Sailing Sorong, Papua, Indonesia

Dive boats in Sorong

Nice government buildings in Indonesia

Wisdom from the bureaucrats of Indonesia:
One man + hand = bad
One man + one woman = good
One man + two women = excellent!

The bureaucrats of Indonesia help you to understand their simple immigration processes. Notice that there is no end to this process.

A strange juxtaposition: fenced-in fuel storage yard, with resident deer herd

Sorong harbor

Sorong
Population 130,000

Hop on an angkot minibus (Rp 3000) and it will take you about half an hour to traverse the long business center of Sorong.  Several large supermarkets, fuel stations, and endless small hardware and repair shops are strung out along Sorong’s hot and charmless main road.  We found the city’s best feature to be the harbor, chock full of Indonesian boats of every size and description. 
As a major port, Sorong is probably the best bet in Papua for marine repairs- we were able to have our primary anchor straightened here after we bent it on Biak bottom clutter.  Check out the bustling main market for veggies, Sega (1 km south of dingy dock on main road) for best grocery selection, and Mandiri International Store for hardware and limited boat supplies.  Watch the dingies from the live aboard dive boats and land at the small dock ½ mile south of the Port where they tie up.  Next to this dock is a live aboard office whose manager offers help with fuel, repairs, and sells Raja Ampat park entry passes (Rp 500,000).  Passes are also available at the Raja Ampat office in the Hotel Meridian, near the airport.  Sorong is very strict on fuel; no filling of jerry cans at service stations, no fuel dock accessible to larger boats.

Customs
Customs in Sorong were unpredictable and sometimes unpleasant.  They interviewed us extensively about our plans in Indonesia, had a conversation with our agent in Jakarta, and at one point they requested that we pay the bond.  Fortunately this request had evaporated by the time we returned to check out.

Anchorage
Anchorage can be found north or west of Sorong.  Most local boats use the better-protected main anchorage in western Sorong harbor.  The main anchorage is deep (~60’+ in mud) with good protection to the south, east, and north, and limited protection from the west by distant islands. 
Anchorage is also possible in about 40’ off the broad shoals that front the town‘s north shore.  The bottom comes up quickly.  Be aware that if you land on the north shore, public transport does not go much further east than the main market.

Sailing Manokwari, Papua, Indonesia

Little So-and-sos

More funny FADs

Contrary to all appearances, this boat is not sinking, they've just got way too much wheelhouse built onto it!

Morning trash fire smoke over Manokwari

Convenient anchorage?  Helpful boatyard?  Nope- NAVAL BASE!

Manokwari
Population 60,000

Home to the fist missionaries in Papua, Manokwari today is a place of broad, quiet streets, many churches, and extensive waterfront slums.  To the south loom the dramatic Arfak mountains, home to traditional tribes, seaside transmigrasi villages, and birds of paradise.  In The Malay Archipelago, Wallace gives an amusing account of conditions here in the 19th century, during his unhappy soujourn in Manokwari.  Local guides  can arrange trips to the Arfak mountains. 
Basic hardware and repairs, supermarkets, restaurants, and a department store can be found here.  Also, (and apparently unique in Papua) there is an accessible fuel dock in the harbor.  Manokwari Customs was unusual in that it was staffed by local people and they did not ask us for a bribe.


Anchorage
Approach
Be aware of the dozens of Fish Aggregation Devices studding the approach to Manokwari, up to 10 miles offshore.  Two passes at south end of harbor marked by beacons.
As long as you can find room amongst the flat-bottomed, rope-and-rebar anchored local fishing boats, Manokwari harbor provides excellent shelter in all conditions.  Don’t be tempted to enter the man-made inlet and boatyard on the southwest side of the harbor; this is an unmarked naval base.  Anchor in 45’, mud.  We tied our dingy up to the semi-secure Port wharf where the Pelni ferries dock. 

