Monday March 7 2011

Lee Rhodes is the skipper for the first leg of our journey from Penang to Port Dickson. After studying the tide charts and the other reference material available, Lee decided that this trip would get the best assistance from wind and tide if we left Penang at around 5am, so it was up at 0430 hours to get the good ship “Kay Sira” ready for the voyage. We were away in good time and ran shifts of three hours on, three hours off all the way to PD. I am Lee’s 1st mate on this leg and the other watch will consist of Frazer and Gary, with Barry, the admiral, overseeing all. After some hours of motor-sailing we were able to set sail and enjoyed a gentle breeze most of the morning.

At about midday the mainsail halyard chafed through at the top of the mast and the mainsail fell down much to everyone’s astonishment! This was deftly repaired by Barry with some sail thread and a sail needle to sew some loops on the end of the halyard.

With this done the skipper went up the mast in order to drop a “mouse” or “plumb-bob” down the centre of the mast from the top with a strong twine attached, to be caught at the base and attached to the halyard with the loops sewn in for that purpose.

This enabled the halyard to be threaded back up through the gate to the top of the mast and back down to connect with the head of the sail at the same time checking for rough edges at the mast head. Good teamwork soon had the mainsail raised again after which we enjoyed some excellent sailing.

Later that afternoon/early evening we were hit by a squall gusting to 35 knots and it was all hands on deck to reef the mainsail, reduce the head-sail and get back under full control. Just as things were back to normal and the front had passed -BANG!- the kicking strap shackle snapped and the boom lifted alarmingly, as it now had no downward constraint. This broken shackle was quickly replaced and the rest of the night passed peacefully enough but with a few persistent heavy rain showers which succeeded in completely soaking those on watch. It also proved the inadequacy of my waterproof (not!) jacket and it was surprisingly cold when wet with a bit of wind chill to add to our discomfort. At all times when anyone was on watch at night, properly fastened life-jackets were worn, and if it was required to go forward or aft to reef sails or whatever, the harnesses were attached to the jack-stays as an added precaution. The safety of the boat and the crew was always paramount.

Tuesday March 8 2011

During the morning, Frazer’s small fishing rod and reel loaded with braid and a big deep-diving minnow lure was put out the back to see what would happen. After only a few minutes we had a hit and when the line was retrieved we found we had jagged a highly venomous sea-snake that was not at all enjoying his unexpected adventure.

As it happened I had to cut the snake’s skin with a knife to release the hook and inadvertently got sprayed with some venom that burned two of my fingers like an acid burn although I did not realize what had happened until later. So the snake got some revenge for his wound and his freedom was his reward! Later in the morning we caught two magnificent Spanish mackerel (ting-giri in Malay) which are excellent eating fish. One of these fish was at least twenty pounds and put up a great fight. Unfortunately we lost both fish trying to haul them on-board as we did not have a gaff-hook or a net.

Gary was the ship’s cook today and presented us with a delicious pork u don-noodle dish that was enjoyed by all. Later, much to the mirth and shock-horror of the predominantly “British” crew it was discovered that Gary (an American) had used the almost sacred tea-pot as a saucepan during his meal preparation. What sacrilege!

During the night, very early in the morning, we ran into a thunder-storm with high wind, thunder and lightning and torrential rain which did not abate for several hours. Lee and I were on this watch and the boat was well prepared with two reefs in the mainsail and a shortened head-sail. Even so, we got thoroughly wet once again and quite cold to boot. Eventually the storm cleared just as our shift ended so we got some nice hot tea ahead of a few hours of much-needed sleep.

At first light the next day Frazer caught a small queen-fish so I made sushi for breakfast

with fresh lime and soy sauce. Frazer, who loves to fish but cannot eat fish missed out on this unique delicacy but it was enjoyed by the rest of the crew. I was cook today and as we had quite a bit of fresh chicken, we decided that we would use it all. So I made a chicken and vegetable stir fry for lunch and a chicken curry with rice for dinner. I made enough rice for at least twenty people! The next day Frazer made a delicious risotto with beef using all the excess rice!

The second day and night was fairly calm and we mostly motored for the entire twenty four hours with regular watch changes every three hours. We saw many fishing boats at night and a few “tugs-in-tow”. Lee spent quite a bit of time professionally checking our passage taking bearings on things like prominent headlands, lighthouses, marker buoys etc., and checking way-points on the GPS. We tracked pretty much 150 degrees for the entire day.

