August 3 & 4, 2012 Another Gala dinner in Kupang, a Fright in the Anchorage and Heading North

Last night the Mayor of Kupang hosted yet another big event that included several speeches, dancers, singers, and dinner buffet. We are being treated like royalty here. After dinner we were all taught some of the traditional dances - well most of us participated. We teased Frank that this big night of celebration was in honor of his birthday. We danced the night away and had such a good time.

Friday Frank and I strolled through town browsing shops and picking up a few fresh veggies, but then after a while the dust, speeding vehicles and horn-honking got to be a bit much so we worked our way over to The Bar where we knew we would find a familiar group of cruisers hanging out. We kicked back with several of our friends and within a short period the wind began building and gusting ferociously. The calm anchorage became a boiling cauldron of white caps. Yachts were bucking and tossing about, straining their anchor lines causing more than a few of us to develop a case of nervous tension. Several of us decided it would be best to return to our boats where we knew we could keep a closer eye on the situation. Not long after Frank and I settled in with a snack in the cockpit someone announced over the VHF that one of the yachts was dragging toward the lee shore and may very well have run aground on the rocky bottom. Within minutes half a dozen dinghies were in the water heading to the rescue. Frank grabbed some docklines from our locker and we jumped in to aid in the effort. By the time we arrived the situation was well under control thanks to the concerted efforts of several fellow cruisers. The Customs boat came along to tow the yacht away to safety. We learned later that some of the others were hitting bottom as well and had re-anchored farther out. Thank God this group watches out for one another.

Today is actually Saturday. I didn't get that last journal posted before we departed Kupang. We left at 6 AM this morning to get up the coast. The next destination is 130 NM to the northeast of Kupang at an island named Alor. To break it up we traveled 60 miles today, with "Imagine". Tomorrow we will head across the channel to make the rest of the journey, some 70 miles from here.

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