Dell, Peter & Pacific Express

3KK - ambong

2012-01-27T19:04:00.001+10:00

WEEK 3 -Kota Kinabulu to Ambong

Saturday 21 January - Kota Kinabulu
Peter took Brett and Delphine into the resort for a good shower and left their packs on Braveheart in the marina. The water was quite calm at that time. Back at the boat we had beer and xmas cake even though it was only 1030. We all went ashore at 11 and put Brett and Delphine into a taxi to the airport and we were going to go to town but were a bit concerned about the weather so I stayed on board and Peter went to town to the market. As it turned out the weather was fine. We went ashore for a shower and had drinks on Braveheart before heading back out to the boat.

Sunday 22 January - Kota Kinabulu
Peter did the washing and I had a computer day then headed in for a shower. Peter had done several trips with the jerries to fill our water tank. We had a quiet evening on board and woke up at midnight when all the fireworks went off for Chinese New Year.

Monday 23 January - Kota Kinabulu to Pulau Gaya
06°00.102N / 116°02.191E
Went to town to get phone and internet cards for when we return and tracked down some vegemite. A lot of the shops were closed for Chinese New Year. Swapped a couple of books at the marina but they didn't have much. Still have heaps to read on board. Back to the boat and upanchored - we were really well dug in - and headed a couple of miles over to Pulau Gaya and chose a nice little bay and went in between what we thought was reef but turned out to be weed. We watched the monkeys on the beach and a bit later saw a pig so we took Bob in close to shore. The monkeys left but there were at least four big water monitors and the strangest looking pig - light brown with a really long snout and his ears quite a way back from his snout and with tusks. Its a lovely bay but it collects a lot of rubbish on the beach which seems to be what the animals are scavenging. Watched two men tie a couple of small logs together and then walk around the bay dragging them staying close to the shore and then they went around the point to a village. We figured it must be easier to go by water than to walk through the jungle.
Miles: 3 TTT: 185

Tuesday 24 January - Pulau Gaya
Spent another day here watching the monkeys and enjoying being away from the marina.

Wednesday 25 January - Pulau Gaya to Ambong
06°19.153N / 116°18.977E
We left at about 7.15 and motored out around the point into quite a swell and turned up heading north along the Borneo coast. The swell was a little uncomfortable and then the sea just got sloppy but as we got closer to Ambong it was improving. Ambong is a lovely sheltered bay and we went to the opposite side to where we normally go as it was really sheltered at this time of year and also very pretty. Cilantro also came across to join us. There are a few houses ashore and the people seem really friendly. A couple of blokes came out and wanted to swap a beer for a coconut but they settled for a cigarette each - the skipper rolled them one each and we didn't see them again. The skipper's cigarettes seem to have that affect on people!
Miles: 32 TTT: 217

Thursday 26 January - Ambong
Happy Australia Day
It rained all day and we really enjoyed just chilling out and reading. Braveheart came in around 5 so we three boats are all together again ready to head for the Philippines.

Friday 27 January - Ambong
Still a bit damp and more of the same. Did a bit of maintenance on the motor , winches and radios and a general clean up. We can get phone coverage here but no internet. Hoping to leave tomorrow - weather permitting!

Cheers
Dell and Peter

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WEEK 2 – Miri to Kota Kinabulu

2012-01-22T14:46:00.000+10:00

Saturday 14 January – Miri – Kuala Belait Brunei
04°34.835N 114°11.337E
We had decided to leave at daybreak but when the skipper put the engine into gear there was a terrible grinding noise and he thought he musnt have aligned the prop correctly but after putting it into forward and reverse gears (while still tied to the jetty!) we decided it was probably just growth on the prop so we dropped the lines and off we went on a half tide and had half a metre under the keel. The seas were pretty sloppy but our two new crew members handled it really well. We arrived at Kuala Belait at 1.30 and anchored in the river opposite the town. As this was Brunei and we hadn’t checked in we stayed on board.
Miles: 35

Sunday 15 January – Kuala Belai – Jeffries Wall, Brunei
04°56.999N 114°a48.779E
We left at 6.50 am and had a good day of intermittent sailing and motor sailing and the seas had settled and it was a good trip. We caught a mackerel along the way which the skipper cooked up for a very tasty dinner. Anchored at Jeffries wall at 3.45
Miles: 43 Total This Trip: 78

Monday 16 January – Jeffries wall – Labuan
05°16.444N 115°14.318E
We left Jeffries at 7am and motored on a flat sea heading towards Labuan. We stopped off at Pulau Kereman – a lovely island for a swim. Brett copped a sting from something which appeared to be quite painful so we continued on to Labuan and anchored at 3.25 after two attempts.
Miles: 34 TTT: 112

Tuesday 17 January – Labuan
We checked into Labuan and out of Sarawak and then managed to find a minibus to take us on a tour of the island. We went to the War Memorial where the POWs from Sandakan are interred. As always, this cemetery was beautifully kept. We then went to a very interesting marine museum and then out to the chimney. This chimney is a bit of a mystery as no one knows who built it, when it was built or what it was for. No fire has ever been lit in it. It is however, where the coal mining used to be carried out on this island. We returned to town and did our duty free shopping and loaded the boat up and then caught another water taxi to town for dinner. Had Indian again and it was really very good.

Wednesday 18 January – Labuan – Pulau Tiga
05°43.243N 115°38.880E
We left at 6.45 and anchored in 4m of sand off the resort. This island was where the very first episode of Survivor was made. We went for a snorkel but it turned out to be huge seaweed plants so went back to the beach for a swim. The water was so clear. When the sandflies started swarming the skipper’s head we made a retreat to the boat and the skipper cooked up another great meal. Watched the monkeys on the beach.
Miles: 40`TTT: 152

Thursday 19 January – Pulau Tiga
In the morning we watched the monkeys and water monitors on the beach and then went ashore to walk to the mud volcanoes. We decided not to jump in the mud as it really didn’t look that appealing but it was extremely muddy and was bubbling up in places. We walked to Rocky Beach along the jungle track and then walked back again. There were monkeys playing both sides of the track and the skipper surprised a water monitor which made a hasty and noisy exit – not sure who got the bigger fright! We had a swim and went back to the boat and watched the monkeys and water monitors on the beach and the sun set over the sea. Such a beautiful spot.

Friday 20 January – Pulau Tiga – Kota Kinabulu
05°58.044N 116°03.219E
We left at 7.30 and motor sailed on flat seas to Kota Kinabulu and anchored off the marina at 2.15. It appears that once again there is no room at this marina for us. We caught a plastic bag on our first attempt at anchoring so reanchored. The skipper cooked up a slap up meal and we had a nice bottle of red to celebrate Brett and Delphine’s last night on board. We have really enjoyed their company.
Miles: 30 TTT: 182

WEEK 1 – back to the boat

2012-01-22T14:40:00.000+10:00

Hullo all
We arrived back at the boat on Friday 6 January in the evening in the rain. Pacific Express was in excellent condition with just a touch of mould on the deck. We unpacked and fell into bed – it was a long trip back. Brett and Delphine flew into Kuching from their holiday in Cambodia. Kuching was even wetter than Miri was. Over the next couple of days we shopped and Peter did the engine mounts which turned out to be an all day job. We put the sails back up and the next day Peter changed the oil pressure sender unit on the motor and the fuel filters.

At 10am on Tuesday the 10th we flew to Mulu National Park and Brett and Delphine flew in at 12. Mulu is central Borneo and all jungle and caves. The caves were discovered around 1977 although of course the local tribes have always known about them. They have built extensive board walks through the jungle to the caves. It has an extensive cave system and boasts the largest and longest in the world. We did the 2pm tour of Lang and Deer Caves which were truly amazing. We were just about to go in to Lang Cave when we heard this almighty bang and the ground shook. We thought it was a huge tree hitting the ground but the guide thought it was a huge rock so we were quite pleased we hadn’t gone to the other cave first – gave us all quite a start!! We waited for the bat exodus towards evening but unfortunately it rained heavily so we didn’t get to see them. Wednesday we were taken up river in a long thin canoe boat with an outboard up the back which was rather exciting. We stopped at a village and then continued on to some more caves – one had no lights as they were out so it was torches only. Would have been fabulous with the lights on but was still pretty good. After seeing two more caves we had a swim in the rather “fresh” river. Then we went on our own jungle walk through a muddy path to a small waterfall at the river and saw giant beehives hanging off the cliff. That evening we went on a night walk but it poured rain just before we went so didn’t see much.

We got up early Thursday morning and went on the canopy treetop walk. This was about 500m long done in sections right up the top of the rainforest and boy some of those trees are hugely tall!!! It was two shoulder high ropes with netting down to two planks and only two people were allowed on each section at a time. It was great and so peaceful though I must say we did start out in trepidation. Delphine pointed out a green viper sitting on a tree. We packed up our gear and checked out the information centre and saw an interesting film on bats and have since become a fan! We arrived back at Miri at 4ish and introduced Delphine to Pacific Express and then went to town for dinner. We had been quite worried about the state of the sea as it had been pretty unsettled.

Friday the 13th (bad luck on two counts!!!) we were going nowhere so went to the market and did our final shop and then to the Banana Leaf restaurant for a fabulous Indian dinner.

WEEKS 21 & 22: Brunei to Miri Marina

2011-09-16T15:42:00.002+10:00

Saturday 3 September - Muara, Brunei
We ordered some fuel and the boys and Sandra went to check us all out. Cilantro decided they needed to get going so they left as soon as they had checked out. We found out the penalties for failing to have passport checked in was no less than $5000 and no less than 6 months gaol and overstaying one’s visa no less than 6 lashes and no less than 3 months gaol !
We just did boat stuff and at 7.30pm we went over to Braveheart and Chris and Peter went in to collect Chris’ fuel which was supposed to be there at 8pm. They finally came back at 9.30pm without the fuel which hadn’t turned up.

Sunday 4 September – Brunei to the Sultan’s brother's breakwater
04°57.009N / 114°48.793 (7m)
The boys went in at 8am and were told the petrol station had run out of diesel. By 11am the chap had managed to get 300 litres – we actually wanted 300 each but he couldn’t get more till that evening which meant another day there – so we both settled for 150 litres each (31 cents/litre). We upanchored at 12 noon and headed out. There was a slight swell but the seas were calm and it was a nice day. The Sultan's brother had built a breakwater so their children could enjoy their water sports – two big walls coming out from the beach with a narrow opening to the sea and another wall on an islet just inside the opening to prevent the swell. We anchored just off the islet at 6pm – what a fantastic spot – so calm.
Miles: 25 TTT: 2,792

Monday 5 September – Sultan’s breakwater to Miri Marina
Happy Birthday James
04°23.076 / 113°58.347
We left at 5am in the dark and had good wind but we had a long way to go so we motor sailed. We hadn’t remembered to put our radio back to 16 (oops). It seemed we were heading into a survey area and they had been calling us for ages when Braveheart called them up and told them to try channel 72. The survey ship called us up on 72 and asked us to alter course which we did and then they called us back on 16 to thank us for our cooperation (maybe also checking we were finally on 16!!). Cilantro had reached the marina at 3pm and we came in at 6.30pm We went down to 0.7m under the keel but were soon tied up in the marina. People came from everywhere to help us in. Cilantro had previously told us where we could berth which was really helpful. Braveheart came in abut 8.30 – they had to go around another survey area – and they said it was pitch black out there and the entry wasn’t lit but they found their way in and we soon had them tied up in their berth. We had a little reunion and hit the hay – a very long day.
Miles: 73 TTT: 2,865

Tuesday 6 – Friday 9 September – Miri Marina
We walked to town and back and went out to a restaurant to celebrate James’ birthday. It has been cleanup mode for us all. We have been to the dentist, got new prescription glasses and ordered prescription sunglasses. I had the worst haircut ever! I seriously wonder if Dewie was a bona fide hairdresser! Got Peter’s bike fixed – four broken spokes and can now ride to town and back. They have put in a bicycle track since were last here so that is great. And they are slowly covering all the square drain holes along the way (if you went in one of those no-one would ever find you!) Peter had a run in with a car door – some one stopped in the right hand lane – Peter was in the left hand lane - and the back passenger door flew open and he managed to miss the bulk of it but got a scraped arm and leg. I had lunch in town and three lovely men at the next table insisted on paying for my meal – embarrassing – but they said it was their culture and one had been to Uni in Perth and the other had family there. On Friday night there was a sundowner gathering of marina guests – drinks and nibblies. Peter’s honey chicken wings were very popular. Most people are leaving their boats here to go home but we met Rose from Southern Son who has been here for four years. She gets horribly seasick so that may have something to do with it! Though seriously I doubt it. Braveheart had intended to catch a bus to Brunei for their flight home leaving at 8.30am tomorrow but Rose was able to organise a car and they wouldn’t be leaving till 3pm! I think Rose knows everything and everyone!

Saturday 10 September – Miri Marina
We said goodbye to James and Sandra (Cilantro) at 8am as they headed home. We rode to town with Chris and Judy (Braveheart) and did some last minute shopping for them and rode around and had lunch (not the best) then went to the seafood restaurant where they keep the live bullfrogs – for beer only!! Studied the menu and it is amazing what they can do with bullfrogs! They had a lot of ‘unusual’ dishes on the menu. We said goodbye to Chris and Judy at 3pm when the airconditioned car did turn up - $20 each to Brunei airport – pretty good
.
Sunday 11th – Friday 16th September
Happy 21st Jackson – 11th
Happy birthday Greg – 14th
We are currently going through the boat cleaning out cupboards, washing everything (great to have water!!). Peter has fixed the water pump, the toilet holding tank and cleared the toilet pipes – a pretty shitty job by all accounts but better to do it now than when we come back. The sails are coming down today to be stored below and hopefully we might have a day off to enjoy ourselves before we come back!! Today is Malaysia day so it is a public holiday.

Well this is where Pacific Express will spend the next four months while we go home. On this trip we have clocked up 2,865 nautical miles and since we have had the boat we have done 15,395 nautical miles.

We arrive in Adelaide on Tuesday 21st and are looking forward to catching up with family and friends. To all of you who have followed this manic journey – thankyou – and hopefully you will be with us again from January 2012. To those of you who we have met along the way and who have accompanied us and shared the journey and the tears, the fears and the fun – what can we say – thankyou! What’s next? Who knows. We hope to do the Philippines early next year and then may bring the boat home but these decisions cannot be made until the day they are made!!!!

Anyway all the best to everyone, Merry Christmas and Happy New Year and stay safe.

May you always have a foot of water under your keel, fair winds and calm seas and until we meet again may God hold you in the hollow of his hands.

Dell and Peter
Pacific.express@hotmail.com

Ode to a Rally - Ketoro

2011-09-16T15:38:00.000+10:00

A flotilla of yachts to the tip of Borneo
In no wind, slowly did go
Cilantro wept at the pace: “We’ve come to a halt!”
But Nimbus shrugged and poured a Single Malt,
Explaining: “We’ll just have to Linger Longer,
A Braveheart’s not required till the winds get stronger.”

“But, which way?” Ketoro did cry.
This Way Up came the aghast reply;
What will you do when you cross the Pacific:
Express your ignorance? This is horrific!”
The advice they received, best by far,
Was to use nightfall to follow the Rubicon Star.

Other yachts, leaving earlier, had gone in Full Flight,
The French (Baginaff, Cariad and Anne) were nowhere in sight;
There were those who came later, Chatelaine overtook;
Wave Sweeper a dentist required take a look.
Of others a mere Whisper, Chez Nous seen round the top;
Intiaq, Orono, Storm Dodger and Rhum Do - an earlier stop.

“Bye” to Nyami and Neptune who elsewhere flew,
Elevation, Naga, Kristie and Investigator II,
Harmonica went shopping (for a cat: they sailed miles)
While to aid parents - Present, and Ingrid of the Isles.

Through new rally acquaintances we had much to gain…
When other paths are taken, our memories remain.

Written and shared by Rolf and Irene, Ketoro

WEEK 20: Pulau Tiga to Brunei Darussalam

2011-09-12T13:38:00.000+10:00

Friday 27 August –sandspit at Pulau Tiga – Labuan
05°16.42N / 115°14.338E
We upanchored at 7 after a very good night. It was hazy and we motor sailed in good conditions to the Port of Labuan. Along the way a swallow flew in and rested on the bimini – he flew around a few times and settled at various parts of the boat for a ride and then came around and landed on the skipper’s shoulder where he sat for around five minutes – magic!! The port of Labuan was very dirty and we dodged a few bits of wood and came in to anchor next to Braveheart at 3.40pm. It took us three goes to get the anchor to hold. Braveheart called up the water taxi and it picked us all up and took us the 300metres to shore but when we got there instead of charging us the 1RM it usually cost they charged us 5RM each. We have no idea why they decided to charge us so much. We looked around and got the only three casks of white wine in town and had a very nice meal with cheap beer – yep duty free Labuan! We found another water taxi who said he would take us back for 2RM but then it went to 3RM. Had a good night. Fireworks and crackers and big bangs and call to prayer in stereo!
Miles: 44 TTT: 2,714

Sunday 28 August- Labuan
Its been two years little Maties dog
Chris found another water taxi who would take us for 1RM each so we headed to shore like we were in a racing boat! The guy was having fun. We checked in and out at customs, harbour master and immigration then did some shopping, had lunch and more shopping for supplies then called our little taxi driver. We checked with the first taxi but they were still 5RM so we piled all our stuff in with our little guy and he had to do two trips so we gave him a bit for carrying the supplies as well. The wind came up in the evening and it rained and very rough .We weren’t sure if we were dragging but we seemed to be getting closer to Braveheart. The skipper sat anchor watch until 1am and finally felt confident enough to go to bed. As it turned out we hadn’t dragged at all but all the boats did anchor watch.

Monday 29 August – Labuan to Muara, Brunei Darussalam
05°00.272N / 115°04.123E (5m)
We had been told we could get a 72 hr visa for B$5 each so we thought we would pop in and have a look. We left at 7.45am and dodged a few ships on the way out. The deckwash pump is broken so the skipper was cleaning the chain with buckets of water – takes ages. We arrived in Kuala Brunei at 12.30 and were going to check in but decided to see what info we could get at the Yacht Club. Braveheart were told that Miri Marina was full so it took a while for them to phone to make sure that there was a spot for them and then with one thing and another we didn’t get to Immigration. Cilantro had to tow Bob back to our boat as our engine conked out. The skipper fixed it and we all went into dinner – Had fabulous meals of steak and mixed grill (expensive B$21 = AUS$16 but very nice) We were able to take our own wine in but that is the only place in Brunei you are able to do that. Alcohol cannot be bought in Brunei. We came back to our boats in the rain.
Miles: 21 TTT: 2,735

Tuesday 30 August – Muara - Bandar Seri Begawan, Brunei Darussalam
04°52.637N / 114°55.898E (6.7m)
We went to check in at 9am only to be told we couldn’t have a 72 hour transit visa because:
1. We didn’t have a return airline ticket.
2. We might overstay our three days so we will give you two weeks
3. We went to Labuan
This made no sense to us but we had to pay B$20 each instead of B$5 which was a bit upsetting. We then headed up the river at 10.30am to the city Bandar Seri Begawan. This is the most amazing place and the B$20 charge was soon forgotten! The mountains meet the river so the people have built their houses on stilts in the river. As we got closer to the city there were whole “suburbs” (villages) of houses on stilts and large schools on stilts, and a children’s playgrounds on stilts. And heaps of water taxis buzzing all around the place – such a vibrant place and an amazing way to come into it by boat. We went past the city and anchored at the end of the houses just down from the Sultan’s palace at 2.30 in 6.7m. The police boat came past and we must have been ok because they didn’t ask us to move. At 5pm we hailed a boat taxi who picked us all up and took us to the city. They just pull in pointy end first to the steps and you walk over the front and get off. We looked at the beautiful gold domed mosque built beside a lake and then went to the park where eight gold cannons were lined up and we spoke to the soldiers who told us that one cannon would be fired at 6.30 to mark the end of the time of fasting for Ramadan and the people could start eating again. We watched some local “chefs” in a street stall cooking noodles – what experts. They rolled them around in the pot – flames everywhere and tossed their ladles like they were cocktail bottles!!! We ate at a Pakastani restaurant – buffet which was lovely and then watched boys tossing crackers which made the loudest boom! It was dark and houses were decorated with Christmas lights. At the end of Ramadan is Hari Raya which is like our Christmas. We caught another taxi back to the boats and sat and watched the fireworks all over the city and villages until it started to rain. A couple of barges went past but they were far enough away.

Wednesday 31 August – Bandar Seri Begawan - Brunei Darussalam
A whole pile of rubbish came up against the boat at slack tide until we turned with the tide. We ended up catching two taxis (cars) for the six of us and the driver told us about the water villages. Only people who live in a particular village can buy a house in that village and if they want to build a new house they must buy an old house and pull it down. Houses have been passed down through the generations. We went to the Royal Empire Hotel which was originally built for the Sultan’s brother Jeffri as his palace at a cost of US$1.1 billion. Jeffri was also Finance Minister at the time and it put the country under immense monetary strain. Not sure what happened to Jeffri. We walked all through the hotel – 7 star – and the grounds and pools and then shared a salad roll and had a delicious cake each feeling rather decadent! We walked down the drive looking for a bus stop and a man delivering flowers pulled up and gave us a lift to the bus stop. We all got a seat on the bus but it kept stopping for more and more people and they perched on the edge of seats and when we all got off we couldn’t believe how many people had fitted on that bus. We went back to the boats and back in again for dinner. The boat taxi suggested dinner in a water village so he took us across to a house with a big verandah which sloped towards the water. It was a local meal – just rice or noodles and while it was ok we wouldn’t race back!

Thursday 1 September – Bandar Seri Begawan - Brunei Darussalam
Selamat Hari Raya
We caught a taxi at 8.30 and then a bus to the Sultan’s palace. He opens the palace for three days at the end of Ramadan for Hari Raya. Everyone gets dressed in their best clothes and our boys put on long trousers and shoes! Ouch. When we got there we went through security and were separated into male and female lines. Then we lined up for breakfast. The plates were all noritake trimmed in gold. The locals are not good at lining up and kept sneaking past. We got our food which was really a lovely meal but we couldn’t find a vacant table so stood balancing our plates as people pushed past – not the most relaxing meal. The boys meanwhile had been asked how old they were and were taken and seated for their meals – the poor old things!! Then we had to line up to get through to the other side of the open air building. By this stage men and women had converged in a horrible big squash of people. There were a lot more men than women and children and we ended up in this huge squash with a couple of small children in front. Whenever they let a few more people through the crowd behind would surge forward. It was extremely hot and a bit scary. We could certainly see how stampedes happen. You wouldn’t have wanted to fall down that’s for sure as you would not have been able to get back up. Eventually we got through and men were once again on one side and women on the other –I am not sure why this didn’t happen at the convergent point – perhaps they lost control. The women then went to the other side where we sat on seats in big long rows. They had big fans which threw out water sprays to cool us. We sat there for over an hour until once again we were on the move and went in to a big room almost like a church. All the women sat on one side and on the other side amongst all the “old” men were the boys. They had been escorted through and were sitting in air conditioned comfort. The women and men then went in their respective lines down some steps and along another terrace. The women were very pushy and kept pushing in front of us using their children or great handbags so it took us a while to get ushered into a room where we shook hands with the Sultan’s wife and other female members of his family. The Sultana (?) asked where we were from and what we were doing. We didn’t have a clue who the other women were but shook hands and then we were out and given a gift – a lovely box containing biscuits and that was it. We thought we were going to see the palace!!!! Anyway about 20,000 people a day go through and are fed – the women all shake the Sultana’s hand and the men shake the Sultan’s hand. There was such a lineup for the bus we walked back to the boat taxi stand. We went back and got out of our hot clothes and then took a water taxi ride through the stilt villages. We went to the taxi driver’s house which was spotlessly clean and he put on a lovely afternoon tea for us. He had a lovely lounge suite and his lounge room was much as ours would be. His sister showed us around. She lived next door then she took us to their parent’s house – all along boardwalks over the water. The houses are mostly sparsely furnished and go a long way back. We met the old couple who were sitting on the floor and shook their hands on the way in and on the way out. The houses are surprisingly big and it was very interesting to see inside them. We went into town for dinner – Indian – and after again sat and watched the fireworks.

Friday 2 September – Bandar Seri Begawan -- Muara,Brunei Darussalam
04°52.637N / 114°55.898E (5m)
We went to town at 9.30 to the Regalia Museum which has all the presents given to the Sultan and the carriage he rode in and all sorts of interesting stuff. It closed at 11.30am and we only just made it through in time. Back to the boats. We all upanchored and headed downriver – we and Cilantro followed Braveheart across a shortcut and we anchored off the Yacht Club at 4.15pm in 5m. We went ashore for another lovely meal and had a welcome shower.
Miles: 17 TTT: 2,752

Sorry this is so late and sorry so many photos! – currently in Miri but more on that later.

Take care all
Dell and Peter

WEEK 19: Kudat to Pulau Tiga

2011-08-28T20:51:00.000+10:00

Saturday 20 August – Kudat
We decided to go ashore for lunch and as we had put Bob on board Braveheart and Cilantro each collected one of us. We did some shopping in another market we found and then walked to the other end of town and found there was a whole different area of Kudat – we thought we had seen it all. There was a very interesting Chinese temple there with a huge statue of a very jolly monk and decorated with dragons with long talon fingers. The restaurant we found didn’t have beer but the food was really good then the proprietor volunteered to go get us some beer and came back shortly later with cold cans of Korean beer which was really nice of him. We took a circuitous route back with Braveheart buying a burglar alarm and more locks then back to the boats for an early start in the morning.

Sunday 21 August – Kudat – Kudat Bay
06°56.450N / 116°50.599E
Got up at 5am and as soon as it was light we all upanchored – at least we tried to but found we were stuck fast. We tried this way and that but to no avail. We couldn’t retrieve our anchor and chain. Braveheart and Cilantro reanchored and waited with us. Kudat is not exactly a tourist town and there are no scuba diving places around so we called Sgt George who told us the Marine police had none but the Fire Department had one – when we called him he could only dive for emergencies and he told us to call the World Wildlife Foundation. We called the only resort in Kudat and she put us on to Mr Irwan of the World Wildlife Foundation who said he would come have a look. He then rounded up his buddy and at 1.30 the boat tied us off so the anchor chain could go loose and they both dived in 14 metres. It seemed to take ages and when they surfaced they said it was caught on some machinery like a tractor. They had untangled the chain from the superstructure but the anchor had gone down a big hole and they couldn’t get it out and the visibility was about six inches. So they said they would come back and try again in the morning. Devastating news because though we had a spare anchor albeit a smaller one you cant get chain or anchors here. The skipper pulled all the chain in and a ferry went past and we bounced up and down and next thing we were dragging!!! The up and down motion had made the anchor come out of the hole! After the skipper had got the fishing net which had wrapped around it off we all went around to the other bay and anchored there. We called Mr Irwan and his mate who came round to where we were so we could pay him. Think we paid him too much but it was worth it. He had asked around the fishermen and apparently there is a sunken barge there and we had managed to drop our anchor down the hold of the barge. Couldnt have done that if we had tried!! Cilantro had got a rat on board when they took their dinghy in to get fuel. First they found a snake at the back of the boat and then the rat. They got rid of the snake with a boat hook and later in the evening we could hear sounds of “get it get it” with loud thumping noises and torch light going everywhere with advice coming from Braveheart of “grab it by the tail grab it by the tail” and shortly thereafter were advised that Basil the rat had jumped overboard!! Who wouldn’t!!!
Miles: 4 TTT: 2543

Monday 22 August – Kudat Bay – tip of Borneo
07°01.033N / 116°46.718E
We all upanchored at first light (again) and headed round to the tip. It was very windy and when we got to the tip we could see white water so we pulled in to the shore to wait for better weather. Two other boats came in to join us and it turned out they had had a shocking trip up with 3m seas and one had blown out his headsail. So we spent the day reading and enjoying an enforced down day.
Miles: 8 TTT: 2,551

Tuesday 23 August – Tip to Ambong – the trip from hell
06°18.486N / 116°18.075E
Once again we left just on light and went around the tip. The wind had appeared to have dropped but on rounding the tip – there it was on the nose. We managed to get our headsails out and make some way into the wind and the waves. We probably should have gone back but we kept hoping it would get better and after all the trouble we wanted to be on our way. We only averaged around 2 knots slamming through the waves and up and over 3 metre waves which would just stop the boat in its tracks. It was the most horrendous day and it was scary just looking at Braveheart and Cilantro go through it. We apparently looked just as bad. The skipper donned his life line and went forward and got the mainsail up with two reefs and that steadied us a bit and at times gave us a bit of assistance which let us do 3 knots! Braveheart pulled in to a little anchorage at around 5pm – doubt it would have been any good for monos so we had to keep going. We followed our track into the sheltered anchorage of Ambong at 10pm in the dark. For those who have never sailed in the dark it is a bit like driving without your headlights – you just hope there is nothing in front of you! It took us 16 hours to cover only 59 miles. The voyage from hell! We lost the toilet brush overboard washed off the deck. We had a shower to wash all the salt off, a wine, last night’s leftover dinner and fell into bed.
Miles: 59 TTT: 2,610

Wednesday 24 August – Ambong
A lovely still night – the wind had dropped off. Slept in till 6am! Staying put for the day. Braveheart sailed up and got in around 11. We had sundowners on Pacific Express and planned our next day while checking the weather files hoping they were right this time. Another lovely safe calm night.

Thursday 25 August – Ambong – Police Bay, Pulau Gaya
06°02.128N / 116°01.160E (20)
Thinking of you Dad – 36 years
We all left at first light and we sailed for the first couple of hours and then we motor sailed – sea state was slightly swelly – what a difference a day makes! We obviously went a day too early. We arrived at Police Bay at 1.15pm and anchored off the reef in 16m water and went back to 20m. There is a very fancy resort here which we have been told is hugely expensive. We put Bob in and rowed to the beach. Braveheart camein and we snorkled but the coral was dead – there were a few fish but it was very ordinary. But it was nice to be in the water again. Went back to the boat around 3pm. Braveheart discovered that one of their oars had been stolen! Some longtail macaques came down to the beach – we presume thats what they were. They have long black tails and are very dark and much bigger than an ordinary macaque. Was lovely to sit and watch them Had a peaceful night. Watched a lightning show over the hill hoping the storm wouldn’t come and it didn’t. An early night.
Miles: 31 TTT: 2,641

Friday 26 August – Police Bay – sandspit at Pulau Tiga
05°44.979N / 115°40.766E
Happy Birthday Mum
We all left at first light with mainsails up in good weather. Our engine mounts are very worrisome. We motor sailed and arrived at the sheltered sandspit near Pulau Tiga at 12 noon. Braveheart anchored off Tiga and explored the island but it was too swelly for us there. We had a quiet afternoon and a good nights sleep. Last time we were here we left the boat open but this time we locked up!
Miles: 29 TTT: 2,670

About 100 miles to Miri but we are going to detour into Brunei for the end of Ramahdan celebrations. Will let you know how that goes. There are no photos to speak of this week so will leave you with a series of photos Judy from Braveheart took of Cilantro and a ship.

Meanwhile love to all and take care.

Dell and Peter

WEEK 18: Sandakan to Kudat

2011-08-21T19:10:00.000+10:00

Sunday 14 August – Sandakan
Shopping, looking around, wet market then dinner at the Yacht Club.

Monday 15 August - Sandakan – Pulau Tikiis
06°04.238N / 117°57.344E (5m)
We all went to the Harbour Master to check in and check out. The others all went in a taxi to check out at Customs while Judy and the I did some shopping. It was then back to the boat and upanchored at 12 noon. We sailed quite a bit with good breeze and went past Pulau Liberran and anchored between an island and the mainland. We had to reanchor twice to get it to set. We could see a huge front with clouds full of lightning way over the land. Went to bed and at 11 the wind blew in from across the bay and a huge swell came in with big waves. The skipper did anchor watch and sure enough we were dragging again!! At 1am we pulled up and reanchored and the wind finally started to ease. Not a nice night at all.
Miles: 27 TTT: 2,415

Tuesday 16 August – Pulau Tikiis – Tanjong Kinulubatan
06°38.183N / 117°30.325E (4.3)
We all upanchored at 6am and we motor sailed and went past Pulau Lankayan around lunch time. We went in and had a look. It is a beautiful tropical island but given the weather of last night and this island having no shelter and to anchor and have a snorkel would have made us too late we kept going. We had some very good sailing – best for ages and went through the reef to arrive at the safe anchorage at 5.45
Miles: 56 TTT: 2,471

Wednesday 17 August – Tanjong Kinulubatan – Pulau Banggi
07°06.852N / 117°05.459E (12m)
We were supposed to leave at 7am but it was so peaceful and still and raining lightly we finally got away at 7.20. It turned out to be a long boring day – took shortcut through the reef and then beat into the weather for hours till we reached Pulau Banggi at 6pm. We came in from the other end of the village last time and didn’t like the look of it but from this end it actually looks very interesting. We had to anchor 3 times before we could get it to set. Some children came in their row boat from the bigger boat where they lived so we gave them some food – they couldn’t understand English or Malay.
Miles: 46 TTT: 2,517

Thursday 18 August – Pulau Banggi – Kudat
06°52.588N / 116°51.261 (14m)
Would have liked to have stayed a day to have a look around – maybe next time. We left at 9am and beat into the wind and sea all the way. Seemed to take a long time. Finally arrived in the harbour off the town of Kudat at 2.20pm and anchored in 14m. We went ashore around 5pm just after I had fortuitously downloaded all our photos off the camera. We had trouble finding somewhere to leave the dinghies but a lovely young fish farmer allowed us to tie off his jetty. We had to walk around the edge of the fish farm (lovely big fish) and then onto a raft which he then pulled a few feet across to stairs at the bottom of his house (room) built on stilts and then jetty to the shore. We looked around town and went to a Chinese restaurant for dinner. We sat outside and a cigarette smoking lady took our order which went from 25RM for the 6 of us to 15RM each when we said we wanted individual dishes! It was quite a nice meal but very expensive and when we were leaving we saw the actual dining room which was air conditioned and had fancy tablecloths etc – very fancy and we had just been charged the fancy prices! We came back to our boats after dark – our little fish farmer seeing us safely past the guard dog to our dinghies. Peter locked our door and went to bed. We had decided to leave the hatch above our bed open for air and had locked the motor to Bob and chained Bob to the boat. The chain of course made a clanking noise. I read for another hour or so and went to bed at 10. At 12 we were awakened by VHF radio by Cilantro saying they had disturbed an intruder on their boat. Peter immediately said where is the spoltlight torch which he had put on the table 2 ft from our sleeping heads and then where’s the yellow bag and then we realised that we had been robbed and we said how did he get in – we both then looked up and the back hatch was wide open and we couldn’t believe it. I had presumed Peter had locked it and he thought I would close it!! The thief had even put the stick holding it open back in place but sideways. The waterproof yellow bag had my camera, my prescription sunglasses, my phone and Peter’s wallet and he had also taken my wallet. We found the inverter on the deck – it didn’t have the wires connected so he left it. This person had been 2 ft from our heads, got our stuff and back up through the hatch and we hadn’t heard a thing!! Peter spent an hour on the phone to ANZ cancelling our credit cards and was put through to America to get them to issue an emergency card. Unfortunately the girl seemed to be a little slow and Peter had to spell everything – even Peter – and the address in Miri was very long. We then called the police (and went through 3 people to get an English speaker) and around 2.30am we had a police boat with 6 policemen alongside, 4 of whom came below and all of whom could speak English. Peter meanwhile found my wallet on a towel in the cockpit minus cash but all cards intact. The police were lovely and took the inverter away to get fingerprints. After they left we found Peter’s wallet – minus cash (we lost around $400 in RM) and with all cards intact except Amex and the thief had left a 10RM note – on purpose. He had sat in the cockpit and sorted his booty. Meanwhile unbeknown to us at 1.30 Braveheart disturbed him on their boat and he off into his canoe rowing furiously against the tide and Judy took a couple of photos of him. Unfortunatley it was too dark. Its not a nice feeling but it was our stupidity and we were just grateful he didn’t take the computer which was under a cover on the nav station as were the binoculars and other equipment and we were not harmed.
Miles: 22 TTT: 2,539

Friday 19 August – Kudat
The boys presented themselves to the police station 5km out of town as instructed and spent the morning being interviewed. Sgt George drove them back at lunchtime so we all went ashore for lunch. It was then that Cilantro discovered that the thief had tried to take his outboard or fuel tank as he had bent the new connection they had just put on. Had lunch and did some shopping and all returned exhausted to our boats. We had tied off to the fish farmer’s stairs this time so we knew our dinghies were safe. Actually the town is very friendly and the majority of the people nice. Sgt Geroge had solved a small mystery for us about the people who don’t seem to understand English or Malay – they are in fact tribal people and there are 23 different languages. The family living on their boat at Banggi are of a particular tribe and live on their boats and have no need of money. They didn’t seem to know what a book was when I gave it to them and this would explain it. He also told Peter there are more crocodiles at Banggi than Kudat (James dived on his prop at Banggi!!!).

Anyway our carefree innocence of life aboard has evaporated. In all our time travelling this is the first time we have ever had to really lock up. Whenever we left our boats we would leave them open – not any more. Now we have bolts and padlocks on everything. We still feel safe in our boat but will be much more security conscious in the future. It was nice to see the police boat go past late in the afternoon.

More dramas since then but you will have to wait till next week to find out!!! But we are safe and well.
Still keeping on keeping on
Much love
Dell and Peter

WEEK 17: Sandakan to Kinabatangan River to Sandakan

2011-08-18T19:07:00.001+10:00

Saturday 6 August – Sandakan
Did the walking tour of Sandakan with Cilantro and went to Agnes Keith’s house which was rebuilt after the war. She was a USA author who lived in Sandakan with her husband and children for some years before the war and spent the war as POW’s. Sandakan was basically obliterated during the war. A replica of the Keith’s house was built in the same place. The big stone church and the Chinese temple survived. Agnes wrote The Land Beneath the Wind about their time in Borneo, then Three Came Home which was about their time as POWs and was made into a movie and then she wrote The White Man Returns. They came back for four or so years after the war. After we saw their lovely house we went next door to an equally stunning colonial building for an English tea – scones with jam and cream, cucumber sandwiches and pastries on royal doulton plates – oh so nice! You could also have a game of croquet if you so desired. We went to the market after that and got fresh fruit and veg then had a swim in the Yacht Club pool, a wonderful shower and dinner at the Yacht Club.

