The worst boat trip of our lives!

  Tanjung Batu, Indonesia Monday, March 2, 2015

The previous night we had urged Jun (the guesthouse owner) to get us one larger boat for all six of us that were leaving. Most of us had had uneasy crossings and none of us really wanted to go in the small speed boats again. We knew the crossing could be quite bad just from our trip over here but last night there had been a massive storm with thunder and lightning and heavy rains which had lasted most of the night. We had lain awake - our minds were racing ahead, what if we get caught in a storm in the middle of the sea in just a small boat.  Deciding we wouldn't go if the weather was bad we finally got back to sleep at about 4am. The storm had stopped by morning but we were concerned that the storm would have made it choppy at sea. As we had asked for a bigger boat we were a bit calmer about it though. But  we found out, Jun had not got us a bigger boat, just the two small power boats which we were not very pleased about. We could see over the sea in the distance in the direction we wanted to head, that it still looked like rain so we waited a while to see if it would change. Around 7am and after some breakfast, the rain looked as if it had stopped but it still looked a bit grey out at sea. Assured by Jun that the weather was ok further out, and with no other option really, we got in the boats 3 in each boat (Us and Kayla in Amelia and Kiki, Per and Kevin in Wendy) and headed out. It was quite choppy when we started, but we started by making good progress. Both boats raced across the waters, smashing in to the waves, this would be a lot of fun near the coast, but heading out to sea it’s not so much so. We found ourselves holding on to the side of the boat and resting our feet on the bags to keep them from moving and jumping about. After about 45 minutes it started to rain. Amelia had a tarpaulin we could use to cover us and protect us from the rain but we could see Wendy and they were not so lucky - their tarpaulin only went over the top and rain was lashing in the sides. We could easily imagine just how wet they were all getting. This made it really difficult for our boatman to see where he was going so Bryan got his swimming goggles out for him to wear - at least he could keep the rain and the spray out of his eyes. Through all this bad weather our boatman was always looking for Wendy - the other boat. We assumed for safety so they would stay together. However, half an hour later when we snuck a peek out from under the tarpaulin, we realised Wendy was nowhere to be seen. To make it worse the waves were getting higher and choppier. It is fair to say we were quite concerned by now but we put our faith in the boatman who surely had made this crossing hundreds of times before. At this point Bryan had already checked his iPhone for the location and we were about a third of the distance across the sea but now pointing in the wrong direction. The boatman kept heading south - the wrong direction - Bryan kept pointing him west, over and over again Bryan had to tell him he was going in the wrong direction. Finally the boatman got out his compass but it was only later we realised he hadn't been looking at it. He seemed to be looking around everywhere as if looking for something. We could tell from the direction the waves were coming that we were going around in circles too. At one point the 3 of us had a discussion. Do we turn back and head in to the wind or push on? We headed on - west towards the mainland using Bryan's compass (not the best of compasses as we had realised a few weeks ago that it always pointed south not north - maybe it happened when we crossed the equator!) The boatman kept heading south - the wrong direction - Bryan kept pointing him west, over and over again Bryan had to tell him he was going in the wrong direction. The rain was getting worse and as we had lost Wendy too so we were alone. To sum it up we had - one engine, a boatman who was scared and didn't know where he was going, a sea that was getting worse by the minute and torrential rain. Then, just at the point where the waves were at their worst, the boatman just stopped and sat down in the boat. We were shocked as he had now just left us bobbing around in large seas and bad weather. One thing we knew about boating (Bryan had had some boat training when he was younger and Jody had watched "The Perfect Storm!!!) is if the waves are getting bigger you must have power to drive in to them to ride over them. But because the boatman had stopped, we were just being blown around in circles and now the waves were washing over our little boat. Now we were truly worried. We were also worried about Kayla, Kevin was in Wendy so they were not together - not good in a scary situation. But Kayla was strong and continued to help us keep the waves out of Amelia by holding the tarpaulin down at the sides. We were also getting angry with our boatman but one look at his face and you could see he was terrified. He had frozen and had that glazed, spaced out look with nothing behind the eyes. We knew we had to keep moving. With Amelia adrift in the sea we had to make a decision as the boatman clearly wasn't going to do anything. The trouble was he didn't speak English or French otherwise we could have at least communicated with him. Bryan got his compass out too and Jody used the iphone GPS to get a bearing on where we were. At this point Bryan jumped in to the drivers seat to take over the wheel and the driver got in the passenger seat looking quite sheepish. The rest of us were quite relived. We had taken control. A mutiny! Bryan asked the boatman to keep an eye on his compass and keep us pointing west.  