Wednesday March 9 2011

On day three we passed a lot of large container ships waiting to enter Port Klang

and kept a watchful eye on the very busy TSS (Traffic Separation Scheme) shipping channels out to sea on our starboard side as we head down the coast. Still no wind so we motored all day until we reached our destination of the very nice Admiral Marina at Port Dickson.

On arrival we cleaned out the ship’s refrigerator, got the vessel ship-shape, properly disposed of the accumulated rubbish, showered, shaved and enjoyed a few ice-cold draft beers at the marina’s bar. Later we enjoyed an excellent meal at El Cactus Spanish restaurant on the way into town. We used the services of a local cab driver named Veera (+60122643402) referred to us by Connie from the yacht Noah berthed at the marina. The yacht Noah is from Cape Cod, Connecticut, USA and Connie and her partner have been sailing/cruising for the past eight years. They are “resting” for one year at Port Dickson which is a high quality marina and they got a very good deal to stay for that period of time. It is relatively easy to have an extended stay in Malaysia when compared to neighboring Singapore and Thailand, but these destinations can be reached within a one week sail from Port Dickson.

Thursday March 10 2011

Frazer is skipper for this leg to Singapore and I am his 1st mate. Gary and Lee are the alternating watch and we maintain three hours on and three hours off. It is day four and after another early start in calm conditions we saw our first dolphins and had a visit from a Maritime Malaysia patrol boat who wanted to know where we were from and where we were going and why! After a  few words of Malay in acknowledgement they bid us a good trip and took off back on their patrol, quite happy with our response!  At about 1000 hours a lovely land breeze developed blowing at around 15 knots from the East and we were sailing beautifully at 6.5-7 knots!

The next seven hours were just perfect sailing conditions and we all had some exhilarating times on the helm. The wind was steady from the ENE at 15-20 knots occasionally gusting higher requiring one or two reefs in the mainsail. The mizzen, stay-sail and head-sails were mostly fully out. At one stage when I was on the helm we had two reefs in the main, the head-sail reduced and we made 8.2 knots! As it turned out that was the record speed for the whole trip. Altogether a wonderful day’s sailing was enjoyed by everyone.

We followed the major TSS all the way down the coast in fairly shallow water mostly following the 20m contour line. We encountered lots of shipping but not as many fishing boats now. At one stage we had to undertake a course change to go around a tug-in-tow over 200 metres in length in the middle of the night. You certainly see all the book learning come to life when you are out there!

Friday March 11 2011

We arrived in Singapore at 0900 hours well ahead of schedule thanks to excellent skippering by Lee and Frazer and ideal conditions. We were advised by the customs and immigration authorities to tie up at the fuel dock at the Raffles Marina and for a small additional fee they came to our boat to undertake all of the official visa and entry formalities. As skipper Lee looked after this paperwork very well. As we did not have AIS on our marine radio we were not allowed to change marinas. However the Raffles Marina even though right on the western side of the island nation of Singapore, is one of the best with excellent facilities. The public transport in Singapore is excellent and the marina offered a shuttle bus to the closest railway station, Joo Koon. I have been told that the railway line will extend all the way to the marina within the next year or so.

After everyone had cleaned up, changed the bed linen and made the vessel ship-shape, Barry went to his friend’s (Singapore Andrew) place to meet his wife, Lynette. They stayed at Andrew’s place for a few days. Frazer and Lee found a nice hotel in Little India and Gary went to stay at the Orchard Parade in the Orchard Road area of Singapore. I had the boat to myself and decided that I would stay on-board for our stay in Singapore.

I caught up with my darling, Gudrun through long SMSs, went for a stroll around the marina and found a very nice West Marine brand waterproof jacket in the chandlers at the marina (SGD240.00). After a sandwich and a cup of tea, I went to bed early to catch up on some shut-eye. At about 2300 hours Gary crash-tackled the boat looking for his spectacles. I was sound asleep and got quite a fright at his noisy entry. Luckily I was not carrying a gun! I got such a start I just might have used it!!

Saturday March 12 2011

Awake at 0730 hours. Unfortunately I got chewed by sand-flies during the night on both of my arms. I get an allergic reaction to these little buggers and two weeks later I am still itching! I got some fly spray and thoroughly sprayed the boat so hope not to see a repetition of this attack! I cleaned up, had a shower and very pleasant ablution in the excellent marina facilities and after a discussion with Gudrun I purchased the jacket.