Sunday 7 August – Sandakan – Dewhurst Bay
05°33.809N / 118°33.874E (9m)
We upanchored at 6am and headed to Dewhurst Bay up the southern entrance of the river. Wavesweeper decided to try the northern entrance and seemed to be doing ok so we followed him. But when we got down to 0.3m and then 0.1m under the keel we decided to turn back. We then heard that Wavesweeper was aground on a mud bank. We continued to the southern bay and Wavesweeper extricated themselves and followed. As we were going along a small fish jumped right out of the water and almost landed on the deck. We came across the bar going down to 2.6m of water and into the river. We found good water after that but again in the river went to 2.5m before getting to Dewhurst Bay where we anchored in 8m water at 4.30pm. The cats and Rubicon Star went through the northern entrance and went down to 1.7m and we have a 1.8m keel so obviously we would not have made it through. Lots of Nipa palm around but a pleasant place to be.
Miles: 49 TTT: 2,294

Monday 8 August – Dewhurst Bay – Kinabatangan River
05°40.227N / 118°23.266 (5.7m)
Happy Birthday Margaret
We radioed the other boats at 7.10 but had the grumbles from a couple of boats that it was a bit early. We knew we had a long way to go and had to catch the tide for the shallows. At 8.30 we upanchored and headed out and everyone else was behind us. We followed the waypoints we had – we had three lots of notes but the notes from Sazli were good. We went down to 2.2m depth (.4m under the keel). All the others found deeper water on the left side of the river but we had to go up the right tributary. Nimbus and Wavesweeper decided to follow their path and Cilantro came back round to come with us. It was a bit African Queen like at first and depths fluctuated but it was all good and we took a wide berth on the corners. When we came to the four rivers crossroad we took a left and followed a reasonably wide river and after about five miles the nipah palms began to give way to jungle. The river was very windy and we had to go around the outside of the bends which meant we were constantly zig sagging from one side to the other avoiding logs, branches and other debris. We had good depths all the way and saw a family of macaque monkeys but towards the end it was getting a little tedious. We finally came to the T intersection where there were a few houses and turned left down past a village. Ketoro called us up to give us a waypoint for a small tributary where there was a fire fly tree so we anchored there. On the way we saw two large dark monkeys with long black tails (long tailed macaques). Anchored in front of Baganoff and the trees either side of the river had heaps of Proboscus monkeys – magic. They are the ones with the big bulbous noses and big bellies. The females have a sort of Pinocchio nose before he started telling lies! Just on dark Cilantro picked us up in their dinghy and we went up the tributary. We went a long way in and came out into what we thought was a lake. Couldnt find the tree so headed back in the dark by torchlight. The dinghy wasn’t making much headway and we thought we must have had something around the prop but found we had gone aground! Anyway 200m from the entrance to the tributary we found the fire fly tree! Sat on the deck and listened to the jungle noises
Miles: 25 TTT: 2,319

Tuesday 9 August – Kinabatangan River to Kampong Sikau
05°30.497N / 118°17.701 (6m)
We watched the monkeys for a while – how wonderful to be able to wake up on a river in the jungle and watch monkeys!! Cilantro collected us again and we went up the tributary in daylight. It was very pretty. We saw two large hornbills and two smaller hornbill birds. They make a kind of clacking noise. Also lots of large eagles. When we came back to the boats we went in close to the monkeys and got a close up of a large male Proboscus monkey eating with both hands. We know he was a male because he had a large bulbous nose and as the Lonely Planet says the male is in a continual state of excitement! We left at 9 and headed up the river and all we saw all day were a couple of monitor lizards It was jungle all the way but then we saw a hill and it was covered in palm oil trees all over the hill and down to the river! What a shame. We zig zagged our way up the river meeting a tug and a barge so we ducked across in front of the tug and went on the inside as the barge swang very wide on the end of its line. Saw heaps of white herons. In fact one seemed to fly on ahead of us and pose for a photo and then fly off just before we got there! We arrived at Kampong Sukau around 2pm and anchored between the 4 cats and Rubicon Star who were already there. We cannot go any further up the river than this because of the power lines across the river. It was very hot. A quiet night on board except for the mosque.
Miles: 19 TTT: 2,338

Wednesday 10 August – Kampong Sukau
We got up at 5.30am in the dark and along with Braveheart and Cilantro took our dinghies up past the powerlines and up a tributary to the right. Prosboscis monkeys were leaping all over the place. It was a little dark for good photos and the skipper was just getting used to his camera. We saw macaques and different birds - kingfishers and Oriental Darters. Two tour boats came in behind us so every time they went in to look at something we would have a look too. Think a couple of times they must have been looking at rare plants because we couldn’t see anything! A little later they told us orangutan and told us to hold on to their boat so we could see. Then we went into a little inlet with Braveheart and the tour boat also came in. Then two juvenile orangutans appeared in the tree in front of us. One was most agitated and wanted us to go away so shook the branches so all the water dropped on our heads. We watched for a while longer and asked the guide how we could see the elephants and he said to go to the village to see if we could get a boat to take us. We then made our way out of the inlet and went to a homestay cafe for breakfast with all the other boats. This Way Up and Kitorro departed soon after to go with the rally to Tawau where the rally concludes. We have now officially left the rally. We asked Jody at the homestay about getting a boat and he gave us a name to ask for in the village and said they charged a price for the boat – not individually. So we walked 15 minutes to the village and asked around and found a girl who could speak English who made a couple of phone calls and found us a boat for 150RM - $50! The boatman (Ronie) picked eight of us up at 4pm and we headed up the river under the powerlines and went for about half an hour then turned into a tributary. Along the way he stopped to show us a crocodile – we could see its head and its tail – about 2m long. We saw birds and monitor lizards and could see evidence of elephants having been there but no elephants. We eventually started heading out and we were very disappointed thinking we weren’t going to see the elephants – there are no guarantees. We stopped to look at Prosboscis monkeys when we saw the guide from this morning who seemed quite pleased we had taken is advice and he asked us if we had seen the elephants. When we said no he hold us where they were so we shot out of the tributary and went a bit further up the river and there they were – a herd of pygmy elephants. Ronie managed to get us right in the front and I had just said I wanted to see them in the water when two came out and the first one turned around and climbed backwards into the water like a child going downstairs. The second one turned too soon and flopped on his bottom to turn around and he went backwards in too and then we watched them frolicking, swimming ducking in the water. It was really awesome and our timing was impeccable. We watched for a while then left for the 3/4hr boatride back getting back just before dark. Its dangerous to travel at night as there are so many branches and logs in the water. What a fantastic day – Proboscis, Orangutan and elephant!!

Thursday 11 August – Kampong Sukau
Happy Birthday Dad
A quiet day to catch our breath. There is a barge ferry attached to a tug which goes up and down past us. When all the boats were there it went up and down on the right but now it comes up and either goes behind us and up on the left or cuts in front of us and behind Braveheart. Thank goodness he seems to know how to drive it. Everyone is very friendly and they all wave The mosque goes on for a couple of hours at night and there are lots of bangs like crackers and we think they must be celebrating ramahdam. They seem to put something like gunpowder in bamboo and light it and some bangs are certainly louder than others. A tug towing a barge came wide on the corner behind us but he seemed to have the barge well under control when he went past us – bit disconcerting. We have been surprised that there are not lots of mosquitos – just flies! Sat and watched macaques going across the creek on a wire. They kept slipping under it – it was very funny to watch. We got picked up from our boats at 8pm for a night tour by Ahmad. This bloke charged per person so at 35RM each it was expensive We saw some Kingfishers – they seem to go to sleep at night so they don’t fly off – a couple of owls, frogs. Lizard, oriental darter and a sleeping short tailed macaque and a couple of very small crocs and that was about it. It started sprinkling rain and we were back at our boats at 10.20. We didn’t think this was terribly good value for money. Another noisy night with the mosque.

Friday 12 August – Kampon Sukau – Kinabatangan River
05°40.221N / 118°23.248E
Happy Birthday Bernie
It rained all night and was still sprinkling but we went up a little tributary but not much was about. We found some mud birds’ nests on the cliff and saw a tiny kingfisher feeding its young. Lots of little birds flying around and also lots of bats hanging in the clefts of the rock. We were going to have breakfast again as Rubicon Star has got under the powerlines and will be going up the river. The guest houses only have enough food for their guests as a rule and we lucked out this morning. Said our farewells and we upanchored around 9.45 and followed Braveheart and Cilantro down the river zigzagging around the bends. We reached our original anchorage around 2. It is wonderful to be able to sit on your boat in the middle of the jungle and listen to the birds and animals. The palm oil trees are encroaching and in some cases are along the river, we wonder how much jungle is actually behind what we can see along the river. The river is brown and silty now but we have been told 20 years ago it was blue but all the logging and jungle clearing has silted it up. Judy from Braveheart invited us all over for a fish curry which was absolutely beautiful. There was much Proboscis activity and we watched them leaping from branch to branch. They seemed to like getting really high and leaping down and out to the next branches. One poor little guy mistimed and took a tumble to the ground! After dinner we took our dinghies up the creek to see the firefly tree but it was a full moon so we couldn’t see many fireflies. Judy and Chris’ dinghy had drifted towards the bank and there was a splash beside it which startled them and then there was a big splash and poor Chris almost jumped out of the dinghy! We of course nearly fell out of ours laughing but we didn’t go much further up the creek after that and adjourned to our respective boats and just sat and listened to the jungle noises.
Miles: 19 TTT: 2,357

Saturday 13 August – Kinabantangan River – Sandakan
05°50.465N / 118°07.623E
It started raining around midnight and didn’t stop till mid morning. We upanchored at 6.30 and with Braveheart (a cat) out the front we followed them down the river to the junction and turned left instead of right. We are taking the shallow shortcut out which will save us 1 ½ days and many miles. The river looped right around on itself till there was only a river bank between both arms of the river – amazing. We have been down to 1m under the keel which is worrying and we still have the very shallow (and long) bar to negotiate. It will be a nerve wracking morning for us as we have the deepest keel. The river was quite shallow in places and we did really well till about the last bend when Cilantro called that they had zero under their 1.5m keel and then they were in deep water. When our depth sounder shows 1.4m we are on the ground and we watched it drop 1.5, 1.4, 1.3, 1.2, 1.1!!!!! and the skipper put the revs on – we stopped for a bit and then she powered through the mud and then we were in deep water – whew!!! The bar was good – the minimum we got down to was 2.8m true depth (1.4 under the keel). We arrived in Sandakan at 2pm– so much rubbish in the water – dirty nappies – the lot! We went ashore around 5 and had a shower and then a very nice dinner with some people who spent four days up the river last year and didn’t see an elephant or an orangutan!!! How lucky are we. We chained Bob to the back of the boat and locked the motor on the back – back in “civilisation”!!!
Miles: 31 TTT: 2,388

Sorry this is so long but it has been quite a week. We are currently making our way back to Miri where we will leave the boat. The weather has been very stormy at night. Hope you are all well and appreciate that your bed is not in danger of blowing away during the night!!!
May all your storms be small ones!!!!
Dell and Peter

WEEK 16: Telek Ambong to Sandakan

2011-08-10T16:27:00.000+10:00

Saturday 30 July Telek Ambong to Kudat
06°56.512N / 116°50.586E (13m)
We left at 6.15 in a slight swell with the main up in the hope of some wind. We had been thinking of going out to some islands but it was still a bit swelly so decided to try to catch them on the way back. We can see five other rally boats and Braveheart and Single Malt are somewhere up ahead. It was a beautiful day and rally boats started telling jokes over the radio. We went up and around the tip of Borneo through a channel with rocks on either side. A couple of boats pulled into shore to anchor but it didn’t look as if it would be calm so we kept going down around the next point. We passed two French boats along the way one of which was Bernard who was delighted to see us and gave his big cheery wave. We came into the bay and anchored on the inside of Nimbus in 13m off the north of the town of Kudat at 5.15. There were stilt villages along the waterfront. Another lovely still night.
Miles: 59 TTT: 2,124

Sunday 31 July – Kudat – Pulau Malawali
07°01.957N / 117D21.008E (22m)
We left at 8.30 and went down to the Kudat boatyard and anchored off to see the yard and haulout facilities. The boats in the yard were held up by cement blocks and it is just gravel but would be ok for a quick haulout to antifoul. I don’t think we would leave our boat on the hard here. We then headed for an island 20 miles away intending to anchor but when we got there around 1.30ish, there was a town and even though the water was clear it was full of debris and certainly not conducive to swimming so we decided to keep going. It was getting late by the time we reached Pulau Malawali and the anchorage we had chose had depths of 22 metres. There was a reef all around and it was really too late in the arvo to see under the water. Luckily it was low tide and we could see the reef sticking out of the water. We went around a reef spit and headed in. Cilantro went suddenly from 20 to 2m and backed off so as it was 5.50pm and the sun was almost down we anchored in 22m. We could see two cats way out on a reef and when they saw us anchor they came in to join us. When we pulled up, a boat with a man and two boys came over asking for food. On the shore there are three fragile looking stilt houses – stilts are very high. They don’t speak Malay so we presume they are Fillipino. There were a lot of people gathering stuff off the exposed reefs. A very calm anchorage.
Miles: 49 TTT: 2,133

Monday 1 August – Pulau Malawali – Tanjong Sumangat
06°38.201N / 117°30.230 (5m)
Through the night we could feel the anchor pulling and knew we were caught on a bommy. In 20m of water!! We had been very lucky when we came in yesterday that it was low tide as we could see the reef. This morning it was high tide and it just looked like lovely calm water with no sight of the dangers lurking beneath. We launched Bob and went for a snorkel. The coral was quite good but we were snorkelling on a drop off and it just gave us an uncomfortable eery feeling so we didn’t stay long. We took the bathoscope and checked out the finger of reef which Cilantro had found yesterday. As we pulled up anchor we were able to manoeuvre the boat and luckily were able to get the anchor chain off the bommy. We had our whole 60m out so it could have been disastrous. We pretty much followed the shipping channel to the next island but the anchorage looked exposed so we kept going and took a shortcut through the reef. We went into the channel between an island and the mainland doing wind against tide and only doing 2.9 knots at one stage. At last we reached shallow water and anchored in 4.7m and went back to 5.5 with 20m of chain out. Through the night we had pretty strong winds and rain.
Miles: 34 TTT: 2,167

Tuesday 2 August – Tg Sumangal – Pulau Libarran
06°06.220N 118°01.139E (12m)
We awoke to find we were just floating around in the bay. Obviously we should have put out more chain so we dragged and luckily we went into deep water – 12m and not into the shallows. We left at 7am and it was a long boring day of motoring with dead flat sea. At lunch time we passed a lovely island where Baganoff was anchored. We pressed on thinking we were going to a lovely island but when we go there at 6.10pm it was an island with a dirty village and dirty water which didn’t look very appealing. We were amazed to see a herd of cows on the beach! The anchorage shoaled up a lot quicker than the chart plotter indicated and we anchored in 12m in a 2 knot current. Not ideal but too late to go elsewhere.
Miles: 55 TTT: 2,222

Wednesday 3 August – Pulau Libarran – Sandakan
05°50.496N / 118°07.737E
We awoke around 3am as the wind and tide were picking up and by 4am it was blowing really hard and we were dragging anchor. We started the motor and held the boat into the wind until the storm abated and we realised our anchor was at last holding. In the light of day we found we had dragged 130m! Cilantro left and we upanchored at 7.45 and headed towards Sandakan. We could hear snatches of conversation from the rally boats there and it sounds as though there has been a theft from a boat. We motor sailed through some huge bamboo contraptions built in the water with a little hut on each and fishing nets beneath. All the nets were out of the water so they are not being currently used. Maritime Malaysia called us up on the radio to check where we had come from and we came around the big cliff into the Harbour of Sandakan. We anchored but it didn’t hold and pulled it up and we had a big bag around the anchor. We held the second time. We are out the back of the fleet – have to anchor a long way from other boats as we all go every which way. The water is full of debris/rubbish and we are anchored beside a poor looking stilt village and a huge mosque. There are lots of fishing boats and smaller boats going back and forth so have put 6 flashing blue lights on the boat. It seems that at 2am last night two men did a raid on all the boats. A couple of the crews were up and frightened them off but three boats lost computer, phone, money, camera, credit cards etc but the really scary thing about it was that these men actually went aboard down below while people were sleeping and in one case actually entered the bedroom. The police came and took finger prints and have a suspect – they just have to find him!! The police will be patrolling our boats for the next couple of nights. They have a huge problem here with illegals from both the Philippines and Indonesia. Cilantro picked us up at 5 and we went in for a rally meeting and stayed for a very nice dinner at the Sandakan Yacht Club. We can safely leave our dinghies there. A big storm came through and we came back in sprinkling rain. We locked the boat up when we went out and when we went to bed – only the second time we have ever done that.
Miles: 23 TTT: 2,245

Thursday 4 August – Sandakan
We went ashore at 11 and caught a bus the short distance to town and then a mini bus to the Sandakan War Memorial which is built on the site of the POW camp. It is a very sad thing that only six men out of over 2,500 survived the camp and the death marches and they survived only because they escaped. It was a place of sheer horror. Very well maintained courtesy of the Commonwealth Government. We then caught the bus back and had lunch, did a bit of shopping and then got ready for the rally dinner. We were the guests of the Regent (Mayor) at his beautiful home high on the hill overlooking the harbour. It was sponsored by Carlsberg so the glasses were never empty and the ladies started with champagne and then red and white wine. The Regent could sing and so he did a couple of songs and it was all really great dance music. We had a lovely buffet and heaps of dancing and a fantastic night. When we got back to the Yacht Club we got more free drinks and good conversation and it was really late by the time we all made it back to our boats – some in better conditions than others!!

Friday 5 August – Sandakan
Peter and James went in at 8am to get fuel. I finished booking our airfares and we had an easy day. We went ashore around 5.30pm, had a rally meeting to gather information about going up the Kinabatangan River. We were then taken out to dinner by Dr Edmond and Cathy (locals) at a local restaurant. I thought I ate a small piece of fish but Dougie reckoned it was frog/toad!! Anyway it was a lovely evening and Sandakan is looking like a really nice place.

Next stop up the Kinabatangan River!

Take care all
Dell and Peter

WEEK 15: Labuan Island to Telek Ambong, Sabah Borneo

2011-07-31T10:24:00.000+10:00

Saturday 23 July Labuan – Pulau Tiga
05°43.503N / 115°40.090E (5m)
We left around 8am. Labuan looked really interesting and we cant wait to go back to explore it. Passed a few logs in the water, avoided a couple of ships and headed further up the coast in a reasonable swell. When we pulled the anchor up there was a black plastic bag on it but luckily not on the pointy bit! The wind came up through the day and by the time we reached Pulau Tiga there were white caps everywhere. They call Tiga Survivor Island as that’s where the first Survivor series was made in 2001. We had to anchor around the other side of the island from the resort and it seemed ok. Single Malt were anchored further out and looked a bit exposed. Braveheart came in and anchored where we were. Anyway as Single Malt had suggested to us the swell came around the island and it wasn’t terribly comfortable. We had been hoping to get ashore but the waves were breaking on the beach so we will hope another time to be able to anchor on the resort side of the island.
Miles: 41 TTT: 2,005

Sunday 24 July – Pulau Tiga
05°44.925N / 115°40.770E
We upanchored and went out where Single Malt had been as did Braveheart. It was very calm out there just off the beach of a small island with a white sandspit. There is also another rocky island there which is known as Snake Island as all the sea snakes are supposed to go there to mate. These three islands only popped up out of the ocean in 1897. Chris from Braveheart came over and collected us in his dinghy and we went to Snake Island where there was a sign saying poisonous snakes. Needless to say the crew did not leave the jetty though the skipper walked down the path aways. We did not see any snakes. We then went ashore on the other island and watched the surf breaking off the spit. The waves were coming from three directions and colliding near the shore so it was very interesting. Judy and Chris came over for sundowners and the skipper cooked us all a meal. A pleasant evening.
Miles: 1 TTT: 2,006

Monday 25 July – Pulau Tiga – Kota Kinabalu
05°58.073N / 116°03.158E (13m)
We left at 8.20 and motor sailed in a 1 ½ - 2m swell to Kota Kinabalu and anchored off the marina/resort at 12 noon. We had read such a lot about this marina and had been really looking forward to it. An American boat anchored quite close to us but a little later he went into the marina. When we took Bob in we noticed he was rafted up to another boat and the marina was full. We parked Bob beside Cilantro and they gave us the guided tour. Of course being a pretty fancy resort everything was expensive. Sandra and James had collected our plaque for coming 2nd in the Miri race (although it said 3rd). It was definitely second though as only two of us in our class finished!!! We left to go back out at 5pm and as we were nearing the entrance to the marina a resort tour boat was coming in at speed and straight towards us. He did not slow down and almost seemed to be targeting us! We didn’t know which way to go to get out of his way as every way we went he seemed to go there – of course this was all happening in a matter of seconds. We could see the front of the boat almost seeming to tower in front of us and I screamed and turned my back and honestly thought we were going to be killed. He swerved and slowed a t the last minute. It was a terrifying experience and from that moment the marina didn’t have the same appeal for us. We made it back to the boat very shaken. We had quite a good night with not too much swell.
Miles: 29 TTT: 2,035

Tuesday 26 July – Kota Kinabalu
We went ashore at 9.45 and parked beside Cilantro. We all caught the resort bus into KK which is quite a big city being the capital of Sabah. Six star resorts one side and very poor village the other. The city itself had some large air conditioned shopping malls. We walked to the waterfront and checked out all the markets and a couple of super markets. We then found the Chinese section of town and had a lovely meal and a beer. There seems to be more Muslims in KK than other places we have been in Borneo (not sure if this is so). Malaysia prides itself on its one Malaysia policy which ensures that all citizens are equal but this is probably not really so as we believe the government subsidises the Muslims and also the Muslim schools. Some Chinese told us they have to support their own schools. Anyway just an aside. We went back to the market and bought lovely veggies and heaps of mangoes, pawpaws, and pineapples. Were heading for one of the big shopping complexes but when we got there a siren was going off and it was being evacuated. Caught the 3.30 bus back and went straight back to the boat.

Wednesday 27 July – Kota Kinabulu
Had a dreadful night – we rolled side to side all night and if the rally dinner wasn’t on tonight we would have left. Gave our papers and passports to an agent to check us into Sabah and in and out of KK and went to town. We noticed a few yachts anchored over the side of the town though one did seem to have hit bottom and had assistance to get off. There didn’t seem to be a lot to see in KK. Went back to our Chinese restaurant for lunch and went back to get more mangoes. Noticed how very windy it was getting so got the 1.30 bus back. Most of the others decided to get back early too. Rang Braveheart and they were on board moving as they had dragged anchor very close to another boat but they said we were ok. Went to the marina office to see if we could come in for the night but were told no room. We enquired about an obviously empty double spot but they said that was for their boat. That double spot remained empty all night. Anyway we went back to our boat. Got Cilantro to collect our paperwork and passports as no way were we coming back in at 4pm. It was still pretty rough when we went in at 6pm. Braveheart decided at the last minute to stay with their boat. If we had seen the storm coming we may have done the same. We were having pre-dinner drinks on Cilantro. The storm didn’t last long and the rain stopped and we went to the dinner held in one of the resorts. The buffet meal was excellent and the cultural entertainment was the best we have seen. Then we went back to the boat. The seas had died down a bit but it was still swelly. I ended up with a black and bleeding thumbnail as Bob surged forward and I got my thumb jammed in the self steering gear at the back. I got an ouch Jessie!!!

Thursday 28 July – Kota Kinabalu to Telek Ambong
Happy Birthday Linda
06°18.489N / 116°18.076E (8m)
After another shocking night we upanchored at 8.15 and headed around the large island of Pulau Gaya thinking to go into Police Bay on the other side. The seas were rough with 1 ½ - 2 ½ m swell but as we got around it was a following sea and everyone knows you don’t look behind in a following sea (that way you don’t know how big the waves are!) and as Police Bay was 20m deep we decided to keep going. A couple of times we thought maybe we shouldn’t have but we made it to Telek Ambong and almost surfed into the bay at 2pm – exhilarating! Went in quite a ways and anchored off a very pretty stilt village beside the American boat. A little later Chez Nous and Baganoff also came in. When we came in we could see soccer goal posts which were well under water and when the boat brought the school kids home they had to paddle to their homes. As the tide dropped the soccer field on hard sand dried out and a game of soccer was played and there were people everywhere (seemed to be all male). They had a mosque which called all to prayer but the soccer game continued. It looked such an interesting village so Baganoff went in. The game finished and everyone just walked away, though some small children kicked the ball around with Baganoff for a while but it didn’t look very friendly, though I suppose it was dinner time. A wonderful calm night.
Miles: 30 TTT: 2,065

Friday 29 July – Telek Ambong
The other three boats left and a fisherman came out trying to sell us a beautiful shell. He was a Filipino and had his small son in the boat. Had no English at all but he wanted us to go to his village. We watched where he went and he went to some houses to the right of the village. We didn’t think it would be a good idea to go in with no other boats around. All the fishermen were friendly and waved. Cilantro, Linger Longer, Ketoro and This Way Up all came in. We had a lovely day in blessed calm reading and just enjoying the beauty of the place and watching another game of soccer through the binoculars.

Sorry they are really bad photos but will give you an idea

Well the journey continues but breaking news is we have booked to fly into Adelaide on 21st September and will spend Christmas at home. Really looking forward to catching up with everyone.

Take care
Calm Seas and no Swell
Dell and Peter

WEEK 14: Miri Marina to Labuan Island

2011-07-25T16:16:00.000+10:00

Saturday 16 July – Miri Marina
Went to the fancy Everly Hotel to do Harbour Master, Customs and Immigration then went to town to try to find a new bolt. Eventually found one in a dirty little car spare parts shop – it cost $1 and the fellow commented that he doesn’t sell many of them! We had lunch at a restaurant and noted that the Hash House Harriers were in town for their International run. Got back in time for the BIYC race briefing. We have never done this before (we are not exactly built for racing!) and it all sounded terribly confusing. Stopped for a beer on the way back and were going to stay for dinner but the cost of a beer had gone up considerably so we ate on board.

Sunday 17 July – Miri Marina – Race Day!!
Happy Birthday Stuart
There was a real buzz around the marina. We all had our BIYC shirts on looking very smart and the Minister was there and the press. Racers had people up their masts doing last minute things. A couple of the racing teams had team shirts. We all had our photos taken and then it was time to head out. There were actually only about 5 or 6 serious racers and the rest was us cruisers. one cruiser even took off his tender, anchor and chain to make him lighter!!! The exit of heaps of boats from the marina was surprisingly orderly and we all headed out to the start line. We were given co-ordinates over the radio for our coarse but weren’t actually given the first one. Apparently it was in our notes but..... There wasn’t much wind and we had to turn our motor off 4 minutes before the race started. We were hanging out the back trying to stay out of the way and a bit confused which way we were supposed to go. One boat went the wrong way and had to turn around. Anyway we were quite a way behind the startline when the race started (and there were boats behind us!) so it took us about half an hour to get to the start line! (no wind!!!!). We headed for the first big buoy and it seemed we were still hovering around the start line so we started to tack. We had the rudder turned hard to go to port (left) and the boat went to starboard (right)! The current had us. It was so funny!!! Anyway it took about an hour and a bit to get to the first buoy (about half a mile away!) BUT we finally got round it. Several boats gave up at this point and withdrew as they couldn’t quite get around the buoy. The current seemed to take us across the next leg at around 2 knots (we previously did 0 - .9 kn). Single Malt (a cat) was quite a way in front of us and we were the last boat. After we went round they bought the buoy in! We went right out and then tacked back in and did the last leg with a bit of wind and got up to 4.4 knots at one point. We caught up with Single Malt and it was neck and neck but they had the inside running and went round the buoy first which meant we were the last boat to finish. But with handicaps who knows – we are 18 tonne with a fixed prop and Cilantro (who came 4th) is around 6 tonne with a feathered prop. Anyway it took us about 3 1/2 hours (we were allowed 4) to go about 4 miles but we were so proud of ourselves for hanging in and finishing! One of the racing boats went too close to the buoy and caught its line around his keel and he had to dive to get it off! Anyway our reward for all this effort was a free night in the luxury Everly Hotel and a buffet dinner with entertainment and speeches (and free beer). It was a lovely night but they didn’t have the handicaps in and couldn’t say who won. I did think the skipper could have worn better footwear but they were his “good” thongs!
Stop Press – Cilantro (who is now in KK) advised us that after the handicaps were taken into consideration we came SECOND in the race!!!! And yes it appears there were more than two of us left in this race!!!

Monday 18 July – Miri Marina
Went back to the boat around 7.30am preparing to leave. The race is from Miri to Kota Kinnabulu (165 miles). Participants in all the races (including two at KK) get paid about $100 and are guaranteed a place in the marina – which is already pretty full and is part of a 6 star resort. Anyway we were just planning on starting and doing a DNF (did not finish) as we do not want to sail overnight and we want to go to duty free Labuan to get some wine. So we were one of the last boats out of the marina heading towards the start line in perfect timing when our chart plotter started switching itself on and off (like it did in Darwin when it had to be replaced). So we reluctantly had to withdraw and return to the marina. The skipper worked on the chart plotter installing our old one and the crew went to town to get some wine. There’s a man who sells cigarettes in the market and you ask him for wine and he takes you into a little shop about 2m wide out the back and unlocks a door and there is bottled wine and spirits. Then you bargain on the price. Was walking past the seafood restaurant and saw a whole heap of frogs in a big glass fish tank – thought they were fake but on closer inspection found they were all alive and waiting to be cooked!!!! By the time I got back the skipper had fixed our chartplotter – googled the FAQs and pressed one button which reset the whole thing and it was working again. Lost all our tracks and anchorages but its working!! Had drinks with Braveheart – Judy had just arrived back from a week in Darwin.

Tuesday 19 July – Miri Marina to off Brunei coast
Happy Birthday Phil
04°44.626N / 114°33.062#
We finally left the marina (alone!) at 7.45am and motor sailed in very dirty water (hardly any wind) past lots of oil rigs and tugs pulling barges. The water was only muddy on the surface as we left a clean wake behind us. The skipper caught a fish so it was fish for dinner. There was a bit of a swell but at 6pm we pulled into the coast which was actually Brunei. After a while we turned stern on to the swell and we had a comfortable night.
Miles: 56 TTT: 1,910

Wednesday 20 July – Brunei Coast to Labuan
We left at 7.45am and motor sailed again up the coast of Brunei. There were lots of bunds all along the beaches and we couldn’t work out what they were for. We passed a rock wall which goes 1 ½ miles out to sea which rumour has it the Sultan’s brother had built so his kids could windsurf or do water sports. Passed many huge mansions on the hills. Obviously heaps of oil and gas money. As we were coming into Victoria Harbour at Labuan Island our depth sounder stopped working (everything seems to be wearing!) so phoned Single Malt who were anchored and then the depth sounder started working again. The skipper thinks it may have some growth on it but the water is not fit to dive in. It is reasonably clear but full of junk. The anchorage is fouled with plastic bags but we managed to anchor first go between the marine police and water village (on stilts) on one side and the ferry terminal and town on the other. Its a bustling port with heaps of ships and engineering works etc. Quiet night on board.
Miles: 54 TTT: 1,964

Thursday 21 July – Labuan
Called the water taxi which costs 1RM (33c) each and it came immediately and picked us up and dropped us near the ferry terminal. Explored the town – shopping area is nice and compact and checked out all the duty free shops. Took our purchases back to the boat and back to town again. Had a lovely$2 lunch each and noticed Braveheart had come in. We visited the museum and then the marina which is only two years old but being renovated as it was disintegrating. Hopefully they will get it right this time. Met Single Malt and Braveheart for a $2 dinner (plus beer!). and all caught the water taxi back to our boats.

Friday 22 July – Labuan
Took all morning getting our application for boat yacht insurance. Ours actually lapsed on the 18th and we decided not to go with Trident again. We also decided not to go with Edward William who were the cheapest as we didn’t like the stories we had heard about them so went with Pantaenius which was the most expensive but also we feel the most trustworthy. Called the water taxi and we don’t know what happened but it took 2 hours to come!! We did more browsing/shopping and met Braveheart for dinner – Indian – very nice. It has been rainy and overcast all day. Labuan is very friendly and has a nice feel about it. Labuan is where the Japanese surrendered to the 9th Australian Division on 9 September 1945. It is also the place where 3,908 allied WW II soldiers including those who perished during the Death March from Sandakan are interred. So we will look forward to coming back to explore it in more depth.

Take care all. Missing my little Rosie

Dell and Peter

WEEK 13: Kuching - Miri Marina, Sarawak, Borneo

2011-07-19T13:09:00.000+10:00

Saturday 9 July - Kuching
We got to the Rain Forest Music Festival in time for the first workshop and the crew went to the accordion and squeeze box one. I know that sounds a bit daggy but it was fantastic. Imagine seven totally different kinds of squeezeboxes jamming together! Anyway it was great. The others went to the bagpipes one and didn’t enjoy it as much. We caught the fretted instruments one and the voice combined. We had bought chairs to sit on and bagsed a spot on the hill. A group called Shin from Georgia were on first and to us they were the absolute highlight of the festival. Pacific Curls (NZ) were really good, Latvia ok, Paddy Keenan (Ireland) disappointing, Warsaw Village band – just plain angry!! Dominican Republic and USA bought up the end. We stayed for the start of USA and then went home. Its a very long day when you get there early for the workshops as well. The buses were extremely well organised – no waiting at all and the whole thing was well organised – food stalls, beer, wine etc. It was packed but the crowd were orderly. If they got drunk they just went to sleep!

Sunday 10 July – Kuching
Festivalled out, we gave the last day a miss and went to the Sarawak Museum which was excellent and did some shopping then took a local boat across the river and went to see the fort. There was a bag of skulls hanging in a room in the fort – not sure whose but it used to be a jail. We gave our Rainforest tickets to a bloke there so we hope he went and enjoyed it. Would like to have gone but were feeling tired and the one hour to get there and back again a bit wearing. Had a nice meal with Cilantro and an early night.

Monday 11 July – Kuching to Miri
Retrieved our laundry, had another yummy $2 breakfast (for 2), met Cilantro and took a taxi to the airport. Arrived back in Miri and Simon met us with his car and we were back at the marina around 2ish. A few cruisers walked to the restaurant. Had a good meal with good company.

Tuesday 12 July – Miri Marina
The skipper went to town to get our internet sorted – have gone over to DiGi which seems to work better than Hotlink. Just a boat day and ate on board.

Wednesday 13 July – Miri Marina
Happy fourth birthday Jessie – miss you
Walked to town – an interesting street had shops with foot and hand pedal sewing machines, cottons, buttons and everything you could think of to sew (except dress patterns – seems they don’t use them). We walked for ages exploring the place and went to the market where we bought lots of fruit and veges – they had small pineapples two for 33 cents!!! Bought some interesting bananas – they are a blackish green colour when green and turn red when ripe and have thick skins so keep well. Really nice.

Thursday 14 July
The skipper checked the engine and found the alternator arm bracket had cracked in two and the bolt was stripped. He took the bracket to Tim off Rubicon Star and he was able to weld it together as good as new. Put another bolt in but not that happy with it. We emailed Jim from Booker Marine in Scarborough and he gave a few options about the problem with the oil gauge. The skipper went to town and got genuine Yanmar oil filters and different oil but it made no difference which means that it is the oil pressure sender unit which will have to wait till we come home to get another one (in a few months). The marina is totally full and excitement is growing for the Borneo International Yachting Challenge (BIYC) which starts on Sunday. One of the boats had organised a cocktail party on C arm of the Marina so lots of people made some very interesting concoctions and we all took something to eat. At one stage we all had to move as the dock was about four inches from the water with way too many people standing in the one place!!! Was a really good night.

Friday 15 July – Miri Marina
Went to register for the BIYC and get our racing shirts. The marina is very colourful with flags everywhere and some people have dressed their boats. There are about five serious racers and the rest are us cruisers! The racers have been working on their boats for ages. We went to town with Cilantro to go to the market again. Sasli turned up in the afternoon to tell us about the next leg of the rally and some people had prepared pot luck meals. We just bought some nibblies as we were all a bit tired after the cocktail party last night so didn’t stay long – its a tough life!! Race day is Sunday!!!!
Borneo is certainly an interesting (and busy) place. Take care

Love
Dell and Peter

WEEK 12: Bintalu to Miri Marina, Sarawak, Borneo

2011-07-14T13:38:00.000+10:00

Saturday 2 July – Bintalu to ??
04°11.194N / 113°51.409E
We all upanchored at 6.15 and motor sailed all day. Cilantro caught the first fish (mackerel) sometime in the morning and then the challenge was on! Braveheart caught one, the skipper caught one and stopped fishing but then Braveheart got their second one so the line went back in and the skipper got his second one. Braveheart got a third but it was a bit small and they let it go. We all kept going till 6pm when the frontrunners pulled into the coast and we anchored at 6.15pm. The coast is very pretty here with big sandcliffs. The hills though have all been stepped and we have since found out that it is ready for planting oil palms!
Miles 69 TTT: 1,840

Sunday 3 July - ??? to Miri Marina
04°23.076N / 113°58.347E
Braveheart got an early start and caught a small fish as they went past our boat. We upanchored at 7 and did a slow motor sail to Miri. We have to go into the marina on a high tide. We were calling up on our handheld VHF but getting no reply but we could hear everyone else talking. As we entered the marina we realised our handheld battery was flat so the crew called up on the main VHF. By this time we were in the marina not knowing where to go so someone was rather stressed. But we got in ok with lots of hands to take lines. At 6pm we five boats met on the dock beside Cilantro. Cilantro had their barbeque, Braveheart had their hob smoker, we supplied the fish (delicious marinade) and Cilantro Wavesweeper, Single Malt and Braveheart all brought along delicious salads and we had a great feed and celebration of our arrival. The security guard came down to check what was happening so we gave him some fish too. A really good night.
Miles: 14 TTT: 1,854

Monday 4 July – Miri Marina
It was raining so we waited till 10 then walked to the marina office to check in, raided the bakery and then walked the few kilometres to town. A really interesting placed with lots of interesting little shops. An old Chinese man pulled us up for a chat – people are very friendly. We headed back to the boat and had lots of wind and rain so ate on board.

Tuesday 5 July – Miri Marina to Sibu
We were collected by Simon (a very helpful local “taxi” driver) in his beat up little red car and he delivered us to the bus station where we caught the 8.45 bus to Sibu which is on the Ranjang River. We saw quite a few longhouses though most of them were modern and a few old wooden ones with tin roofs – mostly a bit rusty. There were heaps of oil palms – so much of the jungle/forest has been cleared for oil palms – not good. We had a few stops along the way and arrived in Sibu around 3.30. We caught a local bus to town. The bus station was across the road from the boat terminal so we checked on boats for tomorrow and saw a budget hotel across the way which looked ok, so booked into the River View Hotel. It was 35RM ($12). Hot shower and air con but no top sheet and we didn’t like the look of the blanket so we bought our own little blanket for $2.30. We went for a walk and found the huge market across the road. They had live chooks and ducks all individually wrapped up in newspaper with their heads and tails sticking out for sale. Also live witchety grubs. We found the night market which was very interesting with lots of food. They even had cooked pigs faces!!! We then ate at a little local food place and headed for bed.

“The residents of Sibu are predominantly Foochow Chinese, originating from Southern China led by the Reverend Wong Nai Siong. Rev Wong was a Methodist missionary who sought to find a safe haven for his followers, who were subject to religious persecution in China. Rev Wong petitioned Charles Brooke, the second White Rajah of Sarawak, who gladly offered land in the Lower Rejang area in order to develop Sarawak’s agriculture.”

Wednesday 6 July – Sibu – Kipat – Sibu
We awoke rather early as the aircon was stuck on 16° so it was really really cold. Bought some fruit from the market and decided to catch the 6.15 boat to Kapit – 165km up the river. We were asked if we wanted first or second class so said second but when we got on the boat they said we were in the wrong place – we were in third class so they sent us up to second!! Not too many people on board. All the windows had black stuff stuck on them to keep the sun out so we couldn’t see out. Someone had peeled a couple of holes so we alternated between these windows. When the ticket collector came round we asked if we could sit up top and he said yes. These boats are kind of like a long train carriage in size and its a bit like sitting in a plane. There is a walkway around about 2ft wide (no railing) and that is how you get on and off. The conductor opened the door (bit like a plane) and we stepped out onto the platform - the boat is hooting along – and held onto a head high hand rail and walked along and clambered on to the roof of the boat with all the vegetables and luggage and one other man (a smoker). What we hadn’t bargained on was the cold – it was early morning and hooting along at great speed it was freezing! Good view though! When we came to a couple of villages he blew the horn – which we were sitting underneath. Deafening! At a town called Song they took all the veges and luggage off and we went another hour on the roof till we got to Kapit. Here we pulled in next to another boat and we all walked down the side of our boat and across the next boat to the steps. Kapit again was a most interesting town. We explored the town, went to the museum which they opened specially for us which told all about the different tribes who make up Sarawak. The fort however, was closed and we didn’t manage to get in there. We had read in the paper a couple of days ago about how Pangolins (anteaters) are endangered and protected and how a couple had been released back into the wild. The market had lots of fruit and vegetables all done up very artistically and then there was the wet market. Lots of big river catfish and other things. The usual chickens and then there were two pangolins cut in half!!! Poor little things. Kapit has no roads and can only be reached by boat and everyone comes from up and down river to town for the market. We caught the 1pm boat back to Sibu. It was a different boat and we could see out the windows so remained inside!!! The boat had to avoid a lot of fishermen in their canoes with nets across the river and a bit further down all the tugs towing barges filled with logs – so many logging places. Its a wonder there are any trees left. We got back and checked out the Swan statue, the symbol of Sibu and went up the Chinese pagoda for which they gave us the key to get in. Met Bernie and Doug (Single Malt) who arrived today and had the room next to ours and went out to dinner. – Bought another $2.30 blanket!!!

Thursday 7 July – Sibu to Kuching
Bought the tickets for the boat and went to the market. Walked through the meat section – big mistake!! There were intestines, gizzards, hearts hanging from their bits – really dry wretch stuff!!!! Bought some pastries and fruit for the journey but when we got on the boat people were in our seats and there were at least six seats each side – very squashed. Peter checked the upstairs which had two seats each side so I asked the driver how much they were and he said 45RM same as downstairs so I asked if we could sit up there and he looked at our tickets and said no downstairs. So I ran back up to the ticket lady and asked for upstairs. At first she said no but after a brief conversation she changed our tickets to upstairs. So we sat in comfortable seats with a good view. Though we spent most of our time at the back of the boat on wooden benches (with all the smokers) and had a great view. After seeing all the rubbish, logs etc in the water we were pleased we didn’t take our boats up the river (3 boats did go). There are hundreds of saw mills down each side of the river. It took a couple of hours till we reached the ocean and then we went into the Sarawak river to Kuching. We took a taxi to our hotel and walked around the city. It was nice to see it at night with all the lights.

Friday 8 July – Kuching
We met Cilantro and organised our bus tickets to the Rainforest Music Festival. We left at 1 but didn’t get there till 2.30 but managed to see the end of one of the workshops. They have workshops in which about six musicians all with similar instruments play a little of their own music and then they jam together – most of them have never met each other so it makes the workshops really interesting. The nights entertainment started at 7pm. Its not really what you would imagine rainforest music to be. It started with the sapè which is a local string instrument with the most beautiful sound. Then there was a Malaysian group from Sabah who did their traditional stuff and some upbeat stufft. The three ladies from Canada did their Indian music (the only thing lacking was the war cry). Australia and Italy were just bands really. The Mexican sang and played a pretty mean harp (electric). Then there were the Blue Canyon Boys (USA) bluegrass music and we left as the last act was coming on – another hour back in the bus and got to bed after 1am.

