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A great Neptune adventure...
One of life's better adventures
The great Neptune Regatta is really more adventure than regatta as about 20 boats wind their way down through the Riau Archipelago before crossing The Line. The reagatta takes about a week to complete with the start and finish at Nongsa Point Marina. Scroll over the image to get a brief description or click on it to get the full image.
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Leave only footprints... Take only photos!
Lying just 8 miles north of The Line, Neptune Island makes for a great respie from racing. Uninhabited except for a bunch of sailors once a year!..
Hassan Dufour the celebrity chef from the Lime House, Singapore served up Jamaican delights down at the Equator.
The beach at Neptune is a really beautiful place to be, even if you have to fix things...
On the south side of Pulau Sekeling (Neptune Island), the beach is beautiful and protected by a fringing reef. Only shallow draft boats will be able to make it onto the beach like this...
For 5 days the only inhabitants of the island are the sailors. Each seems to find great delight in hanging out and doing as little as possible until Rum Hour!
With a view like this, anyone is able to enjoy hanging out the laundry! In 2016 the fleet kicked off in 35 knots of wind and had about 20 knots all the way down - things got wet!
It's a great place to 'park' for a week.
This tree is the only place on the island that has a Telecomm's connection.
Just days before the event, tent city takes shape on the north side of the island. Although, we'd highly recommend staying on your own boat...
The Line lies some 8nm's in the distant. The fleet race a southbound and northbound leg with any amount of time in between the two inwhich to conduct the 'rituals'..
Stepping ashore on Neptune Island surely won't be forgotten.
Sparesly populated in this neck of the woods means that the water is, clean! It's like a huge swimming pool and you must remember, this is just 60 miles from Singapore!
Hanging by the hook tucked up under the trees at Fishhead Island.
A private concern, Fishhead Island hosts the fleet ashore after a days sail down from Nongsa Point. The record sailing run down is just over 3hours held by Kaze the trimaran.
If you can find it and if you're allowed onshore... You will love this place. While some people buy cars and houses, others buy islands!
When night descends you are in for the real treat. A definite lack of ambient light, the stars come out and it is horizon to horizon packed with dots of light.
Sit here and the world's problems will fade away...
Stepping ashore here, your's will be the only footprints until the next Chinese New Year when the Neptune fleet 'invades' again..
Not a bad place to sit and comtemplate!
A great adventure
No doubt about it, the Neptune Regatta is a great adventure. Logistically it is difficult for the organiser and as competitors, you will be going to a remote area so be prepared for a fun week of boating and camping.
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A few words of advice... Whilst we have mostly benign conditions in area, the tides are strong and can create challenging passages. Basically incoming tides run north and out goingflows head south. It gets more convoluted in the passages between the islands but it is in the "cauldron" where it gets more interesting.
Tides
In the area just south of Galang Baru the Java Sea collides with the South China Sea. The period in which this tends to act is brief but in the brief period strange things can occur. Rough seas, whirl pools and even standing waves can appear so it's worth just being a little extra vigilent through this patch.
Storms
The winds during Chinese New Year (January or February), are predominately from the NE. With a NE direction, the anchorage on the southside of Pulau Sekeling is safe. The vast island of Sumatra lies to thewest of Neptune Island and the high peaks of Sumatra generate catabatic winds that fan out across the Straits and are known locally as "Sumatras". These generally come in the wee hours of the morning from a SW direction. On 3 occassions, the Neptune Fleet have experienced these. Boats have dragged anchor and hit the fringing reef with one of the recce' Beneteau's finally sinking. When in doubt, anchor on the north side of the island and put up with the 'hike' to shore.
Galang Base
We are just about 30 miles north of Neptune Island and as we support the offshore logistics business, we do have a support services including power boats and a dive team that can be mobilised during times of need.
On more than one occassion, boats form the fleet have had to be towed back to Nongsa. Now with the Galang Base open things in this regard will be a lot easier.