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| Setting fish traps for the evening |
May 14th Sat
It is a grey morning ,completely windless with very poor visibility ,I can just make out five of the many ships heading north through the Malacca straits 4 miles to the west of our track south to Malacca.
WE have been in the luxurious Admiral cove marina for a week. The fridge stopped working and the refrigeration mechanic who looked at it diagnosed that the compressor was not working. We ordered a new one but delivery would be two weeks.
We spent our days doing small jobs such as fitting a new bilge pump, new float switch,greasing the shaft bearing, cleaning the hull , putting some fuel additive in the tank to stop bacteria growing and washing our clothes.
I found a stainless steel nut on the deck near the mast. It must of come from somewhere. I thought it was from one of the bolts holding the radar on to the mast.
Annick hoisted me up the mast but everything was ok .I looked up at the rigging, hoping it was not from there. I then looked carefully around at every fitting close to where I found the nut. Ah Ah on the boom there are two hooks near the mast that are used when reefing the main sail. A bolt secures these hooks. The nut had vibrated of the end of the bolt. I put it back together with some “Locktight” a kind of glue that stops nuts from working loose.
By 10,30 each day we were at the pool in the shade of coconut palms and then reading.
Some times we would have lunch on the boat and other times at the restaurant .Each day we kept busy white waiting for the new compressor to arrive.
One day we hired a car and drove to Malacca where in amongst a swathe of high rise development and shopping centers we found what we were looking for.The old part of the town, streets of Chinese shop houses and a few Portuguese store houses. All of the houses are freshly painted and the streets are strictly non smoking.
In amongst the tourist shops, antique shops and small grocery stores selling dried noodles are some attractive restaurants. We sampled the Chinese/Portuguese chicken,at the time it was delicious but an hour later while in a glitzy shopping centre a buzz with young Chinese/Malay students with their hair dyed blond I got that familiar feeling that things were not right with my stomach. I just made it through the mouse maze to the toilet.
WE managed to get back to Port Dixon with one pit stop. For dinner we went to the Port Dixon yacht club. A club in the British tradition, without boats but an excellent dining room, swimming pool and tennis courts looking out over the sea. The food was excellent and remained with me this time.
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| Admiral cove Marina |
After calling Mr. Go each day to find out when the part was going to arrive I spent the day writing my blog www.letterfromindonesia.com. And sent it off to a few friends .I got An instant reply from Bruce, it was a short question. “are you sure the compressor is the problem?”
I looked at the fridge again, apart from the compressor and a cooling radiator there was a black box, some kind of regulator or controller. I recall seeing a spare one in one of the boxes of tools and bits and pieces.
I hunted for it and then carefully changed the wires from the old one to the new one and switched on the fridge. My God it works ! I went for a swim for an hour before I was sure. Lifting the lid of the freezer I could see ice forming on the metal plate.
Well we can leave. I telephoned Mr. Go to tell him that his staff did nor diagnose the problem correctly and I no longer needed the new compressor.
We left the marina at sun rise the next day.
The wind has just started to blow from the west. I had better go up and hoist the sails.
Well that’s done, the wind is 15 knots and I switched the engine off and we are still doing 5.5 to 6 knots.
Today we have a special treat, ham sandwiches with mustard and gherkins. I would have liked a glass of red wine , but seeing how the red wine has run out I will have an ice cold beer from the repaired fridge.
The wind has been up and down all day so with only a reprieve of 3 hours the engine has been on most of the time.
Abeam of Malacca I can make out the entrance of the marina. The depths inside vary from 1.7 to 1.4 metres not really attractive for yachts of 2.0 metres draft.
WE continued on to the Water Islands 9 miles further on trying to decide where to anchor. The islands apart from Pulau Besar are only 100 to 250 meters long fringed by a 7 meter shoal that butts up to 42 meters in the channels between the islands.
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| one of the Water islands |
WE decided on Pulau Udan but on our chart there is just a circle of dots with a light in the middle and the depths given are not accurate. The island is a rocky outcrop about 50 feet high. AS we approached we traversed backward and forwards trying to find the line between 45metre and 10 meters depths. Even at 50 meters of the shoreline the depth was 18 meters. I dropped the anchor and let out the chain . Once we were settled I could hear the chain scraping over the rocks and as a swell approached I could feel the jerk of the anchor pulling against the rock. I thought the anchor was caught, wedged between two rocks but we were holding. We had a gin and orange juice with ice while we enjoyed the late afternoon sun. ANNICK went down for a nap while I contemplated the worst case scenario of the anchor being completely stuck. If that is the case then I would have to cut the chain with bolt cutters and sacrifice the anchor. My thoughts became darker,
When the tide changes the chain might get wrapped around the rocks !. I looked at the cruising guide and found that it was possible to anchor in mud of the southern tip of Pulau Besar in 5 meters of water. It was 5.30 and it would be dark in 3 hours. The Island is only 4 miles away so why not try and get out of here.
