What to do while you wait for… engine parts? the wind to change? your visas to arrive? the storm to blow over? Has anyone done a study on the amount of time cruisers spend waiting? What do you do while you wait?
WAITING Is a Big Part of Cruising
…But it’s not so bad. Sometimes it’s an opportunity to slow down and do the things you’re usually too busy to get done…
- Overhauling the outboard!
- Replacing seals and ruining the coffee!
- Spending time in a new place
- Renewing visas and getting boring admin done
- Going sailing!
- Snorkeling!
- Repairing the dinghy (on the beach)
- Getting to know Mr T, our fierce and beautiful tokay gecko!
- Learning about Amazing Seagrass!
We spent a lot of time underwater
After years of dynamite fishing was outlawed by Indonesia in 2004, the reefs around Gili Gede started to grow again.
But the authorities were slow to police the crime, so occasional bombing continued until the Coral Reef Rehabilitation and Management Program slowly took hold.
Then, during lockdown, fishers desperately trying to feed their families began using dynamite again. And swathes of wasted reefs and coral rubble appeared along the coast.
Now the world is on its way back to normal, and believe it or not, so are the reefs.
With initiatives from Bali to Komodo encouraging the fishing trade to revert to more traditional forms of fishing, the news is hopeful.
Here at High Dive Resort, just like the Pearl Resort on Gili Asahan, they have been planting coral beds, and it’s encouraging to see the new growth.
Seagrass
As cruisers, we’re used to checking what’s going on beneath us before dropping the anchor. The seabed could be a new or even an established coral garden.
But it’s not just coral we need to be looking out for. Did you know that one square meter of seagrass can generate 10 liters of oxygen… every day? Some of these meadows of seagrass are so large they can be identified from space. That’s a lot of oxygen!
They also keep our oceans clean, clear and healthy, and provide a home for thousands of marine species like shellfish, seahorses, manatees, dugongs and sea turtles.
So next time you’re looking for a good spot to drop the hook, don’t just check for coral, think about seagrasses too. All too often those super-habitats are ripped up by inappropriate moorings, anchors and boat propellers.
The staff at High Dive, many of them ex-fishermen, are rightly proud of the living reef they are helping to develop. And it was an unexpected highlight to snorkel through the healthy seagrass right on the resort’s doorstep.
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