NW to NNW course. Wind increasing to F5 late in the afternoon. Entered Abrohlos Current about 1400 hrs with water temperatures increasing from 17 to 20oC and up to 1.5 kn current against us. Helm steerage temporarily lost by Matt at 1700 hrs – assumed air still in helm pump despite work completed by engineers on Friday. Changed over to Reg (the autopilot) with push button control of angles by helmsman and problem eliminated. Prudence prevailed and Code 0 dropped before nightfall. Furling headsail reset poled out to windward on port tack. 1800 hrs position report 31 29S 115 03E Reefed main 1955 hrs – wind F5-6 backing SSE and gusting F6-7, sea rough. Some crew members succumbing to mal de mer – Matt disgraces himself and doesn’t clear the cockpit – skipper’s job to clean up! Boat speed hit 15.5 kn on Tom and Marks’ watch. Maintained course while most yachts gybed inshore. Audeamus on AIS only 6 nm ahead at 2300 hrs
Tues 19 May 2015
Noon position 29 43S 113 30E. Log 32346 nm. Noon to noon run 201 nm. Course 350oM at 7.6 kn. Wind SE F5. Sea moderate to rough, swell SSW 2 m. Barometer 1022 steady. Partly cloudy. Water temperature 19.6oC.
Sailmail Blog Tues 19 0415 WAST Posn 30 27S 114 13E: Day 2
After 2 postponements which gave 2 more invaluable days to finish boat preparation we finally set sail for Bali at 1015 hrs yesterday morning with a crew of 7 – Trish, Tom, Robbie, Mark, Matt, Warren and Morgan, the youngest crew member in the fleet! The weekend was miserable – winds gusting over 40 knots in the club and 2-3 inches of rain as a small low passed us to the south. Wasn’t conducive for much at all! Getting out of our dock on Sunday to refuel was a drama beam onto the strong wind, and despite the best of planning we still managed whack the port gunwale against a leeward pile (only cosmetic damage) and Tom managed to bend a stanchion when the line he was running jammed. Once clear we couldn’t get the bow around into the wind and only with great difficulty got the stern around so we could reverse out into open water. Of course they postponed the start only an hour or so later, after all our adrenalin charged effort. The 9 day lead up to the start was a mad scramble to complete tasks, many that were meant to have been completed while we were away, including the new dodger that was finally fitted late Friday afternoon. The only respite was Mothers’ Day which was a beautiful sunny and warm day with families out in full in the parks and cafes of Fremantle. We indulged in a leisurely brunch, a ride in a Ferris wheel which gave great views over Fremantle town, harbours and Gage Roads to seaward, and a bottle of bubbly to wile away the afternoon back at the club while Morgan played with new found playmates in the very nautical kids playground/ giant sandpit adjoining the club terrace.
So, much poorer and rather worn out, we are on our way to warmer exotic waters. While we are not in the racing division we were the first rally boat to cross the line on the gun, and after 18 hours are in still touch with the body of the racing fleet which started 15 minutes in front of us. We managed to destroy the asymmetric (cruising) spinnaker only 2 hours into the race (oops, rally), or rather it self-destructed in a big swell in otherwise rather benign conditions. No great loss (it was 14 years old and probably past its use-by date), but it followed the realisation that the masthead spinnaker halyard was not on board, having been in a sail bag the shippers had been unable to forward to us in time. Feeling badly about this because we had hoped to get some assistance from the masthead spinnaker in lighter and flatter water to the north – doesn’t make Robbie the bow man very happy! It’s been blowing 20-30 knots all night and we have made good time under a reefed main and poled-out head genoa, hitting top speeds of 15 knots (Tom and Mark on watch with Reg the autopilot doing all the work). Morning position report is about to start at 0600 hrs and we will find out where we stand.
Wed 20 May 2015
Noon position 26 48S 112 08E. Log 32557 nm. Noon to noon run 211 nm. Track since start 382 nm; DMG towards Benoa 359 nm. Course 330oM at 7.2 kn. Wind SE F5. Sea moderate, swell SW 2-3 m. Barometer 1022 steady. Partly cloudy. Water temperature 22oC.
