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Remember Ya

The Ya has been a yacht generally using 70% less energy than an average yacht. As a statement. But you would forget how she sails. Here a film of the Ya sailing.

the Ya has always been a statement showing that it is easy to sail and live with 70% less energy, but we forget how she sailed. Here a film to remember Ya.

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Fire on the Ya (2) The causes, the luck, and more

In the first part, I described the situations and all the details that could have caused the fire. So, what is the most likely cause? Usually, one looks for the immediate cause at an operational level. Let’s start there.

The smoke inside was coming from the starboard side. It must have been the cushion one sits on behind the chart table. That makes perfect sense, as the material produces a great deal of smoke while burning. It is not self-retarding, and the seat connects to a full-sized mattress for the quarter-berth, so there is plenty of fuel for a fire.

How could it have been ignited? The only thing I can think of is that the air pump switched on. It must have tipped over by the waves of a passing ship, and the ‘On’ button was accidentally pressed. I wouldn’t wake up to that sound while out on the foredeck. There is a warning sticker stating it shouldn’t run for more than 15 minutes—yet that is exactly what it does. The small electric motor would heat up and melt the polyethylene casing. Even if the polyethylene—which is highly flammable—didn’t ignite from the heat alone, it would only take a tiny spark from one of the electronic components to ignite the gas being released.

Now, regarding the flame—the fireball—that hit me. The fire smoldered through the cushion material and must have heated the nearby jerrycan containing the small amount of drained gasoline. The heat caused the contents to expand. The plastic grew hot and pliable until a hole melted through, allowing the excess pressure to escape with a hiss: the gasoline vapor forced its way through the smoke. The gasoline ‘cloud’ spreads and ignites into a ‘fire cloud’, around my legs and (the back of) my arm and body.

Gasoline only ignites at a higher temperature than the glowing temperature of the cushions. What caused the gasoline vapor to ignite?

It may be possible from a still active air pump, but that chance seems small to me. Nearby, on the chart table, is also the navigation laptop there and it has a Lithium-Ion battery. Such a Lithium-Ion battery is of course still a scary thing, but it seems to be especially dangerous at higher loads. I closed it and then it is in sleep mode. At night I turned off the 230 volts, so it was not charged. It is possible that it short-circuited due to the heat, or that the lithium-ion battery itself became too hot and ignited. That’s enough to ignite the gasoline vapor. My second phone may have been there too, also with a lithium-ion battery.

A completely different possibility is a short circuit in the wiring behind the switch panel, which runs tightly along the starboard side across the full width of the chart table—or a short in the wiring beneath it. As it happens, the wiring was replaced during the refit in New Zealand. A professional did the work, and when I inspected it at the time, I saw that everything had been zip-tied just as neatly as it was originally. I think the likelihood of a fault there is slim. Furthermore, the smoke generation is hard to explain in this context; a fire would have to be well underway before flames could reach a cushion. The flames would have reached the jerrycan long before that.

Often, after this kind of “firefighter’s analysis,” the full range of other potential causes is overlooked. However, in the environmental and safety management within the industries I worked for,  a root cause analysis is conducted for every (potential) accident, revealing a much wider array of contributing factors. Many decisions—often at the management level, sometimes at the design stage—can either contribute to the problem or eliminate the causes entirely. For instance, instead of that small generator, I could have bought a fuel cell requiring zero maintenance. Admittedly, it would have cost five times as much, but in hindsight, it would have been far cheaper. Alternatively, I could have simply sailed across the Pacific for three years, accepting the accelerated aging of the battery bank.

You can view the smoke detector I bought six years ago in the same light. It was overly sensitive—triggering an alarm during periods of extremely high relative humidity, often in the early morning in the tropics—so I kept moving it further away from the galley until it ended up in the forepeak, where it remained silent. Had it been set to a lower sensitivity, it would have stayed in the galley and almost certainly gone off sooner. I would still have suffered fire damage, but I could have extinguished the fire in time. I could also have opted for even more fire-resistant cushion material. While it doesn’t burn like polyethylene, there are covers and treatments available that provide fire retardation for several minutes. It is possible that the heat from the burning air pump wouldn’t have ignited the mattresses, and the incident might have ended without serious consequences. On the other hand, there were tarps nearby, and those burn too.

So much for prevention. In terms of fire suppression, I could have installed a sprinkler system to spray the entire interior of the vessel. I did consider this during the design phase. Aside from the high cost, the limited fresh-water capacity meant it would have to run on saltwater. That often leads to seized valves, so it wasn’t a viable option. A large CO2 (or inert gas) extinguisher to flood the space was another idea I considered. That works well in an engine room because it is an enclosed space. But for a cabin where the entrance is almost always open? Forget it. I had four extinguishers on board instead of the two required in this case—so that didn’t help. In any event, suppression measures generally perform poorly compared to prevention strategies—much like in environmental protection or healthcare.

Conclusion about the cause

From a ‘technical’ fire brigade perspective, the most likely cause is the following chain reaction:

1. Switching on the air pump, which continues to run for so long that it becomes too hot.

2. What causes the pillow to ignite and glow.

3. The glowing mass heats the empty petrol tank, the wall softens, after which a stream of petrol vapor is released.

4. The laptop’s lithium-ion battery becomes too hot and catches fire, or heat from the glowing mass is locally hot enough to ignite the gasoline vapor

5. The flame cloud eliminates me as the only fighter.

A more solid cause is a smoke detector that does not work (or works too well). If it had been hanging in its original place, I would most likely have been on site much sooner and could have extinguished the small fire. With an extinguisher, or perhaps with a well-aimed bottle of water.

The fortune and misfortune; between life and death

We cruisers go to the most beautiful countries and bays and enjoy it. Now I experienced the downside. The people are hospitable, even sweet, but the society is harsh. To my horror, I could have been dead a few times in this case. Here is an insight based on the timeline, about the moments of good luck and bad luck.

8:30 PM

If I hadn’t slept outside, I would have smelled the smoke sooner. 3 seconds earlier would have been enough. On the other hand, if I had slept inside and only woken up by the smoke detector, I might still have been late because I would have had to climb out through the hatch.

A photo of my behind after two weeks, with my skin on the thigh already in a recovered state. If I hadn’t been wearing my underwear, my genitals would have been burned too. This increases the risk of infection and reduces the chance of survival.

03:00

I wake up from the smoke because the current has put the Ya abeam to the wind. If the tide had been different, it would have been later. A little later, after the flash fire, I could have extinguished the fire. Much later? Then it would have been a raging fire and it would have been difficult for me to disembark.

It was fortunate that the kayak was still in the water, ready to sail. It prevented me from jumping straight into the water. Swimming perpendicular to the current, I might have ended up on a shore with sharp coral and a mangrove forest, so without people. That’s hopeless, I probably wouldn’t have made it.

It was lucky, as it turns out, that I happened to grab my laptop. Bureaucrats usually create as many barriers as possible for the vulnerable and that’s you. For example, the Accident Insurance asks you to log in with your bank details in your personal environment – oh so easy – mijnachmea.nl. Well, my passport, digital pass, telephone with SIM card, insurance papers, everything went up in flames. But with that laptop and what’s on it, Inge was able to overcome some barriers. This way we were able to email the insurance company that logging in to the ‘personal environment’ will be impossible in the coming weeks because the necessary items have gone up in flames.

A piece of vital luck is that I fell straight down in the kayak and managed to avoid landing next to it. It must partly be due to my experience, but I had some luck with that. We have of course practiced climbing back after capsizing till it was a piece of cake. But how would it work with the burns on both legs? Laptop and telephone would of course have been lost.

It’s bad luck that almost no Indonesian can speak a few words of English. Not even: “Fire on ship!” They took action much later.

Bad luck for the ship is that they have no idea how to put out a (then) fire. After putting it out, one needs to keep watch and extinguish every little flame coming up. But there was no after care at all; when the fire was out, they left immediately. So fifteen minutes later it flared up again.

The fact is that Indonesia is simply a tough country. So you’re out of luck if your boat burns down there and you end up with burns. No matter how hard you call an ambulance, they won’t come to the more remote areas. You’ll just die.

Life-saving is the combination of the following:

  • • My constant shouting to call Perry. After 45 minutes I was contacted by a Perry employee.
  • • My question if he wanted to take a photo. Fortunately, he spontaneously texted it to Perry.
  • • Luckily, Perry woke up at 4 a.m. after the second call and looked at his phone. He then saw the picture of the burning Ya and was immediately awake.
  • The greatest fortune is that there was (and is) someone like Perry, who speaks Indonesian, understands the culture, the society, has a car, knows to drive quietly for mopeds without lights on the unlit road. More concretely, the following:

06:00

Fortunately, Perry knows in advance that the ambulance will never come (which turned out to be true).

Fortunately, there is a hospital an hour’s drive away that can deal with burns.

Luckily, Perry knows this too.

7:30

Fortunately, Perry pulled out his credit card and immediately advanced a few thousand euros.

Fortunately, Perry signed the 30 forms (almost all of which concerned shifting the hospital’s liability to him or me) without hesitation. 

9:00

Fortunately, I chose earlier in Kupang with the last crew (Geerhard) not to do the customs clearance myself, but through an agent. So all the papers were with him. This, plus Perry’s continued consistent story in the interrogations, took the Ya and its skipper from the realm of criminal suspicion to a ‘normal’ accident.

11:00

The police wanted to interrogate me. In Indonesia it is advisable to bow to the authorities. Fortunately, the hospital nevertheless had the courage to refuse to interview me. After consultation with Perry, the hospital offered a consultation room where – again such luck – Perry took many hours to undergo all the interviews with the authorities.

Knowledge, practice, will

I was not aware that the gasoline from the almost empty tank could ignite. I had learned that the temperature of smouldering substances would be too low to ignite petrol and so on. I knew wrong.

Besides good and bad luck, there are things you can know in advance. My presence of mind contributed to my salvation. This is not created by ‘talent’, but simply by practice and knowledge. Always practicing the fire role and the Abandoned Ship role with every new crew on board. You then know that only presence of mind can save you. This made me start shouting the instructions to myself loudly, thus forcing me to think clear and accurate.

Having practiced with the kayak is another example that contributed to my saving.

The knowledge that you have to cool burns, that you have to lie in the water, and stay there, against the unreasonable. This knowledge and practice proved later to help me stay away from mortal danger.
The local SIM card in your phone can be of vital importance and I had it.

Flipside of the society

In my experience, the ordinary people in the countries we visit are incredibly kind – think of the dear woman, still unknown to me, who cut fresh Aloe Vera for me. It seems: the poorer the nicer. But as cruisers we must be aware that those countries are often harsh. The bureaucrats are ruthless, and your vulnerability can get you into big trouble, and no bureaucrat cares if you die. Examples are the ambulance service that is not allowed to come and get you, and the hospital’s ‘Standard Operations Procedures’. The bureaucratic power applies equally to the police. A well-known saying in Indonesia is: “Do you have a problem? Don’t go to the police, because then you have two.”

