Skipping ahead, because I never seem to get the time to actually catch up on the blog...
We finished our cruising in early September last year (2024), put the boat in storage, found a cat sitter for the cats, and flew back to the USA for October through early December.
We didn't make it up to the Red Sea this year. Dave started on an "upscale our electrical capacity" project when we got back to the boat in December. By early January 2025, it became obvious that we weren't going to get done in time to catch the right season to cross the Indian Ocean and up the Red Sea (must leave Malaysia/Thailand by mid January). I was pretty upset at first--another whole year's delay! But Dave talked me down, and we ended up (so far) having a pretty good year.
In between bouts of working on the boat, we did some travel...
- Tasmania for 2 weeks in February (Australian summer)
- Sri Lanka for 2 weeks in March Download Our Trip Notes
- A 10-day Dive Trip to Misool (Raja Ampat, Indonesia) in April
Yes, I should have blogged all this, but I was too busy traveling, and making arrangements for the next trip.
May through July, we worked on the boat. Dave decided he wanted to Coppercoat the bottom, and to get the best finish (critical to Coppercoat success), he wanted to put our boat in the "shed". (A covered space at the marina). To go in the shed, you have to take the mast down. While the mast was down... You see how the ball of string unravels...?? One day I'll post a full list of all the stuff we have done on the boat this year.
So, looking ahead, we'll want to be finishing up all of our boat work, in a full court press, in November, get launched, and head for a shakedown cruise to Thailand. So if we wanted to go home, we had to do it sooner than our normal Oct-Dec trip.
As soon as we started talking about being in the US in Aug/Sep, Dave signed us up to do a presentation at the Seven Seas Cruising Association Gam that is held in the Annapolis area (Maryland, USA) Sep 26-28. Details on the SSCA Website. So now we're committed to staying at least that long.
Note to our Melbourne Friends, the SSCA Gam is coming back to Melbourne November 14-16 at the Front Street Park Community Center. Put it on your calendar, and watch for details on the SSCA Website here.
We've been enjoying catching up with friends and family in Florida... a few Friday nights at Melbourne Yacht Club... a few beach walks at sunrise. Amazon deliveries nearly every day. A mix of critical boat parts, specialty food items we can't get in Malaysia, and tech items.
We've got our passports in for renewal, as we were starting to run out of pages. We are also in the process of renewing our Captains Licenses--another big paper chase! We had planned to let them lapse until we found they might help with the "Schengen Shuffle" in Europe. (Non-EU citizens are limited to 90 days in 180 days in the entire EU, and being considered "crew" on a "ship" you can get around this issue, supposedly).
Dave made a whirlwind trip with some other WW2-crazy friends up to Pensacola, FL to see the National Naval Aviation Museum, and the Naval Diving and Salvage Center in Panama City, Florida.
But our time in Melbourne is coming to an end. In a few days, we'll pack all our stuff back into the storage unit, and set out in our new-to-us car for a month of traveling around the SE US.
The current plan is to drive straight back to Florida the first week of October, put the car in storage, and fly back to Malaysia, with a quick stop in San Diego to see Dave's son Chris.
Meanwhile, we've been really studying the ins and outs of the trip across the Indian Ocean and up the Red Sea. And planning what we're going to do when we finally hit the Mediterranean around May of next year.
Showing posts with label Malaysia. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Malaysia. Show all posts
Friday, August 29, 2025
Tuesday, February 27, 2024
On Our Way to Indonesia Again Feb 2024
So, from Thailand, we made it into Langkawi Island, Malaysia and went into Rebak Island Marina on Friday February 16. And we had just been told that the Sabang Festival in Indonesia wasn't going to start on March 4th as we'd been told earlier, but on March 1! So we had to hustle to make it there in time.
We first needed to get checked into Malaysia, and get provisioned for 6 months in Indonesia. The Rebak Island Resort and Marina is a nice place to hang out, but the logistics of getting to "town" in Kuah where almost everything is, is interesting.
Rebak Island Marina on Langkawi
Rebak Island is a small island located on the west coast of bigger Langkawi Island. Langkawi is a Duty Free port in Malaysia, so it's a great place to stock up on liquor and other provisions before our long dry spell in Indonesia. To get to town, you have to take a small Resort ferry to the "mainland" (the Island of Langkawi, and then a taxi or Grab (like Uber) into town.
Rebak Island and Langkawi Island
The grey line is the approx border between Malaysia and Thailand
But before we could start shopping, we needed to get checked into Malaysia. That is all done at the big ferry terminal in Kuah. It's a big place and we weren't sure where we were going at first, but managed to ask around and find the offices we needed. But it's convenient because all the offices we needed to visit to clear in are located in the same big building.
By the time we got in to the marina, it was Friday afternoon, and most government offices shutdown around noon on Friday, as the Muslim holy period is Friday evening and Saturday. So we planned our visit for Saturday morning.
The first stop in Kuah is the Harbormaster. We had to show boat papers and insurance (mainly wreck removal coverage of $400K USD). And then go downstairs to Immigration. We were held up a little at Immigration--a ferry from Thailand had just come in, so we had to wait for Immigration to finish processing that ferry. Then we found that our MDAC, which we had declared our arrival for Friday, wasn't good for a Saturday check-in, so we had to do the forms again (one for each of us) online. But after that, Immigration check-in was good. Since we were leaving in a week, we didn't care how much time we were given, but normally we get 90 days on arrival in Malaysia. The final stop was Customs, somewhere else in the building, and we breezed through that. The only expense was a very small "lights" fee at the Harbormaster.
The Langkawi Eagle
Once cleared in, we explored the area around the ferry terminal--the chandlery, the big Billion supermarket, and iconic (and huge) Eagle that is Langkawi's "symbol", a huge statue on the waterfront. After lunch we loaded up on "provisions" and headed back to the marina in time to catch the afternoon ferry. We did this a few times over several days to try to fill up on all the western goods we wouldn't find in Indonesia.
While in Rebak we also filled up on fuel, and installed the new trampolines we had brought back with us from Multihull Nets in St. Pete, FL. Dave did a rig check, as we always do before heading offshore.
It wasn't all work--the marina is right next to a resort with a beach/pool bar. We enjoyed sundowners by the pool on several evenings with the other yachties.
On Friday Feb 23, we went in to town early and cleared out for Indonesia. And on Saturday, full to the gills with liquor, food, and fuel, we headed for Sabang, the harbor city on Pulau Web, a relatively small island right on the northern tip of Sumatra. The Sabang Marine Festival, held every year in late Feb/early March was to be the kick-off event for the West Indonesia Rally 2024.
