Tyler and Emily in PNG

Before I left PNG in Mar 2012 I agreed to purchase a boat. This boat belonged to the person that Emily and I agreed to take over rent payments for his house after he left. Once we returned, it was priority to get the boat back in the water and running again. While we were away, the boat was in dry dock at the local marina. Before the boat could go back into the water, I had to get the hull painted to help fight against barnacles and other salt water creatures. Another thing was to get the motor in tune after sitting for the previous 18 months out of water.

Long story short, three weeks ago I was asked to charter some nationals to Saidor for a cocoa expo of sorts. Being my first big ocean journey I had plenty to think about and lots of questions. How much fuel do I need? What is the water like? Waves? Wind? What to do in an emergency? What is my back up plan? Etc.

I plotted the course on a direct heading and figured it was about 50-55 miles. My boat is 21’ aluminum hull with 140 HP outboard. However it has a small 25 ltr or 6 gallon gas tank. The type you hand carry to/from your boat. It was suggested to bring 120 ltrs of fuel for the trip. I bought 30 ltrs extra for 150 ltrs in total.

I learned a lot about my boat during this trip. I burned about 1 tank of gas (20-25 ltrs) per 20 miles or per hour at 4000 RPM. We would stop and fill up as the ocean swells bobbed us around then keep pushing on. I continued to follow the GPS heading and we finally arrived about 3.5 hrs. later.

After their meeting and selling of supplies to the locals, we boarded the boat to return back to home. I was a bit upset and concern since we were leaving so late. We left the beach at 2:45 pm. One thing I knew was I did not want to come back at dark. I heard rumors that this trip could take 6-8 hrs. depending on the weather/waves. Plus in the afternoon as the wind blows out of the north, the waves pick up causing more issues. Nonetheless, I was eager to get going. If all was well we would arrive just before dark cutting it way too close for me.

The first three hours back were perfect, flat, calm waters then the last 30 minutes or 12 miles out the waves picked up. Sure enough the afternoon winds were hitting us directly. The splash and overspray were getting us all wet as I continued to push through as the boat slapped the water. We were so close and I did not want to back off the throttle. We arrived back in port just before 6:00 pm. Glad to be back.

The fuel estimate was right and we used 120 ltrs of gas. Everything went without problem and I enjoyed a great day on the open water. Though the next 12 hrs. I felt dizzy from the constant motion of the boat. I came home with a huge sun tan even though I was under shade all day. The water has a funny way of reflecting sun rays.

My first major ocean adventure is finished. 110 miles round trip and lots of 20 ltr empty gas cans to prove it.