For those interested here is a little history of Sarawak taken directly from a guide book:
“At the beginning of the 19th century, Sarawak was a typical Malay principality under the control of the Sultan of Brunei. Apart from occasional piracy on the coast and headhunting in the interior, Sarawak was peaceful. All of this changed when the Sultan of Brunei appointed a hugely unpopular Governor. The Malays and Bidayuhs of the Sarawak River revolted in 1836 and declared independence. An ugly guerrilla war ensued, which continued until 1939 when James Brooke, a young wealthy Englishman arrived on the scene in his well armed yacht, The Royalist.

Brooke set himself up as a freelance adventurer and the Sultan’s uncle immediately asked him to help put down the rebellion. Brooke readily agreed. The spears and muskets of the rebels were no match for a modern warship, and the conflict soon ended. As a reward, the grateful Sultan made Brooke the Rajah of Sarawak in 1841. Brooke was not content to rule over a small riverside town and set out to pacify his new kingdom, with the help of the British Navy.” There were three Brooke Rajahs and the history is rather interesting so google it.

Anyway its an interesting place. Sorry for the delay in this blog.

Take care all
Love
Dell and Peter

Week 11 - Santubong River to Bintalu

2011-07-01T19:32:00.001+10:00

Week 10 photos now on
Sunday 26 June –Santubong River
Had a boat day. The skipper went up the mast again to move the halyard to the other side of the block. He is particularly pleased with his Mastmate purchase which is webbing steps to climb the mast – fits in the mainsail track. It is so much easier than winching him up in the bosun’s chair. He repaired the headsail then we hoisted it and it is now nicely furled where it is supposed to be. Half the fleet left today. Internet still not working

Monday 27 June – Santubong River
Took the diesel jerries to shore. Braveheart has organised for them to be filled. As we went ashore at 8.45am to meet Cilantro it started to rain and bucketed down for about half an hour so we missed the 9am bus. The bus heading out picked us up at 9.45 and we went on a little trip to finish the run and then he headed back towards town. This was quite a pleasant journey and only took an hour - $1.30 each. Took Peter ages to get the internet sorted – eventually bought a new simcard. We walked down to check out the City Inn which is an extremely basic, tired room but clean so booked for 7 – 11th for the Rainforest Festival - $20 a night. Had lunch with Cilantro then caught a taxi to a good supermarket which was having an Australian Festival so lots of good food – even got some chico babies (lollies). Caught a taxi back to the boats. Checked the internet worked and checked on flights.

Tuesday 28 June – Santubong River to Palau Lakei
01°44.665N / 110°29.537E
Happy Anniversary to us
Single Malt left early. Booked flight from Kuching to Miri for the 11th. Price had gone up 50RM ($16) since last night! Pub Bob on the deck and prepared to leave on a rising tide. Naga (a trimaran) was beached nearby as he had some repair work to do from the crossing. Braveheart took four hours to get their anchor up as it was caught on the fish farm anchor. They eventually got it up. Cilantro and Wave Sweeper got up ok and the skipper had to cut the fishing net off our anchor chain but no worries. We left at 11am and followed our track out of the river – went down to 2.3m under the keel. It was overcast and rainy but cleared later in the day. We put the headsail out and motor sailed to Pulau Lakei and anchored in 5.2m at 3.30pm with four others. The skipper cooked crumbed lamb chops and we opened a bottle of red to celebrate our anniversary – 36 years!
Miles: 22 TTT: 1569

Wednesday 29 June – Pulau Lakei toTg Sirik
02°35.913N / 111°15.185E
Happy Birthday Yvette
We all left as soon as it was light enough to see around 6am and put the sails up and had a good sail till 12 noon and then motor sailed. A pleasant day – not too hot for a change. The sea was how it was supposed to be when we did the crossing The skipper even put the staysail up as well so we had three sails going! We arrived at the coast having crossed a gulf and just pulled in close to the shore and anchored at 6.30pm. Nimbus and Wave Sweeper decided to go in the river to anchor but we would have lost a lot of miles to do that. It rained a bit but then the breeze dropped off and the sea settled and we had a comfortable night.
Miles: 69 TTT: 1638

Thursday 30 June – Tg Sirik to near Mukah
02°55.790N / 112°03.375E
It was pouring rain so postponed our start till 6.30 and upanchored in the rain. We motorsailed up around the cape and turned up towards Miri. It turned into a lovely day with not a lot of wind but Braveheart put their spinnaker up and the challenge was on! All the spinnakers came out including Single Malt who was up ahead. They flew for a while but then it was motor against the current. We thought we saw an unmarked rock and then realised our rock was floating – it turned out to be a great big tree truck with old fishing net wrapped around it. Nimbus caught us up during the afternoon and we anchored after everyone else at 6.15pm again just off the coast. A wind came up and it poured rain and we all turned our deck lights on so Wave Sweeper could see us and he came in at 8pm. It was a comfortable night though.
Miles: 66 TTT: 1704

Friday 1 July – Mukah to Bintalu
03°20.579N / 113°07.687E
Happy Birthday Jeremy
We left at 6.15am feeling quite chilly and had a wonderful sail with the three sails up. Best sail we have had in ages. The skipper enjoyed it and the crew went below and made coleslaw and cut out and made a shirt which took away the boredom. We did the washing along the way. Its a pretty busy area with lots of fishing boats towing nets, tugs pulling huge barges piled high with logs, the odd small buoy or plastic bottles tied to lines (pots perhaps) and we can see the oil platforms off to our port side. We are thinking of our nephew Jeremy as not only is it his birthday today, but he used to work on these oil platforms somewhere up here. The wind died around 12.30 and we motored. The skipper is worried about the oil pressure gauge. It goes off the scale when we start the motor but after about 10-15 minutes reverts to where it is supposed to be. Any clues anyone??? We thought we saw a whale 50m off to the starboard but when we looked discovered it was two of those big logs that the barges carry tied together – that could really hurt if you hit it. Had to go past the Port of Bintalu – there are lots of oil/gas pipes there and is a huge no anchoring zone. Anchored off the coast at 6.10pm.
Miles: 67 TTT: 1771

I have been watching the first series of Packed to the Rafters and have got quite hooked!! Looking for the second series – anyone taped it?? Anyway we should be in Miri by Sunday in time to go into the marina on a high tide.
Take care, much love
Dell and Peter
May the wind be always at your back

WEEK 10 - Pulau Satang Besar to Santubong River

2011-06-29T15:53:00.001+10:00

Tuesday 21 June - Pulau Satang Besar to Santubong River
01°42.920N / 110°19.453E
We had sundowners pn the beach last night. Most of the boats left in the morning to catch the rising tide to get into the Santubong river. We cleaned up and had a lazy day and were the last boat to leave at 3pm to catch the afternoon rising tide. We motored very slowly and went over the shallows at 5pm and up the river with a sharp turn left and we could see all the yachts anchored. We went past the first boat which was Single Malt so we anchored just behind them. Cilantro and Braveheart went right up the other end. We have to anchor to the side of the river to give barges room to negotiate. We are quite close to the dinghy jetty which is privately owned but the owner allows us to use it and walk through his property. A quiet night on board.
Miles:12 TTT: 1547

Wednesday 22 June - Santubong River
We are anchored under the Santubong mountain. Braveheart called up Cilantro to tell them there was a 4m croc between their boats. The skipper who had been in his dinghy with legs dangling over cleaning the side of his boat abandoned the chore!! Our skipper went up the mast to rethread the halyard for the headsail. At 1pm we met Cilanto, Braveheart and Single Malt and walked to the village of Santubong and had lunch at a little local eating place - was a lovely meal. In the evening we all met Sasli (Sail Malaysia) ashore and had a few byo drinks while he advised of our agenda. We then went back to our boat for a lovely feed of fish!

Thursday 23 June - Santubong River
The crew awoke at 4.30 - boat felt funny and thought I could hear anchor chain going over itself but we are anchored in mud. Went to the back bunk to read and looked out the window a couple of times. Could see a buoy outside with flashing lights indicating the end of a fishing net. It was just on daylight when I heard a noise and looked up at the window to see three men there - I thought we were being boarded and let out a scream which frightened the life out of the skipper who awoke to find me not in bed. He flew up on deck and found three fishermen holding their boat off ours whilst trying to retrieve their fishing net which was wrapped around our boat. Think they must have been trying to unravel it for ages. They were very apologetic but couldn't get all the net and ended up cutting it. The problem now is we are hoping it is just wrapped around our anchor chain and not around the prop as obviously we cant dive on it here to clear it because of the crocs!! We wont know till its time to go. We had booked a minibus for 9am for the last four boats to go to the Harbour Master, Immigration and Customs. We would never have found them on our own. We collected some charts which the other boats had ordered, had lunch and were back at the boats by 2.30. At 5pm we all boarded the buses and were taken to the Borneo Convention Centre which is huge and fantastic architecture - a very impressive building - much better than Brisbane's. It is only two years old. We were given a talk by Sarawak Tourism and a short video on the place. Then we ate at the restaurant there - absolute five star dining and they had the most magnificent buffet - amazing food and amazing surrounds. We had fun with the chocolate fountain. After a wonderful evening the buses delivered us back to our boats.

Friday 24 June - Santubong River
We left on the bus at 7am to go to the Orangutang Sanctuary. The feeding time was at 9am. The Sanctuary is on the outskirts of Kuching with a 15 min walk up a road then 5 minutes into the jungle. The alpha male - Richie - came in first. It was lovely to see them but we had been spoilt at Kumai!!! We then headed to a couple of souvenir type shops and then were dropping into Kuching town. Kuching means cat in Malay. It seems to be a very nice very spread out city. The Muslims live on one side of town and the Chinese on the other- pretty big flash houses. We went to the Tourist Bureau, had lunch at a local Chinese eatery, had haircuts and walked along the river and decided to catch a local bus home. We got to the bus station at 4.30pm, the bus came at 5.30 and left at 5.40. We found the wild man of Borneo on the bus! One of the local lads (whose tattoos looked infected) obviously had too much ganga - his eyes were glazed and positively scary. First he threw up all over the backsteps of the bus and then was swaying all over the place and punched the wall. His mates sat him down and all the young girls vacated their seats around him. Suffice to say it was not a pleasant journey. Saw where the not rich people live and there was a lot of rubbish around. We finally got back at 7pm then went to the Chinese restaurant which wasn't impressive.

Saturday 25 June - Santubong River
Met Cilantro ashore at 9.30 and walked 4 - 5 km to the Rainforest Cultural Centre which is a living museum. It is also where the Rainforest Music Festival will be held. It has seven examples of different tribes' housing - longhouses etc and a really good dance theatre which was really entertaining. The fellow with the blow pipe was hilarious and had us in stitches but still managed to convey how deadly the blowpipes are. We had a go of one a bit later and you just give a little puff and the arrow shoots out - amazing. We finished with lunch then walked back getting back around 4pm.

We had originally thought we would stay here for the Rainforest Music Festival but it is two weeks away and we have to be in Miri (300 miles away) by the 15th so we will sail up there and leave the boat in the marina and then come back. Seems a bit silly but otherwise we would fall behind the rally. For those worried about the fishing net around our boat - never fear we are again on the move.

Missing everyone so much.
Fair winds and calm seas
Dell and Peter

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WEEK 9: Redang Island to Tiomans and that crossing!

2011-06-21T15:33:00.001+10:00

Congratulations to Brett for super Uni results!!!
Saturday 11 June - Redang Island to Perhentians
05°55.789N / 102°43.399E
We left at 8.25am and headed north to the Perhentian Islands. These islands have a more bushy sort of terrain rather than actual jungle and are rugged looking around the edges. We came up past a lovely long beach with lots of activity going on and quite a few low key resorts/buildings on shore. We came up a bit further and went up the channel between the two islands. The chart is out a bit here so the crew took watch at the bow. The water was aqua and perfectly clear. We passed a few more lovely beaches and headed for the north beach. Rubicon Star was in there and called us up as we couldn't make our minds up and said it was good so we anchored there and then Whisper HR came in too. We headed ashore to the restaurant - D'Lagoon - it seemed to be a backpacker place with a dorm and small chalets - a really nice spot. We set up a snorkel tour for the next day and Rubicorn Star and Whisper HR said they would join us. We snorkled the coral near our boat and saw a shark about 6 ft long - supposedly a reef shark. Luckily it was scared of us! At 5pm we all went to Rubicon Star for sundowners. Rubicon Start is a converted steel fishing boat from Tasmania with two short masts, so she has heaps of room. She's a beaut boat and we all sat up in the bow (8 of us) on deck chairs and had room to spare. We had intended to go ashore to eat but the tide had dropped and we doubted we would get in so ate on board. A bit of a storm came up through the night but we were ok. We have noticed that no matter how often we clean the boat it always seems to be dirty. We cant decide if it is in the rain or in the air.
Miles: 21 TTT: 928

Sunday 12 June - Perhentians
05°53.621N / 102°44.115E
We left at 8.30 for our snorkel trip and went around behind the island to see if we could find the sharks. Swimming along looking for sharks sounds so wrong and the senses say no!!! But luckily or unluckily there were none there. It was a very overcast day. We headed out to five smaller uninhabited islands further out. We landed on a small beach and snorkelled out from there and it was like a wonderland. Quite shallow but the coral was fabulous and so many fish. We saw two big Napoleon humphead wrasse which are about 3ft long and 1 ½ ft high and they just cruised around not at all concerned with our proximity. The second one almost looked like he had elephant skin. We then went to another area and jumped off the boat and saw more wonderful coral but different to the last place - lots of colourful clams - heaps of fish - some we had never seen before. One looked like a dinner plate with two funny fin things at the back. They were fantastic - it was a fabulous snorkel. We then went looking for sharks again. Peter and Mae saw a big reef shark and I saw a smaller one. Our last stop was to the coral garden with lots of table coral and the soft plants the nemos live in - heaps of nemos. As we were snorkelling we could feel large drops of rain falling on our backs. It was a fantastic morning and we would have loved to have gone back again on a sunny day but we were just so happy to have seen it all. We all ate ashore then, as there was a bit of a swell coming in, we went down between the two islands and a few of the yachts were anchored there so we anchored as well. The water was so clear - clearest we have seen in Malaysia so we got in Bob and next thing we see a huge turtle and it came up beside us to breath. The next one we saw we jumped in and swam with it. We were then going to go around to the other beach but Rubicon Star returned and said it was full of coral heads so we reanchored where we were and at 6pm we went ashore with Rubicon Star and Wave Sweeper and had dinner at a little local place on the beach and the food was great - would like to have spent a week here.
Miles: 2 TTT: 930

Monday 13 June - Perhentians to Kapas
Happy Birthday Charlie
05°13.681N / 103D15.696E
We woke up at 5 to 7 and upanchored at 7!!! We put the main and the headsail up and motor sailed all the way with good wind arriving at Kapas at 4.45pm. Cilantro had come out of Terangganu and we could seem them 2 miles in front of us. As we anchored we could see a storm heading our way. Cilantro came over to say hullo but stayed in their dinghy and made a quick getaway when the rain came. We anchored in 4.2m and during the night the wind blew hard from the north and we went back to 3m. A good day.
Miles: 52 TTT: 982

Tuesday 14 June - Kapas to Pulau Ular
04°03.621N / 103°24.152E
We left in pitch dark at 6am. The crew stood at the bow to keep watch until daylight. We started off with great wind and current with us so made some good miles under main and headsail (and motor). The wind died off around 10am and the sea was flat and oily looking. Dodged heaps of flags on pots. We made it to our little island anchorage at 6.45pm
Miles: 78 TTT: 1060

Wednesday 15 June - Pulau Ular to Tekek Tiomans
02°49.074N / 104°09.024E
It proved to be a long day with no wind and current against us. We left at 5am in the dark. The crew stood at the bow looking like a bedraggled demented figurehead. I think all this did was to let us know how many close calls we had as you couldn't see the buoys until you were on top of them - however did my duty for two hours! As we approached the Tiomans we thought we might have got some good wind and would come in to the anchorage under a full moon. We could see a storm and thought it would miss us. Next thing we were in the middle of heavy rain with lots of lightning and lightning strikes away to the left. This put paid to the full moon so we came in in the dark and just as we were approaching the town there was a lightning strike and the whole town was blacked out! Thank goodness for the chartplotter which still had our previous tracks and where we had anchored so we were able to anchor with no problem at 9pm. At 16 hours it was a very long day. Cilantro came in at 10pm.
Miles: 89 TTT: 1149

Thursday 16 June - Tekuk to Juara, Tiomans
Happy Birthday Suzanne
02°47.568N / 104D12.344
Well what a shocking night. The wind came in from the north and the swell turned us to the side and we rocked from gunnel to gunnel from 2am. The crew sat jammed between the lounge and the mast and read as it was impossible to sleep although the skipper managed a good night's sleep! Had to secure everything as things were going flying. At daybreak Cilantro upanchored and went into the marina and managed to get a berth. We went to town and got another 90 litres of fuel and restocked the beer cupboard and checked out at Immigration. We then motored around to the other side of the island to Juara. It was a bit swelly but we didn't have a bad night. We ate ashore at the restaurant. Single Malt and Braveheart both arrived at Tekek.
Miles: 13 TTT: 1162

Friday 17 June - Juara Tioman
It has been pretty windy all day and the wind is really picking up now - coming straight in on us and bucking the seas up. We heard from rally boats on the HF this morning who left from Teragganu going against wind and tide. We spent the day getting the boat ready for our crossing. The skipper serviced the motor. Cilantro, Braveheart and Single Malt had a very slow trip around here pushing wind and tide. We will have discussions this evening to decide when is the best time to leave for our three night crossing to Borneo. They all anchored on the other side of the bay so went to join them and the skipper gave them timings for different speeds for the crossing. We actually found it much rollier over this "sheltered" side of the bay. The locals didn't build their jetty on the other side for nothing and we decided to go back there to anchor for the night. But then we all decided leave for Borneo at 8pm and as the swell was really bad by then we all actually left at 7.45pm.

Borneo Crossing Week 10
We headed out into quite strong winds and a swell and current about 2 knots against us. We put our headsail up and off we went. Did three hour shifts for sleep. About 3am the halyard separated from the top of the furler which means that the headsail dropped and we were very lucky to be able to haul it in and wrap it round the furler but it is about 1.5m down from the top. The halyard (rope) has gone down the mast. We waited til daylight in building seas for the skipper to go forward to get our mainsail up. We are always hooked on with life jackets and safety tethers at night but we kept them on day and night. The deck was really bucking and the skipper moved forward hooking on, moving forward hooking on and off till he got to the mast. Was a bit hairy but he got it up with one reef in so it was at least steadying us and giving us a bit of a push along. We were under motor the entire way with help from the sail. Others managed to sail quite a bit of the way but when we need to get somewhere in the most comfort and as quickly as we can we use the motor - sailing purists we are not!!! The seas became horrendous through the day - biggest we have been in - 3 metres with the odd rogue wave. It is terrifying to look to the side and see a wall of water higher than the boat - of course it just slides underneath us. The downstairs became a mess. We are usually so careful about packing things away but everything we have read and heard about this crossing said the sea was so calm people stopped for a swim! So the skipper's left over dinner hit the floor smashing the plate and spreading food everywhere. The good sailing books in the nav station hit the floor as did one computer, the guitar, cushions and everything else which could actually fly!! The crew spent much of the day either in hysterics or in bed neither of which helped the skipper get any sleep. For lunch we had a boiled egg and 2 slices of bread - turned into a sandwich in our tummies!! A cup of soup for the crew and a sandwich for the skipper for dinner which he had to make as in conditions like these the crew can only get to the back bunk or the loo (luckily also at the back of the boat) even though sea sickness tablets were taken. Suffice to say it was the scariest day and the crew thinks she needs a change of career!!!!! Anyway with thoughts of Jessica Watson (what an intrepid sailor!!) and words like the boat will take care of itself, by late afternoon the crew took was able to take a turn on watch and found the best way to deal with it when the boat got wacked around was to close the eyes and hang on! So the skipper got some much needed sleep. The skipper had hand steered for the afternoon as we were worried about losing the autohelm in the bad conditions. We saw big dolphins which swam with our boat for quite a while - lovely. Went through a shipping lane which was at least ten miles wide with stacks of ships. Went quite close to some but they were pretty good and also tried to avoid us. The moon was full and we did our three hour shifts. Hit something through the night. Early morning and the crew saw a black thing at the bow of the boat. Got such a shock as there didn't seem to be anything out there. It was almost as if what are you doing there!! Anyway a black flag on a stick on a buoy dragged all the way down the boat and almost got tangled in the gear at the back. It was the only flag in the entire ocean and I hit it!! I have a theory about it though. It was a pristine flag and pristine buoy and two boats which didn't show o radar were previously in the vicinity. What a great way to pass on something illicit!!
Day 2 and conditions were still very sloppy with the odd big wave to knock us. The skipper got out one of the sails from under our bunk and put it on the inner forestay and it helped bring us back around after we had been knocked off course by a wave. The skipper cooked scrambled eggs for breakfast but the first lot of beaten eggs went all over the floor. During the day saw some tiny little dolphins swimming with and playing with our boat - they were gorgeous. They were about half the size of a normal dolphin. We passed well south of the Indonesian Islands renowned for piracy and which we are not allowed to land at anyway. More of the same. The skipper managed to cook a pretty good spaghetti bol but with macaroni instead of spag so we could eat it with a spoon! The last night was interesting with a tug pulling a barge and a few ships passing. The skipper had seen a huge log in the water longer than our boat and as big as a tree so we really tried to watch out for stuff. The crew went to bed at 3.30am and awoke at 7 in dead calm water seven miles short of the Indonesian point of Kalamantan, Borneo. As it was early morning (which was the plan) we decided to push on to the island of Pulau Satang Besar (what was another 40 miles!!) which is just near the entrance to the Santubong river which is our destination - 30k from Kuching, the capital of Sarawak, Malaysia. We pulled the mainsail down as we had been worried that the headsail halyard may have tangled with the main and we wouldn't be able to get the main down but it came down with no worries. The crew commented that she hadn't done her hair in three days and the skipper said it looked good and people would pay a lot of money for that look - bless him!!! The skipper had a good day and caught a 105cm long Spanish mackerel (yes he did measure it!) and then discovered that this boat has a spa! Sat at the back going along and had a spa bath which was really lovely and then a spray down with fresh water. We had to change the fuel filter over - luckily the skipper had installed dual fuel filters so it was just a matter of a switch and he can change if later.
We are now anchored with 9 rally boats with our life jackets packed away and our safety tethers hanging to dry enjoying a well earned beer and wine beside a lovely island in blessed calm water. One of the boats which came down the long way suffered a broken boom and shredded headsail - it wasn't an easy trip. The skipper threw a couple of pieces of fish (in a plastic bag) to Cilantro as they went past but Sandra knocked it into the water so the skipper jumped in and retrieved it (he wasn't letting any get away). It was only after he got back on board that he said I hope there aren't any crocs here!!!
Pulau Batang Besar - 01°46.820N / 110°10.038E
Miles:373 TTT: 1535

Well the next challenge is getting up the river to the rally point at Santubong.

Have a great week
Fair winds and Calm seas
Dell and Peter

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WEEK 8: Kapas Island to Redang Island

2011-06-13T16:12:00.001+10:00

Saturday 4 June – Kapas Island
Happy Birthday Jean
Had a lovely day reading and knitting and admiring the scenery. We are between a small island (Gemia) which has a resort and a bigger island which has walkways (with balustrades) over the rocky headlands between the beaches. In the afternoon we took Bob and went round the edge of the reef for a look and then called on Cilantro then came back and had dinner.

Sunday 5 June – Kapas Island
Went around the smaller island for a snorkel but visibility wasnt all that good and neither was the coral. Got stung by little things in the water so came around near the boats and tried there but same result. Went ashore with Cilantro and walked around the walkways. There were many locals on the beach swimming and picnicking. The women wear long sleeves and long pants and head scarves swimming. It was a lovely walk and we came back to a little restaurant on the beach but it only served its guests though they did produce a very good fresh pineapple juice for us. We went to another restaurant which was like a big solid verandah and had lunch there then had a swim off the beach where we had left our dinghies. At 5.30 we all went to the beach where we all indulged in a game of boche which was quite good. At 10pm I could hear people talking outside and there was a tourist boat attached to the buoy beside us fishing with fishing rods in a marine national park. Not too many fish here!

Monday 6 June – Kapas Island
Watched as four big Marine Malaysia men boarded Whisper HR all with their big boots on. Mae was home alone as Kevin was visiting another boat. She called him up and he went back and they looked below and went through all their papers and were there for quite a while. I was appalled to think that these four men could walk all over the boat with only a female aboard! They then went and checked two sther boats and then seemed to disappear. At 4pm we all went to the lovely resort on the small island for a rally dinner. The resort had a swimming pool and also a swimming pool for the baby turtles. They are really trying to work on their turtle conservation here. The meal was a buffet and it was absolutely delicious – all Malay dishes and the best we have had. It rained while we were there and when it stopped we headed back to the boats.

Tuesday 7June – Kapas Island to Kuala Terengganu Marina
05°20.329N / 103°07.877
We left at 7.30 and had a slow motor sail to Terengganu. We went between the block wall entrance into a very dirty river and headed for the marina. There was quite a current running so as well as the blokes from the marina office we all had to help with each others lines. There are quite a few racing yachts in which are looked after by Dave from Perth who spends three weeks up here and six weeks at home. There is a huge complex here with a resort. The marina building is about three storeys and huge with a gym, sauna, spa, restaurant, lovely bathroom – big conference rooms all beautifully tiled and another big building called the ballroom and the whole thing was built for just one yacht race a year called the Monsoon Cup which is held for a week at the end of November. Apart from that it rarely gets used. The wastage of money in this country is quite staggering. We had lunch at the restaurant which was really nice. Then we headed to the petrol station with our five jerries. We could take the dinghy and the skipper took two jerries at a time across the road. We did two runs. The diesel is cheaper at the petrol station. Tables for the rally dinner were set up on the lawn outside the ballroom. The band was set up and playing their Malay instruments, tables and chairs beautifully decorated and shortly after we sat down it started pouring rain – torrential rain which lasted as long as the dinner did. The tables and chairs were left in the rain and they brought out more tables and chairs under cover, moved the band and the buffet in and redid the whole thing. It was such a shame. The meal was very nice but they were all western dishes – we really do prefer the local food. No alcohol of course but a lovely night.
Miles: 12 TTT: 876

Wednesday 8 June – Teragganu Marina
We went on the bus tour at 9am and were taken to see the wooden boat building – they line between each piece of wood with paperbark. They told us it was from a local tree but we are not sure if they are eucalypts. We were able to climb all over a fishing boat and it is amazing how steep the front and back of them are. Then we were taken to a batik factory and then to the crystal mosque where we all donned coats (men included) and headscarfs (for the women) and were able to go inside. There were about three classes of small boys all reading from the Koran. They got a tap with a stick if they got it wrong! We had lunch and returned to the marina and we did another fuel run so we are now all fuelled up with 300 litres. In the afternoon we took the dinghy across the river and walked through China town and had a very nice meal at the Golden Dragon. The only places you can get beer is at the Chinese places and the Chinese make up only 5% of the population in Teragganu province.

Thursday 9 June – Teragganu Marina
We took Bob across the river to go to the wet market which was pretty good. Got heaps of fresh fruit – mangoes, pawpaws and pineapples – and vegetables and took it back to the boat. The turtle conservation effort doesn’t seem to have reached everyone as they were selling turtle eggs. We then went looking for the Immigration Department as we had been told we had to check out of mainland Malaysia. We walked for a couple of kilometres as it wasn’t where we thought it was. We found the frozen food place and managed to get a 2kg block of Aussie cheese and some frozen NZ lamb chops and sirloin steak (Aussie) for around $10/kg!! They pointed us in the right direction for the Immigration Department which was in a big building which looked a bit like a block of flats – no signs. Nos signs in the building either but on asking we were told it was on the first floor. When we got there it was quite crowded but a staff member saw us straight away (somehow they recognised us as yachties!) and spoke to a couple of other staff and they decided that as we had a 90 day visa we didn’t have to check out. Glad we found out today and didn’t come back into Teragganu specifically for that purpose. Had lunch on the way back – the Chinese proprietor greeted the skipper with a cold bottle of beer! Knows his customers! We hurried back and caught a taxi (who ripped us off) with Cilantro to the Giant supermarket where we got the essentials. The same taxi driver was waiting and ripped us off again on the way back – at least he was consistent!! We filled the water tanks and we took Cilantro across the river to China town. Had a delicious meal at the Golden Dragon then went to the bus station with James and Sandra who were taking a night bus to Langkawi to collect their radar which they had ordered.

Friday 10 June – Kuala Teregganu to Redang Island
05°47.331 / 103°00.931E
The skipper settled our marina account which turned out to be $30 for three nights including electricity and water! We left the berth on a slack tide at 8.45 and headed north – overcast day. We went past Pulau Bidung hoping to stop for a snorkel and to see the Vietnamese memorial. This is where all the Vietnamese refugees came and the centre of the bay is fouled with sunken refugee boats. It was very deep and we could see a catamaran who seemed to be having trouble raising his anchor so we kept going. We found out later that his anchor chain had gone underneath a bus (yes a bus!!) and he had to dive on it to get it out. We went around Redang Island to the north side in a bay which looked sheltered. There was a very strange ship there which had superstructure across sideways to a pontoon almost like a giant cat. Looked a bit like they were building a ship but ran out of room so went sideways!! We checked out the buoys but the lines didn’t look very strong so anchored in 9m on sand at 2.45. At 3.30 we went for a snorkel. There were smatterings of colour in the reef and fish but a lot of it was dead and we saw two old fishing nets snagged on a couple of bommies. It was a bit murky and it was overcast so we didn’t see it at its best. We were surrounded by hundreds of fish at one point who swam along with us. All different kinds coming right up to our faces. It was really nice. Other people reported good coral on the south of the island. The skipper then washed all the river dirt off the boat and we ate on board. It was a bit rolly through the night.
Miles: 31 TTT: 907

Where is the time going??? Having trouble keeping up. Our Grandaughter Charlie turns one on the thirteenth – she is gorgeous. Missing everyone especially my little Rosie.

Currently heading south to get back to the Tiomans to do the big crossing to Borneo but will tell you about that next week.

Love to all

Dell and Peter

WEEK 7: Teluk Tekek, Tioman Island to Kapas Island

2011-06-04T12:53:00.001+10:00

Saturday 28 May – Juara Village
Another rest day. A storm threatened in the afternoon but it missed us though we had very strong winds and thunder and lightning. Two yachts had a bit of a dance together but didn’t actually touch. Ate on board again.

Sunday 29 May – Juara Village – Happy Birthday Bill
So calm and peaceful and the water amazingly clear – you could see absolutely everything on the bottom – shame there’s no fish. Some mornings there is smoke lingering around from people cooking or burning their rubbish. Wavesweeper left for the other side of the island. A breeze came up shortly after and has been blowing since but conditions are good in here. We ventured ashore around 6 and went to the restaurant for dinner – stayed away from everyone as didn’t want to pass this cold on. Skipper feeling poorly.

Monday 30 May – Juara Village to Teluk Tekek
Found out that Teluk means Bay in Malay. We left at 8am and headed south to complete our circumnavigation of the island. Just as we left and a stiff breeze was blowing and we were close to the island with no sails up – the skipper decides that the tacko is not working so turns the engine off to get it to start – what happens if the engine doesn’t start again!!! It did but still! The scenery was stunning and there were a few villages that we think we may have been able to anchor off though it would be a little exposed. The island is absolutely beautiful but maybe unless you are viewing it from the sea you may not see the beauty from the land though of course it is still lovely. We continued to Tekek hoping that we may get back to those little villages some time. We anchored in 10m and went back to 12m at 11am then checked in with the Harbour Master and Customs, had a chat to Cilantro and did some shopping. We weren’t well enough to attend the pot luck dinner in the marina so had a quiet meal at the Chinese. Debbie, Dad is quite taken with the claypot beancurd which is delicious! Later in the evening we watched Cilantro come out of the marina in the dark to anchor. Another boat was coming into their berth at midnight so they had to move. Braveheart has gone on ahead as they have to make a trip to Langkawi.

Tuesday 31 May – Teluk Tekek
We went into the Harbour Master and Customs to check out and bought a couple of cartons of beer. Not as cheap as Langkawi but still cheaper than mainland Malaysia. Tioman is a duty free island but they don’t have the selection that Langkawi has. The crew finished reading The Great War and the skipper finished two books in a few days. He has really got this cold now as has Judy off Braveheart. Seems to be making its way through the fleet. We went ashore for the seafood barbeque and were joined by Cilantro. The barbequed fish, squid and prawns were delicious but the vege dish wasn’t very nice.

Wednesday 1 June – Teluk Tekek to Rompin (mainland Malaysia)
02°48.691N / 103°30.555E – a calm night
We upanchored at 7.30 after putting Bob on the deck. We find it easier to winch Bob on rather than manhandle him like we did with Zed. It was a very still morning and after a while we spied a pod of dolphins. One leapt out of the water in front of us. One had a white tip on its fin. A couple swam at the front of the boat but only for a short few seconds and one was the biggest dolphin we have seen – magic. Totally missed them on the camera though! A couple of hours later we had a larger pod of dolphins visit us and they played and frolicked around the boat for a while – it was wonderful. Saw two big fish swim past but nothing on the line!! As we neared Rompin and could see all the yachts at anchor we had our eye on a huge cumulus cloud – lovely and white and fluffy at the top bit, dark at the bottom. It was rumbling and we could see the odd lightning bolt up in the cloud. We put the revs on when the wind picked up but when we anchored in 4m it was all ok and it passed to the south of us. Cilantro picked us up in their dinghy and we went ashore for a barbeque. Sasli (Sail Malaysia) met us there and we had a wonderful feed of barbequed chicken, fish and prawns and we all had a wonderful night. We then braved the waves to get back to our boats.
Miles: 39 TTT: 704

Thursday 2 June – Rompin to Pulua Ular – Happy Birthday Judy
04°03.540N / 103°24.265 – beautiful calm night
Having an early morning cuppa in the dark the skipper went to step down on the back transom and baulked a bit and said there’s a snake – it was a skinny one but by the time we got the torch he had realised he had been spied and vacated the premises so we really don’t know exactly what he was. We left in the dark at 6.15am but it soon lightened up and we headed north hoping to get some good miles under our belts. The fleet all looked good with their sails up despite the fact that we were all motoring as there was no wind! We were quite a long way from shore but we could see a very marked change in the colour of the water – it was quite amazing that it was like a line drawn in the ocean where one part (coming from a river) was a dirty brown and the sea was a deep blue colour and the current line with logs etc was the demarcation line (see the photo). We were thinking of heading towards shore to anchor somewhere when the wind sprang up and Cilantro wanted to sail so we decided to keep going for a while longer. Cilantro had chosen two places further up but we didn’t think we would make them but with this great wind we were hoiking along! The first anchorage wasn’t suitable so continued on for another 3 – 4 miles and the sun sank in the west and we came around a small island with lots of rocks and managed to get on the inside of it between the island and the shore and drop the anchor in 6.8m just on dark at 7.30! It was a very long day so we decided to pretend we had dinner and fell into bed.
Miles: 82 TTT: 786

Friday 3 June – Pulau Ular to Kapas Island
03°13.679N / 103°15.698E
Well what a lovely peaceful night we had tucked in behind our little island and rocks. We left at 6.15am again hoping to get to Kapas Island ~ 75nm away. We motored and then got enough wind to motor sail. We had a slap up breakfast to make up for the non dinner last night. Have been dodging pots. These are marked with things like small fenders sticking up – not the drink bottles or foam such as in Thailand and Indonesia. Later in the afternoon there were also flags on floats and some floats without their flags. We went past a couple of ports and bulk crude oil terminals and gas terminals. Also there are lots of quarries. The beaches are long and look quite good and there are some quite fancy mosques along the way. We have made a huge effort to do this coast in two days as if the weather came up it would be quite miserable out here as there are really no bolt holes or islands to hide behind. We arrived at Kapas Island which is 6.5km from the mainland at 6.15. Had a shower a sundowner and then remembered we had some instant meals so the skipper cooked up some rice and dropped the packet in the boiling water and voila chicken curry which was very nice. Full Flight, Whisper HR , and Chatalaine came in after dark. Kapas is supposed to be beautiful but we will report on that next week.
Miles: 78 TTT: 864

Cannot believe how quickly this week has slipped by. You may have noticed on the blog there is a link to “where we really are”. We are trying to update this every night as it shows a map of where we are and also where we have been – though we can only update this with internet access. The site is at www.skipr.net Meanwhile hope you are all well. Happy to report that we have both recovered.

Take care, miss you

Love

Dell and Peter

WEEK 6: Teluk Tekek to Juara Village, Tioman Island

2011-05-29T16:09:00.001+10:00

Saturday 21 May – Teluk Tekek
We wanted to catch the tide just after slack on a rising tide to snorkel the little island. We got down there just after 9am but already the current was starting to run. We motored around the island then jumped in and did a drift snorkel hanging on to Bob. We didn’t have to kick as the current took us along. The coral was ok – some colourful bits but Peter was surrounded by hundreds of little fish who all swam along with us. We got in Bob and started back when we noticed two girls trying to swim against the (increasing) current. They indicated they needed help so we went over and picked them up and got them aboard. They had snorkels but no flippers and said it was impossible to swim with their life jackets. Gave them some clues of what to do next time they get caught in a current and dropped them back to the swimming platform to their friend. They were pretty happy to get back. The boat that dropped them there had just bought out a few more people to the platform and was going to come back for them in an hour. We reckoned they would have all floated out to sea by then!!! Perhaps with the exception of our two girls who would now swim with the current for the shore!!! We headed back to our boats and had a snorkel but the water was a bit murky. At 5pm we all went to the marina for a rally catchup with byo drinks then at 7pm we all went to the chinese restaurant and had a great meal. Chatelaine had booked for 40 people but four more boats had come in so there were a few more people – a really good night.

Sunday 22 May – Teluk Tekek
Headed to shore and had a lovely lunch then walked to the other end of town where they had set up shade tents with chairs for us in front of an open air stage and we were entertained by a bunch of male musicians and singers and were welcomed to the island. There was food which we couldn’t eat as we were still stuffed from lunch. Then the games started and we had a great afternoon playing with and against the locals. The yachties won the tug of war hands down. With the rest of the games we had to cheat or we would have lost everything!! An interesting game was an empty waterbottle and a stick with a string and a straight nail tied across the middle (fishing rod). The idea was to get the nail in the bottle and then pick the bottle up by the nail and run to the other end – it was a relay. Then Jeff and May off Wavesweeper brought out their bag of Wombats which Jeff shook like there was a bunch of wild animals in there and the children were very apprehensive. Of course they wouldn’t know what a wombat is. Then they laid the 6 “wombats” (May had made them and put eyes on them) on the ground with strings attached. The other end of the string was attached to a 12” piece of plastic pipe and the idea is to wind the “wombat” in till it reaches the pipe. Well this was a huge hit with the local kids and the women too and they all wanted to have a go. The afternoon ended with the rally people all being presented with a small gift. A really great afternoon. We then adjourned to the Chinese restaurant on the beach and quite a few people turned up. The beers are cheap but the food not so good so we slipped out and went to the chinese down the road for dinner.

Monday 23 May – Teluk Tekek
There was a two hour rally trek on this morning but it was on a path where we had already been and the skipper and crew were quite keen to do the trek across the island so the two of us set off at 9am and headed up the street to the start of the 7km jungle trek. It was a wonderful walk through the jungle putting all thoughts of snakes out of our heads. Very steep going up and steps had been built at some of the very steep sections. We saw monkeys in the trees and a small bat which flew straight at me which was a bit disconcerting to say the least and a bird (I think) made a noise right beside me which was quite startling! About two thirds of the way there we came to the road and we had to follow that to the village. It was so steep going down! We came to the village of Juara and walked out along the jetty. There were thousands of fish about 8” long all sheltering in the shade of the jetty – very strange. We had a beer and walked a little ways down the street then started back. It was such a hard slog walking back up that road. A lady stopped and offered us a lift but foolishly we said no. We found a little waterfall where some people were swimming so stopped and soaked the feet for a while. Then it was back up the road. A taxi stopped and offered us a cheap ride back. Alas, foolishly again we said no as we were quite keen to do the return jungle walk. We had however underestimated exactly how far back it was and we arrived back feeling we would need two knee replacements and a hip replacement!! We had walked about 17 km over the range. We were glad we did it but were pretty exhausted. Picked up a few supplies then back to the boat and then dinner at the chinese.

Tuesday 24 May – Teluk Kekek to Juara Village, Tioman Island
02°47.624N / 104°12.351E
The skipper took the jerries into the marina and filled them with water then we upanchored at 10am heading round to the other side of the island where we had walked yesterday. We arrived at 1.45 and dropped anchor in 5.8m of the clearest water exactly where we had planned yesterday. Well it took us three goes (second didn’t take) but eventually got where we wanted. This side o f the island is beautiful – tall jungle covered mountain with lower jungle clad hills then lots of palm trees and a pretty much unspoiled beach. The village of Juara is one long road running behind the beach. It was a bit rolly but acceptable. Cilantro had originally anchored over the other side with Harmonica but came over to join us, Wavesweeper and Braveheart. The skipper and crew went to shore and walked up and down the beach which is lovely though the northern side of the jetty the sandflies start to bite – ah almost paradise!!!! The others came in and we all had a lovely meal at a restaurant on the beach.
Miles: 13 TTT: 665

Wednesday 25 May – Juara Village
We went for a snorkel on the small reef – there was some colour but not many fish. In the afternoon the others went to the turtle sanctuary to learn about turtles and see the turtle being fed (apparently it was blind). The skipper and I went for a walk up the village road. Saw a really unusual pineapple growing – it was red with five smaller pineapples growing out of its base. We found the others at the same restaurant so ate there again.