A very pleasant surprise was that a Straits Times newspaper was delivered to the boat every morning. This regrettably brought with it the very unpleasant news of the calamity that had struck Japan’s NE on Friday (yesterday) morning with a huge force 9.0 earthquake and consequent 10m tsunami wreaking indescribable damage and destruction. Worst of all was the news that several nuclear reactors were severely damaged and it will be very difficult to prevent a melt-down in these reactors. The potential nuclear contamination of the sea and the area surrounding the entire NE coast north of Tokyo is very frightening. There will be severe long term disruption caused by this catastrophe and I pray for the best possible outcome.

During the morning I started preparing some pilotage and passage notes for the short journey to Kukup, only about 20 miles away, but back in Malaysia. I will be the skipper for this leg and it looks like we should leave at around 1100 hours to get the maximum benefit from the tides and currents that sweep around the Singapore and Durian Straits. We would then arrive in Kukup in daylight.

In the afternoon I met Barry and Lynette at the boat and we went to Harbourfront looking for some nautical charts only to find the shop closed for the weekend. We took the cable car

to Sentosa Island and had a good look around there. Sentosa has a lot of interesting history and is where Lee Kwan Yew held political opponents prisoner for many years on grounds that would probably not be acceptable today. But on the other hand, look at the human rights abuses and at what went on in the Guantanamo Bay detention centre in Cuba established by George W Bush following the 9/11 terrorist calamity in the USA! Sentosa is now a very popular tourist destination with development continuing unabated. Click here for a link to what Sentosa has to offer. Sentosa also has a beautiful new marina located one degree fifteen minutes north of the equator and appropriately called Marina One 15. Click this link to see.

Later that evening we met up with Gary, Lee and Frazer at Boat Quay and I had a few too many beers at the Prince of Wales backpackers pub there. I went home quite early (before dinner) and managed to find my way back to the boat with only a few minor contusions caused by falling down the steps at the underground railway station! Tsk! Tsk!

Sunday March 13 2011

Once back at the boat I went straight to bed and slept soundly for nearly twelve hours. For some unknown reason I awoke with a bit of a hang-over! After a hearty breakfast of four fried eggs on toast and a nice cup of tea I promptly went back to sleep for a few hours! I spent the rest of the morning looking at some of the excellent reference books found on board: The Onboard Weather Handbook by Chris Tibbs, and The Complete Yachtmaster by Tom Cunliffe being two stand-outs.

In the afternoon an old acquaintance, who by some strange coincidence had called me yesterday on my mobile when I was over at Sentosa, came to the marina to pay me a visit and tell me all about his latest Enagic water treatment machine. This is a network marketing business and as I am already building a strong network with Neways Health and Nutritional products and have my hands full with other projects, the time is not right for me to become involved in this new business. It was great to see Bernard again though and of course I wish him all the best in his endeavors.

Monday March 14 2011

I had a lazy day at the marina and spent quite a bit of time looking at all of the boats that were offered for sale, particularly catamarans. William Schick from Prometheus Marine, based at Raffles Marina was most helpful. (+65 6299 1603) and together we looked over several yachts that are on the market. I hope that I can catch up with him again when Gudrun and I go to Singapore from May 12-15 for the Boat Asia 2011 exhibition to be held at Keppel Marina.

I spent some time in the afternoon preparing my pilotage and passage plans for the trip from Singapore to Kukup. The following notes apply:

Tides: Singapore March 15 2011 Pelabuhan Tanjung Pelepas 0646 2.4; 1500 0.8; 2037 1.7

Tidal Flow Singapore Strait Phillip Channel 1.6N 103.44E

0906-1402 -2.2 (NNE) 1835-2225 +1.6 (SSW)

Tidal Flow Tanjung Segenting 1.38N 102.44E

0135-1426 -0.3 (ESE) 0624-1052 +0.8 (NNW) 1459-1807 -0.7 (ESE) 2137-0017 +0.6 (WNW)

The southern end of the Melacca Straits sees the tidal stream flow to and from the Durian Strait. The maximum rate of the NW stream occurs about an hour before low water and the maximum rate of the SE stream occurs about an hour before high water. The flow is considerably influenced by the north-westerly current which in the main channel has a flow rate of about 0.75 knots. In the Singapore Strait the tides in the vicinity of Singapore are as follows: As a rule, there are two high waters of approximately the same height whereas the two low waters differ appreciably. There is normally only one strong easterly flow during the day which attains its maximum rate prior to the lower low water. The westerly streams attain two maximum rates occurring before each high water.