Bryan had already secured his small compass to his wrist for easy access.  Now heading in the right direction once again, with Bryan at the wheel we took a steady pace, taking it easy over the waves. He was also wearing his swimming goggles so he could see in the rain and the salt water spray coming up into his face as we travelled forwards. The driver was not pointing west. No matter how many times we mimed it - as we knew he could not speak English. His navigation was all over the place. At one point he was on his phone and we realised then he had no idea how to use a compass. Luckily Bryan had his small compass to hand to help him go in the right direction but it was difficult for him to keep watching it all the time as he had to concentrate on the waves. At this point Jody's anger finally burst and she had a real go at him, shouting and miming what we needed him to do. He seemed to snap out of his fog and seemed more willing to cooperate but he was useless. Every half an hour we slowed and checked the iPhone for our location on Google maps, not that this is 100% accurate and should not be relied upon, but that is all we had as to show our location. At least we could see we were getting closer to the mainland. Relief! But it wasn't over yet so we could not afford to relax our efforts just yet. By now the wind had died a bit and the sea was less choppy although the rain was still very heavy. Bryan was now able to speed up and he kept us going in the right direction. At about 9:30am we checked the iPhone again, still making progress, so kept heading west we were much closer now. The wind was coming from behind us now which meant we were riding the waves making it easier to pick up speed. Then out of the blue we could see white horses on the waves.  Bryan got a bit nervous at this point as this meant the waves were breaking either on a reef or shallow water. Suddenly, the boatman livened up and made to get back into the drivers seat. He was much more alert and his eyes seemed to awaken. He shouted “Coral”. He had recognised where we were and knew where to go. So they switched places and we headed north west along the Coral. Soon we could see Derawan in the distance. Wow what a relief! Derawan was the island we had stayed on the night before our boat to Maratua we were almost at the mainland. All of us smiled in relief and took a deep breath as we knew the end to this horrific journey was nearing an end. We had a conversation then about stopping at Derawan. Do we stop and get off or do we again push on. It was fairly unanimous - we pushed on to the main land which was a further thirty minutes away but as the waves had calmed down we felt a whole lot better. We all wanted off that boat we can tell you but the thought of having to get on another just now was not an option for any of us. When we got off this boat we weren't getting on another!! Finally, another 15 minutes later and we could see Borneo. Wow, what a sight. As we made the final approach to the jetty we started scanning the other boats looking for Wendy. We had imagined their relief at seeing us pull up but we had not for one minute imagined they would not be here. Our stomachs turned over and we felt sick. Wendy was nowhere to be seen. You know that horrible feeling you get when you realised something awful has happened. Surely they hadn't had a worse experience than us? We tried not to imagine the worst and got our luggage off the boat, We decamped to the jetty shelter to take stock and try and get someone to ring the Wendy boatman. All of us soaked through. Just as Jody went out in the rain again to find a phone, she saw Per's head come up the steps from the jetty followed by Kiki & Kevin. Oh My Goodness what a relief! Apparently they had stopped on Derawan and saw us go past. They all waved madly but we didn't see them as we had sped to the mainland. Kevin & Kayla were reunited again and we realised we were all safe. And we were all angry. Very Angry. Our boatman had disappeared - he didn't even hang around to get paid and he had left the Wendy boatman to take the brunt of our anger unfortunately. We were angry with our boatman who froze, angry with both the boatmen because they lost each other, and angry at ourselves for getting on the boats in the first place. This is definitely something we would report to the Indonesian Tourist Board. This was a trip none of us ever wanted to endure again but for now, we were all just thankful we were safe. And how grateful for old and new technology. A compass, an iPhone, and a mutiny had saved the day! [gallery columns="4" ids="6778,6783,6786,6789,6794"]