ISLAND NATION

EXPLORING DEEP INTO INDONESIA OFFERS TRULY INCREDIBLE CRUISING

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Fleeing bait fish ping against our hulls while troops of shrimp crackle like frying bacon as they drift past.

A red painted fishing boat is anchored among the shallow reefs up ahead, its skipper dozing in the gentle dawn. Diving in off our back step, I swim against the current, grabbing hold of our anchor chain. Polaris's twin hulls frame a white sandy spit topped with three leaning palm trees, shelving into light then dark blue sea. We're cocooned off both port and starboard by two bigger islands cloaked in lowland forest and surrounded by twinkling ancient granite boulders.

These are the Anambas islands, Indonesia's northernmost sea border archipelago. The islands are dotted with traditional villages suspended over water on wooden stilts, gushing waterfalls, silica sand beaches and empty, well-protected anchorages, making them a dream destination. Between Peninsular Malaysia and the island of Borneo, only 25 of these 255 islands are inhabited. We arrived in Indonesia on our Catana 47 Polaris 10 months ago and, although it's not the easiest place to cruise, the 1,900-miles we've explored in the country has been an unforgettable chapter in our circumnavigation so far.

Indonesia is spread across more than 17,500 islands that stretch between the Pacific and Indian Oceans, and surfers can ride long, consistent swells formed from both oceans. Located within the Ring of Fire it has the highest number of active volcanoes in the world, and the multitude of habitats - from savannahs and tropical rainforests to mangrove swamps and coral reefs - are home to fascinating wildlife; from Komodo dragons to critically endangered tigers, elephants and orangutans endemic to Sumatra and Borneo that roam in the wild.

Indonesia is out of the cyclone belt and its proximity to the equator means light wind is normal year-round; all but the most patient sailors tend to burn lots of diesel.