A New Type of Traffic

Indian Ocean coordinates 05.00.379N,081.48.299E
currently slipping past the southern tip of Sri Lanka

We were hoping to write to you this week a bit more about the adventures we had in Bangkok, Vietnam and Cambodia but there is a more pressing matter at hand. We are currently about 6 days into our crossing from Thailand to the Maldive Islands. We have snuck just under the Nicobar Islands and according to our charts are in the middle of the "Great Channel". Great in more ways than one we have discovered. We have left behind the crazy world of scooter traffic only to find ourselves smack in the
middle of giant container ship traffic.
These ships, as you can imagine, are huge and charge across the water like giant metal elephants with a purpose. By the light of day they are fun and amusing to watch as the different types pass by, Evergreen, Hyundai, oil tankers. On the radio their captains speak a variety of languages to each other, Russian, French, Indian. Usually you can hear them call out "port to port" or "starboard to starboard" as they decide which side they would like to pass each other on. They move along at a fairly
good clip too, the "Global Triton" sped past us like she was late for a really important date. Under the cloak of darkness though, it all looks much different.
On our second night out around 2am we hit something in the water. Likely to be a log or something similar, it happens from time to time, you check the bilge, no water coming in means no holes, good news. It frays your nerves a bit none-the-less and sets the tone for the night. From then on I felt like a matador in the ring with a bull and 3 of his best buddies at any given moment. Would they pass right, left or charge us down the center. Only a couple of hours into a shift and I stopped counting
after 2 dozen. Usually they are fairly easy to monitor on the radar and being that we can see up to 16 miles out you can imagine just how many you can spot at one time. Luckily, by sight they are only visible within a 5 mile range or you would go crazy trying to decipher just what was out there. Depth perception is of no help in the dark. The down side to that is considering the speed they are traveling, it doesn't leave you much time to decipher what it's intentions are until the last minute.
Every vessel displays red and green lights visible from the left and rights sides respectively, including us. This aids in determining which side it is you can see. It is surprisingly difficult considering the behemoth size of them. You would think it would be very obvious. Unfortunately sometimes it is not and on three different nights, Bruce, Lisa and the Kelly's on Moorea found themselves far too close for comfort. Within a mile range would be good enough, but nose to nose and under a quarter
of a mile was nearly too much. All's well that ends well, and we have to say that in general we think that they are doing a fantastic job out here. Very professional and keep very good tabs on us. When we shine our flood lights on them the respond right away. Good to know they are watching!
Days 5 and 6 brought lighter winds, which amazingly always do more damage to the boat that the stronger ones. Slapping sails mean tears and repairs for us. What else can one do in the middle of the ocean but fix things anyway.
until next time,
your Ohana Kai crew

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Thailand

Sa wat dii!!!
Greetings from Thailand. It's official, the crazy hectic schedule and excitement of the holiday seasons happen everywhere in the world. It has been quite a while since we have posted a journal entry so we'll give the quick recap here and hope to add the details in to the web page later. First and foremost, we hope the New Year is settling in with all the hope and promise a New Year can bring to you. Last we wrote, we were running out of time on our visa's in Indonesia. We made a quick 2 day stop in Padang for our check out. The officials "liked" us and with some great help from the charter group at Surf Safari, we were let out of their country and on our way. Still sad to see that part of the adventure over and no doubt will make it back there again some day. We spent a bit of time working our way north up through the Telos and Banyak Islands on our way towards Thailand. We crossed the equator for the second and final time during these adventures. A stop in Nias brought some great last bits of surfing and a great chance to see a town rebuilding after their tsunami experiences back in 2004/5. A quick passage up around the northern tip of Banda Aceh and we were flushed out of the country. 20 knots of wind on the nose could not hold us back as the current was with us and we cruised through the pass at 5-6 knots. Surrounded by colorful, little fishing boats that looked like wooden clogs, a few over nights threading the needle between 40+ day glow fishing vessels at night and we found ourselves anchored in Nai Harn, Thailand.

Thailand coordinates 07.46.434N,098.17.946E
We jumped right in to all the Thailand could offer, and that above all includes tuk tuks and scooters. Again, a whole new world when it comes to road travel. Road rules certainly seem to be an option but so are lanes here at times. The more the merrier. You move where you want when you want and remarkably there is no such thing as road rage anywhere to be seen. Everyone works together. And the idea of honking works, it is simply a means to let someone know that you are there. Only the driver need where the helmet and as many people as you can fit on the scooter goes. 5 is the record so far. We enjoyed the beach in Nai Harn for a few days while we became oriented to the lay of the land. The boys enjoyed a natural river that flows to the bay and acts as a perfect water slide when the tide is heading out.

