Who needs a Gearbox anyway... Ep 112

The wind disappears and drifting in the current we are heading towards the busy shipping lane... This engine will be the death of us!

This week on Sailing Nandji, we return to the islands of Karimunjawa to fix our headsail halyard and get some diesel so we are able to continue our journey towardsMalaysia. The further north we sail, the closer to the equator we go meaning light calm winds, smooth seas and massive squalls! We battle through relentless strong winds and rain to get the island of Belitung in sight. Needing to now traverse a busy skinny shipping lane through the dark night, we challenge ourselves with one hour shifts to concentrate on the compass as we upwind sail near reefs and islands. As the sun rises on our 6th day at sea, the wind disappears and we try to motor but nothing happens... Slowly in the 1 knot current we drift back towards the shipping lane... Who needs a Gearbox anyway... Ah, We Do!!

What an adventure we have been on to get this far towards our destination of Langkawi. Since deciding it was time we got a new engine, we were in Dili, Timor Leste at the time. Since then we have sailed over 1500nm to this point, spending over 20 days of the month of November at sea. December was something very similar! You could say we are determined or stubborn... Probably a bit of both to get this far! The adventure really begins when things go wrong. Living but that saying, we have been on one hell of an adventure! Hope you enjoy the vid! Yew!

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