Thursday 26 May – Juara Village
Crew starting to feel unwell! Sat and read all day. Have started reading The Great War by Les Carlyon. Its the history of our part in the First World War and OMG I had no idea. It is very well written and though I haven’t finished it I think some certain British hierarchy should have faced the war crimes tribunal. It is a very well written book. Went in for dinner with the others at the Chinese restaurant on the beach.

Friday 27 May – Juara Village
A rest reading day. Unwell so ate on board. Cilantro and Braveheart left to go back to Teluk Tekek. Nine other yachts came in here.

Not to worry crew is now feeling better but skipper is looking a bit off (in the nicest possible way!!!!) Think he is getting it too.

Hope everyone else is well

Love

Dell and Peter

WEEK 5: Pulau Sibu – Telek Tekek, Tioman Islands

2011-05-21T14:55:00.003+10:00

Saturday 14 May – Pulau Sibu to Pulau Tinggi
02°16.669N / 104°06.938E
We left at 9.15 and motored to Pulau Tinggi arriving at 10.20. We had seen Whisper HR go in on the AIS so the skipper tracked him on the chart plotter so we just followed his track in. It was between Pulua Tinggi and some smaller islands with reef around them. We anchored in around 6 metres of lovely clear water and then headed to the little island for a snorkel. It was lovely to be in the water again. The reef was pretty good – best we have seen in a long time and we saw three small stingrays hiding shyly under the coral – brown with lovely aqua blue spots. And a couple of slug things that float along with graceful wing like cloaks. The weather was looking threatening so we returned to our boats, battened down and put out more chain. Then there was the biggest clap of thunder and we could smell ozone so it must have been very close. The raindrops were huge and it was very windy and the beautiful calm water became very choppy. By 5.30 it was starting to settle so Investigator II put a call out that everyone was invited to their (rather large) catamaran for sundowners. There were 15 boats in with about 11 dinghies tied off the back. At 7pm we all got in our dinghies and went through a gap in the reef and went ashore for dinner where the restaurant had a big table set up for us courtesy of Rubicon Star booking for us all earlier in the day. It was a very nice meal of chicken soup, rice, fish, omelette and vegetables and slices of orange and orange cordial (a dry island). We had a lovely evening and the locals came down to take photos of the mass exodus of dinghies.
Miles: 6 TTT: 634

Sunday 15 May – Pulau Tinggi
A restful day. We headed over to another lovely little island in Bob and the water was so clear you could see the starfish on the bottom. We walked about the island and Braveheart came in then we went back to the first island and snorkelled the western side where there were a lot of staghorns and heaps of fish and then did the eastern side again but it wasn’t as clear today. Had a quiet afternoon on the boat reading hearing the odd turtle pop his head up and take a breath before diving again. Chris from Braveheart popped over to borrow a carton of beer – they have guests and had under estimated what they would need!!! A quiet night.

Monday 16 May – Pulau Tinggi to Pulau Seri Buat / Sembilang
02°41.850N / 103°53.858E
Left at 8.30 with Cilantro and motored north towards the Tiomans. The water totally flat and a beautiful day. The boat is really dirty – think it must be all the crap in the air and water coming around Singapore. The air should get clearer from here on. Not so many fishermen out here – only saw two boats today. Puluas Tinggi and Sibu are all jungle and Tinggi has a mountain on it. We arrived and went around Pulaus Seri Buat and Sembalang and came back around to the northern side between the two islands These islands don’t have the jungle that the others had. There is a reef exposed between them at low tide so we couldn’t go too far in. We jumped in Bob and had a look around. The water was so clear you couldn’t tell how shallow/deep it was. There looks as though there might be some reef worth snorkelling on. We just got back to the boats at 5pm and it bucketed down rain. Had a quiet night on board.
Miles: 28 TTT: 662

Tuesday 17 May – Pulau Seri Buat / Sembilang to the Tioman Islands
02°49.086N / 104°09.063E
We were going to snorkel but it was high tide and the water clarity wasn’t good and we couldnt actually find the good reef we saw yesterday and the water was pretty murky and then a big cloud covered the sun so we went back to the boat and upanchored at 11.10 and headed for the Tioman Islands. It was another motor day although we did have the headsail out for a while. We arrived and had a good look around for somewhere to anchor. The marina was full but we didn’t want to go in anyway. We went over to where Braveheart were but they were in behind the reef and quite close to shore and they advised the holding wasn’t the best. So we came back to where two other yachts were anchored. We could see the reef so at 2.50 we anchored in 12.5 metres and went back to 9m and the anchor dug in well to sand. We jumped off the back of the boat and swam towing Bob to the reef and had a good snorkel. Really interesting reef – lots of nemos and soft coral with some quite good hard stuff too with more colour than we have seen in a while. Saw a huge coral trout – red with yellow spots and then I saw my first black tipped reef shark which took off in alarm at our approach. I was yelling under water and pointing but the skipper thought I was pointing and getting excited about the coral trout (as if!!). Stayed in for a little while but decided that was enough snorkelling and excitement for one day!! We went ashore with Cilantro and Wavesweeper and walked the length of the road in the town of Telek Tekek. We watched the police playing volleyball but instead of using their hands they use their feet – would take your head off if they kicked you!!! Then came back to the pirate bar on the beach for sundowners and then went to the Chinese restaurant for dinner and had an excellent meal including a bottle of wine purchased at the duty free next door. Tioman Island is where they made the musical South Pacific. It is mountainous and covered in jungle – extremely picturesque. It is fascinating to watch the planes come in to land as they bank very sharply to miss the mountain (and Braveheart!) and look as though they are going to fly into the hill and then land at the shortish runway. The town is a long road with mini marts, a few duty free shops (not as cheap as Langkawi) and souvenir shops. Out of town there are a couple of resorts and a golf course
Miles: 18 TTT: 652

Wednesday 18 May – Telek Tekek Tiomans
Congratulations to Amber and Josh on their engagement!
We have a few big boats come past from the mainland which gives us a bit of a rockup but otherwise we are quite comfy here. Took the dinghies into the marina and checked out the airport duty free. Ran into Braveheart who have their daughter and son in law and granddaughter Amber and her new fiance Josh on board. Amber and Josh are only here for a few days. Amber did the Indonesian rally with Chris and Judy. Anyway it was big congratulations to Amber and Josh on their engagement. They went off on a 4WD trip over the island which they later reported was quite scary. Sandra, May and I left the boys and checked all the shops/stores out along the road then met up with the boys for lunch. We went to the Chinese seafood restaurant on the beach. The beers were the cheapest we had found but the meals were expensive so we just ate local food which was more economic. We came back to the boats and Peter and I snorkelled the reef off the back of our boat for about ¾ hr. We saw a stingray with the blue dots and three of the biggest coral trout ever and it was a really great snorkel. We all ended up at the Chinese again for dinner.

Thursday 19 May – Telek Tekek, Tiomans
It blew up quit windy and as we had been sitting in 18.5m of water last night we stayed (it is spring tides) aboard for the morning and I had a cleanup. Cilantro were finally able to get their gas tank filled. Had a snorkel off the back of the boat and found that I have worn out my first pair of flippers!!! Late in the afternoon we went for a walk up over the hill past the beautiful golf course to a pretty ritzy resort so walked though and had a look. We saw a huge monitor lizard walking in a shallow creek and there were a few monkey hanging around the resort. As we walked back up the hill there were a couple of families of monkeys on the side of the road. They can be a bit daunting as they come towards you expecting to be fed. So we crossed the road and there were more. Anyway they were friendly enough. Most of the eateries werec losed except the chinese so we came back to the boat and ate on board. As we were coming out just on dusk the water was crystal clear and you could really see the coral.

Friday 20 May – Telek Tekek, Tiomans
Went ashore and did some shopping. It is very hot in the little town and also in the marina (one of the boats has reported rats!). When we came back we could see dolphins leaping out of the water – lovely to see. Had a swim off the back of the boat and watched a heap of rally boats come in. At 5 we went ashore with Cilantro and met up with Braveheart and walked towards the other end of the island. This appeared to be the backpacker end. We had a happy hour drink at a bar then found a restaurant for dinner. It was up the side of the hill with a lovely outlook but the food was ordinary. As we walked back the place was just coming to life and the atmosphere was very laid back and really friendly with a totally different feel to the other end of town. It was a really enjoyable walk back under the street lights.

Feeling more relaxed and enjoying this beautiful island.

Week 5

Miss you all (hugs and kisses to Jessie, Charlie and Rosie)

Love

Dell and Peter

WEEK 4 – Harbour Marina to Tanjung Leman

2011-05-18T09:24:00.003+10:00

Friday 6 May – Peturi Harbour Marina
We had a rally briefing and then all sorts of cultural shows and music with samples of games the Malaysians play and some martial arts displays – it was lovely to see the girls being a part of the martial arts and music. It finished around 6 so we adjourned to C arm of the marina where our boat is and had an impromptu get together and most of the rally participants turned up and it turned out to be a really good night.

Saturday 7 May – Peturi Harbour Marina
Sandra had booked us a water taxi to Danga Bay. Seven of us were going to visit Whistle Down The Wind and Single Malt who were at Danga and three others came along for the ride. We hopped into one boat and started going out then we had to go back and change boats. But finally we did the 20 minute fast trip (1 hr by yacht!) to Danga Bay and we all went aboard Single Malt including Dave and Jean from WDTW and we had a wonderful few hours catching up on everyone’s news. It was great to see them again. We left at 2pm and Sandra, May and the crew aught a taxi to the shopping centre. May needed some last minute stores and we needed to top up the phone and internet. We got back around 5.30 and the cocktail party started at 6. The marina put on free beer for us down at the waterfront then at 7.30 we went up to where they had set up a huge marquee with large tables and the most magnificent buffet. They had a few decorated ice carvings and the place looked great. It is also the only place where you followed a red carpet to the loo!!! The dignitaries turned up and then we had cultural dancing – wonderful costumes interspersed with a great band and a bloke who could play the clarinet just like Kenny G. When the meal was finished Gary off Neptune II joined the band playing his saxophone and everyone got up dancing. When the dignitaries left the remaining beer was brought up – the dinner had been no alcohol. It was a really great night.

Sunday 8 May – Singapore trip – almost arrested!!!
We caught the shuttle at 9.30 to the bus station where we caught the bus to the border with Singapore. When you get there you have to dive off the bus race through, get checked out and get back on the bus before it goes – it doesn’t wait. Then the bus takes you over the border and repeat the sequence. We all went racing in and filled in our entry cards – all only carrying a small overnight backpack and were in such a hurry none of us read the signs. Peter put his cigarette lighters through the xray machine and then the bloke searched our backpack. He searched another yacht’s bag and he had a half bottle of scotch in and a water bottle but they only found the water bottle. We all went through but the bloke asked Peter if he smoked and of course he pulls out his open pouch of tobacco. Turns out that the signs said it is zero tobacco and alcohol and they must be declared. The next thing Peter is marched off and disappeared into an office. After about 15 minutes he was taken through to another office and I had no idea what was going on. He was given a lecture and was told if he had come in last week with tobacco it would have constituted trafficking and he would have been arrested but they gave him the benefit of the doubt and charged him $19 duty. Not a good start to the visit. Of course then we had to wait half an hour for another bus which took us to the train station where we caught the train to Little India where Cilantro had booked us rooms in a hotel. We checked in then had Indian for lunch then caught the train to Santosa Island which is basically a big theme park. We went through to the beach and had a ride on the little train which drives to the attractions but only in the beach area. So we walked along the rainforest walk and found the casino which I as keen to see but they have a very strict dress code and we weren’t!!! So we didn’t go in. We took the travelator back across the river and then the train to China Town. This was a great place. All the streets were decorated with lanterns and heaps of little stalls. So we parked the boys at a bar with cheap beer and Sandra and I went shopping. When we came back we went to a restaurant where they set up a big table for 7 in the street – Wavesweeper joined us – the 7th person didn’t – the atmosphere was wonderful and we had a lovely evening.

Monday 9 May – Singapore to Peturi Harbour Marina
We breakfasted on Indian then visited a couple of chandleries and then hurried back so we could attend the 5pm technical briefing and the 6pm barbeque. We got back at 3 and our diesel was delivered so we sorted ourselves out and went to check out and pay. Cilantro didn’t get their gas and Wavesweeper didn’t get his fuel and then we found out that the briefing had been at 9am and the barbie3 didnt start till 8 so we could have had another few hours in Singapore to shop which would have been nice. Wavesweeper finally got his fuel and Peturi will bring Cilantro’s gas to the next stop. We went for the barbie and free beer and had a great night. We met young Ena, one of the staff and she was a very entertaining and astute young lady who kept us very entertained. We were surprised to learn that she is Muslim – no veil or anything – just a lovely normal person. Fantastic night and the staff were great – right down to the lovely little security guy on the gate.

From 2011-05-18

Tuesday 10 May – Peturi Harbour – Teluk Punggai
01°23.179N / 104°17.665E
We left the marina around 7am followed by about five other boats and five minutes into the river we got hit by a squall!! Thunder, lightning, wind, visibility was about 500m but we couldnt see the bridge. A bolt of lightning hit the water just ahead of us so the crew decided to stand in the companionway. It lasted about half an hour. We headed out into the straits of Singapore dodging and weaving big ships, barges, cargoes etc. A Singaporean police boat went past us all at speed sending out a huge wake and sending us all rolling heavily from side to side. Cilantro went over at least 45° - looked very scary – and all our apples went all over the floor, so bruised apples courtesy of the Singapore police! After that if we saw a huge wake we just turned into it where we just went up and down. There was some rubbish in the water – we hit one bit of wood and the crew had to go forward to find the best way through the debris in the current line. We all made it around Singapore and anchored in an inlet on the SE coast of Malaysia at 5.20pm. There were 12 boats in all. It was a bit rolly when we got there but it settled down and we had a good night. It was a tiring day.
Miles: 63 TTT: 574

Wednesday 11 May – Teluk Punggai – Tanjung Leman
02°08.845N / 104°00.885E
Boats started leaving at 6.30. We got away around 6.50 and motor sailed with hardly any wind. We put the spinnaker up but it flopped after about 15 minutes but we tried again later and it flew. We were able to slow the motor considerably and went along comfortably for an hour or two but then we noticed a big cloud above us and lightning in the distance so we pulled the spinnaker down just to be safe. Cilantro was ahead of us and they left theirs up all the way to the anchorage. We anchored off a beach with 14 other boats and had a quiet night. There was a slight swell but nothing bothersome. There are heaps of brown jellyfish in the water with very long tentacles – some 2 metres long. They are about the size of a small dinner plate and look really mean!

Miles: 49 TTT: 623
Thursday 12 May – Tanjung Leman
Well it was a dull old day and Peter wasn’t feeling well so he decided not to go on the tour. We found out the breakfast wasn’t on so ate first. The Peturi Harbour boat came round to collect everyone but it is a big boat and a bit of a swell was running. They picked Cilantro up without trouble then I hopped in Bob (dinghy) and Peter let the line out so they collected me from Bob which was easy. They had a bit of trouble at the next boat and gave him a knock fore and aft. They were trying to pick him up from the swelly side. That bloke elected to take his own dinghy in. Anyway we were all finally deposited at the dock. The only things there are a big KFC and a small shop! There were two huge buses awaiting us and there were only about 15 people in each. Off we went with the tour guide giving a running commentary about the oil palms which stretched as far as the eye could see and the Malaysian way of life in general. We took a wrong turn and backed up and then came to a road block so Bond (from Peturi) just jumped out and moved it. He moved the next one too and we went to a beautiful fruit farm where we were taken through the magnificent orchard and shown all the different herbs and fruit growing. At the end we were give a banquet of different fruits to try. This seemed to appease those who hadn’t had breakfast before they left! Then we were taken to a fishing village on a huge river to Bob’s Homestay where they had arranged a mock wedding for us. Some ladies beat the drums following the bride and groom and then the children did some dancing. Then we had a wonderful meal and more dancing which we joined in. We were shown how to bless the bride and groom which constituted flicking water on them and then throwing rose petals on them. Bob’s real name was extremely long so he called himself Bob and as he is retired and stays at home he calls his place a homestay – he does have four cabins/chalets to rent. Back on the bus and I sat with Bond for some interesting conversation on the big bird buildings (built to get the birds nests) and expensive lizards among other things. We got back to a ‘high tea’ which I think was the breakfast we were supposed to have this morning!! Then the big boat took us back to our boats. It seemed such a lot of bother. Peter waited in Bob to help me out and it was easy. It had rained most of the day on our boats and there had been a huge thunderstorm with lightning hitting the water around the boats and zero visibility! Peter had been working and wired in two fans in our bedroom and the inverter. He was feeling better. At 7.30 we collected Cilantro in Bob (seemed easier than getting collected) and went ashore for the barbeque. We had a really good feed and a lovely evening all courtesy of the Puteri Harbour marina.

Friday 13 May – Tanjung Leman to Sibu Island
02°13.573N / 104°02.991E
A lovely day today, the sea is so calm and he horizon blending in with the sea. Most of the boats have left. Today we are going over to the islands opposite here. It is supposed to be crystal clear water and lovely. It is only five miles away so there is no hurry to leave. And our next rally stop is only about 40 miles and we have a week to get there so some time for a rest!! We upanchored at 11.30 and motored to the island of Sibu. We were going to anchor in a lovely bay but it got too shallow so came further north to the NW corner of the island at 1pm. Peter serviced the outboard then we went across to Cilantro for sundowners. There were 5 boats in.
Miles: 5 TTT: 628

Hoping you are all well. Thank you Tammy for your kind thoughts.
Miss you all
Dell and Peter

WEEK 3 - Bernham River to Puteri Harbour Marina

2011-05-08T09:22:00.001+10:00

Saturday 30 April – Bernham River to Port Klang
03°02.461N / 101°20.331E
We left at 7am. Braveheart called us up to say that they had been up since 1am as a big tree had lodged itself on their bridle (to their anchor) (Braveheart is a catamaran). They had to cut the bridle and put out a stern anchor so when the current changed at 3am and the boat turned the tree would drift out. Meanwhile they don’t know how much scratching they got on their lovely new paintwork. We followed our track out of the channel followed by four other boats. It was a still day and we motored till about 3pm when a fair wind came up and we were all finally able to sail – we were doing 6.5 knots. When we came out we could see a storm further out to sea so we tracked it on the radar and kept an eye on it and were able to clear it – just caught the edge with about 20 mins of light rain. As we were coming in to the channel towards Port Klang we were going to go between two big ships when one of them started its engine, pulled up anchor and went in front of us! It was late when we came into the river at Port Klang which is the biggest port in Malaysia with heaps of huge ships and infrastructure and wharves all along the bank on the other side of the river. We dropped anchor but it didn’t hold so pulled up to retry and found we had anchored on a plastic bag! We finally anchored at 6.30pm – it was a long day.
Miles: 64 TTT: 282

Sunday 1 May – Port Klang to Port Dixon
02°31.089N / 101°48.267E
We upanchored at 7am and motored for two hours up the river – there are wharves all the way along loading and unloading huge ships. Each ship has hundreds of containers and each container is brought in by truck. We were on the opposite side of the river but were in danger of being run down by an Indonesian boat – they don’t like to deviate from their course – so we shot across in front of three huge incoming ships and went out the opposite side changing course to avoid a net. Then the crew had to stand at the bow to guide us through a heap of floating rubbish. We motored with the sea like glass with no wind and the horizon blended in with the sea. We have seen some pretty nasty looking jellyfish with very long tentacles. We could see the ships in the shipping lane of the Malacca Strait. They go up the starboard side and down the port side and we can hear them talking on the radio discussing which side they are going to overtake on. The wind came up in the afternoon and we motored with all sails up against the current. We arrived at our anchorage at 5.20pm which was up a channel between an island and the mainland with some large barges and fishing boats on buoys. We passed two oil platforms on the way in and there was a large block of units – either unfinished or abandoned close on shore and huge resorts a lot further in on the beach. It is always stressful coming in to new places especially when the skipper says ‘cant turn left where is the spanner’. The crew doesn’t know where the spanner is and does circles to the right while the skipper locates the spanner and tightens the screw to the tiller. We had replaced the screw but over time with the self steerer it works loose and we had forgotten to check it since Thailand!!! We anchored beside a dirty great barge but the crew wasn’t happy so when Cilantro and Braveheart came in we moved further back. The skipper warned Sandra of a rope in the water and she thought he said rock and they did an impressive about turn! Through the night we heard someone calling Pacific Express on the radio so Peter answered and it was a cargo boat wanting to know our intentions. Peter said we are at anchor –He said you are at anchor?? Peter explained we are a yacht at anchor – he said sorry must have the wrong boat! We think there must be a cargo boat out there called Pacific Express – we think we must have confused them!! The water settled down and it was really calm until about 3am when the crew awoke the skipper to tie Bob (dinghy) down on the deck. Then the wind came up and the waves got big and we were rolling from side to side (shades of Hummocky!!!!) The radar showed a big storm just to the south of us – in fact exactly over the area where we had considered anchoring. It was very scary for a while and plates flew on the floor though they didn’t break. In fact it was terrifying until we realised it was not going to hit us and then we downgraded it to scary. The skipper sat anchor watch while the crew tried to stay in one place in bed. We then downgraded it to just really rolly about 4.30 and the skipper came back to bed but didn’t really sleep!
Miles: 57 TTT: 339

Monday 2 May – Port Dixon – Pulau Besar
02°07.254N / 102°19.902E
We got up at 7am after a fairly sleepless morning still rocking and rolling. We checked the radar for storms and upanchored at 7.15 accompanied by Cilantro. Braveheart are to go into the marina as they are having guests arrive tonight. It was a little bit rocky as we went along but it soon settled and we were able to get breakfast and clean up. There is lots of wood and debris in the water. We just avoided a big log which gave us a bump on the side. We can try to avoid what we can see but sometimes we miss it or there is something just under the surface so I guess there is a certain amount of luck to it too. Also avoiding fishing nets. Seeing oil refineries yesterday and today. We finally passed Malacca. We cant go in there as the marina has pretty much been blown away by the Sumatras (huge storms) experienced on this coast. We went to our previous anchorage on the Water Islands but the wind mysteriously had decided to come from the South which wasn’t good and Cilantro reported the northern anchorage was ok. As we came in we could see a yacht (who was the first yacht in) having discussions with a large catamaran who had anchored close to him. The yacht decided to move as the cat refused to. We anchored in the middle had dinner and I am now writing this by torchlight as we wait for the storm to hit. All the computers and radios have been put in the oven. Lightning and thunder and we think the cat is dragging. All in darkness. Peter thinks we are seeing a Sumatra form – sound of wind scary! The lightning was spectacular, the boat bucked we had all our chain out and we all held except for the cat who dragged towards Full Flight behind him. They not only had to contend with the storm but a huge cat bearing down on them who was not answering his radio. I guess this is what is called a Sumatra and Malacca is renowned for them. The crew stayed below looking out the companionway – there is such a thing as too much stress!!!! Anyway thunder, lightning moving off, just raining, seas calming. Will be glad to get off this coast – there are not too may bolt holes. A peaceful night anyway.
Miles: 63 TTT: 402

Tuesday 3 May – Pulau Besar – Pulau Pisang
01°27.930N / 103°16.455E
Happy Birthday May
We read an interesting fact today that the months of April and May have around 21 thunderstorms a month! We left at 6.30am in calm conditions for a very long day. We motored with the headsail out – we usually run the motor at 1800 revs but today we ran at 2000 revs to get as far as we can before the current turns against us. Seas were calm and we were quite close to the shipping lane. At one point we had to take a sharp turn to the left and motor about a mile to get around a very long net which had white floats all the way along it. The crew made muffins (remembered to get the instruments out of the oven first!) and knitted. During the afternoon we were able to get the main and the headsail out and pull back a bit on the revs. Once again we did the float around the island thing looking for a good anchorage. The sky was threatening and the wind was building but we couldn’t see anything on the radar. Harmonica was in the middle but was rolling quite badly. No one wanted to anchor near the cat which seemed to have pride of place. We came through a channel between two islands in 25 metres and when we turned in it went sharply to 17, 13, 10, 8, 5, 2.9m which is when we turned away!! The crew is having panic attacks in shallow depths! Horrible. Anyway we went around the cat but came back and anchored beside Full Flight at 6.15pm We dropped in 9m and went back to 17 which wasn’t ideal. When Cilantro came in we both went back through the channel around the little island which was so calm but in a storm it would have been a lee shore. So we came back around and the skipper brought us through the shallows – 2.9 – 4m while the crew didn’t look. In the end we went back to a spot which appeared to be between two currents between the islands – the currents ran either side and we were quite comfortable. We finally anchored at 7.15 on dark after an incredibly long and tiring day. We had an instant meal for dinner!! We could hear the cargo ships calling each other up. Then we heard one captain in a state of panic wanting to know the intentions of the other ship. After a bit of a conversation the second ship said tell him f.... him. I don’t think the panicked captain would have found it amusing but it sure made us laugh!!!!
Miles: 74 TTT: 476

Wednesday 4 May – Pulau Pisang to Peturi Harbour Marina
01°25.097N / 103°39.438E
At about 3am we were awoken by the alarm – only it wasn’t – it was the mobile phone going flat!! Anyway had a good night with no storms and left at 7.30am. Today is be kind to ourselves day so we are motoring very slowly beside Cilantro who actually looks a little sad at the moment with streaks of dirt all down her sides – looks like she is crying. We are getting the swell from the big ships and there are airforce jets flying overhead. We were going to stop at an island near Singapore just 12 miles away but then we read how busy and shallow it is and decided to go through to the marina so we put on the revs and headed around towards Singapore weaving our way through anchored ships. We went up to one which was huge – 22m draft – unladen its water line was towering way above us and you could even see part of its prop sticking out of the water. The skipper had tried to minimise the AIS by having it only recognise immediate danger targets but there are so many ships around it just couldn’t cope so the chart plotter was continually shutting down and restarting – it did this last time we were here too. So we turned it off and followed Cilantro then the skipper remembered the AIS goes through the VHF radio so we turned that off and used our handheld and then were able to turn the chartplotter back on. We went under the bridge and up the channel with Malaysia on the left and Singapore on the right. Singapore has police boats at intervals and the land is military and reputed to be a live firing range. Just as we got to the entrance to the marina it started pouring rain and windy from the back. Our cockpit was soaked before we realised if we turned up into it we wouldn’t get so wet! Cilantro went in and we followed about 5 minutes later. Staff were waiting to take our lines and we were tied up in the marina by 3pm. We are next to Present – a lovely Swiss couple we have met a few times. Kristie 1 is also on our arm. We had dinner at the restaurant with Cilantro and fell into bed.
Miles: 35 TTT: 511

Thursday 5 May – Peturi Harbour Marina
Had some mosquitoes through the night so put up the mosquito nets. Judy off Braveheart ingeniously suggested threading chain round the bottom to hold them down and it works a treat. Caught the marina bus at 11am to the shopping centre. Had a look around and KFC burgers for lunch! And then did the shopping and the bus collected us at 2pm. Spent the afternoon stowing supplies. Wave Sweeper came in so we all sat and had a chat then all went to the restaurant for dinner. Its interesting talking to other boats. Seems that those that left the day before us got slammed, we had a bit of a rough trip and those that left the day after us had a good trip. Luck of the draw!! Glad the Malacca Strait is behind us. It stood up to its reputation of strong currents and raging storms with long distances between anchorages with lots of rubbish, logs and nets on the way.

Friday 6 May – Peturi Harbour Marina
Put the jerry diesel into the tank and sent the jerries off to get refilled. It is very hot so have the big fan going and the cover up shading the boat. Peter has just been looking at our charts and it seems we still have some very long days in front of us. We are just having a quiet boat day and there is a welcome reception later for the official start of the rally.

Hope you are all well – missing you
Much love
Dell and Peter
By the way if you want to see where we are try the link at the side which says where we really are - you can also check on other boats.

WEEK 2 – 23 – 29 April – Penang to Bernham River

2011-04-30T20:37:00.005+10:00

Saturday 23 April – Penang to Pulau Rimau
05°14.805N / 100°16.687E
We found out they couldn’t get the prop speed till Tuesday so we caught the bus into town and collected the deposit we had paid – had lunch then back to the shopping centre for final supplies. Saturday seems to be shopping day as all the specials were on and the centre was very busy. Got back at 4.30, told Kristy what we were doing then upanchored and headed 5 miles down the channel. We had to avoid fish nets strung between flags and then negotiate all the pylons and machinery involved in building a new bridge – it will certainly be very long when it is finished. We anchored off Rinau Island with Cilantro, Braveheart and Spirit of Rio. A pleasant night and it will give us a head start for our long journey tomorrow.
Miles 5 Total This Trip 108 NM

Sunday 24 April – Pulau Rimau to Pulau Talang
04°25.267N / 100°34.709E
We left at daybreak around 6.45am. It was calm all morning and we counted around 100 fishing boats. Later in the morning we encountered slightly bigger fishing boats who operated in pairs towing a net between them so we were very careful not to go between them! Around lunch time the wind came up so we were able to have the main and headsail up but also motored as well. We anchored at 6pm on the eastern side of Pulau Talang
Miles 58 TTT 166 NM

Monday 25 April – Pulau Talang to Pangkor Island Marina
04°12.7N / 100°35.96E
We left at 7.30am and motored towards Pangkor Island marina. As we came opposite Pangkor Island we could see a large navy ship which had obviously come to grief. The front part was sticking up in the air and the back was under water with the middle of the infrastructure all broken. It looked as though therecould have been a fire – it had obviously been there for some time. We called up James from the marina and he told us the point to wait for him. As we were waiting we saw Braveheart come around from behind Pangkor Island so we waited for them too then marina James led us all in through the shallows to the marina – us, Cilantro and Braveheart all in a line behind James’ runabout boat. The marina staff took our lines and we were soon all tied up to our respective fingers. This is a brand new marina and the facilities etc are still under construction but there is a bar and a restaurant and marina office and karaoke rooms! Braveheart and Cilantro joined us on our finger for sundowners then we went to the restaurant for dinner.
Miles 13 TTT 179 NM

Tuesday 26 April – Pangkor Island Marina
We had to wait for high tide then Sandra and I released Pacific Express’ lines and James and Peter motored over to the boat ramp where marina James has an ingenious contraption called a Sea Lift. It is almost like a huge boat trailer which is remote controlled. Marina James uses the remote to lift the boat up and adjust it and tilt it then drive up the boat ramp with Pacific Express perched on top!! I had some exhilarating moments as it seemed to tilt a bit much when James was adjusting it!! He took it to the top of the boat ramp and the boys washed the boat down and Peter put on some primer and then hard antifoul on to the prop. Sandra and I meanwhile, along with the couple from Nimbus, were driven to Tesco in marina James’ car by one of his lovely staff. Sandra and James came around for a drink then we went to the bar for dinner. Peter and I spent a pleasant evening on Pacific Express perched high in the air overlooking the marina.

Wednesday 27 April – Pangkor Island Marina
We were put back into the water then Peter and James brought Cilantro around and they went through the same process and were also hauled out so James could do his prop as well. Marina James had taken a couple of yachties shopping and to the Harbour Master and when he came back he brought every boat a couple of cookies- such a lovely thought. At 7pm we went to the bar for the rally dinner. There were crews from about 15 boats and the other marina guests were also invited. The food was fabulous – salad, spaghetti bol, chicken, fish, prawns, beef dishes and chicken sates and chips. So much food. It was a lovely night and they all seem to be a pretty good bunch of people so it bodes well for the rally.

Thursday 28 April – Pangkor Island Marina to Pangkor Island
Happy Birthday Sandra
04°12.621 / 100°32.970E
Peter topped up our water and had recharged the batteries and we had packed the washing away and paid the marina fees and quite a few boats had already left. Peter went to help James get Cilantro back into the water and bring her back to tie her up. We had a birthday drink with Sandra and went over to say farewell and thank marina James for his wonderful hospitality. Such a lovely lovely man and we hope he does really well with his marina. The haulout contraption (which he told us was invented by an American farmer) is a work of genious. They also lifted out a catamaran which was around 8.5m wide – quite a feat. Anyway we departed the marina on a high tide at 1.30pm and motored to the south side of Pulau Pangkor where we anchored in 5.5m at 2.50pm. Braveheart was already there as was Ches Noux and Full Flight came in after Cilantro and us. Chris from Braveheart collected us in his dinghy at 5.30 and we all went to Cilantro to have birthday drinks with Sandra and a very nice evening was had by all.
Miles : 7 TTT: 186 NM

Friday 29 April – Pulau Pangkor to Bernham River
03°50.85 / 100°49.605
Well what can one say – what an interesting day!!!!! We departed Pulau Pangkor with Cilantro at 8am. Braveheart left at 7 and texted to say get out of bed they were doing 7 knots! Ches Noux had also disappeared. We watched a little fish desperately jumping out of the water followed closer by a bigger fish jumping out of the water. It was always going to end in tears for the little guy but he put up a brave fight! It was overcast and light rain so I cooked us some breakfast and washed up and when I came up I was surprised to see that there was thunder and lightning everywhere. The wind had been behind us but all of a sudden it went to the front and we were hit with a huge storm – thunder, lightning, big seas, lots of water over the bow. Peter put on his harness and went forward to drop the main sail as it was in danger of being blown out and the rain was horizontal. It was a messy drop of the sail but under the circumstances we were just glad to have it down. The wind was so strong it was blowing spray up off the waves. Peter had trouble holding us into the waves and was only doing 1.6 knots into the wind and the rain so he had to put more revs on. Visibility was restricted to around 25 metres or less so we put all our lights on – running, navigation and masthead. We could see a boat off to the left of us on our AIS on the chartplotter so were able to stay away from him. Apparently it was a yacht which had turned back. Our depth sounder also stopped working for some time in the middle of the storm. We put our jackets on over our swimmers. We were soaked and it was quite chilly and the whole cockpit was soaked. This was the biggest storm we have ever been in. We could see it on the radar and it was huge. The storm lasted one and a half to two hours – seemed like forever and then the wind dropped a bit and the rain eased. There was also a lot of debris in the water, even a whole tree. It was only the eagle eyes of the crew (minus glasses!!!) and the quick action of the skipper which averted us hitting a large wooden pallet in the water!!! We decided to check out the river for the evening anchorage as it would have been very rough anchoring out. The depths were deeper than the chart plotter indicated and we anchored in 5 metres with two other cats which were already there and Cilantro came in after us then Braveheart. Braveheart (not the yacht that passed near us) had to turn back and run with the storm for a while. They had a lightning strike 100m away from them. Chris was hand steering with a metal steering wheel!!! I feel there will be some stories to tell when we all get together again!!!! The river is well used by fishing trawlers so we copped a bit of wash but we were just happy to be in there!!!
Miles: 32 TTT: 218

Fair winds and calm seas!
Dell and Peter

WEEK 1 – Sat 16 – Fri 22 April – Kuah to Penang

2011-04-26T17:49:00.000+10:00

I am calling this week 1 even though the rally hasn’t started yet, it is our preparation to head south to join the rally. Our time in Kuah was spent in preparing the boat and bringing on supplies.

Sat 16 April – Kuah to Fiords Langkawi
06°11.139N 99°47.204E
When we pulled the anchor up after such a long time it was entirely encrusted with barnacles so it took quite a while to chip and wash those off and then Peter had to cut away some fishing net which had wrapped around the chain. We finally got away around 10am and motored/sailed to Telaga where we took on 350 litres of diesel in the tank and 100 litres in the jerries on the deck. We then motor sailed to the fiords where Cilantro was anchored. We did about 25 miles and didn’t get in till around 5.30 so it turned out to be quite a long day.
Miles 25 Total 12,460

Sun 17 April – Langkawi to Palau Bunting
05°52.321N 100°19.405E
We left at 7.30am and motor sailed with periods of sailing till we arrived at Pulua Bunting at 3.30pm. This is where there is a big fancy causeway which goes across to the island but has never been finished.
Miles 39 Total 12,499

Mon 18 April – Palau Bunting to Penang
05°19.346N 100°18.350
Upanchored at 8am which felt like a very civilised time to leave and motored with flat seas and what little wind there was was on the nose. Went under the big bridge. Had to stand watch at the bow as there was so much rubbish in the water. We came around the island to Jerrejack and could see Helly anchored. We went right down the channel but came back and anchored near the main road and not too far from a shopping centre.
Miles 39 Total 12,538

Tuesday 19 April – Penang
Sandra and James collected us in their dinghy and we went to town on the bus. We were chasing some prop speed but Pen Marine didn’t have any. We went to the marina and saw Braveheart. The marina has lost a few berths since we were last there and some boats are sitting in mud. Not the best place to be. We walked around looking for some addresses Sandra had but didn’t really find any. Found the hardware store and our little bar. As we were walking past a little shop I saw out of the corner of my eye a man making a chair out of rattan. Peter went back to see and as he was taking some time we went to our little bar to wait. He came back with 6 metres of the rattan we have been looking everywhere for to make our cupboards. We were very pleased with ourselves! Went to James and Sandra’s little bar on the water and then went to the Red Lantern food hall for dinner. They had music with a couple singing and we were entertained watching people dance and an old man miming all the songs. As it was late we caught a taxi back to the boats only to discover that the tide was way out – springs!!! – and the beach was an incredible bog of mud! We waited half an hour and pulled the dinghy along the beach to where there was some hard sand and finally were able to get back to the boats!

Wednesday 20 April – Penang
Went to town again by bus and found the shop James had been looking for. We had actually passed it the day before. We ordered some prop speed which should be in on Saturday. We bought some toy walkie talkies to see if we could communicate with each other from the bow of the boat to the cockpit. We made sure we were back in plenty of time to catch the tide.

Thursday 21 April – Penang
Peter took James and Sandra in early in their dinghy and dropped them at the jetty and brought their dinghy to our boat. We had a boat day while James went to the Adventist hospital to see about his very painful shoulder. He saw a specialist three times through the course of the day, had an x-ray and MRI and received medication and four cortisone injections all for the princely sum of $420. Where else could one see a specialist without a wait of weeks!! Peter collected James and Sandra from the shore just in time for sundowners. It was a long day for them. Kristy 1 anchored near us.

Friday 22 April – Penang
Happy Easter all
Went ashore in the afternoon to the supermarket and got a few things. Sundowners on Cilantro.

As I type this I am sitting high in the air on our boat on the hard at Lumut. It is very hot. Tomorrow night is the rally dinner. More of that later. Meanwhile hope you have all had a happy Easter and lovely holiday.
Take care
May you always have a foot of water under your keel.
Dell and Peter

Another week gone

2011-03-25T17:11:00.000+10:00

A week spent in laying on stores and supplies, rainy weather, and dealing with bureaucracy with respect to pool fencing regs - so over the top its not funny and once again they have failed us despite upsetting our neighbours and doing everything asked of us. They are trying to keep spiderman out not 2 - 4 year olds!!! Anyway believe all the wonderful vines on our 2 metre high front wall are gone including the bouganvillea (yes I know thorns!!!) and the pool looks so aesthetically bad!!! Sooooooo stressful. And our new tenants have opted out!

Hope your week has been better than ours.

Cheers

Dell and Peter

Sat 12 to Fri 18 March - Koh Rok Nok to Kuah Malaysia

2011-03-19T16:11:00.000+10:00

Saturday 12 March –Koh Rok Nok to Koh Lipe Butangs
We left at 7am with a grey sky, grey sea and drizzling rain. Suffice to say that it was a day Peter enjoyed with much heeling of the boat and much wind – both of which I hate! Peter thought later that he really should have had a reef in the main but we hit 10 knots at one stage! Not a comfortable trip at all. Even when we came into the channel at the Butangs it was still howling and the beach where we thought would be good was untenable. The water was too rough to be able to look for rocks and reef so stayed away from the sheltered island. Went around to the beach at Koh Lipe which was lovely and beautifully calm. We just got pipped at the post by a ferry for the only buoy. The bay is full of boats, buoys and a floating platform and drops to 25-30 metres out the back. We tried anchoring but it was over coral and we waited for the ferry to go but he wasn’t in a hurry. Tried another red buoy but went down from 14m to 4.9m over reef before we even go to it so made a hasty retreat!! It was getting late so headed round Koh Lipe to another very windy channel where a lot of yachts were anchored and anchored out the back in 18 metres. Then the ferry came round and anchored in the channel!! We watched a few episodes of MASH and went to bed. A beach bar was playing beat box music and we reckon you would have heard it in Langkawi!! We closed our hatches and put in ear plugs but we could still hear it!! We eventually were able to open our hatch at 4am!!