It's about 275 nautical miles from Langkawi to Sabang--we had light winds and were able to sail about 2/3 of the way. Our path crosses the very busy shipping channel coming up the Straits of Malacca and then turning west for the Indian Ocean. See the Marine Traffic screenshot I took as we contemplated this trip.
Marine Traffic Showing Ship Traffic in the Malacca Strait
Our strategy was to plan to cross the stream of ships as much as possible at a right angle, and in daylight. So our path was more of an "S" shape, going in toward the Sumatran coast early to get out of the shipping traffic. What we didn't count on was that when we got close to the coast, we had fishing traffic to content with. But the weather was mild, the moon was full, and we had a 3rd person helping stand watches (our friend Linda). Also, the Marine Traffic window shows more ships than is actually in anyone place at one time. The ships whose AIS they pick up via satellite do not get updated frequently. So there wasn't nearly as much dodging as we'd expected.
Our Track from Langkawi to Sabang
A Container Ship Passing Us
Late on the morning of Feb 26th, we dropped anchor off the town pier at Sabang. We had Starlink, and so had internet and had been able to notify our agent by Whatsapp that we were arriving. The agent arranged all the clearance formalities--taking our paperwork, making copies, filling out forms, and arranging for the clearance officers to visit the boat.
Anchoring in the Rain
The Floating Dinghy Dock
Our Friends the Immigration Officers
The only hitch in our clearance was the Quarantine people. One of the things they do (sometimes) is check the ship's medical chest. As a cruising boat cruising in remote locations, we have a very well-stocked set of prescription medicines--everything from strong antibiotics, to burn medicines, malaria treatments, and strong painkillers. We got most of these prescribed for us when we left Florida, and almost everything was technically "expired". Some of our antibiotics that were not expired were in unlabeled ziplock bags--exactly how we'd bought them, over the counter, in the Solomon Islands. Well, the doctor that was the head of the Quarantine crowd really didn't like our expired and unlabeled prescription medications, and threatened to confiscate them. But I convinced her that we really needed to have this stuff--and that taking expired medications wasn't harmful if we really needed them and didn't have anything else. She strongly recommended we update our medical chest, ASAP.
We first needed to get checked into Malaysia, and get provisioned for 6 months in Indonesia. The Rebak Island Resort and Marina is a nice place to hang out, but the logistics of getting to "town" in Kuah where almost everything is, is interesting.
Rebak Island is a small island located on the west coast of bigger Langkawi Island. Langkawi is a Duty Free port in Malaysia, so it's a great place to stock up on liquor and other provisions before our long dry spell in Indonesia. To get to town, you have to take a small Resort ferry to the "mainland" (the Island of Langkawi, and then a taxi or Grab (like Uber) into town.
The grey line is the approx border between Malaysia and Thailand
But before we could start shopping, we needed to get checked into Malaysia. That is all done at the big ferry terminal in Kuah. It's a big place and we weren't sure where we were going at first, but managed to ask around and find the offices we needed. But it's convenient because all the offices we needed to visit to clear in are located in the same big building.
By the time we got in to the marina, it was Friday afternoon, and most government offices shutdown around noon on Friday, as the Muslim holy period is Friday evening and Saturday. So we planned our visit for Saturday morning.
The first stop in Kuah is the Harbormaster. We had to show boat papers and insurance (mainly wreck removal coverage of $400K USD). And then go downstairs to Immigration. We were held up a little at Immigration--a ferry from Thailand had just come in, so we had to wait for Immigration to finish processing that ferry. Then we found that our MDAC, which we had declared our arrival for Friday, wasn't good for a Saturday check-in, so we had to do the forms again (one for each of us) online. But after that, Immigration check-in was good. Since we were leaving in a week, we didn't care how much time we were given, but normally we get 90 days on arrival in Malaysia. The final stop was Customs, somewhere else in the building, and we breezed through that. The only expense was a very small "lights" fee at the Harbormaster.
Once cleared in, we explored the area around the ferry terminal--the chandlery, the big Billion supermarket, and iconic (and huge) Eagle that is Langkawi's "symbol", a huge statue on the waterfront. After lunch we loaded up on "provisions" and headed back to the marina in time to catch the afternoon ferry. We did this a few times over several days to try to fill up on all the western goods we wouldn't find in Indonesia.
While in Rebak we also filled up on fuel, and installed the new trampolines we had brought back with us from Multihull Nets in St. Pete, FL. Dave did a rig check, as we always do before heading offshore.
It wasn't all work--the marina is right next to a resort with a beach/pool bar. We enjoyed sundowners by the pool on several evenings with the other yachties.
On Friday Feb 23, we went in to town early and cleared out for Indonesia. And on Saturday, full to the gills with liquor, food, and fuel, we headed for Sabang, the harbor city on Pulau Web, a relatively small island right on the northern tip of Sumatra. The Sabang Marine Festival, held every year in late Feb/early March was to be the kick-off event for the West Indonesia Rally 2024.
It's about 275 nautical miles from Langkawi to Sabang--we had light winds and were able to sail about 2/3 of the way. Our path crosses the very busy shipping channel coming up the Straits of Malacca and then turning west for the Indian Ocean. See the Marine Traffic screenshot I took as we contemplated this trip.
Our strategy was to plan to cross the stream of ships as much as possible at a right angle, and in daylight. So our path was more of an "S" shape, going in toward the Sumatran coast early to get out of the shipping traffic. What we didn't count on was that when we got close to the coast, we had fishing traffic to content with. But the weather was mild, the moon was full, and we had a 3rd person helping stand watches (our friend Linda). Also, the Marine Traffic window shows more ships than is actually in anyone place at one time. The ships whose AIS they pick up via satellite do not get updated frequently. So there wasn't nearly as much dodging as we'd expected.
Late on the morning of Feb 26th, we dropped anchor off the town pier at Sabang. We had Starlink, and so had internet and had been able to notify our agent by Whatsapp that we were arriving. The agent arranged all the clearance formalities--taking our paperwork, making copies, filling out forms, and arranging for the clearance officers to visit the boat.