Tuesday March 15 2011

Today we sailed from Singapore to Kukup, and it was my turn to be skipper for the day. After getting our passports and visas sorted we prepared the boat to depart and once the mooring lines were slipped, motored slowly out of the Raffles marina and into the narrow straits separating Singapore from Malaysia very near the new causeway to Johor. The Singapore maritime patrol boats kept a close eye on us until we had cleared this channel, staying to starboard, and changed our course to 230 degrees which was to be our heading for the next ten miles. Our passage plan was designed to get the maximum favorable assistance from the tidal flow and this proved to be the case.

From this picture you can see that we were motoring up the west coast of Malaysia when the tides were changing.  The ships are facing in all directions! A good indication of the tidal flow is how these ships are lying at anchor. After crossing the 30m contour line we changed course to 310 degrees and kept a lookout for a flashing green light 3s on our starboard which according to the chart was about five miles away. This light signaled the entrance to the Kukup “port” which passage proved to be much shallower than the chart datum indicated. At one stage we touched the soft muddy bottom but by turning to starboard we found enough depth to make our way slowly into port.

Pilotage notes: Once the green channel marker is located maintain course 285 until the green and red lights align.  Maintain 5 degrees staying left of the channel. Expected depth of water 2.1-6.1m but much shallower in places. Once we reached the extensive fish farms between Kukup town and the large mangrove island providing protection from the weather the depth increased and we followed this channel down until we could edge our way through the farms and anchored on the island side of the fish farms in about 2m of water at low tide. When anchoring we calculated what the high water level would be then let out four times that amount of anchor chain to ensure a safe hook-up.

In this picture on the left, one of the largest uninhabited mangrove islands in the world can be seen in the background, with the edge of one of the many fish-farms seen on the right. Kukup is renowned as the place for fresh seafood and the many fish-farms certainly let Kukup live up to that reputation. Seafood is plentiful and there are quite a few waterside restaurants on stilts to satisfy local and visitors culinary wishes.

When all was secure, we launched Doris, Kay Sira’s dinghy, mounted the outboard with the aid of a block and tackle on the end of a topping lift, and went into town for one of Kukup’s famous seafood dinners and a few beers. The food was very fresh, delicious and quite cheap and the beer? well….what can I say!

The next morning (Wednesday March 16 2011) we took the opportunity to visit Pulau Kukup (Kukup Island) where we found a very attractive boardwalk leading to a lookout over the extensive mangroves. This island is one of the largest mangrove islands in the world and during our walk we saw a lot of bird-life, including beautiful white breasted sea-eagles. We also saw a wild boar rooting around for a feed, some monkeys, mud-skippers and plenty of rubbish!

The quantity of rubbish and flotsam that is ubiquitous in Malaysian waterways is nothing short of disgraceful. The more I see of this tropical utopia and the more use I make of the wonderful tropical oceans and beaches the more I am becoming motivated to start doing something about trying the “CLEAN UP THE WATERWAYS”. There is wonderful precedent and blueprint that CAN be implemented here in Malaysia with the right connections and support from Government, big business and the community at large. I refer to the “Clean up the World” campaign which has now been running for many years in Australia with the support of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). This initiative was the brain child of and was promoted by Ian Kiernan, a bloke that cared about the environment just like me, and the difference in the quality of the waterways in and around Sydney and the rest of Australia over the last twenty-two years has to be experienced to be believed. It can be done and I will find out how to be the spark that ignites the fire that will get the results! Watch this space!

Wednesday March 16 2011

Gary is our skipper today and we are bound for Melaka (Malay spelling, English spelling is Melacca). After we had prepared the boat to depart,

Lee and Frazer had the lousy job of retrieving the anchor and cleaning the anchor chain which was covered in thick slimy mud. This took quite some time as it all has to be done manually. Also since we had about 25 metres of chain out there was a lot of cleaning to do!

The course today today had us traveling north from Kukup to our port of call about 90 miles away. Very calm weather with light to variable WNW winds will have us motor-sailing all day and overnight with an ETA early on Thursday morning.

It was my turn for KP duty today and I made fried bacon, eggs, tomato, toast and tea for brunch which we ate at midday. Barry has put up his hand to make bangers and mash for dinner tonight!

