The Bangka Straits are notorious for pirates. There is a natural choke point between Sumatra and Bangka Islands that makes it easy for pirates to intercept boats heading for Singapore. After our experiences in the Tiger Islands, I was eager to form a convoy with other sailboats. There was a group of us that had entered Indonesia as part of the Darwin to Ambon race. The race sponsorship was necessary for us to obtain cruising permits to transit from Indonesia to Singapore. A journey of many thousands of miles.
However, after reaching Ambon we split up as each boat had different places they wanted to visit. We visited Komodo Island to see the dragons. Gone to Gillies Island long before a Cola commercial made them famous, and our families had flown into Bali for a reunion and exploration of the island and its culture.
From there we had a wonderful experience sailing with hundreds of small, brightly colored trimarans, passed smoking volcanoes, but then had our scare in the Tiger Islands. From there we were headed to the notorious Bangka Straits.
Each morning we checked in via Amateur Radio with volunteers shore-side that tracked us. Each day I plotted the position of boats near me, and it became apparent that Iron Bark was on a likely intercept course with us to cross later that night. We didn’t know the boat but knew they had also been part of the race.
Unfortunately, our luck turned before then. In the late afternoon, as we approached Bangka Straits from a distance a fishing boat changed course ahead of us to intercept. We changed course to avoid them, and they changed course to intercept. This happened two or three more times, as the distance between the boats continued to shrink rapidly.
Recognizing the danger, we changed to a set of upwind sails and turned into the sea. Upwind the Lazy Bones is a beast in a seaway and can handily beat many boats. It looked like we would easily outrace the fish boat to windward, but up ahead I spotted a floating rope on the surface. We had no choice but to sail over it. Such a rope is often used to trap freighters and sailboats alike.
However, the Lazy Bones had been purpose-built with an underwater profile to avoid just such obstacles offshore and we sailed over the rope cleanly without fouling. Otherwise, I would have had to jump overboard to cut us free, with another boat rapidly approaching.
And it looked like we had made good our escape, but the fish boat continued to pursue us for the next hour or two, even though we were slowly pulling away. Then as night fell we came under the lee of Bangka Island and lost the wind. Under motor, the Lazy Bones had nothing like the power it has under sail. The fish boat began to gain on us.
At this point, a local ferry sailed by us in the opposite direction and the fish boat gave up the chase. I was unable to raise the ferry by radio but as it was becoming dark I assumed the fish boat had abandoned the chase, as we were showing no lights and would be hard to track unless they had radar.
The fish boat had a very small light showing that I could see through my binoculars. Likely a glow off the instrument panel. And as the ferry passed the light receded in the distance as we pulled ahead. However, once the ferry was past and out of sight, the fish boat again took up the chase.
It was this action, giving up the chase while the ferry was present combined with the previous course changes that convinced me this was a pirate operation. And unfortunately, without the wind, we were no match for the fish boat. Slowly over a period of 2 or 3 hours, they reeled us in until they were quite visible.
However, we had bought time. Based on my calculations, Iron Bark should be approximately 10 to 15 miles ahead of us. Not close enough to see, but close enough for short-range radio. I put out a distress call on VHF 16 specifically by name to Iron Bark and explained the situation. I requested that they turn around, even at great personal risk to themselves.
I was never so happy to see another boat’s lights appear over the horizon as Iron Bark closed with us. We also switched on our lights so that it would be plain to the fish boat following that the situation had changed. There were now two boats to face.
The clincher for me that this had truly been a pirate was that the fish boat abandoned the chase when our lights came into view. I could clearly see in my binoculars that they were rapidly fading into the distance as we sped away as best we could.
We were very fortunate Iron Bark had their radio on and were monitoring. Even so, VHF radio only has a range of 15 miles. Beyond that, we would not have been heard.
As happens we remained good friends with Iron Bark over the years and owe them a debt that can never be repaid. We joined 3 other boats later that night anchored in Bangka Straits. We were now a convoy of 5 yachts. The next day we were all chased by a waterspout and boarded by the local police, but that is another story.