The only hitch in our clearance was the Quarantine people. One of the things they do (sometimes) is check the ship's medical chest. As a cruising boat cruising in remote locations, we have a very well-stocked set of prescription medicines--everything from strong antibiotics, to burn medicines, malaria treatments, and strong painkillers. We got most of these prescribed for us when we left Florida, and almost everything was technically "expired". Some of our antibiotics that were not expired were in unlabeled ziplock bags--exactly how we'd bought them, over the counter, in the Solomon Islands. Well, the doctor that was the head of the Quarantine crowd really didn't like our expired and unlabeled prescription medications, and threatened to confiscate them. But I convinced her that we really needed to have this stuff--and that taking expired medications wasn't harmful if we really needed them and didn't have anything else. She strongly recommended we update our medical chest, ASAP.
Sunday, December 17, 2023
Finally Escaped from Pangkor Marina
A few days ago, after 2 weeks of fairly frantic activity--completing boat projects, provisioning, getting cat annual visits, moving out of the condo, etc etc, we finally left Pangkor Marina.
Finally Underway!
It was bittersweet. While we are REALLY excited about getting out cruising again, we will really miss everyone, both staff and cruisers, at Pangkor Marina. The Pangkor staff is just fantastic. Led by James Khoo, but supported by Akina, Ruz, Adam, (and several others) in the office, and Shah, Fifi, Fikri, Akmal, (and several others) in the marina and yard, we couldn't have had a better place to spend a year. Yes, A YEAR!
James' monthly (and sometimes more often) BBQ's, where beer, soft drinks, and grilled meat are provided free by the marina, is just one of the thoughtful things that give the marina a very nice community feel. The amenities like a pretty well-stocked marine store (and help sourcing parts they don't stock, from anywhere in SE Asia), free wifi in the air conditioned "library", inexpensive housing across the street from the marina, rental cars by the hour, and a lively Whatsapp group, the marina feels like home.
We did, in all fairness, do two 2 1/2 months visits to the USA, 22 days in Vietnam/Laos, and a long weekend in Cameron Highlands. We got LOTS done that needed doing--most significant being stripping 8 years of bottom paint and getting a new "good for 4 years" bottom job.
Other things that I can think of off the top of my head that we accomplished... 2 new alternators, new start battery, many small electrical upgrades, rebalanced our LifePO4 batteries, major saildrive maintenance, new propane hoses, new awnings, sail maintenance, liferaft tested and repacked, fire extinguishers serviced, new electric outboard (ePropulsion), new B&G digital radar, new Nav Computer, new flooring in the main cabin (faux teak), boat polishing, rudders straightened (again). We also purchased and learned how to use a Starlink internet terminal, so now we will have real internet when we go offshore.
After agonizing over what kind of bottom paint to use (Chugoku, Jotun, International, CopperCoat), we settled on a new formulation offered by International Marine... International AP. It is an ablative paint formulated for high fouling areas and for slower boats that tend to sit in one place for weeks at a time (ie cruising sailboats). International says we should get 4 years out of it. James arranged for a professional team from International Marine in Singapore to come to Pangkor to apply it, and teach the Pangkor crew how to do it next time. Because we are a test boat, we've agreed to send back periodic updates on how it is doing--they wanted to make sure the paint was applied per International specs.
Beautiful International AP Bottom Paint!
We purchased but have not installed yet, new catamaran nets from MultihullNets (aka Sunrise Yacht Products in St. Pete, FL). Pictured in this link are the nets that came installed on our boat when we bought it. But we have now upgraded to full "offshore" nets, with a strong open weave, more suitable to surviving the open ocean. Pics of those once installed (soon!)
Sherry had fun hanging out with the ladies--morning walks and "water dancing" in the pool for exercise. Dave had fun exchanging technical information with all the guys in the marina. We each took the time to give at least one "class" in the marina "library" to share some of our knowledge and experiences. Sherry on OpenCPN, Dave on LifePO4 batteries. (These presentations can be found at https://svsoggypaws.com/presentations.htm).
We enjoyed having a car for most of the time. One downside of Pangkor is its distance from the main part of town, with, astonishingly, no regular bus system. Grab (the "Uber" of SE Asia) cars are scarce at peak times from the marina. The marina will rent a "beater" for a cheap price by the hour, so you aren't completely stuck. But we opted to rent a car by the month. A nearly new air conditioned small car is only about $250/mo.
The weather since we left 5 days ago has been stinky... low overcast and drizzly with wind out of the north (on our nose, of course). Yesterday it finally cleared up, and we had the tide with us, for once. We were making 8 knots under sail (and current) for 4-5 hours.
We are now in Kuah, Langkawi, Malaysia, getting ready to check out for Thailand. We made a quick stop in Penang to try to get Thai Visas, but the timing didn't work out. We are on a schedule to get checked into Phuket Thailand before Christmas, because some of our friends from last years' rally have organized a big Christmas Day lunch that we want to attend. So waiting over the weekend in Penang wouldn't have worked. We did spend half a day sightseeing (taking the local 50-cent bus into town). Could easily have spent several weeks in Penang exploring.
Likewise, we will only stay a day in Langkawi. Another place worthy of a month or two to explore and savor. But, alas, "You can't see everything."
It was bittersweet. While we are REALLY excited about getting out cruising again, we will really miss everyone, both staff and cruisers, at Pangkor Marina. The Pangkor staff is just fantastic. Led by James Khoo, but supported by Akina, Ruz, Adam, (and several others) in the office, and Shah, Fifi, Fikri, Akmal, (and several others) in the marina and yard, we couldn't have had a better place to spend a year. Yes, A YEAR!
James' monthly (and sometimes more often) BBQ's, where beer, soft drinks, and grilled meat are provided free by the marina, is just one of the thoughtful things that give the marina a very nice community feel. The amenities like a pretty well-stocked marine store (and help sourcing parts they don't stock, from anywhere in SE Asia), free wifi in the air conditioned "library", inexpensive housing across the street from the marina, rental cars by the hour, and a lively Whatsapp group, the marina feels like home.
We did, in all fairness, do two 2 1/2 months visits to the USA, 22 days in Vietnam/Laos, and a long weekend in Cameron Highlands. We got LOTS done that needed doing--most significant being stripping 8 years of bottom paint and getting a new "good for 4 years" bottom job.
Other things that I can think of off the top of my head that we accomplished... 2 new alternators, new start battery, many small electrical upgrades, rebalanced our LifePO4 batteries, major saildrive maintenance, new propane hoses, new awnings, sail maintenance, liferaft tested and repacked, fire extinguishers serviced, new electric outboard (ePropulsion), new B&G digital radar, new Nav Computer, new flooring in the main cabin (faux teak), boat polishing, rudders straightened (again). We also purchased and learned how to use a Starlink internet terminal, so now we will have real internet when we go offshore.
