January 2004 Similian Islands

Koh Similan National Park

We left Patong beach early for the 54 mile run north-west  to 'the Similans'. These islands are forty miles off the Thai coast  and run north - south.  The north-east wind blows hard most mornings and we left with a fully reefed main and quite a few turns on the headsail furler.  For the first few hours we charged along at 7.5 to 8 knots, but as the day went on the wind died away and after a short effort with the spinnaker we motored the last twenty miles to Koh Miang, the first island with anchorage possibilities.  A large pod of dolphins joined us for the last mile into Koh Miang - good stuff!

Every other shop in Phuket seemed to have ads for diving the Similans, so it was no surprise to see lots of dive boats. There are moorings at most of the dive sites and the two most protected anchorages. We picked up a mooring and jumped into the water for an late afternoon snorkel. The first thing was the water clarity - it was stunning. While the coral and fish life weren't spectacular, it was still very good.  On way back to the boat we watched in amazement as a marlin repeatedly shot out of the water and kicked it's tail wildly.

That night we rolled around terribly as the swells seemed to come from all directions.  A trip ashore in the morning found a beautiful beach and a campground  ashore. This would be an excellent holiday option - camping on this island or Koh Similan. Moving up the chain of islands we came to Koh Similan, the largest island. At the northern end there is a protected bay. Once again moorings are available and there is plenty of competition for a spot. We soon realised that patience pays off, as the dive boats move on to the next dive site every few hours, freeing up the mooring.

This anchorage became our base for the next week. This is also a ranger station and has a small restaurant, tents for hire and showers ashore. We were all very keen to try out our dive gear so the next day Liz wakes up with a head-cold. This ruled her out for a dive so Courtney and I prepared for the first dive off our boat.  We went around to the south eastern corner to a site known as Breakfast Bend. This was named as the dive boats do this as the first dive of the day. We picked up a mooring and with the boat tossing wildly Courtney & I stepped off the boat into a beautifully clear scene of coral and fish.  Swimming against the light current we made our way along sand banks that contained fields of small garden eels that sit up out of there holes and slowly descend as we approached. As we got toward our maximum depth of 18metres we found coral outcrops teeming with coral trout and gropers. A large Leopard shark was spotted and a good look in a darker hole found a two metre moray eel.  An excellent dive. On our return Liz and Anna we feeling pretty lousy on the madly tossing boat, so we quickly made our way  back.

That night the girls rented a tent ashore and had a great time 'camping out'. Liz progressively got sicker with a good dose of flu and over the week we all succumbed to the bug. But before Courtney and I did another dive, this time from the dinghy with the families on Uhane Kai and Brilliant II. The highlight of this dive was swimming with a turtle and making our way up, around and under large boulders.

The cycle of the day here was very consistent. A quiet start to the morning with a few of the dive boats moving out, followed by a steady influx of high speed powerboats (mostly with three 200hp outboards) carrying day trippers who would set up on the beach. With dive boats coming and going the day  trippers would leave and the evening would calm down with the sound of dive compressors filling the void till just after dark. The large boulder in the photo was a favourite vantage point for watching the sunset.

Not feeling well certainly put a damper on our stay in the Similans but it was still a very enjoyable stay. We left with little breeze but sailed most of the day to get us back to Patong Beach just before dark, then the next day heading around to Ao Chalong to do some 'town' things.

A short stay   in Ao Chalong saw Liz head off for several interviews for possible jobs. One at a large resort called Le Meridian sounded good but the interview turned out to be a bit of a farce.  Another a small college training people to teach English went well but the manager only needs some one if more enrolments come in. The third was at a private primary school teaching English to the predominately Chinese students. Once that was done we had just enough time to go up to see some of Phang Na bay before heading down to Langkawi to renew our visa

A short trip to Phang Na bay

January 2004 Phuket Thailand

So the year started in Langkawi, Malaysia and after a week or so we cleared Custom and Immigration and headed for Thailand. Most people spend a week or two making their way to Phuket to check into Thailand. We were keen for Courtney to have her birthday with some kids so did and overnight sailed straight from Rebak Marina to Nai Harn at the southern corner of the west coast of Phuket.  The north-east monsoon winds blew well and we flew across with twenty knots of wind on our beam (the wind at right angles to the boat).

