Well we were stuck in Dampier for almost a month, each time we were thinking of leaving the winds would pick up and become too strong to go out. We were beginning to think that we would never leave. We had a really bad week where all we did was stay on the boat almost every day and watch movies. The wind was so strong, we had gale warnings current, that we literally couldn’t get off the boat unless we were wearing a wetsuit as the chop being created by the wind was quite considerable. So we were boat bound and starting to get sick of it.

During the evenings when the wind dropped a bit, we spent the evenings having many happy hours. Playing the new Australian Monopoly onboard Hanuman was great. We would BBQ and make the best of the drop in wind. I also learnt quite a bit in Dampier, when our friends Errol and Sue came up to see us we were having problems with our outboard motor. I had no idea about carburettors, so Errol said he would help. We pulled the carby apart and found all sorts of gunk inside, we then put it back together and nothing, so we pulled it apart and cleaned it a couple more times, each time I would get more confident until the last time I was able to do the whole thing myself and then the motor fired up!! It was such a rewarding thing, not having to pay the couple hundred bucks for a pro to do it. Thank you Errol!

So we had a window of 3 days good wind pop up and we decided to take it. We figured that we could get far enough out to sea before the next lot of strong wind came in. So we cleared customs and started packing up, ready to go. I was so nervous, I really wanted to cancel and just sail around the Australian coast, but I knew that we have to challenge ourselves and that Eloise was prepared for the trip. So with butterfly’s in our stomachs we upped anchor and started out for Bali. The first night was good, except for almost running into a few big ships, they are so difficult to see and determine which way they are going, then before you know it, they are ontop of you! It never ceases to amaze me that no matter how huge the ocean is, that 2 boats can be on a collision course out in the middle of nowhere!

So we Kept our watches vigilantly, 3 hours on, 3 hours off for the 7 day passage. It was pleasant going for the first 5 days, a little sloppy with the seas, but comfortable and safe. We completely lost our appetites, even though we were not sea sick the whole time, we still barely ate and had to force ourselves to eat regular small meals to keep the energy up. The cup of noodles were one of our favourites!

Most of the time we spent sleeping and reading books, it was really relaxing. We didn’t see another ship until we were within 100 miles of Bali, so the stress started again, as there were plenty more ships following. This is where the trip started to go a bit bad. We had heard about the Lombok strait current that we would have to face, but had no idea how strong it could be, we got caught in an afternoon thunderstorm, which threw us around a bit, got pretty wet in the cockpit and had a few waves splash into the cabin. Then the next day we hit the current, and it was like hitting a brick wall. We were sailing at 5 knots, then all of a sudden we are going backwards at 1-2knots, so we started the engine, full revs and we were only making 1 mile an hour progress, then we had the wind against current effect, where the wind going against the current causes the waves to rear up and explode. We were starting to get concerned, as the wind was building, so were the waves, more and more slamming Eloise. We were starting to surf down the waves and broach a bit, so we put out a bit of a drogue to steady us. It was starting to get hairy.

That was when we were almost at breaking point, the waves and wind were getting stronger, more were breaking into the cockpit, so we started praying. When you are out there in the wilderness of the ocean, you really come to know God! Jas was in tears, so we prayed and prayed for God to help us and to calm the waves, then after about 6 hours of pleading with God, the wind and waves completely died, there was nothing, the water went to an inky black, completely still. We couldn’t believe it, so we decided to make the most of it. I had remembered that Rick had emailed me with advice on how to beat the current, silly me had neglected to research the strength of this current. So we headed for land, the only way to beat the current is to go in really close to land, where a counter-current runs. We were completely exhausted, hadn’t slept for almost 30 hours, dinner had been a packet of tim tams and some coke, high energy food. It was too rough to think about anything else!!

I have to say that when dawn broke, seeing the island of Bali was one of the most amazing sights I have ever seen. My dear friend JC Rochecouste continually told the story of sailing into Bali, that it is “Out of this World”, knowing that you have crossed an ocean. Well, I almost had tears in my eyes, sailing into Bali with the Australian Red Ensign flying proudly  behind me. I had been to Bali before and had actually hated it, each time we flew here, got ripped off in the hotels, hounded by hawkers and hasselled by taxi drivers. Sailing into Benoa harbour was one of the greatest experiences, all the Indo’s were so helpful, not wanting a single cent for anything they did for you!

We were lucky that some Americans who had heard us on the radio trying to raise the harbourmaster got on and told us where to anchor. They were straight in the dinghy, came over, helped us set our stern anchor, as the anchoring procedure in Bali is absurd, you have a 10 meter area you can anchor in, you are not allowed to swing at anchor or you will be on the mud banks, and you may get hit by these massive barges, which the captains take no responsibility for!!

They also brought over some fresh watermelon and bread after we had told them we had come from Dampier. It was great, we were very very greatful.

We then had to clear into Bali, I went in to fill out the paper work, when I stepped on land, I almost fell flat on my face. I couldn’t control my legs for the first few minutes, after being at sea for just over a week, you really cant comprehend stable land. I organised the customs people and waited around for them to turn up. I was expecting about 2 or 3 guys to take out to the boat…. 9 officials turned up, in uniforms polished to the hilt. My dinghy can take 5 people max, so we took 2 trips out to the boat, each time the guys got a little wet due to the chop, I was dreading how many bribes I would have to pay due to the wet uniforms!

So when we were all on Eloise, the procession started, I was beginning to worry about bribes or stand over due to their superior numbers, but it turns out I had nothing to worry about. I started talking a bit of Indonesian, which I had picked up from working with the Illegal fishermen, a few slang words, a few benchong’s thrown in and I had the whole lot laughing in stitches. So I invited them to have a look through the boat, Who said Eloise is a small boat? We were always self conscious about hosting people onboard for drinks due to the small amount of space, but with 11 of us onboard, we were having a great old time.

I had to fill out about 3 forms, which luckily I had a ships stamp, because they love it over here. Stamp this, stamp that, everyone seems to have themselves a stamp to put on each form.

After the forms, I asked what next? They just wanted to have a little chat, they couldn’t believe how young we were and then they said their goodbyes. Only 2 of the 9 officials had actually given us the forms to sign, the rest were just spectators, it was an excellent experience and we have a few photos of it we will put on the page soon.

We then slept and slept and slept, waking up the next day even tireder. We then headed into Kuta, to get some pirated DVD’s. We had a little shop that we had visited 2 years earlier, and it was still there with the same woman running it!! We loaded up on the latest DVD’s and then had a walk around. They must have cracked down on the hawkers, because we were barely harassed at all!

We would like to thank Gary for taking our position on the radio and emailing it through to people to keep a track and thank all the cruisers that chatted to us on the HF each night. It was really the highlight of our day, chatting to good friends who kept encouraging us to proceed.

We are going to be here for a few days, maybe a week and then head out for Lombok to do a couple weeks of diving. So could be a bit of an interval between the next instalment.

We would also like to thank God for getting us here safely! We couldn’t have done it without him.

Cheers

Tristan and Jas