Sailing Numfoor Papua Indonesia

Numfoor

An undeveloped island with a number of potential anchorages.  We anchored in 30’ coral and sand just outside of a small shallow inlet on Numfoor’s west side.  Anchorage was open to the west.  This is a lovely spot with a dramatic undercut limestone coast and a couple small islets standing out in a sand-and-rubble bottomed, very shallow bay.  Manam island, just to the west, reportedly has good snorkeling and some WWII wrecks.  Several friendly villagers paddled out to exhaust our limited bahasa vocabulary. 

West Papua Conflict

In 1963 Indonesia conducted a military takeover of West Papua, which was expecting to be granted independence by long-time Dutch colonizers.  Since then there has been low-level conflict between native resistance elements and the Indonesian military and police.  Without exception, the Papuan people we met during our stay were openly against the Indonesian presence.  Most of them claimed to have relatives in the resistance.

Some links on recent West Papua developments:

Conflict background and list of major events
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Papua_conflict

Attack on soldiers and retaliation by military in Wamena, June 2012:
http://www.amnesty.org/en/library/info/ASA21/020/2012/en

Some rare international media coverage- of deaths in Abepura in October 2011
http://www.smh.com.au/world/bodies-at-west-papua-barracks-20111020-1ma6e.html

Youtube video of the 2011 Abepura violence. 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZU3cDXsfirQ&oref=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.google.co.id%2Furl%3Fsa%3Dt%26rct%3Dj%26q%3D%26esrc%3Ds%26source%3Dweb%26cd%3D3%26ved%3D0CDEQFjAC%26url%3Dhttp%253A%252F%252Fwww.youtube.com%252Fwatch%253Fv%253DZU3cDXsfirQ%26ei%3DcDxMUKuaBMfnrAfUrIDYBg%26usg%3DAFQjCNHV2neQrbbsXKdqE4eqveA3kWgdVg&has_verified=1

Police Arrest Attendees of the Third Papuan Peoples Congress in Abepura October 2011

Biak, Papua, Indonesia

Biak
Population 60,000

Biak is a laid-back town on the south side of Biak island.  During the 90’s and early 2000’s Biak saw several violent confrontations between separatist protestors and police/army.  Today the separatist movement is still very much on everyone‘s mind, but the atmosphere is peaceful.  Fuel, very basic hardware and repairs, and supermarkets are available.  A basic bus network makes land exploration of parts of Biak and Supiori possible.  We enjoyed the mossy landscaped paths and local bird collection of the Taman Burung & Anggrek (Orchid and Bird Garden), a 45 min bus ride NE of town, past Mokmer.  Biak Diving  (ph# 26017 Jl Ahmad Yani 39) is the only dive agency in the Biak/Papaido area.  Local surfing/bird watching guide Matheus Rumbarar (ph# 082199064326) lives next to the small boat harbor and was a great help to us.

Anchorage
Biak harbor is an elongated, deep stretch of water inside a set of deep barrier reefs.  It is fairly open to swell and wind from the south.  We anchored in 60’ of mud, in front of the small boat harbor and blue awnings of the waterfront tables at the Intsia Beach Hotel Café.  Beware of debris on the bottom, poor holding, and sudden sharp squalls here.  We watched several small fishing boats on rope-and-rebar anchor systems drag in squalls here, and we almost drug onto the reef ourselves in a night squall. 
We were able to leave our dingy in the small boat harbor just east of Hotel Intsia Beach.

Customs
Customs was friendly but wanted a Rp 500,000 bribe before inspecting the boat.  We told him we had no money and the matter was forgotten.

Fuel
We were not able to fill jerry cans or arrange to buy commercial-price fuel here from any fuel vender.
Venders at the small boat harbor sold fuel for about Rp 6500/L out of small jugs; we ended up paying Rp 6500/L for fuel siphoned from a minivan’s fuel tank. We also unfortunately got some bad fuel from a local fuel yard, which looked OK but gave us engine trouble.

