Goodbye M2. 0°N. Motoring.

Current Date: 1st November 2025

Current Location: Belitung Island, Java Sea

Shaded from the hot sun.

It is HOT. We are only 2° south of the equator. By next week we should be back in the northern hemisphere for the first time since 2022. We've been on the move now for almost two years and we are getting tired. It's time for a break. We're flying home to the UK for Christmas to see friends and family which is a good job as our bodies need a rest. I've lost a big filling and need another, I have jock-itch of the groin and a fungal infection of my right big toe. Meanwhile both Gilly's pairs of night time glasses broke and are now repaired with epoxy and super glue. She's had three fevers over the past few months and a nasty livid fungal infection of her chest (thank you Dr Rose).

Now that's a nasty rash.

The day after Emma and Chris departed we left Labuan Bajo and began the hard 1,700 mile push along the rest of the western Indonesian islands and then north across the Java Sea to Belitung (where we are now). Just 800 of those miles left now until we hopefully arrive in Langkawi on the Thai border up the west coast of Malaysia. Before we get there though we must check out of Indonesia, cross the Straits off Singapore, check into Malaysia and travel up the notorious Malacca Straits.

Timing is key as we are now in the transition period between the favourable SE dry season and the adverse NW wet season. We don't want to be beating up the Malacca Straits against 30 knot NW winds and torrential rain. However the transition period is known for its complete lack of wind. So we've basically had two weeks of continuous motoring. No wind, hot days, lightning in the evening and monotonous flat seas. The odd dolphin, no fishing success, the engine rumbling on and on and the most rubbish we have ever seen at sea. And at every anchorage we are woken by the local muezzin calling the faithful to prayers at 4.30am. Each village broadcasts the call over loud tannoys, some beautiful to hear and some definitely in need of a bit more training.

Motoring on a flat sea.

Unfortunately shortly after leaving Flores the autopilot stopped responding and I can't get it to work again. However advance planning meant we carry a Tiller Pilot we can attach to the wheel as a temporary fix. It doesn't work in cross seas or sailing (there's no wind anyway) unless the sails are well balanced but it's better than nothing.

The makeshift autopilot operating in night mode.

Night passages are tiring.

We made our way west along the top of Sumbaya where we met up with Meraki who were a few days ahead of us. We treated the days apart as a "trial separation" in anticipation of our imminent parting shortly here in Belitung. And so on to Lombok where we stopped for fuel at the pretty little Medana Bay marina.

And thence to Java. We are only in Java because of fuel. With so much motoring we need lots of it and the smaller islands don't have any diesel to spare. Going to Java has added over 100 miles to the journey but the small resort cum jetty at Japara has diesel for sale. We anchor half a mile off land in almost no water and dinghy ashore loaded with jerry cans.

157million (!!) people live on the island of Java with Jakarta the capital of the thousands of islands that make up Indonesia. All those people need lots of fish. So there are lots of fishermen. Mostly they come streaming out as dusk approaches. Hundreds of them, small one man wooden boats each driven by one of those Chinese engines that basically looks like a strimmer installed to one side of the boat. They sound like helicopters approaching. Pretty indeed but with hundreds of them milling around it's hard to thread our way through the myriad of lights at night hoping against hope there are no nets strung between a pair of them. Some don't even have a light until we are about to mow them down.

Hundreds and hundreds of them.

Traditional Indonesian fishing boat - one of thousands!

At least we make fast progress except when the current turns against us. Well we did until we throttled down miles from nowhere and the engine coughed, stuttered but, thank goodness, kept going.

More motoring on a flat sea.

But later on the island of Belitung set in what is now the South China Sea Gill had a premonition that the engine wouldn't start. She was right! At least we were in a good safe anchorage. I quickly determined the problem as a leaking connection in the fuel line letting air into the system. The problem was the connection was not easily fixed. After some discussion Kevin and I decided the only solution was to take the offending part to an engineering workshop and have the female part re-tapped with a new male thread mating into it. By now we had been ashore to be met by Eddie the local restaurant man and general Mr Fixit. I say he was the restaurant man but it was his wife(?) who really ran the show. In a tiny kitchen they turned out delicious Indonesian meals for the several cruising boats that had now arrived.

Cruisers meetup at Eddie's.

But I digress. Also based out of the restaurant was Ringo with a car. Ringo knew a man. How far away? 20 minutes. OK, let's go. One minute along the road we arrived at Batuk's workshop that was really just a shack. What a mess! But he said he could fix it. We waited in the shed for two other jobs to be completed before he started on ours. Drilling, tapping, welding, searching for a bolt and an hour later there it was, fixed. Our saviour. Now we can set sail again. How much? 500, that's £25 a bargain. Gill started to pay him giving him 100 to start. He stopped her and went to get 50 change. All he wanted for that work was £2.50. We gave him the 100 which is actually 100,000 rupiah and left. Delighted we walked back along the beach to Eddie's where we bought two coconuts for, yes another 50,000 rupiah!

The Workshop.

New thread, plenty of PTFE tape.

Repair and coconuts.

Back at the boat Kevin and I quickly reassembled things. We switched on the engine and after a long session of bleeding the system and injectors it finally fired up. It sounded good but it was still leaking a bit. The thread was too loose. We tried adding O rings, tightening it further and using PTFE sealing tape. The latter proved the best but it still weeped a bit. After a quick internet query, thanks Geem, we decided to set off anyhow but with a few options up our sleeve in case of further failure. So far, so good.

