After we were battered by a strong storm on our overnight trip down from Misool, the anchorage off the SE tip of Seram provided a welcome rest. We were lucky that the sky was lit by a full moon, and in the bright conditions the approaching rain that brings wind was clearly seen, and we were able to reef down our sails before the wind struck. We were also lucky that the storm drove us on towards our destination, and sped up our trip.
Seram is the largest island in Maluku, in the east of Indonesia, and contains a spine of tall mountains that steer the winds blowing down from the north, creating a calm area to the south of the island. At this time of year, most of the wind is locally generated by cumulus convection, as there is very little synoptic pressure moving the air mass, meaning that eyeball observations mean more than forecasts.
We stayed only overnight off the village of Kiamlaut, after some locals came to visit in the middle of the night, telling us that it was dangerous to anchor where we were. It took a while to figure that the danger was not reef or another maritime hazard, but that the “sea devil” that will get us. At first I thought they meant giant squid. The problem was this; the shore where we anchored contains a graveyard and we were too close to the “spirits”.
Leave a Reply