The Museum Loka Budaya, Jayapura

In Abepura, near Jayapura, on the grounds of the Cenderiwasih University, is the surprisingly good Museum Loka Budaya.  It has a large collection of Papuan artifacts.  If you're lucky you will get a get a lengthy personal guided tour from a volunteer English student.  The museum was partially funded by donations from the Rockefeller family.  Michael Rockefeller disappeared in 1961 during an art-collecting/adventure expedition to the Asmat region of Papua.

Traditional tools/weapons

Fish Trap

Model of traditional sailing boat

Spears

Shields

Arrows and armor

Traditional fishing spears

Drums

Traditional pillow!

Cruising Jayapura, Papua, Indonesia

Jayapura
Population 200,000

For us, coming to Jayapura from PNG was a huge culture shift- Jayapura is a typical Southeast Asian city- noisy, dirty, good food, low prices, safe streets at night.  Locals were friendly and outgoing but few spoke much English- lots of ‘hello misters’, even for Gini.  Jayapura has a sheltered, picturesque harbor and road links to scenic lake Sentani and shopping in Abepura.

Anchorage
Good shelter in most conditions can be found in Jayapura harbor. 
Approach. From the East: there are two shoals, one of which is marked, lying offshore to the southeast of the harbor entrance, south of the shipping area.  From the north: there is a large shoal NE of the northern harbor point. Be aware of many fishing platforms at the harbor entrance. 
Once inside, the harbor is generally clear with the exception of two well-marked reefs near the commercial docks and fringing reef around the two stilt-village clad islands.  A deep channel between the two reefs is marked by a red buoy on the northern side and a yellow buoy on the southern side.  Deep anchorage- 20m in mud can be found beyond the reef.  There is steady small runabout traffic through the anchorage and the concussions from nearby dynamite fishing were frequently audible through the hull.
We were able to tie up our dingy securely to the pilot boat dock, adjacent to the ferry wharf, behind customs.

Customs/Immigration
We checked in at Jayapura and had no issues.  Customs was very friendly and helped us with a number of questions during our visit.  There was no mention of the recently revoked bond law.
Immigration wanted no less than three copies of Everything- CAIT, crew list, ship’s papers, passports, visas, sponsor letter. 
Our surat jalan for all of Papua was free and fast of the city police station.

Fuel
Fuel can be obtained at commercial price through mobile fuel trucks or one of the Chinese shopkeepers.  Try the small boat operators for a possible subsidized fuel delivery.  We were able to fill jerry cans at the service station at the subsidized price US$2/gal.

Supplies
The main business centre consists of a number of small hardware, electronics, general retail shops, and restaurants on Jl Percetakan, Jl Ahmad Yani and Jl Sam Ratulangi.  Along the Jayapura-Sentani Road there is a long strip of upscale retail stores in Kotaraja/Abepura.  On top of a hill, just before Kota Raja there are a couple interesting temples with nice views- Hindu and Buddhist.  Sentani is full of small shops similar to those found in Jayapura but more run down.  Many Sentani shops were looted or destroyed in riots associated with the Papuan separatist movement in 1998-2002. 
The two night markets in town offer a modest range of vegetables.  10 min.s away by bus, the Hamadi market is one of the biggest in the region and open all day.  For limited western food products try Gelael in Jayapura, Sentani Square in Sentani, or the several large supermarkets in Abepura.
Bus fares along the Jayapura-Sentani road were as follows in 2012: Jayapura to Hamadi 2000Rp.  Hamadi to Entrop 2000Rp.  Entrop to Abepura 3000Rp.  Abepura to Waena 3000Rp.  Waena to Sentani 3000Rp.  Unless you are bus-lucky you may end up changing taxis in all these places if enroute to Sentani!  Taxi charter is about 50000 Rp/hour.
We discovered a knowledgeable electronics guy at Dok Lima in the northern suburbs.  Ask a taxi to take you to dok lima (5 min from the centre) and ask around for the computer repair guy.

Medical
The Rumah Sakit (hospital - literally “House of the Sick“) in Jayapura is not up to Western standards but has a lot more testing/treatment capabilities than you’ve seen recently if you’re coming from the Melanesia/most parts of the Pacific.