The 18th of October may have marked Nyepi Laut in Bali, the silent day of the seas, but the ocean waters surrounding Bali Province over the last few days have been anything but calm.
As the full supermoon rises high above the islands, tidal swells and high waves have been present across the region.
Nyepi Laut is a Balinese Hindu festival observed on the islands of Nusa Penida, Nusa Lembongan, and Nusa Ceningan.
For 24-hours, from sunrise on the 18th of October until sunrise on the 19th of October the seas around the islands will be left to rest. There will be no fishing activities, no transportation by boat, no surfing, snorkeling, diving, swimming, or seaweed farming.
Though the Nusa Islands fell quiet on Friday, October 18th, activities along the coast were seriously impacted by high waves and tidal swells on Wednesday, October 16th, and Thursday, October 17th.
Conditions at Angel’s Billabong, one of the region’s most famous natural landmarks, were nothing shy of treacherous.
A serious incident was declared at Angel’s Billabong on Wednesday, the 16th of October, when an Indian tourist, known by their initials NM, aged 59, was swept off the rocks by high waves.
NM was visiting the world-famous Angel’s Billabong Nusa Penida with his family when he was bowled over by usually high waves and dragged out to sea, leading to an intensive search and rescue effort from local support agencies all through the night.
NM’s body was located by a passing tourist speedboat at around 12.10 pm on Thursday afternoon, and search teams immediately headed to the scene.
In a written statement, the coordinator of the Nusa Penida SAR Alert Unit, Cakra Negara, confirmed that family members had identified NM when he was recovered from the water.
Negara said, “After confirming with the victim’s child, it can be confirmed that the discovery was indeed that of his father.”
He added, “The waves were quite big on the edge, so we focused our search on the area where the victim fell.”
On the main island of Bali, in Tabanan Regency, an intensive search and rescue operation is underway to locate an Australian tourist who was swept away by high tidal swells off Balian Beach on Wednesday evening.
The 56-year-old tourist, known by his initials SCL, was reported missing at 7.40 pm on Wednesday, the 16th of October.
The Head of the Denpasar Search and Assistance Office, Nyoman Sidakarya, spoke to reporters on Thursday as the search continued on land and sea.
He explained, “Last night, our team tried to search for victims by combing the land. Today, we sent ten people to be divided into land and sea search teams.”
He explained that conditions at sea have been dangerous and that teams are conducting searches by rubber dingy where possible; however, with high and fast-rolling waves continuing to hit Balian Beach, the teams are struggling to pass over the waters safely.
The search was carried out over a 6-nautical mile square from east to west based on where SCL was last seen.
Sidakarya concluded on Thursday, “Until now, the SAR operation is still ongoing, and the victim’s whereabouts have not been found. Information from the team at the location is that the wave conditions are extreme and the search is currently being carried out by the land team.”
Speaking separately the Head of Public Relations of Tabanan Police Iptu I Gusti Made Berata, explained that CS entered the water to helps save a fellow tourists who got into trouble in the high waves.
Berata explained “The victim is reported to want to help. While helping, the [tourist] from Germany managed to survive, but the victim was dragged by the current.”
An update shared on Friday morning from Bali Search and Rescue confirmed that they had recovered SCL’s body from nearby Secret Bay Beach at low tide and that he had died by drowning.
High waves have been observed across Bali’s leading resorts and over this full moon period tourists are advised to exercise extreme caution if entering the ocean anywhere along the coast of Bali and the Nusa Island.
Video footage shows high tidal swells hitting the famous beachfront seafood restaurants in Jimbaran Bay and at the beach bars along Kuta Beach.
As tourists scrambled to clear their tables, waves moved in quickly and wiped out tables and chairs.
Footage from Angels Billabong on Nusa Penida shows tourist stood dangerous close to the edge of the rocks as unusually high and dangerous waves crashed up and over the area.
Tourists are urged to be mindful of even standing in the shallow shorelines of many of Nusa Penida’s most famous coastal hotspots as deceptively strong undercurrents have dragged dozens of tourists out to sea over the last decade.
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