We enjoyed yet another great meal of fried sausages with Barry’s special onion and ????? sauce (I think a bit of everything went into this tasty concoction), mashed potatoes and stir fried vegetables, relished by all. After clean up and a cuppa we resumed watches of three hours on and three hours off starting at 2030 hours. Frazer and I drew the first watch ’til 2330 and we were on again at 0230 ’til 0530. We enjoyed an uneventful journey and arrived at the Melaka marina at 0730 after quite an unnecessarily complicated pilotage plan into the marina. Again the water depth here is very shallow so care has to be taken entering the marina, staying to the left of the port marker just outside the marina contrary to what one would expect. Since this was our first official port of call back in Malaysia we had to undergo customs and visa formalities with the local authorities here and Gary, as skipper, had that responsibility.

Thursday March 17 2011

We have a day off in Melaka today so we all took the opportunity to firstly shower and shave and then catch up with some sleep to get ready for a big night on the town! At 1300 hours all of the crew were still asleep so I started to prepare my pilotage and navigation passage plans for the next leg to Port Klang tomorrow when I will  again be the skipper. Looking at the tide charts and the tidal flow information and estimating our speed over the ground the trip should take about twenty hours. We will need to depart from Melaka Marina at around 0700 hours tomorrow to take advantage of the high tide at that time, so we will need to be up and about at 0630 hours. We should arrive at the Royal Selangor Yacht Club at about 0230 hours on Saturday morning when the tide there will be low but rising. We are looking at a full moon and equinoctial spring tides and this means about 6m between high and low tide in the river at Port Klang on Saturday and Sunday.

Later in the afternoon when everyone was up and about there was some confusion and discussion about some missing paperwork with the port authorities. Gary had apparently not properly completed the necessary forms and this caused quite some consternation. The matter was quickly sorted out by Barry and Gary together. But as Gary had apparently had quite a rough day, this incident seemed to be the straw that broke the camel’s back so he decided that he would leave both the fast-track program and the boat at Melaka and continue to search what he is looking for elsewhere. For us this was a sudden and somewhat surprising decision but Gary maintained that he was increasingly unhappy with his situation and had been thinking of leaving for some time. We all were sorry to see him go but wished him every success.

Later in the afternoon Barry and I went shopping for some victuals, and in the evening all of the remaining ship’s complement went ashore with the intent of watching the world cup cricket match.

We discovered quickly that it was St Patrick’s Day so we all enjoyed some fun, some very good deals on draft beer and some excellent food before returning to the marina relatively early in anticipation of a long day tomorrow. The picture below taken at a very nice local bar in Melaka says it all and perfectly captures the mood of the crew.

Another great night was enjoyed by all!

Friday March 18 2011

I am the skipper today and as we are a crew member down, I asked Barry to be my first mate for this leg of our journey. So for the rest of the trip he and I shared one watch and Lee and Frazer the other. We departed from Melaka precisely at 0700 at the top of the high tide, raised all of our sails as soon as we were clear of the marina and motored in very light winds for 1.5 miles at 190 degrees.

We started our watches at 0730 hours with Barry and I taking the first watch through 1030 hours. We then set our course for 290 degrees and managed to sail beautifully in a freshening NNE breeze for the best part of three hours. The predominant reference point on our course was a ship loading buoy for LNG from the mainland attended by a “resident” tug.

At 1000 hours the tide turned in our favor and pushed us along at about 3 knots per hour over our boat speed! So when our log is reading 4.5 knots we are actually doing 7.5 knots! The importance of correct tidal input into voyage planning is clear! Barry and I adopted a great system of alternating with 45 minutes each on the helm, with the helmsman completing the hourly log if it was his turn at the time. Unfortunately soon after our shift ended the wind died and Lee and Frazer motored for the remainder of their watch.

The trip up the coast was just magic. There was a lot of storm activity over the land with thunder and lightning but no weather at sea.

We passed numerous fishing vessels some of which put out very long nets which they guarded zealously lest we should catch them on our keel or propeller. At times when we had to pass through these nets we would go through out of gear in the centre of the net floats and with luck avoided any contract.