We met "Dave the Cat" and they were able to supply four children for the birthday party, their own kids Shannon and Simon and two visitors Craig and Lisa. The bay was crowded with yachts and the beach was teeming with tourists, with whole beach lined with umbrellas and sun lounges for rent. Courtney wasn't well the day of her birthday so a party was held over til the next day and at the next beach up the coast, Kata Beach. Just as pretty with fewer boats anchored but just as many tourists on the beach.  

While at Kata beach we spent two days running around Phuket island to check out options for slipping Reflections. There are two main yards one at Ratanachai, close to Phuket town, which is very traditional slip and the other Boat Lagoon, a resort style place with a very clean open yard and units to rent. With charges very similar we decided on  Boat Lagoon.

A short move up from Kata beach brought us to Patong. This the 'night-life' capital with streets full of bars and girls and middle-aged western tourists. Definitely the place to go if you're in need of a bit of 'sleeze'.  That said Liz and I went in one night without the girls and had dinner and wandered round - got bored and went home to bed!

For a cruising yacht, Patong is not the bay of choice as there are heaps of jet skis buzzing around. Inexperienced riders going really fast, really close is not conducive to a relaxed afternoon at anchor!  We heard of several other boats with kids aboard and soon heard one of the yachts "Uhane Kai" on the VHF radio.  They told us that they and "Brilliant II" each had a twelve year old boy aboard with another boat "Raptor" having a twelve year old girl.

Also they told us about a dive shop selling off it's equipment.  With the thought of meeting more kids and possibly getting dive gear we ran the 12 miles back down to Kata beach to meet up with them.  We fulfilled all needs with the girls meeting up all the kids described above and we bought two sets of scuba diving  gear.

The two boys Dylan off Brilliant II and Kai off Uhane-Kai had recently completed dive course and were also heading to Koh Similan National Park. This is the main diving destination around Phuket and we were all now well equipped.

Next Page: Koh Similan National Park

November 2003 Crash & Bang in Port Klang and on to 2004

Photo SlideShow

25 October - The Crash

It all started with Liz calling out "Oh no, that boat is going to hit us!". I raced into the cockpit and looking out , saw this cargo boat heading straight for us. The next moments are a blur of images: the faces of the crew of the cargo boat looking down on me from their bow, a feeling of the boat closing in as the cockpit frame was crushed downwards and and feeling of the rough timber of the bow of the cargo boat pushing ever further into our boat, and finally a sense that this was going to be the end for Reflections.

And then I remember seeing the boat retreating and lots of shouting. Looking down at the damage a sense of relief and happiness overtook as I realised that we were going to be OK. Later on people commented on how well Liz and I were taking it all, but I'm sure we both felt so lucky to get out of this with boat still floating and no-one hurt.

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.

October 2003 Anna's story of Tanjung Tuan

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The Lighthouse of Tanjung Tuan

By Anna Woods



  ‘Checkmate, Dad!’ Leon shouted with happiness as his eyes scanned the

chessboard.

  Leon’s father, Mr. McMillan threw up his hands in defeat as he saw it was true.

  ‘Leon, now can we go?’  Leon’s older brother, Darrel and older sister, Jade had found a path, which they thought led up to the lighthouse on the hill above them.

  ‘Alright, alright.  But don’t say I’m lazy, and have you asked Mum if it’s okay?’ Leon asked.

  ‘Yep, yep, yep and yep.  Asked ages ago,’ Jade answered.  ‘Well, are we going to go or not?’

The McMillan family were living on their sailing vessel, Team Spirit, and were anchored at Tanjung Tuan on the west coast of the Malay Peninsula.  They were ashore enjoying a nice barbecue on the beach.

♦♦♦

  Jade, Darrel and Leon were off exploring the path, when Jade called, ‘Leon! Darrel! Look!  This cloak made my body invisible!’
   Darrel and Leon had been looking outside a well they had seen while walking up the path and were examining it when they heard Jade yell from across the path.  When Darrel looked across all he could see was a round concrete wall and Jade, holding a silvery cloak in front of her.

  ‘What, is this some kind joke, Jade? Darrel asked.

  ‘No,’ Jade replied angrily.  ‘No.  It isn’t, watch.’

  ‘Okay then.  But first come over to this well.’

  Leon was still busy looking at the well.  ‘Hey, Darrel, look at this old key! Isn’t it awesome?  I found it right here beside the well.’  Leon took his key collection out of his backpack and added the ‘new’ key to the collection.  Then he proudly turned to show Jade and panicking aloud, cried, “What the?  Jade.  Jade!  Where on earth are you?”

  ‘Leon, chill.  I’m right in front of you,’ Jade replied.

