11/06/2009, The Ri-Yaz - Home of the Monsoon Cup
On tour today 8.30am start and a tour of the highlights of the city. Our first stop was the wooden boat building yards where we saw many boats in progress both large and small. One large boat we looked at has been in progress for 2 years already, they built one the same for a New Zealander in 1997 and have a list of boats they have built for people world wide over that past few years, a couple of Aussies and Kiwis included.
Next we visited the "Edutainment Park" which has 21 miniature replica mosques from around the world such as Taj Mahal, India, Al Haram, Mecca, Xian, China, Kul Sharif, Russia, to name a few. Some of these miniature building we were able to go inside the actual replica mosque, others had the mosque on the first level and one could walk around it , with there being a gallery on the ground level that displayed artefacts and screened documentaries. All so interesting and fascinating, stopping next at the Crystal Mosque which is built with steel and crystal effect glass, resonating light from inside and out. We were allowed inside this mosque, the ladies had to be covered with a head scarf and cloak and the men with a cloak. Inside there was a huge crystal chandelier in the dome, visiting tourists of the Islamic faith were praying and we were allowed to take photos where as inside the miniatures we were not.
Lunch time, we arrived at China Town were we said goodbye to our bus driver and were lead by our tour guide to a Chinese restaurant for lunch. We entered through the kitchen which was at the front of the restaurant to tables out the back to be served with a 4 dish set menu which consisted of a whole fish baked with fresh ginger, omelette, lemon chicken and a vegetable tofu dish, all very delicious.
A leisurely walk through China Town to help our lunch go down with many of the ladies "just looking" and the men spending money on such items as fishing gear, water filters and other boat requirements. Next came the wet and dry markets but we were a little late at the fish market with only a few squid and fish left and a strong fishy smell! Huge lycees from Thailand, rambutans, durian fruits (dreadful pungent smell don't know how anyone can eat these) and mangosteens, our favourite, and mangoes available. Along the water front there are some rides such as an old Ferris Wheel, Carousel etc. as well as souvenirs, clothing, paintings and food stalls. Hot and tired we caught a water taxi back across the bay to the marina where we changed to our swimmers and headed for the pool to cool off. Some of the yachties that have been here earlier said that it was well worth eating at the Verandah Restaurant which we decided to do where we enjoyed a great meal while looking out over the bay at the city lights. There had been a thunder storm earlier which cleared the air and the temperatures were very comfortable for sleeping.
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love you all ery much xx
Today, Wednesday, we sailed as a group, 18 of us (the other half of the fleet have stayed in the Tioman area and will cross the South China Sea from there as the crossing is 100nautical miles shorter) to Kuala Terengganu leaving at 10.30am. Many of the boats had officials on board for the sail, Maggie, who is PR for the Monsoon Cup Sailing challenge held in December, accompanied us. We started out with the main and the genoa up but as time went by the gentle breeze square behind us saw many boats dropping sails and breaking out their colourful spinnakers or similar type sails, creating a colourful array of sailboats enroute to Terengganu. It was the best sail we've had so far on this rally enjoying the peace and tranquillity for a couple of hours.
There is a new marina and resort complex, The Ri-yaz Heritage Bay Club Marina where we all berthed, were given VIP attention and fresh fruit plates. Kuala Terengganu is a capital city that sits on the northeast of Malaysia. This city is a heritage town and we are told that "its northern islands are some of the best diving locations in the world". The facilities here are very up market with lovely showers, gym and swimming pool. The Verandah Restaurant and Cindai Ballroom is a magnificent modern palatial building on the water front looking over the bay and across to the city.
At 7.30pm we attended the rally dinner which was held on the lawn of the Cindai Ballroom, the setting looked very formal with white linen table cloths and white linen chair covers with large bows at the back. Numerous buffet tables surrounded us with large stainless serving dishes being kept warm with candles underneath, the flames adding to the ambience of the balmy evening. Mexican sounding group of musicians kept us entertained whilst waiting for the VIP's and officials to arrive. Upon their arrival drums, gongs and xylophone traditional performances were given followed by several traditional dances, all with the most stunning, colourful costumes, finishing off with a couple of short speeches. We were all presented with beautiful batik sarongs and invited to enjoy the magnificent numerous dishes of the buffet, so many to chose from and far too many to try them all. What a welcome!
