Raja Ampat Kayak Expedition: An Injection

One at a time from the boat, a bag carried over the head, passed to a pair of arms, and then to a pair of team on the beach...photo by Moira

一艘单舟, 一杆划桨, 一颗好奇的心

在世界的一端准备启航,

探索神秘幽深的珊瑚三角

淡粉红的暮色中,

一对瓶鼻海豚相伴漫游,

献上温馨的祝福

是平静, 是自由, 是向往, 暖上心头

~ poem by Ling

Each time the surf came, it drove our boat towards shore. A few times, the boat lurched forward and was almost wrecked on the sand. Our fate depended on 2 ropes - one handled at the bow and the other tied to the anchor. The papuan boatmen pulled the ropes and worked the throttle skillfully, keeping the boat outside the crash zone. Eventually they gave up trying to anchor the boat near shore, instead dropping anchor 15 meters out. 

All 600+kg of gear and 200kg of water then had to be brought on shore. 

One at a time from the boat, a bag carried over the head, passed to a pair of arms, and then to a pair of team on the beach...all the bags, water, and gear were passed on to dry land. Despite most of our gear in waterproof bags, no one wanted their bags wet, especially not the batteries and papers. It was a slow parade of bags in varying types and colors, proving their dependable worth for the expedition ahead. 

The heaviest bags weighed 30kg and these contained a folding kayak each. These packable kayaks were made of skin and frame. When assembled, they transformed into a sea worthy 4.5 meters expedition sea kayak, with capacity to carry our food, water, and gear for 2 weeks. When a surf approached, it was hard to lift these kayak bags over the crest. The papuan carriers jumped and heaved, barely keeping them dry.

To speed up the transfer, 12 boxes of water were thrown from the boat and pushed to shore. But their cardboard boxes were easily ripped apart by the surf and the bottles scattered about. It was salvage. 

Most papuans we met later unanimously agreed we were gila. First we paid the price of a house to be taken to the edge of nowhere. Then, we plan to paddle 250km back. Why paddle for 12 days if a spitboat could do it in 5 hours? If the boatmen shared similar thoughts, they were not showing much. Once the last bottle was salvaged, the empty boat rev up its twin engines and turned to leave. It would go back to Sorong, where we we picked up, and the boat would had consumed more than 1,000L of petrol...we were gila?

Upon hearing the reverberations, we stood up among the multi-colored bags and waved our gratitude. We were left on Pulau Coquille, a deserted island. An old growth sea almond tree, some bent coconut trees, so many hermit crabs; all with us for the night.

“Let’s fix up the kayaks and tents.”

Ling opened her kayak bag and stared at the mess of metal and rubber. “25 minutes”, she remembered Huey saying when she first received her dream craft. Having taken more than two hours in practice, the target felt impossible. What consoled her was the couple of daylight hours left, sufficient to set up camp and fix up her kayak. 

The wet top was clinging on to her torso, and pants sticking to her thighs. It was Day 0. We had many days to be wet, but please not today. Most of us wanted to wear the same clothes back home. Clothes ranked last in the packing list where each gram was counted. We had 3 precious sets for 15 days. Changed and preserved the good clothes or just get on with it? The insect repellent was probably somewhere deep inside one of the dry bags. Malaria was a problem in this area. Get on with it? Recovering from flu - get on with it? These were Ling’s initiation rites.

Salt dried on her clothes, mixed with sweat, sand, and dead insects, Ling’s kayak was slowly taking shape. Sometimes she heard gadget-junkie Johnny spoke, a dictum in kayak assembly among the sound of crashing waves, clicking metal parts, and slaps of her insect-assaulted skin. 

“Dolphins!”, I shouted.

Ling stood up and fixed a gaze towards the sea. 

A pod of bottlenose dolphins had graced past our campsite. Like dancers arching their backs, a pair of them curved to the rhythm of the waves. As they broke from the surface, their skin glistened in the pink glow of the sunset. They were home free in this waters, perhaps aware and curious about the presence of fellow mammals. Peace and warmth tingled within Ling...

Raja Ampat is the heart of the coral triangle, with the greatest concentration of marine biodiversity in the world. With a kayak, we would paddle island to island, not to hunt or exploit, but to discover and explore where our kayaks would bring us. A 12-day kayak expedition to the eastern edge of southeast asia.

It was not a night for long reflection. We had travelled more than 24 hours to get here, barely sleeping. Tomorrow would be the first time everyone got together on the water, all 13 of us. And if our first display of teamwork was to get the bags on shore today, then the second act would be to organize a search for a lost kayaker tomorrow...

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