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| The rocks are a bit to close |
I woke Annick and went forward and started pulling up the chain with the electric windlass. I did not get very far. It stopped. I let out some chain and got Annick to motor forward at half speed. I tried again and got a few more meters of chain in and then the winch stopped. I cranked it in about a meter by hand. We tried again going forward. The anchor would not budge. I let a bit of chain our and got Annick to put the helm hard over to port and then gun the engine forward at 2,000 revs. Crunch, bang, wallop! It became free and I quickly brought in the chain and we motored to Pulau Besar.
In the shallower water the swell was slight and we anchored safely in 8 meters.Once settled we were beam on to the wind as the tide was stronger than the wind.
It was soon dark and we ate some curried chicken that we mixed with some steamed vegetables and rice followed by some ice cold Papaya that we had cut up and put in the freezer. I went down to sleep while annick read a crime thriller in the cockpit.
It was a hot night ,hard to sleep even with the fans. At 11 30 pm I went up on deck, drank some ice cold water and looked around. The wind was coming from the east and the tide from the south; not a good time to leave. I made my self a Pastis and sat in the cockpit thinking, this is much better than a life in a house, arguing with the wife and taking the dog for a walk armed with plastic bags.
I thought about Indonesia , the lovely people, the problems of development and the “White Tiger”. The book written about India through the eyes of a driver of a successful entrepreneur. The issues raised are relevant to all societies; greed, corruption, alienation and the breakdown of the family and community.
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| one of the many religious ceremonies in Bali |
What ever happened to the pursuit of happiness? More money, a bigger house, a flash car. Well they might do it for some for a while but the thrill doesn’t last that long.
The Jason recliner and the huge flat screen TV may be fine but It is hard to find good programs from the choice of crap that Foxtel gives us.
For me sailing provides a platform where I can pursue happiness.
some people might find motoring in flat seas not being able to see land absolutely boring.
Not so for me, just a moment I have to go on deck to check for ships in the Malacca strait. It is like a parade at any one time 10 ships are passing traveling north.
I keep checking the radar to see which ships are at anchor and which ones are moving ,I look at the track of the boat on the plotter, check the tide, see if the current is affecting or direction and speed and I keep re calculating out ETA to the next port.Even though the GPS does this it does not take account of the changing current and the changing speed of the boat.
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| Inspecting the deck |
I continually look at the wind direction and the set of the sails, making adjustments as required. Then having completed all of the checks periodically, I sit in the cockpit and look at the world in front of me and contemplate what ever comes into my head.
The daily rituals performed necessary for survival, become an automated process and the time between the rituals is filled with feelings of happiness, peace and contentment.
From our anchorage in the Water islands our next stop is the banana islands some 70 miles to the SSE. Here many islands are named after commodities where as Cook, Flinders and Baudin named islands after important people or places in their home country such as Lord Howe island, Reevesby island and Fleurieu.
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| The Banana Islands (no bananas) |
On the AIS radar we could see ships to the west making their way north. By 6.30 the blackness gave way to grayness .The blurred out lines of ships at anchor first appeared as ghosts and then became real as we came closer. A bright red hull, with white super structure stood out against a grey background to the left, a black coastal steamer to the right and an enormous red tanker ahead .All at anchor waiting for instructions.
By mid morning we had rounded the south west tip of Malaysia and were heading up the channel to Danga bay. There was a yacht following us about a mile or to astern as we steered according to the buoys.
The horizon was cluttered with ships at anchor as we made our way between Singapore and Malaysia. I could see a large barbed wire fence along the coast of Singapore and thought this must be for keeping out illegal immigrants coming from Malaysia. I was wrong. It is the boundary of the firing practice range for the Singapore Army.
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| A fence on the border of Singapore |
WE passed under Tuas bridge the second link between Malaysia and Singapore with floating fishing villages to the right and to the left.
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| Tuas bridge |
As I had not been here before I plotted a way point (GPS) at the entrance to the shallow Danga bay but once there I could not work out where the sand bar was or the path to follow.
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| Where is the channel? |
I waited to the yacht following to approach and followed them in over depths of 2 meters. We came close to the marina and saw Patrick from Le Barque tied up.
WE asked him where to go. He said the marina is full you will have to anchor.
A huge black cloud was threatening rain as the strong gusts of wind hit us.
The yacht we were following dropped anchor and we were about to when I saw a vacant space just ahead of two work boats tied up on the outer pontoon.
I headed for the space, as people came out of their boats to help us with the lines.
We tied up as the first drops of rain fell and then it poured in buckets.
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| Jalan Jalan Tied up at Danga Bay |
Danga Bay marina is free .I think that is the attraction for most of the yachts berthed here. Some seem to have been here for quite some time. Like most things in Malaysia they are half finished and the bits that are finished need repairing.
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| After the rain the rubish arrives |
The people are friendly, a little reserved but very helpful when asked.
Now for a few days rest before continuing the journey.
