Ninigo Islands

The tall tales of the wonderful Ninigo group were all true! We've truly reached the South Pacific. We were welcomed on arrival by Slim and invited to anchor off Mal Islands where we befriended Steven and family. Our friends here were unbelievably hospitable - we thought we might stay forever.

We were always invited to share in treats - one morning this happened to be freshly caught turtle. Caught by spear - vegos be warned - and while the butchering was a little startling, the taste was really delicious. The Ninigo Islanders have been eating turtle since forever, with such a small population to feed, turtles and food are in abundance. Not one part of the animal was wasted too - even the intestines were used - as balloons for the kids!

One day we were invited to sail with Dominic and his father aboard their hand built sailing canoe. With logging on the increase on mainland, stray logs washing up on the Ninigo beaches has brought about a resurgance in the use of traditional sailing canoes. This boat could move - even with the 4 of us we were skipping over the water at over 10knots.

Mr Krein took us on a tour of the local school, traditional style buildings with wide open windows looking over the clear blue sea. Not sure I could focus on the blackboard here!

The launch of a newly built canoe was a big affair including Steven, our host on Mal Island blessing the new boat, singing, flowers, a feast and a canoe race in which we featured as guest crew. What an amazing day spent with beautiful people. Steven even gave Simon the shirt off his back - the one he is wearing while blessing the canoe.

Steven's fmaily taught us how to make coconut milk and oil, grinding the coconut then squeezing the grindings. It was hard work but the oil was delicious, flavoursome  and super useful - cooking, oil lamps, the body... Like I need an encouraging on the benefits of a daily coconut! Thyme was now bursting at the seams with fresh food too. Everyday piles of produce would be rowed out to us, while the families expected nothing in return we had stocked up on some supplies for trading and basic goods are in desperate need here. I hate to confess for fear of backlash but a packet of ciggies buys a lot of crayfish!

A supply ship arrives only once or twice a year, and as you imagine money on a small atoll a few hundred miles out to sea is not easy to come by, nor much use most of the time so trading was well received. Max and Nadine's bag of clothes has finally run out.

Tears were definitely shed departing Steven and his family on Mal Island, Ninigo, but with no wind on the near horizon we had better bite the bullet and keep moving closer to our destination - next stop Heina Atoll.

To Jayapura

Our trip to Jayapura is colored with village life. We visited island after island of the kindest and most gentle people we have met. A surprise, as at first glance the Papuans dark skin, curly mops and incredibly strong bodies cut an intimidating figure. Wherever we sailed, we were greeted by a dugout with cries pointing to the best anchorage and assurances that it “ Dis ini aman” (Here is safe). Our days were filled with laughter.

Here are a few glimpses of some of the incredibly humble, happy and gentle Papuans we met along the way.

 Above left, Rickson, friends and family farewelling us from PP Mamboor.  Above right, Aba and John trying their first Cheroot.

Above left, John with his daughter hitching a ride - wonder how old she is? Above Right, Mathieus, Aba, friends and family. 

Our days in Kapung Warosa were filled with a steady stream of visitors. Children are the same wherever you go, and they all managed to find small scratches to get plasters.

Incredibly poor, most of the children were running around in 4th and 5th hand clothes, if at all and often gender was difficult to decipher with baby boys wearing pink frills. Max and Nadine’s baby clothes were much needed and greatly appreciated!
Max & Nadine are our lovely previous crew from Germany who brought a huge Maori suitcase all the way from Europe of donated childrens clothes that we’ve steadily been distributing for the last few months – it’s been a fantastic idea – wherever we go and one child gets some clothes, steadily all the children are brought out for a treat too – seeing these children wearing nice clothes is a real pleasure.

One of my favourites was P. Wakde where we were befriended by Macolod, we were all taken in by his gentle manner and tales of the islands history. A colourful history too as we discovered when Macolod and his friend Victoria kindly showed us around the island. We found Japanese gun boats riddled with bullet holes. An old overgrown runway used by both the Japanese and then the allies during the war. They even had a single dog tag from an American soldier. The island has plenty of bird life and even spotted cous cous.

We managed to discover WWII wrecks around the island with the help of drawings in the sand. Unfortunately visibility was poor due to recent rain and even waiting the squall to clear didn’t help so we’ve marked the waypoints and saved these for next time!

Saying farewell to Wakde and Macolod was particularly sad. It marks the completion of a great passage we’ve shared with Jean, and brings closer the end of our West Papuan adventure… I hope we come back this way again and see our newfound friends. On the bright side, at least we a travelling on Thyme and not the well loaded Perentis ferry!

Here's a map of our route over West Papua. I think waiting to later in the season (November being the NW transition) has paid off as we've experienced much better weather and less unfavourable current than normal. Let's hope it stays that way for our journey into PNG.

Into the wild, Cendarawasih Bay

Our brief stop in Manokwari was extended as we made the most of the friendly town facilities restocking at the local market, sourcing fuel and getting some locally made Batik fabrics. In between awaiting the delivery of fuel we were accompanied by a steady stream of children who swam out to the boat on various flotation devices to visit. 

