Kittani in drag !

We arrived into Gili Aer around lunchtime and it looked an idyllic place - despite being exposed to the rather strong winds which had developed. We picked up a mooring in the little bay and settled back to watch the hive of activity that was going on all around us. Indonesian speed boats were the local ferries taking people back and forward to Lombok - only a 15 min trip. Tenders were taking divers and snorkelers every which way. The beach was littered with little bars and restaurants so after a quick power nap to keep the energy going after our 2 night sail, we headed ashore. Gemini had been here for a few days already, so over a Bintang we caught up on their travels and got the lay of the land from someone.The only means of transportation on the island is pony and old trap, taking supplies to the local shops and visitors around the island. Dinner was good food, Pete having chicken satay and Mie Goreng whilst I opted for a burger and chips, a couple of Bintang and all for AUS$16 - which was probably a little on the expensive side. Back to the boat for a good nights sleep. I was awoken around 1.00am with a grating sound which I did not recognise. Poking my head upstairs to check around I had to do a double take as we were nearly on the beach (that was that sound !!) and close to hitting local boats. After finally shaking Pete from a deep slumber with the words "I think we have dragged", he flew up stairs to " !@# .... the mooring has dragged!!!!" The wind was still blowing 15-20ks and had dragged Kittani and her mooring past a large catamaran that was moored behind us (luck was on our side that we didn't hit her!) and left us wedged in the shallows on an out- going tide. We had to act fast. Because of all the Indonesian chatter that goes over the VHF all through the night, everyone had turned their radios off so couldn't raise anyone. Pete in the tender raced across to Tintin, Gemini and Tropical Soul wrapping on their hulls - a rather rude awakening. Within minutes we had 6 tenders along side attaching ropes to pull, then around to the other side to push and after 20mins of this finally we were afloat again. We got rid of that lousy mooring line and dropped anchor ourselves back were we had started. After a cup of tea and reading until about 3.30am, we finally fell asleep again, though we did ruin sleep for a few of the other boats - they were all doubting their moorings. This morning a dive under Kittani has showed no damage, just some of the anti-foul has been taken off. All things considered, it could have been a lot worse.