Belitung was also our final refueling stop before our planned checkout at Nongsa Marina. Diesel, or Dex in Indonesia, is the best and preferred version here, but is notoriously hard to source. There are other less pure types available at a pinch. DexLite is passable but Solar made partly from recycled car tyres is probably best avoided and anyhow it's illegal for it to be sold to foreigners. Always go with your jerries to the pump to ensure you get Dex and Dex not cut with Solar.

Fuel station Belitung.

Fuel transfer, Belitung.

Here in Belitung we make our sad goodbyes to Kevin and Shawna on Meraki 2. They came over for a last home cooked pizza, the last bottle of bubbly and many hugs. Who knew that a chance meeting at Shelter Bay Marina in Panama back in 2021 would lead to us forming such a close relationship with these two amazing Canadians. Fair winds my friends as you sail north to  the Philippines, Japan, the Aleutians and home to Vancouver Island. I wonder where we'll meet again?

Goodbye Kevin and Shawna. Goodbye Meraki 2.

See you later guys.

7th November 2025

Mehalah has just crossed the equator and is back in the northern hemisphere for the first time in almost four years. As established shellbacks (previous crossers) we avoided any messy scenes this time but still felt the need to thank Neptune for keeping us safe. So as we did when we crossed close by the Galapagos we partook of a small libation of rum before donating the remainder of the glass to the god of the seas. Thank you Neptune for keeping us safe.

Rum for the sea god. (Note the flat sea).

As we left Belitung island we spotted another boat a few miles behind us. It was Matilda a Swedish boat we had briefly met on a couple of occasions previously. We called up Michael and Anneke on the radio and discussed the big squall that had just blown through. We agreed to travel to Nongsa Marina together and so started a new friendship. Mostly they travelled just ahead of us as it's easier to hand steer to a fixed object ahead than a compass bearing. It worked well. This section of the journey bought big squalls most mornings and grey, overcast weather.

Batten down the hatches, squall approaching.

We were all a bit nervous of this tricky section of the journey as Garmin in their wisdom had removed access to their Navionics charts of this part of the world. Disgraceful really as these are the electronic charts most cruisers use as their primary navigation tool. New charts had been promised back in Q3 but they never appeared. So we were relying on charts and satellite photos from OpenCPN an open source app, very powerful but a less intuitive app than Navionics. Amazingly when we finally got Starlink working again the new charts reappeared and we were able to use them up to Nongsa.

The seas here are very benign at this time of year so as well as the fishing boats there are also plenty of tugs. Each tug is attached to a tow barge full of something being towed from somewhere to somewhere else at a stately two to three knots.

Tug towing tow.

With the improvised autopilot (wind steering won't work with no wind) and a temperamental engine what else could go wrong? Well the furling drum for the foresail could break and the windlass refuse to operate correctly at the last anchorage before the marina. Poor Mehalah, she needs a rest too. After all we have travelled (mostly motored) pretty much every day since Emma left with several long days and half a dozen overnight passages.

9th November

Nongsa Point Marina, Batam Island 

Well we've made it. We arrived at the marina here around 11.30 this morning. The first marina for over 2,000 miles back in Darwin, Australia. And wow, what a place. No more impoverished, scruffy Indonesian villages. Batam Island lies just across the Straits from Singapore and plenty of Singapore's affluence has crossed the water to Batam.

The approach to the marina is interesting with two parallel channels each marked with their own red and green markers. It's easy to go down the wrong one though and try to cut across when you realise your mistake. Don't! It's too shallow. We managed fine and soon Roy the marina manager was welcoming us. He is Singaporean and looks more Chinese than the Indonesian people we are used to meeting. Anyway he was very organised, efficient and welcoming. Now we can relax for a day before attempting the dreaded crossing of the Singapore Strait, one of the busiest waterways in the world.

Nongsa Point Marina is privately owned and is an adjunct to an upmarket resort the facilities of which are open to arriving cruisers. "Come to our Sunday, all you eat brunch" they said. Great, we could do with a good fry up we thought. But instead we and Michael and Anneke from SV Matilda were led to golf buggies that took us to a sister resort. Packed with Singaporean ex-pats we sat down at our table and stared around. Across the lawns we looked out at the never ending row of ships ploughing along the straits. We couldn't believe the food available. Soups, crepes, Indonesian curries, cakes, pastas, beef wellington, tiny sandwiches, fruit and a free drink each, the list goes on. All delicious, beautifully displayed and cooked to order. We spent three hours testing it wondering what the cost of this sumptuous delight might be. When the bill arrived we were amazed to see it was 730,000 rupiah, barely £15 each.

Yum yum. First course (fish curry) of many.

Michael and Anneke choose the next course.

We finished the day with a swim in the pool and a walk through the resort marvelling at the newly erected Christmas decorations.

A tad over the top maybe but very welcoming.

So now we have just over 500 miles left until we arrive at Rebak Marina on the island of Langkawi close to the border with Thailand. Let's hope the passage up the Malacca Strait is relatively free of thunderstorms and pirates. Yesterday as we approach Nongsa our AIS sent an advisory message to keep a sharp eye out for these pirates in small boats though by all accounts the risk is now very low. Much more likely is we drive into one of the hundreds of ships in the straits.

Navigate with caution indeed.

Red = yesterday's targets to avoid. Yellow = tomorrow's targets!