Sun 13 March – Koh Lipe, Butangs
Still a bit windy but need a rest day and Peter is into a good book called The Historian by Elisabeth Kostova. We went ashore around lunch time and headed down the street to the beach on the other side of the island. Then walked back and had a delicious lunch. We came back to the dinghy and went to a bar on the beach and started talking to an English couple who run a guest house in Lyme Regis in England. They work nine months of the year and have January to March travelling round the world – sounds like a good lifestyle. Spent a couple of hours swapping yarns and travel stories and they commented on the loud music (and they were way over the other side of the island) then went back to the boat and watched the Prince of Persia and had home made pizzas.

Mon 14 March – Koh Lipe, Butangs
Were going to head for Langkawi but decided to spend another day catching up on computer work and Peter has a book to finish. In the middle of the night we had a huge storm come through.

Tues 15 March – Koh Lipe, Butangs
Upanchored at 8am and headed round the point but the wind and the tide were so strong we were only doing 1.3 knots and in danger of going backwards!!! Ramped up the revs and kept going thinking once we got past the island it would be ok. Two other yachts came out but they turned back and then we turned back too – conditions were just too bad. Anchored a bit further up in the channel in 17 metres and in the afternoon the wind dropped off so we had a snorkel and swam to shore. The reef is not very interesting and there are only small fish. Had a late lunch/early dinner on shore and returned to the boat for sundowners then watched Zulu again. The ferry had anchored next to us and we thought at the time he was a little close. When we came up after the movie they were fishing and catching tiddlers and keeping them and we didn’t really like how close they were. So once again we had to move in the dark through no fault of our own!!! We went within ten feet of them getting our anchor up and went back to our original position in 18 metres in the dark. Fifteen minutes later all the boats turned and he would have been over our anchor and touching us!

Wed 16 March – Koh Lipe, Butangs Thailand to Kuah, Langkawi Malaysia
We left at daybreak. It was still a bit windy and weren’t sure it would be good but we rounded the point doing in excess of 5 knots so that was a good sign. It was a bit rough and the wind was on the nose but off we went and the closer we got to Langkawi the flatter the seas and we got a bit of wind in our headsail and made really good time. We were heading for the beaches but decided to go for Kuah. Langkawi has never looked better. The island is so green, the water a lovely green and the sun is shining – just gorgeous and this is our home away from home! We anchored around 3pm and headed to Kuah town to buy some much needed wine!! (been out for a couple of weeks). Came back to the boat to drop off supplies and went to The Asian Restaurant for dinner. We both had the chicken with mango salad and shared a sambal fried rice plus one beer and one water and it came to less than $10 – magic.

Thurs 17 March – Kuah, Langkawi
Had a lazy start to the day then walked through the lovely park to check in – Immigration, Harbour Master and Customs. Sorted out our phones and internet, had lunch – Peter was thrilled with his lamb curry, then went to the supermarket and dvd shop. Unfortunately the hairdresser was closed. Took the supplies back to the boat, went to the post office then walked the back way to Kuah town. Found some great fruit and vege stores – think they must be new. Couldnt be bothered walking all the way down to the restaurants so came back and as we were walking past one of the Muslim restaurants just near the jetty we smelt chilli – quite overpowering really so we went to investigate and found out what it was so ordered it too. We got a fried rice with the fried egg on top, beef and vegetables in a kind of sweet and sour sauce and a small bowl of soup all on the same plate. Ours wasn’t quite as spicy but it was delicious – 6 Ringetts each – thats $2 each!!!! Plus orange and pineapple juice and it was $5.30 for the both of us – unbelievable! Came back to the boat and watched a movie.

Fri 18 March – Kuah, Langkawi
Boat day – tried to move stuff around but we also have to balance the boat and not put all the heavy stuff on one side so a bit of a balancing act. We could see rain coming so Peter put the water catcher up (which usually stops the rain!) and caught 210 litres of water so the tank and jerries are pretty full again and I have been told I am allowed to waste water now!!! Peter got in Bob to bail him out as he was pretty full too and had a bath before he bailed – I wish I had thought of that!!!!

We would like to congratulate Debbie and Phil on both doing so well in their triathalons – really well done guys!!!!

May you always have a foot of water under your keel

Cheers
Dell and Peter

Sat 5 to Fri 11 March Ao Chalong to Koh Roc Nok

2011-03-14T12:51:00.000+10:00

Saturday 5 March –Ao Chalong
We went ashore meaning to catch a bus to Phuket town but decided to hire a motorbike instead. We were looking for the weekend market and also somewhere to buy rattan. We went right through Phuket town and didn’t find the market so went on up to Supercheap for a last shop. Asked directions to the market but it didn’t start til 5pm. We took a shortcut through the park and found the markets then went to Big C Supermarket to fill some time and just as we pulled up who else should pull up but Braveheart! So we went for a fruitjuice and caught up on all the news. Then some shopping and back to the markets. Not all the stalls were open as it was still a little early so we walked through the whole thing. By 5pm it was getting pretty crowded so we were pleased to have gone early. Headed back to the boat and stopped at the Anchor Inn for one of their fabulous salads!

Sunday 6 March – Ao Chalong
Were going to get up early and shoot up to Big C and have the bike back by 11am but we had a bit of a late start so hired the bike for another day. Went chasing down a rattan place but it didn’t seem to exist. We had pulled over in a little town to consult the map and were watching a black ute in front of us putting caged birds in the back. We had to wait for traffic and luckily hadn’t pulled out when the black ute gunned it and took off. We think he must have thought he would scream his tyres and take off - didn’t work though and a minibus was unable to avoid him and they came together – huge scrape down the side of the minibus. We cautiously passed them and back to Big C where we bought a lot of pork to put in our freezer. They have big slabs of pork and you use tongs to pick out what you want. So our freezer is stocked up. It is difficult to find pork in Malaysia being a Muslim country. After we dealt with the meat we went back ashore and went to a couple of places we had seen which looked interesting. By the time we got back the sky looked a bit threatening so we got takeaway salad to take to the boat for dinner. It is spring tides again and the tide was way out so it was really muddy. But being the innovative things that we are we pulled ourselves along the side of a tourist boat which was tied to the shore until we could reach his line which went about 30 metres out and pulled ourselves out by that – worked really well!

Monday 7 March – Ao Chalong
We took the bike back and then went to Immigration/Customs/Harbour master to check out of Thailand. There was quite a crowd in there so it took about an hour. Good to chat to yachties you don’t know as you find out snippets of information to be tucked away. We went and did some last minute shopping and used all our coin up buying cooked chicken pieces off a roadside stall. The lady was lovely and very happy to take all the coin. We bought some fruit from a roadside stall then went to the Anchor Inn for – you guessed it – the fabulous takeaway salad. Got back to Bob about 4pm and the tide was way low so pulled ourselves out along the tourist boat rope again. Had an early dinner watching the sun go down – couldn’t actually see it as it was cloudy. Watched a dvd –Inception – which we didn’t enjoy – very strange. There are now quite a few boats around us way out here. Suspect it may have got a bit shallow for some of them further in and in fact we could see a yacht on its side – obviously ran out of water. We could smell diesel all around us – not a nice feeling but the diesel barge must have spilt a bit when he fuelled the boat in front of us.

Tuesday 8 March – Ao Chalong to Phi Phi Don
We could smell the diesel again this morning and you could actually see it on thew ater but the tide eventually took it away. We noticed that the yacht which had been on its side was gone. We upanchored at 9am and headed out of Ao Chalong for the last time. Had a lovely lunch of chicken purchased yesterday and of course the wind was on the nose so it was a motor day. It was so clear you could actually see the Phi Phi’s from our anchorage in Ao Chalong. An uneventful trip arriving at Phi Phi Don at 2.45. We went in half way up the island to check out an opening which we had seen when Brett was on board. There were two hong like openings but nothing we would like to take our boat into. As we were coming around the point to Phi Phi Don a large tourist boat passed us and he was putting out a wake at least 500metres behind him. When it hit us the waves were 1.5m high – amazing and exceedingly dangerous!!! We anchored quite a way out and could only see one other yacht further in. It was threatening rain so we stayed on board. A big storm came through but passed just north of us though we did get quite a bit of rain.

Wednesday 9 March – Ao Chalong to Ko Roc Nok
07°13’021N 099°03.606E
We awoke to lots of rocking and rolling. The swell was coming from the wrong direction. We left at 7.10 and counted 10 other yachts in. Thats the beauty of taking your house with you – you can do your housework on the way. We sailed for a few hours with a SE swell and then motored arriving at 2.30. Just as we were approaching the islands we thought we saw a fish trap but it turned out to be the fins of a pod of dolphins. Five of them swam under the nose of the boat but only briefly and then they broke away. Was wonderful to see such a large pod. We came in between the two islands and anchored on the opposite side to where we had been last time. We could see a huge weather front coming in and were pleased to be anchored out of the way. The rangers came to collect their 200 baht per person but we only had a 500 baht note and 290 bht in change. They didn’t have any change so decided to only charge us 100 baht each!! We had quite a bit of rain and the storm was all around us and just seemed to miss us. We could see a wall of water (rain) to the north. A couple of cats came in and took up buoys and a French boat came in and anchored in front of us.

Thursday 10 March – Koh Roc Nok
It was very windy through the night and very windy all day – comfortable though. A few tour boats came in at 10. We stayed on board. Peter cleaned some stainless and caught a couple of fish which kept him happy and Dell made us a 2011 calendar – finally.

Friday 11 March – Koh Roc Nok
Well wind against tide did not a comfortable night make! We bucked up and down and at times went side on and rolled. There were white caps further in front of us and when we got up all the other boats had left!! The wind kept blowing but at 12 we got in Bob and headed up towards the beach but the swell was so bad we turned back and investigated the side of both islands out of the wind. The coral didn’t look great so we didn’t bother snorkelling and came back to the boat. Saw a large puffer fish – red with white spots very pretty – who was in a spot of bother splashing around on the surface and all puffed up. Dont know if he puffed himself up too much or he got hit by a boat. Anyway there was nothing we could do for him so left him to sort himself out. Around 3pm it was a completely different story. The wind dropped off, the swell dropped and we were able to go to the beach and have a swim. This is a beach with the shining white sand and beautiful aqua clear water. We had a swim and then sat in Bob and gently floated along the shore line towards our boat. Until Peter realised he was getting bitten by sandflies (they love him!) so we started the motor and went down a bit further then jumped over for a snorkel. The coral wasn’t much and it was pretty murky. We went down aways but visibility wasn’t good and we started to get a bad feeling so we came back to the boat. Seemed we were in the current line and all sorts of nasties were floating past and then we saw something interesting so hooked it. After we managed to get all the crabs off it, who were reluctant to go, we found it was an industrial strength sling used with forklifts. Might come in handy sometime so we have kept it! Tonight four more boats have come in. Three are out the back with us (much calmer) and a big timber ketch is behind us. The boats further forward of us last night must have had a really bad time. So far tonight the weather is looking good!!

It seems we will have to haul out again before we head south. We usually cover our prop with prop speed but this time decided to use copper coating which is supposed to be very good. We had it professionally done but we are not sure if it wasn’t applied properly or it just is no good. It is supposed to last ten years but really it hasn’t lasted ten weeks and the prop already has barnacles. Anyway we don’t recommend it.

For those of you who know Ann and Bill, they are finally on the move and can be found at http://www.sailblogs.com/member/seareverie
Hope you are all well

Much Love
Dell and Peter

Sat 26 to Fri 4 March - Khao Lak to Ao Chalong

2011-03-07T12:22:00.001+10:00

Saturday 26 Feb –Khao Lak
Had a relaxing day and later in the afternoon we saw an elephant walking along the beach. Went ashore to meet with Axel and Elisabeth. We were very grateful for the floating plastic jetty as otherwise we would not have been able to get ashore. We went to the resort to keep a lookout for them and asked the waiter how much a beer was. He didn’t know but said it is happy hour sit down sir (to Dell) so we did and paid the same as normal rates elsewhere – but they did give us lovely glasses to drink out of!

From 4 Feb 2011

We met Axel and Elisabeth and went to a beachside restaurant for dinner. It was lovely to see them again and it didn’t feel like 27 years since we last met but looking at the photos of us all which Axel kindly bought along you could see that it might have been a few years!! We had a really lovely evening and we are hoping that our respective children will make contact. So good to see them. Once again on the way out we were grateful for the floating jetty!

Sunday 27 Feb – Khao Lak to Nai Harn
We left at 6.45am, motored for an hour then had a great sail for five hours. The boat was tipping which Dell hates but we were going so well we passed both destinations we had decided on and went straight through to Nai Harn. As we were passing Patong we noticed thousands of jellyfish in the water – thousands – they are bigger than a large round dinner plate and kind of like a cotton reel going in at the middle with a dinner plate on the other side and they are white, pink, some have a purple stripe and all colours between white and pink. Quite pretty really. We took Bob ashore – with terror on Dell’s part and just as we got out a wave hit and soaked Dell’s backside! Anyway had a lovely dinner at one of the little restaurants and came back to the boat without incident.

Monday 28 Feb – Nai Harn
Had a boat day – tidying and cleaning and went ashore at 4pm – made it in without incident. We found out someone had got rolled the day before (it had been his third trip in). We both had a massage which was very nice then had an early dinner and made it back without incident. Watched the final extended version of The Lord of the Rings so it was rather late when we went to bed and the wind had really come up.

Tuesday 1 March – Nai Harn
Just catching up on some work and relaxing. Still windy and so many plastic bags and a couple of fish traps have been floating past us. We have never seen so much rubbish in the bay. Have decided not to go ashore tonight – would probably get wet! So will eat on board. We could see a big storm to the east with all the silent lightning but then the wind came up and all of a sudden we had thunder, lightning and torrential rain. We had gone to bed but got up when we heard over the radio – all boats in Nai Harn – there is a cat on the loose. We went up to check and sure enough – a huge tri-catamaran had dragged all the way out and there it was just on our starboard side very close. A couple in a dinghy came out and asked us if it was still moving and we said yes so they boarded the boat. By now it had stopped dragging and it was dangerously close to us and it became clear that the people were not going to move it so we had to upanchor in the storm and go further out the back to re-anchor. There were unlit and badly lit boats around and the only way you can see them is when the lightning flashed. You could say it was a little bit stressful!!! Nai Harn has not been kind to us the year.

Wednesday 2 March – Nai Harn to Ao Chalong
The sea was a bit rolly so we upanchored and went around the point to the other side of Phuket Island. Ao Chalong is full of boats – big and small and also full of buoys so it is always a problem anchoring. We found a spot between three boats on buoys and a huge big wooden boat also on a buoy but his buoy has a big long rope and then he has a big long rope from the buoy to the boat so his swing room is enormous. We went ashore at 4pm and went to the Villa Market and bought some vegemite (and licorice)!! Then had dinner – the most magnificent huge salad – the meals at the Anchor Inn are enormous. Then Peter went to the dentist and Dell stayed to chat a while with Bach & Byte who had joined us. It was well after 8 when we started back to the boat and we could see the lightning and the dark sky. Got back to the boat about half an hour before the storm hit – timing!! We were sitting behind the huge big wooden boat and could see their TV so they were reasonably close!

Thursday 3 March – Ao Chalong
This morning we saw the most amazing thing – Peter said is that a hang glider with a boat on it. And sure enough it was a hang glider with an engine with a dinghy attached to the bottom and a person sitting in it. He bought it in to land on the water then motored to the boat ramp and drove up it – must have had some sort of wheels as well. A little later he took off and flew over us heading to another island!!! Amazing. Another thing we saw in a shop were kayaks with motors (water jet engines – no prop) in the back – Stu & Jean!!!! Good for when you get tired of paddling. Checked the weather for the day and decided to move as we were a little uneasy about the huge big boat thinking if a big blow came it would be possible for his long ropes to stretch and if we were behind him it might be a bit too close for comfort so we moved further out. Made the long trek to shore - about 1 ½ k and went to the paint store and found some paint which will do the interior of our boat and then wandered through the Home Store with all sorts of interesting things for the house. Then went back to the Anchor Inn for dinner and another one of those huge salads. It was almost dark when we headed back and dark by the time we got to the boat. It was a lovely still night with the sea like glass and we sat and watched the lights on the shore – very peaceful.

Friday 4 March – Ao Chalong
Caught the bus to Phuket town and walked around looking in all the lovely shops and went to the Dibuk Restaurant and Peter had the squid stuffed with pork which Brett had last time - it had gone up 20bht but was just as delicious. We were supposed to take a photo of it but the camera wasn’t working! Dell had the spicy pork which was also delicious. We were going to take the bus back but a tuk tuk driver offered to take us back for 100 bht (against 60 bht) so we said ok but as soon as he had us in the tuk tuk it was ‘I will take you to three stores you don’t have to buy anything but I will get free petrol for taking you there’! We weren’t at all keen as we had been caught with this in Bangkok, however, as it turned out the three stores were fantastic and we spent quite some time in them and yes we did purchase something. But it didn’t keep the tuk tuk man happy as we needed to spend 500 Bht for him to get a free t-shirt – our purchase didn’t come to that!! We went to the Anchor Inn and had another wonderful salad.

From gekko

We are preparing to head south again as our Thai visas are up on the 8th. We may have to have another look at the East Malaysia rally as it has a 500 nm section crossing from Malaysia mainland to Borneo – thats a very long way. Meanwhile huge hugs for Jessie, Charlie and Rosie – miss you all terribly. And a big hullo to Aunti Lottie in Germany!

Calm Seas and Fair Winds
Dell and Peter

Sat 19 to Fri 25 Feb Surin Isles to Khao Lak

2011-02-27T18:21:00.004+10:00

Saturday 19 Feb –Surins
We had a really rough night with the swell coming through. A fishing boat had left the big yellow buoy in front of Cilantro so we headed over and took that one up. We jumped in Bob and went up through the channel where the really good coral was supposed to be but it was all dead so we didn’t bother snorkelling. Went back to the beach where we had first been and snorkelled there but the coral was all dead and there weren’t many fish. So we tried the other side near the boats but it was the same. A yacht left so we moved buoys a bit closer in away from where all the fishing boats raft up and give their catch to the waiting boat which must then deliver it to the market. Had sundowners with Cilantro and planned for next day. The Surins were a big disappointment.

Sunday 20 Feb – Surins – Koh Bungu Similan Islands
08°40.524N 097°38.737E
We left at 6.45 in sloppy seas with no wind so we motored. We put the spinnaker up but it was only up for 15 minutes then it fell in the water! Peter hooked a 5 ft wahoo and got it to the back of the boat – biggest fish we have ever seen – but it bit through the wire trace when he tried to gaff it. We tied up on a buoy at Koh Bangu at 4.15. There were fish everywhere under the boat so we jumped in to watch them – big fish and all different sorts. A lady of the German yacht next to us snorkelled by following a turtle and it came right up to her about a foot away from her face. Really beautiful turtle. A lovely place. The rangers came out and collected 400 bht each ($13) and 100 bht for the boat per day. We had a quiet night on board with Cilantro on the next buoy.

Monday 21 Feb – Koh Bungu
At 10am all the speedboats came in and bought heaps of snorkelers. We had a snorkel at lunch time when they had left. Heaps of huge big colourful fish. The reef is pretty much dead but the fish are fabulous. In the afternoon Cilantro collected us in their dinghy and we went across the channel to Island 8 (there are 9 islands in the Similan group) which is where the ranger station is. It has a beautiful beach and big boulders all round and is full of boats and tourists. We had a look around and went up the walk to the high boulders which overlooks both islands (8 and 9). Fabulous view. We had a swim and waited till all the tour boats left – the beach was lovely without anyone on it. Had sundowners on Pacific Express.

Tuesday 22 Feb – Koh Banhu to Koh Miang (island 4) Similans
Had a snorkel at 9am – all the boats came in at 10am and they were hand feeding the turtle with bananas. This explained why the turtle was so friendly!!! We left at 12.15 and motored to Koh Miang (Island 4) where we tied up on a buoy but it was too rough. Cilantro went around the other side of the island and radioed that it was better so we went round there too and tied up to a buoy –anchoring is only allowed in really deep water. We picked Cilantro up in Bob and went to shore for a swim. It is pure white sand with clear aqua water – just gorgeous. We had sundowners on our boat watching schools of lovely fish all around the boat. Had a lovely still night.

Wednesday 23 Feb – Koh Miang Similans
Cilantro left at 6.30 to head back to the mainland. Their visa is almost up and then they return to Australia for three weeks. After they left it got really rough here so we left to circumnavigate the southern three islands. The southern one had a gorgeous beach but only one buoy and unfortunately someone was on it. Came back to Koh Miang and tied up on the buoy Cilantro had been on. Went for a snorkel and saw a huge cow fish red with white spots and also another one with army camouflage and big cow eyes. Not sure if they weren’t some sort of puffer fish or cow fish. But very pretty. Tried snorkelling in a few different places and then back to the boat. The seas have settled a bit but it is still rocky.

Thursday 24 Feb – Koh Miang to Ban Thap Lamu
08°34.144N 098°13.032E
Woke at 2am with very strong winds and lightning high in the clouds all around us but no thunder. The large ketch anchored next to us started dragging backwards at a great rate of knots. We could hear thunder but the storm passed about 10 miles south of us. Daylight found us side on to the swell and rolling quite a bit so dropped the buoy and headed for the mainland. Thought we could see small dolphins frolicking around us but we think they may have been very large tuna! It was a lumpy trip till we got closer to the mainland and then the seas flattened out. We had wind on the nose all the way but just as we were going into Khao Lak it went SW (supposed to be NE) and the sky had a strange look and the weather felt weird so we went another 10nm up to the river at Ban Thap Lamu where the naval base is. We came in a picked up a buoy (which saved us putting our anchor in the mud!) Had a really peaceful night and slept really well.

Friday 25 Feb – Ban Thap Lamu – Khao Lak
It was a beautiful day so we went across the river to the town to get our internet topped up. Its rather a smelly kind of place. The last time we were here there were heaps of fishing boats all rafted up and the river was brown. There’s not half as many boats now and the river is a lovely green. Had lunch and then headed back up to Khao Lak where we hope to catch up with Peter’s cousin from Germany. We anchored off the little plastic jetty and went in for dinner at the beach side restaurant. As soon as we got to the jetty a young man came down to ask us about the boat and where we were from as he is trying to convince his wife to go sailing. He even offered us the use of the shower in his unit! We went for a walk up the street to see a bit of the town and to work out where we are to tell Peter’s cousin Axel and his wife Elisabeth. We last saw them about 27 years ago when we visited them in Germany. We came back and had a lovely dinner chatting to the couple at the table next door as they would like to have a sailing holiday here in December.

Well we have booked ourselves on the Sail Malaysia rally to the East leaving at the end of April. It will take us down the west coast of Malaysia and half way up the east coast and then across to Borneo – Sarawak and Sabah. If you are interested the website is www.sailmalaysia.net. There is also the Rainforest World Music Festival on in July in Kuching (www.rainforestmusic-borneo.com) so have bought three day passes for that. The rally ends in August. There are quite a few boats that we know doing it and at the end of it will be decision time for us all as to which direction we go next.

Meanwhile take care.
Calm seas be careful what you wish for!!
Dell and Peter

Sat 12 to Fri 18 Feb - Koh Phayam to Surin Isles

2011-02-21T14:49:00.002+10:00

Saturday 12 Feb - Koh Phayam
Bit blowy but sunny. Went ashore at 11 and walked to the middle of the beach where a cement path went up. There are no roads, just wide footpaths and no cars only motorbikes. People are taken to their rooms by motorbike taxi. It was a beautiful walk with a few shops/stores along the way and we noticed lots of cashew nut trees. The nut grows at the end of a fruit. Peter tried to bite the cashew out if its shell but his mouth started burning - we have since found out that they are poisonous! We saw the nuts laid out to dry and then we came across a lady who was shelling them with a machine operated by foot pedal. There are lots of large solar panels everywhere. Also a lot of rubber trees. We walked about 5 km. Stopped at halfway and had a wonderful pineapple shake - lots of ice - which helped soother Peter's lips!!! There are two piers at the village - one has a Bhuddist temple at the end of it and the other is where the tour boats come in. We had a lovely lunch and could see a squirrel in a cage in the street - next thing the people took it down and were kicking it around with the poor little squirrel in it - looked terribly cruel. Then they poured water over it. Seems that it had got covered in green ants and they were trying to get them off - sadly the poor little thing died - was horrible. We took another footpath back - not so well used by bikes and no shops but very interesting - lots of huts where people lived and the odd mansion and we came back out on to the beach at the other end. Came back with a few beer stops and ended up at the Hornbill again where we sat and watched the sun set and shared a couple of appetisers which thankfully were huge. We were sitting on plastic chairs and James got his caught in a crack in the floor and he went over flat on his back! We adjourned to the Froggy restaurant where we were warned that there would be a bit of a wait as they were serving about six people on another table. To cut a long story short we waited 1 ½ hrs watching the other table get heaps of food. When we finally got ours it was very small and one of the worst meals we have ever had. And it was also expensive. The crispy tuna salad appeared to be the dregs that float on the top of the fryer and was totally inedible. The cat even ran away! So our early night ended up very late and was a disappointing finish to a wonderful day.

Sunday 13 Feb - Koh Phayam
Had a very late start to the day then Mandolin Wind called us up on the radio so we waited till they and Braveheart got in. Saw something spiralling towards the water from a great height and were amazed to see it was two eagles joined together just spiralling down. When they were almost at the water they pulled apart and flew away. We went ashore at 2pm. Sandra and Dell walked to the shops up the footpath and bought some sandles, cakes and cashewnuts while the boys settled into a bar. It was a lot hotter today. We walked back to our dinghies and had a swim. At 6.30 we collected Cilantro and met up with Braveheart and Mandolin Wind so all went to the Hornbill restaurant and another English couple joined us. We are amazed at how people actually find these wonderful little out of the way places. It is by no means crowded but all the little huts and units seem to be full. It is a really laid back place. We had a lovely night. As we were coming out in Bob the only wave for the day broke over us and Sandra and Dell got soaked. But a lovely day.

Monday 14 Feb - Koh Phayam
Moved around to Buffalo Bay just around the corner. It is really pretty and is more protected with rocks at the back. Nimbus, Jellyfish and Alpha Centauri are all here. Apparently there had been a village here but it got wiped out by the tsunami so the Government built the village over the other side of the bay and the beach is now laid back little resorts and cabins. The hippy bar has been build out of scraps of wood from the sea. While we were hanging the washing we started hearing shouts for help. We could see a girl pushing through the water to shore and there was a snorkeller behind her. Then we heard what she was saying - help my boyfriend has disappeared and has not come up. So all the dinghies from all the yachts came and we were doing a bit of a grid search. The girl came out in a Thai boat from shore and one of the lads jumped in so we gave him our snorkel. It was becoming pretty clear by now that we were searching for a body and it was the most awful feeling and then there was a shout from out in the bay and there he was on a kayak. The girl was in the most awful case of shock and had cut her feet up pretty badly. When we went ashore a bit later to the hippy bar they turned up to buy us all a beer. Turned out he had followed a snorkeller to shore thinking it was her and when he found it wasn't he had gone to get the kayak to look for her. She meanwhile had followed someone else and when she realised it wasn't him and couldn't find him she panicked. Anyway alls well that ends well and we were all much relieved to see him. We joined Cilantro and Nimbus for dinner at Mr Goa's which was very pleasant indeed. While we walked along the beach a few dogs started howling and being very vocal then dogs came from everywhere and they all had a dog convention all howling for about five minutes and then they appeared happy and dispersed! Very strange.

Tuesday 15 Feb - Koh Phayam
We went to shore at 10.30 and together with Cilantro followed a hard dirt track through the jungle over the saddle in the hill. The jungle was very cool and we saw some monkeys but they ran away - seemed afraid of man. We came out on another beautiful beach with a restaurant and some cabins. One cabin was built on the rocks at the end of the beach - what a perfect spot! We walked the beach then had a swim. The water got deep rather quickly and while we were talking a big pike fish leapt out of the water behind James and Sandra startling all of us including the fish. We adjourned to the restaurant and had a lovely lunch then walked back up through the jungle. There were lots of little offshoot tracks leading down to the various resorts and restaurants. We walked till the track turned into a concrete road and then headed in to the Concept restaurant which was perched on the top of a cliff. It was very rocky offshore here. It was so lovely and cool so we had a drink then went down the stairs and walked around the headland on the rocks along the beach back to our dinghies where we had another swim and then joined Braveheart in a restaurant for a sundowner. We all adjourned back to our boats and met ashore for dinner with Cilantro, Braveheart and Mandolin Wind. Another pleasant evening.

Wednesday 16 Feb - Koh Phaya
Met Cilantro ashore at 1 and walked to the village to buy some fruit for the next section of our journey. We managed to get some warm bread rolls then walked back via the temple jetty. Sandra and James took their supplies back to their boat while we walked down to the Australian's shop to get information re Koh Chang which is the next island up. Unfortunatley they were closed so walked back and met Cilantro and Alpha Centauri at the restaurant. We had a lovely meal and saw the biggest gecko - red spots all over him. They feed him chicken and we didn't have the camera!!! He makes a very loud ge-ko sound.

Thursday 17 Feb - Koh Phayam to Koh Chang
09°50.846N 098°26.347E
We left at 10am and headed 5miles further up to Koh Chang. This is only 2 1/2miles from the Burmese border. We passed a Thai destroyer on the way. We went in between the marked rocks and the beach and it suddenly went very shallow. We think the rocks must continue to the beach. Got back into 7 metres and anchored quite close to the beach. The sand was black and not as nice as Phayam but very laid back. Restaurants and cabins on the beach. We decided to go for a walk but had trouble locating the path. Walked to a dam and instead of tracing our steps we went on and fournd the pier but there were no further footpaths. Suffice to say we walked for four hours - found the gypsy village down a little dirt track through jungle - we didn't mean to find it!!!! Anyway we eventually found our way back to the beach - saw some hornbill birds. Had a beer in three different restaurants - we were gasping and then went back to the first one to eat. Had a lovely meal then an early night!!

Friday 18 Feb - Koh Chang to Surins
Left at 7am and headed out and followed the red line of the border with Burma on the chartplotter. Caused a bit of a dog leg but though it was better to be safe than sorry!! Motored all day- light winds but not in the right direction. Peter actually caught his first fish in 18 months - an 81cm Spanish mackerel. Fish for dinner! We arrived at the Surin Islands (3 clustered islands) at 3.30. Cilantro picked up a big yellow buoy and we went to the other side of the bay and picked up a red buoy not too far from the beach so we are in a top spot.

Hoping you are all well - missing you

Calm seas but a bit of wind would be good
Dell and Peter

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5 – 11 February – Koh Muk to Koh Phayam

2011-02-13T15:15:00.000+10:00

Saturday 5 Feb– Koh Muk to Panwa Bali
Left at 6.30am & stopped at 11.30 to put Bob on board as he was slowing us down. Had a good sail day with intermittent motoring. Peter saw a sailfish break the water. We checked out the fishing island Ko Mai Thon but it was a very small anchorage so we kept going to Panwa Bali which is opposite Ao Chalong and anchored at 5.30pm next to Cilantro who rowed over for sundowners.

Sunday 6 Feb – Panwa Bali to Ko Racha Yai
Unanchored at 10am heading to Ko Racha Yai which was two hours away. It was a very rough trip over but we sailed all the way. A very pretty bay with crystal clear water but awash with tour boats. We anchored and waited till the tour boats left and then went ashore. Tied up to the floating jetty as it was too rocky to get to the beach. There is quite an exclusive resort so everything was expensive, even the beachside bars. As Peter was walking along the path a huge monitor lizard was ambling along in front of him. Apparently there are a lot on this island. We walked to the other side of the island where the bay is too shallow and rocky for boats to get in and there weren’t many people around but the beers were even more expensive. Came back just on dusk and ate a mediocre meal and then back to the boats.

Monday 7 Feb- Ko Racha Yai to Nai Harn
Upanchored at 10am and did a trolling run along the island to no avail (we haven’t caught a fish forever!!!!) and then headed to a very crowded Ao Chalong where we managed to squeeze in among the other yachts. We went to check in to Thailand while Cilantro went to retrieve their dinghy and motor, both of which had been in for repair. Got back to the boats about 3.30 and proceeded around the headland to Nai Harn where we anchored for the night quite close to Braveheart. We went in Cilantro’s dinghy to shore and had a lovely meal which was a little more expensive than usual but that is the difference between high season and low season (still cheap though!!). The waves were small but breaking so it was with trepidation that Dell got in the dinghy!! But we made it out without mishap!

Tuesday 8 February – Nai Harn to Ao Bang Tao
Departed at 8am for Patong – not much wind so motor sailed. We walked to the supermarket and then the wet market to get our supplies then caught a tuk tuk back. Got quite wet getting into Bob to go back to the boat but we are starting to get used to that again!!! We left at 3.30 and sailed to Ao Bang Tao arriving around 5.30. Braveheart and Mandolin Wind were anchored and invited us in to dinner but we had a quiet night on board.

Wednesday 9 February – Ao Bang Tao – Kao Lak
09°10’315N 098°18’476E
Left just after 8 and went around to Nai Yang Bay and said hullo to Wavesweeper and Single Malt who had just returned from where we are going and got some good information from them. Then we continued on up the coast – sailed most of the way with intermittent motoring. Arrived at Kao Lak around 5.30. It was a strange place to get into – lots of rocks - and we had an exhilarating moment when the water shallowed up and depths went all over the place – rocks underneath we think. Went a bit further north and nudged it in to 4m just off a little floating plastic jetty. Cilantro picked us up at 6.30 and we tied up at the jetty as the beach had quite a steep drop off to the water. To the left of the jetty were lots of resorts and to the right of the jetty were lots of little restaurants on the beach. While Patong is full of Russians this place seems to have a German influence and in fact we hope to meet up with Peter’s German cousin here on our return. We walked along the beach and inspected all the menus and came back to the first one which seemed to be the most popular. We asked to see the menu and he snatched them off a couple already seated and gave to us – we hoped they had finished with them!!! We were seated at a table on the beach. We had the loveliest tastiest meal. The boys went down to the water in the dark to “inspect the sea”. The English lady asked “are they inspecting the sea!” She didn’t really but you get my drift!!!! Anyway we got talking to her and her Dutch husband and they joined us at our table It was a very enjoyable evening with very good company and we had quite a laugh. When we went back the jetty was all lit up and it was very pretty.

Thursday 10 Feb – Kao Lak – Ban Pak Chok – Happy Birthday Patrick
09°10’315N 098°18’476E
We left at 8am. We headed back out the way we came in and even then cut a corner a bit fine!! Cilantro headed up the coast through the shallow water and were mostly in 2.5m. The sea was very calm and we motored all day though we did put up our mainsails in hope. We got to the entrance to the channel behind the island of Koh Phra Thong around 1pm. We dropped the mains and we suddenly went down to 2.1m under the keel and we could see the sandy bottom. Once we got into the channel it was deep water again. We motored all the way up the channel arriving at 3.30. It was quite a pretty trip between Koh Phra Thong and the mainland and we saw something that looked as though it may once have been a dirt bunker. Must look up some history on the place. An interesting day seeing places we have never been before. We anchored in 4.3m and had such a still night. The mossies came out so we locked ourselves below with a fan and watched part 1 of The Lord of the Rings.

Friday 11 Feb – Ban Pak Chok – Ko Phayam
09°43’587N 098°23’102E
Left at 8am and went down to 1.3m under the keel on the way out. Motored till the channel came out in the ocean and we sailed for three hours then motored for a while. Two large fishing boats passed us and as they got in front we could smell them – not nice! Dodged a few fish traps – some with flags, some escaped and floating and arrived at Koh Phayam at 3.30. We are now just 6 miles from the Burmese seaward border and around 15 miles from the land border. We are at a lovely island in a sheltered bay. The beach is very hard and motor bikes go up and down it but at the high water mark the sand is lovely and soft and white. There are lots of little restaurants along the beach so we walked half way along the beach and went to one (Joker) and had a beer but couldn’t get served again to order food. So we went to the restaurant next door and ordered two dishes between the four of us then went to Hornbills and ordered another two – beautiful food. Left to try the next restaurant (Froggy) but their kitchen closed at 10 and as it was now 9.30 it was closed! Went back to the Cuisine and had another two meals and the lady told us not many tourists come because there is no air con and no TV. We had noticed a whole stack of batteries so deduced there is only self generated power. We came out to the boat in the dark but couldn’t see or hear James and Sandra so went back in to check. On the way out they had run over the line to a little red boat which was on a buoy. James said to Sandra I think we are towing that boat and sure enough the line had attached itself to them !!! So they took the boat to shore and pulled it high up on the beach – we arrived in time to help. Not sure what the owner of the red boat will say when he finds it way up the beach but at least it’s safe! The beach actually dries a long way out so at low tide its quite a way.

Well we are on our way again on a journey to new places and it feels more like we have a purpose now. Give Jessie, Charlie and our little Rosie cuddles from us – we miss them.

Calm seas and fair winds
Dell and Peter

15 Jan to 4 Feb - Thailand/Malaysia

2011-02-10T10:41:00.003+10:00

Saturday 15 Jan – Happy Birthday Kristen
We got up at 6.30 and went into the beach for a walk. Lots of people sleeping on the beach but nice and quiet and lovely to see it without the crowds. Left at 9.15 and sailed along nicely with the main and headsail - we think we have gained at least 1 – 2 knots in speed since having the boat painted. The deck used to be a pale grey but now it is white and we cant believe the difference it makes – we can actually stand on it now without it burning our feet – its fantastic. The only downside is white tends to get a bit dirty!! Sailed to Ao Chalong , shopped and had dinner at Took’s new restaurant which was a bit embarrassing as it was obvious she wasn’t ready to open yet but cooked us up a good meal anyway.

Sunday 16 Jan
Boat cleaning day getting ready for the survey we have to have on the boat before our insurance company will insure us again. Our insurance company – Yacht Sure set us adrift before Christmas and refused to cover us till we had the survey despite the fact we had paid for a year’s cover. We managed to get the third party reinstated but only after Christmas as no-one was at work. Made us wonder how hard/easy it would be to get help and make a claim! Went to the Anchor Inn for dinner – really good food.

Monday 17 Jan
Brett and I caught the bus to Phuket town – the bus is an open sided truck - and Peter picked up the surveyor. The survey took four hours and went well then Peter checked us all out of Thailand. Meanwhile Brett went to the physio and then we had a lovely lunch. Brett had squid stuffed with pork which turned out to be very nice and we wished we had taken a photo! All back on board, the weather came up a bit so Peter cooked a slap up meal and we ate on board.

Tuesday 18 Jan
We left Ao Chalong in strong winds and larger seas than we had seen in a while. The boys were fine but I went below succumbing to seasickness! The angle of the wind brought us in to Phi Phi Le but there were no spare buoys so just as we were turning away one of the boats dropped a mooring and the boys couldn’t believe their luck and picked it up immediately. We went for a snorkel as conditions were finally perfect! We saw the biggest school of parrot fish with other kinds mixed in and it was a great snorkel and a lovely evening.

Wednesday 19 Jan
Left Phi Phi Le around 9 and anchored at Ko Lanta after 12. We went ashore and found our little bar and the people remembered us from when we were there with Debbie and Phil. We were offered some snake whisky – same snakes in the bottle – they just keep topping up the whisky and so unhygenic!!! We passed on the offer. Had a swim then back to the boat and back in again for dinner. Another pleasant evening on the beach!

Thursday 20 Jan
Motor sailed to Ko Muk and then took Bob around to the Emerald cave. We managed to catch it with hardly any tourists in there. Then we went around the little rocky cove and had a swim. We have never managed to anchor here as there is always a boat in there and it is really only big enough for one boat. Went back to the boat and then to the little local restaurant on the cliff at the end of the beach and had a fabulous cheap meal and watched another gorgeous sunset.

Friday 21 Jan
Departed early and watched the most amazing sunrise – a big orange ball coming up out of the sea. We arrived at Tarutao around 3pm and anchored quite close in and went for a walk. The sandflies attacked Peter. Brett found a soccer ball (or two) washed up on the beach so we had a bit of a kick around then went for a swim to get rid of the sandflies. They stayed with Peter all the way back to the boat!!

Saturday 22 Jan
Left Tarutao and headed for Telaga in Malaysia but it was very crowded with boats and too shallow for spring tides so went to the beaches and nudged our way in and anchored in about 4m. Went ashore and had a look around and ended up eating at Raffi’s bar – best food and a lovely witty waiter named Aslan. There was a live band next door so we ended up there and had a wonderful time. When we came ashore it was low tide so took Bob up the beach and didn’t tie him off and by the time we got back to him – about 1.30am – the water was lapping at his heels!! A great night.

Sunday 23 Jan
Left the beaches around 11 and sailed around to Kuah. Peter checked us into Malaysia while Brett and I shopped. Dined at the local Chinese.

Monday 24 Jan
Saw Braveheart come in so went to say hullo. We did some shopping then met Braveheart to help them celebrate their 84th wedding anniversary – 42 years for Judy and 42 years for Chris!!

Tuesday 25 Jan
Left in a fair amount of breeze and headed back around to the beaches. Nudged in a little bit further and went into dinner at Raffis where Aslan greeted us all by name. A lovely evening.

