Jocara Newsletter
27 Aug 2004

Merak is quite a busy little port, ferries to and from Sumatra come and go
all day long. A dozen or more wooden fishing boats rest at their moorings,
and the undulating calls of the Imam echo out across the bay from three
different mosques where we sit peacefully at anchor at 5 deg. 56.6'S, 105
deg. 59.8'E.  But exactly 121 years ago, on the morning of 27 August 1883
things were different.  A tsunami wave over 40m high surged in from the
Sunda Straits at 100 km/hr and destroyed Merak in an instant, killing all
but 2 of its 2700 inhabitants in a swift fury of roaring water.  An hour
later, an explosion so loud that it was heard 3000 miles away in
Rodrigues, and clearly in Singapore, signalled the most spectacular,
energetic event in recorded history - the detonation of Krakatau.  
Krakatau is now a peaky little collection of islands, visible mistily in
the distance as we entered Merak.  The islands are growing once again, the
tectonic plates grinding and moving as they have for millenia, creating a
new Krakatau that will one day provide its own spectacular show.  Once we
have completed our repairs to engine and other essential equipment, we
will be heading out to visit the remains of Krakatau to see for ourselves.  
Until then, we are working with some friendly local people to find the
parts and skills we need to repair a few vital mechanical things.  Today a
hydraulic engineer took away our windlass (a hydraulic motor that runs
from our main engine power that we use to raise our anchor and chain, an
oil hose from our engine (that connects the oil cooler to a water pump)
and a hydraulic ram that operates our steering (pushing the rudder from
side to side).  So, until these are repaired and returned, we're not going
anywhere!  John has been ashore to visit a doctor about his foot, and is
taking the opportunity to rest it a little so the large cut can seal and
recover.  Casper and Alex spend their days playing, doing school work,
some boat work, computer games and then watching episodes of 'Futurama' on
our computer in the evening.  They sleep in the cockpit or on deck, where
it is cooler. Apart from helping the kids with their school work and
trying to come up with tasty meals, Caroline is taking time to read Simon
Winchester's book Krakatoa. It's fascinating reading, not just because it
describes the eruption in great detail, but it also talks of life at that
time. Caroline being Dutch and Indonesia then being a Dutch colony makes
it all the more interesting to read.

Greetings from the Jocara crew.