  ‘Leon, she’s playing a joke,’ Darrel said, getting annoyed.  ‘And Jade. Wherever you’re hiding, come out.’

  ‘Okay then, Darrel,’ came Jade’s cheerful reply.  ‘Just keep lookin’ in front.’

♦♦♦

  Later back on board Team Spirit, Darrel cried ‘Ow!.  ‘Ow, ow, ow.’

  ‘Darrel, stop being a cry-baby,’ Jade said.

  ‘But Jade, dropping a wok on your feet really hurts.  Even you can’t disagree with that.’  Darrel retorted.

  ‘Yes I can.’  Jade replied meanly.

  ‘Jade, Darrel stop fighting.  You guys will wake up Mum an’ Dad at this rate,’ Leon said in hope that they’d stop fighting.

  Leon, Darrel and Jade were getting ready to sneak out and go to shore.  That way they could go into the lighthouse that they had seen earlier that evening; using Jade’s invisibility cloak, they wouldn’t be seen by the guards.  

♦♦♦

  They rowed ashore so as not to wake up their parents, and headed up the track towards the lighthouse.  ‘Jade, what was that?’ Leon asked, feeling quite sacred after hearing rustling noises through the trees.

  ‘Leon, it’s only some monkeys,’ Jade replied, starting to get creeped out herself.

  Darrel, however, had heard a voice that didn’t belong to him, his brother or sister.  He only heard a man’s voice saying, ‘This way, Reads.’  Leon thought he had seen a torch light ahead and said so.  But Jade didn’t believe him even after Darrel related hearing a man talking to Reads.

  ‘You guys are just making it up ‘cos you’re sacred,’ she accused them.

  ‘We are NOT making it up!’ Darrel and Leon said in unison, becoming angry.  They quietly continued on towards the lighthouse.

  ♦♦♦

When they were inside the light house, they all heard someone yelling,  ‘Reads, you idiot!  Shut up!  Those guards will hear you, and right when I find the place to hide the loot!’

  Leon, Darrel and Jade were silent for five minutes until Darrel, feeling superior said, ‘See, Jade that was the same voice that I heard before.’

  ‘No way, Darrel you were just as scared as I was,’ Jade argued.

  ‘I was not!’ Darrel protested.  Then he added triumphantly.  ‘Anyway, Jade the Brave admitted that she was scared.’

  ‘You know, those smugglers will hear you guys if you don’t keep your voices down.’   Leon said quickly, before Darrel and Jades’ argument got out of control.

  They decided to start going up the staircase to explore the lighthouse.   The first room that they came upon was a room where a large generator was kept. The next room had piles of spare bits and pieces for the lighthouse and even some old cookie containers.  They continued on.  The third room they passed held the largest winch they had ever seen.  It was only in the last room that they saw two shadowy figures, hiding what looked like some glinting treasure.  The smugglers were starting to turn around when Darrel gasped too loudly.  Darrel, Jade and Leon turned to run down the stairs, but Leon was not fast enough.  Lunging towards him, the smugglers grabbed him and closed the door.  Darrel and Jade meanwhile were racing down stairs at top speed.  When they reached the bottom of the stairs, they turned around and realised that Leon wasn’t following them.  They instantly threw open the door and ran outside in hope of finding help.

  Back in the lighthouse, the smugglers have locked Leon in the storage room below. Leon was now searching his backpack hoping to find something that he could use to escape. All he could find though was a torch, a piece of rope, some matches, his pocket knife, the cloak and his key collection.  Leon huddled against the wall with the cloak wrapped around him and looked at his toes.  But he didn’t see his toes, instead he saw the floor.  His heart began to race as he came up with a plan to escape.  He grabbed his key collection and tried every single key in the lock.  The last key he tried was the key he had most recently added to his collection, a big, old rusty key.  As soon as he heard the click of the lock, he opened the door and ran straight down the stairs without a moment’s hesitation.  When he opened the outer door he started to slow down and went straight to a bush from where the sound of two familiar arguing voices was coming.  Still invisible, he snuck up on them and whispered softly, ‘Shush up’.  Darrel and Jade instantly stopped arguing and looked up in bewilderment.  Leon then took off the cloak and said, ‘Can we go now?’ Relieved that they were all safely back together again, they quickly made their way back to their dingy.