Perry once helped someone who had an accident on the street. A healthcare provider came by. He was willing to help if Perry paid. “I don’t even know him yet, why should I?” To which the caregiver said: “It is easy. When I squeeze him, blood comes out and when I squeeze you, money comes out.”

So don’t count on healthcare without a credit card; they just let you die.

Help from friends in such a society is invaluable. Without Perry, without his adequate actions, without his will to take responsibility at every turn, I probably wouldn’t have made it.

The remains of the Ya just after she is lifted (with these blue drums). She is burnt down mostly to the waterline, the white stripe.
Inside the the remaining hull. It is full of ash and burnt pieces from the deck.

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The fire on the Ya; (1) Peter’s story

All things considered, the root cause appears to be a smoke detector that worked too well. Or, on a more operational level, the most likely culprit was a small inflation pump. Then later a nearly empty petrol jerrycan, most possibly ignited by an overheated the lithium-ion battery of the navigation laptop, knocked me out to extinguish the fire. But I will analyze that in detail in the second part of this two-part series.

In this first part, Peter details the actions taken both before and during the fire. After an introductory section, he follows the timeline strictly, starting from the afternoon prior to the fire.

Preliminaries: prevention and suppression

I’ve always found it odd that insurance companies mandate fire extinguishers but not smoke detectors. Then again, that’s likely down to the ‘prevention mindset’ I developed after thirty years of working in environmental management—which is essentially just another form of safety management. Personally, I’m rarely impressed by so-called firefighting ‘heroes’ anymore. I’m far more impressed by the unassuming person who implements a few smart measures to make the problem disappear entirely. I mean the people who prevent energy consumption in the first place, rather than the individuals and organizations constantly battling the energy crisis with vast arrays of solar panels, wind farms, and other costly money pits.

Moving from environmental management back to safety management on the boat: I buy the required fire extinguishers because the insurance company insists on it. Back in 2015, it took a bit of searching, but fortunately, I managed to find Prymos extinguishers for the sustainable yacht Ya; they met all the requirements while being relatively eco-friendly. They were highly innovative, operating simply via a standard aerosol-style button. To obtain CE certification, inspector Tom van den Heuvel had to generate quite a bit of paperwork for the commission in Brussels because the units were 200 ml too small. No problem; we simply bought two of them. We jumped through the hoops required for CE certification and insurance compliance.

Now, on to actual safety measure, the prevention. For the price of the cheapest little fire extinguisher, you can buy the finest, most expensive smoke detector imaginable. It comes with a 10-year warranty. This is what we love. I bought one for the engine room and one for the galley, and I replaced them in 2020 before our second circumnavigation.

The high-quality detectors I had, did have one drawback: they turned out to be *too* sensitive at times. In the tropics, around five in the morning, the relative humidity on board often rises high enough to trigger the galley detector, causing it to beep and wake us up. I used to take it out of its mount and move it to a different spot each evening until the beeping stopped. That spot ended up being next to the forward cabin, where I sleep. That worked fine, too. Or so I thought.

July 11, 16:30

Galang Baru, Indonesia. The Ya has been on anchor for a few days near the sustainable, reusable house Perry is currently building. We enjoyed a long, delicious late lunch at the restaurant next door. I paddle back in the kayak, climb aboard the Ya, secure the kayak, and know exactly what I’m going to do next.

Inge will be joining the crew in a few days, so I want to service the small petrol generator before then. Yes, ever since our Pacific crossing, the Ya needed a generator to maintain the LFP batteries. They require balancing every two months—something that we can’t achieve with solar panels alone. Normally, I’d just pull into a marina and plug into shore power, but there are hardly any marinas in the Pacific—and certainly not in the areas where the Ya is happiest. So, while in Gambier, I had to buy a small 700-watt petrol generator.

I haul the thing—about the size of a sewing machine—out of the bilge. I flip the navigation laptop on the chart table back out of the way, leaving plenty of room for the generator. I lay down a cloth underneath and get to work unscrewing things. I drain the last of the petrol from the system into a jerrycan (no, not a cup). I screw the caps tight on both the jerrycan and the tank. I clean the air filter and check the spark plug—nice blue spark. A jet in the carburettor looks a bit clogged, so I add some carburettor cleaner. Then I hook up the air pump. It’s a 12-volt pump—about 100 watts (8 amps)—that we normally use for the kayak. It has two internal pumps: one for volume, and a piston pump that kicks in to build up high pressure once the initial inflation is done. There’s a sticker warning not to run it under load for more than 15 minutes. That’s not an issue, though, since the whole kayak inflates in five minutes. And for the carburettor, I only need it for a minute or two.

18:00

Then Inge calls from the Netherlands. It’s around noon there, but since it’s the weekend and we’ve got plenty of time, we have a nice, long chat.

19:00

It is dark. I can’t properly check if the carburetor is truly clean right now, so I decide to reassemble it tomorrow. The generator doesn’t actually smell, since everything has been taken apart, cleaned, and aired out, so I leave it where it is.

Normally, I’d haul the kayak onto the topdeck in the evening while it’s still nice and firm. It loses a tiny bit of air, so doing this now is easier than topping it up with the handy little air pump tomorrow morning. For now, I just leave the kayak where it lies. I’m going to get something to eat.

20:30

I drag my mattress out of the forepeak and lay it on the foredeck. I pull the sheet-bag over it and climb in. Usually, I sleep naked in the tropics, but tonight I slip in wearing my underwear. A light breeze is blowing from the southeast, and a gentle flood tide is coming in from the south.

Sitting with a cushion against the mast, I handle a few emails and watch a bit of a movie on my laptop, using my mobile phone as a hotspot. Then I go to sleep.

As far as I know, I was sleeping soundly and wasn’t woken by anything. Perry later pointed out that, on my first night sleeping on deck, I had been woken by a violent roll—violent enough to make my laptop slide off the bed and end up against the toe rail. Apparently, if another boat passes by (which rarely happens) and your vessel is positioned parallel to its bow wave, it can cause quite a violent roll.

During the night, the tide turned and the ebb current picked up. As a result, the boat gradually shifted to lie more and more beam-on to the wind.

03:00

I wake up to a smell. A really nasty, foul odor—just a brief whiff, then fresh air again. I look and see wisps of smoke drifting out of the companionway and across the deck. I jump up and run along the windward side deck toward the cockpit. I peer down the companionway. In the moonlight, the smoke looks grayish-white near the top, but dark lower down. It’s smoke. No fire, no flames. Likely a fire just getting started. I recall from my week-long firefighting course during military service that glowing substances don’t ignite gasoline. The instructor would open a jar of gasoline and dip his cigarette into it; it would hiss and go out. Ignition requires a higher temperature—from a flame or a spark.

It is obvious that the smoke is coming from the starboard side. I immediately step down into the cabin (the Ya’s companionway steps are only two rungs deep). My leg feels hot, but it’s bearable. I slide the fire extinguisher out of its bracket; the plastic cap pops right off. Good. This extinguisher is designed like a simple spray can, and I already have the tip of my index finger on the nozzle. At least, that’s what I can deduce later from the location of the burns on my fingers: the index finger was less affected. But I don’t know for sure, because suddenly, a massive red-orange fireball erupts from the darkness below me, rushing past my legs and shooting upward just as I leap away. I remember that part vividly. After that, I think instinct took over. How long it lasted or what exactly I did—I really don’t know. Did I run back and forth along the side deck? Or did I snap back to reality the moment I reached the foredeck? Inge later read back the notes she had made during our first phone call. I recall I wanted to seal off the entire cabin entrance to smother the fire, but did I actually do it? I have no idea. I also told her the door between the forepeak and the cabin was closed, yet I felt it was too dangerous to approach the fire through the forepeak. Later, I also seemed to recall flipping up the mattress to open the forward hatch. But it remains unclear whether I actually did that or merely considered it as an option. In any case, human memory isn’t reliable in situations like this—mine included—even though I usually have a pretty clear head at such moments.

Anyway, I find myself standing on the foredeck. I try to figure out what to do. I only manage this by shouting at myself: “No, don’t jump right away—think first!”—things like that. I notice the kayak is missing from the deck, then remember it’s still in the water on the leeward side. I need to get to it. That’s better than jumping overboard, because I’m a poor swimmer. I shout instructions to myself until they sound coherent. The final version:

“Take a deep breath and hold it! Run as low as you can along the leeward side deck to get into that kayak!”

It works; four or five seconds later, I’m standing in the kayak. I’m crouched low to stay beneath the smoke, gasping wildly for air.

Then I realized I needed to call for help. Once again, I worked through the plan by shouting instructions out loud until the whole thing sounded feasible. Standing in the rather soft kayak, I pulled myself along the foot rail toward the bow, then—with a dexterity born of experience—maneuvered around the anchor chain. On the starboard side, level with the bow, I groped for my mobile phone. Groped, because the foot rail is above head height there. I grabbed my laptop, which was resting against the foot rail. I kept groping, repeating to myself: “Grab the laptop, but get the phone first!” And I found it. With the laptop and phone in one hand, and the other pulling my standing body toward the hull, I now had to get down. Normally, you can’t manage that without a line to lower yourself—hand over hand—while using your feet to press the kayak against the hull. But I didn’t have a line. I had a mobile phone and a laptop in my hand. So I took a gamble and let myself drop very quickly. I landed with one knee in the kayak’s rear seat, one knee just on the side of it, and the hand holding the laptop and phone in the front seat. The kayak hadn’t shot out from under me, nor had it capsized. I believe the impact of the fall caused the rather soft kayak to buckle slightly, letting in a surge of water.

The kayak drifted a few meters away from the boat, carried by the current. I felt a sense of time and space. That brought a calm I needed to take control of the new situation. I dropped the laptop onto the seat cushion and placed the phone on top of it to keep it dry. I grabbed the paddles and began paddling furiously, channeling the last of my fear-fueled energy. I eyed a spot that might be faster to reach but was unfamiliar, yet opted for the small jetty by the restaurant where I had docked earlier. Halfway there, I paused to call my friend Perry, but my fingers were too wet. I kept wiping them dry on my body and trying again, until the smell of smoke hit my nose: I was right next to the Ya again, now only about 15 meters away. That’s when I paddled like a madman toward the jetty. I started shouting for help as I approached—”Boat on fire, help!”—but all I got in return was Indonesian grumbling from the various sleeping quarters, the tone making it clear I should shut up. I persisted. Out of sheer habit, I hauled the kayak onto the jetty; only then did I feel the burns and see a blister on my upper arm almost as big as the arm itself. So, into the water I went. Treading water, I held onto the edge of the jetty with my left hand.

