Saturday 14 May 2016

Dodged a bullet by not beginning overnight passage yesterday, Friday the 13th. Superstitious sailors will simply not start a voyage on that weekday and adding the 13th is considered tantamount to suicide. Notwithstanding that departure in 2011 from New Zealand to Fiji on Friday the 13th was Jan's and my first and worst passage, we eschew such old wive's tale mysticism. By the way, if I were an old wife (you know who you are) I'd be pretty peeved about that phrase. Anyway, just to increase dissemination of completely useless information and mischievously displace data from currently utilized memory cells because you're so old you have no spares (you know who you are), the maximum number of these minacious dates you can have in a year is 3 and it must be a leap year. Go out and impress your friends... if you can still remember their names.

Monday

As usual didn't write squat while in port due staying busy and/or drinking heavily. Chukai (or Cukai) has a port, but the city is up a lazy river. Don't think Hoagy Carmichael did any dreaming here, but we enjoyed it and even the day-long tour to what was once the largest tin mine in the world and a batik 'factory' where nearly everyone discovered they couldn't live without some. We bought 4 shirts/blouses and a length of silk large enough to make a bedspread. In the unlikely event that someone begins adding photos to these scribblings, you can be appropriately amazed.

Now underway toward overnight stopover at Pulau Tenggol en route to Pulau Kappas for a potluck dinner tomorrow. Then have 3 days for the 10 NM to Kuala Terengganu where boat part shipment from UK may or may not await. UPS and customs have been farting around with it since the 3rd. Does not bode well for subsequent package that will not arrive in country for yet a day or two. As always we cling to a delusional optimism.

Jack