Worth mentioning, fuel can’t be purchased from the service station in jerry’s. Locals have devised an ingenious method of getting government subsidized fuel and making a buck by fitting their large 4x4swith an easy access tank taps so you can fill up at the servo for 4,500rp, cross the street and empty it into jerry’s which you can sell to the fisherman and us for anywhere up to 7,000rp depending on your bargaining skills and demand This often means a long wait for fuel as each vehicle is only allowed to fill up once per day.

 The afternoon whiteouts and cloudy skies did not stop us exploring once we reached Rumberpon where our Google Earth images came in handy for finding our way thru reef in the rain squalls. Cendarawasih Bay did not disappoint, with steep jungle clad mountains to our right and countless islets fringed with reef on our left, we found mangroves and deserted white beaches with the odd dugout parked in the trees. Finding water shallow enough to anchor in was the only challenge.

As always there are plans and then plans when sailing and as we stumbled upon a small islet group south of Rumberpon we couldn’t resist exploring. A recon reef snorkel was so surprisingly beautiful we were encouraged to dive the drop off. We also took time meeting the local farmer and exploring the surrounding beaches for climbable coconut trees.

We managed to squeeze in a small hike to the top of a nearby hill, giving great views of the surrounding area. Jean survived the first of our walks, but needless to say returned hot, sweaty and covered in dirt. We thought we had better break out Thyme’s fine Kentucky Bourbon to aid recovery.

Jean must be a magician, as along with the copious amount of boat goodies she carried from the Kentucky in the US for us in her super small bag, she also managed to squeeze in this personalized fifth of Kentucky Fine Bourbon Whiskey.

Continuing south deeper into the remote, Jean and myself explored beneath the water, finding all sorts of interesting fish, sharks and critters while Simon rested, recovering from yet another infected cut, this time with fevers! What are we going to do with him? The locals were so friendly but being this remote we were keen to remain cautious and created a fictitious male, swarmee (husband) of Jean called “George”. Unfortunately when locals visited, big strong George was resting so they couldn’t come aboard. Many ignored this and at times we had over 10 people on the boat at once, all very curious as they never have kapal layer (yachts) visit.

In Nusaneer we met a lovely man who climbed the coconut trees and returned with no less than 14 fresh green coconuts in exchange for a packet of Malboro 20s. He ended up spending the afternoon onboard before showing us the local waterfall and washing area… Jean and I were in hair washing heaven! I’ve included a photo of Simon trying to light a beach fire. As most of you are aware Simon is not renowned for his fire lighting skills. Needless to say he’s pretty handy with accelerants.

Sailing onto Palau Roon we dived a Zero Japanese aircraft wreck one afternoon. We got some great photos with Jean’s new toy – the GoPro underwater camera. She quite cleverly catches Simon giving the wreck a thorough once over, luckily there was nothing he could pry off by hand. I was more interested in the Crocodile Fish sitting in the wing crevice.

It was here we came across the lovely Cedrick and the Black Manta tour boat. Given we had jumped straight in and dived the wreck first with our hookah unit we were quite surprised when Cedrick approached, inviting us to visit, supplies and assistance if we needed anything. He was free with sharing info on the Whale Sharks and I as I write we are headed south ready to look below in pursuit of the big fish – fingers crossed!

The sun is shining - off to Manokwari

The sun is shining in Manokwari… well at least metaphorically if not physically. Simon is getting stronger everyday although small jobs and physical activity still take it out of him. For example the generator which he pulled into a million bits searching for the fuel blockage, only to find the vent on the fuel cap was blocked. Also, while he still can’t climb the palms, he can at least now open the coconuts to keep up the daily supply I’ve become accustomed to. Jean, our new crew from the US is getting into the electrolyte properties of the coconut after scrubbing the bottom of the hull – nothing at all to do with the rum…

With the swell rolling in from the ENE, and the wind on the nose it made for a bit of a slow trip with a shortage of anchorage choices. One good score was the lovely calm anchorage and friendly town in Sansapor where we made it to town in perfect timing for the local weekly soccer match. We were met at the wharf by a million smiling children and a very kind local who became our guide for the afternoon.

 While the passage to Manokwari, and Jean’s first overnighter did include 30 hours motoring into the wind and current, the clear waters, whale, dolphins and huge Wahoo more than made up for it.

Our first stop in Manokwari couldn’t have been nicer, white sand beach, crystal clean water and chilled tunes from the shore welcomed us at the local weekend spot for family picnics. Before long we had many visitors swimming out to the boat – still a bit unsure of safety in Papua, the adults bobbed around in the water clinging to tyre tubes and water bottles for flotation while the curious children poked their grinning faces into every window they could, squealing with delight in between, “shhhh’s, Simon tedore” (Simon’s sleeping).