Sailmail Blog Wed 20 0030 WAST Blog Posn 28 07S 112 56E: Day 3
Having a great run up the west coast of Australia with a 20 -25 knots southeasterly. We are about 70 miles off shore and should be able to “round the corner” for Bali late tomorrow night. All well on board and eating – what a difference having the wind behind makes! We are holding our own against the other rally boats who are largely bunched up on the coast. Better still we are 32 miles ahead of ‘Slipstream’ with whom we have a bet on who’s first to Bali, the prize being the customary bottle of rum. They are in racing division. Our other good friends on ‘Endorfin’ (the boat I did the Sydney Hobart on at Christmas) have had to withdraw to Geraldton to check their rudder after tangling with crayfish pots in the early hours of yesterday morning. Hopefully they will be able to continue although any chance of winning will have been lost – must be very frustrating after all the effort put into preparation. Still a long way to go and anything can happen – 30 mile ahead can become 30 miles behind so easily. Meanwhile we will look forward to warmth and sunshine just a day or two ahead – the water is already to 22 degrees.
Thurs 21 May 2015
Noon position 24 24S 111 52E. Log 32724 nm. Noon to noon run 167 nm; Track 148 nm; DMG 116 nm. Course 340oM at 6.6 kn. Wind SSW F3. Sea slight, swell S 1-2 m. Barometer 1017 falling. Clear skies. Water temperature 22oC.
Sailmail Blog Thurs 21 0100 WAST Posn 25 25S 11 55E: Day 4 and the mood aboard lifts tangibly as skies clear, the sun shines by day and the evening stars pin prick our heavenly cloisters. The crew are becoming quite perky. The Pahia bombs seem to have done the trick for Tom as we induct him to the joys of life under canvas, this being his first ocean passage since a torrid trip down the coast from Dampier as a teenager when helping deliver Mustang Sally to Fremantle 20 years ago. Admittedly, none of us would have liked to have been sailing south in the conditions experienced over the last 2 days – 15-20 knots apparent and following seas become 30-35 knots across the deck and slamming and crashing over the 3 – 4 metre waves. The wind has eased now to 15 knots and the sea has moderated as we run due north under full main and poled out headsail, regretting the loss of our spinnaker. Still, we have had a great run, logging 211 miles from noon to noon yesterday and 514 miles since crossing the start line. Bali is only a thousand miles away. The big question now is which way to go – west and intuitively away from our destination to ensure better wind or NNE along the rhumb line apparently favoured by the bulk of the fleet. Tune in tomorrow for our decision.
Fri 22 May 2015
Noon position 22 13S 110 46E. Log 32862 nm. Noon to noon run 138 nm; Track 147 nm; DMG 111 nm. Course 325oM at 5.6 kn. Wind SSW F2. Sea smooth, swell S <1 m. Barometer 1016 falling. Partly cloudy cumulus with haze developing. Water temperature 24oC.
Morgan during his happy hour duties
Sailmail Blog Fri 22 0200 WAST Posn 23 03S 111 11E: Day 5 – well we have made the decision and gone left. From a strictly sailing point of view it still looks the best option unless you are prepared to motor all the way up the rhumb line – an option we rally participants have (if carrying enough fuel), but not the racers. We would like to sail all the way, but conditions for everyone look light ahead (except for the very front runners). We only managed 148 miles noon to noon yesterday, but we did get the masthead kite up in the afternoon after splicing a tail to one of the fractional spinnaker halyards and sending Robbie up the mast to rerun the halyards. All went very smoothly even if Robbie did come down a little squeamish – a slight roll on the deck is greatly amplified at the masthead! Morgan is revelling in these conditions, appearing in the cockpit more and more, mainly to terrorise his big brother, who has been stabbed and shot multiple times today. Appetites are growing and happy hour is stretching out to 3 beers, but not before the kite has been retrieved for the night (too much risk of damaging the sail while shorthanded and unable to see the trim in the dark). The nights are black with a slither of a crescent moon and Venus sinking below the horizon early in the evening.
Sat 23 May 2015
Noon position 20 20S 110 29E. Log 32985 nm. Noon to noon run 123 nm; Track 125 nm; DMG 100 nm. Course 005oM at 7.5 kn. Wind SE F4. Sea moderate, swell S low. Barometer 1015 falling. Partly cloudy cumulus. Water temperature 24.5oC.
