If four waterspouts appeared in front of you, where would you go, what do you do?
Heading North to Malaysia
We sailed well for the rest of the day, but by the late afternoon the sky began to darken. Heavy clouds gathered behind us; then I saw the first water spout.
As you’re probably aware, from recent news at the time of writing, waterspouts are dangerous. And unpredictable. To make matters worse, another spout began to develop, and then another one fell out of the cloud.
We’d never seen anything like this before!
What would you do?
We are far too slow to outrun Mother Nature, so there was nothing we could do other than wait and watch. It was a mesmerising spectacle. SY Esper is a strong, well-found boat, and she’s taken us through some dangerous times. So although a little nervous, we just got on with it, strapping everything down, putting the whisker pole away and hoping for the best.
Waterspouts appeared and dissipated alongside us for a couple of hours until night fell and the weather turned benign.
Night Sailing past Pulau Bangka
Having sailed past Bangka before, we knew there were going to be many FADs (Fish Aggregating Devices) in the area. They would be our biggest hazard to navigation. Angled, brutal structures, usually unlit and bobbing around in the waves, they’re not charted. They appear all over the Java Sea. So we were glad when the sun came up and we had managed to navigate past them unscathed.
Non-stop Past Pulau Lingga
Despite the hazards early on, we had a cracking sail up to Lingga Island, the first of the group of islands that sit south of Singapore.
We approached in the dark.
With no moonlight, random fishing boats at anchor lit by pink glowing lights, commercial ships bearing down on us, and a rolling fetch from behind, it was a technically challenging sail. This was compounded by a strong current that had us approaching the tip of the island at 30 degrees off our COG (course over ground).
To round the corner of Lingga, we needed to steer directly at the promontory, its outline barely visible in the moonless night. But as soon as we had tucked around the corner, the seas flattened and dawn broke.
From hereon, it would be plain sailing…
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