Once they were back at Team Spirit, they feasted on chocolate and soft drink and where talking excitedly of their lucky escape when their parents awoke.  Their dad said, ‘So, what are you three up to?’ Leon looked at Jade and Darrel who nodded at him. Then Leon told their parents the whole story. Their parents called the police and the smugglers were caught leaving the lighthouse. After the police had left with the smugglers and the smugglers’ ‘loot’, Leon turned to his father and said, ‘How about a game of chess, Dad?’



The End

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October 2003 - Singapore to Port Kelang

Photo SlideShow

Johor Baru & Singapore
While anchored in Johor Baru we met many interesting people. But the highlight was seeing a catamaran come in with the distinctive name of "Dave the Cat" written on the side with a black cat forming the 'h' in the name. On each bow was a kid. So as they passed us I shouted out "kids!". Courtney and Anna rushed up and so they were over on the cat meeting Shannon (10) and Simon (9). Roy & Libby have turned out to be great company for us as well. Also a Japanese man and his little boy came in. With Liz's Japanese skills we made contact with him. His story was very different one with the man buying the boat and aiming to sail it back to Japan. With not a lot of experience and a three year old aboard we felt concerned for their safety.

We did a few more tourist runs in Singapore, visiting the downtown area with Raffles hotel and a day at the excellent zoo. Another took us to the Applied Science museum, which also was excellent but overrun with young children madly running about and pressing buttons on the exhibits.

Heading out of the causeway we again were awed by the vast amounts and sizes of the shipping about. Once back in the Singapore strait for the third time we felt more comfortable as we held the edge of the shipping lane and made our way along. An interesting thing is watching the Singapore Air Force that seem to go round and round the island. With such a small country to fly around they must get there turns well practiced!

   

Kukup Island
A few miles into the Malacca straits we came to Kukup Island and anchored in between it and the mainland. This is a 'saltwater village' with most of the town, including the community hall and school, built out over the water. Large fish farm rafts skirt the waterfront and while anchored we watched the continual procession of workers dragging buckets of food and dropping it into the tanks.

As we left Kukup and very severe electrical storm passed us and we watched the 'real bad black end' of the storm pass slightly to the south of us. This was the start of lots of severe storms that we were to see in this area.

Coming up to the Water Islands, just south of Melaka, we decided to push on to Melaka and anchor off the town and go ashore by dinghy. No good - the steady onshore wind kicked up a steady wave and the idea of dinghying in was not appealing, given the hassles with leaks and motor unreliability plaguing us. So further north a mile or so we found a small island and anchored in the lee for a reasonably calm night. better to visit Melaka from another port.

Tanjung Tuan
From there we headed towards Port Dickson with a very pleasant stop at Tanjung Tuan for a night along the way. Ashore here we found a cute little beach with a basic picnic area in the bush. Following a trail up to the headland we passed a very old well and then came up to the lighthouse. A lighthouse has stood on this point for 600 years. Later Anna wrote and wonderful story set at this location called The Lighthouse of Tanjung Tuan.

After Tanjung Tuan a short trip of ten miles brought us to Admiral Marina, Port Dickson. This is a high class marina with all the trappings - pool, showers, water (drinkable) & electricity. This was the first berth we been alongside since Bali in March, and the first 'real marina' after Port Douglas in Australia. So easy just to step off and go for a walk!

Port Dickson & Melaka

From here we hired a car from one of the staff and drove down to Melaka. This is a classic historical town which has it's origins in the Portugese & Dutch Spice Trade efforts in the 16th century. Elizabeth and I had read a fascinating book called 'Nathaniel's Nutmeg' which gave great insight (from the english point of view) of the Spice Trade. Constructing your own walking tour is the go to see the different churches and museums. The maritime museum, built in the shape of an old dutch ship was a highlight.

The dinghy got more work with one side of the transom and the floor being re-glued into place. But at the same time we started to look at buying a new dinghy. After three days we left the marina and moved seven miles up the coast to anchor in four-five metres just behind a small island. That night a really savage storm blew through and for two-three hours we had lots of wind and the odd wave getting over the deck. later another yacht said they recorded 47knots on their instruments.

   

Port Klang & Kuala Lumpur

Port Klang is the main shipping port for Kuala Lumpur (KL) and as we approached the harbour we found huge amounts of rubbish and logs coming out. Without doubt this is the dirtiest harbour I have ever seen. The Royal Selangor Yacht Club is a fancy name for a yacht club which has a very stylish clubhouse and very basic boat facilities. Beside a series of pontoons at the front of the club, there are several large floating pontoons about 200 feet. The tides here are five metres which gives a tidal current of up to four knots, making docking and manevouring very difficult. We tied up on the outside of one of these pontoons and set about to visit KL. This is easy from here as the modern commuter trains have a station nearby.