Sailmail Blog Sat 23 0430 WAST Posn 21 11S 110 19E: Day 6 – only 797 miles to go and at long last we are heading more or less directly for Bali. Its been a slow day. Yesterday’s noon to run was only 138 miles, and since noon progress has been painful and still clawing westward. We are now further west than any other boat by about 170 miles. But we still made better distance north than most of the fleet stuck on the coast south of NW Cape, flying the big masthead kite from dawn to dusk. Conditions have been benign enough for Tom to work below all afternoon on linking sat phones and the AIS system to the on board computers (who would have believed that a week ago). We gybed an hour ago to lay Benoa as the wind backed from S – SSW to SSE and for the first time in 16 hours have seen boat speeds above 4 knots. Ship board life is settling into routine – the raucous Red Watch comprising Robbie, Matt and Trish whose laughter from the cockpit disturbs the off-watch sleeping below, and the quiet, considerate Green Watch who converse in murmured tones while the skipper writes emails and makes navigation decisions from his navigator’s chair. Needless to say the rowdy ones are the biggest beer drinkers during happy hour that commences at 1700 hrs each day, although still in moderation. Most of the sailing is done by Robbie, Tom, Matt and Mark while Trish teaches and entertains Morgan in the aft cabin during the day and prepares the evening meal, although she is always on hand for the gybes and spinnaker hoists and drops. Morgan has become quite aware of the innate competitive element of sailors and is keen to be first something to reach Bali, though it won’t be the first yacht, with the leading racing fliers 400 miles ahead of us. Still we were the sixth of 20 boats to cross the mandatory reporting line at latitude 21 deg 45 min E, and we have sailed a lot more miles. Water temperature is now 24 degrees and the days sunny – baths are on the aft platform are becoming de rigueur of the day.
Sun 24 May 2015
Noon position 17 16S 110 30E. Log 33182 nm. Noon to noon run 196 nm; Track 184 nm; DMG 165 nm. Course 355oM at 8.5 kn. Wind SE F5. Sea moderate. Barometer 1013 falling. Partly cloudy cumulus. Water temperature 26oC.
Sailmail Blog Sun 24 0430 WAST Posn 171 04S 110 30E: Day 7 – great run northwards since yesterday morning in 15 – 25 kn SE’ly – yesterday’s noon to noon run 196 miles. Will our strategy bear fruit? Nothing much in it this morning with our arch competitor only 4 miles further from Benoa than us, but about 170 miles to east. All the boats on or close to the rhumb line should sail into a hole today and make poor progress over the next 36 hours while we continue to have pressure to the west as we arc around to Bali – well that is what we are gambling. No major developments on board except skipper spent an hour and a half on his knees clearing bilge pumps and pumping the bilges dry after forgetting to close the valve that stops galley and sea water draining to the sullage tank when pressed on starboard tack (for several days). Trish not pleased after spending days in Fremantle cleaning out the same bilges! Only 568 miles to go – time to re-hoist the big kite as the breeze moderates.
Mon 25 May 2015
Noon position 16 33S 110 29E. Log 3379 nm. Noon to noon run 198 nm; Track 179 nm; DMG 176 nm. Course 035oM at 4.4 kn. Wind S F2. Sea slight. Barometer 1011 falling. Partly cloudy cumulus. Water temperature 26.5oC.
Sailmail Blog Mon 25 1100 WAST Posn 14 38S 111 36E: Day 8 – arch competitor now 75 miles further from Benoa than us. We’ve made great gains over the last couple of skeds, recording the greatest distances of any boat made towards Bali, and we now lie 6th in the fleet. At long last we have the Code 0 (a large light weight gennaker – one of our secret weapons) flying in a gentle SE’ly. Today is sunny and warm and distinctly tropical with a cotton wool clouds developing as the day goes on – a marked contrast to yesterday’s low grey clouds and scattered heavy showers. Only 410 miles to go to a cold Bintang.
Tues 26 May 2015
Noon position 12 49S 113 04 E. Log 33523 nm. Noon to noon run 144 nm; Track 144nm; DMG 140 nm. Course 015oM at 7.5 kn. Wind ENE F2. Sea slight, swell S low. Barometer 1009 falling. Partly cloudy cumulus. Water temperature 26.5oC.