Next stop was the more industrialized town of Chalong. Here we dug in and completed as many projects as quickly as possible. Time to regalvanize the entire 300 feet and 300 lbs. of anchor chain, new covers for the dinghy, fix leaky sinks, clogged heads and repair the sails. We mastered the art of riding the scooters ourselves and discovered that a shopping mall in Phuket, Thailand looks just like home. We still prefer to frequent the night time open air markets where you can find everything from crickets to hand crochet skirts, pigs feet or frog legs to engine parts. Next stop was Phang Nga as we anchored just outside of Yacht Haven Marina. Too rich for our blood, we were happy to be able to utilize their resources just the same. It was the perfect place for s/v Moorea, Luna and Pelikaan to settle and celebrate Christmas Eve with us, complete with a white elephant gift party and our traditional chili for dinner. From here we really spread out our wings and explored the rest of the bays. In these waters are amazing "karst" formations which are spires and caves created out of limestone. Often they look like giant rocks creating their own drip candle effects and mazes of caves to explore in a dinghy or kayak. The big tourist draw here is James Bond Island where "The Man with the Golden Gun" was filmed. Interesting to see but if you search around a bit there are much more fascinating finds to spy. Such as the stilt village where a dear friend of ours picked up a nasty dose of Dungue fever.

On the east side of the bay we anchored just off the little town of Railay. Accessible only by boat, it is a gem of a place to stay and play amongst the rocks. Famous for it's rock climbing routes we took the opportunity and put our harnesses back to their intended use, not just for climbing the mast anymore. It was here that we rung in the New Year with the Kelly's and from our boats. We had the wonderful opportunity to watch hundreds of lanterns be lit and launched from shore up and over our masts all night to a back ground of fireworks displays and a great beat of music that echoed from the shores until 5am.

From there we made a quick stop at the world famous Phi Phi Don and Phi Phi Ley beaches where the movie "The Beach" was filmed. Though not very large of an area you would be amazed how many boats and people can fit onto it. Tourism at it's finest. We have to say though that the sand there was the whitest and softest we had seen in a while, nearly like powdered sugar. A bit too crowded for us so again we were on our way back to our new favorite stop in Ao Chalong.

Lisa's parents then came to visit and took Lisa and the boys on a whirl wind tour of Hanoi & Saigon, Vietnam and a quick stop in Siem Reap, Cambodia to visit one of the wonders of the world, Angkor Wat. Not even a bout of stomach flu for 3 out of the 5 travelers could dampen this adventure. Poor Bruce was left behind to tend to the boat but upon the travelers return we hit all our favorite haunts one more time with our company before preparing to depart Thailand. Which brings us to today. We are packed and ready to roll with the Maldive Islands in our sights. An 11 day crossing or so ahead of us. Best of all, the web page is updated through Indonesia with some new nuggets, such as a couple of YouTube clips of Krakatau's eruption if you hadn't already seen it. That's all for now. With the passage ahead and a lot of night watches, the Thailand web page should be ready to upload as soon as we find some more internet. Take care.
until next time,
your crew on Ohana Kai
Bruce, Lisa, Tristan and Matthew

Mentawai

11/10/07
Siberut Island, Mentawai
Pulau Masokut
coordinates 01.49.615S,099.15.338E

You can definitely tell that we are nearing the equator again. When the sun is out it can be blazing above 90 degrees, the water a balmy 86 degrees. The monsoon season is about to begin as well though, so the majority of the days can be cloud covered and raining buckets. Our freshwater tanks are always full but nothing ever has the chance to dry out with the humidity. You can nearly watch the mold grow on the inside of the hatches and any utensil that considered rusting is letting loose now.
Electronic equipment such as computers and cameras are beginning to struggle as well but keep limping along while we baby them. The surroundings are beautiful if you have to sit/surf in the rain somewhere. We are having a wonderful time getting in our exercise before our chances for surfing are gone. Once we leave Indonesia they diminish greatly. The islands are thick with lush green palm trees surrounded by white sand beaches and turquoise waters. Being so remote we rarely see another vessel
shy of a few surf charters and local fishing boats.