Next to the yacht club is a large cargo port with lots of large timber cargo boats that ply between Indonesia and Malaysia. We watched many of these boats swing round madly as they rushed past on the current.

We met Nerthus a Swedish boat with Kent, Annica and their two daughters Emma (14) & Amanda (11) in Port Dickson and set out with them to see some of KL. We had a nice day and quite enjoyed the sights of KL. The twin towers of the Petronas building are the main attraction and we went up to the skybridge which links the towers on the fortieth floor. Chinatown and a Hindu temple were also excellent 'wandering material'.

We were soon joined by Dave the Cat, who had plans to visit the Highlands areas inland from here. After a few days we were sitting in the boat discussing whether to join them or move on when all plans changed dramatically.

These events warrant a new page

September 2003 From Thailand back down to Singapore

Photo Slide Show

From Koh Tao a short run of twenty miles south west brings us to Ang Thong Marine National Park. This uninhabited chain of islands has many islands clustered together with high sheer limestone cliffs which overhang the shoreline where the waves have eroded the shore line.

Ang Thong Marine National Park.

We sailed along, and following our Sail Thailand cruising guide, found an anchorage off a small beach at Koh Wua Ta Lab. The one shame about the area is the water is not very clear. The bottom is fine grey silty mud so the holding was good but the snorkelling fairly poor. In the afternoon an inflatable with four national park officers called on us and pointed out that we had to go to the ranger station on the next island to pay a park fee. But tomorrow will be ok. Nice and relaxed guys.

Moving around to the ranger station at Koh Ang Thong we found quite a busy scene. The beach was packed with people and over forty kayaks were plying the waters. Each day six or seven large speedboats with ten or so people aboard come over from Koh Samui for the day. Going ashore we paid our park fees (A$24) and had a wander around the very pretty picnic grounds set up for the day trippers. After the crowds had gone we climbed up to have a look at the limestone caves in the cliffs overlooking the beach. This was worth the effort and the view from the caves is very impressive.

The guidebook mentioned a walk to the top of the island for a stunning view, warning to wear good shoes and carry water. With this advice heeded we set out. The sign at the foot of the track stated the walk was 500 metres, which was technically correct. Our chart showed elevation we climbed to was 430 metres. So 70 metres across and 430 metres up. Sounds about right! It was very steep. A rope was ran along the path and this was needed to haul ourselves up. The girls coped amazingly well on this steep and difficult climb.

Most of it was at least in the canopy of the forest and along the way we spotted some dusty spectacled langurs (monkeys with with white rings around their eyes)

 But the view was absolutely stunning and worth the effort.

Moving on from Koh Ang Thong we returned to our original anchorage for the day to visit a lake that is in the centre of Koh Wua Ta Lab. This unique lake was formed by the roof of a massive cave falling in. The water flows in and out with the tide via an underground link. There is a  short climb up some stairs and through the narrow pass to reveal the lake, which was a really fun - and easy compared to the day before.

Koh Samui

Time to move on to Koh Samui. This was perfectly (not) timed with a squall that bucketed rain, killed visibility and blew far too much wind for our liking. Still only fifteen miles and we were back at the best anchorage at Koh Samui. The anchor chain bow roller had splilt in half and the first treasure hunt here was to procure a new one. Chasing up a part, getting something, fixed or made is always a challenge, but in a foreign country things can some time seem impossible. Armed with a photograph of the boat and the bow of the boat I hired a motor bike and steady made my way around the island stopping at any place that may have something that could be used. Eventually I found a small workshop that had both a lathe and a piece of nylon and after mutually drawing the design of the new roller, hands were shaken on a price. The next day I returned to find the new roller made up exactly as the drawing defined. The guys in the workshop were thrilled when I introduced the family and explained how we had all sailed from Australia.

One of the really enjoyable moments is when we talk to someone and watch their face light up with amazement when, through the language barrier, they realise we are on moderately little boat sailing the world.

In Thai tourist areas motorcycles are very cheap to rent, and for $12 we rented a two new bikes . We spent the day cruising (very carefully!) around Koh Samui. Checking out a few of the tourist highlights, we all  had a fun day out. The monkey show was very weak but the other things in the photos above were good to see.  Hold your mouse steady over the photo for the caption - same with all the photos in this website.