In the water, I barely felt the burns. I kept shouting. Yes, someone was coming. I shouted again: “Fire on ship, help!” and “Call Perry, telephone Perry.” Others appeared too, but they only used their mobile phones to shine a light in my face. I pointed at the ship, but perhaps they couldn’t see the smoke or didn’t understand my English.

But suddenly, it all became clear to them. They jumped onto the local passenger boat and headed for the ship. I gathered from their gestures that they were extinguishing the fire there. But the boat they were using to fight the fire returned far too quickly—dousing the remaining embers requires close attention and takes much longer than simply putting out the main blaze. The boat docked at the jetty where I was clinging on, and where a few people were now standing. Three proud men stepped out, and one of them said to me: “No worries, fire out.” I realized the danger to the ship of not properly extinguishing the fire, but saw the impossibility of explaining that to them. And now there was a greater danger: my health.

I asked him for an ambulance: “Telephone ambulance?” Five minutes later, I received a sort of affirmative response. Perry later told me that they had indeed called, but the ambulance simply doesn’t come; this is an impoverished area, and they only drive out if they are certain of payment. (Yes, Indonesia is beautiful, but society is harsh). I kept asking the bystanders to call Perry.

03:50

It didn’t take long for the light of an initial flame to become visible again. By now, I was asking: “Please take a picture, take a photo!” Someone did, and I asked them to call Perry. It turned out to be one of Perry’s employees. He had called—Perry told me later—but Perry had slept through it. However, the employee then sent Perry the photo that he had been taken and called again; immediately alarmed by the photo, Perry called him back. It was five minutes to four, as Perry’s call log later revealed. I got to speak to him, too; I was incredibly nervous and already starting to feel the cold.

“Perry, come quick—there’s a fire on the boat, it’s terrible, fire on the boat, come fast. Bring burn ointment if you have any!”

“Peter, I’ll be there in an hour.”

I stayed by the jetty, treading water. Half an hour later, someone had the idea of ​​handing me a lifebuoy. It turned out to be necessary. I struggled to get into it, simply because of the cold and exhaustion. I was shivering and my teeth were chattering. I remembered from maritime college that these could be signs of impending shock. So, I started memorizing exactly what I needed to tell Perry when he arrived: “Get some bottles of water from the restaurant and have them ready in your car. Pull me out of the water by my hand and armpit. Tell your mate on the other side to do the same. Keep going until I say STOP; then I’ll handle the rest myself. Then help me into your car.”

I kept repeating those instructions as my body shifted increasingly into ‘energy-saving mode.’ I stopped moving my legs unless the burning sensation made them hurt. The chattering and trembling in my jaw and shoulders, however, grew worse.

04:55

Perry arrived. I blurted out my instructions. Perry understood the situation. They pulled me out of the water; I was wearing only my underpants. Even in the dim light, my legs and right arm looked bad. They helped me to the car. A woman quickly handed Perry a bunch of aloe vera stalks. He sliced ​​the first one open with a pocketknife—”This has to be better than water”—and handed the knife and stalks to me.

We drove on. I was shaking and my teeth were chattering violently, yet I managed to keep slicing open new stalks and smearing the gel onto my legs or arm. I could hear what Perry was saying quite clearly; I was lucid from time to time. I even managed to point out an unlit moped to him—they are a common sight there, often riding on either side of the road. Fortunately, Perry was driving calmly.

Despite my constant anxiety, the burning sensation in my legs, torso, and arms intensified. Nevertheless, Perry drove to the most distant hospital—which, as it turned out, was the only right choice.

06:00

The emergency department was efficiently organized. Seeing Perry’s fine new car, they assumed he had money and asked for an upfront payment. Within three minutes, I was lying on a bed with gauze covering my torso, legs, and right arm, while three nurses sprayed the dressings with sterile saline solution. About 30% of my skin was burned, mostly with second-degree burns.

I was prepped for surgery.

7:30

The surgery was scheduled to start at 7:30, but first Perry had to sign about 30 documents for approval: “Sorry, sir, but these are our Standard Operating Procedures.” By then, I was no longer able to read anything, let alone sign it; my right hand was also burned, and the pain was unbearable. There was still no sign of anesthesia—the signatures had to come first.

08:00

While I was being put under general anesthesia, Perry received a call from the head of the island’s regional police. They wanted to be absolutely certain that no crime was involved. Naturally, they also asked for all the boat’s paperwork, visas, passports, and so on. These had likely all burned up. However, Peter had provided the number of the agent in Kupang who had handled the customs clearance, thinking he might still have copies. When Perry called him, the response was rather vague; the agent couldn’t recall Ya or Peter. It later turned out that the agent had been suspicious: a “local” asking to have all those copies sent over just like that?! Instead, the agent sent an email to Inge asking her to verify the authenticity of the message. At that point, Inge knew absolutely nothing; Peter had asked Perry that she not be called until after his surgery so he could tell her everything himself.

10:00

A worried Inge called Perry, who clarified the situation.

By this time, several other agencies had contacted Perry requesting a statement: the provincial police, the immigration police, the harbormaster (transport and waterways authority), the navy, and the water police. Fortunately, the hospital and Perry managed to prevent them from questioning Peter directly.

11:00

I woke up from ‘total anesthesia’. I looked like a mummy.

I heard afterwards that it had taken an hour to clean the wounds. Another hour later the legs, the right arm, and a third of the torso were completely ‘packed’.

12:00

The hospital had made a separate consultation room available where Perry could speak to the authorities one by one. The problem remained the missing papers. Had Ya and Peter entered Indonesia legally? The authorities wondered out loud.

Fortunately, Perry had received all the documents from the agent through Inge. After the police had established the authenticity, things became calm. At the end of the afternoon the last person left the hospital consultation room.

4:00 PM

Fentanyl is a great painkiller and it was used during surgery. But that was worked out in the afternoon and the regular painkillers took over. I felt the pain that was only getting bigger, and would get even bigger.

At that moment I decided to do one thing: first get all the energy into my body to heal. My body is the vessel of my mind and my mind will be able to process it all better.

Now, almost three weeks later and having just started rehabilitation therapy, writing down this experience is the first step in this process.

Perry took this photo the day after the fire. He discouraged me from watching it. So I don’t do that either, but I don’t want to withhold it from you.

Amal Bros Hospital, Batam, 27/7/26. Thanks to Perry Parengkuan for his tremendous support.

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Ya sunk after fire


Given the circumstances, Peter is doing well. He is still in the hospital, but has begun his rehabilitation.

photo taken at 03:55 local time, flames spreading out from the saloon entrance

Last week, in the night, a fire broke out on board of Ya. She was anchored in a bay near Batam, one of the Indonesian islands. Peter was asleep on deck, but woke up because he smelt smoke. Despite Peter’s attempt to put out the fire, the ship burned out and sank. Peter had to abandon ship and got to shore, where he went into the water to cool his body. Local fishermen called the house of Peters sailing friend Perry, and he brought Peter to the hospital. 30% of his body was hit by the flames, mostly resulting in 2nd degree burning wounds. 

Inge is with him, medical staff is taking good care of him, and he is now working on his recovery.

As soon as Peter is able to, he will share his analysis of what happened. We will keep you updated through this blogpost.

Thank you for all your kind wishes and support.

Fair wind and flat waves; keep sailing and stay safe!

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Some 500 miles to Batam

How is the energy balance going, and how is the pace, the sailing life in the tropics on board? And a happy welcoming arrival in Batam.

Energy balance

Sat Jul 04 2026 08:41:00 GMT+0700 (West-Indonesische tijd)

Since the motor doesn’t generate electricity, there are only the solar panels (we sail with the wind in the back, so the windgenerator delivers close to nothing). How does it work? Will the Ya make her destination before the batteries are dead?
If you check the Energy Balance on the website, we use about 2,5 kW per day. That is 5% of the battery capacity. With the battery bank on 70% now, we could sail another 14 days. So no worries But still the solar is working.
To be always on the safe side, the consumption is reduced.

  • The plotter and auxiliary screen (using 30 Watt) in the cockpit is off now, and the navigation is done by the the little laptop (20 Watt) which is always on. This saves 30W X 24 hours = 720 WattHour (Wh)
  • the 230 Volt is switched off and only on for cooking. The inverter and laptop adapters are taking 20 Watt when running idle (so when the laptop batteries are full) so that saves about 22 hours X 20 Watt is 440 Wh
  • just being more critical on lights, saves an estimated 4 hours X 10 Watt, so that is 50 Wh
    All together, the energy is brought back with 720+440+50 WattHour is 1330 Wh. That makes a reduction of 50% of the regular consumption.
    The sun shines great from 10:30 to 13:30. Then the mainsail covers the solar panels, and after a gybe there is another hour of full sun on the panels. That delivers on the average hour about 400 Watt. So there is 1200 Wh coming into the battery bank. These are LFP batteries, so there is hardly any loss on charging or uncharging.
    So actually, the household is in balance. With a loss of 1330-1200 Wh the deficit is 130 Wh. The Ya can continue sailing hafl the world this way!
    This is another example how easy it is to start first at the consumption side before even thinking of regeneration. Because it is 3 times simpler, cheaper and safer and quicker.
One job a day keeps the pros away. Here the foot rail gets some repairs

Easy going days

Sun Jul 05 2026 18:30:00 GMT+0700 (West-Indonesische tijd)

Just as every day, sailing is easy here in Indonesia. The wind has always been between 9 and 16 knots, so force 3, 4 and (low) 5. The Ya sails downwind, so that is easy. The waves are small, only half a meter or less. So it is easy going.
Great time to do some maintenance every day, and start really early in the morning. From 11 till 3 PM the sun is too harsh to work. Then it is time to have a slow lunch and a light nap. The traffic is little. Only son now and then, when passing fishing grounds, there are fisher boats. The fishing is like the Dutch way, so with trawlers taking nets trough the water. The boats are way smaller than in the Netherlands, but there are prety much of them. Especially in the night one can be busy with it. That is the only time that it is busy. These fisher boats are little and go slow. Also, they don’t mind if you pass them on 200 or 300 meters. So even the navigation between these ships is easy going.

These are the local fisher boats. They are not strong, but OK for the Java sea and the easy weather here. It is normal that they pass you on 200 meters, which is pretty close, but one gets used to the easy going seafaring.

Easy and slow, slow

Mon Jul 06 2026 18:53:00 GMT+0700 (West-Indonesische tijd)

Approximately the next night the Ya will arrive at Batam. Perry lives there. He recommends to do the last part in daylight. And he can do some pilotage, but that would also be daylight. This sounds wise, so let’s do that.
But, then we have to go slower. About 3.5 knots. Peter worked on that half a day, but still Ya runs 4 knots just on the staysail, with only 10 knots of wind from behind. How to get her slow, slow? Finally all the sails are down. Yes, that works, the speed is now about 3 knots. The effort is bigger to get the speed out of the Ya then to give her speed..

