Risking Lives for Komodo
The motorboat arrived at Padar Island two and a half hours later. The tourists disembarked, and then climbed to the top of the island to enjoy the view for around an hour while posing for photos.
On Friday morning (24/6/2022), a motorboat departed on a southeast heading from the coast of Labuan Bajo, West Manggarai, East Nusa Tenggara (NTT). To ensure that the wooden motorboat remained balanced, the tourists onboard were asked not to move from their seats.
Up ahead was a wave that would rock the boat. Majid (27), the guide, explained that the boat would stop at three tourist destinations, namely Padar Island, Pink Beach and Komodo Island. That was all. He did not provide any information on lifesaving measures in the event of an emergency like a boat accident. Meanwhile, the life jackets were stowed under the bench near him. Foaming waves began to beat against the 10-meter-long boat that was less than 4 m wide. As the bow of the boat struck the waves, water splashed from the front and the sides.
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Faldi and his wife, who sat near the front of the boat, tried to fend off the splashes of water with their jackets. Both Faldi, who is from Manggarai, East Nusa Tenggara (NTT), and his wife, who is from Semarang, Central Java, said they could not swim. The newlyweds are on their honeymoon.
Waves
The other tourists were also unable to mask their fear. Some even screamed as the boat’s bow dove into a wave that looked ready to swallow it. Some chose to turn away to watch the captain, who continued to turn the wheel, directing the bow amid the waves.
“Is it safe?” they asked him.
Jimy, the 19-year-old captain, simply gave a thumbs-up and smiled. He seemed to want to reassure his passengers that all would be fine. Jimy only recently became a captain after completing a one-month seafaring course.
While the motorboat struggled against the waves, several other speedboats overtook it. “You have to pay Rp 2 million to take a speedboat. We didn’t have enough capital, so we just took the wooden motorboat,” said Cika, a tourist, pointing at a speedboat already far ahead.
The motorboat arrived at Padar Island two and a half hours later. The tourists disembarked, and then climbed to the top of the island to enjoy the view for around an hour while posing for photos. The island’s stunning landscape makes Padar a popular tourist destination.
From the top, is a view of the expanse of the white sandy beach meeting the clear blue sea.
From the top, long ridges are visible. Wild plants also grow atop the rocky hill, but they are starting to brown due to drought. From the top, is a view of the expanse of the white sandy beach meeting the clear blue sea.
At around 11 a.m., the motorboat left Padar and circled around to the island’s northern side before heading south towards Pink Beach. The boat passed through a narrow strait with waves coming from all directions. The motorboat reduced its speed to minimize the effect of the waves.
The boat grew quiet again, and only the roar of the engine could be heard. The tourists who were previously busy with their smartphones decided to leave them in their bags. The boat continued to rock, swaying left and right for 5 minutes.
“Oh God, please help us,” they cried out. Some people simply kept their eyes screwed shut until the motorboat passed that critical point. Despite the minimal sailing time, Jimy made the right call and quickly steered the boat away from the large waves.
“I anticipated that when the wave came, it would hit the back. If I was a second late, it could’ve hit the side and that would have been trouble. Tourist boats often sink here and many people go missing,” Jimy said after steering the boat towards Pink Beach, our second destination.
Pink Beach earned its name from its pink sand. The color is more evident when the sand is wet. Tourists usually swim in the clear water. Fish can be seen with the naked eye as they swim among the corals. The beauty of Pink Beach brought smiles to the tourist’s faces, which had turned pale from the rough waves.
Around an hour and a half later, Jimy restarted the motorboat and asked the tourists to board immediately, because the wind was growing stronger. The final leg to Komodo Island would take around two and a half hours. The sea was still rough, but it didn’t pose as much of a threat, as the waves came from behind, pushing the boat forward.
The sight seemed to take them back to a place in times past, when dinosaurs still ruled the earth, just like a film.
On arrival at Komodo Island, the tourist watched the ancient reptile. They watched the giant lizards walk, raise their heads, open their mouths and flick their tongues. The sight seemed to take them back to a place in times past, when dinosaurs still ruled the earth, just like a film.
Dangerous
Watching the Komodo dragons in the wild was the culmination of a long and dangerous journey in the waters of Komodo Island and the surrounding islands. Around two hours later, the motorboat departed to return to Labuan Bajo. It was getting late, the wind was growing stronger, and the waves were coming head-on.
The boat sailed amid the foamy waves. It rocked back and forth, tilting as it crashed against the waves. The table in the middle of the boat even shifted to the side but luckily it was bolted down, so it didn’t unbalance the boat. Some tourists cried.
“I remembered my son is still young. We risked our lives to see the Komodo dragons,” said Ragil, a tourist from Kupang.
Lashed by the waves for more than three hours, the boat finally arrived in Labuan Bajo at 7 p.m. local time. The day trip took a total of 13 hours.
Four days later, news came that a tour boat had sunk in the waters that we had sailed, claiming the lives of a woman and her child. This incident adds to the long list of accidents involving tourist boats in Labuan Bajo. Besides the local weather conditions, the condition of the boat and the captain’s skills are crucial factors.
Zeth Sony Libing, who heads the NTT Tourism and Creative Economy Agency, said that the tourist boats in Labuan Bajo would be evaluated. The agency would also evaluate the boats’ condition, their captains and all onboard equipment.
The tourists who come to these “super priority” national tourism destinations must be able to return home safely to tell of the beauty of these places, and not the sorrow they brought.
After around half an hour of sailing, the wind grew stronger.
(This article was translated by Kesya Adhalia)