At our next stop, Mansinam Island we really knew we were in Papua. We followed a bougainvillea lined path and brightly coloured houses to tunes of the singing in church. Slowly the locals began to pass us, dressed in their Sunday best, beautiful Batik dresses and shirts with big betel nut grins.

After a stop in Manokwari town proper for supplies, we’re heading south into the famous Cendarawasih Bay where the underwater marine life is prolific and the whale sharks swim.

Wild Masbate & the Asid Gulf

After 8 weeks of crew, we set off for Masbate feeling a little lost with only the 2 of us aboard. It did however give us a chance to get some jobs done - sewing repairs, varnishing and installing our new marble sink, which finally arrived after 10 days. I’m glad I paid extra for a 2 day priority job?

Finally found enough Internet to upload the Marble video.



Our expedition ashore to find beer and meat produced only beer but we did gather intelligence that informed us that both beef and pork were available at the fish market between 4am and 6am. The following morning with torch in hand we made the journey at 4.30am and weighed anchor shortly afterwards, the boat now 10kgs heavier with a happy captain.

Our trip around southern Masbate, where its believed to be a little unsafe, proved uneventful however the caretakers (Arlene and Renny with their son Michael Ryan) on Namatian Island did tell us that the 2 islands close by were at war and shooting each other... it wasn’t a good place to stop.

We were invited over the following morning to see the fishermen all arriving with their catch. This is then salted overnight before being rinsed and laid out for drying in the sun for 2 days. Amanda keen to earn 10 cents a screen got stuck in to laying out the fish. The fishermen get 45 cents a kilo for the fish and once dried there value jumps to $3 a kilo.

Renny insisted we stay for breakfast where we got to enjoy… of course fresh fish, crabs, rice and a coke. What a way to start the day.

With time ticking by and the wind springing up it was time to leave so with our squid, coconuts and home made vinegar in hand we prisied our dingy away from the curious fishermen and headed south out of the Asid Gulf. Could have stayed a week with our friends at Namatian!

To the Bright Lights of Boracay

Leaving Coron behind we headed over to Tara Island catching a Tuna along the way. Sloop was pleased to be back into the quieter Islands where a run around was possible.

We found ourselves anchored off a deserted beach and hatched a plan to have a BBQ. Renarta marinated pork (Schaschlik from Russia with love) to have with baked potatoes and salad.

Looking back maybe we should have stayed another day, but unaware it was Friday the 13th we headed off for one of the worst trips in ages against the current and straight into the wind across to Mindoro. Finally after averaging 3.2 knots (5.7km) we reached a bay on Ambulong Island well after dark. A stripy tuna also had an unlucky day. Not game to enter the bay in the dark, which was full of seaweed farming and reef buoys we anchored out the front only to have security turn up on a jet ski with their guns. It turns out they only wanted to guide us in and show us around the Grace Island resort which was starting to take guests. The next day after our tour we had them out on the boat for a visit before we headed off to Masin Island.

With the weather now on the improve Masin Island was a great place to stop with loads of kids on the shore waiting for us. We took balloons over which was a great hit.

It’s a wonder the kids didn’t injure themselves running in the wind bare footed over lumps of coral to catch a balloon I let go. After seeing that we just handed them all 1 each.

After we got some coconuts and Marc threw some kids about we departed for the big smoke of Boracy to get more time on our visa.

Feeling left out, Marc joined the Balut club. Our unregistered vendor had to usher us off the beach into an ally way to avoid the police. A Philippine rocker dressed in doc martins, stockings and a kilt provided after dinner entertainment.

As well as us trying to convince a security guard to point his 9mm at Amanda. He even objected to holding Marcs water pistol.

Enough of the big smoke – let’s head for Tablas!

Cruising around El Nido

Surviving New Years Eve celebrations, a trip up the coast by motorbike to see a nearby waterfall sounded like a good idea.

After cooling off we headed back passed a curious local who kept a close eye on Robin.

The hot springs was to be our next stop however we were told the water Buffalo also swim here and the warm water assisted them with there bowel movements. The plan was changed to lunch near the beach. Here Robin almost found a replacement for his size 13 flipper and the chickens were also dining on the sleeping puppies fleas.

The now famous caterpillar was demonstrated to the kids on the beach but their attempts had them landing face first in the sand.

After relaxing over the drink, we packed up the boat and headed out to the islands to where we visited an abandoned church and bbq'd on the beach. The night turned into a bottle of 15-year-old Tanduay and drum beating on Rubicon Star, Amanda wisely heading home with Sloop.

After a painful trip in choppy conditions where we wished we all went home early (except Amanda), we finally anchored. Our anchorage found us in front of a hill in Halsey Harbor. This time it was Pontus who sensibly declined the hill climb. We slashed our way up the first part, Amanda deciding to wait while Robin and I completed the rest of the trip mostly on all fours.

Pontus brought over one of the best tasting Red Horses ever for a cool off once we arrived back at the beach.

Tomorrow we head towards the wrecks in the Calamian Group.