An Indonesian Interlude Aboard ‘Aldabra’
Nancy Morrison left the US 10 years ago and has been sailing the Pacific aboard her Catalina 42 Aldabra. We caught up with Nancy in Indonesia, from where she filled us in on her recent adventures, including voyaging with the Sail to Indonesia Rally.
Since leaving Santa Cruz in 2016, I have visited Mexico, French Polynesia, the Cook Islands, Tonga, New Zealand, Fiji, Vanuatu, Australia and now Indonesia.
This year’s sail began in April, on the Gold Coast of Australia. Delayed by some repairs and weather, we got a late start heading north up the east coast. My brother-in-law Pat and I sailed nonstop up to the beautiful Whitsunday Islands, where we spent a few days in nice anchorages before he had to fly out from Hamilton Island. The next day, my Santa Cruz friend Anne Taber arrived, and we had a fast and rigorous sail, mostly in blustery downwind conditions, up to Horn Island at the northern tip of Australia. There, Anne flew out and I was joined by Jeff Fredrick for the five-day sail to Tual, Indonesia, where we joined the Sail to Indonesia Rally in mid-July. The rally includes a core group of between 10 and 15 boats at any given time, from Australia, Europe, New Zealand and America.
We’ve traveled from east to west, mostly visiting places that don’t often see tourists. After leaving Tual, we visited Banda Neira, one of the Spice Islands where battles were fought in the early 1600s and many lives lost over the control of the trading of nutmeg, cinnamon and other spices and nuts. From there we visited Ambon for cultural exhibitions, then the Wakatobi National Park, where we dove on coral walls and visited a traditional fishing village built on stilts over the water. Our next stop was Buton Island, where we anchored at the modest village of Londe and were treated to the enthusiasm of the locals, tours of the countryside and traditional meals.
In Buton, we were joined by more Santa Cruz friends, Jeff and Cheryl Rockwell, while Jeff Fredrick flew home. From Buton, we stopped at remote islands and atolls before arriving at the island of Flores, which had just been hit by a major earthquake.