We are slowly hopping our way up through the islands. Most of the islands and anchorages around here are actually known by their surf location name as given by charter captains. Mentawaian's actually has their own dialect as well separate from Bahasa, which makes communication even more challenging. Depending which map or guide book you look at the island or anchorage may have 2 or 3 different names. Southern and Northern Pagai, Sipora, and Siberut Islands are the main ones we have been hovering
around. The main islands are surrounded by hundreds of smaller, lesser named ones where we usually end up finding our anchorages. Thanks to some great charter boat captain's we have met out here, they have provided us with some great info and connections along the way. Since the most recent earthquake a month or two ago, the reefs and islands geography has changed as great as 1 to 3 feet depending on which side of the island you are standing. Quite amazing.

We spent a fun and wet Halloween in a place called Rag's or Teluk Pasangan just off of Southern Pagai, complete with carved watermelons and scary movies. The next couple of days we spent in a great location called Macaroni's, found off the west coast of Northern Pagai. Tristan had the opportunity to catch his last wave as an eleven year old and his first wave as a twelve year old with 20 of his closest australian surfer friends off a charter boat sharing the bay with us. Amazingly fun and supportive,
this crowd of surfers shall we say are of the more mature nature (i.e. pot bellies and pocket books), and let the little kid on the block drop in on them whenever he could. From there we headed up the way to Lance's Lefts, a surf break located off the town of Katiet, the main village on the southern peninsula of Sipura Island. We found a wonderful beach break there that everyone, including the locals on the bashed, beaten, often no tip boards were riding away. Great fun.
Bought a few carvings and on our way again.

Next stop was the town of Topejat. A major town by all standards out here. Complete with large supply ships and fuel. Good for us, since everyone was beginning to watch the fuel gauges bounce around the big E sign. Even better was a ton of wonderful produce. The only true excitement here was in the middle of the night, Ohana Kai's rudder managed to find a big beautiful SHALLOW coral bommie and crunch, took a bight out of the side we later discovered. Only about an 1/2" x 1" x 2". Once we reached
clear water in which we could dive and check it out we were able to place a patch on it and all's well. The guide books failed to mention that one.

Fast in and fast out and we were on our way towards the island of Siberut. A quick one night stop nestled between the islands of Pulau (Island) Karangmajat and Pulau Penanggalansabeu, also known as 4 Bob's. Before the rain hit, it was the picture perfect scene with a white sand beach arising out of the waters dotted with just a few palm trees. The deserted island you dream of. Every island surrounding us looks as though Max and his band of Wild Things could come parading out of the jungle at
any moment.

Finally we settled for a weeks worth of play near the island of Dodiki or Roniki depending on the chart and a surf break known as Burgerworld. Again we were able to hunt the coasts and find a beach break for everyone in the morning and when the wind was down, The big boy surfed Burgerworld in the afternoons. With only a few days left before we head to the mainland Sumatra, city of Padang to check out of the country, we are giving Pulau Masokut a quick try. The road less traveled has been serving
us well so far. Not sure if we are ready to head back on into the crazy city scene of Phuket and Thailand. Give us the chance though and we are sure we could find a road less traveled there as well.
until next time,
your crew on Ohana Kai

Gunung Krakatoa Erupts!

10/22/07
Gunung Krakatoa
coordinates 06.08.551S,105.25.461E

Famous for being one if not the loudest recorded explosion in history, Gunung (Mount) Krakatoa blew itself nearly to extinction in 1883. Sending ash as far as Singapore and tsumami waves as far as Aden in the Red Sea in a mere 12 hours. A distance that great would take a steam ship 12 days. It is nestled between the islands of Java and Sumatra. In the caldera of the old volcano is a beautiful anchorage that allowed the Kelly's on s/v Moorea and us to anchor for a couple of nights and be treated
to one of the worlds true wonders. After a tumultuous sail in which we blew out both our spinnaker halyard and the webbing to our head sail, we limped our way into the anchorage at sunset and managed to anchor in the dark. Something we try not to do often especially in such unfamiliar and uncharted territory. The currents and winds were so strange in this setting that both vessels put out bow and stern anchors and still had to raft up together to make sure we didn't bump each other unintentionally
at night. As we did enter the bay that evening we could see Anak Krakatoa, or the child of Krakatoa in Indonesian. It is a second volcano that has grown up two miles away in the shadow of it's father. A classic looking volcano if ever there was one complete with the open crater on top, though rather quiet and dormant we heard for the last few years.

