When we departed Darwin, we left on an NW heading and turned west as soon as possible, staying clear of any potential obstacles, primarily land. Going westward keeps the whole archipelago of Indonesian islands, and there are quite a few, on our right.
We have now fully passed Timor, with the important port of Kupang. Most likely, that’s where the tanker and cargo ships were heading we encountered a few days and nights ago. Quite a few fewer since.
Below the southwest tip of Timor is the Island of Roti, which we passed at a distance of around 70 nm. Next, we followed the Island of Flores, located further north. We are now due south of Sumba, approximately 60 nm from its southernmost point, as close as we should get to Indonesia.
My dad was born in Sumba. The youngest of my grandparents’ five surviving children. Two died at a very young age and are buried on the Island. My sister was on the Island about 25 years ago and took pictures of the graves.
My grandfather was a missionary for the Dutch Reformed church. And while he was saving souls, my grandmother taught her children the whole elementary school curriculum before they were, one by one, shipped off to family in Holland to attend some higher education. But, unfortunately, when my dad’s turn came, WW2 had broken out, and he got himself a one-way ticket to a Japanese internment camp instead.
And so we move on. Last night, just after dinner, all of a sudden, the wind came up and stayed with us until about six this morning. Then it died. We were doing over 6 knots (nautical miles per hour) for a while. That was moving nicely.
I’m truly an agnostic. I say that so close to Sumba, where my grandfather did all his work. However, it doesn’t stop me from pleading with the likes of Neptune for more favorable circumstances. We are on a sailboat, and the weather is always on our minds. We think about it. We talk about it. We dream about it. And in addition, I download, via satellite, multiple forecast, and prediction models twice a day. Six to be precise, and so far……………….. I’ll talk about that another time.