Phuket

Christmas Day was spent in Chalong just south of Phuket Town. We had Christmas Lunch organised by Shirley of THE ROAD; you can just see her standing wearing the Santa Claus hat, in a local restaurant. The food was delicious; choice of soups, roast beef/ pork with, mash, roasts, two lovely Yorkshire puddings, a host of veg and lashings of gravy. Dessert was mince pies with either ice cream or custard. All this washed down with a glass of wine. Total cost was £10 each!

We were able to replace our shredding shroud (a bit of stainless steel wire which holds the mast up) and have our mainsail repaired in Chalong at the impressive sail loft of Rolly Tasker. The weather was not too kind and we did get wet in the large, wind driven waves. We left Chalong for Patong, a seedy place to spend New Year, "well known for prostitutes, ladyboys and junkies". We understand that it also has the best firework display in Thailand for the New Year. We stopped on the way at Nai Han Beach, pictured. The surf was high, but we got through to have lunch ashore and visit the Royal Phuket Yacht Club.

So Goodbye to 2011 - what a fantastic year. We hope all our readers have a brilliant 2012.

Hole in the Wall and Sky Bridge

On our circumnavigation of Langkawi, after the rigours of Kuah, we decided to go to the Kilim Geoforest Park for some rest and relaxation. The entrance to the KGF is through the Hole in the Wall, pictured here. What we did not know was that it is a MAJOR tourist attraction on the island where thousands of tourists clamber aboard local fast boats. The idea presumably is to take in the ambiance of the Geo Park. This idea has been lost and now the constant stream of hurtling boats seem intent on beating each other back to the start jetty to take the next load of tourists. Quite a number of the boats passed within a couple of feet of Sal Darago at over 30 knots. The noise and the motion were grim until 6pm.
We left the Kilim Park early the next morning and returned to Telaga, where we refueled, filled the water tanks and walked, on a beautifully still morning, to the Langkawi Cable Car which takes one to the top of Mount Mat Cincang - over 2000 feet. The cable car was closed because of STRONG winds? We walked back to SD. In the afternoon we saw the cars were moving and returned to the Cable Car Station. Here we understood how five million visitors had ridden the cars in six years... they had queued a long time. The eventual ride (£6 each) was fantastic and the views were beautiful over Malaysia and Thailand beyond. The Skybridge walk was amazing and one could not help but feel sorry for those creeping along it with an obvious fear of heights. Goodbye Malaysia; hopefully we'll be back in February.

Kuah, Langkawi

Having sorted the immediate problem of the dinghy, we were able to enjoy some of the performances associated with LIMA, Langkawi International Maritime and Aerospace (Festival), which is celebrated every two years. There were big air displays and most of the Malaysian Navy were anchored on our route from Rebak to Kuah - all dressed overall for us - it is kind of these people to give us such a welcome. The rather frightening man in the picture was really quite friendly and posed for me before giving a friendly wave, but apart from being a traditional dance in local costume, we could only guess that the dance was associated with harvest and fertility. It was odd that the male figures seemed pregnant?

Say what you will, the Malaysians certainly understand brash. This is a modest hotel near the anchorage in Kuah. Kathy and I had to walk past it regularly on our quest for spare parts and provisions. On this road on Wednesdays and Saturdays, a night market is set up, with the stalls selling mostly food. The Malaysian people often have no need to cook. Kathy and I regularly purchased a full meal with a drink each for 12 Ringgit, which is less than £2.50. It would be difficult to buy the ingredients here for less.

Langkawi, Dinghies!

So this is what the Honwave dinghy looked like just before it got the heave ho. We managed to get ashore at Kuah, Langkawi's main town, but on the way back to SD the smaller of the two clamps popped off and we were in danger of sinking or at least getting very wet. We decided that we would have to buy the first available dinghy even if it did not meet all our requirements. After all the first requirement is to float.

At Royal Langkawi Yacht Club, Kuah, there is a Yacht Shop where Paul agreed to sell us a new RIB Quicksilver 2.6 metre inflatable dinghy. It was too long, and did not fold up, but at least it was water tight. Until we put it in the water. Yes, our new two thousand pound (nearly) dinghy was leaking water in two places. I fixed the first leak around the towing eye, but for the second leak, around the tube and transom, the dinghy had to be returned. Fortunately we were loaned a courtesy dinghy. At last we had a new all floating, non leaking, white, hypalon dinghy.

