When ARE they coming back?

When ARE they coming back? It's a question my parents are being asked frequently these days. The short answer is ... not yet! We're still having way too much fun out here. If we could, we would keep sailing around the world indefinitely. Unfortunately we don't have unlimited funds. However, life in South East Asia …

Another month, another visa extension

Our visa allows us to stay in Indonesia for six months, but every month we have to find an immigration office to extend our visa and stamp our passports. Not so hard? Well ... that depends on the office. Wanci, on Wangi Wangi is not a port of entry but they do have an immigration …

Across the Banda Sea

For four days and three nights we sailed across the Banda Sea. We were all happy to set sail again after what had been a delightful stop in the Banda Islands. Even in the best of places we tend to get itchy feet after a while. So we sailed out of Zonnegat bay early morning, …

Midnight Escape

Ah... boat life. I love it, really. Even when my husband wakes me up in the middle of the night to come and help remove the stern lines and lift the anchor. We were in a bit of a pickle. Strong gusts had dragged us sideways and a one-metre swell on the beam made the …

Want to swap?

Want to swap Manhattan for a tiny desert island in the Banda Sea? That's what the Dutch did in 1667, exactly 350 years ago. They traded the small island of Run, which is less than 3 km long and 1 km wide,  for Manhattan, New Jersey, Delaware and Pennsylvania. Really? Central Park alone is larger …

Gone with the wind

A cruising friend once told me she felt safer at sea than at anchor. I must agree. Especially after our last two nights in Misool. Suitable anchorages are scarce in Raja Ampat, especially around Misool. Too deep, no protection, too close to a reef, the bottom to hard to drag the anchor in, … These …

Another paradise found

Raja Ampat has been one of our cruising highlights but there was one more area to discover before heading south. Misool... One of the four main islands that make up Raja Ampat and stunning in its own right. We split the roughly 100 miles sail into easy-to-manage day hops, anchoring in the river 30 miles …