The last official task in Thailand (apart from visiting customs and immigration) was celebrating Anna's 9th birthday. She decided on a pirate theme so a treasure map cake was made, children dressed up and a treasure hunt was planned. The day went well and the girls loved darting about the boat to find clues and rewards.



Pengkalan Kubor & Kota Baru

Full of sweets and birthday cake we were  ready to head south. We sailed straight from Koh Samui to the Malaysian border town of Pengkalan Kubor . Two days and sailing half the way got us there. Except for the occasionally 'blow your socks off' squall which comes with a vengeance and disappears just as fast, we had a very smooth trip. Back in Pengkalan Kubor we knew the drill for going ashore and finding fuel. So very quickly we had the tank full of fuel and the customs and immigration dealt with.  Our main excursion here was a trip down to Kota Baru for the down on the bus. We went to the cultural centre to see a display of top-spinning. With the girls having going through the 'Beyblade' craze they were keen to see grown-up men with big tops going for it.

The tops are about 20cm and must be full of lead as they are very heavy. Each group bind a rope tightly around the base of the top and with the effort of a discus thrower, they fling it to laid on a clay mound. The spinning top is then delicately lifted and transferred to the teams rack of tops. The are then 'maintained with oil and trim adjustments made as necessary. The tops spin for up to 2 1/2 hours.  The girls bought a small wooden top each and were shown the technique. The men were keen to show us all how to spin the top and even the older ones sitting back with a cigarette would clap or smile when they got a top spinning well.

     

At the same show we saw some teenage boys going through a ritual fight sequence that was like a ceremonial judo dance. The boys were very good and took their performance very serious. While all this was going a big group of men pounded away on beautifully painted drums.

   From the cultural centre we made our way down to the central market which is one of the biggest markets we've encountered. Always great to wander round the markets for a while.

 After fixing a faulty masthead light we made our way to Perhentian Island, only 30 miles away. We loved these islands on our way up and resolved to go for a scuba dive. We anchored off Long Beach - most popular with backpackers, and hunted round for a dive operator to go with. The prime site is a rock pinnacle a few miles away and known romantically as the 'temple of the sea'. We ended up going separately and I (Colin) went on a sunrise dive, leaving and dropping in the water before sunrise and watching the transition from dark to day while I was down. The visibility was very impressive with our torches lighting up 24 metres down from the surface. Courtney and Liz went for a dive on the same site the next day  but not as deep as Courtney is restricted to around 12 metres.  I hired a second tank of air and cleaned the bottom of the boat, making the job much easier and much more thorough

After stopping for water in a stream on the south side of Perhentian, we motored all day to get to Kapas Island . After a nice overnight rest in the good anchorage there we did a long overnight run to Tioman. We had another severe thunderstorm but generally had a good run, motoring for half the way and nearly always getting good motor-sail performance.

We came into Tekek Bay and found all the boats we'd met there three months ago. Katrine (Don & Jean), Kaiviti (Mike) and Valor (Don) were all ashore having a drink together when we found them. It was great to meet up with them all again. After a few days we moved on to SIbu Island. En-route our invertor died. It was alway tripping out on overheating and although a 300watt unit, it could not cope with the almost constant load of the computer power supply of 60w. I should have mounted an additional cooling fan.  So back to paper charts. What a pain. Computerised charting is so much easier and more accurate as the computer plots your position every minute. Still this is why we carry paper charts. From Sibu we had another overnight stop  at Jason's Bay with Katrine along the way to Singapore. We caught up a  Spanish Mackerel along the way so Sashimi and BBQ fish was for dinner with Don & Jean. A great way to end our four month cruise of the east cost of Malaysia/Thailand!

Winds and currents were very kind to us, and we covered the seventy miles to the eastern side of the causeway separating Johor Baru and Singapore  in 10 hours.  Anchored around us were eight other yachts. We were back on the main road! Most of these boats had just sailed across from Indonesia and were heading up the west coast . Over the next few days a few social get-togethers were held on first  'Bongo-Bob's' and then on Katrine. It was great talking to all these different people and trading stories.

August 2003 The Gulf of Thailand

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Pengkalang Kubor, Malaysia
The most valuable piece of information we gained from Jim off Remington was a mud-map of the border town Pengkalang Kubor and river entrance. This appeared on our chart as just coastline but in reality this is a proper breakwater formed harbour, well set up with leads and lights.

Our second trip from Perhentian Island was hindered by motor problems - this was the first time in the four years we've had the boat that the motor has just stopped. The fuel level was low and the fuel lift pump was not up to the task. Temporary adjustments got us under way OK.