Wednesday 26 Jan – Happy Australia Day
Headed back round to Telaga hoping to go up in the cable car. Anchored outside the anchorage, took Bob to shore and walked to the cable car, looked around then waited in line till it opened at 12. At 12 a notice went up to say that it was too windy and it wouldn’t be opening! So walked back to Bob and on the way back to the boat the outboard stopped. We thought we were going to have to row the rest of the way but we got it going again – it stopped about three times. Turned out to be dirty fuel but all fixed now. We arrived at Rebak marina and tied up to our berth, checked in, had a welcome shower and then had a slap up meal at the Hard Dock cafe.

Thursday 27 Jan
Brett finally got to go up the mast for Peter to fix a line. It was a little more exhilarating than he expected but he enjoyed the experience and got some good photos. We then caught the launch across to Langkawi, collected our hire car and found a chinese place to have some lunch. Then we took Brett to the airport for his trip home. We really enjoyed his company and I think he enjoyed his time with us – we know he really enjoyed the gastromic experience!!! He loves his food!

Friday 28 Jan – Sun 30th Jan
Started a clean up of the boat putting things where they actually go as we hadn’t had a chance to do that before and getting the boat cleaned and ship shape. Peter serviced the motor, the curtains went back up, the outboard was serviced. Dug our tv out from under the back bunk and worked out how we could install it – its been under the back bunk for almost two years!

Monday 31 Jan
Left Rebak and went back around to Kuah. Caught a taxi to collect our wine from the warehouse and ordered the beer from the jetty lady. Had a wonderful meal at the Asian restaurant and met some yachties who have been up here for some years – interesting people.

Tuesday 1 Feb
Went to town and bought a car stereo dvd / cd player and Peter installed the tv and dvd player and wired it all in so we don’t have wires hanging around everywhere. We did our shopping and found a shop selling cheap dvds. Ate on board and watched a dvd – The Sorcerers Apprentice – because we could!!

Wednesday 2 Feb – Happy Birthday Brett
Quiet boat day and a final shop for supplies.

Thursday 3 Feb
Checked out of Malaysia at 9.30 and headed to Telaga where we took on 300 litres of diesel – 690RM ($230) and headed for Tarutao. Uneventful sailing trip and anchored around 6pm. There was so much phospherence in the water. Saw five monkeys and a pig on the beach and a man camping in a tent in the bushes. Wind gusted very strongly through the night.

Friday 4 Feb
Left at 6.30am – it was just light. Had a good sail in the morning but by afternoon the wind had dropped off and we motored the rest of the way to Koh Muk arriving at 3.30pm. Went to our little restaurant on the hill for dinner. As the tide starting coming in small waves started breaking on the beach so left just on dark while we could still see the waves.

Well we have almost brought you up to date. We are at the stage where we need to do some serious cruising again. Heading up to the Burmese border and then out to the islands next week and trying to decide what we will do this year. The Eastern Malaysian rally is looking good at the moment. Quite a few boats are heading up through the Red Sea at the moment but that is something which is off our agenda. Anyway hope you all came through the cyclone ok. The weather here is coming good at last.

Take care

Dell and Peter
May the wind be always at your back

Thailand - New Year to 15 Jan

2011-01-15T18:11:00.001+10:00

New Year
We went to shore at Patong with Cilantro, Bach & Byte and Single Malt and found a restaurant where we had a meal and then went down the happening street in Patong. The place was crowded and everyone was having fun. Bach & Byte went back to the boats to watch the fireworks from there but we all stayed and wandered around the various bars and had a lot of fun. Getting towards midnight we all headed down to the beach amongst the crowd and watched the fireworks go off – overhead. We were pleased we weren’t closer to the beach as the fireworks are not organised – just people letting them off and it went on for ages. There were hundreds of peace lanterns being let go into the sky as well and it was just amazing standing underneath the whole thing. The crowd was huge but very well behaved. When that was over we headed back up the happening street and didn’t get back to the boat till 4.30am!!! It was a new year celebration to remember.

After that we headed south as the wind had really come up and made our way around towards Phang Nha bay. The next day we went to Phanak and introduced Brett to the hongs and the very long scary tunnel into it. We timed the tides right and managed to see them all though the weather wasn’t all that good. Spent a couple of nights here then went to the gypsy village. We had intended to come back to Koh Hong and James Bond island but we never did make it back. Brett had his photo taken with a gibbon and there was a celebration going on at the school. We watched children in the water all hanging on to protruding sticks in the water in a net compound. Then about six ducks were thrown n and the children had to catch them (a bit like catch the greasy pig!!!). The poor ducks almost drowned as children holding them by the necks swam back to the boat!! It was however entertaining to watch (but not so much for the ducks). We took Bob (dinghy) and went and looked at the cave paintings just across from where we anchored. A longtail had previously offered to take us there and around for an hour for 1200 baht ($40!!!!).

Sunday 9 Jan
Left around 10am and stopped at lunch time at a place we hadn’t managed to anchor at and took Bob around to look at the hong and were going to swim until we saw the sea lice and made a hasty retreat. The weather improved and the seas were calm when we anchored at Ko Pak Bia – one of our favourite places. We had a snorkel but the visibility was bad so went back to the boat and watched people set up for a wedding and then watched a lovely beach wedding. They left it a bit late to leave and the boat used all its engines to get off the beach throwing a wall of water into the air back on to the beach. Half the people had to get off the boat so they could get it out and we think they may have burned out an engine! Had a good night playing texas holdem. I went out early but Brett and Peter went on till the early hours of the morning accompanied by Captain Morgan! until Brett managed to beat his father.

Monday 10 Jan
Went over to Koh Hong Krabi and got a buoy. Brett and Peter took Bob to see the hong and to go around the island then we went ashore where we got charged 200bht each for landing on the island (national park). We did the nature walk and had a swim. There were lots of little fish and one bit me on the back of the leg! We stayed the night as Brett wanted to see the beach in the morning without the crowds.

Tuesday 11 Jan
Hearing dreadful news from home about the floods. Went to shore next morning. A big cruise ship turned up and also we could see lots of sound equipment on the beach. The big ship moved to the other side of the island out of view of the beach as it turned out they were doing a bollywood movie!! We weren’t allowed on that part of the beach. The tide was way out so we left and headed to Krabi. There were so many people on the beach you could hardly walk along it. A few longtail boats had set themselves up as floating snackbars which was a good idea. We headed around to the rock climbing beach and went ashore and found a bar with good ambience and settled for an hour or two listening to good music. Changed for dinner and had the best cheapest food at Mamas up the alley. We walked up the road and discovered there were more bars and bungalows along the road. Came back to the beach and spent a couple of hours at the Chill Out reggae bar listening to a live performer.

Wednesday 12 Jan
Dreadful news from home about the floods – feeling we should be there but there’s nothing we could really do. Headed off towards Phi Phi Don and were going past the Bamboo Island when we saw a buoy so grabbed it and went ashore to a beautiful white beach and an area was cordoned off for snorkelling. There were plenty of fish and I saw my first snake!! Black and white bands. I lost sight of it and next thing Brett dives down to look at something and looks up to see the snake coming towards him on one side and a moray eel on the other!! He back pedalled very quickly!! We then headed for Klang reef but there were no buoys though we nudged our noses in and I let us go in a bit too far but a quick port turn and we got out ok!! Headed to Phi Phi Don and went in to dinner and for a look around.

Thursday 13 Jan
We headed back round to Klang reef and anchored in 17.5m and took Bob in and snorkelled the reef for an hour. Then we headed around Phi Phi Don and stopped at a nice bay and went ashore but there was nothing of interest so headed to Phi Phi Le getting there at 4.30 but there was no chance of getting a buoy so headed back to Phi Phi Don where we could see a storm approaching. Stayed onboard as it was raining and quite windy.

Friday 14 Jan
Moved anchor as we were too close to a dive boat on a buoy then we went to shore to see if we could get a longtail. Found one which left at 9am (this was 8.45am). There were 14 people onboard and we went to a beach just near where we were anchored where there were a couple of monkeys, one of which took someone’s water bottle, took the lid off and drank from it. Went to the beach at Phi Phi Le (where the movie the beach was made) and it was so crowded!! We walked across to the other side of the island – stayed an hour till the longtail left and then went round the other side of the island to snorkel. The fish were great, the only worry being hit by a longtail or another boat!! Then went to a lovely long hong and had a swim – it was absolutely beautiful and a place that we would not have been able to see in our boat. It was a great morning out and very good value. We left late in the afternoon to see if we could get a buoy in Phi Phi Le and just as we got there a big cat released one so we grabbed it – couldn’t believe our luck. Quite swelly and water murky. There was quite a party on the beach that night with the sleep on the beach tour group – they were still doing fire twirling at 12.30am!

Will bring you up to date shortly, meanwhile our thoughts are with you all at home with the devastating floods and we hope you all manage to avoid that incredibly frightening cyclone which is bearing down on Queensland tonight.

Much Love
Dell and Peter

Happy New Year – Happy Birthday Amy! - 28 Nov – 29 Dec

2010-12-30T20:34:00.000+10:00

The good news is we managed to get back on the water by Christmas! We had a few little dramas along the way such as our 22 month old sail which Peter had stored under our boat was eaten by rats – looked like one of those paper doll cutouts and we were pretty devastated. But a lovely chap named Ket managed to patch it up beautifully for a small sum of money and that made us pretty happy. Brett arrived on the 3rd and stayed a couple of nights and then took himself off to a couple of islands on the eastern side of Thailand – Ko Tao where he gained his advanced open water scuba diving licence and then to Ko Phangan for the full moon party which he described as epic!!!!

The Tuesday before Christmas we were pretty despondent as work on our boat was going so slowly so had a word with Mr Samran and he pulled a lot of people on to our boat and things started forging ahead although with only one week to go till the 21st no-one thought we would make it and we weren’t sure! We stayed two extra nights in our unit and the boys worked overtime and a few corners were cut – the mast went back on the 20th and Peter worked till midnight the next two nights putting the boat back together and I packed up the unit and hired a ute to move all the gear back. Peter was pulling the chain out from under the boat that we had Bob (our new tender) attached by and nearly pulled one of the things holding the boat out! Chom laughed his head off. The 23rd – Amy’s birthday – at 10am saw the travel lift come to collect us and we were in the water (with paint still wet!!! )with the pilot and off by 12 noon. We were very happy to have the pilot as the way was narrow and snaked around via pylons but not clearly marked. We headed down to Nai Harn and anchored beside Cilantro in the afternoon followed in by Whistle Down the Wind – quite a reunion. We headed in to shore in the evening to have dinner and collect Brett who was making his way down to meet us when we saw a very big wave come up behind us and Bob was totally flipped. One minute I was sitting in the tender and the next I was on my back totally under water!! We managed to get Bob upright and the crew of Sailmaker came to give a hand. Brett found us very wet in the restaurant and we all had dinner before having to make our way back out again. The motor wouldn’t start so James (Cilantro) helped swim us past the breakers and we were able to row out without incident. Peter stripped the engine the next morning and it was good – hadn’t been under for very long. The next night we went to another beach with Single Malt, Whistle Down the Wind and Cilantro to go up the Cape for sunset and dinner. As we came in Cilantro went almost over and James came out of their tender, however somehow Sandra came back down and was still seated so got in ok but when I saw them go I bailed and then got knocked down by the wave and the boys rode it up nicely in Bob and didn’t get wet. Once again a very wet night though the boys did buy me some new clothes!!! Apart from that it was a lovely night.

Christmas morning was a lovely day and we had our Christmas tree and then had a sausage on bread for lunch then met Cilantro at 4.30 – went ashore at the beach via the rocks which was much safer and started a restaurant crawl which went till 11.30pm being joined by Whistle half way through so it was a really nice evening but nothing traditional about it and friends and family missed!

Another tender got rolled this day and others tied their tenders to the swimming buoys and a few of them got rolled so all in all it was difficult landing at Nai Harn this year!!! We headed up the coast and had a couple of nights at Kamala Beach – went out the first night and then went up to Nai Yang where Cilantro joined us and we had a lovely night out. We are currently at Patong Beach on the northern side where it is quieter and will stay here for New Year and then head around into Phang Nha bay.
Hoping you all had a lovely Christmas and the New Year is kind to you.

Much Love
May the wind be always at your back
Dell and Peter

Phuket Boat Lagoon – Sat 27 Nov 2010

2010-11-29T11:57:00.001+10:00

My last missive was from Renmark and that already seems so long ago. Rosie and I made it through to Burra. We had a wonderful trip together and while it was wonderful to see the Thomas’ again it was tinged with sadness at the thought of once again having to leave my beautiful little Rosie. The trip made me feel that I would really like to do a road trip to Perth in the not too distant future – its on the list!!!

Andy, Robyn and Katie dropped me at the airport on Sunday 14th and I stayed at a lovely hotel near the airport in Melbourne and flew out to Kuala Lumpar on Monday 15th. Suffice to say it was a long and tedious trip exacerbated by the fact that there was absolutely no wine on board and after a huge delay while we located our plane (Gate 8, gate 4 then we found it at gate 7!) that wasn’t helpful! Arrived at KL about 2 hours late and my bag was about the last one off the plane so ran upstairs to get the connecting flight to Phuket which turned out to be a lovely hour and ten minutes with bags already there when we got off and no customs and straight through. Peter had only just arrived!

Peter had done a lovely thing and organised a surprise belated birthday party for me (it was a big one – 60 - can you believe it!!!) for Tuesday night. I thought we were just going out to dinner the two of us and when we got there Geoff, May and their daughter Ruth off Wave Sweeper were there and James and Sandra from Cilantro and Bryan off Kristie 1 so that was a huge surprise. Peter had organised all the food and asked them to get a birthday cake which turned out to be a Svenson ice cream cake – so yummy. So everyone by all accounts had a wonderful time.

While I had been working my tail feathers off in Brisbane Peter had been doing it pretty tough in Boat Lagoon staying on the boat climbing over all the stuff from the shed (back of boat) every night to get to bed. He had to pull off all the fittings on deck and the mast was removed. We are out for a full paint but they found more rust than we anticipated and Peter had the entire toe rail cut off and stainless soldered back on. Then they found a big hole in the steel above the companionway hatch and that had to be cut out which meant that the ceiling had to come down and all in all the boat is a huge mess. Peter had to sit inside the boat when they were grinding to put out any spot fires which started in the paint so he had a pretty tough time. Then he went to book a unit for us only to find that there weren’t any available until the 21st. One of the Kiwis took pity on him and let us have his unit while he was away which was a lifesaver!! We moved into a lovely unit overlooking the marina on the 21st ($580/mth) so are well ensconced in the air conditioning! – At least I am – Peter is over at the boat working. They have made us both honorary Samran workers and given us both a Samran work jumper – Peter at least has earned his. Yesterday when I went over he had the jumper on, the breathing apparatus on and the rag tied around his head and the only way you could tell it was him was by the pants!!! I had tried to do some sanding but the carpenters came after me and redid it so there is really not a lot I can do at the moment. My time will come when we have to clean up the inside.

Peter is desperately trying to move things along as it looked as though we were going to be stuck here for Christmas but should get out the week before. Boats can only leave here on high tides as the channel is not dredged and is very shallow and there are only a couple of opportunities with the tide over the next few weeks. The boys are all working very hard though and work is progressing well. They are a lovely bunch and although there is not much English spoken they all have a huge sense of humour.

Our new tender was delivered a few days ago – a rib which has a hard bottom and he has been named Bob (thanks Phil). We have his name here ready to go on when we dig him out from under the tarp where he is hiding from all the paint and dust.

We have been eating out every night – the food is fantastic and we really look forward to Brett arriving on the 3rd December. Cilantro left Friday – went out at 12 o’clock on a 2.8 metre tide. They reported that they went down to 0m but didn’t touch bottom! When I left the unit at 11.20 I saw a movement out of the corner of my eye behind the pile of sheets which had been taken out of the rooms and next thing a metre + long snake took off and headed to the units on the other side (we are on the third floor!!). Extremely disconcerting!!!!!

Peter and Bryan did a visa run last week. A minibus picked them up at 10.15pm on Sunday night along with 6 other people and they drove through the night to Penang in Malaysia, dropped their passports off at the Embassy, had a night in a lovely hotel, collected their passports at 2pm on Monday and were back here at 10.30 Monday night. All meals were included and they thought it was pretty good value for $150. Peter now has another two months on his visa.

The Freedom III came in last week pretty well patched up all over the front of her. She was the huge cat which hit the other boat in the tsunami. The boys were telling us how huge the wave was. Couldnt imagine seeing a boat of that size bearing down on you as well as the huge wave – terrifying stuff.

Anyway work continues. I will try to do something with the photos soon. Hope this finds you all well.

Much Love
May the wind be always at your back
Dell and Peter

On the road again!!!!

2010-11-10T09:06:00.001+10:00

To all those people wondering if we are ok yes we are and to all those people we did not manage to catch up with many apologies. We flew back into Australia on 4th August and collected our car and Rosie from Andy and Robyn in South Australia. Drove home via Sydney to see the kids and then it was home and a whole lot of work. Peter worked on the house and we managed to get a bit of babysitting in with our beautiful grandchildren. Peter flew back to Langkawi on 19 September to take the boat single handed to Phuket to haul out to do some work on her. Following is an email I had from Peter:

Well what a day. We were delayed by one day as Brian snapped his throttle cable. Went into town and luckily sourced a new one and had it installed by 3.30pm. We departed Rebak at 7.30 and made our way to Telaga so Brian could get fuel. When we left there we were half way up the west side of Langkawi when I started taking on water, lots of it. Checked all the hoses on the motor but eventually found that water was gushing in at the propellor shaft seal. Had the big electric bilge pump going and also the hand bilge pump and made the 2 hours back to the marina. Tim off Raven gave me a hand as it was still gushing in tied up to the dock and the travel lift wasn't working today. Found the cause and fixed it. The two grommet screws which hold the pressure ring against the shaft seal had worked loose and the ring moved up the prop shaft separating it from the seal and allowing lots of water in. Eventually fixed it, phew and left Rebak at 1.15. Going the clappers to get to the anchorage before dark when Brian broke a fan belt. He eventually installed a new one and we got into the anchorage at 7.00pm, still light. Brian just called and he has cooked his batteries, they are smoking. Have to wait for them to cool down before he tries to find the problem. Hope tommorrow is a better day.

Well he finally made it and put the boat up on the hard only to discover that we had a heck of a lot more rust than we ever knew! So Peter has been working super hard on the boat at times holding the fire extinguisher to make sure none of the sparks from the grinding etc caught the boat alight. He has been living aboard among the dust and the grime. They have to use water when they are grinding and this turns to a nasty sludge in the boat. Anyway grinding has finished and Peter has cleaned out the sludge - a huge job by all accounts and now they can start on the original job of painting the boat - obviously a bit behind schedule and a blow out on the budget!!

I have been working very hard on our house getting ready for new tenants and also moving all our furniture from one storage facility to another one - financially it was worth it but it was a huge job. Many thanks to Darren, Stuart and Brett for all the help. Couldnt have done it without you all. It was so lovely to be surrounded by all our wonderful family. Will miss you all terribly especially little Jessie (such a wonderful little boy - missing your cuddles) and little Charlie (such a happy cheeky little girl).

I am currently writing this in Renmark - Rosie and I have been on a road trip to drive to Andy's. Finally finished packing the house up on Thursday night and stayed with Stuart - what a relief to finally be finished. Friday night was with Judy in Yamba and then Saturday drove all day in the rain to Sydney so stayed Sunday as well. We camped at Narrandera and then last night at Renmark and today we make Andy and Robyn's. I fly to Melbourne on Sunday 14th and on Monday 15th will be back in Phuket to inspect all the work!!!

Anyway time to get back on the road again

Cheers

Dell
>

And back again

2010-08-04T13:22:00.004+10:00

Happy Birthday Stuart for the 17th
Well we arrived at Alor Setar in Malaysia with Peter still taking panadol to keep his temperature down and Dell still scratching very sore ankles, caught the ferry back to Langkawi – slept all the way and finally made it back to the boat and were very happy to see Cilantro who were very concerned at the state of our health! On the Sunday night Peter’s temperature peaked at 103.4 and I was having to put wet tablecloths on him to try to bring it down. The whites of his eyes were also a sort of red colour. The next day Peter felt better and his temperature was back to normal (after a week) and we had hired a car with Cilantro to do some shopping so we dropped Peter off at the hospital on the way to town thinking we would pick him up on the way back. But when we went back to get him we found that he had been admitted and was on a drip and having blood tests taken! It turned out he had hemorrhagic dengue fever. (remember that little trip in Siem Reap – we think that’s where he got bitten – it is a day time mosquito). He had eight bags of IV saline drips and had blood tests taken every six hours and was told that if he bled from the gums, nose, ears etc to let them know immediately as he could also bleed internally. His blood platelettes continued to drop for a day or so and he was told that if they went down too far he would need a blood transfusion. As you can imagine it was a scarey few days – he was in there for 4 days and James and Sandra of Cilantro were a tower of strength for me and we were so grateful for their support – thanks heaps guys!! By the way the entire bill for all the treatment and four days in hospital came to around $155 AUS!! And the care was extremely good. And the good news is Peter cant get that particular dengue again! The Health Department came out to the marina and fogged the area for mosquitos and even fogged down the arm where our boat is!!

Also in the hospital was a young married man who 15 days earlier had been spat on by a King Cobra (not bitten – spat on his arm and leg) and he was in a very bad way and seemed to be going down hill. They were going to evacuate him to Alor Setar on the mainland. We hope he made it.

Anyway we are both all better now and flew out of Langkawi on the 4th of August and are currently in Mt Bryan in South Australia with Andy and Robyn. We will then take our little Rosie for a road trip and visit home for a while. We will have a slow drive to Sydney to catch up with Debbie and Brett and then head north to Yamba and then finally home to meet our newest grandchild and also to do cleaning and repairs on our very badly managed house. So to contact us just call Peter’s mobile and we will hope to catch up with you all very soon.

Happy Birthday Margaret for the 8th!

Much love
Happy to be home – its freezing but at least we have stopped sweating!!!
Happy Trails and Calm Seas
Dell and Peter

Cambodia to Bangkok 10 July to 16 July

2010-07-16T13:14:00.002+10:00

Saturday 10 July – Phnom Penh – Siem Reap
We were collected by minibus at 7.15 and taken to the big bus and left at 8am. The landscape is extremely flat and in some places looked like outback Australia. It was dry and boring interspersed with rice paddies and villages and towns. We arrived around 2pm and as the bus entered the depot they closed a gate behind which kept all the touts out so we weren’t inundated with accommodation touts and tuk tuk drivers. We got a lovely young man named Longdy who took us to town in his tuk tuk for $1US each. He took us to a guesthouse of his choice but we didn’t like the location so he took us to another one but it was on a main road so we went back to the first one and got the room for $8 instead of $10 and as it turned out it was in the perfect spot. The currency is Reil but all the ATMs give out American dollars. We arranged for Longdy to collect us in his tuk tuk tomorrow. We walked around town, went to the night market and ate at the local food markets for $1 each. Except Peter accidentally ordered two bowls of soup so we gave one to a tuk tuk driver. Bought a couple of books off a man with no legs. He had been a soldier fighting for the communists and trod on a mine in 1990 when he was just 24.

Sunday 11 July – Siem Reap
Longdy collected us in his tuk tuk at 8am and we headed off to Ankor Wat. We had the most amazing day – the temples are incredible. The first port of call was Angkor Wat itself. We walked across a long causeway across the moat and looked at a few buildings in the grounds then into the temple itself. We took an hour or two here and then Longdy took us to Angkor Thom. The second temple was amazing. At first glance it looks like a jumbly pile of rocks all piled up on top of each other then you see the faces in the rocks. The carved murals are in quite good condition and really interesting. The temple had three levels and we explored the whole place – it was amazing. We saw the Elephant wall and the Lepers Wall. It was extremely hot but the exploring was amazing. The one with the faces and the one with the trees were our favourites. The one with the trees had been left overgrown and in a state of disrepair and you could walk in and out all over the place. Longdy told us that in high season it gets so crowded it takes 4 hrs just to see Angkor Wat and we saw so many temples. Near one of the temples we followed a track through the bush (remember this moment!) and found the North gate which had a pretty good garuda in the corner. Most of the statues and buddhas have lost their heads – destroyed or plundered. There are lots of children around the temples all trying to sell little nik naks and are very persistent. They all speak excellent English and when you tell them where you are from they immediately start reciting facts about your country including Julia Gillard being the PM which as you know was a very recent change but they had it down pat! Longdy then took us back the way we had come so we could see all the places we had visited. A slow tuk tuk ride back to town finished off a truly wonderful day. We went down Pub Street and had some 50 cent beers and a meal. Bought the amputee (from whom we bought the books) a beer and had a chat. He is 44 and was 24 when he lost his legs. He was in the army for 9 years and gets a $45/month pension and supplements that by selling books. (A good few of the books including Lonely Planets are all good photocopies and not originals).

Monday 12 July – Siem Reap
Had a late start to the day – made enquiries about a bus to the infamous Thai/Cambodian border – our guest house charged $10 but the bus company was $7 then $8 so we decided to go with the guesthouse as he said we get a sticker to walk across the border and then get in a big VIP bus with a toilet. We walked around town and did some shopping. Met a fellow who asked us if we could speak English and asked us what swamp meant. Turned out it was a good ploy to get a conversation going so he could ask for money for books for his orphanage! We still don’t know if there was an orphanage or not as everything is just photocopies. We gave him $1 – we laughed about this with Cilantro as they also got pulled up and their word was meadow and they gave him $2!!! When we were eating at the night market we saw a person going along the street on their bottom so asked the waiter if they needed a feed. He went and got this person who turned out to be a little old lady who couldn’t walk so we bought her a meal ($1!!) and she was so thrilled to be sitting up on a seat there. We gave her another dollar for another meal and got a takeaway for a man we had seen on the footpath. We couldn’t wake him up so just left it beside him but we found out later that he is a hopeless drunk and the next morning when we drove past him he was still asleep with three unopened meals beside him. Very sad.

Tuesday 13 July – Siem Reap, Cambodia to Bangkok, Thailand
Happy third birthday Jessie
The minibus came to collect us to take us to the big bus but a Russian couple reckoned they had paid for their meal but the guesthouse owner said not so they wouldn’t let the bus go. We sat in the heat while a very heated discussion ensued ending in nasty insults from the Russians who eventually paid – around $7! We then went to the big bus which was a ¾ bus. Because we had requested specific seats (11 & 12!) we were put on the bus first then all the bags were piled up behind the back seat then the rest of the passengers got on and luggage was piled up the aisle and we left around 8.30am. It was around 150 Kms to the border and we had two stops in that time. Got to the border around 11.30. Got our stickers and walked across the border – no problems. Then we were shoved in the back of a troop carrier and taken to the ‘big’ bus which wasn’t VIP and didn’t have a toilet! It was an uneventful trip with one loo stop requested and another stop to fill with gas – we were all told to get off the bus and we didn’t know why so all refused! Then we realised they couldn’t fill the bus with gas with us on board. We finally got into Bangkok around 7pm (it should have been around a 5 hr trip). A rather longer trip than it should have been. The bus dropped us in the middle of the tourist area and we walked up the road and found a guesthouse and then went for a walk. It seemed to be a pretty happening place. We ate at a table in the street.

We have to say that we really loved Cambodia and her people and would definitely go back again. All the kids seemed to be in schools and English was widely spoken. They have certainly come a long way in the last thirty years and you really wonder how they all survived and how they are so happy.

Wednesday 14 July – Bangkok
Dell’s ankles are completely rashed and swollen. Walked around then met a plain clothes policeman who told us that today was the last day of a Government subsidy to tuk tuks. For 5 baht each we could have a tuk tuk for the day to see all the Wats. We saw two then we went to the gem centre then as a favour to the tuk tuk driver to the tailor which was ridiculous and then to another gem centre. Then it started pouring rain and he wanted us to go somewhere else as a favour and we said no and got him to drop us back. Sat in a bar in the street near our guesthouse and watched the world go by. Motorbikes riding on the footpath and they all seem to target Dell!!!!

Thursday 15 July – Bangkok
Caught a taxi to the station to book our tickets for the train. Unfortunately they only had upper bunks left. We then walked to China town but Dell’s ankles were itchy and sore and Peter started feeling unwell so we went to the shopping centres which weren’t up to much but were air conditioned. We then walked all the way back and down a street which had nothing but guns and ammunition for sale. Then Peter went back to the room to lie down and Dell went to buy a couple of shirts. Peter had a temperature of 102.4 so got some drugs from the chemist. We went out to dinner then to bed. (Remember that little walk through the bush in Siem Reap??!!)

Friday 16 July – Bangkok – overnight train
Dell did some shopping, Peter not too well. Were out of the room by 12 noon and sat in the guesthouse till 1.15 then caught a taxi to the station. Went to our little restaurant with the litre jugs of beer and had lunch. And then it was on the train and off for an uneventful trip.

Laos and Cambodia - Saturday 3 July to Friday 9 July

2010-07-09T13:14:00.002+10:00

Saturday 3 July – Pakse, Laos to Phnom Penh, Cambodia
Decided to hire a bike and go to the Bolavan Plateau. Packed the necessaries into one pack and stored the other where we hired the bike and by 10am were riding out of town. Once we left the main road there wasn’t much traffic. We stopped at a waterfall, treehouse resort and ethnic village. The village was very interesting but we felt it was a bit staged. Continued up the road past some interesting villages. We love the way the pigs just wander about then it got a bit boring and we were both thinking this isn’t much when we came to the turnoff to the village of Tad Lo which is gorgeous. There was a magnificent 100m wide waterfall falling about 7 metres. We stopped at a backpackers just over the bridge and the room was gorgeous – all tiles and clean with a balcony overlooking the river but the beds were boards – so hard. We checked and there was a mattress there – we thought later maybe they had put it on upside down because they sleep on the floor on sleeping mats and maybe wouldn’t realise it is supposed to be a bit soft!! Continued up the road and saw a sign for Palamie Guesthouse and a man came out to greet us. He had one rattan room and three wooden rooms without bathrooms and two brand new rooms – beautiful wood and brick only four months old and the bed was soft and had a mosquito net over it. It had a big verandah overlooking rice paddies and pigs wandering around. A lovely bathroom with hot water – huge room. We didn’t need the fan as it was cool enough. Par who runs (and built it) used to work at the Lodge up the road. He speaks English and was born in this village as were his mother and grandparents. Lovely chap with a wife and two children. It poured rain just as we got there so our timing was impeccable. Walked through the village and had a look around then found a little restaurant in another Guesthouse and had a lovely meal. What a beautiful place!!

Sunday 4 July – Tad Lo to Attapeu
The morning started realising why so many roosters end up cooked on sticks in the market!! Seriously, it was brilliant – cows out the front, we fed our pineapple scraps to the huge pig then packed up and went back to Tims for breakfast. At Tims the barbeque was half a bomb (all American), the pot plant holder was a whole bomb and the vase was an artillery shell nicely decorated with lots of littled drilled holes!! We were sitting watching the pigs and piglets, dog under the table and cat on the chair and on our laps eating banana pancakes when an elephant went past!! Stopped on a dime when the mahout realised we wanted a photo – just skidded to a stop! We headed back up to a big waterfall but as we went past an extremely poor, muddy looking village a couple of the kids yelled out waterfall and pointed up through their extremely muddy village. We could see a slight trickle over a big rock cliff so decided to give it a miss. Apparently the hydro electric people let water go in the evening. Even when we went past the waterfalls which were so beautiful yesterday the water flow appeared to have diminished. We arrived at the turnoff to where we wanted to go about 1.30 but it was 70 odd kms of dirt so we opted to continue to Attapeu and go back up again tomorrow. We did 185km today and it was long, hot and hard on the bot! A change of scenery down here – this is the most bombed area of Laos. Saw a fellow with a motorbike and trailer and he had found a huge part of an exploded bomb – chased him down and took his photo. We stopped at a Government place that does the Unexploded Ordinance clearance and they had some bits and pieces of bombs. Arrived at the capital of Attapeu Province around 3.30pm and found a lovely guesthouse then went to a bar on the river. We watched young girls eating fried crickets dipped in sauce. Had a rest – it was a long hot ride then headed to the noodle bar. We got a beer and they seemed happy to have us and put the fan and tv on for us then they disappeared. About 5.30 we asked if we could eat but apparently Papa was in the shower then suddenly he appears outside soaking wet taking our order and telling his wife what we wanted – hilarious. They do noodle dishes so Peter had the noodle soup and Dell had the fried noodle. They have promised us a great breakfast tomorrow and laughed their heads off when we asked if they would be out of the shower!! People like this make it all worth while!! Just an aside – no one in Laos seems to wear sunglasses.

Monday 5 July – Attapeu to Pakse
Had breakfast at Papas – he was doing a roaring trade – cooked us a lovely omelette and baguettes with cheese and jam and croissants. He was very happy we came back. Left about 8 and had an uneventful journey back about 47k to the turnoff to the dirt road. Stopped to take a photo of the water buffalos all sitting in a big puddle of water – really like the water buffalo. The dirt road was a very good road and Peter really enjoyed the ride. Saw a squirrel and an eagle. Found the big waterfall. The volume of water going over was amazing and it was extremely high. For a while it felt like riding through the jungle but tractors were clearing both sides of the road which took some of the ambience away! We rode right over the Bolavan Plateau through some villages and a town. Were grateful when we got back on to the bitumen as our butts were very sore. We stopped at two more waterfalls one of which was quite stunning – you could clamber down steps to the bottom – beautiful. We arrived back in Pakse around 3, found a different guesthouse, returned the bike, retrieved our packs and booked the bus to cross the Cambodian border tomorrow and went back to the Indian restaurant for a lovely meal.

One thing we noticed about Laos was that there seemed to be quite a few schools – quite shabby looking but they didn’t seem to be used. We didn’t really see any school children and not a lot of people spoke English.

CAMBODIA
Tuesday 6 July – Pakse to Kratie Cambodia
We were collected from our guesthouse at 7.50 after a lovely breakfast Peter bought in the market for practically nothing. The minibus fooled us as it had lovely leather seats and four of us in it but it delivered us to a crap minibus which already had 7 people in and Peter’s seat had no back. After a couple of hours we dropped people off and five of us went on to the border. We had heard terrible things about the border. When we went to check out of Laos a young French bloke was doing a lot of yelling. The Laos Immigration wanted $2US per passport bribe. The French guy gave me some change and we all paid $1US. Then we had to walk across the border and went to Health who wanted $1US but we all said no. Then we went to get our visa. We had been told it was $23US so we paid it (it is really $20 but they have always charged $23 here). The French guy was doing a lot of yelling – very brave or very silly as he was dealing with the military. Immigration then wanted $1US each so we gave them 20,000 kip which just about used up all our kip – it is useless out of the country as no one will change it. They put five of us in a minibus and we went to the next big town – Stung Treng and then we had to get out of the minibus and they finally let us on the big bus!! Arrived at Kratie at 2pm after a lunch stop – there were some stalls which were selling the fried crickets but also fried tarantulas!! With all their legs still intact! We walked around the corner to a guest house and then went out for a walk. Kratie is on the river so walked along there and through the large market which was across the road. We then went to a local restaurant with a lovely family and had a beer with ice and were just thinking how nice it would be to have some nibblies when the chef cooked us up some finger food and gave it to us for free so we decided to have dinner there and they cooked us up a lovely meal. The family were watching a soapie on tv and it was so funny to watch their reactions to the sad bits and tragic bits and funny bits!! People really are the same all over!

Wednesday 7 July – Kratie to Phnom Penh
We caught the 8am bus after having bought some baguettes in the local market . The landscape was amazingly flat with heaps of rice paddies. We noticed lots of brickworks as we were coming into Phnom Penh – most of them didn’t seem to be working. We went over a big bridge and the bus dropped us in the middle of the city – quite a busy city. We decided to walk to find a guesthouse and the tuk tuk drivers were polite and left us alone when they realised we didn’t want one. The traffic was chaotic and we had a bit of trouble with the traffic coming from the left but just when you get used to that a bike or two will go up the road the wrong way. We walked around looked at guesthouses but finally settled on The Spring which was Lonely Planet’s choice and this time they got it right. We took a fan room on the 5th floor for $6US. It was quite a walk up but a lovely room. Went out for a walk and ate dinner in the local market.

Thursday 8 July - Phnom Penh
It was so hot through the night that we decided to move to an air conditioned room on the 1st floor for $10US a night. We started our day with a visit to the Toul Sleng Genocide Museum (S.21). Over 17,000 people were tortured and killed in this place by The Pol Pot regime. It used to be a school. Suffice to say that it was rather overpowering and we decided not to watch the film and not to visit the killing fields. How this was allowed to happen is beyond us and why it happened is a question that 30 years later the Cambodian people still don’t know the answer to and no-one has ever been punished (we heard a couple of weeks later that the bloke that ran Toul Sleng got 30 years but will be out in 19!). A couple of top people in the Khymer Rouge were arrested in 2007 – Pol Pot died of old age. The UN has a lot to answer for in this and Australia also supported Pol Pot for a time. We then went to the Russian market which was huge. We bought a few things then took a tuk tuk to the river area and had lunch then walked to another market where Dell bought a pair of second hand Oasic sandles for $16US. We were wondering if people nicked them from outside temples!! Back to our room then out for dinner. They have big beasts (cows) on huge spits outside some restaurants. We went into one of these and got a jug of draught beer for 6,800 reil ($1.70) but their menu wasn’t in English so we ordered one dish – marinated meat, chips and egg then went up the road to where the menu was in English and had a lovely meal.

Friday 9 July – Phnom Penh
Happy Birthday Carol
The women wear their pyjamas – they are think they are trouser suits but they are PJs!!! - even have little bears and lovehearts or are floral. When we dropped the laundry off they had a dish full of skinned frogs on sticks sitting out the front in the sun! Walked the city looking at the sights and in the afternoon went to the palace. We wandered the palace grounds and went into a few temples. One had a 95kg solid gold Buddha with hundreds of diamonds. There were lots of gold dishes, small buddhas etc and we wondered about the lack of security but I guess no one would touch a Buddha. Went back to our guesthouse and booked the bus for tomorrow then caught a tuk tuk to the river area and found a wonderful little restaurant called Bojangles and had the best meal. We really like the Cambodian food – very different flavours. A few of the beggars came back to us a few times through the day and by evening we were saying we already gave to you and they laughed and acknowledged. We really enjoyed Phnom Penh.

LAOS - Monday 28 June to Friday 2 July – Vang Vieng to Pakse

2010-07-02T13:00:00.001+10:00

Monday 28 June – Vang Vieng
Happy Anniversary to us – 35 years!!
Well we didn’t sleep too badly despite the noise from the island. It poured rain all night and looks as though it has set in for the day. We are watching the river flow by and a fisherman upstream with a net at the end of some bamboo poles standing in the river fishing. Decided the river was far too muddy to do the tubing (floating down the river with the current in a rubber tractor tube past lots of bars). Our guesthouse owner found a snake in his house eating a frog. He took the snake out and then took the frog out. We talked to an Aussie who said he had been to Angkor Wat and it was just a bunch of old buildings way past their used by date!!! Philistine!!!! A young Brit we met said he had been working at the bucket bar and three Irish lads came in. The young Brit had contracted red eye (conjunctivitus) so instead of shaking hands they were all touching elbows. He was looking the worse for wear and really needed to get out but was having trouble leaving! We went for a meal then decided to see what the Bucket Bar was about. The buckets were free for an hour – they held about 1 – 1½ litres of lao whiskey and coke, fresh lime with a straw. Everyone drinks from a plastic bucket – sat around on a built up platform watching the soccer, listening to the very loud music and chatting to our young Brit and Irish friends. Our bucket lasted us the entire time we were there so it was a cheap night. When we left our young Brit friend was up dancing and looked as though he was going to be stuck for another day – hope he gets out soon! Poured rain on the way back across the little bridge to our room.

Tuesday 29 June – Vang Vieng to Vientiane
Happy Birthday Yvette
Left in sprinkling rain after admiring the wonderful view from our room again. Took a tuk tuk to the bus station. The bus left at 7am and was pretty old but we had the windows open and it was only 30,000 kip each - $4.40. The tuk tuk cost 20,000 kip to go 3km. From Vang Vieng to Vientiane was around 170km. It started off a little bit windy and a couple of the locals had to get out their barf bags. The bus was only half full. The terrain then went flat with lots of rice paddies. They have a kind of tractor thing with long handles which they walk behind to plough with and on the road they put a cart behind to sit on and steer via the long handles. There were lots of little towns and villages along the way. There are a couple of major roads but when you get off them everything is dirt. All the houses in the villages have swept dirt around them, not grass. We arrived at Vientiane, the capital city of Laos, at about 11am. Took us a while to find a guest house but found a very nice room for 90,000 kip ($13). You really notice the French influence here – baguettes the principal sandwich and bread. The old French houses, some in a state of disrepair look great. There are lots of Wats (Buddhist temple complexes). A long avenue much like the Champes Elysees with an Oriental Arch de Triumphe at one end and the Presidential Palace at the other. The place was ransacked and basically destroyed in 1828 so the majority of the place was built after this period. There are a lot of huge expensive buildings and a lot of building going on. We walked around for the afternoon and had dinner and an early night.

