First night out of Sandakan

A little bit later than planned but we are now on our way. Courtney and Liz went up to the Kinabatagan River for a night in the Jungle Camp and enjoyed the beauty of the place and the river cruises to spot the wildlife. Sandakan Yacht Club was extremely friendly. Usual nice staff and all the different board members made a point to introduce themselves and often bought rounds of drinks for us.

And we had the company of another boat. Arawana, with Warren and Mary aboard who are also heading into Indonesia with a final destination of Darwin. We won't cross paths but will endeavour to keep in touch on the radio.

So with the boat full of food, fuel and water, we said our goodbye's to customs, immigration and the ports office, and left Sandakan behind at 3:30pm. The first few hours saw a steady sea breeze and had Reflections IV gliding along at six knots in a flat sea. Around midnight a series of squalls are passing over. Lots of rain and short bursts of 20 knots.

In and out with the headsail as the squalls went through til 1am when it calmed off with only a knot or two of forward motion. Early morning and light SW are keeping us around 4-5 knots. Very comfortable sailing. Have a favourable current of a knot and hope that will accelerate as we get closer to the Sibutu Passage.