We came into Penkalang Kubor and had our first views of Thai longtails. These boats have long shafts with exposed propellers that are lifted in and out of the water to stop the boats. We anchored in "no-mans water" with Malaysia to the south and Thailand to the north. Going ashore was a matter of landing at the immigration checkpoint and explaining we were on a boat in the river and they let us through.
 

First thing was to get some fuel. Inquiries at the harbour-master's office and a trip in the dinghy and a small shipyard with a bowser on a jetty was found upstream in a small inlet. We crept in the shallow waters and just got alongside the fishing boats. We got our fuel and enjoyed checking out the fishing boats which are built incredibly strong with two-inch thick timbers. We usually have popcorn for morning tea so we made extra for the fishing boat crews, who responded by giving us a few packets of noodles. When the fuel man was finished he gave us a large bottle of drinking water as a parting gift. So nice to do business in such circumstances.

Back in the river ashore a duty-free shopping centre was found. The big drawcard was alcohol, which is 50% cheaper. Liz and the girls had a day in Kota Baru to visit the Museum of Royal Customs and a quick look at the markets which was cut short by two sensitive noses disagreeing with the smells. They reported it was worth it just for the bus trip in as they saw several beautiful Wats - Buddhist temples. A taste of what was to come in Thailand.
 

We went over to the Thailand side for a wander and although this was fun and we had a nice Roti (flat bread) dinner in the markets, the complexity of clearing Immigration for an hour visit was a bit much. We caused a bit of confusion back at the Malaysian side as we now wanted to have our passports stamped to reenter. They wanted to just let us in and couldn't understand why this time we needed entry stamps in our passports.

Saiburi, Thailand
 The next day we headed out north. The weather was fine and we had a pleasant sail up the coast. We came into a small inlet at the town of Saiburi. This was, like Pengkalan Kubor a well defined breakwater. The Lonely Planet book noted that this area was well known for the decorative paintwork on the fishing boats. We had front row seats to study their work as they passed us on their way out to fish for the night. Our 'royal wave' was well tested as the procession passed us waving cheerfully.
 

Not long after sunrise we were woken by the engines of the fishing boats returning. With the tide slack we were laying sideways across the waterway so we thought it best to get going. Another good sail and we were now 80 miles north of the Malaysian border when we reached Pattani. We had no information on anchorage or the harbour entrance, but as we arrived we noticed a large commercial vessel leave, so the channel should be deep enough for us.

But not the way we went! We touched the sand and muddy bottom and got stuck. Getting off by spinning the boat at 90 degrees to the wind and hoisting our sails to lay the boat over worked well. Following the port hand side of the channel, we made our way in. The river was moderately wide but was chock-a-block with fishing boats, so much that we couldn't find anywhere to anchor. Making our way back out we found a spot behind a sand spit and anchored for the night.

Songkhla
  Pushing on to Songkhla was just another day on the move, highlighted by catching the largest spanish mackerel yet. We came into this major port with no problems. The harbour was very busy with car ferries, fishing boats and large ships all buzzing about. Every few hundred metres there was a row of fishing stakes protruding out into the harbour. These are arranged so that to go up the harbour a constant zigzag has to be performed. We were thrilled to see the large Buddhist temples and shrines around the city as we went along.


Wandering round our first Thai city was great fun. New sights and smells everywhere. Songkhla harbour continues on to open into a large inland lake system which is vast, covering thousands of square kilometres. We went to the island of Ko Ro which is just outside of Songkhla and connected to the shore by long bridges. There is a folk museum there, which concentrates on art and culture of southern Thailand. The museum is set on a hill which gives wonderful views of the surrounding inland sea. Starting at the top the museum leads you through a series of rooms showing off most aspects of Thai history and cultural practices of today. Also stunning views of the villages and inland sea are everywhere through the large windows in many rooms. Very good.

As with most Thai cities (we assume) Songhkla has many fine wats and temples and worth a wander around. We found a large market with lots of 'finger-food' and, while we weren't always sure what it was, some delicious tastes were found. The variety of seafood was incredible with large tiger prawns and unusual fresh water fish.As with most photos in this web site, hold your mouse steady over the photo to see the caption describing the photo.

While at anchor in the harbour the sound of firecrackers going off were heard all the time. At first we thought it was a celebration of the queen of Thailand's birthday but later we noticed the fishing boats were the culprits, letting off a string of crackers off the bow as they left. As we left Songkhla a large boat in front of us stopped repeatedly to let some off. From Songkhla an overnight trip brought us to Koh Samui.