We enter the Equator. And, indeed, it is hot. Between 11 am and 3 pm the sun burns too hard to work on deck. And even in the morning and afternoon, you’d better take it easy and work slow, slow.

A green color means: little winds, a blue color means: hardly any wind. so from the green to the red dot (arrival) is slow sailing.

Hard to get

Wed Jul 08 2026 09:48:00 GMT+0700 (West-Indonesische tijd)

Everything was set up beautifully to get exactly in time for tide and in daylight to Perry, and what happens, lighting, thunder, a squall and the wind became against. A tack, and an hour later there was hardly any wind. The wind slowly picked up to a very light breeze, just to make a bit of speed. But then the tide became against. We made 1.9 miles per hour. for the last 12 miles, would be 6 hours!

Then, suddenly, the current changes. the wind picks up a bit more. Perry now gets a dinghy for the last mile in case there is no wind at all.

Batam, here we come!

Arrival at Batam

Sat Jul 11 2026 05:43:00 GMT+0700 (West-Indonesische tijd)

Perry arranged two local fishermen with their boat to pilot the Ya through the poorly charted water. The two miles took nearly an hour and with the last little bit of wind we entered the anchorage before Perry’s house. A warm Indonesian welcome with a great meal.
The house Perry is building there, is built with reused materials. for example, the actual living consists of a set of sea containers. But that’s another story. The Ya is on anchor.

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Energy: why consumption matters most

Ya is sailing from Kupang to Batam; this time there’s an extra challenge to sailing while using little energy.

weeks of light weather

27/06/26, 1:12 PM, 9 14.164S 120 12.425E

Already in the evening the Ya departed for Batam. There is a strait to cross, west to Flores island, and best is to start navigating there early in the morning. That will be the day after tomorrow. From there the journey will be another 10-12 days, or even more.

The last two months were sometimes challenging because there was lots of wind. This time it will be challenging because there are only light winds. Could be hard work with sails.

Currently we have set nearly 90 m2 (mainsail, staysail and jib) and still we do only 4 to 4,5 knots. That is on the edge of a running prop for making electricity.

The energy challenge is for tomorrow.

Backup, backup, backup

28/06/26, 12:16 PM, 8 08.102S 118 40.753E

The Ya has two motors, because one can break. The Ya has a lot of backups. I am typing into a tablet which has a backup. The satellite transmitter, called Iridium, there is an extra one. And you need it. The Iridium went broke. Software perhaps? We put the new firmware on it in New Zealand. There could be lots of things. PredictWind helps great with this. We sailed just enough along the coast to get internet and download the relevent things. So after a while the Iriidium worked again. In the meanwhile, we used the backup. 

Since the port motor is defect (the controller is on its way to Poland now to be repaired), we use the SB motor, mainly to charge the batteries. But, today the propshaft went loose. So you see, only one backup is not enough – check the title.

Just sailing. A liberation

30/06/26, 11:04 AM, 5 59.441S 115 51.098E

Yesterday also the starboard motor didnot work and Peter could only fix it in a very temporary way. It is possible to use it only in forward and in slow mode.

So it is sailing and it will be sailing for the next week or more. Just sailing. 

Before the seventies the motor was a ‘home bringer’. One used it to avoid the most difficult part of the sailing, to bring it into the yacht harbour. Then, we got bigger yachts and inboard engines came.  The tanks became bigger. The engine became a backup in case – yes, in case for what? In case your sails rip? Actually, I don’t know. I only know not to rely on a complex diesel engine system because it won’t work in heavy weather. 

Now, 50 years later, our generation has gotten so used to have a working engine, we even use it to cross complete lakes without using sails at all. Despite that, more and more ocean sailors put  their tanks full, sometime 500 liters, or more, and then a bunch of canisters on the side boards. I often see 10 canisters of 30 liter on each sideboard. Would this be for safety? That is half a ton on ballast 1 meter higher then the Metacentre, where the yacht turns around when it heels over till it capsizes. I guarantee, this amount of diesel  is even getting dangerous. 

When yachties talk about engines, I always feel fear. Same with me. The idea of having no engine on board and do it just on sailing, fears a bit. 

But the funny thing now, when you have no engine for more than one day, you get used to it. You rely on the wind, the boat and yourself. Now you really understand people who sail without an engine. Now, having no engine, gives a fear less. 

It feels like a liberation.

Energy balance

04/07/26, 3:41 AM, 3 15.392S 109 52.816E

Since the motor doesn’t generate electricity, there are only the solar panels (we sail with the wind in the back, so the windgenerator delivers close to nothing). How does it work? Will the Ya make her destination before the batteries are dead?

If you check the Energy Balance on the website, we use about 2,5 kW per day. That is 5% of the battery capacity. With the battery bank on 70% now, we could sail another 14 days. So no worries But still the solar is working. 

To be always on the safe side,  the consumption is reduced. 

* The plotter and auxiliary screen (using 30 Watt) in the cockpit is off now, and the navigation is done by the the little laptop (20 Watt) which is always on. This saves 30W X 24 hours = 720 WattHour (Wh)

* the 230 Volt is switched off and only on for cooking. The inverter and laptop adapters are taking 20 Watt when running idle (so when the laptop batteries are full) so that saves about 22 hours X 20 Watt is 440 Wh

* just being more critical on lights, saves  an estimated  4 hours X 10 Watt, so that is 50 Wh

All together, the energy is brought back with 720+440+50 WattHour is 1330 Wh. That makes a reduction of 50% of the regular  consumption.

The sun shines great from 10:30 to 13:30. Then the mainsail covers the solar panels, and after a gybe there is another hour of full sun on the panels. That delivers on the average hour about 400 Watt.  So there is 1200 Wh coming into the battery bank. These are LFP batteries, so there is hardly any loss on charging or uncharging. 

So actually, the household is in balance. With a loss of 1330-1200 Wh the deficit is 130 Wh. The Ya can continue  sailing half  the world this way!

This is another example how easy it is to start first at the consumption side before even thinking of regeneration. Because it is 3 times simpler, cheaper and safer and quicker.

ps: lots of sun is good for energy on board of Ya, but not so much for human skin.

For those readers who want to protect their skin from the sun, but do not wish to harm the marine environment: read again

Posted on

Ya for sale

It is time for a new chapter in life. Peter’s body and soul ask to begin to say farewell to the ocean sailing.

After 11 years of intensive sailing, first as a charter yacht with guests on board and then for private purposes, the Ya is for sale.

You can find the sales story on the site of WhiteWhale Yachtbrokers .

Right now, we are slowly sailing to Europe, to finish her second circumnavigation.

Here you read what Peter has in mind with the Ya before, while and after all these years of sailing. You get some background reasons why he and Dick Koopmans sometimes chose for other options than what you see on the mainstream yachts. Like: why no traveler, no genoa rail, why a centerboard, why carbon masts and not aluminium? Yes, these choices often cost extra money, but at the end it was not that much; the price is probably 10%  higher, but you win a lot on safety, on comfort, a better trim. Often it also implies that you are safer and more prepared to get into adventures off the beaten track.

Design of the Ya

In 2010 three naval architects were challenged with a tender to design a small but comfortable, spacious yacht that would sail and cruise the world. The title of the tender was: Sailing is Playing. It became a Koopmans design.

The Ya is a rather extraordinary yacht. This yawl is made for sailors. Sailors who want to cruise the world sailing (so with sails, not diesel). She is fitted to sail autarkic, to get to the remote places, off the beaten path. The Ya is so much self-supporting, she even doesn’t use diesel or gas, so fossil free.

This yacht proved to handle the Roaring Forties well and she is able to sail in light winds. She even sailed through the Doldrums. Fossil free of course.

The hull

She is only 10 meters long, but her 4 meters beam is wide. This gives her a more effective form stability. The stability is designed on 125 degrees, 5 degrees more than the CE-A (Ocean) requires.  The CE-Ocean requirements are often met beyond the strict norm. The windows construction, for some people a point of doubt, also meets the Lloyds standards.

The hull is vinyl ester on foam (so no osmosis). There is a final layer of Kevlar in case of running aground or heavy hits.

The hull is smoothly flattened and professionally provided with Copper Coat in 2026. The heat exchanger in the hull and the Autoprops are coated with PropSpeed foul release.

There is a centerboard, to be lifted by hand (so no electric/hydraulic things that can stop working). All ballast is inside the ship. The centerboard gives extra trim opportunities. When the centerboard is up on downwind and running courses, especially in hard weather, she sails much smoother and straighter, calmer than a keel yacht can. And, when sailing close hauled, the centerboard is down to 2.65 meter, it is way more effective against leeway than a regular keel can do.

With the centerboard up, the Ya’s draught is 65 cm so she comes at the remotest places. And she can pick a nice spot to dry out.

The Ya is fully insulated with 11 cm of PIR foam for a better interior atmosphere. This also gives extra floatability. Together with the air compartments and a fully closed engine room, the ship would in theory stay afloat in case of a hull damage. That is only theory. But at least it gives us time to abandon the ship in a calm and thorough way.

The rigging, the sail plan and the sailing

Before we start sailing, first the deck. The deck of the Ya is probably the only deck without ‘things’ on it. Like a genoa rail, or a stay and plating, pad eyes and what have you to break your toes. In warm weather you often walk barefoot, so the deck is designed to be completely free from ‘toe breakers’.

The yawl rig and the versatile sail plan invite sailors to sail. Its diverse possibilities are challenging for the sailors who like to use their brains, experience and feels. For this last group, the Ya could be the yacht.

The masts are carbon fibre, because it is light and spares a lot of (counter) weight. The booms are of aluminium. The bowsprit and spinnaker pole are also carbon. Now they are so light and easy to handle, that makes it worth every penny.

The smallest sail is the mizzen. It is only 5 m2, but this sail makes her even keep course in very light winds, when other yachts already have to start their engines.

This is the sailplan when beating close hauled. We hardly do that, but Ya is able to keep a beautiful upwind course because of this mizzen. That saves a lot of engine hours.

The 38 m2 mainsail is built out and fully battened for an effective propulsion. This sail works. Yes, it is opposite to the trend of mast furling. But this built out sail has the surface where the wind is: higher. And, we have no risk that the furling gear gets stuck when in a storm. The full battens also make reefing and lowering easy.

The sail has a tackline (so no fixed boom) for a better trim and to keep the shape durable. It costs a bit, but it saves a lot. So every sail on board has a tack line.

The main sail (and also the mizzen and staysail) is sea sheeted. This means with double sheets: one to starboard, one to port. This way you can trim the sail well all the way from close hauled to dead down the wind. That is not possible with a traveler rail (mostly only close-hauled trimming). The sea sheeting is worth it, because a world cruiser sails mostly running courses. The sheet blocks can be placed on several padeyes. If you put the fore sheet block to the most forward pad eye, it works as the preventer. For sailing on rivers there are two pad eyes in the toe rail, to make a quick gybe safe and easy. And, if a block of one sheet breaks, you still have the other sheet as backup.

