« Border Xing Complete! | Main | On Alor »
June 18, 2005
Eve of the first Xing - to Alor
DAY: 4
LOCATION: Maubara
NAUTICAL MILES TODAY: 0
NAUTICAL MILES TOTAL TRIP: 22
LATITUDE :08degs, 37.08'S
LONGITUDE: 125degs, 10.71'E
We spent today taking it easy at the nunnery here in Maubara - resting up, eating and generally gathering our energy for our big day tomorrow crossing to Alor. The 17nms should take around 6 hours to complete, with breaks. We were looking to get started around 3am but decided on a later start at 6 to coincide with a more favourable tide. The low tide is at around 4.15 pm, after which the tidal flow runs west-east. This could become quite uncomfortable and risky with the tide contrary to the predominant westerly flow of current (the waves can get pretty big), so by the time we reach the middle of the selat, at around 9am, it should be coming up to slack water for around 2 hours. Our main concern is not to get dragged too far east that we can't make landfall on Alor, but not to leave it too late in the day so that the winds pick up and cause problems. It's all a trade off - and to be honest it's not the most ideal timing. But with coming up to full moon and spring tides it's as good as it'll be unless we wait for another 2-weeks, which we can't do.
Another factor is the number of ships we've seen passing through the selat, some without lights (probably smugglers between Indonesia and East Timor), so the less time we're paddling in the dark, exposed to being potentially run down, the better.
This is our first major crossing between islands so we're all a little apprehensive about getting it right. This crossing will give us some idea of what we can expect to look for on subsequent crossings over the next few months. So many people in Dili told us we were crazy for even attempting to make a crossing in kayaks. But I for one have grown pretty used to this pattern before any leg - all these 'expert's come crawling out of the woodwork and tell you a hundred reasons why you shouldn't do it. It's part of the tall-poppy syndrome I think, where some people can't stand others stepping out of line and doing something different. You then go away, do your research, and do it anyway - no problems. So I hope that by this time tomorrow we are able to report back that Dili is as full of blow-hards as any other port the expedition has departed from in the last 11-years.
Posted on June 18, 2005 1:36 PM