Sam Holmes Sailingvideo
Becalmed & our engines keep breaking on 7 day passage to Borneo
30 June 2026 · 32 min · 83K views · Tarampa
What this video covers
A seven-day passage from Tarampa in the Nusa Islands, Indonesia, to Kuching, Malaysian Borneo, is complicated throughout by alternating engine failures and prolonged calms.Watch Sam Holmes departs with one of two engines already down, navigating poorly charted reefs out of the island chain before reaching open water.0:20 Wind in the straits proves erratic — swinging direction and dropping to near zero — forcing a mid-passage anchor in 74 feet of water to stop backward drift while waiting for a current reversal at 9 p.m. On day four, the working engine emits a loud screech traced to a seized water pump pulley whose locking key had backed out; Holmes pulls the pump, installs a spare, then discovers a hose leaking where a screwdriver had nicked it during alternator work.13:16 A second engine remains disassembled throughout, suspected of harboring a dead animal in the bilge pump.17:37 Holmes uses a drone to measure clearance under a partially-constructed bridge on the Kuching river approach — a technique he flags as reliable where bridge heights are uncertain or unmarked.25:04 After clearing immigration, he explores Kuching: an orangutan sanctuary, a large cave system, and the Borneo Culture Museum.26:49 The next leg heads north to Miri and Brunei.32:03
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