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09/06/2009, Palau Kapas
Pulau Kapas an absolute stunning destination. Yesterday we motor sailed with hardly a breath of wind and seemed to have about 2knots of current against us, once again weaving our way through all the fishing floats. We anchored in the northern basin between Pulau Kapas and Pulau Gemia in 8 metres of crystal clear water where we could see our anchor laying on the sand. A welcome ceremony was due to start at 3.00pm, we just had enough time for a quick dip off the back of the boat to cool us off as it had be extremely hot and we all felt that we were melting. Dressed in our Charmar uniform (royal blue & white polo shirts embroidered with Charmar and our names) we joined the flotilla of ducks (dinghies) all racing to shore to the resort at the southern end of the island.
On arrival we were welcomed with wonderful display of martial arts followed by a scrumptious buffet at the resort on the veranda with a lovely cooling breeze. The resort was an old colonial style open wooden bar, restaurant and pool. Afterwards we walked along the beautiful white sand beaches to the north passing by many small resorts and a camping ground called "Pak Yer Camp". Each headland has steps over the rocks to the next bay and these steps have a white balustrade fence with a gazebo resting, viewing place at the top looks very colonial. Many mainland holiday makers from Singapore and Malaysia were enjoying the area, swimming, canoeing and playing in the sand. Pulau Kapas is only 6.5 km from the mainland and there's a swimming marathon from the mainland to the island every April which allows a maximum of 200 entrants.
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08/06/2009
This morning 0700 departure from a very picturesque bay headed for Pulua Kapas.
To get here we motored sailed for about 18hrs, dodging numerous fish floats that dotted the seas , to this delightful bay. Yesterday departing just after midnight (8/6/09) having been rudely awakened from a deep sleep by King Neptune. The wind had changed blowing us on shore towards the coral and the tide was going in the opposite direction making it quite uncomfortable with the water nosily slapping the sides of the hulls and rocking us as if on a childs rocking horse, we decided to get out of there. The moon was full illuminating the clear sky and flat sea with a gentle breeze once we were out in the open.
We had enjoyed our short time in that bay, great snorkelling with the best coral (still not brilliant) we have seen so far and once again fabulous colourful fish all shapes and sizes. Pauline just loved it. Back on board we invited "Blue Moon of Oz" John and Sarah over for happy hour drinks.
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07/06/2009, Pulau Tulai
Today's plan after a little sleep in under the calm conditions of the deep bay on western side of Tulai and great snorkelling yesterday followed by a beach barbecue with a few others was to sail on the breeze and commence our next passage of about 150 nautical mile to rejoin the fleet.
As the breeze came in we stowed the anchor and set main and genoa sailing along for an hour and a bit in 7 - 8 knots of breeze on a comfortable sea but with a foreboding black bank of cloud on the horizon. At about 1130 the wind started to veer and then came in with a wack, we had managed to furl the headsail and motored just off the breeze with the main for a while hoping it was just a front but it stayed in and increased to 45 knots plus so we had to drop the main, losing a lazy jack in the process where the thin line broke but with main stowed we turned in the now torrential rain to run down wind with it heading back directly in the direction we had come from.
In some ways it was good to be out of the anchorage as the winds would have been blowing right into it and by the time we were motoring past it again about an hour or so later all but two of the boats had gone and the two remaining had moved into the centre of the bay but were pitching extensively.
No good going back there so we motored around the bottom of Tulai and once in the lee with the dropping winds and slowing rain we were quite comfortable and we motored around to the eastern side, with the thought of going back to Tioman to replace the lazy jack or doing it in a sheltered bay. Blue Moon had come around and taken a mooring in 6 metres just off a beautiful little beach very close to shore and there were many other moorings there also so we opted for that.