At dusk we put two reefs in the mainsail for safety’s sake and motor-sailed north until at 2130 hours we reached the southern entry channel to Pelabuhan (Port) Klang. This was the classroom come to life and for the next three and a half hours we saw every ship’s light and navigation mark light known to man together with lots of traffic. I was surprised just how fast the big ships go when entering and leaving port ( three or four times faster than us!) and there was the constant hustle and bustle of tugs-in-tow, containers and cargo vessels, pilot boats and many other vessels all going about their business. We had to stay at the starboard edge of the channel and stay out of the way of these huge what could have been “dreadnaughts”. This was a very exciting and somewhat stressful time for me as here I was skippering a lovely yacht in the midst of an incredible cacophony of shipping in a strange port having to rely on my pilotage notes, various charts of the area in different scales and detail, our instruments, navigation markers and the entire crew on deck as adept look-outs!  And Barry, you better believe that I will never again forget what a North Cardinal Mark light signal is….ever!!

With Lee on the helm and Frazer and Barry keeping eagle-eyed look-out, I was following our progress in great detail. With almost continuous course changes and the need for constant recognition of the next pertinent navigation mark, we were all kept busy until finally the Royal Selangor Yacht Club hove into view, albeit in total darkness as was about a mile of the shore. Lee played “dodgem” with a huge container ship that was being turned around in the channel with the aid of several tugs. A pilot boat went past us and had a good look at us with his searchlight, all of which added to the excitement! You just had to be there! I took the helm after a big pat on the back for Lee and adopted the ferry-gliding technique, using the strong current to assist us to berth safely with the very able assistance of the fantastic crew knowing exactly what to do with the bow-line, stern-line and the springs. Being now safe and secure on our berth outside the RSYC we all had a nice hot cup of tea and hit the sack!

In the morning we again marveled at the incredible amount of flotsam and rubbish that flows up and down the Klang River. There were literally islands of rubbish floating up and down the river on the tides and the place smelled like a sewer. Rats ran up and down berthing lines onto boats at the marina and whereas the RSYC is a very nice place with good amenities one would not go there unless it was very necessary because of the surroundings. It is certainly not a place one could stay for a while and enjoy the city. Much better to commute to and from KL based at Port Dickson, just over an hour’s drive away.  This awful situation has hardened my resolve to look for a solution for this pervasive pollution problem on all of Malaysia’s otherwise magnificent waterways.

Saturday and Sunday March 19 and 20 2011

We have a couple of days R&R in Kuala Lumpur so Frazer together with Lee, who had not visited KL before, decided to look for a room in China-Town. They eventually found some decent digs very close to Petaling Street and the famous China Town markets, clubs and bars which are to be found there. We caught the train from Port Klang to Sentral that took one and a half hours, and was not a good choice. We then took a cab to Petaling Street where I had a quiet beer at the Reggae Bar whilst the boys searched for and secured hotel accommodation. (I was most surprised to meet two good friends at the Reggae Bar, Jaap and Celia.)

Later we all met at Malone’s Irish Pub at KLCC for a meal and some drinks to celebrate Lee’s 39th birthday which is actually on Sunday. Another Langkawi Sailing School graduate, Pedro, also came with his wife and Gudrun took a cab straight from the airport on her way home from a detox program in Koh Samui in Thailand, so a really festive mood filled the air. We finished off the evening with a night-cap at the Sky lounge on top of the Trader’s Hotel which has without doubt the best view of the Petronas Twin Towers there is. Gudrun and I insisted that Barry come and stay at our condominium in Mont Kiara and Pedro and his better half very kindly drove us home in their 4WD people mover.

On Sunday morning after a good night’s sleep Barry, Gudrun and I went to the local Devi’s Indian “mamak” stall and enjoyed some delicious roti canai washed down with hot sweet “teh tarik”. Later we went to the new Village Grocer at Kiara 1 and did a big shop for provisions and victuals for the rest of the voyage back to Langkawi. Gudrun drove us back to the Royal Selangor Yacht Club with all of our provisions which included four big heavy boxes of bottled mineral water, so we were very glad that we did not have to lug all this stuff back to the boat in a taxi.

We unloaded all of the shopping, had a farewell drink at the clubhouse with Gudrun and bade her farewell as we decided to leave the RSYC berth at 1900 hours to take advantage once again of the prevailing tides. Gudrun got the car out of the car-park just in time because an hour or so later it was under-water and looked more like a weir than a car-park due to the flood spring tides mentioned earlier. These equinoctial spring tides with the full moon are the highest tides experienced all year and the tide the following morning was 0.2m higher than that shown in the picture below!

Sunday and Monday March 20 and 21 2011

As we have all now learned from first hand experience and to our great benefit, properly researching tides and tidal flows can make a tremendous difference to the success and comfort of a voyage.

