Australia To Indonesia, Thailand, Sri Lanka, and Madagascar Route

[Alan Mighty]

More importantly, with respect to timing, is the prediction from Singapore durian dealers that the extended durian season in Malaysia, which has delivered a bumper harvest this year and so low prices (half that of 2017!) for high quality durian fruit, is likely to end around the end of August.

See the video at: https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news...aysia-10568972

[theway]

Originally Posted by Alan Mighty

Hmm ... I'm not certain it's so simple.



If pressed, I'd say that in Aus when a single cell t-storm runs over us, I'd expect the wind to back. But that's just because in the S Hemisphere, I expect a gust to back and a lull to veer.



And if I was in the N-hemisphere, I'd expect the wind gust from a single cell thunderstorm to veer.



But a line squall is a multi-cell phenomenon. So where you are in string of t-storm cells, each of which probably has a rotating core, might determine your apparent wind.



Indonesian waters span the Eq, being S of the Eq (Nusa Tenggara Timur or eastern NT), on the Eq, and N of the Eq (Malukus, Sulawesi, Kalimantan etc).



And when you're close to the Eq, Coriolis force should be weak, no?



You have sailed across the Eq, of course. Did the water vortex running down the sink change direction? One way in the N hemisphere, the other in the S hemisphere? What happened when you were on or close to the Eq?

From what I’ve read over the years the wind could come from anywhere in a storm, with so many variables, but what I observed in Australia and even heard it from other sailors, that it definitely tends to go SW here in Australia.

I’ve been told the water doesn’t change direction in a toilet or sink because the scale is too small for the Coriolis forces. Probably has more to do with the design of each.

[Alan Mighty]

Originally Posted by theway

I’ve been told the water doesn’t change direction in a toilet or sink because the scale is too small for the Coriolis forces. Probably has more to do with the design of each.

I've heard the same. You're able to do the experiment. Make a log entry today of the direction of flow down the gurgler. Then repeat at an equatorial anchorage. And again in an anchorage somewhere 5 degrees N. And so on.

Same sink.

Back to the wind shift in a squall or t-storm: a tradition in the N hemisphere was to have the hawser (or chain) for the best bower on the starboard bow (and the hawser for the small bower on port bow). Idea being that in a squall in the N Hemisphere, the wind is likely to veer.

[Alan Mighty]

Originally Posted by Alan Mighty

Serena Tucci et al. have a paper on the genomics of the villagers of Rampasasa village on Flores. And of course the villagers are modern humans (like everyone else on da planet) and with some Neanderthal and Denisovan inheritance. With (as you will note as you move from E to W either along the Nusa Tenggara chain or in the islands N of the Banda Sea) a mix of East Asian and New Guinea genes.

Here's the key graphic from the aforesaid Tucci et al. paper: Tucci et al.gif (about 137 KB).

I guess like me you fell about laughing after reading the media report of Zahara Sulaiman's talk at the "Origin of the Malay" conference yesterday 2 Aug. Zahara's argument was based on mitochondrial DNA. And she seemed simultaneously to claim that she was more genomically primitive than most of us and more morally correct: https://www.malaymail.com/s/1658530/...t-in-the-world


Note that today is the 22nd day of the 6th moon.

[Alan Mighty]

Originally Posted by Alan Mighty

If you're cruising the area, you need to carry a copy of RH Barnes, The Sea Hunters of Indonesia. Barnes was a young anthropology student when he did his PhD research on the island (which had a different name then). He went back multiple times, including with his wife who researched and published on the weaving done locally. On one of his fieldtrips, Barnes documented the boat-building techniques and sail making techniques. And included the local names for everything. That's why you always carry a copy of his book.

For the 6 CF members who read Chapter 11 of The Sea Hunters, let me note that "local names" are not in Bahasa Indonesia but the local language of Lemalara on Pulau Lembata.

And for a bit of fun (and education - meaning for any cruiser planning to visit Lemalara village on Lembata), here's RH Barnes discussing himself, his spouse, Lemalara, foreigners visiting Lemalara and what they ought wear and how they ought behave, and so on. From the Journal of the Anthropological Society of Oxford (JASO), Volume 19, 1988.

As before, I can only leave this on CF for 24 hours. After that, you're simply out of luck.

[Alan Mighty]

USGS has reported a Richter 7.0 quake, 10 km deep, on Lombok.

See: https://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthqua...g3ub#executive

Map: https://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthqua...us1000g3ub#map

Tsunami possible: https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news...sland-10591150

[Alan Mighty]

Not much more detail as yet, but Straits Times does better journalism:

https://www.straitstimes.com/asia/se...-lombok-island

[theway]

Originally Posted by Alan Mighty

Not much more detail as yet, but Straits Times does better journalism:



https://www.straitstimes.com/asia/se...-lombok-island

Looks like those gates have opened a bit early... maybe they’ll close early too, before September/October.

[Alan Mighty]

Originally Posted by Alan Mighty

USGS has reported a Richter 7.0 quake, 10 km deep, on Lombok.

Here's a link to a story from republika.co.id, in Indonesian, in which a geologist gives his analysis of the recent Richter 7 quake.

