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

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