Dianne shot up the mast with a new lazy jack cord and we had that fixed in short time and sat down to enjoy some great toasted sandwiches and coffee - which was well received after being out in the driving, stinging rain which although quite warm caused body chilling in the strong winds accompanying it.
This definitely was not on the travel brochure, but sailing brings a new surprise every day, some good and some you could well do without!! Nevertheless all part of it.
Maybe we will hang here for a few hours, do some snorkelling, it looks great and the water is crystal clear, off the back of the boat to the beach, and then head off, again, or we may stay the night.........
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06/06/2009
Finally we have decided to depart Tioman Island. Topped up our water tanks with Tioman fresh jungle water and the fruit, vege and lolly stocks. Chris and I went up to the harbourmasters office for our clearance papers, quite a long process. Francois from "White Rabbit II" was there also, Chris has had a lot of email correspondence with White Rabbit and thought it may have been Phillipe who he has never met.
Such a hot day we were all literally melting and looking forward to getting out of the marina and into the open air. Kapt Hun came down just before we left to say hooray and take lots of photos with us. We had printed out a couple of photos of Rizali and his staff which Neil dropped up at the restaurant.
A pleasant motor sail across to Pulau Tulai, where several rally boats were already anchored. As soon as our anchor was down we were in the water with snorkels and fins, so good to cool off at last and rehydrate our bodies.
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you had a great time there.. it was awesome photos i think
i'll be looking forward to your next post
Great Day!!
Olive Tanady
All Fishing Secret
5/6/09
Very lazy day for us all, Chris and I sleeping in until it was too hot to stay in our cabin any longer. Catch up day on the computers with emails, blog updates and photo storing etc.
Up to our restaurant for a final feast and say goodbye to our new made friends. Razali had tuna and red snapper for us tonight which he prepared in a soy ginger and shallot sauce, just superb.
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4/6/09
Up at 600 to catch the 730am ferry and back at the boat by 10.30am. Chris straight into repairs and I washed while assisting him in between. Markets were on up the street, Neil and Pauline went for a look. Pauline took over the washing on return and Chris and I finished off the repairs with Chris in the fix it mode decided to have a look at the port power winch which was only working manually and managed to fix that too. All in all very successful day.
Kapt Hun came down late afternoon , met Chris and bought us large bags of fresh rambutans and mangosteins.
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03/06/2009, Johor to Mersing Road
After morning calls and Skype to the office it was often by train again to Boon Loy for coffee and free internet and then to Raffles Marina to pick up a spare impeller for the new water pump then to get the Ram which was all done and ready to go.
Great service and Mr Andy drove me to the MTR to travel over to the Bus Deport where I caught a 170 to go over the causeway and return to Malaysia with a now VERY heavy bag of pumps, rams etc etcAll good onto the bus straight from Kanji Station and to the causeway, off at the Causeway to clear out of Singapore but they don't refund GST at the causeway clearance so lost a bit there, and then back to the bus to go to the Malaysian entry side. "Immigresion" a bit confused by the bag of heavy metals going through the scanner but quickly accept my explanation and send me on my way, back to the bus to Larkin. From Larkin the spruker takes me to the Mersing Bus Counter to find the bus left at 1500, half hour ago but the next one is at 2200, hours away, but he says mini bus will go right now if I want. Anyway we go out to his car, a nice new 4WD and he says will leave at 1600 for 40 ringgit. Sounds good to me so catch a cup of coffee and a quick walk around and we are off with his wife, child and another passenger. Most of the way I can work on the internet on the Malaysian High Speed Sim which works a treat (now the modem has been unlocked). Arriving at Mersing at about 1815 I go to the Celcom shop and collect the 500 ringgit deposit they had incorrectly charged me for the SIM and down to wharf where Dianne was coming in from Tioman. Her boat was late but I managed to secure a great bungalow accommodation at the Mango Park. Out for a drink and dinner 6.50 ringgit including two ice kechangs and now, the next morning we are on the ferry back to Tioman to put everything back together again. Where to next? Well we need to re-assess our plans and decide whether to keep heading north or to cut and run across the islands and the South China sea to Kuchin?
