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| s.v. Jalan Jalan |
Sitting in the marina at the luxury holiday resort of Rebak island( owned by the daughter of previous PM of Malaysia ) the weather is both warm and kind. We have not had rain for a week and each day we attend to those little jobs such as making mosquito nets for the windows, Varnishing the oars of the dingy and whipping the new mooring line that we purchased especially for the marina in Penang where masts can rock 90 degrees with the swell from the ferries.
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| The main Saloon |
We have made an inventory of the food stores and created a shopping list for tomorrows trip to town. The water tanks have been filled and a gas bottle has been taken to the marina office for refilling. I changed the oil and oil filter in the Yanmar diesel and applied some grease to the Volvo stern gland.
The object of cruising is to enjoy the journey and the adventure. To achieve this a cruising boat is somewhat different from a racing yacht.
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| Lunch |
One needs to have an electric windlass to conserve energy when anchoring, an automatic pilot to steer when you are tired and a freezer to keep some beer cold as well as some meat . It goes without saying that the cabin should be dry. In the tropics it is imperative that you have shade in the cockpit and some refuge from the rain.
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| shade plus solar panels and wind generator |
Having said all of that a cruising boat needs to be able to sail well to windward in with the light variable winds it is important to have a good engine that will drive you at least 6 knots in most weather.
The sails need to be handled easily by one or two people. Having a main sheet traveler forward of the cockpit makes the cockpit clear of unnecessary obstacles and ropes.
Luckily Jalan Jalan has all of these things. The additional equipment of a radar with AIS (the attachment to the radar that recognizes other ships with radar and signals to those ships that you are in there vicinity) is a real plus.
Apart from these things a fly swat comes in handy along with mosquito nets over the hatches and opening windows.
Stowage space is important. A lot of the modern boats have fantastic open layouts down below but limited stowage space. When you live on a boat you need lots of stowage space for all of your belongings that will be called into use as you move from the tropics to the colder climates. We are fortunate for such a small boat to have ample stowage. Some limiting factors are fuel and water .We only have 130 liters of water and 130 liters of fuel as a consequence we have to carry 8 containers on deck for long voyages.
There are always bigger and better yachts but we are happy with what we have.
Jalan jalan is very comfortable to live on and she sails well in light airs and is easily managed in heavy weather. WE can keep out of the sun on the hot days and dry in the wet ones.
Today we went shopping for stores for the next three months, the staples such as tinned meat, milk, beer and some exotic spirits as fresh vegetables and fruit are available on route.
In the marina the boat next to us decided to move out. He cast off the lines and reversed. The boat took off veering to port with a mind of its own. Panic . The owner had forgotten to put the steering wheel back. Well we all make mistakes!
Discussions around the pool today were wide ranging from the size of the Swiss army ; 600,000 for a population 8 million compared to the British and French armies of 120,000 each. I had to ask the question “What are the Swiss afraid of ?”
“The Germans “ shooting holes in the Swiss cheese! We then got the history of the two world wars and national army service. We then moved on to the difference between the French and the British in de colonization or the lack of it .
Then we were joined by the young English couple; well Katerina is Russian and Ravi is Indian with an Eton stiff upper lip accent. She runs the fraud department for an online poker gaming site and he is a business risk boss for Credit Swisse. The conversation turned to Warren Buffet (not Jimmy) and research. I got the distinct impression that the community of Bankers ( wankers) are generally lacking in research skills of a practical nature when looking at businesses in detail, they are blinded by the word COMISSION . Yes! They are good at baffling you with bookkeepers profit and loss figures and presenting a SWOT analysis without any real understanding of customers, and the factors affecting particular businesses such as weather, seasons and the real competition from other suppliers and alternative product packages.
As we were all becoming wrinkly from 2 hours of immersion in the water we all departed with an agreement to meet again tomorrow for another tutorial in the pool.
Coming back to the boat we noticed a new boat tied up next to us. A Scotsman with a sense of humor. This immaculate steel boat of 38 feet with a flush deck and pilot house Conjures up a battleship fit for the worst conditions that the sea can provide.
The name is Bright wing. I commented if you lost the letter B you would really be making a political statement. His mate wearing a T shirt “Scotland probably the best country on earth”. I inquired “ are you not sure !” The discussion then traversed the British isles. I recounted a conversation in a bar where the topic of the Welsh came up. One outspoken English man said there are only two kinds of Welsh.
“They are either Rugby players or prostitutes. When one guy piped up
“My wife is welsh”
The English man was quick on his feet
“What position does she play?”
Toworrow we will go to the mainland and hire a car from Mr Dinh for$12 and complete the shopping, some more duty free booze and fresh meat and vegetables and the following day we will sail to Penang to pick up two family members for a 10 day cruise to Langkawi and the island of Lipe in Thailand.
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| It is 5.00 pm. somewhere! |