Lee is the skipper for this next leg to Lumut (Pulau Pangkor) and determined that the ideal departure time for this passage will be 1900-1930 hours at the top of the tide as this will greatly assist our exit from Port Klang. Bearing in mind we are faced with very high tides and a full moon resulting in a tide height difference of around 6m. The pontoons at the RSYC were the same height as the club house, whereas earlier we were looking up twenty feet to the clubhouse, and the car-park was under-water when we finally cast off at dusk. The voyage out of our berth at the RSYC marina this time by the northern channel was again constant action with vessels of all sizes and descriptions plying to and fro and plenty of big container and cargo ships to keep an eye on as well. We had to sail through a thunderstorm with the usual wind gusts and torrential rain keeping us all on our toes. I was the helm zealot during this storm and delighted that the new storm jacket I purchased in Singapore did such a good job keeping me both dry and warm!. Again an exciting and exhilarating voyage to the open sea with everyone on deck and on full alert. We started our watch shifts at 2100 hours with Lee and Frazer taking the first shift until mid-night. Barry and I did the midnight to 0300 hours shift and enjoyed a lovely bright full-moon-lit night with some good sailing and motor-sailing if the wind died.

We also did the 0600 to 0900 hours watch and were rewarded with a beautiful sunrise. We awoke the next watch, Frazer and Lee with  a cooked breakfast and a cuppa. Way to go! Barry and I had a nap in the morning, now Monday March 21 2011, but when we came on watch again at midday, we all stayed on deck and had a very nice lunch prepared by Frazer consisting of cold cuts, cheese, tomatoes, lettuce  salad and delicious fresh wholemeal bread washed down with a cup of nice hot tea. We all enjoy our cuppa except Frazer who does not drink tea or coffee but makes a great cup of either!

The last hour and a half when I was again on the helm we had another squall with very heavy rain followed by showers.

It was warm and I just stayed in my shorts, cap and sunnies and reveled in the liquid sunshine which cleared just in time to let us find the narrow and shallow channel across from Pulau Pangkor to the Pangkor Marina.  Note that if the marina is contacted (Pangkor Marina Manager is James Khoo +60195124088) they will send a “pilot” boat over to meet and greet visiting sailors at hospital rock near Pangkor Island and show visitors the way back to the marina. A great service!

This new marina is excellent and relatively inexpensive with very courteous and obliging management and a first class “pull-out” facility for yachts needing some maintenance on the hard-stand. Very reasonable fees are charged for this service so it is becoming a popular place for anti-fouling for cruising yachts visiting Malaysia.

We will stay at the marina tonight and depart for Telaga Harbor Marina in Langkawi, the last leg of our epic adventure, at about 0630 hours in the morning. There is a Secret Recipe outlet and a nice pub at this little marina so a shower, shave, a beer or three and some good local noodles became the order of the day along with an early night!

Tuesday and Wednesday March 22 and 23 2011

Up early to prep the boat for another early start today. Frazer is the skipper for this our final passage to Telaga Harbor Marina at Langkawi. This is the longest leg we will sail this trip and is expected to take us about 30 hours for the distance of about 140 nautical miles. Frazer wanted to catch the high tide and we departed right on schedule at 0630 hours. Although still dark we were able to navigate the narrow shallow channel back to the safe water nearer to Pulau Pangkor by staying just to starboard of a course from the marina directly to the tall well-lit radio-mast that leads to the ferry terminal. When safely through the shallows we turned to starboard and made for the fairway navigation mark to the north of the big island. Lee and Fraser took the first shift that started at 0700 hours.

Soon after dawn we sailed into a strong squall with lightning, thunder, and very heavy rain accompanied by strong winds and even stronger gusts. As I was not yet asleep I came on deck to assist and took the helm whilst Lee and Frazer put some reefs in the mainsail and reduced the head-sail. Visibility was now down to about 100m due to the very heavy rain. Barry also came up on deck to assist. Lee and I, at the same time, both saw what we thought was a fishing boat crossing our bows dead ahead so we turned to starboard. This “fishing boat” turned out to be an uncharted wreck which was easily avoided but I am glad we were not sailing at night as the wreck was not lit and could easily have been the cause of a nasty accident!

