25 October - The Crash
The damage was considerable with the deck crushed in about 3 inches and the toerail, and with it the 3/4" thick hull deck joint, sheared away for three metres. The cockpit frame was pushed down with two tubes bent. Inside the frame supporting the front of the cockpit sustained the force of the blow and gelcoat had cracked at both door ways. The hull was stoved in at hull/deck joint for a nine inch wide section with light just visible through the damage.
The yacht club staff chased the cargo boat and told them not to leave as they had called the Harbour Police. Once we were satisfied that there was no under water damage I went ashore and went to the Harbour Master and then the police to file reports. The police came out to photograph and inspect the damage (don't think they get the chance to see inside a yacht very often!) and then we went to the cargo boat and I heard the captain explain how he had lost reverse and couldn't stop while turning.
I was told the shipping agent responsible for the boat would contact me and in the past cash settlements have been reached. This turned out to be the case as after a week of negotiating they agreed to pay and a week later we had the cash in our hands. Later on I found out that the Harbour Master would not issue a clearance for the cargo boat until the matter was resolved.
We had a local shipwright, John Santana do the fibreglass repairs and, while Liz and the girls went with Dave the Cat up to the Cameron Highlands, I moved the boat up to a berth against the yacht club. They came back very happy with their four day adventure and we settled into the idea that we would be here a few weeks while repairs to get us going would be done.
We became good friends with John, and his eleven year old son Leonard, sharing many meals together. Leonard really loved coming down to the boat and playing with the girls and organising Liz (known to him as 'Aunty') to cook all his favourite meals!. The work was slow in progress with heavy rain every day after lunch. The girls set out to finish their schoolwork for the year and cycled between using a table by the pool,and an air conditioned playroom for a classroom.
While not really wanting to be there we had settled into being in Port Klang, finding markets and stores pleased that we had been compensated adequately for the damage.
And then .....
8th Nov - The Bang
This is the e-mail I sent after the bang which sums up my mood pretty well.
It's hard to believe that this week has happened and wonder where it will all stop.
Today we got struck by lightning. The usual afternoon horrendous electrical storm this time went straight over us. I disconnected the radios, turned the power off as usual and then I saw the bottom of the compression post (the stainless steel post that sits in the cabin directly under the mast) light up with sparks as the loudest crack I've ever heard emanate around me.
Liz and the girls were safely up at the yacht club and many people up with them saw the strike on the mast.
For the second time in two weeks I checked all the bilges to see if we were sinking.
We weren't sinking but the electrical systems are hurt badly.
It appears that the Autopilot, Radar, HF Radio, VHF radio, Inverter (new) are gone. All the cables in the mast are most likely burnt out as the aerials are gone and the cable entry at the base of the mast is blown off. I still don't know if the Radio Modem and CD player are recoverable.
To add to our woes our frig is not working. After four years of faultless operation, this I can cope with. Normally this would be considered just a usual run of the mill problem to deal with. But now it's just lousy timing.
Love to all
Colin
This event almost shattered me. I felt for several days very despondent about what had happened and felt like walking off the boat. Was it my fault for not being better prepared - who knows? I had seen several strikes within a hundred metres of me and this was a really bad storm, even by local standards. As far as lightning prevention I had taken the usual precautions but this was, with the benefit of hindsight inadequate. The aerial connection to the auto-tuner of the HF radio (buried deep in a locker in Courtney's cabin should have been disconnected. Our compression post and straps from the chainplates (which the mast rigging ties to) were not bonded to the keel. This would have given a proper exit path. It now is bonded properly with heavy copper bars. But maybe nothing would have stopped the damage occurring - we'll never know.
So then the process of testing things, repairing, replacing segments of wiring, and sending off equipment began. Peter off the catamaran Purr came in and, being an electronics engineer, was very helpful. He was able to repair the CD player and the VHF radio. A lot of work and effort has been put in to get the HF radio and auto-tuner working but no luck on that front. The autopilot was sent back to TMQ in Australia who fixed it and returned it within ten days for a modest charge.
All the automatic bilge pumps are now only manual as the electronics driving the float switches are shot. Our Solar Panel regulators are also gone as is the radar. Virtually everything on the top of the mast has been replaced but luckily all but one cores of the wiring is still working.
But with a bit of effort we able to get the boat in functioning state in four weeks.
And after a bit of hassle with gas types, leaking lines and a blocked cooling pump we had the frig working again!
And, in an unusual way, we got the dinghy problem fixed - well we hope so. On a pontoon I spotted an abandoned rigid floor dinghy. All the tubes had fallen off and it looked ready for the tip. It looked the same dimension as our soft floor dinghy and thoughts or placing the intact fibreglass floor inside our dinghy tubes started to form. John, who was doing the repair work said he had a lot of experience in repairing inflatables. So we set to and pulled the soft floor out of our dinghy and installed the hard bottom. Not a simple job but we now have a much more usable little boat.
