Fishing is the main
source of income
for the islandseach small island and the water is every colour from palest
green to turquoise to ocean blue. In 11 years of sailing and
cruising this planet, this ranks as one of the most beautiful
anchorages we have seen. We were both tired but desperate to
get exploring, underwater and on land.
We launched the dinghy, and while Jamie snorkelled, I
fi nally got to grips with our new kayak. My nerves soon
evaporated as I watched turtles swimming beneath me and
picked out the bright colours of reef fi sh among stacks of coral.
Tying the kayak to the dinghy, I joined Jamie underneath the
water. Penjalin seems to be oblivious to the massive threat to
coral reefs elsewhere in the world, because here it is thriving.
Columns of hard and soft coral stretch up to just below the
surface, while tunnels and caves have formed below. Fields of
staghorn coral shelter clouds of clownfi sh and pairs of foxface
rabbitfi sh. Rays stream past while slower-moving turtles dive
deeper. We don’t carry dive gear on SY Esper, so had to content
ourselves with the top layer, but we could see long drop-offs
with plenty of life disappearing into the shadows. It would be a
spectacular place to dive.
LAY OF THE LAND
On shore, the beach is powder perfect. After three years in
Thailand sailing among the limestone karsts, it was refreshing
to walk next to glittering granite worn smooth by the elements.
Lines of cowries and tiny gems of colourful shells lay in waves
on the sand. Giant clams the size of basins were whitening in
the sun, presumably washed
up in some earlier storm. At
our previous anchorage, off the
island of Semut, we had found
convex marble-like discs the
size of our palms. On the fl at
underside they have a spiral
pattern, and at the time we
thought they were fossils;
later, we were told by a diving
instructor in Malaysia that they
are operculum, a kind of trap-
door which sea snails pull up when beached or under attack.
He said he had never seen any as big as those in our photos.
The undergrowth was too dense to penetrate and there are no
paths, because nobody comes here other than a few fi shermen
seeking shelter in bad weather. We were happy to just walk
along the long stretches of sand and take in the kind of
dramatic views of ocean, sky and rainforest that every
sailor dreams about.
The charm of the Anambas, though, is not found just
in its astonishing natural beauty. It is the people, too. With
a small population of around 37,000, most derive their
income from fi shing. Terampa, on Pulau Siantan, has a few
shops where you can buy basics, as well as a wet market for
fruit, vegetables, meat and fi sh. There are a couple of hardware
stores and because the population relies on getting aboutADVENTURE