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.