What a hectic couple of days.

We really enjoyed Bawean Island - a beautifully protected anchorage, interesting village, and some good snorkelling on the reef round the corner.

The night before we left the local teacher came out in his canoe and asked me to come and speak to some of his kids. I was busy at that moment cooking supper for Hygeia, Mazy and Yang Shou, and anyway felt slightly uncomfortable peeping out over the cockpit as it was so hot in the saloon that I was wearing only a frilly apron and nothing else! (I suspect picture eventually to appear on the web-site.) In the event the boys from Yang Shou went and spoke to them.

We left the following morning at 0600 and after a fine morning, ran into a lot of heavy squalls, and even got chased by a water-spout. Well, that's a bit of hyperbole: we were able to track its course on radar, and turn off to starboard and evade it. Nevertheless, a bit discomforting.

Not half as discomforting as the events of today. Heard news of the Afghan adventure over Sat C, and then got messages from home. We spoke to the officer at the British Embassy in Jakarta, who strongly advised against landing in Kumai on Kalimantan.

Reluctantly we turned off, and headed north for Singapore. Unfortunately we were relying on getting fuel in Kumai, and some rapid calculations showed we did not have enough fuel for the 600 mile trip to Singapore. In view of the advice against the islands, I thought it might be safer to try and buy fuel from a fishing boat - something I eventually began to regret.

We approached a 50 ft wooden boat with 6 people on board - they were trawling. I waved 3 x 100,000 Rupia notes in one hand, some large packs of Marlboro in the other, and Mie waved the diesel jerry-cans. They obviously approved, and motioned for me to come on board. There was a big sea running, they were pulling a trawl, and it was clearly highly hazardous, so we quickly launched the rib inflatable, and Mie pulled me alongside with 6 empty diesel cans. They threw a line to me and pulled me and the cans aboard.

I have to say it was a most unnerving experience. It was inconcievably squalid - the deck was swilling with a melange of dead decaying fish, fish entrails, contents of fish entrails, last night's rice and fish heads, diesel, old clothes, and a constant flooding of what I hope was only bilge-water. The crew were well informed about events and aggressively wanted to know if I was American or English - they made signs to illustrate shooting and bombing. I'm ashamed to say I denied several times that I was English and insisted I was from Norvegia/Suedia (we're flying the Norwegian Ensign). Then one of the crew started fingering my watch and clearly wanted it. Fortunately at that moment the cans were produced, and in the gathering dusk I was cast off to sea. I must say Mie was magnificent steering Hygeia - she located me and we hauled the cans, me and the rib back on board, and we live to see another day, but it was all pretty scary, and I'm glad it's behind us.

So it's a long haul up to Singapore - we should just have enough fuel (we have an adverse current of 1.6 Kn and no wind)

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