Pulau Langkawi

Before we left Penang, the dinghy split another seam and the bearings and seals went on the engine water circulation pump. The dinghy is pretty well a lost cause held together with 8 G clamps. I fitted a new water pump and its hoses as we had them with us. The journey to Pulau Langkawi was uneventful despite many fishing boats leading their extensive nets across our intended track. We anchored off a small island which was wooded and beautiful in complete safety from the winds. Both of us enjoyed a swim in cleaner but not clear water.

We sailed up to Telaga for the final Sail Malaysia Rally dinner and again had a good anchoring spot. On Thursday 1st December we went to a fantastic restaurant with a gorgeous view and prepared to dine alfresco. The weather had different ideas! It began to pour down tropical style and lasted for 90 minutes. The staff rushed to set the tables again and we rushed to get some nosh. It was delicious and accompanied by local dancers and performers. Within 30 minutes the rain was back and we called it a day. We phoned for a taxi to take us to the jetty (about 3 kilometres), but by the time the dinghy was emptied of rain water and we were safely back at Sal Darago, we were both drenched. It was such a pity for Sazli (the Sail Malaysia Organiser), the Restaurant and the performers.

Now we are looking round the various marinas and boatyards
to see where we can lift SD out and do the work in March when we return from Thailand. It is very hot and humid and we have much to repair before we can even move on to Thailand, never mind crossing the Indian Ocean.

Penang 2

The photo shows me standing on the first floor landing of a renovated
Baba Nyonya (Straits Chinese) house called Pinang Peranakan Mansion. It has fabulous Chinese carvings, Scottish ironwork and English tiled floors. The textiles were amazing and the pottery and glassware astounding. This was one of many attractions which we visited.


Here's Jeremy standing on the walls of Fort Cornwallis. The fort was built by Captain Light for the British East India Company. Emily and Ben might be interested to know that Light came from Suffolk and went to Woodbridge Grammar School. The cannon is the Seri Rambai which was presented by the Dutch and stolen by the English! According to a local belief, childless women can conceive by placing flowers in its barrel and offering special prayers. Now there's a fallacy, or should that be phallus see?

Penang

We had the usual fun with fishing vessels and ships on our passage to Penang. We knew that the island is joined to the mainland by a bridge of over 13km. The photograph shows us approaching the centre arch where there was sufficient clearance for our mast. We also knew that a new, even longer bridge was being built further south and all we had to do was follow the buoys. First we had to motor in and out of the maze of fishing boats and drift nets. Then we identified some red buoys and kept them to port. To starboard we could see hundreds of pairs of pillars sticking up from the water and disappearing into the mist. Much closer, there were cranes, barges and a Blackpool Tower lookalike which was the pile driver. There was nothing marking the passage
through so we had to guess. We passed between two barges and left the construction site behind us. Soon we were anchored off Pulau Jerejak, near a fishing village, some local restaurants and a dual carriageway. We spent 3 nights here. At first there were no other yachts. We ate ashore and visited the expensive but interesting War Museum located in a British built fort. We had
plenty of time. Having caught up with the rally in Pangkor, we had a week before the scheduled events in Penang. It made sense to move further north towards the main town of Georgetown and have a look at this UNESCO World Heritage city. We had no problems passing under the bridge and anchored in the Junk anchorage off the town. After an hour and three attempts the anchor finally held. We had motored up with a catamaran called Wind Pony. Their depth
sounder was broken so they followed us into the anchorage and anchored with no problems.....until a few hours later. We'd chatted to Nick and Jan on the motor vessel Yarwarra II when we were in Pangkor. They were in the Junk anchorage so we let them know we were going ashore. When we returned Wind Pony had dragged while Dick and Lynne were ashore and had hit Yarwarra II very hard on both sides. The maritime police were called and their boat hit Wind Pony but by then Dick and Lynne had returned. We were relieved that SD stayed put although all the boats in the anchorage were moving around in wind over tide conditions. Our turn came the third night we were there. We woke to find ourselves uncomfortably close to a large motor cruiser. We had dragged in the night but not collided with anything. We re-anchored, Jeremy checked the engine and saw that the fresh water pump had broken. Fortunately, he had a spare and spent several hot, sweaty hours in the engine compartment fitting the spare. We motored 4 miles to Straits Quay Marina and had no more dramas.