The Sail Indonesia Rally and the Sail East Malaysia Rally are vastly different experiences. Sail Indonesia of last year is detailed much earlier in our blogs, the track taken by the yachts this year is different. Sail Malaysia details appear more recently in our blogs. In this review I will comment on the comparisons and contrasts of these two events. Last year over 100 yachts took part in the Indonesian Rally,this year 120+ and next year even more are registered. We did about half the rally and then continued on "sailing in company", in good company too, to Singapore where we 'parked up' at Sebana Cove in Malaysia about an hour by ferry from Changi Airport in Singapore, and a great place to stopover. Many of the boats of course continued on in the Sail WEST Malaysia Rally which continues from Danga Bay through the Malacca Straits to Penang and Langkawi, a haven for passing yachts with Marinas, Workyards, beautiful islands and beaches etc. The Sail WEST Malaysia Rally has been running for a number of years. The Sail EAST Malaysia Rally started last year with ten boats, 46 registered this year and next year over 60 are expected.

With Sail Indonesia (SI) from the time we left Darwin until we arrived at Nongsa Point, the last place in Indonesia before leaving for Singapore, we never saw or stopped over at any marinas. Our stopovers were all on anchor, in open waters, bays, fiords, behind reefs, at islands, in isolation, in populated areas, but 98% of the anchorages were great. We never went to the major cities, initially clearing into Kupang, although we did go to some highly settled areas, we stopped in very remote areas, we visited remote and isolated villages and traditional lifestyle areas. In Indonesia we never had issues with any of the authorities or any of the people. The Indonesians were tremendously warm, welcoming, generous, helpful, interested and giving. Those who had the least, offered the most! an interesting reflection on humanity generally. We were welcomed everywhere, overwhelmingly in many instances. Indonesia for us was about culture, nature, the environment, wonderful people and interesting, challenging and vastly different environments. Traditional boats by the tens of thousands constantly amazed us, as these people live by and from the sea. The only downside in Indonesia was the pollution of the oceans and the lands, particularly the Oceans. It is a tragedy in the making that even if it stopped today would never be able to be cleaned up, but it gets worse, exponentially worse, every day as western companies DUMP what they can no longer sell in our communities into these areas without conscience, care or thought. Plastics, bags, wrappers, crates, foil, rubber, bottles and more bags than could ever be counted are dumped into this area daily and find their way into the oceans. But it was the simplicity of life, the family caring and bonding, the generosity that left the most lasting impressions. And then of course there are Komodo Dragons, volcanoes, rainforests and dry area, monkeys, pristine waters, beautiful bays and wonderful islands that create a montage of experiences.

East Malaysia Rally (EM), now only in its second year, introduced us to the South China Sea that has just so much to offer. An overview is set out in the blogs below. Up the East Coast of Peninsula Malaysia, across the South China Sea and then up the west coast of Borneo, including Brunei. This rally offers a totally different experience as you move from marina to marina punctuated by beach and island stops. Progressively north up peninsula Malaysia the waters get clearer the Islands better, Tioman, Kapas, Redang and Perhentians with crystal clear waters, reef, fish snorkelling, diving and swimming and it seems to just get better and better as you go. There are marinas with world class facilities, Tioman, Terengganu, that become the base for further exploring, stocking up, great food outlets and interesting shopping experiences and a kaleidoscope of food variety at wonderfully cheap prices in such a relaxed and comfortable environment. The ocean is flat, very flat, the beaches and water beautiful. It is cleaner from plastic, foil and other pollutants than Indonesia but this is still the biggest challenge for these areas in the future. But again we are welcomed everywhere, they don't take your fruit, they GIVE you a local tropical fruit platter, they welcome and assist you and do not throw up barriers to entry. Yes you still have to deal with the bureaucracy, but, heh, remember we showed them what bureacracy is and we are still the masters at unnecessary officialdom and rules and regulations! Crossing the South China Sea we sail through Indonesian Islands again on our way to Borneo. Kuching is the entry to Borneo and this country, part of Malaysia but with areas that are Indonesian, and of course Brunei show signs of considerable and in places great wealth and we experience everything from the traditional Iban villages with similarity to the nature of the people in Indonesia as we traverse massive and extensive river systems with whole enormous trees and their foliage going up with the tides, down with the tide, back up with the tide.......and the next stop may be a modern marina and town with the economy "fuelled" by massive and extensive offshore oil and gas rigs that light up the ocean at night for twenty miles and more until the grand finale in Koto Kinabalu where possibly one of the nicest boutique marinas in the world is with theatre, ten pin bowling, too many pools to pick from and crystal clear water with tropical fish and coral IN the marina and beautiful islands only the shortest of hops away. Malaysia was a diversity of peoples from many backgrounds, rapidly developing areas, massive expenditure and development on marine infrastructure (but not many boats visiting............yet) and one of the most underexploited boating environments around. Thus their emphasis on promoting through rallies and other means including events such as the Monsoon Cup and Miri Brunei Race where THEY pay you to enter and offer other inducements to go and enjoy yourself in this welcoming and friendly environment.
The South China Sea gets my vote.

Both the Indonesian Rally and the East Malaysia Rally are very different but equally great experiences for any cruising yacht that will take you to new destinations and assist you to find and explore places you would otherwise miss with many great advantages from joining the rally as well as opportunities to meet some great people along the way.

Where to next? We have much, much more to see up there, and we want to go back to the top end of East Coast Peninsula Malaysia (back across the South China Sea), we want to explore the tip and the north eastern side of Borneo, we want to..................................the next job is antifouling to get us right for another couple of years of exploration in this vibrant and interesting area.