After agonizing over what kind of bottom paint to use (Chugoku, Jotun, International, CopperCoat), we settled on a new formulation offered by International Marine... International AP. It is an ablative paint formulated for high fouling areas and for slower boats that tend to sit in one place for weeks at a time (ie cruising sailboats). International says we should get 4 years out of it. James arranged for a professional team from International Marine in Singapore to come to Pangkor to apply it, and teach the Pangkor crew how to do it next time. Because we are a test boat, we've agreed to send back periodic updates on how it is doing--they wanted to make sure the paint was applied per International specs.
We purchased but have not installed yet, new catamaran nets from MultihullNets (aka Sunrise Yacht Products in St. Pete, FL). Pictured in this link are the nets that came installed on our boat when we bought it. But we have now upgraded to full "offshore" nets, with a strong open weave, more suitable to surviving the open ocean. Pics of those once installed (soon!)
Sherry had fun hanging out with the ladies--morning walks and "water dancing" in the pool for exercise. Dave had fun exchanging technical information with all the guys in the marina. We each took the time to give at least one "class" in the marina "library" to share some of our knowledge and experiences. Sherry on OpenCPN, Dave on LifePO4 batteries. (These presentations can be found at https://svsoggypaws.com/presentations.htm).
We enjoyed having a car for most of the time. One downside of Pangkor is its distance from the main part of town, with, astonishingly, no regular bus system. Grab (the "Uber" of SE Asia) cars are scarce at peak times from the marina. The marina will rent a "beater" for a cheap price by the hour, so you aren't completely stuck. But we opted to rent a car by the month. A nearly new air conditioned small car is only about $250/mo.
The weather since we left 5 days ago has been stinky... low overcast and drizzly with wind out of the north (on our nose, of course). Yesterday it finally cleared up, and we had the tide with us, for once. We were making 8 knots under sail (and current) for 4-5 hours.
We are now in Kuah, Langkawi, Malaysia, getting ready to check out for Thailand. We made a quick stop in Penang to try to get Thai Visas, but the timing didn't work out. We are on a schedule to get checked into Phuket Thailand before Christmas, because some of our friends from last years' rally have organized a big Christmas Day lunch that we want to attend. So waiting over the weekend in Penang wouldn't have worked. We did spend half a day sightseeing (taking the local 50-cent bus into town). Could easily have spent several weeks in Penang exploring.
Likewise, we will only stay a day in Langkawi. Another place worthy of a month or two to explore and savor. But, alas, "You can't see everything."
Wednesday, August 2, 2023
Cameron Highlands, Malaysia
(sorry, I've wanted to catch up by back-posting blogs from our trip through Indonesia from last year, but just haven't gotten to it).
We've been talking about wanting to go see the Cameron Highlands in Malaysia for awhile. But boat work just seemed to be taking up all our time. Dave finally figured out a way to work in a trip. He found out from another cruiser that there was a place in Kuala Lumpur (capital of Malaysia) that does hydrostatic testing on dive tanks really cheaply. And, in testing our ham radio, he found low power output, and there's a guy someone knows that repairs ham radios, also in KL.
So, he decided we just HAD to go to KL and take our stuff there, and while we were waiting for the stuff to be finished, we could take a short side-trip to Cameron Highlands. When he decided that, he hadn't looked at a map--he thought KL would be a shortcut to the highlands. But (see the map), Cameron Highlands is not very far inland from where we are at Pangkor Marina. Google says we can drive there in 3 1/2 hours (on a weekday). But going via Kuala Lumpur extended the trip to 7 hours!
The "Short Cut" to Cameron Highlands via Kuala Lumpur
So we decided to stay overnight. I found a great deal at a Hilton Garden Hotel near our first stop on Monday morning (SK Cryogenics, the hydro test people) for only $50 per night. With a car, in a big city, "free parking" is one of the first amenities you check when booking a place. This was a nice hotel with a buffet breakfast (extra cost), a VERY comfy bed, and a decent view of the city. Highly recommend the Hilton Garden Inn Pahong if you're spending a night in that part of the city.
Our Room at the Hilton Garden Inn
Bed Decorations!
One thing we didn't realize before we took off was that the roads in Malaysia are pretty darned 1st world, which also includes tolls. But they don't have the ticket system that they have in the USA, and of course, having never been out of the immediate area of the marina, no electronic toll device. And there's no "toss some coins at the machine" booths either. You have to go through the truck lane, and the person in the booth looks at you like you have 2 heads. "You don't have a Touch n Go card?" And of course the cars behind you are backing up while the toll person writes out a receipt... After doing that a few times on our way into KL, we vowed to get our own Touch n Go card. One of the ladies in a toll booth said "get them at any gas station or 7-11". Someone else told us, "get them at the toll booth admin building" (just after most toll booths). Well, we stopped everywhere, and everyone has "top up" (add credit to a card you have). Nobody is selling the cards.
First World Driving!
The guy at SK Cryogenics, when we dropped off the tanks, took pity on us and loaned us his spare card. We vowed to find our own card and return his when we came back to pick up the tanks in a few days. We probably stopped at 10 places before we gave up. No one is selling the cards (but you can buy them online), not even the toll booth admin buildings.
SK Cryogenics - Bauer Dealer and Tank Hydro
I knew we were in trouble as we started out of KL after dropping off both the tanks and the radios (of course, on the other end of the big city). I zoomed in on the route and saw that though the first 3/4 of the trip was all freeway, the last 1/4 was very a winding mountain road. It's only 60 km, that last bit, but it took us over 2 hours of fairly stressful driving.
The Wiggly Road to Cameron Highlands
A Quick Stop at a Waterfall on the Way
Local Handicrafts at the Waterfall
We finally arrived in Cameron Highlands around 5pm. Fortunately we had no trouble getting into our (privately-owned AirBNB-type) room that we had booked on Agoda. It was mostly as described and OK for a couple of nights. The price was right and the location was pretty good--near town but not IN town. However, after staying there for a couple of days, we wouldn't recommend it. Though that apartment was decent, the condo building it's in (Barrington Square) is not being maintained, the stairways are full of trash, and the last night in a different unit in the same condo (because we wanted to extend and had to move to a different one), we killed about 20 roaches (mostly new hatchlings). Also if you came by bus and didn't have a car, it's a bit far into town for walking.
We spent 3 full days there. We booked one half-day tour to see the highlights of the tea farms, the butterfly sanctuary, etc. And we did some exploring on our own the other 2 days.