     

Ko Samui
The area where Ko Samui lays has several islands around it: Samui, Phangan to the north, Tao to the north west and the An Thong islands to the west. I (Colin) came here in 1988 and the increased development since my last visit has made the place almost unrecognisable.

We first anchored at Bo Phut on the north eastern corner of Samui and it seemed the wind intensified as we came in to anchor. This was a good anchorage and although the wind was blasting over the deck the water was calm. There are (as with every peice of sand on Koh Samui) resorts/restaurants lining the beach and we found this was a quiet place with many families about. European languages seemed to dominate the air. We made our way to NaThon, the ferry terminal town, by sawngthaew - small utilities with bench seats in the back. Here we checked in with Immigration and Customs and collected the girl's schoolwork.

We stayed at Bo Phut for a few days and on the radio heard two yachts we knew (Kaiviti & Valor) who were in Chaweng which is the main tourist strip. We went around to see them and the busier part of town to find a very rolly and windy anchorage. The beach landing in the surf provided too much of a challenge with Col ending up face first in the wet sand! Chaweng is one long strip of shops offering souvenirs, CD & DVDs, clothes, shoes, Thai massages, travel agents, Internet, motorcycle hire, and food. Normally all in the same store! And a McDonalds of course.

It seemed terribly similar to the streets of Kuta, Bali. Bo Phut was a much nicer place in all regards - pace of life and quality of anchorage.

Ko Phangan
After a night of being tossed around in our bunks we moved north to Koh Phangan the large island north of Koh Samui. We went into Haad Rin, on the south east corner. We found Jim on the yacht Remington here and it was good to catch up with him. I (Colin) stayed here in 1988 and the change was incredible. Then there were around 500 rooms on the island. Now there are 5000!

The have a huge party each full moon on this beach with thousands of people partying and sleeping on the beach. All the stores have large displays of booze for sale, so it must be quite a night.

From there we had a lunch stop at Thaansadet, a small beach with lovely waterfalls. Several of the kings of Thailand have had holidays here with inscriptions on the stones a big draw card for local tourists.

 

From Thaansadet a short trip of a few miles brought us to Haad Thong Naay Paan. This is a very protected bay and a good night's sleep was enjoyed by all. The bay has lots of resorts ashore and the beach has fine sand and we stayed here a few days to catch up on a few jobs and schoolwork. We ate ashore a lot and enjoyed sitting in the beachside restaurants in the cool of the evenings. English was seldom heard as the customers seemed to be mainly European. Luckily the girls found a pair of English children on the beach and this made trips ashore all the more fun for them them and the boys to have someone to play with.



We moved on to the next bay only a few miles further north before moving on twenty miles north to Koh Tao. This island is well know for diving with the water much clearer than Samui or Phangan. This was very obvious when we arrived at Mae Haad, the only town on the island. For the first time in ages we were able to drop the anchor in 8 metres of water and watch it hit the bottom and the chain lead away as we dug it in.

Koh Tao
Mae Haad is a small town with possibly the highest concentration of dive shops on the planet. It seemed every second shop was a dive shop. The explosion in development is fairly recent and is clearly focused for the majority European tourists, with quite a few classy looking cafes on the street with some fine looking pastries in the window. Interesting how lots of tourism tends to remove the culture they came to see and replace it with their own.

After doing some shopping we moved over to Koh Naang Yuan, a small group of three islands just off the Koh Tao coast. These three islands are joined at low tide by small sandy beaches. A resort occupies all three islands and the whole place is incredibly scenic. We decided to let Courtney do a dive course here. At the tender age of 11 she is old enough and, we feel, sensible enough to go diving. She was over the moon about this and worked hard at the course. She proved very confident and capable with her instructor being very impressed. Liz went on the last two dives with her and commented that she was a pleasure to dive with.


The dive course package included accommodation so we had the luxury of a unit in the forest overlooking Koh Tao as a land base for three days.

Liz and I also went for a dive Chumporn pinnacles, large rocks that tower up from the bottom (35 metres) to 20 metres below the surface. This was marked as the best dive in the area and although it was very enjoyable it was not so fantastice. We arrrived at the site with about ten other dive boats there and we guess that there were 30 other divers in the water with us.

     

Most of the photos on the web are taken by Colin but these two gems were set up and shot by Anna with the self-timer.


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