pabloberrusailsvideo
Solo round-the-world sailing trip #17 - Bali / Thailand (Part 3)
21 April 2026 · 41 min · 9K views · South Bangka
Sailboat heels hard under cloudy sky, cutting choppy seas
What this video covers
Solo sailor Pablo navigates Daisy (the vessel Sofia) northward through Indonesian and Malaysian waters, covering roughly 26–52 nautical miles per day in multiple short hops across the Java Sea toward the Strait of Malacca. The segment opens with a full-day checkout from Indonesia at Belitung: four separate offices — customs, quarantine, immigration, and the Harbourmaster — consume the day from 0800 to 1300, with immigration stalling for hours because the office lacked a passport scanner.3:38 Provisioning at a traditional market and a supermarket follows before returning by dinghy through surf.2:57 Underway, Pablo skips a planned stop at Pulau Gelasa after finding no adverse current, extending a 30-mile leg to 52 miles.6:05 Subsequent passages along the Bangka island chain contend with persistent squalls reducing visibility to 50 meters, opposing current cutting speed to 2.5 knots, and dense bamboo fishing platforms requiring constant maneuvering.10:58 A multi-day weather hold at a protected anchorage north of Bangka reveals a serious diesel quality problem: the primary fuel filter turns gray and fills with sediment after just 36 hours of motoring, requiring immediate cleaning to prevent injector blockage.22:01 AGM battery management — keeping charge above 80% — and waterline scrubbing during heavy rain fill the layover days.20:46 Satellite chart imagery proves essential when electronic charts incorrectly show the boat over reef.18:17
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