Wednesday 30 June – Vientiane to Tha Khaek
Left our guesthouse early and walked back to the bus station and caught a local bus to the main bus station. Got there at 7.30 - an air/con bus – and got our seats and our baguettes and the bus left at 8am sharp and drove around the corner and stopped for 20 minutes while all sorts of people got on trying to flog off food. The bus was chock a block full. The scenery is very rural with lots of villages along the way and rice paddies – lots of rice paddies. They throw the seeds into one or two paddies and they sprout very thickly. When this has grown enough they pick it and put into little bunches and then plant it one plant at a time. Very labour intensive. A lady had a chicken under her coat and took it out to feed it. People kept getting on and the bus got quite crowded with kids doubling up and then a couple of stools appeared in the aisle. One lady was nursing her baby and one lady was nursing her dog! After about 3 hours there was the obligatory loo stop – ladies behind a big tree and men along the edge of the road. Just as we were coming into the bus station we saw two buses which had had a head on collision - where both drivers had been was all smashed in and the whole left hand side of both buses had been sideswiped. Confirmed our plan to sit on the right hand side – seats 11 and 12 looked good! Arrived at 2pm and took a tuk tuk to the Travel Lodge Guesthouse as recommended by Lonely Plant but were not impressed at the bare cement floor and inflated price so walked to the tourist office and then found a good big room at Pouhkanna guesthouse. There was one thing about Labuan Prabang we didn’t mention and that was all the street venders cooking chickens – whole chooks, bits of chooks etc – you would hardly credit there would be enough chooks in the country to keep up this supply!!!!

Thursday 1 July – Tha Khaek
Happy Birthday Jeremy
Woke to pouring rain but it was nice to be able to sleep in. Had a slow start to the day (much needed). We found Tha Khaek to be a lovely laid back town. We walked along the Mekong River admiring the decaying French buildings. The water fountain in the middle of town didn’t work and the town just had a lovely feel about it. We only saw one other white person through the day. We went to the markets and walked back out to the bus station to check the times. It was a lovely walk through the country and the people were really friendly. The people don’t seem to care if you buy anything or stay at accommodation – if you do, you do but they don’t seem to care. Walked for miles and went back to the river for a beer. Peter got a beer out of the fridge and rattled around but couldn’t get the girl to wake up so put it back and went down the road to where the proprietor was awake!! We could see Thailand across the river and it looked more affluent but having said that there is certainly some money in town. There are a lot of beautiful big houses – some huge and Government buildings and the vehicles are new Lexus and Toyoto diesel 4 wheel drives. Saw the World Vision office and it wasn’t too shabby either – three storeys. We ate the most delicious dinner at our guesthouse restaurant – best since we have been in Laos – served by three of the loveliest young girls. They could only bring one thing at a time. First the beer, then the glasses and finally the bucket of ice – yes ice. They drink their beer with ice and its really nice. This service could take 5 or 10 minutes but no-one minds – there is plenty of time. There were two other pairs of backpackers in and then 4 NZ/Aussie blokes turned up who clear unexploded ordinance in Laos and Cambodia so the power grid can go through. For the adventurous here there are caves and waterfalls and treks but we just had the loveliest day. Fell asleep to the sounds of very loud very bad karaoke!!

Friday 2 July – Tha Khaek to Pakse
Had our morning tea & coffee with our trusty little kettle – what a good buy that has been. We walked to the bus station leaving at 7 and got there around 7.40 in time to catch the 8.30 bus to Pakse. We stuffed around for a bit and next thing the bus started up so we dived on and our 8.30 bus left at 5 to 8! And holy moly this bus driver was in a hurry! He turned the air con off we think so he could go faster and passed everything in sight blowing his horn all the while. Two other backpackers were on the left front seat behind the driver – we were glad we weren’t there! The conductor was putting luggage in and hadn’t even closed the luggage door when the bus took off and he had to run to jump in the door. The first loo stop was a quick dive in the bushes – we presume everyone made it back on the bus. Second stop no time for modesty – quick dive into the bushes and the horn is blowing to get back on. This driver was in such a hurry! Apart from that the scenery was fantastic – so rurally rustic. The bus was supposed to stop at a big town Savahnakat but he offloaded those people going there onto an already overcrowded troop carrier truck – we were pleased we weren’t going there. The area was quite populated with villages all along the road. Houses range from opulent to lovely to wooden to huts – the whole spectrum. Australia and Japan seem to have put quite a bit of money into this country. The countryside is flat with loads of rice paddies, some in use, some overgrown. The middle part seemed to be in drought as there wasn’t much water around and then there was heaps of water. It is weird seeing so many water buffalo. We don’t know what their use is (food??!!) as they are not used in the fields – they use the hand push tractor things. There have been wandering cows, pigs, goats, turkeys, geese – a real rural menagerie. Most of the chooks seem to be on sticks in the market! (cooked). For a while we could hear chickens chirping on the bus – a man had three in a little cage. The bus driver slowed down when he nearly hit a cow! No it was because the speed limit went to 30 kph! We were supposed to go to the Pakse bus station but we pulled up and the driver told us and the other European couple this was our stop so we grabbed all our things and got off into a waiting tuk tuk which had two monks and two European girls already in. The other girl went to climb in next to the monk and a look of horror crossed his face. We had to stop her and sit her on the opposite side – women are not allowed to touch monks. On a bus a monk will sit on the back seat so we are not allowed to sit there. Anyway they threw our backpacks in on top of us and off we went about 6k to the centre of town. We found a place to stay close to the river – it was pretty basic and the mattress was lumpy. Ate at the Indian restaurant – very good food.

LAOS - Monday 21 June to Sunday 27 June

2010-06-28T18:47:00.002+10:00

Monday 21 June - Chiang Mai
Very sore muscles - a day of recuperation, computer work and trudging to the bus station to buy a ticket for tomorrow. You should always buy your tickets from the source. One of the guys had a lower bunk on the train and paid 881 baht - going rate - but the lady in the top bunk which should have been cheaper booked through an agent and paid 1400 baht!!! Back at the guesthouse Tawan gave us a sour mango which you dip in salt. We asked Noi to prepare us three dishes of her choice and we had the most beautiful meal - it was a wonderful evening.

Tuesday 22 June - Chiang Mai to Huay Xia, Laos
We got up at 4.35 and headed about 4km to the bus station - we got there at 6.15 and the bus left at 6.30. It took 6 1/2 hours and was quite a comfortable ride - second class bus with aircon and it was 211 baht each ($7). The scenery was mountainous at first and so green then it went into a valley full of rice paddies and most of the buildings were made of wood. Very picturesque! We arrived at Chiang Khong on the Thai border and walked the 1 1/2 km to Immigration and got stamped out of Thailand, walked down to the river bank and clambered aboard a long skinny boat and crossed the Mekong River to Laos. For our Thailand leg we spent on transport/accommodation/trekking $200/$59/$93 respectively. How much you spend after that is up to you!
LAOS
The long skinny boat rammed into the mud bank to stop and we clambered off onto a grassy bank. As we headed up to immigration we were called over by a man who sat us down to fill in our visa appliction and etry form. He then proceeded to tell us if we wanted to take the slow boat tomorrow we should put our names on the list to book so they would know whether to put on a big boat or a little boat or maybe we would end up sitting on plastic chairs. Of course you had to pay him the money up front. We declined and proceeded up and there was the real visa and Immigration offices. We couldnt help but think this chap couldnt be operating without collusion from Immigration. Our 30 day visa was US$30 and we were stamped in for a month. We walked along the main drag and found one of the guesthouses we had got of travelfish but fortunately for us it was booked out so we walked further up the road and came to our second choice - the Aramid Guesthouse which comprised lots of rattan bungalows with a lovely garden and verandah at the front of each one. Mr Sing, who has travelled in Australia, was extremely welcoming and very informative. He told us to go directly to the boat tomorrow to buy the ticket, the price of which is set at 200,000 kip by the Government ($29 each that is for 2 days of travel). We looked around the small town. The wat would have been interesting but there were so many steps - I might have been able to get up but I would never have made it down again - muscles in the tops of the legs are painful! We had dinner at Mr Sings and had a beer on our verandah and went to bed. The room was ok - clean, lino a bit shabby but shuttered, netted windows to let the breeze through and a fan. What more could you want - 300 baht ($10).

Wednesday 23 June - Huay Zia to Pak Beng by slow boat
We are a little confused as to which currency to use. They accept US$, baht and their own kip. There is 6,800 kip to AUS$1 or 1 baht = 255 kip. So we changed some more baht into kip as we had to pay for the boat in kip - 400,000! Mrs Sing cooked our breadfast and prepared baquettes for our lunch. We got to the boat early to get a good seat. We had our cushions we had bought at the market in Chiang Mai. We paid, got our tickets and there was only one other couple on the boat at 8.45. The middle of the boat had wooden benches with backs and a table so we grabbed one of these. Up the back they had benches and up the front soft seats but they were internal facing. People started to straggle on and 10am came when the boat was supposed to leave and people were still staggering on at 10.50! Have no idea when they thought it was leaving but it finally left at 11 and we still had both sides of the table to ourselves! The Mekong is a very muddy river - appears to be quite shallow - lots of rocks and sandbanks and rapids. The boats are around 110 ft long and 12 ft wide - steel outer. The river flows fast and there are whirlpools and eddies and rapids around the rocks and the sandbanks. the scenery is so green. We have seen people fishing with nets like huge butterfly nets with two bamboo rods and people sifting in the river - possibly for gems. The boat pulled in to a few villages to drop people off - they fend this huge boat off the rocks with a bamboo pole. One chap had to leap off on to the rocks and the boat reversed straight out. There are not a lot of villages and it is very isolated, the rocks are very slatey. We arrived at Pak Beng around 5pm. We pulled in between other long boats and Peter and Ben jumped off and headed up into the village to secure our accommodation. Mr Sing had recommeded we stay at Mosnsavhan with Mr. Tip. I got Peter's and my bag. We had to jump off onto rocks and up a steep rock slope to the road. It was pretty dicey. The town was spread out along one long road and our lovely, spacious clean modern room was just up from the boats and across from the restaurants (200 baht - $7). did I mention that they drive on the right in Laos. There was no footpath. We dumped our bags and went for a walk along the road. The people were very friendly and one family had a tiny baby monkey and let us take photos of it. Back to our room for a shower - didnt know how to turn the hot water off so had a hot shower! Went across the road to the Indian restaurant with a lovely view of the Mekong but the food was a bit bland. Lovely night's sleep.

Thursday 24 June - Pak Beng to Luang Prabang
Had breakfast on the verandah watching the village wake and people coming back from the morning market. Mr Tip prepared a baguette for our lunch and we went to the boat early to get a good seat. But it was a different boat and it was bench seats with a plank back - bit of a difference from yesterday but up the back were four sets of padded seats like arline seats so we snaffled those. Ben and Joanna got one and the next two lots of people then the rest had the benches. Quite a few people went forward and sat on the floor and others found comfort on the large bags of rice! The jungle passing by was very thick. There were a few villages - rattan walls. Then we passed a backhoe up the side of a mountain and he waved the arm of the backhoe wwas waving at us!! Such a kak! We couldnt believe we were going down the Mekong - who would have thought it!! Steep mountains where crops are planted. We saw three elephants just getting out of the river and goats and buffalo and cows. The buffalo are either dark or a kind of pinky white. Didnt see any other wildlife or birdlife. We arrived at 5.30 and walked across a gangplank and up a road behind the King's Palace. We didnt find the guesthouse we were looking for but found one mentioned in the Lonely Planet so went there. We walked up the alleyway through the market and had a meal there and then went to the walking street where all sorts of ethnic and other things were on sale. Hard to resist but we did.

Friday 25 June - Luang Prabang
Did a walking tour of the town which has been declared a UNESCO world heritage site. I'm not sure it deserves the tag but it was a nice enough town. We walked up to the top of Pu Si via steps. it was a lovely walk though it cost 20,000 kip ($2.90) each to go. There were lots of buddhas and even Buddha's footprint (going on the footprint he was rather huge). Then we went to the Palace and that cost 30,000 kip each ($4.41). By Australian standards that is cheap - the cost of a meat pie but by Lao standards it is expensive - two meat pies equals a night's accommodation!! The King and his family in 19777 were sent to labour in the fields and it is believed they probably died of malaria and malnutrition. In the palace there were lots of gifts from countries around the world including Australia dating around 1968. Laos it turns out was the most bombed country in the whole Vietnam war. The Ho Chi Minh trail whence Vietnam's supplies came ran down Laos so the US totally bombed it and many villages and towns were apparently wiped off the map. There's also interesting reading about the US and the 'Secret Army' but I will leave you to research that if you are interested. We walked all around the town then ate at the market and walked the street market again.

Saturday 26 June - Luang Prabang
We decided to hire push bikes to go a bit further afield and when we got them I thought my brakes were a bit dodgy and took a while to grip but foolishly I thought it would be ok. we rode out to the bus station and booked our seats on the express bus, not the VIP bus and the ticket seller assured us we had good seats - we were seats 1 and 2 as no one else had booked. We rode around, went up to what we thought was a wat but turned out be be their crematorium so we made a hasty exit, rode out of town and through a village on rough dirt roads trying to find the river, then rode back the way we came. Saw a cement fence which was made with donations from Australia and the US. We went in and the hill was quite steep so walked up and came to a gold Stupa which apparently is the only one of its kind in the world as you can go in it and it has seven stories. We didnt get in as it was closed for lunch but we did sit and talk to the young monk (he was 25) and his younger novice (15). It was very interesting and we talked for about half an hour. then we went to ride down the hill which as I said was very steep. My brakes immediately failed and the bike was increasing in speed alarmingly. The split second decision was get off so I tried to drop the bike and next thing I knew I was upside down flat on my back on the cement with a very anxious Peter kneeling over me. Managed to hold my head up so I didnt crack my skull - yep no helmets!! Anyway, I had a few bits of skin off and am a bit sore but ok. Fortunately I had my western shorts and trekking shirt on (not the thin stuff from here). Given the terrain and circumstances I was extremely lucky (I thought of you at the time Jean!!). We went back to the guesthouse had a quiet lay down then swapped the bike and went off again to finish our ride. There is another small river which runs through town and it is extremely picturesque. The French influence is evident in a lot of the buildings and they make very good baguettes!

Sunday 27 June - Luang Prabang to Vang Vieng
We caught a tuk tuk to the bus station at 7am. The bus turned out to be both express (95,000 kip ($14 each) and VIP (125,000 kip with a lunch and a water bottle). We had the front seat upstairs above the driver with the huge window in front of us - fantastic view!! It is drive on the right here so we were sitting on the left - middle of the road - we did dodge the trucks a couple of times!! The countryside is amazing - total mountains, green jungle, a few villages perched along the road but not too many. The fronts of the houses are on the flat and the backs on stilts. We were all given barf bags and quite a few of the locals used them. It was a very windy road - lots of hair pin bends so it was quite a slow trip. It took seven hours. At one point when we came to a bit of straight road the bus stopped and everyone got off the bus and disappeared into the bushes to go to the loo! Aftter a few hours the terrain turned to valleys with lots of rice paddies - very labour intensive. Everything is so beautifully green and the countryside is amazing. We thoroughly enjoyed the trip. We took a tuk tuk to town and walked around to find a guest house. Ended up at a room which overlooks the river - about 6m up and has a lovely verandah. The room is very ordinary and there is an island just across the river which wasnt there five years ago - it was made by the build up of silt plus a little help from the locals and now it is the nightclub island. so the beat and noise from the bars was pretty loud!! Apparently there is also a pizza place here which serves up happy mushrooms - heard a young welsh lad last night saying he was high for six hours!! to each their own! The photo in the Lonely Planet shows our view without the island so its pretty incredible. Had a pretty crappy dinner - apart from the baguettes we havent found any good Lao food.

Monday 28 June - Vang Vieng
Happy Anniversary to us - 35 years!! Charlie is two weeks old
Well we didnt sleep too badly despite the noise from the island. It poured rain all night. Watched a fisherman upstream with a net at the end of some bamboo poles standing in the river fishing. We were going to do the tubing today but the river is so brown and dirty that we didnt do it. We are currently considering a change in our plans but will let you know more next week.

Take care all and happy trails

Love

Dell and Peter

OVERLAND TRIP 12 June- 21 June - Rebak Marina to Chiang Mai

2010-06-21T17:04:00.002+10:00

ITS A GIRL!!!!!
Saturday 12 June - Rebak - Alor Setar Malaysia
We left extremely early - caught the 7.30am ferry from Rebak to Langkawi Island. The sea otters put on a little display before we left. We had prebooked a taxi and it was waiting for us to take us the 20 mins to Kuah Jetty. We arrived at 8.05am and the ferry to Kuala Kedah left at 8.30. We managed to catch it and had seats right up the back but at least they were on the aisle. It is quite claustrophobic to sit near the windows as they are at eye level and in this case were painted so you couldnt see out. We snuck out the back door where the smokers stand and found some stairs up to the top. There were no cushions on the stainless steel bar seats and it was windy up there but it was a beautiful day and we could see everything so we stayed up there for the 1 1/4 hr journey. At Kuala Kedah we caught a local bus about 20 mins to Alor Setar where we located the train station and collected our tickets which I had booked on the internet a few days previous. We wandered around the town - a man there told me he didnt like Brisbane as it was too hot (we were melting!) - had lunch at a local eatery and went back to the station around 2.30 when there was a rainfall which cooled the incessant heat. The train came in at 4.50pm. We wondered if it was the right one as we were in carriage 10 but there were only two carriages - the second carriage was number 10! There were 3 girls sitting on my side and two lads on Peter's side and I wondered how we were all goint to fit in the beds! The 3 girls moved - they had just been looking for unoccupied space and the lads got off a few stations down the track. The train stopped at the border and we all got off to check out of Malaysia and into Thailand. We learnt that you dont leave any blanks on the entry form! We had to put an address in Thailand and as we hadnt booked anywhere we left it blank - No! In the end we wrote guesthouses and that kept Immigration happy enough to give us a 15 day visa. They came round and put the beds down around 9pm. Peter had one bottom bed and I had the other across the aisle. The bottom bunks are wider than the top ones and obviously easier to get into and have a beautiful big window with curtains. Each bunk has its own curtain so it is pretty private Slept quite well and the train is rather soothing.

Sunday 13 June - Alor Setar - Kanchanaburi
Contractions!!
Awoke at 6.30 to some wonderful views going past. The bed was really comfortable and the whole train is extremely clean, plenty of space and an all round lovely experience. This is a second class train. Had a text from Amy that contractions had started and it is the 13th. Jessie was born on the 13th (July).

ITS A GIRL!!! - Charlie Ruby Black was born at 11.06am weighing in at 8 lb 9 oz and is as fair as Jessie was dark. She is absolutely beautiful. Family all well. Congratulations Amy, Pete and Jessie!

We arrived at Nakhon Pathom at around 9.30am - the conductor came to tell us it was our stop - just one stop short of Bangkok. We went to look at the huge pagoda in the middle of the town and walked through the grounds and came out the other side to wait for the bus. The lady at the stall there was very helpful and told us we had to catch a No. 81. It was a two hour trip to Kanchanaburi and the bus was quite pleasant - local bus with open windows. We arrived about 1.15 and found the Tourist Authority of Thailand (TAT) and got a coloured map then we humped our packs a couple of kms to where all the guest houses are. We had kind of chosen one on travelfish.org so went to check out the Green View Guest House. It was off the main drag about 250m up a lane with lovely gardens - a lovely bar/restaurant - not really used. We found a lady there named Glam who didnt speak English and asked to see the room. We chose a fan room as we like to have fresh air. The room was basic - holes in the lino but the toilet and bathroom were clean so we took it. The bed was like a brick - no give whatsoever but very good for Peter's back - not so great for Dell but the room was 250 baht a night ($9). We walked down the lane and went to a lovely little restaurant and had the best meal!

Monday 14 June - Kanchanaburi
Had a bit of a late start and wentto the Bridge over the River Kwai and walked across it. Apparently the River wasnt always called Kwai but when the movie came out and people wanted to see the Bridge over the River Kwai they just changed the name of the river!! Then we went to the War Museum and then to the War Cemetery which as always is so very well kept by the Cwlth War Graves Commission. Its all too sad to walk all the way through so made it a quick visit and headed to the train and bus stations to get info for travelling on. The day wore on and we didnt make it to the two other places we wanted to go to. In retrospect we should have hired a scooter but it is a learning experience. We ate at our little restaurant again and learnt that Australia had been womped by Germany in the soccer. We thought of you Brett!!! Had a couple of beers with Glam then had an early night.

Tuesday 15 June - Kanchanaburi
We wanted to catch the 5.57am train to Nam Tok so we got up at 4.20am and were at the station by 5.20. We were the only ones there. There were three carriages on a track further over with no engine. A huge family came running in at 6am and got on to the three carriages. So we got on too. About 6.20 the train came in and then backed up and picked up our carriages and off we went. The seats were wooden and all the windows were wide open and hardly anyone else in the carriage so we were able to run from side to side to see the view. This part of the track is part of the Thai-Burma railway (Death railway) built at great human cost during the second world war. It ran along the river for a bit and over a viaduct and the view was lovely. Just as we were coming in to Nam Tok we saw an elephant. We then jumped into the back of a troop carrier ute and were taken to the main road. There was an a/c bus there so we tried to buy a ticket but were told that we would have to catch an orange one so the lady sold us a ticket for 100 baht and we went across the road to see the waterfall and when we came back the lady said we were supposed to be on the a/c bus and gave us our money back and sent us off to find a red bus. We had to stop on the way where the bus went through a checkpoint and all the Asians had to show ID - this is the road to Burma. This is a local fan bus which has all the windows open and cost 50 baht! The conductress told us where to get off and we walked through a military gate towards the Hellfire Pass museum at 10.30am. This was set up by the Australian Government and consists of the museum and the 4km walk. The railway between Nam Tok and Burma was ripped up but they have made 4km of it into a walking track. The viaducts are gone so it was a bit uppy and downy and rough in places and we only saw one snake!! A bit about the railway. It was 415km long and took 20 mths to build through jungle and mountains. The Bridge over the River Kwai was just one of over 400 wooden/steel bridges/viaducts built along this track. Every part of it was built by hand - 60,000 allies and 270,000 Asian labourers. Every rock carried up 7m in some cases to form an embankment was carried by hand. Passes had to be dynamited out. The men worked in extreme heat and in the monsoon rain all day and everything mud. We walked the 4km track (8km return) and the stones were very sharp - the men working on this railway had no shoes - they had rotted. We had excellent audio headphones to walk the track which explained events etc and they gave us a walkie talkie so they could make sure we were ok! It was all free. 12,399 allies and around 90,000 Asians died in the making of this railroad. It is hard to believe any of them survived given the conditions, lack of food, illness - every tropical disease you could think of, mosquitoes, lice, bedbugs and the absolute cruelty they were subjected to. It was a very humbling experience to walk in their footsteps. It is an excellent memorial. It would be a very moving place to spend Anzac Day. We walked back to the road and just missed a bus at 2pm. Caught the next one at 3.15 (they run half hourly!)

Wednesday 16 June - Kanchanaburi - on the train
Happy Birthday Suzanne
Caught the 7.30 local train to Bangkok. Local people jump on the buses and trains to sell food. They had chicken and curry in little bowls made of plaited banana leaves. Railway men have little red and green flags on the platform and all wear very military looking uniforms. We arrived at Thonburi station around 10.30 and caught a taxi to the main railway station. We had no trouble getting our sleeper train ticket - 881 baht each ($30). A girl took us to what was purported to be the TAT and wanted to sell us all sorts of 'good deals' We knew she was on the take but found out later that she was not the TAT. Walked around but could only find ironmongery shops so sat in the station for a while. Found a restaurant across the road that sold a litre of beer for 120 baht ($4) so whiled the time away till the train left at 6.10pm.

Thursday 17 June - on train - Chiang Mai
Slept quite well on the train and the terrain has gotten hilly though it is very dry. Arrived at Chiang Mai at 7.45am and walked 2km to town. Thought we were in the old town and were looking for a guest house we saw on the internet when we turned up a little laneway that looked promising. There were a few guest houses including the Tawan which had gorgeous gardens and advertised 100 - 250 baht. We asked what 250 baht would buy and Mai showed us a lovely little room with fan, bathroom and tv done up like a bamboo cabin on the outside and it was certainly full of character so we were sold. A 100 baht room would buy a single bedroom, with no facilities. Walked all around thinking we were in the old town and Peter was having trouble working out where we were on the map. Stopped at a few Wats then went for lunch at a lovely Chinese man's eatery - he had greeted us earlier in the day. They put the hose on the roof to cool the place down and all the water had gathered in a plastic awning which suddenly gave way and soaked us! The Chinaman though it was extremely funny and it did cool us down - in fact I think I will wet my hat in future as it cools the body! Anyway he felt bad so ran next door and grabbed us a decent map and we finally worked out where we were. Went to the TAT and got good info. Peter lost a second filling! We walked to the old town and found the guest house we had been heading for and we were so pleased we stayed where we did. Came back to our guesthouse and the owner - Tawan - was watering the gardens. I cant describe to you what an oasis it is in a busy city! Its just beautiful. Had dinner here - three lovely courses between us for $4.30 then Peter went to the dentist just down the end of the lane and had a tooth pulled and a temporary filling put in all for around $65. I sat in the garden enjoying the ambience!

Friday 18 June - Chiang Mai
Walked to the local market and bought a shirt and what we thought was a sausage on a stick but it was a rice sausage - very tasty! We walked halfway around the old town which has a moat all the way around and then cut through and looked at a lot of Wats. Met a young Thai who said he lives in Sydney and works in the ANZ bank. He wanted to take us for a drive to meet his paretns but we declined. Saw the ruins of the oldest Wat. Generally just a day of sight seeing and preparing for our trek tomorrow. We have chosen the two day, one night one for 1,400 baht pp ($47 each).

Saturday 19 June - Chiang Mai - Lahu Hill Tribe
We were picked up at 9.30am and got in a troop carrier with five people already in and then we collected another five people so we were packed in like sardines. We drove to a local market where the guide purchased food for our meals and then we were off to the one hour elephant ride. There were seats for two people with a mahout on each elephant. It was a fantastic experience once we realised that they actually are very sure footed and not likely to roll down the slope with us attached! We went up and down some steep slopes and down to the river so they could have a drink. When we got back our lunch was awaiting us and then we started on our trek. The trek was to the Lahu Hill tribe - hill being the operative word but as the day progressed it became abundently clear that these people did not live on a hill but on a very high mountain!!! Our guide was very informative and showed us a leaf which is used in the dying of clothes. Our group comprised two Danish girls, one English girl (working in Aus), one Italian bloke, a young Canadian couple, two German girls, a Mexican bloke and a slightly older Thai man. The walk commenced pleasantly enough and we were all enjoying the countryside and a small waterfall. Then it started going up and up and up relentlessly. It was the hardest walk I have ever been on. I had walking poles but we decided we probably wouldnt need them - big mistake. Peter reminded me of our inspirational couple Lou and Ann off Serannity who are in their 70's. That helped for a little while but my legs had turned to jelly. One of the German girls declared herself an asthmatic (she wasnt), one asked me if child birth was this bad (I actually had to think about that one!) and the English girl was also struggling. Peter had to give me a shove a couple of times as my legs just wouldnt carry me. We finally made it to the 1,100m to our bamboo thatched hut where we all collapsed on the verandah - I wasnt the last one up by the way! The ridiculous thing about it was that all the way up we were walking past planted wild rice and maize. These people work these incredibly steep slopes and go up and down all day! After a little bit of recovery time we all had a cold shower and started to meld as a group. Terrible experiences do bring you closer together!!! Our hut comprised a sleeping room - dormitary - with mattresses on the floor, another room with a fire in the middle of the floor which was where we sat on the floor and had the most lovely meal prepared by our guide. To the other side of this room was a small bedroom and kitchen. The view up there was totally amazing and we began to appreciate our surroundings. Had a wonderful evening with one of the guides entertaining us with his guitar and singing. Slept really well till early morning when the Thai and the Italian's snoring woke me up!!

Sunday 20 June - Lahu Hill Tribe - Chiang Mai
We awoke at 6 and 6.30 and had one of the four pineapples Tawan insisted we bring. The Thai guy also got up early but the young ones slept till they were woken for breakfast at 8am. Meanwhile we had gone for a walk through the village. One lady came out of the tiniest hut - clothes all clean and tidy looking as though they had just been ironed. There is no electricity and everything is by candlelight. A chang beer can with a candle and the ends cut off a plastic bottle make great candle holders! Four of our group were doing the three day trek so eight of us set off down with a different guide who wasnt quite so aware of the stragglers out the back. One thing about stragglers is that the leaders stop to wait so get a rest but by the time the stragglers catch up they are ready to move on so the stragglers dont actually get a break!!! Peter cut me and the German girl a long bamboo pole which helped immensely in getting down. Of course it was as steep down as it was to get up (different path) so down down down we went till we came to a waterfall. The others all had a dip under the waterfall, Peter had a paddle and I dipped my feet till I got stung by two bees - one on each arm at the same spot - talk about collusion!!! We set off again on quite a pleasant walk (much like we had all imagined the trek would be!) until we came to the river. The water wasnt very high but we got in the big blow up boats with the two Danish girls and a guide out the back and off we went. It was so much fun. We were going over rocks and bumping into rocks - all diving to the left and jumping up and down to get it off and then the command 'on the job' and off we go again. Went down backwards over a few rapids. Then the other boat caught up with us and there was a bit of splashing etc. Came to the bamboo rafts so the three of us girls piled on. They are about 8m long and 1 1/2m wide and Peter was at the front poling us down the placid part of the river. Only problem was the raft didnt exactly float and we were sitting in 6 - 8 inches of water! It was so funny. We had a bit of a shower, changed and had lunch then they piled 14 of us into a slightly bigger troop carrier - sardines again and drove about two hours back to our guest house where we were given our old room back. We had left our stuff in a storeroom here. All in all it was a fantastic experience. Peter absolutely loved it. I think I would have been better on a one day trek but I am so pleased I did it. Would I do it again - at this stage no, but the mind is a funny thing and we will look back and think what a wonderful time we had!! No it was a fantastic experience! At 6pm we headed for the walking street (only half a block from our guest house) for the Sunday night markets. They close off the entire street (and others) in the old part of town. Everything was half price and less than the prices we paid in Phuket (especially the gypsy village Debbie) so if you are into shopping it is worth coming here just for the market. Unfortunately, we are on a budget and weight limit but I would definitely come back just for the market.

Monday 21 June - Chiang Mai
Very sore muscles!!! A day of recuperation, computer work and working out the bus to take towards Laos tomorrow. The border crossing is in the golden triangle. We have had a fantastic time so far. We have walked more in the last few days than we have in the last twelve months! I think a nice massage this evening will go down a treat.

Hope you are all in good health. Miss you all. To Rosie, we will be home to see you soon. And we really really look forward to seeing our two granchildren.

Much love

Happy wandering

Dell and Peter

WEEK 18: 5 June – 11 June - Rebak Marina, Langkawi, Malaysia

2010-06-11T20:50:00.000+10:00

Congratulations to Patrick and Dianne on the birth of their first grandchild!

Got the word that our nephew Jeremy was stuck in Kuala Lumpar with passport problems and were hopeful that he might make it to visit us but unfortunately Immigration had other plans and he was unable to come. Peter started antifouling the boat as soon as it dried off. We antifouled, ate at the restaurant, had a few storms and on Sunday it was pretty windy but at 9.30 up we went in the travel lift and in we went. Wasn’t too bad as we went in frontwards and Dell released the lines and off we went. A staff member and Peter off Two Up helped with our lines. Saw the otters just before we put the boat back in the water. One actually jumped out and stood on a wall right in front of us – didn’t have the camera!! By 11am it was blowing like mad and raining and a huge storm came in that evening so we were pleased to be back in the water. Two Up got hit by lightning in Telaga the day after Anzac day. They had 6 small holes in the hull and it destroyed all their electrics and electronics. So they are working on fixing it. Had a couple of rainy days and a couple of days when we went to the lovely resort pool. Kristie and Cilantro came into the marina for two days. Last night, coming back from dinner, we saw a long skinny tree snake on the path.

Well our backpacks are packed and we are booked on the sleeper train for tomorrow. We catch the resort ferry, then a taxi, then a big ferry to Kuala Kedah on the Malaysian mainland, then local bus to Alor Star then the train to Thailand.

Future blogs will be done from internet cafes so may be a while in coming but we will try really hard to stay in touch. Still anxiously awaiting second grandchild!!!!!

Best wishes and may you always have a foot under your keel! (thats good Fritz!!!)

Love
Dell and Peter

WEEK 17: 29 May – 4 June – Singa Besar to Rebak Marina

2010-06-05T16:38:00.003+10:00

DAY 113 – Saturday 29 May – Singa Besar, Langkawi, Malaysia
Happy Birthday Bill – sorry we missed it – hope you had a wonderful day
It was such a lovely place we decided to stay a day. Went to shore in the afternoon. There was an awful lot of rubbish on the beach and there obviously used to be facilities but they were all in ruin. We could see some monkeys and there was supposed to be a walk right across the island. We went through some muddy bits in our thongs – got stuck a few times! Walked along a bush track till we came to a gate and a wall and there was a billabong and saw a huge water monitor. Peter saw another one crashing through the bush. Apparently there are supposed to be deer and pigs there as well but we didn’t see any. The track didn’t seem to go anywhere after that so we went back to the boat for a lovely sunset.

DAY 115 – Sunday 30 May – Singa Besar to Kuah
We left at 8am and motored to Kuah dodging a few nets. We arrived about 10 and there was Kristie so we anchored beside them. We went to shore to check into Malaysia. We then did some shopping and back to the boat. Kristie called by about 3 and came aboard and at 6 we went ashore to the Indian restaurant and had a lovely meal.
Miles: 9 Total: 6,837

DAY 115 – Monday 31 May – Kuah
Went to shore to buy some backpacks. Started to pour rain about 11 and even though we had umbrellas we got soaked and our shoes got soaked. Took ages to find a backpack each. Each one seemed to have one thing missing so it was a bit of a compromise in the end. We bought the antifoul for the boat and took it all back. Got a text that Cilantro was on the way down. Dell went for a haircut and Peter went to buy some fresh fruit and then Cilantro came in so we adjourned to Kristie for a chatchup and sundowners and then we and Cilantro went ashore for dinner. We went to the Asian restaurant across the road which we had heard good things about and the meal was lovely.

DAY 116 – Tuesday 1 June – Kuah to Rebak Marina
Left at 7.30 and motored to Telaga to get some diesel. We could see storms threatening all around and rain was heading towards Telaga. We were there at 11.30 with a slight sprinkle of rain. When we left at 12.30 and looked back it was raining quite heavily. Had a bit of a sail on the way to Rebak. Called in and were allocated a berth and by 2pm we were in and tied up. Greg from Wind Chimes came to help with our lines and there is always a marina worker to help as well so it is not so stressful! We had a real shower then went to the restaurant for dinner. But the menu had changed. We were informed by another yachtie that it was a huge improvement but we didn’t thinks so. It is more expensive and mostly western meals – only a few Malaysian dishes
Miles: 25 Total: 6,842

We will be here now for three months at least so there will be no more sailing news for a while.

DAY 117 – Wednesday 2 June – Rebak Marina
Happy Birthday Judy
A day of catching up with chores – heaps of washing, accepting quote from Mr Samaran, getting electricity put on at home, cleaning and stowing Zed. Peter saw five large otters when he came back from the shower. We have heaps of food in the fridge and freezer we have to use up so we ate on board.

DAY 118 – Thursday 3 June – on the hard - Rebak Marina
Saw a boat hauled out of the water yesterday and the woman was so stressed and shaking and Dell though that’s how I get so told Peter to get someone else to do it! We were supposed to get hauled out at 9.30 but at 9 it poured down rain so they called us on the radio and said 10am. Greg from Wind Chimes came round to help so Dell stayed on shore to hold the line to keep the bow in then off they went. Peter had to reverse in then they threw them lines to hold the boat steady. They send a diver down to make sure that the straps are in the right place. He just has goggles and flippers. They washed off the bottom of the boat and removed the barnacles and had us on the hard by 12.30. We spent the afternoon scraping and cleaning and chatting to other people on the hard. The monkeys came down in the late afternoon and we watched two climb the ladder on to a boat and have a look around and climb down again. For the first time we closed our boat down against intruders – not people – monkeys!!! Ate at the restaurant with beach House and it was a lovely night.

DAY 119 – Friday 4 June – on the hard - Rebak Marina
Happy Birthday Jean E
We got up reasonably early and commenced cleaning the boat and scraping and washing etc in preparation for painting. One of the chaps in a boat on the side near the jungle awoke to a monkey tail hanging through the hatch above his bed! Luckily we are on the water side of the hard. We ate at the restaurant with a few other cruisers and met Rick off Hard Yakka. Dell actually has printed stuff off his blog on land travel so its interesting to meet people who have given us helpful information. During the day Dell watched the monkeys come down at lunch time into the bin and one big one went into the workmen’s place and got on top of the cupboard trying to open it and then got down in front of it and tried to open it but luckily it was padlocked. A storm came up through the night and it rained solidly all night.

Finally up to date with this!! Hope you are all well. Still anxiously awaiting baby news!!

Best wishes

Dell and Peter

WEEK 16: 22 May – 28 May –Phi Phi Don to Singa Besar, Langkawi

2010-06-05T15:21:00.001+10:00

DAY 106 Saturday 22 May –Phi Phi Don to Ko Ngai
07°24.561N 99°12.927E
Departed Phi Phi Don at 8.15 in the rain. Noticed Whitby Lass nearby so motored over to say hullo. They were just heading up to Thailand. We had a little bit of wind at first and then of course on the nose! The swell was 1 – 1 ½ metres and we had forgotten what those conditions are like and we reflected on how lucky we all were with the weather when Debbie and Phil were here. It was overcast all day and because of the swell Koh Lanta wasn’t an option so kept going. Ko Muk would not have been any good either – that’s where we went for the Emerald Cave with Debbie and Phil so we pulled around behind Koh Ngai and anchored quite a distance from the beach in 11m. It is a beautiful beach with a few discrete resorts and lots of palm trees – very pretty and more importantly – no swell! Still a bit overcast but a lovely evening. Watched a longtail put out a net which went for at least a mile. Quiet evening watching the lights on the shore.
Miles: 34 Total: 6,765

DAY 107 – Sunday 23 May – Koh Ngai
Woke to a beautiful day so decided to stay. Went to shore and went on a long walk along the beach and Peter cleaned the barnacles off Zed. There are a few resorts along the beach. The two furtherst ones were closed and under repair. One good looking one looked as though it just had caretakers and the pool was green. Three of the resorts were open. We went for a swim – the sand was really white and it was a gorgeous spot. Watched the lights again in the evening. We decided the view was better from the boat than it would be from the shore. Another lovely calm night.

DAY 108 – Monday 24 May – Koh Ngai – Tarutao
06°42.520N 99°40.156E
Left at 7am for a very long day of motoring. It was very hot – the sea just a touch swelly but otherwise a lovely day. Peter read and did watch and Dell did logistics puzzles (a little bit hooked!). We came into an anchorage that Peter had chosen at 5.15 at the northern end of Tarutao. There were a lot of small fishing boats on the shore and a big cave where they stored their gear and crabpots. A really lovely calm spot.
Miles: 51 Total: 6,816

DAY 109 – Tuesday 25 May - Tarutao to Ko Lippe
06°29.634N 99°17.743E
We left at 8.15 and grabbed a large buoy off Koh Lippe in the Butangs at 2.20. It was a beautiful day and we could see the beautiful aqua water over the lovely white sand. We went up the channel and I phoned Margaret to see where the little bar they visited was then Henry off the other boat came by and invited us into the bar but we were quite comfortable and stayed on the boat. He told us we had to follow a channel through the reef to get in but as it was getting late we elected not to go. It got quite windy through the night.
Miles: 31 Total: 6,796

DAY 110 – Wednesday 26 May – Ko Lippe
There was a huge swell coming through and it was windy so we couldn’t get off the boat. Thought of leaving but haven’t visited the bar yet!!

DAY 111 – Thursday 27 May – Ko Lippe
Went for a snorkel at 10.30 – the coral was quite good – beautiful yellow and blue hard coral. We snorkelled to the beach and went ashore. There were a lot of people there and it was a bit embarrassing but then a lovely young lady named Emily came down and welcomed us and got us a plate and told us to help ourselves to food. Emily is American and her partner Tom is Thai and they had built four cabins and a bar and were having an end of season party to celebrate their first season of being open. We had green curry and noodles and barbequed wild boar. Emily’s friend Fawny (American) and another American backpacker named Bjorn were there and all the rest were Thais. We left after a couple of hours and had another snorkel though visibility wasn’t great. At 4.30 we went back in and Henry did too and had another free meal. Sat and talked to Emily and the lovely Thai ladies who were related to Tom and had come over from the mainland to prepare the food. Had a lovely evening, then back to the boat.