An opportunity to practise your Indonesian. Or you can copy the URL and paste it in translate.google.com and translate it to the language of your choice.

https://www.republika.co.id/berita/n...si-geolog-lipi

[Alan Mighty]

Today is the 7th day of the 7th Moon of the Year of the Dog = 17 August 2018

One look at Windy.com, using its relatively new feature to show thunderstorms, demonstrates that after those 7 days of slowly creaking open, the Gates of Hell are now open.

[theway]

Originally Posted by Alan Mighty

Today is the 7th day of the 7th Moon of the Year of the Dog = 17 August 2018

One look at Windy.com, using its relatively new feature to show thunderstorms, demonstrates that after those 7 days of slowly creaking open, the Gates of Hell are now open.

I’m liking the prediction of an El Niño and a dry winter

[Alan Mighty]

Originally Posted by theway

I’m liking the prediction of an El Niño and a dry winter

Eid Mubarak! Blessings on you and your good family.

Today is 1439 Zul Hijjah, 10th day = 21 August 2018.

The Feast of the Sacrifice, Hari Raya Qurban or Hari Raya Hajji or Eid al'Adha, starts this evening to commemorate the day Abram (aka Abraham) went for a walk up the hill with one of his sons (either Ishmael or Isaac, depending on to which cult you belong or not) and a weapon (either a golden knife or an axe, depending again on your cult of choice).

Sacrifice has been in the headlines lately:

* high sea surface temperatures have caused significant fish kills in aquaculture cages and farms in Republican Korea and Taiwan.

* cyclogenesis in the NW Pacific continues, with one typhoon scheduled to smack into the home islands of Nippon today and another later this week.

* big floods in Kerala state in India had a death toll of 370 (if true, the CNN story on help from fishers being spurned is worth a chuckle: https://edition.cnn.com/2018/08/20/a...ntl/index.html)

* continued quake disaster on Lombok (Michael Buehler's story, especially the final two paragraphs, is another chuckle raiser: The fault lines between rich and poor in Lombok quake - New Mandala )

* corruption in Thai officialdom continues, but of course! (the arrest of Thai police officers by Malaysian police in the waters just N of Langkawi is a third chuckler: Talks on with M’sia over arrest of Thai police )

* the adventures of the Nippon basketball team at the Asian Games in Jakarta has revealed the going price for a night with a classy hooker in downtown: Rupiah 1.2 million (about US$82) - see https://mainichi.jp/english/articles...0m/0in/001000c

The 15th day of the 7th Moon of the Year of the dog will fall on Saturday 25 August. Hungry Ghosts indeed.

[Alan Mighty]

Note well that Krakatoa (Anak Krakatau, the child of Krakatoa) has been quite active the past few months, as part of the increased seismic activity in the Ring of Fire.

The advice from Indonesian authorities is to give Anak Krakatau a wide berth of at least 1 n mile if your transiting the Sunda Strait.

See: Mount Anak Krakatau Erupts 576 Times: PVMBG | Enviro | Tempo.Co :: Indonesian News Portal

[Alan Mighty]

Originally Posted by theway

From what I’ve read over the years the wind could come from anywhere in a storm, with so many variables, but what I observed in Australia and even heard it from other sailors, that it definitely tends to go SW here in Australia.

Intrigued by the way's comment, I've been keeping watch on wind changes in thunderstorm.

This afternoon (21 Oct) was a good case. A pleasant enough day with light and varying winds on the northern part of Moreton Bay. The Bureau of Met forecast a thunderstorm to hit my marina at about 1430, so I was back in my marina berth with docklines made well before then.

The T-storm squall line approached from the W (or WSW) As the t-storm squall line approached the wind was heading towards it, NE where I was. Then the cold nose hit, clearly a light W wind that dropped the air temp from 20C (it had been 24C about 30 minutes before) to 19C and then, as moderate rain started to fall, further to 17.5C. The wind continued to be W with an occasional WSW gust (up to 27 knots).

I captured, from seabreeze.com.au, the wind report for several BoM recording sites, both on shore (Redcliffe and Brisbane Airport) and in the Bay (Spitfire Channel and the Inner Beacon). Minor variations on the same.

See attached: wind change- thunderstorm in SE QLD.jpg, about 185 KB.

[theway]

Originally Posted by Alan Mighty

Intrigued by the way's comment, I've been keeping watch on wind changes in thunderstorm.



This afternoon (21 Oct) was a good case. A pleasant enough day with light and varying winds on the northern part of Moreton Bay. The Bureau of Met forecast a thunderstorm to hit my marina at about 1430, so I was back in my marina berth with docklines made well before then.



The T-storm squall line approached from the W (or WSW) As the t-storm squall line approached the wind was heading towards it, NE where I was. Then the cold nose hit, clearly a light W wind that dropped the air temp from 20C (it had been 24C about 30 minutes before) to 19C and then, as moderate rain started to fall, further to 17.5C. The wind continued to be W with an occasional WSW gust (up to 27 knots).



I captured, from seabreeze.com.au, the wind report for several BoM recording sites, both on shore (Redcliffe and Brisbane Airport) and in the Bay (Spitfire Channel and the Inner Beacon). Minor variations on the same.



See attached: wind change- thunderstorm in SE QLD.jpg, about 185 KB.

Sounds about right.... I think every storm (7-8) that passed through while I was there created predominantly strong winds from W to SW... along the east coast.

I do recall once in Forster that after WSW it shifted to NE for a short time as it came to a close. I remember because I was on one of the moorings there and my rudder bounced along the sandbar a little.