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3/6/09
As we hadn't used the water maker for a few days I needed to flush the filters etc and charge to boats batteries. There was a wedding on today and everyone one invited, about midday we headed up the street to have a look at the celebrations where we were beckoned to come in. There was an official table set up like at our weddings and a couch decorated where the couple would sit and watch some performances such as martial arts. Lunch was being served for the guests and we were given plates and told to help ourselves. No sign of the bride and we asked where they were, the bride was still inside the house and the groom would be arriving at 3.00pm when the actual ceremony would start and they would eat at their table. After we had eaten we went up to the brides parents and gave our best wishes; our acquaintance Kapt Hun suggested we come back around three. Kapt hun spoke good English and spent time in UK doing his engineering degree. Chris called around 1300 to say he was on the way out of Singapore and would I find out about ferry times from Mersing. I walked up to the wharf to find that the last ferry was 1700 and the next would be 0730 the next morning, looked like he would have to overnight in Mersing. Chris suggested that I come over to Mersing and have the night with him there. I caught the 4.30 island time ferry which finally got away at 6.00pm arriving in Mersing at 8.00.
Neil and Pauline entertained Capt Hun on board for a few hours and then all went up to Zali's restaurant for dnner finishing up quite late around 11.00pm too tired to go back to the wedding for karaoke which was still going at 3.00am next morning!
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Without our skipper around to crack the whip we seem to be late risers the past few mornings. I wake at day break (around 5.30) and get a couple of hours of reading in.
Today we decided to walk to the southern end of Tekek Village along the beach front so that we could cool off along the way if it became too hot. Two thirds of the way we had to rock climb to continue, if we didn't have cameras and phones with us we could have swam around this obstacle. Some of the rocks were huge and it became quite challenging in parts especially for petite Pauline, another phobia (heights) conquered. There looked to be a path up to the road which I went ahead to see if it was negotiable and all seemed good until I reached the road where the Jungle was very dense and full of "wait a while" vines.
Finally at our destination and into the sea to cool off. It was a very low tide and we could see why we had cold spots when swimming there a few days ago as there were several streams coming out from the mountainous jungle and this water was icy cold.
Revived and refreshed we continued along past the lush golf course and prestigious clubhouse as far as we could go ending up at the dive centre. We walked back through the extensive Bejaya resort , we noticed the room numbers were in the 400's. Stopped for a lemon ice tea at a chinese beachfront cafe before tackling the searing hot, tar melting road over the hill back into the main village street. We were amazed that it was 2.00pm already and feeling a little empty after our morning activity stopped at the Shady Bakery for a pizza and fresh blueberry donuts. Pauline and Neil discovered the donuts the previous day and we were hooked!
In the evening we invited Razz off Panthalassa, to join us for dinner at our restaurant. Razz had been back for a couple of days to Kuala Lumpar while Des took the gearbox for repairs back to Aussie. The restaurant was extremely busy with locals and mainlanders on holiday being the start of two weeks school holidays. One large group of about 30, had been eating there the past few nights and were celebrating one of the girls birthdays. The teenage girls about 16 were dressed it their finery and looked lovely. We joined in the "Happy Birthday" and our efforts were rewarded with some birthday cake.
