Bali: the battle of Bali revisited
Bali: the battle of Bali revisited
I called the chapter on Bali in THE OCEAN WAITS, “The Battle of Bali.” and being here still is a battle, though on different fronts.
My first approach to Bali in CHIDIOCK TICHBORNE was magic, and can be found on the last few pages of the chapter, “The Proper Storm,” in THE OCEAN WAITS on the books page of the main site.
There is no longer flute music wafting over the water from Benoa, nor incense. The beach up which a woman is carrying a fish in a photo in THE OCEAN WAITS has been replaced by a stone seawall. The few remaining gujongs are for tourists, not fishing. And there is more a feeling of approaching a resort in the Med or the Canary Islands than the East.
Bali Marina, despite several multi-million dollar yachts on the outside dock, is a floating wrecking yard. Two boats are dismasted, and there have been three accidents in the eleven days I have been here. The accidents include one boat running into the stern of another and damaging that boat’s self-steering vane; another hitting the dock so hard it put a hole part way through its hull; and a third boat ending up pressed by the wind perpendicular against another’s stern. Eventually it was pulled manually into a slip. I saw this as it happened and observed that the owners, an American couple, entered the marina without even having dock lines in place on their boat. Earlier they went aground while entering the harbor.
I have an album on my iPod titled: Bali: Reflections of a Tranquil Paradise. Well, not around here. I expect that Bali once was tranquil; and some tranquillity can still be found away from the southern, tourist dominated part of the island, as well probably on the grounds of the five-star hotels. We hired a driver and went to a volcanic lake in the north two days ago. But the motorbike truly is the symbol of modern Bali.
Food is reasonably inexpensive, even in the hotels. We had a pleasant lunch at the Sanur Beach Hotel’s beachside restaurant yesterday for considerably less than a similar meal would have cost in the U.S.
The boat to the left of us departed and we are now tied to the dock, which makes getting on and off THE HAWKE OF TUONELA much easier.
Although the culture is starting to fray under too much tourism, which is the biggest industry, Bali is exotic and colorful. We will make some more day trips, and have rented a villa recommended by a friend of Carol’s in the remote north of the island for two nights next week. I have some minor boat work to do, and need to make certain the boat is fully provisioned for two months. I doubt I will find much to buy at Cocos Island, my only stop between here and Mauritius, some 4,000 miles to the west.
I miss the true tranquility of my mooring in Opua.
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Carol hauled me up the mast this morning. I wanted to see if there was anything up there, particularly around the lower spreader tips, that might have shredded the gennaker. As regular readers may recall, it split once when set to port, and once to starboard. I didn’t find anything aloft that might have been the culprit.
I pumped the engine compartment, which after almost a week had a negligible amount in it.
Checked my solar panel connections. It doesn’t seem as thought I am getting full production from them, but the output readings are what they should be, so perhaps they are just not optimally oriented toward the sun.
Tightened one of the two bolts securing the chain stopper, which during re-anchoring my first Balinese night I had noticed were loose. The nut on the second is rusted in place and eventually I’ll have to saw through the bolt to replace it.
Also did my exercises for the first time since late May. Sailing, rowing a mile to shore in Darwin, and my back have all interfered. Managed to complete the full routine. Will try to do it a few more times before I return to sea.
Thursday, July 10, 2008