The 20 m2 staysail is self-tacking, with a boom rotating for self trim: a big curve in the sail when running, and a sharp lift profile when the sail is pulled in. There is a tackline, to save the shape and to trim the luff effectively.

The storm staysail of 5,5 m2 can replace the staysail.

The bowsprit is 2.5 meters long, and that makes the sails effective in a wide wind angle. A course change doesnot imply that you must lower the sail and that is what I want as a lazy cruiser, just hoisted that sail.

The jib is furling around a full anti-torsi line, that also works as temporary stay. It is set on the bowsprit with a tackline that runs to the starboard cockpit winch. For the sheet we mostly use the mizzen winch.

The long spinnaker pole is exactly on length to pole out the jib. Thus, it makes the jib the most used sail in trade winds, after the staysail.

With running tradewinds of around 15 knots, we sail nice and fast with a 150-160 degrees wind angle with the mainsail 2nd reef, the staysail and jib. When the wind gets 10 knots or lower, we take the reefs out.
The sail is painted during a ‘Paint your Future’ project by the children of the Orphan House ‘Johanna’ in Surinam. See the film on the Fossil Free Around the World Channel on youtube.
With stronger tradewinds, we sail downwind with the simpler version of the double-poled-out double-staysail sail plan. The jib on the bow sprit is poled out on the spinnaker pole and the staysail on its own boom. With the centerboard lifted complety, she stays easily on course, and we sailed her through the Timor Sea with 32 knots true wind.

The flying sails are the gennaker and a Parasailor, both can be set on the bowsprit with a tackline (next to the jib tackline), on the stem or on the spinnaker pole.

The gennaker is made for, and works fine till 15 knots of wind. The sail does great when running or abeam. The sail can even do 65 degrees upwind, but there is not much forward power left over then. I had great joy with it, but I often kept on sailing it with an apparent wind over 15 knots and then a broach and…. 🙁 .  The five tares are all repaired and sawn professionally.

The gennaker starts pulling from 70-75 degrees.  But since the Parasailor is on board, we hardly set her.

For us as a shorthanded cruisers, the Parasailor is the ideal flying sail. It sails like a steady spinnaker, and without the disadvantages of such sail. Its profile opens the sail steady in light winds of only 5 knots. When it blows 15 knots the hole in the sail works as a safety valve. You can get the sock down on your own even with 18 knots. It is a big sail, but with a bit of experience with the sock, she is still easy to manage alone. Whereas Inge always looked worried with the gennaker up, she always smiles when the Parasailor is up. We share the joy.

The Parasailor can be set with a spinnaker pole, but at sea we often set the sail on the stem, simply because it is easier. From the stem she sails fine between 80 and 120 degrees.

The cockpit

The two rudders are placed on a 15 degrees angle, to make the course steadier and more comfortable in gusts. It is also nice to have a backup rudder if one breaks. The Aries windvane is connected straight to the rudders, so no lines through the cockpit. The Aries steers well and steady, and if not, it is because a sail is to big or wrong sail. This really solid windvane steering gear is forgiving when mistreated, and it made my sail trim better.

Each tiller can be lifted to get more space in the cockpit. They are also used to lift the rudder blades.

In the transom on the port side a swimming ladder can be flapped out. On Starboard is a flap to make an easy step to the quai or dock when moored astern.

The cockpit is big, but green water will be drained in 1-2 seconds through two holes under the swimming ladder and flap. In the front in the corners there are two little drains for the last bits of water, or rainwater.

The cockpit is wide. Plenty space for a get together with 10 people to spend the evening.

The biminitop frame is on 2 meter height from the floor (not visible here). The floor consists of a 15 cm high iroko frame. If necessary, this can be lowered 12 cm, so the height would then be 2.12m.

Behind the mizzen mast is the fender box.

The pole on the port side of the center of the cockpit functions as a steady grip. On the pole the cockpit table can be slid down.

In a rough sea I make the cockpit smaller by making lines from astern to the sides of the entrance.

There are two storages. On the port side there is the bosun’s storage, and on starboard the sails storage. Both have a wide hatch to open.

The compass is mounted on SB in the bulkhead. On the port side there is the panel and double throttle for the motors, and next to it the B&G plotter. Lower is a foldable step, in case you have bad knees. Smaller people use this step also as a seat.

There are two double speed winches, on starboard and on port over the bulkhead, just on top of the little awning. To save my lower back, I can run the winch handle on four levels: when standing on the cockpit floor, on the lower bench, on the higher bench or on the side board.

In the center of the bulkhead is a wide opening to the saloon. This width is technically possible because the sliding hatch and three wash boards are made of unbreakable polycarbonate. There is close contact to the saloon inside and the cockpit and that gives a new dimension to living and cruising on the yacht. Like on a modern catamaran.

Inside

The cockpit-saloon-contact is also close, because the saloon floor is only two steps lower.

The wide beam gives the yacht the spacious room under deck. The large full windows improve this experience and bring an extraordinary lot of daylight. When you sit you see the horizon, and what’s going on outside at sea or on your anchor spot. The height is 2.0 meter, under the sliding hatch 1.90.

The layout is traditional, so the space is not split up in cabins. Two persons can live here, and when there are guests, six persons sleep here comfortably. I chartered the first circumnavigation, with guests staying one month on the average, and we were always with two to four people.

The chart table is to the starboard.

There is a book shelf on it. Next to it is a small cupboard, an outlet for 230V and two outlets for 12V/USB.

The switch board includes the 12 Volt users, anchor switch, and the device to have control on the 230Volt system. All this together works fine.

There is a navigation laptop on the chart table with OpenCPN from which we generally navigate. It includes charts for a circumnavigation, but they are dated 2011. It has GPS and AIS (reception and transmitting). The plotter outside, also with AIS, is used as a backup. There is also an iPad for new Garmin-Navionics charts, to safely enter the coasts.  It has a watertight cover of thick rubber. It works also as a second back up.

The chart table also comes with a third backup, the paper charts. They cover the circumnavigation from Europe through Panama and along south Africa. There is also a sextant and the Sight Reduction Tables to get a plot if you’re able.

The drawers include a bag of flags of countries around the world and prints of most of the manuals.

One of the drawers is also built as a Cage of Faraday, to put your devices in when there is lighting.

When not under sail, we often use the chart table as desk to work on, like writing articles and so on. Privacy seems to be an attitude, because when one works there, he is not disturbed.

Before the chart table, there is the pilot berth. Behind the chart table is the quarter berth, currently used as sail storage. Both are longer than 2 meter and rather wide.

Every berth on board has its own light, a 12 Volt/USB connection and a fan.

The galley

The galley has a double sink with a washing water tap (pressurized) and a drinking water tap (foot pump). See ‘water system’ for full functioning and details.

The fridge is 50 liter and adjacent is a freezing part of 25-30 liter, just enough to freeze in a 5 kilo tuna and a 5 kilo wahoo. Usually the fridge on yachts is poorly insulated, so it consumes much energy on yachts. Then one needs a whole lot of solar panels, or batteries. Or diesel. On the Ya it is 4 times better insulated than usual and 3 times less consuming.

The compressor and element are renewed in 2026.

There is a double induction cooker, a double skinned water cooker, a bread baking machine, a microwave. All this saves about 70-80% of energy compared to traditional gas cooking. See the spread sheet ‘Energy Balance’ on this website, read the numerous articles about it, or check ‘Duurzaam Varen’, (‘Sustainable Sailing’ in Dutch), ISBN 9789064107801. Being free of gas, also makes the ship safer.

There is an extra cupboard with three drawers. The bottom one is an insulated ‘hay box’ to slow cook or to safely put a hot pan away. In practice it works as a third ‘burner’.

Table section

The table and couches gives plenty place for 4 persons to eat. The couches invite to lie alongside the table, what I often do. The table can be lowered and turned into a double bed. There are some cupboards on the port side next to the table and couches.

The table is just big enough to make it a six person table if necessary.

Stepping through the door of the bulkhead, you see to the right a closet for sailing coats. Afore is the door to the drytoilet, with sink and shower.

The dry toilet has its natural air ventilation through the sewer and holding tank, and into the mast (chimney effect). This way the disadvantage of a big fan/blower running continuously to suck out the smell, is effectively solved.

On the port side, there is a small double bed of 200X135/80. Before this bed there is the bulkhead to the watertight peek compartment with the anchor chain box in it. There is a watertight hatch to get into that compartment.

Engine room

The engine room is shown in the picture here under. It opens with a big watertight hatch, to keep the moist out. The blue cylinders are the motors, E-Tech 7 kW each (total 19HP). But we often call them regen(erator)s because 99% of the sailing time they are used for regeneration to feed the battery bank. Above each motor is a controller mounted. The motors are cooled by a closed cooling fluid system, including a stainless-steel heat exchange built in a recess in the skin of the hull. So, no risk on blockage or leaks by seawater.

The engine room is spacious because there is no big diesel engine and its appendages in it. Here I show the opened 48Volt distribution box.

To the left side behind the motor and controller is the grey distribution box for the 48volt system. The cable from the battery bank comes in here and every connection to the various users and regenerators are made in this watertight box.

Just behind it is a little DC/DC converter, converting 48-volt to 12-volt for the board net of the yacht. Next to that is a 12-volt distribution box, for all main connections and main fuses in the 12-volt board net.

Invisible but behind this distribution box is a little 12-volt solar panel converter. The solar panels in the windows deliver their power to here and this device converts the current suitable to fill the 12-volt battery and board net.

In the aft on the bulkhead is from left to right:

  • The solar MPPT converter for the bimini top panels
  • The solar MPPT converter for the deck panels
  • The MPPT for the wind generator, which can also be used a backup MPPT for the ones here above.

To the right side, just next to the controller of the portside motor, is the Studer Xtender inverter/converter. Its inverter takes the electricity from the 48Volt battery bank to make 230Volt for the galley equipment and more. It is also able to convert shore power to 48 volt, to charge the battery bank.

Just behind it, there is a spare converter. Just as the Studer Xtender it converts any shore power to 48-volt for the battery bank, but only up to 700 Watt.

Behind that, is the 230-Volt distribution box with fuses and connections.

Behind that is still space for a small hot water boiler. The cold and hot water lines are already installed and the fusebox has a separate fuse for it. Only, we never missed such a boiler.

Water system

There are 2 water tanks of each 275 liter. Both tanks can be filled with a hose from shore through the hose in the boatswain’s storage.

The port side tank is called ‘drink water tank’. Only the footpump under the galley sink is connected to it. Since one has to push pump it, it saves a lot of drinking water.