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02/06/2009, Singapore
Well by boat, wait, walk and wait and then by bus to Larcom Terminal at Johor Baru and quickly onto another Bus for Singapore, off the bus at the Causeway to clear out of Malaysia, on the bus to the other end of the causeway, off the bus to clear into Singapore and back onto the bus to head into the terminal "just around the corner" from Bugis Street. Great finally here maybe about 2000 hours on Saturday night but I want to find and check out Raffles marina and Chandlery so I can make a quick start in the morning being Sunday. So I hit the MRT with bag in tow which contains a heavy hydraulic ram and gear, a water pump, an alternator and a very small bag of a change of clothes for a night or maybe two. Now it turns out Raffles Marina is right back next to the Causeway I had come across about an hour ago on the Western Side of the Island and a fair taxi ride from the end of the MRT (train system). So I get there, suss the place out, find out that yes the chandlery does open on Sundays as I figure they can give me some leads on where to get things done, and then getting weary after dragging the bag all day and think about sleeping on a park bench at Raffles, but being Singapore thought the consequences may not be attractive so head back down the Raffles Marina ( now this IS a world class marina!!!) grand entrance when the trusty bag gives up the ghost and blows a wheel, in fact shatters it. So here I go skull dragging the bag down the road on one wheel and a broken stump! The gateman tells me I can catch a bus so I head to the bus stop, catch the bus to Boon Loy MRT and head back to Little India to find a cheap room knowing that I will have but a few hours to put in there. Skull drag the bag to Fragrance Backpackers - very clean very reasonable but they are doing their night audit and it takes about half an hour to check in. Then head down to Mustafa all night shopping to buy a bag or bag trolley (which is what I ended up with as skull dragging the bag is not much fun!). A bit after 0200 hit the pillow and up before 6 to head back to the Marina. Called the Marine Diesel Nanni Agent on Sunday morning, and yes they will even talk to you on Sunday's up here and arrange to meet early on Monday morning. Head to Raffles and fortunately could buy an electric water pump and other stuff there which was all good. Research Wagner for Rams and seals and other suppliers ready for the Monday onslaught and finish up around 2300 - decide to do a hotel to catch up on some sleep and internet as Lloyds behinc Orchard Road I knew had a Internet Hotspot. Turn in around 11.30 and head off at 0530 on Monday to Marine Diesel. YES they can do the pump AND the RAM and are great people to deal with, most helpful and friendly (of course our diesels are toys to what they normally deal with!!), take the alternator to Dieseltech where they test it and find it not producing and will get back to me later in the day whether it can be repaired or cheaper to replace. They do call back and pronounce it dead and will see if they can find a replacement, joy of joy they do as their none available in Australia! Back to Marine Diesel to see how they are going with pump and Ram, they have dismantled both and diagnosed and can repair both! Back to Dieseltech and get the new Alternator, they take me to the MRT and I go to coffee shop with internet access and do some research and work. Head back to another night in the backpackers as it will be after midnight again.
Tuesday mor ning, not much need to rush as I have been told the seal for the ram will not be available until Wednesday morning. Ok sounds like a good time to sort out a little issue with Telstra as I have acquired a Malaysian Sim for my wireless broadband and found that my modem is locked to only Telstra Sims. Thanks Telstra. Anyway this should take about ten minutes on the phone. Ha! Ha, ha ha, whatever takes ten minutes with Telstra. Anyway as the morning wore on and I had spent 2.5 HOURS on the phone to Telstra and spoken to over 30 consultants (AND I was still calmQ!) I had been told by various Telstra experts that: you can't unlock modems, talk to Bigpond (it actually has nothing to do with them as it is a Telstra Modem!); we can only do it with prepaid modems, they aren't locked, it is impossible to unlock them, there is an unlock fee of $100, we don't do it, talk to the "unlock people at prepaid" and they just kept telling me they would refer me to the appropriate section but just put me back in the queue on the standard enquiry line. Anyway when I had decided I hated TELSTRA with a passion the phone was answered by a guy who apologised and offered to help, NOW that was a refreshing start to progress AND he did. He asked me to wait two minutes, well I didn't mind that after being on the phone for 2.5 hours and then he came back and said he had been put onto the wrong section (surprise surprise) but if I would wait another two minutes he would track down the appropriate section AND HE DID and he stayed on and introduced me to the far away lady who could fix it AND she DID in just two minutes and we tested it and it worked! And he stayed on and she left and we all parted company. Thank heavens for Skype - Imagine what it would have cost if I was on a Telstra mobile call from overseas may be $300 to $400 for the call alone. Imagine what happens to people who believe the TELSTRA BULLSHIT that you can't do this or you can't do that and nothing happens. What gross incompetence exists in this organisation but I was just lucky enough to find the only one person in Telstra who actually was prepared to help a customer!! I was on the verge of going out to buy another modem but I just knew it could be done - just the Telstra experts didn't.