Cameron Highlands is a popular weekend spot for Malaysians, and we had been specifically warned to visit mid-week vs on the weekend. But it was still very busy and the traffic on the 2-lane road was pretty solid all the time. I can't imagine what it's like on summer weekends when the kids are out of school.
There is some historic value in the Highlands, as the Brits in the 1800's who could afford to, would retire to the Highlands during the hot months. It is definitely more pleasant in the Highlands during the summar. We enjoyed visiting the museum showing some of that history. We did enjoy a couple of walks in the forests, one with the tour and one on our own. But it was sort of a "meh" experience for us.
Historical Stuff at the Museum
We did discover "hot pot" (also called "steamboat") there at Casa Osiana. This is where they put a cooker on your table, with a pot with 2 compartments, and some broth, and several plates of meats and raw vergetables. And you cook your food yourself right on the table. We requested a Thai Tom Yam base without any spice, and it was really delicious. The nice restaurant was empty except for us.
Nice Restaurant-Casa Osiana
Our Hotpot Before Cooking
Look at all that Seafood!
On our last night, we had dinner at The Smokehouse Hotel and Restaurant. That was also very good. And I'd recommend either of these places as a place to stay in a historic location. There are a ton of hotels and eateries in Tana Rata town proper.
The Old Smokehouse Hotel and Restaurant
A Properly British Garden for Afternoon Tea
And a Cozy Place for Cool Nights in the Highlands
The most recommended tour company (in an older Lonely Planet as well as online) apparently went bust during the Covid Pandemic. We walked to the location that was listed for it and nothing was there but a hotel. But that hotel booked us the tour we were looking for from a different operator. They all seem to go to the same places.
The Tour Company We Used
Sights from our Tour Below
A Short Hike to the Famed Mossy Forest
Butterfly Farm
Butterfly Farm
Butterfly Farm
More than Just Butterflies at the Butterfly Farm!
And we Visit a Strawberry Farm
Strawberry Farm
U-Pick Strawberries
And of course, no visit to Cameron Highlands would be complete without a visit to a Tea Plantation.
Acres and Acres (Hectares) of Tea
Acres and Acres (Hectares) of Tea
Acres and Acres (Hectares) of Tea
Harvesting the Tea
Tea Tour and Tea Tasting
Final Stop on the Tour - A Hindu Temple
And we did do a little hiking and exploring on our own...
We captured the hiking map on our cell phone
A Sunset Drive and Short Hike to See the Far Valley
Robinson Falls - A Nice Easy Hike
We've been talking about wanting to go see the Cameron Highlands in Malaysia for awhile. But boat work just seemed to be taking up all our time. Dave finally figured out a way to work in a trip. He found out from another cruiser that there was a place in Kuala Lumpur (capital of Malaysia) that does hydrostatic testing on dive tanks really cheaply. And, in testing our ham radio, he found low power output, and there's a guy someone knows that repairs ham radios, also in KL.
So, he decided we just HAD to go to KL and take our stuff there, and while we were waiting for the stuff to be finished, we could take a short side-trip to Cameron Highlands. When he decided that, he hadn't looked at a map--he thought KL would be a shortcut to the highlands. But (see the map), Cameron Highlands is not very far inland from where we are at Pangkor Marina. Google says we can drive there in 3 1/2 hours (on a weekday). But going via Kuala Lumpur extended the trip to 7 hours!
So we decided to stay overnight. I found a great deal at a Hilton Garden Hotel near our first stop on Monday morning (SK Cryogenics, the hydro test people) for only $50 per night. With a car, in a big city, "free parking" is one of the first amenities you check when booking a place. This was a nice hotel with a buffet breakfast (extra cost), a VERY comfy bed, and a decent view of the city. Highly recommend the Hilton Garden Inn Pahong if you're spending a night in that part of the city.
One thing we didn't realize before we took off was that the roads in Malaysia are pretty darned 1st world, which also includes tolls. But they don't have the ticket system that they have in the USA, and of course, having never been out of the immediate area of the marina, no electronic toll device. And there's no "toss some coins at the machine" booths either. You have to go through the truck lane, and the person in the booth looks at you like you have 2 heads. "You don't have a Touch n Go card?" And of course the cars behind you are backing up while the toll person writes out a receipt... After doing that a few times on our way into KL, we vowed to get our own Touch n Go card. One of the ladies in a toll booth said "get them at any gas station or 7-11". Someone else told us, "get them at the toll booth admin building" (just after most toll booths). Well, we stopped everywhere, and everyone has "top up" (add credit to a card you have). Nobody is selling the cards.
The guy at SK Cryogenics, when we dropped off the tanks, took pity on us and loaned us his spare card. We vowed to find our own card and return his when we came back to pick up the tanks in a few days. We probably stopped at 10 places before we gave up. No one is selling the cards (but you can buy them online), not even the toll booth admin buildings.
I knew we were in trouble as we started out of KL after dropping off both the tanks and the radios (of course, on the other end of the big city). I zoomed in on the route and saw that though the first 3/4 of the trip was all freeway, the last 1/4 was very a winding mountain road. It's only 60 km, that last bit, but it took us over 2 hours of fairly stressful driving.
We finally arrived in Cameron Highlands around 5pm. Fortunately we had no trouble getting into our (privately-owned AirBNB-type) room that we had booked on Agoda. It was mostly as described and OK for a couple of nights. The price was right and the location was pretty good--near town but not IN town. However, after staying there for a couple of days, we wouldn't recommend it. Though that apartment was decent, the condo building it's in (Barrington Square) is not being maintained, the stairways are full of trash, and the last night in a different unit in the same condo (because we wanted to extend and had to move to a different one), we killed about 20 roaches (mostly new hatchlings). Also if you came by bus and didn't have a car, it's a bit far into town for walking.
We spent 3 full days there. We booked one half-day tour to see the highlights of the tea farms, the butterfly sanctuary, etc. And we did some exploring on our own the other 2 days.
Cameron Highlands is a popular weekend spot for Malaysians, and we had been specifically warned to visit mid-week vs on the weekend. But it was still very busy and the traffic on the 2-lane road was pretty solid all the time. I can't imagine what it's like on summer weekends when the kids are out of school.
There is some historic value in the Highlands, as the Brits in the 1800's who could afford to, would retire to the Highlands during the hot months. It is definitely more pleasant in the Highlands during the summar. We enjoyed visiting the museum showing some of that history. We did enjoy a couple of walks in the forests, one with the tour and one on our own. But it was sort of a "meh" experience for us.
