Pete's Version of Events

Ha ha, after reading Matt's blog post I feel like I have to defend myself. Yes, getting Matt a jacket did take longer than expected, but only because the boat was heeling so hard that not just the toe rails were in the water, but the deck as well! I was half-standing on the nav station just trying to move around. I will admit that I was a bit green around the gills after, but I had complete confidence in Matt to steer us to safety. I'm not going to question why Mr. Matt "I took Physics AP in
High School" Fast thought that putting the boat perpendicular to the wind would make the boat even out, but I digress.

That storm turned out to be just the beginning of a very long day. We had crossed the Sumba Strait to find some refuge from the wind and the currents, both of which were pushing us backwards. The storm hit us just as we were completing the crossing. Once we reached the island of Sumbawa we began tacking our way up the coast. Cress will tell you he gave us time to get quick naps in between maneuvers, but Matt and I maintain that the 10 minutes he gave us was closer to 5. We had not been able
to go back to sleep since the storm. Progress was very slow, and a bit frustrating, as the weather was still rough and the decks still slippery.

Switching sails while heeling was quite the experience. Finding as many points of contact with the boat to keep balance while untying one sail and switching it with another, made me feel like I was finally getting some real sailing experience. Perhaps too much of it! We were all very tired at the end of that day.

Our visit to Waingapu was an early highlight on this trip. In dire need of diesel, we managed to find a port that could potentially fuel the boat. It began with us maneuvering around two docks trying to communicate what we were looking for, but without any knowledge of the language and a few unintentional hand gestures, it probably looked like we were trying to find something that a gas station couldn't provide us.

When we were finally docked and sorted, we found the locals to be great people. Though there was a language gap, we managed to communicate fairly well. They took a particular shining to Matt, who had given one of the visitors to our boat his hat. In return they nicknamed him Osama bin Laden (alas Matt has been growing a beard for the past 3 months).

We will be arriving in Bali shortly where we will sort out the details for the rest of the trip.

Pete