The Malaysian Navy is based at Lumut on the mainland opposite Pulau Pangkor and we found out that this wreck was a large modern navy vessel that had a serious and uncontrollable fire on-board and was scuttled only a year or two ago. Safely past the wreck and back under full control I went back to bed but Lee and Frazer had a very wet and cold watch all the time until Barry and I came on watch. By then the rain had reduced to an annoying drizzle….just like a British summer day!  Again I found everything good with my new wet weather jacket and no faults at all!

After a lot of wet weather early on and during the 2200 – 0100 hours watch, we experienced a relatively uneventful (read highly successful) voyage.

As on all previous passages we entered a log every hour and noted the number of wet and dry pumps in a total of twenty on the manual bilge pump every hour too. Boat speed, wind speed and direction and the mileage log were all recorded and our position and track noted on the chart. We sailed on a course of 135 degrees almost all the way back home to Telaga Harbor Marina.

We again enjoyed excellent meals on this leg and as a very high standard was established early on in this cruise no-one was going to cause the bar to drop!

I made a spaghetti bolognaise with beef and other secret ingredients, herbs and spices for dinner and Lee made a wonderful breakfast of grilled sausages, baked beans and toast for breakfast. During the trip we all (except Frazer) enjoyed copious quantities of tea and coffee  and all (except Lee) enjoyed all sorts and styles of egg dishes. Lee is allergic to eggs. Throughout the entire voyage no-one complained about any aspect of the food! It was great. We got some good rest during our time off watch and as a result we all arrived in Langkawi at around midday feeling just fine.

We all showered, cleaned up, and attended to emails and messages to be ready to meet Barry and Lynette at Mare Blu at 1800 hours for dinner and a few drinks to celebrate a most successful trip. I completed my log book and noted that on this fabulous sailing training trip, where everything we learned in the class-room was underlined time and again, we covered a total of just over 890 nautical miles, spent 45 hours on night watches and a total of fifteen days on board at sea.

Thursday and Friday March 24 and 25 2011

We still had two days to go to complete our training for the Yachtmaster/Coastal Skipper Tidal Certificate and we planned to spend this time doing “bumps and grinds” in the marina with tacking, gibing, MOB and other manoeuvrings outside.

So, for the next two full days we spent the morning turning and maneuvering in very tight places using prop-wash and forward and reverse to literally turn the vessel in it’s own length until we could all do it blind-folded! We also practiced berthing at different pontoons, going in sidewards, backwards and forwards again until we had it down to a tee.

We then had some lunch at the Indian restaurant at the marina and headed out to sea by sailing out the narrow channel and tacking our way back and forth across the channel out to sea until we made it! Once out to sea we practiced “Man-Overboard” (MOB) rescues, crash stops, tacking and gibing in order to reach a MOB or a mooring buoy using sail only. The following day the procedure was reversed and we went out to sea in the morning and did marina manoeuvrings in the afternoon. As there were only the three of us doing all this practice we all became very proficient in boat handling and our confidence and expertise grew exponentially under the skilled attention and instruction of “the Admiral”, a great coach and mentor in all matters to do with sailing.

Having all risen to the occasion we were invited to Barry and Lynette’s home on Friday evening for a BBQ and a few drinks to wrap up a great three weeks of training. At the BBQ Barry presented all of us with our Yachtmaster/Coastal Skipper Certificates to cap a wonderful experience.

Again, my heartfelt thanks to all of the crew with whom I sailed, including Gary. I thoroughly enjoyed the training and the sailing, the camaraderie and the friendships that have resulted from living in each others pockets for an extended period of time. I could not have wished for a better group to sail away with (nor for a better teacher). From novices and strangers when we first met in January, Lee and Frazer have metamorphosed  into skilled and competent sailors with whom I would trust my life. It has been a delight and a great pleasure to know you. I know our paths will cross again when the time is right. Bless each and every one of you and may you go on to achieve your hearts desire. I know you will. I expect to congratulate Lee and Frazer on the successful completion of their RYA Yachtmaster Offshore Certificates of Competence early in May. I would be delighted to sail with either or both of you anytime!

I also plan to go on and get my RYA Yachtmaster Offshore and perhaps Yachtmaster Ocean Certificates of Competence within the next year and will certainly again enroll with the extraordinary individual and extraordinarily competent coach, teacher, mentor and now friend Mr Barry Wickett. Thank you Barry.

Gudrun will also undergo her RYA Day Skipper Tidal land-based and RYA Day Skipper Tidal practical certificate courses next season. She has to know what to do to get the old man home in the event that she needs to! Especially when we realize our dream with “Edu-Cat”. Stay tuned!