We did discover "hot pot" (also called "steamboat") there at Casa Osiana. This is where they put a cooker on your table, with a pot with 2 compartments, and some broth, and several plates of meats and raw vergetables. And you cook your food yourself right on the table. We requested a Thai Tom Yam base without any spice, and it was really delicious. The nice restaurant was empty except for us.
On our last night, we had dinner at The Smokehouse Hotel and Restaurant. That was also very good. And I'd recommend either of these places as a place to stay in a historic location. There are a ton of hotels and eateries in Tana Rata town proper.
The most recommended tour company (in an older Lonely Planet as well as online) apparently went bust during the Covid Pandemic. We walked to the location that was listed for it and nothing was there but a hotel. But that hotel booked us the tour we were looking for from a different operator. They all seem to go to the same places.
Sights from our Tour Below
And of course, no visit to Cameron Highlands would be complete without a visit to a Tea Plantation.
And we did do a little hiking and exploring on our own...
Friday, August 28, 2015
Our New Spinnaker
Our new boat came with a 1,830 sq ft spinnaker. That's huge, to us at least.
We should have used our big spinnaker on the trip from Borneo. It would have been perfect in the light air astern. But we were lazy, and a bit apprehensive. Having cruised with a spinnaker on Island Time, and raced with one on Fast Lane, I felt comfortable sorting it out. But we were on passage, and tired, and there were always iffy-looking clouds somewhere on the horizon. So it was so easy just cranking our cute little Yanmars up when the wind went light astern. We should have also practiced with the spinnaker before while Kevin was aboard, to help us figure out how to set it up and fly it, but we never got to it.
Spinnaker Lessons
So once at the dock in Davao, we enlisted our friends James and Lorna on s/v Mind the Gap to come over and show us how it should be done. They had sailed a number of times in Malaysia with Blue Moon, and had been the ones to move Blue Moon from Miri Marina in western Borneo to Pangkor where we bought her. James was also the one that convinced Dave that this was a very good boat for sale for a very good price. (And it was James and Lorna's being good friends with each of us, and having recently sailed on Blue Moon, that made our crazy hurry-up remote purchase work with not very much anxiety or risk).
Fortunately, we usually have a light breeze from astern in the mornings in the marina. In about 10 minutes, James and Lorna had showed us how easy it was to raise, deploy, douse, and lower the huge spinnaker (at least in light winds in the marina!). On a catamaran, no poles are needed!! We figured out that rather than lugging the big thing up on deck, we can raise it directly from the bathtub in the starboard hull--there's a hatch conveniently set up right over the bathtub. (One wonders if this was a design feature not in the manufacturer's literature!). It's a big asymetric with a sock, so when it's time to douse, just sock it, and drop it back down the hatch. Easy peasy!!
Now that we understand how to set it up and deploy it, we are looking forward to doing some light air sailing on our next trip. (Of course, the way Neptune works, we won't see light air again for YEARS!)
We kinda feel like the boat is under-winched. Only one cockpit winch on each side for the genoa. We could make do, as the previous owners have. But we'd feel more comfortable having another winch on each side--especially in heavy air when you might need help in a squall cranking in the genoa furling while still keeping control of the genoa sheet, and no time to play with stoppers. So two (hopefully used) Lewmar 42's are on our shopping list.
We should have used our big spinnaker on the trip from Borneo. It would have been perfect in the light air astern. But we were lazy, and a bit apprehensive. Having cruised with a spinnaker on Island Time, and raced with one on Fast Lane, I felt comfortable sorting it out. But we were on passage, and tired, and there were always iffy-looking clouds somewhere on the horizon. So it was so easy just cranking our cute little Yanmars up when the wind went light astern. We should have also practiced with the spinnaker before while Kevin was aboard, to help us figure out how to set it up and fly it, but we never got to it.
So once at the dock in Davao, we enlisted our friends James and Lorna on s/v Mind the Gap to come over and show us how it should be done. They had sailed a number of times in Malaysia with Blue Moon, and had been the ones to move Blue Moon from Miri Marina in western Borneo to Pangkor where we bought her. James was also the one that convinced Dave that this was a very good boat for sale for a very good price. (And it was James and Lorna's being good friends with each of us, and having recently sailed on Blue Moon, that made our crazy hurry-up remote purchase work with not very much anxiety or risk).
Fortunately, we usually have a light breeze from astern in the mornings in the marina. In about 10 minutes, James and Lorna had showed us how easy it was to raise, deploy, douse, and lower the huge spinnaker (at least in light winds in the marina!). On a catamaran, no poles are needed!! We figured out that rather than lugging the big thing up on deck, we can raise it directly from the bathtub in the starboard hull--there's a hatch conveniently set up right over the bathtub. (One wonders if this was a design feature not in the manufacturer's literature!). It's a big asymetric with a sock, so when it's time to douse, just sock it, and drop it back down the hatch. Easy peasy!!
Now that we understand how to set it up and deploy it, we are looking forward to doing some light air sailing on our next trip. (Of course, the way Neptune works, we won't see light air again for YEARS!)
We kinda feel like the boat is under-winched. Only one cockpit winch on each side for the genoa. We could make do, as the previous owners have. But we'd feel more comfortable having another winch on each side--especially in heavy air when you might need help in a squall cranking in the genoa furling while still keeping control of the genoa sheet, and no time to play with stoppers. So two (hopefully used) Lewmar 42's are on our shopping list.
Monday, August 17, 2015
Almost Back in the Philippines
Those of you watching our blog have been disappointed, I know, that there have been no updates in the last month. This was for two reasons--intermittent internet and a very busy schedule when we did get internet, and because of "security issues".
We have just finished transitting the north coast of Borneo. This area has been plagued in the last couple of years (actually, the last hundred years) with Philippine rebels (Muslim separatists) who kidnap rich people for ransom to fund their rebel activity. It got really bad last year when they kidnapped a German couple off their sailboat in southern Palawan (the SW most Philippine Island). They did a number of audacious kidnappings last summer. Then in May of this year, they kidnapped 2 people out of a waterfront restaurant in Sandakan, the big city on the north coast of Borneo. If you want to know more, Google "Abu Sayeff, kidnap" and that will get you started.
Most boats these days transit this area in a gaggle, with protection from local maritime authorities. The Sail Malaysia Rally people organize a Sail Malaysia Rally to the East every year. This year there were 40 boats signed up, though I think not that many made the whole rally (for updates on this Rally, this year, see Tropical Soul's blog posts, linked in the Cruising Blogs area to the left on my blog).
Unfortunately, due to timing, we couldn't make it in time to join up with the Rally...we ended up a couple of weeks behind. This is a shame, because in addition to the protection offered by local authorities, they do a lot of neat touristy things, facilitated by the Sail Malaysia people.