DAY 112 – Friday – 28 May – Ko Lippe to Singa Besar, Langkawi
06°13.725N 99°44.743E
Went to shore at 9am as we were supposed to meet Henry but he was late so we went for a walk around the island. The vegetation reminded us of New Guinea. Then we came to the walking road which is where all the little tourist shops, restaurants and resorts are – laid back resorts, not flash. It seems to be pretty much closed down for the low season but we would like to come back in the high season. We think it would be a lot of fun and a pretty swinging place! Got back and said farewell to Emily and Fawny and headed off at 10.30. We had been hoping to catch up with Cilantro and Kristie but wouldn’t have made it in time so headed towards Kuah. Motored all the way. The sea was swelly and we pulled in behind an island about 2 hours short of Kuah. It was a lovely spot.
Miles: 32 Total: 6,828

Love and Cheers

Dell and Peter

WEEK 15: 15 May - 21 May -Yacht Haven Marina to Phi Phi Don

2010-05-25T14:07:00.001+10:00

DAYS 99 - 101 Saturday 15 May - Monday 17 May - Yacht Haven
We spent these three days mostly on the yacht and dining out in the evening with the gang. We did a water run and filled four jerries. Mr. Oh and Mr. Samaran came out to look at the boat to give a quote for painting her. Lovely evenings, good company.
DAY 102 - Tuesday 18 May - Yacht Haven to Ko Rang Yai
It poured rain as soon as we got up and it looked as though it had set in. Caught two jerries of water for washing. It cleared about 10am so we took our keys back to the marina and called in to say farewell to Whistle. We went aboard and Jean showed us how their work was coming along - seems a way to go yet but it will be good when it is finished - sad to leave them again. We left around 11 and headed to Ko Rang Yai which is not too far from the entrance to Boat Lagoon. It has a lovely white beach with lots of palm trees and is very picturesque. Ate on board.
Miles: 18 Total: 6,688
DAY 103 - Wednesday 19 May - Ko Rang Yai
Did the washing and read and did logics puzzles. It was lovely waking up in paradise. There are so many huge jelly fish around ranging from white through to dark pink. Dell counted 137 in one batch on one side of the boat and Peter had heaps on the other side. Put in all the diesel from the jerries and went to shore about 3.30 and had a swim. Walked along the beach - there is a resort of sorts with a restaurant but we noticed the beer was expensive so we thought the food may be too. Had a quick shower in their open shower and headed back. Dell was up to 12.30am finishing her book. We have discovered the Diana Galbadon Outlander series. It began with the book Cross Stitch - Peter is now reading the fifth in the series and Dell is reading the fourth. Peter wasn't keen to read them at first as it is written in the first tense which he doesn't particularly like but now he can't put them down!! Highly recommend them.
DAY 104 - Thursday 20 May - Ko Rang Yai - Ao Chalong
We left at 8.30 and motored to Ao Chalong arriving at 11.45. We went to shore to go to Tesco's but Peter's back was playing up so Dell left him at the Come On Bar (dangerous I know!!) Dell walked to Tescos in the heat and did the shopping carting back two backpacks full of goodies. Got back 1 ¼ hours later and Peter said I was just in time to save him - the ladies are good fun and really lovely - not too young! And they have really good music. Went to the Tamarind bar for dinner then back to the boat. Slept on the deck under the shade cover.
Miles: 14 Total: 6,702
DAY 105 - Friday 21 May - Ao Chalong to Phi Phi Don
Some days you shouldn't get out of bed but we had to!!!! It started to rain about 4am and we were enjoying the drops on the sunshade and then it got really heavy so we got tarps and put over ourselves but then it got really windy with thunder and lightning and the bedding was getting soaked so moved it downstairs and as Dell was doing this Peter suddenly started the motor. An exhilirating moment coming up!! Looked behind us and we were about 8m off a big yacht called Smoke. Our sunshade had acted like a sail and we dragged anchor through the mud at a great rate of knots! We managed to hold off using the motor and nudged our way forward but dragged back again so nudged our way forward to bring the anchor up. It was very dark, pouring rain, thunder and lightning and we knew there were two small unlit boats to our port side. We could see really clearly when the lightning flashed. We pulled up and reanchored thoroughly soaked. A great start to the day. We went ashore at 10am to check out. Peter checked us out while Dell grabbed a few more things from the shop. We upanchored at 11.15 and headed for Phi Phi Le. It was an uneventful trip but we could see clouds building all around and it was a race to get there before the storm hit. The swell was heading straight for Phi Phi Le so we headed for Phi Phi Don and just rounded the point as the storm hit. We had gusts of 50+ knots which heeled us over, the boom came out of its cradle and a couple of the cable ties on the side canvas broke. You could see the water being whipped up into spray as the gusts came. We anchored in the storm and ended up a bit close to a big boat on a buoy so pulled up and anchored again. Getting heeled at 50+ knots or more - another exhilarating few moments!! When we anchored a big boat who was much further back apparently had put out a heap of rope when he saw the storm coming and when he pulled it in he was right beside us so.............. we upanchored and anchored again (storm finished). The swell coming in to the bay was very bad so we couldn't cook dinner so went to bed hungry!!! Ah well some days are like that!!!!
Miles: 29 total: 6,731
Carol, I think you are having a birthday soon - a special one - if so happy birthday. Also a certain accountant has a special birthday this year. Patrick if we have missed it, hope it was great, if not we hope its a beauty!!! Missing little Rose - hope she is good and anxiously awaiting the birth of our grandchild.

Hope you are all well.
Love and Cheers
Fair winds and calm seas
Dell and Peter
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WEEK 14: 8 May – 14 May –Ko Hong (Krabi) to Yacht Haven Marina

2010-05-16T16:40:00.001+10:00

DAY 92- Saturday 8 May - Ko Hong - Koh Pak Bia
Debbie, Phil and Dell took Zed around the island looking at the caves and rock formations and could see heaps of fish. Missed the hong entrance at first as it was low tide and there is actually heaps of coral there which we had not noticed on our last visit. We rowed in and were the only ones in there so it was kind of special though it was quite shallow so we didn’t go too far. Enjoyed the ambiance till another dinghy motored in and as we left a longtail boat went in. We came back to the boat for lunch. It is very hot. Upanchored at 11am and headed around some islands and ended up at Koh Pak Bia. Anchored and Dell, Debbie and Phil took Zed into the beach but it was no good for snorkelling so took Zed and went back around the island to a neighbouring island and had a swim off the sandspit. There was quite a current running and Dell had her back to it trying to feed some bread to some fish when a big pink jellyfish missed her back by about 3 feet and Debbie had a close call with her face and a jellyfish so we decided that was enough swimming and took Zed out around the island back to the boat. It is amazing when you accidentally hit these huge jelly fish with the outboard motor (poor things!) but they kind of get all mooshed up – we do try to avoid them!!
Miles: 3 Total: 6,632

DAY 93 – Sunday 9 May – Koh Pak Bia - Koh Pan Yi (Gypsy village)
Happy Mother’s Day
We headed to Koh Pan Yi and motored without a breath of wind. We arrived around 3pm and went ashore. Walked through the village and Debbie and Phil found it very interesting. There was a game of soccer (mini) going on at the school – they seemed to have two small soccer fields – not bad for a village built on stilts! Did some shopping and ate on board. Had to get out the mosquito coils and nets on the hatches. Next thing we hear bat bat bat as Debbie had spied a bat (or two) flying around the boat.
Miles: 16 Total: 6,648

DAY 94 – Monday 10 May – Koh Pan Yi – Ko Hong (Pha Nang)
Went into the village again and then left at around 11am and headed through the channels to Koh Hong. There was a catamaran and a yacht already anchored so anchored between them and ended up a bit closer to the cat than Dell would like. Went to the hong and motored around in Zed. The tide was a little low to get into the cave hong but the rest of it was beautiful. Went to a little beach for a swim and could see the National Parks blokes sitting in their boat waiting for people to return to their yachts to charge them the fee. They gave up before we got back. Dell was a little worried that we seemed too close to the cat but when we got back it looked fine. A little later Phil pointed out that they were a little close. They had ridden up over their anchor and we were also surrounded by 6 sunsail charter boats so decided to move right out the back. It was initially a little windy but at least that was cool and then it quietened and we had a comfortable night though Debbie and Phil reported mosquitoes on the deck. When we anchored we were quite close to a drink bottle on a rope so Peter pulled it in to move it. Up came a rock and then a fish trap but then he and Debbie couldn’t pull up whatever was attached to that. They moved it a little way away.
Miles: 7 Total: 6,655

DAY 95 – Tuesday 11 May – Koh Hong - Phanak
Went for a motor around the hong at high tide – it is one of the more beautiful islands around. When we upanchored the fishtrap line was wrapped around our anchor chain so Peter had to cut it away. He tried to rejoin the line but couldn’t hold it so unfortunately that fish trap will never be found again! Had a slow motor to Phanak where we had brekky and then jumped in Zed and headed around the island. This is Dell’s favourite and we went under lots of overhangs and went around an inlet which looks like an ancient city. There were a couple of monkeys on the beach but disappeared when we went in. Had a cooling swim but bubbles were coming up from the sand – really weird. Went around to the other side of the island and saw where the tourist sea canoes were going in. The tour guide said we wouldn’t get Zed in but we could walk so we left Zed on a small beach and took our torches and started walking into the cave. These are openings in the cliff you would never notice if the tour boats weren’t there. Luckily it was a sand bottom and we had the torches so walked about 100m in the dark – ducking as the top of the oyster encrusted cave came down and came out into the most amazing hong – there were mangrove trees in the middle but it was sand – obviously at high tide it would be covered. There were little mudskips and we were the only ones in there – couldn’t believe our luck. Spent some time and then walked out again. A wonderful experience. We came back around and the tide had fallen enough for us to find the entrance to “our” hong so went in there and it was deep enough to row around. Came back around to the long cave and the monkeys were on the beach so watched them for a while. It was now one hour after midtide on an ebb tide so decided to have a go at the big scary cave. Peter and Phil did a mighty job rowing against the current and outcoming canoes and the water was shallowing. Cant tell you how pitch black it is in there – we finally got past all the canoes and made it to the end of the tunnel and finally (third time lucky) we could get through to the hong and we were the only ones in there! We knew we wouldn’t have long as the tide was dropping. We rowed into the hong – really big with lots of places for future exploring when we have time. But then we saw the most amazing thing. There was a gathering of monkeys and all the juveniles were swimming in the water – duck diving down and coming up and ducking each other, leaping from the tree into the water and swimming back to do it all again, splashing and playing with each other in the water – it was an awesome experience and something we have never seen before – swimming monkeys!!! Couldn’t stay too long as the tide was going out and the boys had an easier time getting out as we went with the tide. It is so very dark, bats on the ceiling – you can smell them as soon as you enter the cave. Great stalactites which looked like chandeliers and then we were out. Came back to the boat for a well earned beer and lunch and just sat looking at this awesome island.
Miles: 3 Total: 6,658

DAY 96 – Wednesday 12 May – Phanak to Yacht Haven
Upanchored around 11 and motored slowly with no wind to anchor off Yacht Haven marina. Headed for shore and called in to see Whistle Down the Wind on the way. Walked to the little village and then organised a hire car for tomorrow and then had a shower – a real shower albeit with cold water but in this weather that is very welcome. Met Jean and Dave for dinner at a little place called Coconut which just has one lady to do everything – cooking, cleaning, serving etc. Quite a feat.
Miles: 11 Total: 6,669

DAY 97 – Thursday 13 May – Yacht Haven
Picked up the hire car – heaps of room and fantastic air con!! Headed for old Phuket town which was fascinating with lots of wonderful old shops. Good material shops which were cheap without bargaining. Lost Debbie and Phil but found them again in time for lunch. We went to a little local restaurant and had good food. Then we went to the shopping centre so Phil could have his Swensons ice cream Sunday – we all managed to eat a huge ice cream Sunday and very nice it was too! We then headed to the beaches but it was a little late for a swim. Saw people having elephant rides – the elephants walking along the road. Saw a local market so stopped – it had fruit and veg, fish, chicken, clothes and all sorts of things. Headed back to the marina and didn’t have time for a shower as it was straight to happy hour and the barbeque buffet which was expensive but very nice. Geoff from Wavesweeper was there as well so we had quite a table full of people and it was a good night.

DAY 98 – Friday 14 May – Yacht Haven
Debbie and Phil’s last day – where did the time go!!
Headed into town to do some shopping. Dave and Jean came too as they had to collect their anchor chain and someone else’s anchor which had been galvanised. We stopped at a store called Super Cheap which turned out to be a huge warehouse that sold absolutely everything – food, meat, groceries, clothes, shoes, stationery, electrical, furniture – you name it and it was there. We spent an hour and didn’t scratch the surface – no air con in there so it was quite hot. Found the place to get the anchor and the chain – it was the biggest darn anchor – but we managed to get it all in with Dave tucked in the backseat behind the anchor and the chain neatly folded behind the back seat. Went to the supermarket and did some shopping. There was the strangest bug outside the supermarket in the garden (see the photo). We stopped at a temple on the way back which had a big reclining Buddhu on the roof of the building and lots of statues around the place. Then back to the boat for final packing. Debbie and Phil had a shower and we met them at the restaurant for dinner. A storm was threatening so they moved us further into the restaurant under cover and we had a huge meal then at 6.30pm headed to the airport just as it started to rain. Debbie and Phil checked in – the plane had been delayed an hour. All the passengers on their flight had their luggage searched but the Jetstar passengers to Singapore didn’t – odd! We said farewell to Debbie and Phil and headed off. We have had a wonderful time and it is kind of lonely without them! When we went to go out we didn’t have a parking ticket as we weren’t given one when we went in so we had to pull over and try to make them understand we didn’t have one. In the end they issued us with a ticket and took our 40 baht! Slept on the deck but at 4am it bucketed down rain so we had to quickly move inside.

It has been a wonderful few weeks with Debbie and Phil on board and we have thoroughly enjoyed their company. The boat is a little bigger and quieter now they have left and just a little bit lonelier. We want to thank them for all the help with the anchoring etc which saved Peter’s back – happy to report that his back is much better now. We are just waiting to get another quote for getting the boat painted and then we will be on our way back down to Langkawi. We are looking forward to the birth of our new grandchild who is due on 2nd June.

Take care all.

Love and Cheers
Fair winds and calm seas
Dell and Peter

WEEK 13: 1 May – 7 May – Phi Phi Don to Ko Hong (Krabi)

2010-05-13T11:31:00.001+10:00

DAY 85 - Saturday 1 May - Phi Phi Don to Ko Muk

Left at 7am and had a good sail with both main and headsail for a little while then of course the wind died and we motored to Ko Muk. We anchored at first but weren’t happy with the holding so upanchored and picked up a buoy in 4m of water. It was a great comparison to when we came up a week or so ago – calm this time. Went to shore but our little restaurant had closed for the season so we went to the resort for dinner. The service was mediocre and the mosquitos savage. It was a lovely still night.
Miles: 38 Total: 6,384

DAY 86 – Sunday 2 May – Ko Muk to Ko Lantra
07°32.147N 99°02.851E
Went to the Emerald Cave at 7.30am. There were only two people in there. The noise was just like the Disneyland Pirates of the Carribean!! – the water hitting little caves and making a very eerie noise. Had a lovely time in there then Phil and Dell swam out then we dinghied around to the other beach and went ashore for a swim. Back to the yacht and we left at about 11.30 and went up the coast to Koh Lanta. We managed to anchor where there were a lot of rocks ashore!! But managed to land the dinghy in a gap in the rocks. Peter can’t walk very far at the moment as he has done his back in and it is very sore. A lovely lady named Oom came to greet us and invite us to her bar. It was an interesting bar on the beach and they had snakes in bottles – not Dell’s favourite. We sat at a table near the beach for dinner. A little girl started doing a dance for us and then got her fire chains out and did that (without the fire – she was only about 3) – she was very good. We had a lovely meal and then one of the men did the fire twirling – it was a wonderful evening and then back to the boat. Debbie and Phil slept on the deck – heard Phil fall out of bed onto the deck sometime through the night!
Miles: 20 Total: 6,404

DAY 87 – Monday 3 May – Koh Lanta – Nth Koh Dam Khwan (Chicken Island)
07°57.575N 98°48.498E
Peter’s back is no better. We thought of staying – it was so calm through the night. Oom had said that this time last year the weather was really bad and surf was breaking on the beach. In the end we decided to go and left at around 9am. Gained an extra knot of speed with the headsail out for a little while then motored taking it in turns between Debbie, Phil and Dell for the watch. There were heaps and heaps of fish traps to look out for. We arrived at Chicken Island at around 3pm. Anchored about 50m away from the reef. Around 4pm Debbie, Phil and Dell went into the island and left Zed there and snorkelled but a longtail who was distracted headed straight for us so much yelling and splashing and he finally noticed us. After that we snorkelled holding on to Zed, The fish were small but a few of them were aggressive – even the little Nemos didn’t back off. The little brown camouflage fish put a fin on a rock on either side of it and sat as still as it could thinking – you cant see me! The coral was very shallow and covered in sand but further out it was much better. Phil wasn’t well and Debbie and Phil slept on the deck again and we had another beautiful night.
Miles: 29 Total: 6,413

DAY 88 – Tuesday 4 May – Nth Koh Dam Kwan
Today is a down day to catch up with ourselves. Dell made muffins and Peter made bread and we are most intrigued to know what all the tour boats are looking at. This is a beautiful spot between four island with sandspits between two of them. The sandspits dry at low tide and you can walk between the two islands. There were so many people there this morning it looked as though they were walking on water! We went to the place where everyone had been snorkelling but the clarity wasn’t very good and all we could figure was that they were feeding the fish there. Saw a longtail with a monkey in a jacket on board.

DAY 89 – Wednesday 5 May – Nth Koh Dam Kwan – Rai Le Beach
We went snorkelling early in the morning but the tide was out and there were so many sea urchins that it was a bit dangerous so we headed back to the boat. Upanchored and went to the southern tip of Krabi where there was supposed to be a cave and a pool. It was a beautiful spot with large karsts rising out of the water and a resort on the beach. Dell, Debbie and Phil went ashore and walked to the cave with all the phallic symbols and had a swim over to an inlet in the rocks but didn’t actually see any cave or pool. I am sure with another visit we will have to explore a little more. We then motored around to the next bay and anchored in 4m and all went ashore. This place is renowned for its rock climbing so D, D & P walked along the beach – lots of backpacking places and came back to where we had left Peter and watched a fellow climbing under an overhang. When he fell the line was taken taut by the trainer on the ground. Deb & Phil found a little local eatery up a lane and the lady produced an old table and some odd chairs to accommodate us. She said it was up to her how hot our food would be and we had the loveliest meal we had had in ages. Went back to the boat as it was threatening rain but nothing came of it but it was shallow on the way back and the motor touched bottom a couple of times.
Miles: 5 Total: 6,418

DAY 90 – Thursday 6 May – Rai Le Beach
Peter stayed on board and D, P & D headed around the headland to the next bay in Zed. There was a special on massages so Debbie and Dell had a pedicure and massage – both for 450 Baht – about $15 (for two). We then walked around town. Taxi prices are ridiculously high but we found a bike taxi would take us to the Wat and wait and bring us back but by this time it was getting a bit late. We also found out the fruit and veggie market was about 5k away but as it was getting late and the water getting a bit rough we headed back to the boat. We all got soaked but arrived safely back. Dell has been driving Zed in Peter’s absence. We decided to eat on board as there was lightning all around and then we had a big storm with heaps of rain and we filled our two jerries and all the buckets in no time. It lasted about ¾ hr and then it was over and gone leaving us refreshed after our shower in the rain on the deck.

DAY 91 – Friday 7 May – Rai Le Beach – Ko Hong
We had a late start trying to decide whether to go round to the bay again or back to find the cave and pool but in the end decided to head for Ko Hong. It took a couple of hours and we picked up our buoy at Ko Hong about 1pm and headed to the beach. Peter and Dell had a swim while Debbie and Phil did the walk and then came back to the beach for a swim. Had a lovely afternoon – there weren’t as many longtails or tourist b oats as last time and in the end it was just us and about five other people. Beautiful calm evening.
Miles: 11 Total: 6,629

Love and Cheers

Fair winds and calm seas

Dell and Peter

WEEK 12: 24 April - 30 April - Ao Chalong to Phi Phi Don Thailand

2010-05-07T16:06:00.002+10:00

Congratulations to Jeremy and Claire on their engagement

DAY 78 - Saturday 24 April - Ao Chalong, Thailand
Greg and Chris (Windchimes) went off in their hire car for the day and we commenced cleaning up the boat and trying to rearrange all the stuff we keep on the back bunk to free it up for Debbie and Phil. At the end of the day we were all too tired to go ashore so ate on board.

DAY 79 - Sunday 25 April - ANZAC DAY - Ao Chalong
We went to say hullo to Pam off Helly then joined Greg and Chris ashore for breakfast. Had a beer at the Come On bar and talked to Doug off Helly. Shopping and cleaning then a very pleasant evening spent with Wind Chimes.

DAY 80 - Monday 26 April - Ao Chalong
Debbie and Phil come tonight! Finished tidying the boat (how messy could it be!!) and headed in to collect the hire car from Nina's. It was red but turned out to be a bit smaller than we thought. We went to sort out our internet then to Boat Lagoon to see how work on Neptune II was coming along. Had a chat to Neptune's skipper and he was very impressed with the work being done. Then we headed to Yacht Haven to see David and Jean on Whistle Down the Wind. They have totally pulled their whole dodger off and are working on it. They have done a lot but there is still a lot to go. It poured rain while we were there so they put a tarp over the companionway and we went below for a beer or two. Then we went to the restaurant and then headed to the airport. It was great to catch up with Whistle again. We got to the airport at 7.20 but we were not allowed in and had to wait outside. Debbie and Phil came out at about 8.10pm and we made the long drive back to Ao Chalong. Had dinner at our little restaurant and Debbie ordered a meal which had omitted the word "hot" on the menu! She persevered and with tears rolling down her face she finished it. We then did the long walk along the jetty and clambered on to a boat and then to our dinghy who we have named Zed. For a long time we were trying to think of a clever name for our dinghy and then Peter was looking at it the other night and it has a big Z on the front (Zodiac) so he said Zed and we thought that was pretty clever and it had been staring us in the face all along!

Day 81 - Tuesday 27 April - Ao Chalong
It was a bit of a rocky night but we all survived it. We tied Zed up at the jetty as it is spring tides at the moment and the jetty moves with the tide. We went up to the Big Budhha and then stopped for a meal on the way down. It was really cheap and absolutely lovely - a nice surprise. We then headed to Nai Harn and had a swim and another snack and a walk around. Then we drove over the range (very slowly!) and saw the elephants. Then to Patong Beach where we parked and walked down the road - it was 4pm and just starting to liven up. We went to the Aussie Bar because we knew it had good toilets and noticed a man lying on the floor - he had collapsed and hit his head. Ambulance came and carted him away. Returned to Ao Chalong and went to our little restaurant.

DAY 82 - Wednesday 28 April - Ao Chalong
Happy Birthday Sandra!!
Went to buy another fan for the boat and then to the supermarket to provision then to Patong to the wet market to buy fruit and veggies. They have all kinds of interesting things in there including live toads, and eels (which really looked like snakes) along with the general fish and chickens and gizzards etc. It poured rain which made us pretty happy as Peter had the water catcher up on the boat but when we drove back to Ao Chalong we hadn't had a drop of rain!! Went to our little Tamarind restaurant for dinner. The cat sat behind Debbie on her chair again. We had left Zed tied to the stairs at the jetty and when we got back with our supplies the tide had gone out and Zed didn't quite have enough rope out and was starting to rise at the front so it was as well we got back when we did.

DAY 83 - Thursday 29 April - Ao Chalong - Phi Phi Le
On buoy
The boys did a water run with the jerries and we upanchored around 10am and headed to Phi Phi Le - dead calm and wind on the nose. We got to Phi Phi Le and there was only one buoy we could have and it was occupied. We went in to see if they were staying and they were leaving as soon as they got their motor fixed. So we hung around and as soon as they left we grabbed the buoy. We jumped in the water and there were no fish. So we went for a snorkel over the reef and it was fantastic. There was only one other yacht in the place so it was wonderful to have the place to ourselves.
Miles: 26 Total: 6,329

DAY 84 - Friday 30 April - Phi Phi Le to Phi Phi Don
We started our day early jumping off the back of the boat and there were fish everywhere. Went for a snorkel and then took Zed all around the edges of the rocks. We left at 9.40am just as all the tourist boats were starting to swarm in. Went around Phi Phi Le with Debbie and Phil sitting on the deckchairs. The only thing missing was the Pims! We went past a lovely little beach at Ao Nui with rocks around and noticed a buoy so grabbed it and went ashore and had a snorkel round. There were a few interesting fish but nothing startling so we returned to the boat and had lunch on the way to Hin Klang Reef. We could see a buoy so headed for it. Dell though it was a little close to the reef but we picked it up anyway. Peter did a snorkel round to make sure we wouldn't hit a bommie. We all went for a snorkel from the back of the boat. The coral was hard coral and was spectacular - absolutely beautiful. Like a great big garden. Motored to Phi Phi Don and anchored then it rained so we had a shower on the deck. What an amazing day. Went to shore for dinner and walked around then stopped at a cafe on the way back. Got back to the boat in the dark to find that a huge boat had taken the very small buoy near us and put out lots of line so we were in danger of getting hit. So after the rain we upanchored in the dark and anchored further out.
Miles: 17 Total: 6,346

Sorry this is so late - we seem to have been so busy!! We have really noticed that the high season has finished and the low season has started and even though there are still heaps of tourists it has definitely quietened down.
Love and Cheers
Fair winds and calm seas
Dell and Peter
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WEEK 11: 17 April – 23 April – Kuah, Malaysia to Ao Chalong, Thailand

2010-04-26T12:22:00.002+10:00

To all of you who are reading this for the exciting sailing you will be disappointed. We are now into cruising mode and just motoring around, however, we hope we can at least keep you a little entertained!

DAY 71 – Saturday 17 April – Kuah, Malaysia
Walked to town and did boat jobs. Were going to go in for dinner but it bucketed down rain and we couldn’t get off the boats. In Transit started to drag and when he checked his anchor realised he had a huge net wrapped around the anchor chain. He spent quite some time hauling it in and trying to cut it away from his anchor chain and then he reanchored. Braveheart left.

DAY 72 – Sunday 18 April – Kuah Malaysia
Another preparation day. Kristie arrived and we went to dinner with Kristie, Single Malt and In Transit – a very good Chinese meal.

DAY 73 – Monday 19 April – Kuah to Telaga
06°21.765N 099.40.844E
Checked out of Malaysia and said farewells to Single Malt, In Transit and Kristie. In Transit are heading back to Australia so that is a bit sad. We upanchored at 11.30am and headed to Telaga. Tequila came out of Reback and was right behind us when he stopped. Found out later that he got a rope round his propeller – how did we miss it?!!! Got some petrol (54 cents a litre) and had a quiet night.
Miles: 16 Total: 6,160

DAY 74 – Tuesday 20 April – Telaga to Koh Bulan (Bulan Channel)
06°49.084N 099.41.052E
Were going to get away early but there was a storm around so waited for a while. Finally left at 8.30am and came up around Langkawi and it bucketed down rain on us. At least it was cool! It was a bit rough till we got to the east coast of Turatao and then it was dead calm. Spent the day motoring along avoiding fish traps. A long boring hot day and arrived at the Bulan Channel at 3pm. We checked out the channel but when we got down to 2.9m (1.5m under the keel) we turned back and anchored in 4.9m. We would not have been able to get out of there at low tide. The catamaran Soul was anchored much further in. We launched the dinghy and went around the edges of the two islands and then had sundowners on the deck. A very comfortable night.
Miles: 32 Total: 6,192

DAY 75 – Wednesday 21 April – Koh Bulan to Ko Ngai
07°24.185N 099.13.023E
Left at around 6.45am and motored. Did some sewing and made Peter a new sarong. A beautiful day but motoring and as usual the breeze is on the nose. Passed Koh Phetra – quite an impressive sight. Got to Koh Muk around 4.30pm and it looked really rough in the anchorage. Wind Chimes was in there bouncing up and down and though the wind usually drops in the evening we decided to go another hour along to Ko Ngai. We dropped anchor at 5pm in 12m and went back to 11m then we swung around and went to 6 then to 3.9m which didn’t help Dell’s equilibrium but Peter tended to think that a school of fish passed under the boat! Anyway we were soon back in 11m and making plans to go ashore. There were lots of coconut palms on the beach, a resort, a jetty with huge restaurant and what looked like a cosy little bar. Then there was thunder and lightning and the heavens opened so we opened our own bar and dined on board. It was a very comfortable night. A long day
Miles: 49 Total: 6,241

DAY 76 – Thursday 22 April – Ko Ngai to Phi Phi Don
07°43.777N 098.46.223E
We left at 6.50am just as Wind Chimes went past. The current was against us and as always the wind was on the nose! We motored along. Did the washing with the water we caught last night. We got in at 3.15pm and Cilantro came in around 6pm with their new canvas work which looked pretty impressive! It was wonderful to see them again and we met on shore for dinner at our favourite restaurant but it seemed to have changed hands and the service was hopeless and the food very ordinary. We even had to ask for eating utensils! But it was great to catch up and were talking so much on the way back we went right past where we had left the dinghies! And then went oh my goodness where are they so had to trek back along the beach to find them! We headed back to the boats just as the lightning was flashing. Back on board Peter grabbed what he thought was the dinghy line and dropped the other end to wash the sand off. What he had actually grabbed was the line tied to his fishing rod and yes – there was the dinghy drifting away again!! So it was another enforced swim for Peter in the dark to retrieve it. Dell is starting to think that this is his secret exercise regime!!! Storm came to nought and we had a very comfortable night.
Miles: 35 Total: 6,276

DAY 77 – Friday 23 April – Phi Phi Don to Ao Chalong, Thailand
We left at 6.15am and Cilantro headed to Langkawi. We had the headsail out for a little while but then as always the wind went on the nose and we motored along with Wind Chimes who followed us into the anchorage arriving at 12.30pm. Then it was into Immigration, customs and harbour master to check into the country. Went for a walk and introduced Greg and his friend Chris to Nina’s cars and we all booked a hire car. Then we met Wind Chimes at the Tamarind Bar and joined them for a bite to eat. We came back to the boats as a front came in and it bucketed down rain.
Miles: 27 Total: 6,303

You may have noticed that the weather is changing. It is the transition period between the NE and SW monsoon so it is going to become an art form to figure which side of an island we should be anchoring! Debbie and Phil arrive soon and we are really looking forward to seeing them.

Love and Cheers
Fair winds and calm seas
Dell and Peter

WEEK 10: 10 April – 16 April –Tarutao, Thailand to Kuah, Malaysia

2010-04-17T13:24:00.002+10:00

DAY 64 – Saturday 10 April –Tarutao to Kuah
06°18.808N 099.50.905E
It had been a bit rolly through the night but not too bad. We watched the lone monkey on the beach again then left at 7am as the swell was starting to build. So hot. Motored all the way to Telaga and tied up at the fuel dock at 11.15am. We put 300 litres of diesel in ($202). Jackie and Phil from Whitby Lass came over to say hullo. We hadn’t seen them since around Ambon. Left the dock at 1.30 and as we came towards the point off Reback we saw the boat in front of us turn sharply to the right and we wondered what they were doing. It was Whitby Lass and they called us up to tell us there was a floating net in front with all little white buoys along it. We also turned sharply to starboard and went along the edge of the net which went for about a mile! That’s the first net of that kind we have seen in Malaysia. We anchored close in at Kuah at around 5.30 in 3.9m (lowish tide). We were too tired to go ashore
Miles: 36 Total 6,144

DAY 65 – Sunday 11 April - Kuah
Today we had to check into Malaysia. Firstly, we forgot about the hour time difference between Thailand and here so we were already running an hour later than we thought. We went over to say hullo to In Transit and went on board for a chat. They had also been to Ko Rok Nok but unfortunately for them when they realised how shallow it was they got a plastic bag caught on their motor and lost their steering and hit the reef doing some pretty major damage. Everyone we spoke to who had been there had a similar story of close calls! So off we went to Immigration and then to the Harbour Master only to find that he had shut up shop at 12.15 and wouldn’t be back till 2.45. So we walked to the shopping centre and we both had haircuts. Back to the Harbour Master and then we tracked down the customs people and we were officially back in the country. We went to shore for dinner – tables set up around the water front. In Transit joined us and Peter and Maria got their meals straight away but Russel and Dell got forgotten about – apparently that happens to Russel a lot! Got it in the end but they told us the rice was ‘finis”. We ate our meal and then watched as plates of rice were carried to other tables!

DAY 66 – Monday 12 April - Kuah
Peter ran the generator (thanks Andy) to boost the batteries then we walked 5km to the warehouse to check out the wine situation and then we walked back again – 10km all up in the heat. In the evening we joined Two Up, Single Malt, Mandolin Wind, In Transit, Braveheart and Three Ships at the bar frequented by expats. Three of us took our dinghys down there – up a dirty little shallow creek and then we had to lift them up on to the rocks. It was no quicker as by the time we had done this the others had walked there. We then went to the Indian restaurant across the road and they set up tables for us out on the grass on a kind of a traffic verge. Good food.

DAY 67 – Tuesday 13 April - Kuah
It is so extremely hot. We have taken to sleeping on the deck. At 1.30pm we hired a car and went to the warehouse and got our wine. We came back and while we were loading ours Braveheart took the car and did a beer run. Then we went back to the warehouse for the beer (35 cents a can! – so the more we buy the more money we save!!!) It took some time to cart it all out to the boat. At 5.30 we walked to the bar and then headed up to one of the eateries along a creek. Had a lovely meal with Braveheart , Mandolin Wind and Three Ships

DAY 68 – Wednesday 14 April - Kuah
We still had the car till 1.30 so headed off to the supermarket, the chandlery and all the other places we needed to go and had the car back on time. Peter spent the afternoon running the generator and Dell tried to store all the goodies away (an impossible task). Our water line has dropped considerably! Ate on board

DAY 69 – Thursday 15 April – Kuah
We upanchored at 9am and headed to Wavemaster where we are hoping to get Pacific Express painted. It took us an hour to get up there and three staff came to meet us. We have a good feel about the place and have seen the wonderful job they did on a yacht called Aquarius. They have promised us a quote within two days. We came back to Kuah and anchored pretty much where we had been. Peter was doing water runs with the jerries and had just untied the dinghy to get in it when Dell said the batteries in her reading light didn’t work so Peter went to have a look at it. Then we saw the dinghy just floating away! He had let it go so had to dive in and swim out to retrieve it!! We did computer work and ran the genny then went to Braveheart for dinner with Chris and Judy. They cooked us Argentinian steak which was really rather good. A good night.

DAY 70 – Friday 16 April - Kuah
Booked our flights back to Australia for 4th August and then Single Malt called up to see if Dell wanted to go for a massage so at 1pm the ladies met ashore and went for coffee then walked to the beauty salon. We all chose a pamper package. The place was really lovely – the halls had big white pebbles on the floor with stepping stones. We then spent the next hour and a half being pampered and massaged with oil and creams and all sorts. Even dozed off at one point – it was wonderful ($33!) It poured rain just before we left. Met the boys at the bar but it was closed as it is Friday (Friday to Muslims is like our Sunday). Saw two big water monitors dash back to the creek from the back of some shops. We went to another eatery along the creek and had another lovely meal (yes it is all about the food!!!!). A really lovely day.

From Week 10

Preparations are going well and we are really looking forward to seeing Debbie and Phil next week.

Love and Cheers
Fair winds and calm seas

Dell and Peter

WEEK 9: 3 April – 9 April –Koh Pak Bia to Tarutao

2010-04-17T13:21:00.003+10:00

DAY 57 – Saturday 3 April –Koh Pak Bia to Ko Hong (on buoy)
08°04.544N 098°40.821E
Headed for Ko Hong at a leisurely time of the morning as it was only three miles away. We circumnavigated the island then picked up a buoy around 12 noon. It was a bit overcast so headed round to the Hong in the dinghy. There was a gap which the longtails were going through so in we went. We have obviously been spoilt as we didn’t find it as spectacular as some we have seen so came back to the beautiful beach and went on a nature walk. There is actually a memorial here to the people who were killed in the tsunami. We really hadn’t comprehended the extent of it and this is the only island so far (that we have seen) that has mentioned it. They have left the remains of the longtails where they landed quite a way inland and this forms part of the walk. We came out to a beautiful beach and Dell thought we had walked to the other side of the island but we had just come out a bit further down the beach! Had a swim – beautiful. It rained. Its amazing how many people got out of the water because it rained! Went back to the beach in the late afternoon and walked around after all the tourists had gone. The outboard stopped (water in the fuel from the rain) so we rowed back to the boat. Fixed the fuel problem with a bit of metho.
Miles: 3 Total: 5,936

DAY 58– Sunday 4 April –Ko Hong
Were going to circumnavigate the island in the dinghy but it was a little rough so had a boat day. Got confirmation Debbie and Phil are coming so made plans!!!

DAY 59 – Monday 5 April – Ko Hong – Ao Chalon
07°49.228N 098°21.291E
Left Ko Hong at 7am and headed for Ao Chalon to check out and go back to Langkawi for duty free resupplies! We motored the entire way and as we were coming in the depth dropped and we were suddenly in very little water. A quick turn to port and we were ok – a near run thing! We arrived about 1.30pm and anchored amid lots of boats and buoys. Some more big boats came in on the buoys in the late afternoon so we were quite close to them but were ok. If we had realised it was a holiday tomorrow we would have checked out be we didn’t. Went to shore around 4pm and walked to Tesco supermarket for supplies for the trip to Langkawi. Found a lovely little restaurant on the beach and had the coldest beer (the weather is soooo hot!) and had dinner. We started walking back along the very long jetty and one of the buses stopped and picked us up and delivered us to our dinghy. There was a big boat tied up near where we had left the dinghy so we put all our supplies on that with the help of one of the crew and got in our dinghy off the back of their boat. Sat on the deck in the evening watching the lights of Ao Chalong and some sort of a big fire up the road.
Miles: 30 Total: 5,966

DAY 60 – Tuesday 6 April – Ao Chalon
Changri Day Holiday
We could have checked out today if we had paid the staff overtime but we chose not to. Went to shore around 4pm. There was a very smelly carcass of a skinned eel (or something) wrapped around the rope of our dinghy! Walked around for a bit then went back to our restaurant – Tamarind – and had dinner with Linger Longer and Cheshire Cat. Nice walk along the jetty to our dinghys and then the clamber down.

DAY 61 – Wednesday 7 April – Ao Chalon – Phi Phi Le
Happy Birthday Pete!
07°40.794N 098°45.86E (on Buoy)
Went to shore at 8.30am as immigration was supposed to open at 9am (that’s what it said on the door!). However, we were informed that it didn’t actually open till 10am. We managed to get through Immigration, customs and the Harbour Master in half an hour so were pulling our anchor up at 11am. We were in 4.4m of water and as we turned to port the alarm went off and said we were in 1m of water. (when our depth sounder says 1.4m we are on the ground!!) So that meant we were on the ground – Dell’s heart almost stopped and then it went back to 4.4m – quite a little heart starter for the morning!!! Followed the buoys out and there was quite a breeze so we thought we might have a good sail but then it went around on the nose – again! Arrived at Phi Phi Le around 4pm and were lucky enough to get a buoy. This is the place where the movie The Beach was made and it is quite spectacular. There are high cliffs all the way around except for the entrance and the whitest beach. Jumped off the back of the boat and there were hundreds of little fish under the boat chewing on the barnacles. Fed them some bread and was entirely surrounded – right in the middle of the school of fish – amazing! All the tour boats left except for one which took all its guests to shore to sleep on the beach. When it got dark we could see lines of fluorescence floating past the boat. What a fantastic place.

DAY 62 – Thursday 8 April – Phi Phi Le to Koh Rok Nok
07°40.794N 098°45.86E (on Buoy)
We left at 6.40am just after Liaison – had a bit of wind for a while and motor sailed and then, as always, what little wind we had went on the nose. We arrived around 2pm. We went round the island and started heading in to the channel between two islands heading for a red buoy. The depth started dropping very quickly from 19m to 2m (.6m under the keel) we did a quick about turn hoping there were no coral heads where we turned! Obviously that buoy was for shallow craft. We went back out and found a passage so went to the second buoy in but that buoy had no rope so back we went to the first one and managed to pick that up. There was a fair swell coming in so Pacific Express was bucking a bit. We saw a huge brown thing on the surface of the water – a stingray perhaps – we didn’t know but it didn’t make us feel much like jumping in the water there. Went into the beach – beautiful white sand and clear water with the most gorgeous green tinge to it. Went down to see the shrine with wooden effigies, most of which are phallic symbols, then had a swim and went for a drift snorkel with the dinghy. There were lots of little fish – when we looked back there were heaps of little fish actually following us and swimming with us! There was not much colour to the coral as apparently the coral was dynamited for fishing in 2002 but it was a good snorkel. The swell settled down and we had a comfortable night.

DAY 63 – Friday 9 April – Koh Rok Nok to Tarutao
06°38.426N 099°36.932E
It rained early in the morning so we upanchored at 6.30am and had breakfast on the way. There was no wind and if there were it would have been on the nose!! We were melting and the sweat was pouring off us!! Got into Taratuo at 4.15pm and there was quite a swell coming in. Watched a lone monkey walk along the high tide line on the beach.
Miles: 48 Total: 6,108

Love and Cheers
Fair winds and calm seas

Dell and Peter