We awoke the next morning to check out our new surrounding in day light. The plan was to repair our new projects and possibly take a hike up the volcano, which our guide books say, "An average overweight cruiser could do in just over an hour". We were in. Plans change though, and just as Bruce entered the cockpit of the boat for that morning stretch, Kaboom! Anak Krakatoa erupted a new crater right out it's southern side. We grabbed cameras and video's to try to capture the event. We were stunned.
Unbelievably, we watched as rock, ash and lava shot hundreds of feet into the air, creating majestic mushroom clouds, sending boulders to the sea and slides of earth down it's sides. The sounds would echo in our chests and eardrums. Simply amazing. After that initial explosion, it continued throughout the entire day on regular intervals sending plumes of smoke into the sky and the occasional land slide to the sea. It certainly kept us entertained as we tried to focus and finish the work we needed
to do. That night we all had dinner together and were pleasantly surprised again to get a continued show with eruptions of red lava up into the dark night sky. If that wasn't enough, Mother Nature added a lightning show for the Grand Finale. With all the lightning and storms came rain which we tried to capture. I suppose we shouldn't have been surprised when we tasted it only to find it to be acid rain. The taste was terrible and it would take the varnish off the table if you let a drop sit
too long.

Though we could have sat there and been mesmerized by the display for days, our projects were completed and it was time to head on down the road. In hindsight, how blessed that it blew when it did. We were fortunate in many ways with this stop. If it had delayed itself by even a few hours we would have been hiking up it and had a much more close and personal look that we would have liked. How wonderful to have the opportunity to witness such and event.
until next time,
your Ohana Kai crew

Bali and beyond

October 16, 2007
Bali, Indonesia
coordinates 08.44.726S,115.12.611E

We are departing Bali after a fun and fruitful stay in the marina at Benoa Harbor. To begin with, the entrance heading down the channel to reach the marina was almost more fun than we could handle. After nearly 6 weeks out in the more remote islands without so much more than the sight of a small fishing boat we were thrown into sensory overload. Surrounded by a dozen para-sailers floating above our heads, throw in 6 of the strangest looking air mattresses on steroids that hold 2 passengers wearing
helmets and at high speeds behind a boat and actually float 20 feet or more in the air. Add a few jet skiis, a touch or two of banana float riders and an occasional elderly man fishing in a traditional outrigger all together in a rather narrow channel and you have the perfect recipe for marine madness. It got our attention as we tried to anchor somewhere between the tugboats and the container ships that also share the water way.

The following day we found a spot in the marina which we have to say is run the by the most friendly and professional staff we have EVER had the pleasure of meeting! We got in contact with our friends Frank, Jeni and Abby from s/v Sea Kardinal who now live in Bali while they, as architects, are busy building a traditional wooden 140 foot sail boat for a customer up in Kalimantan. Stunning! They are enjoying life on land for the first time in 20 years in a lovely Balinese home just up the road
in Sanur. We got the hang of life back on the dock ourselves and immediately out came the boys scooters and they were off. Within walking distance were some family run warung (Indonesian eatery) and for about 7-8 USD you can stuff a family of four with all the food and drinks you can handle.

The two weeks were filled with practicing our language skills shopping, cleaning and repairing all of our boating needs. Kuta, the nearest town and site of the Bali bombings was a wonderful place to shop for trinkets and goodies as long as you are prepared to fend off the strongest of hawkers and willing to play the bargaining game. Simply making eye contact or touching an item is nearly an acceptance to purchase around here. Where we might consider it rude to ignore someone at home it is merely
an essential survival tactic out here. We toured Bali with Nyomen, friend and cook of the Sea Kardinal household. He patiently showed us the sight, sounds, smells and tastes of Bali of which there are many. From dormant volcanos, elaborate temples, acres of green rice fields and hot springs, to fascinating traditional legong dances, forests of monkeys and coffee tasting, I believe we covered it all. We can never get enough of local open air markets and are still finding new foods. The boys had
a day of riding elephants with Abby and we enjoyed a delicious traditional meal cooked by Nyomen at the Sea Kardinal home. A very special treat.

Last but not least we extended our visa's for another 30 days. Murphy's law, as always, works it's magic when it sees the opportunity. You may only extend the visa one week before it expires. That week happened to coincide with the final week of Ramadan or Idul Fitri for us. Of course that meant that all the offices and powers that be would be closed and unavailable that one week. They wouldn't complete it earlier but if we waited we would be penalized for doing it too late. Rock and a Hard
Place = $. Luckily for us, Jeni and Frank already have some great contacts who "knew someone" that for the right price got the paperwork done in a day. In the country full of smiles money will still get you farther and faster than a hand shake.