After that it was off to Boon Lay by foot, MRT and then by cab to see how things were progressing with the pumps, water pump done and ram awaiting the seal, all good. I even managed to get lunch in - it is hard to be in Singapore and not enjoy the food.
Back to Joon then to Boon Lay to settle into Starbucks for internet access for the afternoon to catch up on a few things and email etc etc. Starbucks is great for internet, yesterday I spent some hours in another coffee shop in the centre with wi-fi.
Back to Boojis Street to get back to accomm. Now about 11.45 and Caroline has an 0800 appointment for me on Skype so better go and shower and off to bed.
Hopefully tomorrow after picking up a spare pump impeller from , affles marina, I guess an advantage of being delayed as they didn't have one on Sunday but will have by tomorrow pm, I will have pumps, ram , new alternator, a very heavy bag and be ready to hit the road back to Mersing and Tioman. Let's see what happens!
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01/06/2009
Time seems to just disappear even in "island time" mode. Got the sewing machine out for a few repairs and replaced a couple of fender covers. Neil and Pauline went up town to replenish the liquid amber supplies and tonic stocks for the girls' gins. I was given a lift in a sidecar by our delivery chap to the airport to make enquiries for Chris, no helmets needed here. Chris seems to be having more luck today after a harrowing start buying phones and getting internet access and money to pay for it all. Hopefully all going well he may be able to fly from Singapore direct to the island here tomorrow.
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31/05/2009
Another day in paradise for us 3 left caretaking Charmar while Chris chases his tail in Singapore not progressing much as it is Sunday and another casualty adds to the list, my phone, which Chris has with him, dies. Rather a warm day here we stroll to the beach for a swim and a snorkel and dine at the usual spot, not much chance of weight loss at this rate!
Have many great photos but need the skipper back to attach will do so upon his return!
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30/05/2009
30/5/09
Another early start for Chris to catch the ferry to the mainland, Mersing. All four broken parts were quite a weight, thank goodness for the wheelie bag. Chris didn't have much luck at Mersing and decided to catch a bus to Singapore, arriving around 8.00pm. where he caught a train and bus to Raffles Marina so see what he could find out. Upon arrival there his bag had a blow out and lost a wheel making it very difficult to drag along especially with his injured right arm. Chris found a chandlery but no accommodation nearby and traipsed back by bus and train to Mustafa being the 24hour shopping area known as "Little India" where he was able to buy a luggage trolley for the bag and a backpackers to get some sleep for what was left of the night as it was 2.00am!
Back at the Marina Neil and Pauline scrubbed the decks and tidied the back deck. I filled the water tanks, vacuumed, defrosted 12volt freezer and bailed the dinghy as each day we get a good rain storm which freshens the air. We all spent some time at the internet café catching up on emails etc.
Not wanting to go to a new restaurant without Chris we enjoyed another sumptuous meal at our favourite restaurant an now were building up a good rapport with the owner and staff. It is very interesting observing the families and locals that come in to eat. We have our freezer full of frozen meat but that can wait for when we are at places without restaurants and the food is so cheap, tastes fantastic, it is not worth cooking ourselves.
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29/05/2009, Tekek Village
29/5/09
Our marina berth at the Village Tekek has a magnificent backdrop of mountainous jungle and we've been told of the Village Juara on the other side which can be reached by sea, 4WD or a trek through the jungle. We decided to rise to the challenge of the trek and attempted an early start at 7.00am, heading off at 7.40 we're in "island Time" mode. Just before the track into the jungle we came across monkeys foraging at the roadside but decided to keep our nuts in case we came across some higher up in the jungle.