The starboard tank is called ‘wash water tank’. We also used it as the extra drink water tank. An electric pump sucks the water out here and pressurizes the waterlines to the tap in the galley, to the toilet/shower tap and to the deck hose/spray rolled up in the boatswains storage.

If you like to be self-supporting, you can use the tanks and the water smarter, and catch rainwater, or use sea water if you need to rinse only. Here is how it works.

First catching the rainwater. The whole boat is designed that way that all rainwater will be drained through the two outlets in the front of the cockpit floor. When you close the seacocks (in the engine room) and open the overflow line, then the rainwater will go into the wash water tank. This is as good as fresh water, but chlorine or silver ions need to be added to prevent deterioration. Then you can get the rainwater in the drinkwater tank by opening the connecting valves, under the floor. The water will level then.

If you only need water to rinse, you can use seawater. Then, open the seacock down in the food storage bilge and push the diverter valve down. Then, the seawater is connected to the pressure pump and the wash water tank is disconnected. The pressure pump pumps the sea with pressure into the water system, which consists of the tap in the galley, the toilet/shower and the hose/spray in the boatswains storage. From there you can rinse with seawater now and save your scarce fresh water.

You read Dutch? It’s all worked out in the book ‘Duurzaam Varen’, (‘Sustainable Sailing’ in Dutch), ISBN 9789064107801.

This is the watersystem as drawn out in the book ‘Duurzaam Varen’ (sorry in Dutch).

Energy system

There is no diesel engine on board, just electrical. As long as you only use what you need, you can stay energy neutral or energy positive. It is a bit of an awareness that most of us lack, but you can easily get this by checking the energy meter above the chart table. That is the key thing. The technics here under is the detail stuff.

The display shows what comes in and what goes out on electricity. Once people are aware of their use, they use only what they need and then the usage goes down rapidly to an energy neutral level. Some guests really became fanatic about that and start correcting everybody on their electricity use 😉

Let us follow the current of electrons to explain how it technically works. On anchor, the battery bank is charged by a set of solar panels on the biminitop, a set on the top deck, the wind turbine on the mizzen mast. That is enough to stay energy neutral.

When sailing, the solars do less because of the shades of the sails. But the wind generator does more and when over 4.5 knots, the two motors make it good. So good, that we nearly always end up with a full battery bank before we see the coast of our destination. A reliable feeling. Once only one motor worked, and we still were energy neutral. So no worries on the energy.

You can read in the Energy Balance on the website how the Ya does in various scenarios. In the book Duurzaam Varen it is worked out in detail.

Electric instead of diesel makes things more reliable, safer, and more understandable. And it is way more simple on the maintenance and repairs.

At first glance, the electricity system looks complicated, but it is not. It is way simpler than a diesel engine.

It is acrually three separate systems and these are clearly recognizable.

  • The 48 Volt system. This is used to regenerate, and to store the electricity in the battery bank, to run the motors for propelling and to feed the 220Volt and 12 volt system. The 48 volt items in this system are:
  • Battery bank 42.5 kWh1 biminitop panel, 720 Wp1 set deckpanels, 320 Wp1 wind turbine, 480 Wp2 motors each 7 kW, used as engines and as regeneratorsStuder Xtender to invert the 48Volt to 230 Volt AC and to charge from shore power.
  • DC/DC converter Smart Solar, to feed the 12-volt system.

All connections, junctions and fuses are put in the grey 48-volt distribution box (the open box in the picture). All 48V cables to and from it, are put in a black flexible pipe.

  • The 230 Volt system. This electricity comes from the Studer Xtender, or, in case you are plugged in on shore power, from shore. On the switch board at the chart table you can switch it on and off under ‘Energy’.

The 230 Volt users are:

  • Galley: induction cooker, water cooker, bread baker, microwave.
    1. Chart table: one outlet Dinette: one outletBoatswain’s box: one outletStuder Xtender to convert 220 to 48 volt, for charging the battery bank
  • (spare or if want, boiler)

      In the engine room is a separate box with all connections and fuses. The 230 Volt cables are all yellow, or covered in a yellow flexible pipe.

      • 12Volt boat system. This system is just like on any yacht. Except, for safety all main connections and fuses are made in the 12 volt distribution box in the engine room.

      Like on most other yachts, all the lights and other users can be switched on the switchboard at the chart table.

      The only maintenance the system needs is that you put the 230V plug into shorepower every two months. The Battery Management System does it from there and it is ready when you see 100% on the display.

      The Studer Xtender can be set to all sorts of shore power in the world, even the irregular. And If there is no shore power available (like in the Pacific), there is a little petrol generator on board. I also use this generator as a back up.

      Although a Studer product doesn’t fail, there is also a small backup charger of 700 Watt.  And there is a 2000W spare inverter.

      To prevent moist/maintenance on the battery bank and the BMS, the bank is installed in a watertight compartment. For an hour per day a dehumidifier and air circulation system keeps everything extremely dry there.

      The little 12 Volt battery is maintained by the app of the Smart Solar MPPT. It is your choice to automatically or manually switch on the equalization process.

      Survey and more

      There is a comprehensive survey made in 2026 by Topside Marine Surveyors. It is done when the Ya was on the hard. Peter can send the report to you. These things came out:

      • The aluminium toe rail under the GRP is corroded on some places and delaminates the GRP. Cause is water along the stanchions. I will close that, clean the aluminium and I will renew the delamination.
      • The little awning over the cockpit makes a different noise under the surveyor’s hammer, so the surveyor concludes it could be delamination. Only a destructive proof can prove that. I know that the awning is built on separately in the building process and a different not constructive material is used, which makes the different sound. I understand the position of the surveyor, but I consider the chance on delamination close to zero, so I don’t take action on that. The winches and pad eyes are mounted on aluminium inserts, so no risk on that either.
      • The carpentry shows various darks spots as a consequence of historic leaks. I accept that and took it into account in the sale price of the yacht. I leave the decision to the new owner to do something about it or not.

        More to know:

        • At Whitewhale Yachtbrokers  you will find the sales text and a lot of pictures.
        • On www.fossilfreearoundtheworld.org you can check The Yacht for all details and numbers. Or check the Blog for our stories the last 6 years. On History you will find older stories, including the building process.
        • On the Youtube channel: Fossil Free Around the World you will see our experiences. Also with some videos sailing the Ya, like with the Parasailor.

        Contact Peter on info@fossilfreearoundtheworld.org or send him a Signal app. (No Whatsapp), +316 283 44 823

        List of products, devices and parts

        All devices listed here, you buy with the Ya. So this is in the price included. You already read about the double motor, double solar panels, double/triple navigation system. Here under you find much more to be prepared to go safely off the beaten path.

        Here and there the age of purchase is mentioned. If no age is mentioned, it is from 2015.

        Ground tackle

        1 Rocna anchor 25 kg, galvanized in 2026

        55 meter of galvanized 10 mm Force DIN766/A chain, 2026 (it means that it can stand the heat of another galvanizing if you need to).

        1 kW anchor chain winless with extra drum

        60 meter of 20mm anchor line, 2020 (line fits and runs through the gipsy wheel)

        50 m orange 5 mm floating line

        Second anchor: 1 aluminium Fortress FX23 anchor with 25 m of line incl 10 meter leadwoven line, 2020

        12 meter of galvanized 10 mm chain

        200 meter roll of 14 mm polypropylene black mooring line

        1 10 kg bar of lead.

        Third option: 1 spudpole for ‘anchoring on the spot’ up to 2.5 meter deep

        Mooring

        3 polypropylene black mooring lines 14 mm 10-15 meter

        2 black cylinder fenders 25cm

        1 ball fender 80cm (backup, not blown up)

        1 white fender cylinder 20 cm

        1 fender step, works as step

        Sails and running rig

        • Mizzen sail 5 m2(2023), dyneema halyard and topping lift, tackline, double sheet, sail cover
        • Mainsail 38 m2 (2024) dyneema halyard (2020) and topping lift, tackline, boomvang (up/down), sailcover. Ronstan battencar system (2025)
        • Staysail (2024) m2 dyneema halyard (2020), tackline, sailcover.
        • Storm jib 5,5 m2 instead of staysail.
        • Jib 28 m2 on a furler, dyneema halyard (2020) tackline together with furling line to the cockpit winch. In sailbag.
        • Gennaker 68 m2, polyprop/polyester halyard (2026), tackline to the cockpit winch. In sail bag.
        • Parasailor 104 m2 (2020) with 4 sheets (2020): 2 to the cockpit winches and if wanted: 2 to the mast winches. In special bag.
        • 2 Lewmar 40 double speed winch
        • 2 Lewmar 14 single speed winch on main mast
        • 1 Lewmar 14 single speed winch on mizzen mast

        Lines, boatswain’s box

        • 1 spare halyard dyneema 35 meter new
        • 1 spare halyard dyneema 30 meter old
        • 1 spare line for Aries
        • 20 meter water hose with connections
        • 5 meter flex water hose
        • 20 meter yellow CE proof electricity cable 3 wire 2.5 m2 with CE plug and counterplug
        • 1 adaptor CE to European
        • 1 adaptor European to CE
        • Boatswain’s chair
        • Extra harnas with Boatswains chair
        • Device to hoist yourself into the mast
        • Footholder steps to put in cockpit frame
        • Navigation devices
        • Suunto Compass with night light
        • Beamer LED 12V
        • Simrad RS40A VHF (2026)
        • B&G Plotter Zeus Touch (no sd card)
        • B&G Extra display
        • B&G Windsensor (2026)
        • Airmar BST800 depth sounder, temperature, speedlog (2026)
        • COBRA Float 350 Handheld VHF (2020)
        • Amtrek B100 AIS transceiver (2020)
        • Microsoft Laptop with OpenCPN, Predictwind, Wifi repeater, and other apps
        • Sextant
        • Sight reduction Tables for Air Navigation
        • Wifi antenna repeater for in the mast

        Motors and props

        • 2 E-Tech WG7 electric motors SB 1301D5H319Z, BB 1301D5H318Z
        • 2 Kelly/Etech controllers for regeneration and propulsion
        • 1 telephone with the ACADuser app on it.
        • 2 25 mm steel propshafts with Volvo inner bearings and outer bearings
        • 2 Autoprops 415 mm

        Regeneration

        • (2 E-Tech motors and Autoprops, see above)
        • 3 solar panels Sanyo 240Wp 24 Volt
        • 1 MPPT Epever XTRA3210N/XTRA4210N for 48 V
        • 4 solar panels Sinoltech Flex 03-80 80Wp (2026)
        • 1 MPPT Epever XTRA3210N/XTRA4210N for 48 V
        • 1 wind generator SilentWind Pro 400 (2020)
        • 1 MPPT SilentWind Pro (2020)
        • 2 solar panels Sinoltech Flex 03-40 40Wp (2026)
        • 1 MPPT SmartSolar MPPT 100/20 (2026)
        • 6 solar panels Hyett Flex Custom 10Wp
        • 1 Sunware Fox 220 PWM