Sailmail Blog Tues 26th 1100 WAST Posn 12 44S 111 36E: Day 9 – abruptly ran out of wind 1730 hrs last night as we cleared the belt of clouds and storms giving us wind over the last 2 days. Yesterday’s rainstorms were intense but isolated and we managed to stay clear of them although treated with the spectacle of waterspouts in the distance. We used up our engine allowance last night motoring for 12 hours into very light head winds before the breeze finally veered eastwards and gradually strengthened from daybreak when we stopped motoring. We are now averaging 3-4 knots in a 6-7 knot ENE’ly almost laying Benoa. The wind is forecast to veer further east and strengthen to 10-12 kn to give us, hopefully, a fast fetch over the last 270 miles to the finish. Humidity has dropped after passing out of the storm belt to give us a very pleasant day. The sea has been pretty lifeless apart from an intense tuna boil quarter of a mile abeam yesterday and a pod of small leaping dolphins that joined us for a while in the early hours of this morning. The flying fish are few and far between and not long out of kindergarten and there are no birds. The distant loom of unidentified lights at night are testament to the depletion of the seas by over fishing, much illegal – the boats, probably seiners, don’t transmit on AIS which is meant to be mandatory for all boats over 300 tonnes displacement. But the ultimate obscenity was miles of deep blue ocean 400 miles off Java polluted by shredded plastic rubbish like a vast shoal of inert jellyfish – I have never seen it so bad, with densities of up to one piece per square metre in all shapes, sizes and sources. Matt suggested a more effective competition would have been for each cruising yacht in the rally to troll a net to see who could collect the most rubbish and dump it all on the doorstep of the Balinese governor, but then Matt was always a bit of an anarchist. However the blame can’t be all laid on Indonesia and other poorer nations of the world assailed by the rampant marketing and consumerism of the west without any effective garbage management in place. Maybe targeted aid based on a plastic tax would assist alleviate what is becoming a global problem.It makes our laws governing disposal of plastic at sea a bit of joke – all the plastic garbage we carefully bag and store on the boat for disposal on arrival at Bali will probably end up returned to the sea anyway! But returning to our little cosmos, Morgan has discovered a new delight – sitting on the duckboard (attached by hisharness) allowing the surging wake to wash over him – a bubbly frothy 27 degree saltwater spa. The promise of a “bath” is now an incentive for him to finish his daily school work. He has adjusted well to shipboard life with only passing interest as to when we might finish.
Wed 27 May 2015
Noon position 10 53S 114 00 E. Log 33649 nm. Noon to noon run 126 nm; Track 121nm; DMG 119 nm. Course 030oM at 5.0 kn. Wind SE F4. Sea moderate, swell S low. Barometer 1015 falling. Partly cloudy cumulus. Water temperature 24.5o
Sailmail Blog Wed 27th 2300 WAST Posn 09 53S 114 36E: Day 10 – There is a tang in the air – of mangroves and wrack, the distinct salty smell of a distant shore with nearest land less than 50 miles away on the SE corner of Java. Only 76 miles to the finish. The breeze has kicked in and veered ESE at long last and is giving us a fast reach at 7 knots in 8-10 kn of breeze which should help us maintain our position as the 6th yacht and first rally monohull to cross the line with our closest threat being Equinox who appears to have been motoring for the last 24 hours or more and made great gains on us between the 0800 and 1800 hr position reports. Otherwise, Slipstream remains well back and our our “go west” strategy appears to have paid off. The day, although close to a perfect tropical day – balmy with a gentle cooing breeze, has been frustrating with the wind persistently staying E to ENE at forcing us to sail close hauled in a light breeze of 7-10 kn with a knot of current against us. We saw our first ship this afternoon since we left the shipping lanes off the NW coast of WA – a decrepit looking fishing boat either lying to sea anchor or hauling a seine net from the bow which we passed 1 mile to port, and VHF channel 16 is kicking in from time to time – all signs we are getting closer to civilisation. Happy hours are becoming more jovial the closer we are to the finish in anticipation of the party(ies), and Matt, our pet anarchist keeps us well entertained. Morgan has been immersed in a computer game (“minecraft”) involving building and construction which he has just got the gist of after downloading it before we left Fremantle. Amazing how a 5 year old can intuitively learn what is quite a complex spatial arrangement game without instructions! Our last night, and probably our last blog on passage as the clouds begin to fill the sky again, the waxing moon having just sunk below the horizon.
Thur 28 May 2015
Crossed finish line approximately 1100 hrs.. Log 33808 nm. Noon to finish run 159 nm; Track 122 nm; DMG 151 nm.. Wind SE F3. Sea slight, swell S low. Barometer 1008.5 falling. Partly cloudy cumulus. Water temperature 24.5oC.Wind backed SE F2-3 in early hours of morning. Furled headsail and hoisted code 0 for steady 7 knots of boat speed until 2 miles from the finish. Satellite call to Bali Race Control at 0725 hrs to advise pending arrival (unable to raise on CH 72 VHF). 0800 postion report 09 00S 115 10E. Comfortably ahead of Equinox and only 2 miles behind Sue Sea after great night sail. Started engine 6 mile from Finish line and motor sailed in easing breeze going aft. Overtook Sue Sea. Dropped Code 0 before gybing and stopping engine to cross finish line under sail alone. Waited for Sue Sea to cross line 15 mins later before being escorted to Bali marina by BRC boat (Trevor Milton, Ron Greer). Met on dock by Terry Baker, Bob Kucera, Rob Thomas and Jaylee. A satisfying end to a satisfying passage even if not “racing”.