Maiden Voyage of the Kalabia

Day One: Stormy tummy fun!
Day Two: Nothin’ but blue!
Day Three: Lost at sea!
Day Four: Can’t take any more!
Day Five: Still alive!
Day Six: More tummy tricks!
Day Seven: Feelin’ like unleaven
’d bread!
Day Eight: Home safe

I woke up on my birthday to the same unremarkable vista as the previous SIX days… open ocean. Honestly, knowing that the surface of the Earth is 70% ocean, and experiencing it are two COMPLETELY different things! On a map, Indonesia is all islands… and we were to be traveling right through the heart of it… I thought we would at least see a little scenery… nope! The progression of scenery changes were as follows: blustery grey rain-speckled water, steel-grey fog, blue calm, gray haze, gray sheets of rain, rolling ominous deep blue waves, whitecaps, the occasional glimpse of blue sky billowing white clouds and sunshine. Repeat daily. This was the view (well, of course, when it was raining and we were rocking and rolling, I didn't take my camera out, so this is the sun-shiny version of the view):



I came ready to see cetaceans… dolphins, porpoises, whales and the like… other than the unfavourable weather and scudding waves that obscured our sightings, when the weather WAS cooperating, sadly we spent more time identifying garbage than cetacean species! Well, we did see one bird:



and one half-decent sunset, on the last day:



(you can tell these photos were all taken from a boat, since i couldn't get the horizon level!)

At last we’re here! FINALLY, the boat that has been delayed over six months has finally arrived in Raja Ampat, and, with a few more repairs to hammer-out some issues discovered along the way, we should be up-and-running in no time! This will hopefully include fumigating the whole ship and eliminating the rat and cockroaches which woke me up with a start one night!



We had a small welcoming/launching ceremony in Saonek and Waisai, Raja Ampat. Just an official ‘we’re here’, and watch for us out at sea! And after a few days in Sorong, a supply trip to the new CI field station in Triton Bay, Kaimana, and a few more repairs… we should be off!





The Program's Motto: Berlayar Sambil Belajar means 'Sailing While Learning'.