As much as one can find a way to grease the wheel around here you can also find the equally honest and hard working people. Asis was one such man. He leaves his family behind on the island of Flores to come to the marina to find work and make money to send home to them for 5 months out of the year. For 100,000 rupiah, approximately $10, he will work diligently on your boat for 8 hours straight in the blazing heat, barely stopping for lunch. He was a dear sweet man who was anxious to get home
to see his new 2 month old son for the first time. If we ever make it back to Flores, we have a friend waiting.
Though there was so much more to see and do in Bali we only have 30 more days to make our way though the end of this alluring country. So off to Java and Sumatra.
until next time,
your Ohana Kai crew

Lombok

9/20/2007
Teluk Awang (Awang Bay), Lombok
Ekas surf break
coordinates 08.53.158S,116.26.604E

After departing Periscopes in East Sumbawa we had some distance to cover to make it too the next anchorage. We tried our luck by stopping at Scar reef, another potential surf spot in west Sumbawa approx. 110 miles away. The surf wasn't running there which actually worked out well as we had to deal with our anchor. The salt water environment is rough on everything including the anchor chain. Over time it had eroded enough of the links that they wouldn't hold well in our windless, which is the
electric wench that pulls up the anchor from it's depths. We ended up drifting, intentionally, in the bay while we hauled all 300 feet of chain up onto the deck and changed it out end for end, so the fresh links were now the first to hit the water. While it is on deck you have to measure it out and place markers every 20 feet so that you have a visual when you are setting the anchor to know just how much you have let out. Task done, on to find more surfing.

Ekas, Lombok
It just gets better and better. Though this bay wasn't much to look at, it was peaceful and serene with the most ideal waves for all involved yet! Everyone had the best time there and making great strides in their skill, confidence and most importantly all out fun. Four days there and the swell died out. Unfortunately we are on borrowed time while we try to get to Bali and renew our Visa's for another 30 days, we headed on as well.

Gerupuk was the next bay on the stop. Largely an Asian vacation destination it is home to Lauken resort. 6 small and stylish bungalows, complete with a pool, any of which can be yours for 2 weeks $550, all transportation and needs met. The town itself is terribly run down though the guide books say that it is much improved after the start of seaweed farming here. Which reminds me of just what a mine field of seaweed beds we had to dodge and weave around to get into the protected bay. We had
a very nice time here with some great surfing as well but a bit crowded and we had become spoiled with waves all to ourselves. On shore we met Matt, a local with an adorable wife and daughter Lina and Lira. He took us under his wing and arranged for us to go to the local market in Kuta. We purchased some great pottery, local woven hats and some beautiful hand made ikat blankets or sarongs from Matt's family.

Blongas Bay just 23 miles down the road we discovered what we have renamed Beggars Bay. As soon as we were anchored and the fishermen began to come in or head out to fish, they descended upon and surrounded each boat one at a time. We had 10 outriggers around us at one time. What we had never seen before was local that weren't here to trade, they just wanted hand outs and were then choosy about what they received. Even upon receiving gifts they wouldn't necessarily leave, just hang on to the
boat and not talk. At 6 am Bruce rolled out of bed and there they were already, hanging onto the back and staring down into the cabin. One night here and we were on our way.

We had a quick stop at Nusa Cenida or Lembogan which is just across the bay from the island of Bali itself. It helped to ease us back into the crazy pace of big city life again as we were surrounded by recreational water crafts and mini cruise ships. They even have giant floating water slide parks. On shore it was a bit more peaceful. Hindu is the main religion here and we were just beginning to be introduced to the wonderful offerings of flowers, foods and incense that are left everywhere many
times a day to appease the spirits. The aromatic imprint that Bali provides between sandalwood, cloves and fragapani will stick with us forever.