The final softener for all our hassles was the improved life our little bird Ketut gained. We bought him larger cage, found meal worms for treats and better food and each morning let him out to fly around the boat which he just loves. He has never looked so healthy
Good-bye Port Klang!
So after six weeks with little fanfare we let our lines ago and in true Port Klang style, careered madly down in the fast current and away. Relief set in as we moved away each mile that things were functioning and we were going to get away. The destination was Pangkor Island, an overnight trip of ninety miles and a light breeze and smooth seas eased us back into sailing.
Coming around the small offshore island near Pangkor we found anchorage in a calm corner of a large bay and felt a great sense of relief to be 'back at anchor'. Pangkor is a Malay tourist destination but fairly low key and quiet. Not content with the quiet life in the bay, Liz took off to KL for three days to attend a Linguistics conference. An e-mail came in from "Dave the Cat" to let us know a Christmas Day party was planned to be held at Langkawi and would we like to join in. Of course.
Langkawi
We decided to skip Penang, having had enough of city destinations for a while, and sailed straight through to Langkawi. The sail during the day was fine with light winds and steady progress. As the sun set the wind picked up from the North-North East, and by dark a reef was in the mainsail. A rough, lousy night laid ahead. The wind stirred up a sea with lots of small waves and Reflections would skip over two swells and then punch into the third, bringing a wave over the deck and slowing the boat down. No fun but at least the miles ticked over.
We came into Kuah, the main township of Langkawi island after lunch and amongst the thirty odd yachts anchored we saw several familiar 'faces'. It was particualay good to see Lynelle and Llyod, off Chappie as we had last seen them in Bali. Four days til Christmas and we spent our days shopping and catching up with people. Kuah is a spread out town but well stocked with duty free liquor stores and a few marine supply stores - my sort of town! A case of beer is A$12 and we bought a Yamaha 5hp outboard motor for A$900.
Feeling much better now- Beer I can afford to drink and a trouble free outboard on a refitted dinghy!
We moved around from Kuah to the new marina/village at Tulaga Harbour. This was only completed three months before we arrived and is unique as it has an calm anchorage formed by two man-made islands just outside the actual marina, allowing us and many others to anchor and then go into to the marina for supplies as needed. The christmas day party was held on one of the sand islands.
Christmas day arrives and Santa had kept up with our movements, delivering to Courtney and Anna far too much as usual. The day went well with the kids off other boats joining them at a treasure hunt on the beach and then not long after midday Santa came in, suitably dressed for the warm weather, and yet more presents were recieved. Lunch was a 'pot luck' affair with a large order of BBQ chickens.
An excellent afternoon game proceeded as everyone brought a gift to share, some useful, some cheeky, some of no value (used toilet repair kit). Each person was given a number and when their number was called out they had the option to take present from the table or 'steal' one of the already opened presents. The victim of the theft then got to choose another present. Worked well and a real laugh!
There were 24 dinghies on the beach so I guess about sixty people were there.
There several good attractions near Tulaga Harbour. There is a cable car that rises 700metres and then across to another lookout. The view was spectacular and the ride just scary enough to be fun. Another day out was Seven Pools, which are rock pools in a mountain stream. It was a long hot walk to the pools but we all enjoyed the pools and sliding from one pool to another.
We stayed around Tulaga Harbour for the next week while checking out the attractions and meeting other yachties. One particular surprise was meeting Willy Willy - another Bounty 43, with Eddy and Jeanna aboard. It was fascinating to see another boat which was the same design as ours. We saw the new year in around a fire on the sand islands again, and after Liz and the girls had sensibly gone to bed, I left all the safety valves off and got totally drunk (with a few others) and slept on the beach til 6:00am.
Generally 2003 was a pretty good year but better off behind us.
Langkawi is definitely a cruising destination in it's own right. There are many many anchorages and the islands are very spectacular. We spent little time exploring but are sure we'll return for a few 'visa runs' the Thai visa we get only lasts 30 days. Before we set out for Thailand we went ot visit a fresh water lake and had a lovely day swimming there and then a wild night of high winds bulletting down all night!
Finally a visit to Rebak marina to do some washing, top up with water and check out the boat yard. The intention is to slip Reflections in February and do a fairly major refit. The yard was very neat and tidy and living aboard would be practical. But there are no skilled workers to speak of there - a problem generally in Malaysia. There was only one team and the work we saw was not good. It's a shame as the marina is slightly cheaper than the ones in Thailand.
Now on to Phuket. It's time for Courtney's birthday and a new web page.
