Sibolga
I had to clear into Indonesia – Immigration and Customs. Fortunately, the ever helpful Mark and Rachel had advised me about what to do and where to go. “Glayva” had arrived several hours before “Sadiqi”, being a larger faster yacht. 
Sibolga being a large town the challenge can be find a place where to put the dingy when going ashore. Fortunately, enterprising Mama Devy had a small jetty and kept an eye on the dingy for a price, I took a peddle power becak to Immigration. I had forgotten that I would be risking my life in the Indonesian traffic – chaotic to say the least. The bureaucracy can be very tedious and a real run around, being tired does not help. The visa cost US$25. After a good nights sleep I would attempt to get to Customs and the Harbour Master to clear “Sadiqi” in. Oh yes, the customs official don’t speak English and of course I don’t speak much Indonesian – interesting. August 17 is Indonesian Independence Day. Sibolga’s main religion is Islam and many of the population were partaking in Ramadan – fasting during the day. With the chanting coming from the mosques, think some of the imams, should work on their singing :o) Fortunately some of the shops were open. 
I met Nick on yacht “Lavinia”, another solo yachtsman and surfer. He took me for a good tour of the markets and shops. It rained a fair bit while in Sibolga, this enabled me to fill up the water tanks. Not having had much rain out on the islands I was grateful for the opportunity. Sibolga receives around 4,500mm of rainfall a year. Customs proved a challenge as the wheels needed to be lubricated (US$40) due to me not having Sibolga on my CAIT documentation. I live and learn. Prior to leaving Sibolga I had to visit the Harbour Master to get a clearance certificate to the next port. This was an exercise in patience, something for which I’m not known for. Again, I had to get numerous copies of passports, ship registration, CAIT etc., All this information was laboriously transcribed by hand into several ledgers, a large, ancient typewriter, best suited to a museum, was used to painstakingly produce the clearance certificate. It was a step back in time to before the arrival of computers. Once I had reprovisioned and refuelled I was able to wander around the town and take in some of the sites. I’d have to say that Sibolga was not exactly a tourist Mecca. There were several hotels, Surf charter operators pick up their clients form Sibolga for the trip out to the islands. “Glayva” and “Sadiqi” departed Sibolga on Saturday August 21, the day of the Australian election, headed for the Banyak group of islands. I have to commend the autopilot “Ken” for working well when there was no wind, which, alas, was most of the time off Sumatra. “Smithy” the windpilot had a well earned rest from steering the boat.
Sibolga being a large town the challenge can be find a place where to put the dingy when going ashore. Fortunately, enterprising Mama Devy had a small jetty and kept an eye on the dingy for a price, I took a peddle power becak to Immigration. I had forgotten that I would be risking my life in the Indonesian traffic – chaotic to say the least. The bureaucracy can be very tedious and a real run around, being tired does not help. The visa cost US$25. After a good nights sleep I would attempt to get to Customs and the Harbour Master to clear “Sadiqi” in. Oh yes, the customs official don’t speak English and of course I don’t speak much Indonesian – interesting. August 17 is Indonesian Independence Day. Sibolga’s main religion is Islam and many of the population were partaking in Ramadan – fasting during the day. With the chanting coming from the mosques, think some of the imams, should work on their singing :o) Fortunately some of the shops were open. 
I met Nick on yacht “Lavinia”, another solo yachtsman and surfer. He took me for a good tour of the markets and shops. It rained a fair bit while in Sibolga, this enabled me to fill up the water tanks. Not having had much rain out on the islands I was grateful for the opportunity. Sibolga receives around 4,500mm of rainfall a year. Customs proved a challenge as the wheels needed to be lubricated (US$40) due to me not having Sibolga on my CAIT documentation. I live and learn. Prior to leaving Sibolga I had to visit the Harbour Master to get a clearance certificate to the next port. This was an exercise in patience, something for which I’m not known for. Again, I had to get numerous copies of passports, ship registration, CAIT etc., All this information was laboriously transcribed by hand into several ledgers, a large, ancient typewriter, best suited to a museum, was used to painstakingly produce the clearance certificate. It was a step back in time to before the arrival of computers. Once I had reprovisioned and refuelled I was able to wander around the town and take in some of the sites. I’d have to say that Sibolga was not exactly a tourist Mecca. There were several hotels, Surf charter operators pick up their clients form Sibolga for the trip out to the islands. “Glayva” and “Sadiqi” departed Sibolga on Saturday August 21, the day of the Australian election, headed for the Banyak group of islands. I have to commend the autopilot “Ken” for working well when there was no wind, which, alas, was most of the time off Sumatra. “Smithy” the windpilot had a well earned rest from steering the boat.
