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Firefly - Arrival in Singapore



Today is Saturday 7th of November 2015 and Firefly has just arrived into Singapore. Its been a memorable 2 months in Indonesia but we were very happy to finally leave after problems with their authorities checking out.

Over the last week we had attended the Sail 2 Indonesia rally stop at Penuba and then gone on north to an anchorage just off a lovely small beach, right on the equator. There, along with crews from about 20 of the rally yachts we had a 'pirate party' on the beach to celebrate. Some of the yachts had been buying Indonesian made fireworks along the way - as these would not be allowed into Malaysia it was time to set them off. Next we motored (no sailing, all motoring as very little wind here) north through Lingga to the penultimate rally stop at Benan. Benan was a pretty place and a great anchorage. The welcome ceremony coincided with a younger participants birthday, Luke from Azure, with party games for the rally and local kids ashore, birthday cakes, singing and even more fireworks.

In previous posts it was explained how we had made an error in not choosing to clear out of Indonesia at Belitung. Despite it being almost 2 weeks before exiting Indonesia the timing has not made any difference for those who chose that option and they did not have to go to Tanjung Pinang, the final stop of the Sail 2 Indonesia Rally. Tanjung Pinang is a commercial port, its filthy, steaming hot and surprisingly unfriendly to yachts. Its not an official port of exit and it is utter madness that the rally goes there! Australian yacht Alexes had arrived there 4 days before us and were still waiting to complete their check. Things had not gone at all well for them as shortly after putting down their anchor they were struck by lightning, rendering many of their electronic systems useless.

As we approached we could see the Customs officials were on board Alexes and our check out started amazingly well - they came on board Firefly as soon as our anchor was down and step one was completed. We were then told to come ashore with David and Merion from Alexes in order to clear Immigration and get our Port Clearance from the Harbour Master. Was it possible that we were going to be cleared out in just one afternoon? However, before going ashore 2 Harbour Master launches motored up and although unable to speak English we were told to move to the yacht anchorage - about 2 miles from the town. Apparently we were in the way of the channel.

This was an ongoing argument with Alexes and the Sail 2 Indonesia Rally - our information told us to anchor where we were and our agent Raymond was telling us by mobile phone to stay put, we were guests of the Indonesian Ministry of Tourism and he would sort it out. So we did and went ashore full of hope that we could leave this hell hole the next morning. Clearly the Harbour Master had some 'clout' in that town as Firefly was refused clearance after several visits with our paperwork to the various offices. Our Sail 2 Indonesia rally representative, Raymond, could not resolve the issue of a small discrepancy on our paperwork (as a result of our check in at Kupang) and our only option was to try checking out at Nongsa Point Marina, some 30 miles away and opposite Singapore.

In between we actually had a very enjoyable evening out at the 'Acow' night market were the locals go - we traveled crammed inside a 'bemo' and had some great chinese dishes cooked at several stalls surrounding a seating area. However, after several hours waiting without success at the Harbour Master's Office the next morning we vowed never to go cruising in Indonesia again! We went back to Firefly glad to be leaving Tanjung Pinang but worried about what would happen next. Things were in fact sorted out within a couple of hours at the excellent Nongsa Point Marina and we were soon away with our completed papers and passports stamped - what a relief!

The next thing to worry about was crossing the Singapore Strait, a very busy shipping channel with an almost none stop flow of traffic. last night we anchored behind a small island just 2 miles south of the crossing area for the shipping channel. There we watched the AIS and listened to the port traffic control on the VHF radio - reading up on all the information given in the pilot books. Our crossing went quite well with only a few diversions to get out of the path of ships. Immigration is done whilst on board as the authorities visit by launch and collect your passports and papers - very efficient. After Firefly proceeded to the very 'up market' One Degree 15 Marina on Sentosa Island where we will now complete our Harbour Clearances. We then have 4 days to enjoy our visit to Singapore before we leave for Malaysia via the Melacca Strait.

Paul and Susie

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