So once we realized we were not going to make the Rally, we started asking for information on security issues from the Sail Malaysia organizer. He passed us some phone numbers and email contacts for Malaysian security forces, called ESSCom (Eastern Security Sector Command) and MMEA (Maritime Malaysia __ Authority). A few phone calls and emails later, we finally got a coherent response from someone in ESSCom, who actually looked at our transit plan and made a few suggestions, which was what we were looking for. He also confirmed a list of email and contact phone numbers for the various ESSCom/MMEA posts along our route.
Our route plan was GREATLY facilitated by the Sail Malaysia Rally PDF file, and an associated GPX file (waypoint list for OpenCPN), plus a few years worth of tracks from boats who had gone through the same area. So we knew where it was possible to stop, we just didn't know where it was SAFE to stop. That's where ESSCom's advice was helpful.
Once we got underway from Kota Kinabalu, as asked, we emailed daily position reports to the ESSCom contact list. We also advised our friends associated with the Navy in the Philippines (whom we had contacted asking for the same sort of advice). Once we got to Kudat (the NW corner of Borneo), we were surprised that ESSCom offered an escort boat. This was the beginning of the dicey area. So at 11 am when we departed Kudat, we were joined by the first escort boat, who idled around within visual range all day, and spent the night at our first anchorage. The next morning, they handed us off to a different boat. And we were relayed along the coast for about 200 miles that way, by a string of MMEA patrol boats.
It felt really decadent having an escort for only one cruising boat. We had never asked for such service--just to help us stay away from known bad areas. But I guess the tourism impact of having even one tourist get kidnapped would shut down Borneo's second largest industry--tourism (behind Palm Oil production).
It was ironic that the only place that the escort service broke down was the night we spent in Dent Haven, all alone. This is the closest anchorage to where the bad guys are known to hang out!! However, at this point, our Philippine contacts, who had been monitoring our progress by email, took over. We got a nice email from the primary Philippine Navy contact and we were emailed some contacts at the Philippine Navy Base on Tawi Tawi island. In our anchorage at Dent Haven, we could hear the Philippine Navy contacting passing merchant ships for information on their ships, cargos, and destinations. So we survived the night at Dent Haven, and the next morning, with a sigh of relief, we exited a pass between Philippine and Malaysian islands, and headed east for the Gulf of Davao.
We enjoyed Malaysia, and hope we can do it again sometime when we have a bit more time to cruise vs. deliver. However, we are REALLY looking forward to getting back to the Philippines. There's something really different about the Philippine people that we didn't find in Malaysia.
We expect to arrive at the Sarangani Islands, at the SW corner of the Gulf of Davao, in the middle of the night tonight, and head out at the crack of dawn tomorrow to head towards Samal. We've been in these waters before, and will probably go in to a previous anchor spot and anchor for a little sleep before heading out in the early morning.
I do plan to back-fill a bunch of experiences we've had over the last month, including our week-long whirlwind land excursion in northern Borneo. So keep watching the blog!
-----
Sherry & Dave
Delivering the new Soggy Paws from Malaysia to Philippines
At 8/16/2015 11:00 PM (utc) our position was 05°16.20'N 123°39.30'E
http://svsoggypaws.com/currentposition.htm
We have just finished transitting the north coast of Borneo. This area has been plagued in the last couple of years (actually, the last hundred years) with Philippine rebels (Muslim separatists) who kidnap rich people for ransom to fund their rebel activity. It got really bad last year when they kidnapped a German couple off their sailboat in southern Palawan (the SW most Philippine Island). They did a number of audacious kidnappings last summer. Then in May of this year, they kidnapped 2 people out of a waterfront restaurant in Sandakan, the big city on the north coast of Borneo. If you want to know more, Google "Abu Sayeff, kidnap" and that will get you started.
Most boats these days transit this area in a gaggle, with protection from local maritime authorities. The Sail Malaysia Rally people organize a Sail Malaysia Rally to the East every year. This year there were 40 boats signed up, though I think not that many made the whole rally (for updates on this Rally, this year, see Tropical Soul's blog posts, linked in the Cruising Blogs area to the left on my blog).
Unfortunately, due to timing, we couldn't make it in time to join up with the Rally...we ended up a couple of weeks behind. This is a shame, because in addition to the protection offered by local authorities, they do a lot of neat touristy things, facilitated by the Sail Malaysia people.
So once we realized we were not going to make the Rally, we started asking for information on security issues from the Sail Malaysia organizer. He passed us some phone numbers and email contacts for Malaysian security forces, called ESSCom (Eastern Security Sector Command) and MMEA (Maritime Malaysia __ Authority). A few phone calls and emails later, we finally got a coherent response from someone in ESSCom, who actually looked at our transit plan and made a few suggestions, which was what we were looking for. He also confirmed a list of email and contact phone numbers for the various ESSCom/MMEA posts along our route.
Our route plan was GREATLY facilitated by the Sail Malaysia Rally PDF file, and an associated GPX file (waypoint list for OpenCPN), plus a few years worth of tracks from boats who had gone through the same area. So we knew where it was possible to stop, we just didn't know where it was SAFE to stop. That's where ESSCom's advice was helpful.
Once we got underway from Kota Kinabalu, as asked, we emailed daily position reports to the ESSCom contact list. We also advised our friends associated with the Navy in the Philippines (whom we had contacted asking for the same sort of advice). Once we got to Kudat (the NW corner of Borneo), we were surprised that ESSCom offered an escort boat. This was the beginning of the dicey area. So at 11 am when we departed Kudat, we were joined by the first escort boat, who idled around within visual range all day, and spent the night at our first anchorage. The next morning, they handed us off to a different boat. And we were relayed along the coast for about 200 miles that way, by a string of MMEA patrol boats.
It felt really decadent having an escort for only one cruising boat. We had never asked for such service--just to help us stay away from known bad areas. But I guess the tourism impact of having even one tourist get kidnapped would shut down Borneo's second largest industry--tourism (behind Palm Oil production).
It was ironic that the only place that the escort service broke down was the night we spent in Dent Haven, all alone. This is the closest anchorage to where the bad guys are known to hang out!! However, at this point, our Philippine contacts, who had been monitoring our progress by email, took over. We got a nice email from the primary Philippine Navy contact and we were emailed some contacts at the Philippine Navy Base on Tawi Tawi island. In our anchorage at Dent Haven, we could hear the Philippine Navy contacting passing merchant ships for information on their ships, cargos, and destinations. So we survived the night at Dent Haven, and the next morning, with a sigh of relief, we exited a pass between Philippine and Malaysian islands, and headed east for the Gulf of Davao.
