Sailing to a place YouTube has never seen. Aru Islands.(Ep 309)
January 10, 2026 · 20 min · 4K views · Papua New Guinea
Boat cuts through jungle river in Aru Islands
What this video covers
The crew of a cruising catamaran navigates the remote Aru Islands in Indonesia, where they encounter challenging, uncharted waterways and poor holding ground. Navionics charts for the region lack detail, forcing the crew to rely on depth sounders and visual navigation while motoring through narrow, rock-bottomed channels.▶ 2:24 Anchoring proves difficult due to the prevalence of flat rock instead of mud or sediment, requiring the crew to secure the vessel with stern lines tied to trees to prevent swinging in tidal currents.▶ 10:18 Upon reaching the village of Waikua, the crew faces a medical scare when their child develops a high fever, necessitating a visit to a local clinic to rule out malaria.▶ 15:21 After the child recovers, the crew travels by dinghy through inland river systems to reach a bird-watching lodge in the jungle to observe endemic birds of paradise.▶ 17:08 The region’s infrastructure is limited, with no English-speaking locals and minimal medical resources, making self-reliance essential for passage planning and boat security.▶ 3:26
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