        Battery bank

        • EV-Europe 3P16S battery bank 48V Lithium Ferro phosphate, 42.5 kWh (2021)
        • EMUS Battery Management System (2021)
        • 1 Eva EDV-1200 Dehumidifier
        • 1 Century 27lx-mf 12 Volt AGM battery (2026)
        • Studer Euroconverter 48/12V (2021)

        Converter/inverters

        • Studer XTender 6000W-48 V Converter/inverterDC-AC Power Inverter
        • HTRC p3648 smart charger 700W 48V Converter (2026)
        • SmartSolar MMPT 75/15A 48/12V Converter (2024)
        • EV-Europe 220V/3,2V converter

        Galley devices

        • Induction cooker Nova 3500W ((2020)
        • Watercooker NEBIS 1000W (2024)
        • Bread Baker Inventum M35
        • Micro Wave ETNA ECM 153

        Safety Gear

        • SB and PS jackstays/-lines
        • Jackstay/-line cockpit
        • Liferaft Seago 4 persons, approved till April 2029
        • 1 Iridium transceiver with antenna on biminitop
        • 1 handheld VHF with extra separate battery set
        • 2 PLB1
        • 3 Secumar 275N life vests, need service, each with:
        • Safety line
          • PLB1
          • personal laser beamers
          • spare CO2 cartridge
          • spare salt melting tablet
        • 4 fire extinguishers, expired.
        • LED Flare
        • Beamer LED 12V

        Dinghy

        • 1 West Marine dinghy PRU-3  (2023)
        • 1 set of oars
        • Airpump
        • Repair set

        Fishing gear

        • Roll with fishing line and bait
        • Pieces of lead in various weights

        Backup devices, spares, maintenance materials and special equipment

        Sailing off the beaten path brings the extra responsibility to keep everything running. The double motor is a typical example. At sea and in the tropics, all devices are exposed to extreme sun, temperature, moisture. Technical skills on board are limited to the standard maintenance (although I learned a lot). But one doesn’t have to be an engineer to exchange things: unmounting and mounting the backup thing in.

        This led to a number of extra devices, spare parts and extra equipment.

        Navigation

        • Spare navigation laptop, everything installed, ready to exchange
        • 2nd spare navigation laptop of HP, all apps on it, it still works, but it is slow and old)

        Sails, rig and ropework

        • 20 various shackles
        • 5 spare blocks (Rutgerson, incl mainsheet bloSpare Rutgerson block parts
        • 2 spare sail battens 4 meter
        • 1 spare aluminium 39mm threat nut for Lewmar winch
        • miscellaneous

        Sail repair set

        • Sail repair tape for light cloth (gennaker et cetera)
        • Sail repair strips for dacron cloth (mainsail et cetera)
        • Diverse pieces of sail cloth

        Rudders, steering

        • Backup Simrad Tiller Steering TS10 12Volt
        • Spare Aries vane
        • Spare Aries tab
        • Spare Aries counter weight
        • Spare Dyneema lines for Aries
        • Spare JEFA bearing including JEFA roll

        Pumps/water

        • Spare pressure pump for wash water
        • Spare pressure switch for pressure pump
        • Spare Ocean 12V 24-62 l/m bilge pump with level switch
        • Spare Ocean 12V 24-62 l/m bilge pump with hose and plug 12V
        • Maintenance set Whale foot pump drinkwater
        • 1 maintenance set Trudesign  diverter

        Motor and props

        • Grease for inner bearings
        • Grease gun with grease for Autoprop
        • 2 stainless steel wedges for opening propshaft coupling
        • Wooden piece for under propshaft coupling
        • Prop shaft bearing stops/plugs (don’t throw it away)
        • 1 Spare Propshaft and key
        • Spare volvo inner bearing
        • 2 spare outerbearings 1” and 25mm
        • 3 Autoprop bearings
        • 3 Autoprop anodes
        • Special spanners and adaptors for Autoprop maintenance and bearings exchange
        • Autoprop small pulley
        • Fixed propeller 17” 25mm (spare)
        • Controller
        • 2 extra cooling fluid hoses
        • 1 liter of cooling fluid
        • 1 spare (old but still working) double throttle
        • 1 spare (old but still working) interior display for motor/controller
        • Spare plastic caps buttons motor
        • Spare button for motor

        Electric

        • 3 spare blades for SilentWindgenerator
        • Set of spare/maintenance parts SilientWind generator
        • Spare EMUS BMS (complete circuit board)
        • Spare EV Europe battery 3.2 Volt
        • Spare Studer RCC unit for xTender
        • Spare inverter 48V/230V 2000 Watt
        • 3 Spare DC/DC converters 39-60VDC to 11-15.5 VDC 3A
        • AC: diverse plugs to get around in the world for 110/220/240/Asian/etc

        DC: Diverse spare plugs and special wires (like NMEA, VHF, USB)

        Paint

        • Capri blue one component for touch up
        • Left overs what I used during the last refit (2026):
        • Epifanes Marine Primer
        • White gloss paint
        • Anti slip paint deck
        • UV varnish

        Miscellaneous

        • Water bail hand pump
        • Refill set for fridge (needs probably new cartridge)
        • 3 12Volt fans
        • Petrol generator Dehray Rig1000 (2024)
        • 3 petrol cans 20 ltr
        • 2 petrol cans 10 ltr
        • Petrol hand pump
        • Oil SAE 10W/30
        • Leftover pieces iroko and oak plywood

        Documents

        • Certificate of Registry Netherlands
        • Boat Passport (Dutch)
        • CE A certificate of approval
        • CIN number
        • Radio license VHF and PLB’s
        • Set of manuals of devices on board (paper and digitally)
        Posted on

        Arrival at Kupang

        Traffic from everywhere

        Sun Jun 14 2026 18:25:00 GMT+0800 (Centraal-Indonesische tijd)

        In the evening we heard on the radio a call for us. It was an airplane of the Australian Coast Guard. “What is you port of call, and your registration,” was the question. Peter gave the info Later that night again such a call, again from a Coast Guard plane. Now Peter asked what was the problem, what they were doing here, about 100 miles from the coast? (the territorial waters go till 12 miles from the coast). They said it was only a routine check. Which is even more worrying because one would hope these extraterritorial controls would be an exception.
        The next morning. On half a mile distance we saw an old Indonesian fishermans boat. Small, about 20 meters long. We checked it on AIS, the registration system to see boats on your laptop. Then, we saw suddenly 5 other ships on the AIS, and pretty close to us. The were named: 40%, 45%, 80%, 85% and 90%. But in reality we could not see any ship around us. Small dinghies that we can’t see behind the waves? Like an attack by the Australian Navy, because we asked the wrong questions?
        Then, we saw a little sail on a little mast on the water. Huh? Yes, just a sail, about half a meter high, catching full wind and it doesnot seem to move. And we saw more of these sails in a row after the first one. So no entering the ship bij Australian SEALs or other young people still doing what the boss says.
        What we saw was a fishing technique which is typical for Indonesia and it works like this. They take a long net and on one side the big ship is pulling, but on the other side of the net there is a buoy attached with a sail on it. That is what we saw. And on that net were five of these little ‘buoys-with-sails’ attached. Must be a big net. Then, we saw the big fisherboat make a slow turn, till the net formed a circle. That is the beginnng of the end for the fishes. The mothership pulls in the bottom line of the net, so there is no way out anymore. Then they pull the net in. at the end, the net forms a ball with all sorts of fish.
        This technique is very energy efficient. But the disadvantage is that you get all sorts of fish, and not one specific sort.
        There was more traffic. This time from under water. Our bait passed a yellow fin tuna. Long story short, we just ate ceviche.

        True or apparent

        Mon Jun 15 2026 19:33:00 GMT+0800 (Centraal-Indonesische tijd)

        the wind as it really blows, comes from a direction, let’s say: from the West. and let it be in this example 5 miles per hour
        Now, if you sail, or bike, or run, to the North with 5 miles per hour, the wind appears to be from the Northwest. The wind direction averages between (true) the West and (caused by your speed) the North. You experience a North Western wind. They call this wind on your sailing ship the Apparent Wind.
        Now, there is also a True Course. Next to the Magnetic Course. But Geerhard and Peter had a discussion about the course we must sail now. Peter: “In two days the wind will be East so we have to make a curve over the North a bit, to get an Apparent Wind of 160 degrees.” Geerhard: “Come on, I don’t understand shit of this, just tell me what is the course” Peter explains again, but no clue emerges in Geerhards mind. He simply replies: “then just give me your apparent course, just what counts on this boat. what is that? “

        Yesterday we changed the watch time because daylight gets later since we made many miles to the West,
        So in stead of midnight, Peter must wake Geerhard now at 1 o’clock. But he forgets that, calls him an hour to early, and Geerhard asks “Come on, Peter, is this true?” Peter realises his mistake and answers: “No, it’s the apparent time, what counts on this boat.”

        Wow, Wahoo!

        Tue Jun 16 2026 18:27:00 GMT+0800 (Centraal-Indonesische tijd)

        Yesterday we did everything to get space in the fridge and to eat as much as possible, so Geerhard could throw his line out for a next fish. He did so this morning and not even 5 minutes later there was a beautiful smal tuna on deck. We ate it during lunch, could put the rest in the freezer en still there was place. So Geerard couldn;t stop to throw the line out again.
        This afternoon he caught a beauty of our favourite fish, the WAhoo. 10 kilo at least. Wow. Again, we ate seviche and tonight we ate a lot of beautifully cut medaillons of the Wahoo. It was delicious. And, the rest just fits in the fridge and freezer.
        But for now we are packed. Fridge, freezer and two stommics.
        Wow.

        Anchored near Kupang

        Thu Jun 18 2026 09:44:00 GMT+0800 (Centraal-Indonesische tijd)

        Around midnight we lowered anchor. The predictions were wrong but in our favor, and we arrived way earlier than we expected.
        We had to deal with fishing nets in the water of a rather industrial size. That was the only worring hour.

        We have one apple left, one tomato, and further still plenty. Even a bag of 5 kilo of rice! And plenty of fish still in the freezer compartment. But we will do shopping here and do the repairs and sent the broken controllers to E-Tech.

        Now we are waiting for the authorities. Sometimes that takes long. In Bali 9 years ago we coud do all authorities in one day. If we do it that fast this time, that is written in the stars. But we patiently wait. We won’t die of starvation, plenty of rice.

