Author: Skipper

After 14 months “stuck” in the beautiful Western Sumatra islands of Nias, Tello and the Mentawai’s, it is now time for us to say goodbye to some of the wonderful people we met there, and finally move on.  Our visas are due to expire in June and the SE trade winds, that we have been waiting for, are filling in

I have to open with a big “Bravo” to Team New Zealand winning the Americas Cup.  It seemed incredible to be able to watch live coverage of the racing from our remote anchorage here in the Mentawai Islands, West Sumatra.  We could only imagine the vibes back in New Zealand, on the water, from all the vantage points over the

Since our last blog, when we were busy getting Mai Tai all fixed and ready to leave for the next part of our circumnavigation,  Christmas came and went.  Suddenly, I realise that we are already at the end of January. We are fortunate that we are allowed to travel within Indonesia, at least in this region of Indonesia.  Plus we

Thinking of you all and wishing you a Very Merry Christmas. We hope you can enjoy this festive season with friends and family despite Covid restrictions. Just for a wee break away from Mai Tai, we recently spent a few days at this plush Adimulia Hotel in Medan, where they were getting into the spirit of Christmas despite the noticeable

OCTOBER 2020 So much has happened since our last blog and yet we are still here waiting for borders to open around us.  We are comfortable and safe here, so will only move on when everything is in place ahead of us. I jokingly mentioned about choosing which tree to decorate for Christmas, and now this is beginning to look

August 29th, the Prime Minister of Malaysia announced that Malaysian borders would not be opening until the 31st December.!!!!!  Previously the opening date for borders was set at 31 August. Thailand is also closed to cruising yachts until sometime next year. So, what now???? It has been over 4 months since we arrived in the remote uninhabited island of Barogang,

Life continues on Barogang, Indonesia If anyone had even suggested we would be here on this remote island for more than 4 to 5 weeks, we would have questioned their sanity. But we have formed a close-knit group here, helping each other in various ways and managing to stay sane and mostly having fun. We mentioned in our last blog

Nine weeks since isolation, 6 of those weeks here on our tropical island of Barogang in the middle of nowhere. And who’s counting? There may be times when it may not be safe to leave our secure anchorage if the weather turns nasty, and we might have to wait a week longer for news of the outside world, and connect

We have now been in isolation for 3 weeks, had our temperatures taken and have been declared fit and well by the Indonesian Navy. With our orders of food and fuel, delivered and stowed away on board, we were ready to set sail on an overnight passage to our new promised island hideaway, 70 nms away.  We can stay there