Bon Voyage

We have delayed our departure thanks to problems with the Indonesian government and research visas, but we are finally ready to set sail!  On Friday night we had a party aboard Mir to say goodbye to friends, and really to cut loose and have fun after a long few weeks of work and a before the unknown adventure ahead of us.  There were many people from all over the world; professional racers from Australia, a genetic engineer from India, recent students from the local universities, many of the usual marina riffraff.  As the evening was in full swing, and the beer and wine punch was flowing, the wind began to blow; inspiring Yves to take a sail.  A group of us boarded his fully stocked yacht, and under the helm of the Australian racers, we sailed through Malaysian waters for nearly 2 hours.  It was my first time sailing in Asia, a beautiful evening, steady winds, and a very fun crew.  I spoke with some students from SMU (Singapore Management University, NOT in Texas), one of the girls was on the race team and is joining Mir in June to sail from Singapore to Anambas.  I also saw my first giant asian bat! It flew along side of us for a while, up by he head of our main sail. After a beautiful night cruise, we docked along side Mir and I entered the galley to find a circle of fire dancers.  There were 5 women and Satyavan rhythmically moving with small candles in a dark room.  One of the girls was teaching a traditional fire dance, but I think the music took over after a while.  There were also spectators seated on the couches on the perimeter of the room, pounding a conga drum from Papua New Guinea, playing a melodica, shaking jars filled with rice and beans, tapping on freenotes, and playing some other instruments acquired on their travels.  Hours later, the atmosphere was transformed into a relaxed jam session with a guitar and singing, and any other instrument that felt the urge to chime in.  I fell asleep leaning against the fridge listening to many classic rock songs; Wish You Were Here, The Joker, and Brown Eyed Girl, among others.  Around 4:30, everyone suddenly cleared out, and I was able to blow out the candles and make my way to my bunk.

The next morning I woke up at 9 AM with the sun in my face, drenched in sweat.  The past two days have been very rigorous making all of the final preparations, getting our documents ready and getting the boat ship-shape.  I am ready to finally leave the marina, done with intensive work (at least until Jakarta), get some air circulating through the ship (it gets quite hot and humid below deck in the bosun locker, dive locker, and engine room, especially since the humidity hovers between upper 60 % and low 90%), and leave the luxury of the club behind; no more swimming pool, hot tub, flushing toilet, fresh shower, or AC.

This is the first time I will cross the equator, I’m told to expect a visit from Neptune, and the first time I sail on the open ocean for more than a few hours.  I am excited to begin working 4 hours on 8 hours off, sailing around the clock, only seeing land in the distance for the next week!