It was also in Lembogan that we got our first true taste of just how amazingly strong those women are who carry the baskets of good on their head. No matter the items to be couried around, flowers, veggies, melons, potatoes, they dutifully raise the basket to their head and deliver. We were at a market when one gal brought by the days goods to sell and it took some help to lift it off her head. Kelly boy and Bruce decided to investigate the weight of the basket and at first attempt it took them
by surprise at just how heavy it was. The baskets themselves though only woven reeds, have to be at least 3 feet across so you can imagine just how much stuff you can fill it with. We figure it had to be 50 - 70 lbs. Yikes!!! We are sure we have found only one of many ways to measure the strength of the people of this beautiful land.
until next time,
your Ohana Kai crew

Sumbawa

9/18/07
Sumbawa Island, Periscopes & Lakey Beach
coordinates 08.47.491S,118.22.619E

Technically we were anchored up inside Teluk Cempi or Cempi Bay. Not many tourists make it out this way except for the "surf" crowd heading for Periscopes and Lakey Beach. We found ourselves in recreation heaven. Just beside where we anchored the boats was a break built to satisfy all. The week that we happened upon this location that the waters were nearing high tide right after sun up. Perfect for surfing. The inside wave was just right for the kids, the middle for the mom's and the outside
break for the big boys. We could wake up, put in 3-4 hours of surfing before the wind would pick up. Back to the boats for a quick lunch, kids would start school and the big boys would grab their wind surf boards and kites and take off again for another few hours of play. We are certainly not complaining but all this play is exhausting. hee hee On shore we found a really nice hotel/restaurant the Aman Gati. Only $17/night to stay and about the same price to stuff a family of four with a fantastic
meal and drinks. A large screen hangs above showing surf movies and the sun sets in front of you. Paradise found. Though we didn't try it out there was a nice pool there as well. And always, a beach full of seashell treasures that continues to give our boats extra ballast.

We did have a small run in with Indonesian officialdom. Our second day there a long fishing boat appeared near s/v Luna first and boarded before the crew knew what happened. One official man in a uniform complete with motorcycle helmet on (a little strange to see out at sea) and 6 of his closest young male friends. After 45 mins. on their boat they boarded and spent another 45 on ours. Luckily Luna and Pelikaan speak Dutch and got the word out to each other and then to us of the nature of this
meeting before we were boarded but that didn't change much. Of course the interpreter's first words are "We want to make this very quick". HA! Clearly they were there for money, which we are more than happy to give. Let's just be honest about it's purpose though. If it is a bribe, make it a bribe, if it is an anchoring fee, make it be so. The official, who would never make eye contact with us, spent nearly the entire time arguing with his interpreter, who was always ever so kind to us. The 5
other cronies, kind and friendly as they were, perused the entire boat picking up and trying anything that fancied them, sunglasses, binoculars and so on. It was almost like a good cop, bad cop routine right before our eyes with added distractions. Their first request was 1 million rupiah. We flat out refused. OK, how about 500,000 rupiah. We said no again and then the arguing began. We were given reasons ranging from anchoring fees, parking tickets, paperwork out of order, surfing the break
fee, etc. etc. etc. We had planned ahead and emptied our wallets of everything but what we had pre-determined we would be willing to pay. Two could play this game we figured. We were wrong. We tried to play the hard sell and that only angered him more. Each time we met his match he found another angle until the poor little interpreter was so visibly disturbed by the officials tactics that he left the boat himself. At one point the official threatened to keep our paper work and that was all we
could take. We said no way. We tried to call his bluff and ask for his superior's name. He didn't even flinch and provided us with the perfect spelling. We said we had no more money. If he took all of ours what would we eat with. They offered us a ride into town on their scooters. We finally offered a few US dollars in addition to the amount we had to give and all 7 members of the team chimed in with agreement. Take the amount of money given by 4 boats and all 7 members of this official crew
were getting a nice payment for a days work. As they left, we quickly called over to the Kelly's to let them know of the proceedings. The Kelly's tried the hard sell as well and this time the official was done discussing. He quickly placed their paper work in his bag and left their boat stating that one of his workers would take them into town to get more money. He refused to travel back to the office with them and it would cost them 250,000 more rupiah to rent the car to get there and get the
money. Go figure. Kelly boy pretended to row back out to our boats and borrow the money from us so they could pay him off and get their paperwork back. It worked.

Lesson to be learned. Don't mess around with 7 hot, hungry men (we discovered they are currently fasting for Ramadan) who have nothing to lose and everything to gain whilst they sit on your boat and hold your paperwork in their hands. Good thing we didn't offer snacks and really offend them. Next time we have a new game plan. Two can play the strength in numbers game. When the official boards one boat we will all descend upon the boat as well with the pretense of getting them all done at once.
At least he can't change the story from boat to boat and we might have a better chance of getting the price fixed. We shall see. Having said this we are sure there will be a whole new bag of tricks the next time.
until then,
your crew on Ohana Kai