We enjoyed Malaysia, and hope we can do it again sometime when we have a bit more time to cruise vs. deliver. However, we are REALLY looking forward to getting back to the Philippines. There's something really different about the Philippine people that we didn't find in Malaysia.
We expect to arrive at the Sarangani Islands, at the SW corner of the Gulf of Davao, in the middle of the night tonight, and head out at the crack of dawn tomorrow to head towards Samal. We've been in these waters before, and will probably go in to a previous anchor spot and anchor for a little sleep before heading out in the early morning.
I do plan to back-fill a bunch of experiences we've had over the last month, including our week-long whirlwind land excursion in northern Borneo. So keep watching the blog!
-----
Sherry & Dave
Delivering the new Soggy Paws from Malaysia to Philippines
At 8/16/2015 11:00 PM (utc) our position was 05°16.20'N 123°39.30'E
http://svsoggypaws.com/currentposition.htm
Sunday, July 19, 2015
177 NM in one day
Our noon-to-noon mileage since yesterday was 177 nm, or an average of 7.3.
We had to work our way through some squslls in the morning, but by mid-afternoon the weather had cleared. However, the GRIB files have forecast a drop and wind and a change in direction to be more behind us. It's already happening. We're "creeping" along at 4.5 knots right now, and anticipating starting at least one engine at some time during the night.
Maybe in the morning we'll put up the big spinnaker, when we can see the squalls coming.
All is well. The crew is eating well and smiling. We have been dragging fishing lines, but so far no luck.
482 miles to go to Labuan, with fairly light air forecast the whole rest of the route.
-----
At 7/19/2015 11:30 AM (utc) our position was 02°39.68'N 107°42.69'E
http://svsoggypaws.com/currentposition.htm
We had to work our way through some squslls in the morning, but by mid-afternoon the weather had cleared. However, the GRIB files have forecast a drop and wind and a change in direction to be more behind us. It's already happening. We're "creeping" along at 4.5 knots right now, and anticipating starting at least one engine at some time during the night.
Maybe in the morning we'll put up the big spinnaker, when we can see the squalls coming.
All is well. The crew is eating well and smiling. We have been dragging fishing lines, but so far no luck.
482 miles to go to Labuan, with fairly light air forecast the whole rest of the route.
-----
At 7/19/2015 11:30 AM (utc) our position was 02°39.68'N 107°42.69'E
http://svsoggypaws.com/currentposition.htm
Singapore to Borneo - Day 1
We transitted the south coast of Singapore on Friday. It was a nerve-wracking experience with ships everywhere.
The Busy Harbor of Singapore
The Busy Harbor of Singapore
Even the Vesper Marine AIS was almost useless there were so many targets. It was most useful feeding the AIS into OpenCPN, but neither laptop I had was happy with so much activity on the USB bus. (Not quite sure what was going on, but it was frustrating. I kept getting USB Device Not Recognized--not sure if it was heat or too much activity, or both). (Several days later I discovered that the problems were caused by a very "noisy" inverter. Once I turned the inverter off, I never had another USB serial port problem, but we were gone from Singapore by then)
Migration Looking Very Pretty
We made it safely into the anchorage in Malaysian waters on the east side of Singapore by 5pm, and were joined by our friends on Migration. We have been following Migration ever since we got in the Pacific-always a year or two behind them. But they just finished a 2 year refit in Thailand (which Bruce DOESN'T recommend), and so we finally got to meet them in person.
We rowed over to their boat for happy hour on their voluminous (trimaran) deck. The boat is gorgeous--so the refit was successful in the end (it's a 45 year old 46 ft Cross tri, but now looks brand new).
We left this anchorage yesterday morning and headed on our 702 nm trip to Labuan, on the coast of Borneo. There is lots to see in Borneo that we are skipping by, including the Rainforest Festival near Kuching. But we just can't see everything.
We are in the SW Monsoon season, so the winds are southerly. Since we got clear of the channel and turned the engines off, we've been sailing at 7-8 knots. We put one reef in the main when the daily wind came up, and another in this morning in squally weather. And we're still doing 7 knots. We have about 530 NM to go to Labuan.
With a 3rd person on board, watches and sailhandling have been easy. Kevin has been very useful in helping us figure out all the boat systems. (I have a blog half-written about all that stuff, but want to get the passage report in...)
All is well, ETA Labuan Wednesday afternoon local time, if we keep this speed up. (But softer wind is in the forecast).
----------
radio email processed by SailMail
for information see: http://www.sailmail.com
Even the Vesper Marine AIS was almost useless there were so many targets. It was most useful feeding the AIS into OpenCPN, but neither laptop I had was happy with so much activity on the USB bus. (Not quite sure what was going on, but it was frustrating. I kept getting USB Device Not Recognized--not sure if it was heat or too much activity, or both). (Several days later I discovered that the problems were caused by a very "noisy" inverter. Once I turned the inverter off, I never had another USB serial port problem, but we were gone from Singapore by then)
We made it safely into the anchorage in Malaysian waters on the east side of Singapore by 5pm, and were joined by our friends on Migration. We have been following Migration ever since we got in the Pacific-always a year or two behind them. But they just finished a 2 year refit in Thailand (which Bruce DOESN'T recommend), and so we finally got to meet them in person.
We rowed over to their boat for happy hour on their voluminous (trimaran) deck. The boat is gorgeous--so the refit was successful in the end (it's a 45 year old 46 ft Cross tri, but now looks brand new).
We left this anchorage yesterday morning and headed on our 702 nm trip to Labuan, on the coast of Borneo. There is lots to see in Borneo that we are skipping by, including the Rainforest Festival near Kuching. But we just can't see everything.
We are in the SW Monsoon season, so the winds are southerly. Since we got clear of the channel and turned the engines off, we've been sailing at 7-8 knots. We put one reef in the main when the daily wind came up, and another in this morning in squally weather. And we're still doing 7 knots. We have about 530 NM to go to Labuan.
With a 3rd person on board, watches and sailhandling have been easy. Kevin has been very useful in helping us figure out all the boat systems. (I have a blog half-written about all that stuff, but want to get the passage report in...)
All is well, ETA Labuan Wednesday afternoon local time, if we keep this speed up. (But softer wind is in the forecast).
----------
radio email processed by SailMail
for information see: http://www.sailmail.com
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)