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OCEAN VOYAGINGTop, two wellusedfishingvessels raftedup in Kupangharbor. Belowright, Nat andBetsy visitingthe Uluwatusea temple inBali.Again, he clearly did not wanthis good Christian friend toknow that he had already beenaboard Bahati. Rembrandt artfullysigned the necessary papersand we returned both our visitorsto the beach, quickly.Later, Napa returned to collecthis hat and the money forthe fuel. He told us his feewould be collected from BaliMarina as he was only acting astheir agent. But we could tiphim if we wanted and did wehave any whiskey on board?“I’d love a bottle for afterRamadan is finished.” We gavehim a bit of extra cash and abottle of JW Black Label whichno one aboard had been interestedin drinking since we leftMaine. Napa departed lookingand sounding quite happy afterexchanging cell number’s so wecould “stay in touch and recommendour friends” to hisgood service.A fine lineIn the end, we were very satisfiedwith Napa’s help and weexperienced our first Indonesiancultural adventure in theprocess. Just beware that if youask “how much?” he mayrespond “it’s up to you!” whichcan put you in a tough place.How much of a tip is appropriate?Of course, finally, it is upto you. But in Indonesia thereis a fine line between “tipping”and “graft.” In the end we gavehim a few thousand extra rupiahsand he seemed very pleased.No doubt we spent moremoney on this whole processthan we needed to, but Napatook the pain out of runningaround chasing the papers andstamps ourselves. So, at least forthe time being, best advice is to“Call for Napa!” on VHF 16when you arrive, but don’texpect any response until youare fully “anchor down” andclose enough to the beach. Bythe way, when we quizzedNapa about “the bond” he said,“No bond, no worries.” Welcometo Indonesia.The other option is to gostraight to Bali and check-in atBali Marina. Again, you can dothe run around to necessaryoffices and banks yourself, butmuch easier to let “Charlie”and “Haryo” manage it for youand pay them the required fee.We also found, after arrival,that you can anchor around thecorner in Serangan and letAlvin at TM Marine Services(also the home base for theRoyal Bali Yacht Club), do thechecking-in and out for you.Alvin’s a good guy and, thoughBali Marina will tell you otherwise,there seems to be noproblem letting him do thebureaucratic chase for you. Thebottom line in Bali, and all ofIndonesia, is that everyonewants a “piece of the action.”You will be charged somethingby whoever you deal with andeverything is negotiable.Again, the much-feared issueof “the bond” is a non-issue itseems, at least for the moment,as no one knows how to enforceit and everyone realizes that it ishurting the yachting business totry and hold people to this kindof extortionist payment. If youarrive with your CAITprocessed, a smile on your face,and a willingness to cough up afew extra rupiahs to help pavethe way, life will be easy.We also met at least one“super yacht” agent in Bali whohad apparently found a wayaround the whole bond issuefor his clients by “guaranteeing”payment himself shouldthey overstay their welcome.Everyone we talked with,including this “super agent,”the good folks at Bali Marina,and Alvin at TM Marine Services,were actively lobbyingwith the government in Jakartato try and do away with “thebond” issue all together. Howit all plays out next season,only time will tell.■Nat and Betsy Warren-Whiteare circumnavigating on theirMontevideo 43, Bahati, visittheir blog at: www.bahati.net.32 OCEAN NAVIGATOR SEPTEMBER 2010 www.oceannavigator.com