June 2003 Up the east coast of Malaysia

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We headed back down the Johor Strait from Johor Bahru and rounded Singapore island. There is a seriously large amount of shipping plying these waters and our boat seemed very small as we made our way along the edge of the shipping lanes. We had no dramas but it was an exhausting day keeping track of where each ship was going.

   

The Seribuat Archipelago 
After clearing Singapore we hoped to anchor for then night at some small islands just on the 'corner' of the Malay peninsular. As we approached we realised it was no good with far too much swell to have any hope of sleeping during the night. So we pushed on, somewhat reluctantly but with no other choice. An overnight run would get us to Palau (island in Malay) Sibu. We had 10-15 knots of wind and running downwind in the lumpy swell was no good so we reached out a long way and then reached back in. This is a good strategy to get a more comfortable ride and so what if it takes a bit longer.

Sibu Island

We anchored out wide just before dark and then after breakfast went to the northern tip and found a beautiful calm bay to anchor in. There is a small resort here (Rimbu Resort) and we found the people there very welcoming. The girls were so pleased to be able to go swimming again - all of us were really. Later on in the day two yachts came into the bay and anchored. Mike & Sylvia off the sloop 'Kai Viti', and Don off the ketch 'Valor'. They had spent the last four months in Sebana Cove Marina near Singapore and were planning to do the same trip as us. Mike & Sylvia used to be TAFE teachers (I worked for TAFE NSW for nine years). During our stay the girls found some kids staying at the resort to play with and we enjoyed the adult company of the resort guests and the other yachts.
 

There are tracks from the resort to the other beaches/resorts on the islands. We went for a walk and a swim to the eastern side and had a very pleasant walk through the bush and a swim in the small surf.

Tinggi Island
From here we moved across to the nearby island of Palau Tinggi. This translates to 'tall island' and is dominated by an extinct volcanic cone. We anchored in the southwest corner. Here there was a school and other official buildings. The main reason for the village's existence must be the school as it was the vacation period and the place was almost a ghost town. Still it was nice to wander round and have a look about. There were no cars and two concrete paths made up the street network. Pot plants were everywhere, which gave the place a distinct style.

The weather pattern we encountered was the usual steady southerly wind and a swell coming from the west. The trouble to find a good anchorage was to get out of the wind and the swell. At this anchorage we were open to the wind which was OK as the reef cut down the wave action, although as the tide changed we'd lay sideways to the wind/waves which was a bit unpleasant but tolerable.

The next anchorage was at the northern tip of Palau Tinggi with the hope of a calm bay like Sibu Island. We came into the bay and found a large rocky shoreline and, feeling a bit threatened by the 'hard edge' of the water', anchored out wide. The shoreline rose to meet to the volcanic peak of the island, giving a spectacular look to the anchorage, but.... While the wind was blowing we felt comfortable but that night in the calmer conditions we rolled around and no scenery could offset the lack of sleep from tossing about.


Tossing about when you're at sea is taken for granted - the price to travel this way, but tossing about when you're stopped is not on!

Babi Besar Island
We moved on to Palau Babi Besar Island. This had a lovely long sandy beach on the western side but the risk was we were open to the wind - but the beach looked very inviting. Going ashore we found several resorts along the now familial concrete path/street. The two up-market ones had signs stating they were closed to the public. The reason was they were booked out entirely by a Swedish film crew who were filming a 'Survivor' style series. The people hanging around the resort were quite unfriendly and had that "I'm at work therefore I am not enjoying this look" - even while in the pool with a beer in hand! There were several elaborate sets on the beach. The participants were 'stored' on another island and were brought in to complete their tasks.
 

Apart from the Swedes jogging around the island was very quiet with only noise being cows mooing as they roamed free. . We enjoyed a beer here and there and had a reasonable hamburger for dinner one night. We stayed three nights and although not the smoothest of anchorage the girls really loved the beach. A catamaran named "Katrine" came in and we all met Don and Jean while having a long chat aboard their very nice boat. They are South African and do some charter work and we hope we see more of this nice couple.

Leaving Babi Besar we all went separate ways. Katrine headed to Endau on the mainland to find a place to go to collect a charter group coming in a few weeks and Valour and KaiViti headed to Tioman as Mike had an ongoing ear problem that needed looking at. We just headed to the next anchorage. We ran across to Palau Rawa which looked very similar to Babi Besar, anchorage wise as it faced west and was open to the southerly wind. Resorts filled the beach so we decided to search on for somewhere less populated. Following the small chain of islets north of Rawa we saw only one possible anchorage which had tents erected on the shore. This was no doubt the 'Survivor' island so we moved further north.

Sembilang and Sribuat Islands
Our cruising notes described the next pair of islands with just these three words: 'very protected, fantastic'. No need for depths, waypoints, type of bottom or other directions. We stayed just over a week in the northern bay formed by a reef joining Sembilang and Sribuat Islands.

And it was very protected and indeed fantastic. We had no swell from the west and the wind blew strong over the deck off the reef pushing lots of fresh air through our wind scoop and into the boat. We found the snorkelling good and a long put off job of painting the deck got started. Katrine came in and stayed for a few days and we enjoyed a lovely tropical BBQ and fire on the small beach formed by a little cove in the rocks.

After a great week of 'true cruising just like in the brochure' we moved on to Tioman Island.

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