        Peter always says that you have not arrived in a country if you are not cleared in and stamped completely. Often this costs a day. One could do it in an hour, if things would have been organised with a bit of sense. But no government does. If they make procedures, they only put more requirements into it, so it only gets more complicated. That complicated that you never know what new requirement they are up to. Indonesia is one of these countries. Perhaps not as bad as New Zealand or Australia, but on the issue of bad organizing they are the extreme. They tried to solve it by making the hiring of a Clear In Agent mandatory. This only covers the quality of the organization. With an agent, it makes it even more complex.  And expensive, because he counts $250, which is a lot of money down the drain.

        In our case, the first group of authorities came on board the second day after we anchored. It was Health. They had big forms to fill in, and they even wanted to know the motor numbers of our electric motors. For what? How healthy is that? It took Peter some hours to find these numbers.

        The  Customs also came on board. We gave them coffee. Two weeks earlier we did already send them the complete digital list of medicine on board, but they didnot know that, it was another department perhaps, so they were happy to see our printed lists, and they made pictures of that with their mobile phones. Which you can also call ‘digitalized’.

        Immigration was the easiest. Our agent took our passports, gave them the Crewlist, and Immigration stamped our passports before they even have seen us.

        For the Customs we later had to go to the Customs office. That is about a 1 1/2 hour drive, and the Customs said simply: “to give you the Clear In  document”.

        So we suggested that  they would give that document with the approval on board? The response was a big silence.

        The Health Department took longer. There were these motor numbers not yet filled in, and a blank spot on a form is about the biggest failt one can make, no matter the sense of the numbers. Our agent could sweettalk them into the final stamps.

        The Port Captain will give you a Cruising Permit on the condition that all other papers are ready. But the Port Captain was late today. After all, we arrived Wednesday night and now, Saturday morning, we are through the authorities.

        Now we really can say: we are in Indonesia!

        Posted on

        Great Barrier Reef, Zenadh Keh, Arafura sea. Wahoo!

        This week Ya’s crew sailed from Port Moresby to the Great Barrier Reef, the Strait of Torres (or Zenadh Key), safely into the Arafura sea. And they caught a Wahoo!


        Change course in the mouth of a Wahoo

        Saturday Jun 06 2026

        The weather prediction promised 22-25 knots (Force 6) for just the 1 1/2 day when we would be in the Great Barrier Reef, We even have to tack our way through the coral patches, in the night. And the NW currents would not be in our favour. This is asking for problems. Some writer wrote in a book: A good skipper can resist bad conditions, but the best skipper avoids them.
        So we checked the chart again.
        Some 150 miles to the South there is another entrance to the Great Barrier reef. To get there, we have to sail close hauled, upwind. But that is on the ocean. Once in the Graat Barrier Reef, we can sail with the wind and go in straight legs along the coral. And the current is in our favour,
        So we went for the new course.
        And not even an hour later, who did we meet? Kgggh,kkgggrrr. A Wahoo. This fish is more than a meter, pretty much 20 kilo. It took half an hour to get him on board and two hours to cut them in parts. Our fridge and freezer are fully packed now.
        A recipe

        • Bake toast
        • Cut some spring unions
        • Balsmico vinegar
        • Ricotta

        Then get yourself a fresh Mahu Mahu from the ocean, mince meat a part and put the ingredients to it.

        You ‘ll never eat something delicious like that.

        Exiting navigation moments to come

        Sunday June 07th 2026

        Always exciting moments if you go into a little hole inlands. Especially now, because the bottom of the ocean is 2 kilometer deep and the Great Barrier reef, 10 miles to the West, is only 10 or 12. Or even washing coral. Especially the last part is difficult, when it goes from 200 to 20 meters in just 2 miles. Or, that is the part that we take, because it could als go from 250 to 2 meters. There the waves break, and you don’t want to get there.
        First we circle around a first islet of coral. This breaks the huge ocean waves. Then, in the relative calm, where the depth is ‘only’ 230 meters we will head west. There it will go from 150 to 30 meter and then slowly less. This should work. The wind is around 20 knots lowering, the waves at sea 2,5 meters, but they will build up along the shore. Thats why we make sure there is a reef behind us, first taking the big waves.
        In about one hour we start with the manoeuvre.
        Tomorrow you will hear from us.

        Patient on board

        Monday June 08th 2026

        It was evening, clouded, no moon, dark.
        Then, BANG. Peter jumped into the cockpit and saw a booby. That is a short beautiful oversized seagull. He must have missed the Ya.
        Normally you chase these big boobies away because they shit like hell, but this one was crippled. He just sat. We left him seated. When he was in the way, Peter took him up and gave him a place in the corner. A booby hospitalized. He didnot want anything, not even a piece of our great Wahoo.
        The night passed and he was a silent companion of Geerhard. Then, with the first daylight, our patient simply flew away. We cleaned the cockpit. All stains of blood everywhere, he must have suffered.
        When he can fly, he can chase and catch fish. He will make it.

        Navigating by night through the Torres Strait

        Tuesday June 09th 2026

        Just when Peters watch began, we entered the Strait of Torres. It is not simply a straight channel, but a zig zagging route of channels with lanes in it as safe routes. With the limits that sailing brings, it is a challenge to navigate through. There are lights to help you, but sometimes many lights. You don’t see the distance of the light, so you have to figure out if it is the one nearby of that one which is 10 miles further. Peter loves it. We got lucky with the weather, because the wind decreased to force 4, a fresh breeze, nice to deal with when gybing throught the channels and around the islands and coral patches.
        Six hours later we were through it. There is an open Sea of Arafura to get through, the next 1000 miles.

        Old fashioned tradewind yacht sailing

        Wednesday Jun 10th 2026

        This is for sailors.
        This is one of the few times we do the trade wind sailing. The old fashioned trade wind sailng by a yacht is done with a double staysail, both poled out. So you do about a 180 degrees wind angle, so dead down the wind. Advantage is that you easily stay on a downwind course. Disadvantage is that the ship starts rolling, a motion that makes you roll in your bunk and you want a hammock. That is annoying. So we normally have a mainsail with a second reef, a staysail and on the bowsprit we sail a jib poled out aluff. We sail a running course, about 160 degrees true wind angle
        Now we have to much wind for that much sail. Normally we take away the jib. Disadvantage is that the mainsail makes you luff up a bit. with every bigger wave it changes course and before the windvane steering has corrected the course, you made another 10 meters to windward of your rhumbline. A pity, because we want to go more downwind. Now we tried it without the mainsail, and kept the jib up. So we have the jib poled out and the staysail on lee. We didnot change the windvane steering and remained the 160 degrees true wind angle. The result is amazing: the Ya keeps its 160 degrees and it doesnot luff up with every wave. So we sail much more in a straight way. The motion is like sailing in nearly flat water.

        Food

        Thuesday June 11th 2026

        When everything has its pace on board, food becomes the main topic. Every day we discuss about what the meal will be. Today we even discussed lunch
        We had some cooked left overs of Wahoo, so Geerhardt made a splendid big salad .
        It was pretty much so we even discuussed dinner time, and we ate rather late Tonight we ate a pasta bolognese, great with fresh garlic, paprika an some friendly galepinos. We expect rougher weatther, or especially the waves, so he makde plenty for a next time we can eat in about three days.
        Yesterday we ate thin lamb chops with cucumber salad and potatoes with a sauce. For lunch Geerhard prefered salami and Peter took a part of the Wahoo again, what we ate the day before.
        Now for tomorrow, everything is open for discussion. But we leave that discussion for tomorrow.

        Sailplan

        Thursday June 12th 2026

        Some days ago we described our new sailplan. Just a staysail and a job on the pole. Meanwhile we sail with about 20-22 knots (Force 5-6). Since this morning we get squalls with 30 knots of wind, and our sailplan prooved itself. We only went faster. The Ya stayed beautifully on course.
        Sometimes the wind changes 40 to 50 degrees. Often it is difficult to estimate if it is caused by large squall or that it is a permanent direction change. So sometimes we gybe for nothing and we have to ride out the squall before we can gybe back. So if you see our course a bit zig zagging, it is because we made a mistake. We enjoy sailing, so what the heck if we make some extra miles?
        We ate cubes of Wahoo with potatoes, carrots and haricots verts. Life is good here.

        Energy

        Sat Jun 13th 2026

        We miss one motor so we charge less. But the wind is that strong that we continuously have a loaded battery bank.
        OK the solar panels are less effective when the sails are up. Also, when we sail the tradewinds, we mostly sail with the wind, and that makes the wind generator less effective. Normally we have two motors to compensate that, and that always works, the motor overcompensate. And we arrive on our destination with a full battery bank.
        Now, it has already happened a week before arrival. Main cause is that the wind is blowing that strong, that the wind generator also delivers when sailing with the wind. And, because of our high speed, averaging some 6 knots, the only motor delivers well.
        So today we hit the 100%.
        In about 5 days we are close to Kupang and then the wind will be still. so then we will need our battery bank to motor a fulll day to Kupang. So perhaps we will arrive with a low battery?
        We will see.

        Posted on

        Boat jobs and Papua joys

        First thing we did after arrival was putting a priority list together. The radio was working with a poor range. The Aries needed some TLC and the radar suddenly stopped working after a seagull size XXL spent the night on it. The port motor controller was defect and the tablet we use for navigation could need a check.

        A damaged radio cable in the mast

        The part of the radio cable that was in the mast, was not working OK. Lucky us, the people here were very helpful and 3 days later there was a crane on a truck and we improvised a way to get the Ya close to the shore. Here the mast hangs in the crane.

        This tiny damage to the cable was enough to diminish the range of the radio to about 5 miles. A new cable through the mast solved the problem.

        Tablet repair

        This is how a tablet looks on the inside. They found the broken part. But… there is no spare part in Papua New Guinea, because this tablet is 4 years old and that is too new. Lucky us they are very creative to make something of nothing so we have a sort of fixed tablet now.

        Motor and Hall sensor

        Whatever a Hall sensor is, it is a circuit board thing and needs to be well adjusted. The technician of Etech gave all instructions to do so.

        Tooth

        Meanwhile Peter broke a complete tooth crown. The dentist fixed it for 250 Kina (about 50 Euro).

        Enjoying Papua culture

        Geerhard went to the Highlands, some 300 km into the high mountains. He enjoyed the hospitality of the Papua tribes while the Papuas enjoyed their traditions as well as Geerhard.

        The tale is that the big monster (next to Geerhard) attacks the people but leaves the skeletons in peace. So everybody is dressed and painted as skeletons.

        To Indonesia through the Strait of Torres

        When you read this, we are on our way to Kupang, West Timor, Indonesia. That will be a journey of about 1500 nautical miles, so some weeks again. We will go for 1 ½ day through the corals of the Great Barrier reef and finally find our way through the Strait of Torres. All this is on a plateau, where the bottom of the Pacific Ocean rises from two or three thousand meters to 20 meters. This implies strong currents. Also there is plenty of wind expected, so It is a challenging navigation.


        We will keep you posted.