The path was mainly stepped, winding upwards through dense, steamy and humid jungle; our "Red Arrow" training the past few months paid off. Despite it being reasonably cool we were all lathered in perspiration and taunted by the sound of fast running water which we didn't get to see until nearly at the top 1 hour into our journey. Access to the water was fenced off, signs indicating no swimming, fishing, etc as it is the water supply for our village below which now having seen how natural and clean it is we would fill our water tanks upon return. The jungle was similar to our rainforest around Cairns but denser with enormous, spectacular trees. Numerous bird noises could be heard and some sounded like the Torres Strait Pigeons but none were visual. We managed to spy a couple of monkeys off in the distance, our nuts and calls weren't enough to entice them closer. A red snake tail was trailing out of the hollow of a fallen log which we thought must be dead until Chris bent down to pick up a stick nearby and it slithered disappearing further into the hollow.
At the top coming out of the jungle to a steep concrete road virtually straight down, quite a contrast to the jungle climb and a bit tough on the knees and toes! Another hour and we arrived at the bottom to a small windy seaside village that we wandered through, Neil and Pauline spotting large monitor lizards while Chris and I were doing battle opening a coconut. A local chap renovating a timber beach cottage proudly invited us in to see his handy work, he spoke good English and had a great sense of humour laughing at me when I offered him a piece of coconut I was eating.
Taking the easy way back we rode in air conditioned comfort of a 4 wheel drive and had a pleasant 25 minute windy steep drive back to the marina, although our driver was quite young he drove very carefully.
Time to prepare for departure the next day, Pauline & I did the washing, Neil go up town to top up the food supplies and Chris attempted to jockey a new impeller in the broken water pump without success. When I went down the port engine room I noticed oily fluid on the shelf which turned out that the steering hydraulic ram seal had blown. Chris set about removing the ram, the starboard engine water pump which had started a slow drip, and the alternator which wasn't functioning!
We decided to have dinner again at our favourite restaurant, it will take a few more nights of dining for us to work our way through the entire menu!
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28/05/2009, Tioman Is continued
Early start this morning to be on the beach by 8.30am to join in fun activities with the locals. A good number of boaties turned up for the fun. It all started with sack races, bowling coconuts, dart blowing, fishing bottles (fishing pole with string and nail attached, one had to get the nail in the bottled filled with sand and pick the bottle up by the nail and run to the rely member at the other end without dropping the bottle off the line on the way) bamboo pole raft race and finishing with musical chairs. Lots of laughs and fun had by all finishing up about midday.
Feeling a bit peckish after all the activity we stopped at the Bakery for a yummy pizza for lunch.
It was perfect conditions for an afternoon of snorkeling where we first went to the fish feeding wharf and snorkeled with hundreds of fish feeding them bread underwater. We were mobbed by hundreds of different fish ranging in size from small, pan size and bigger getting our fingers nibbled as well. Amazing parrot fish so many different vibrant coloured ones especially the deep purple ones.
From there a half hour dinghy trip in the opposite direction to a small island surrounded in coral and an abundance of various fish including small reef sharks, again crystal clear water with superb visability. Pauline finally comfortable with her mask and snorkel after changing to a non leaking snorkel amazed herself by snorkelling right around the island enjoying all the marine life. There were many different fish species with an average amount of coloured corals.
Having taken food out of the freezer a couple of days ago we decided it was time to eat on board. Our superb chef cooked us up a treat!
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27/05/2009, Tioman Is updated
A morning back in the office for Chris spent in the airconditioned internet cafe answering many work related queries while crew melted back at the boat! In the afternoon we hired scooters and toured what we could of the short roads on the island, the villages are not connected by road. Our first stop was the beach to cool off in the extremely warm crystal clear waters gravitating to the "cold spots" how different from our normal swims in Oz seeking out the "warm spots"! Next we visited the Marine Park headquarters, a huge prestigous building surrounded by lush tropical gardens, with displays and awareness information posters for the need to protect the marine environment. Looking for a tradtional Malay favourite of our "iced cakang" without success we settled on trying a dish called "rojac" which was a mixture of tofu, veges and donut covered in a very flavoursome sauce.
At 5.00pm there was a civic reception with short welcoming speeches followed by snacks consisting of glass noodles, curry puffs and grren coconut cakes. The group en mass flowed up the street and we all settled in at the chinese restaurant to consume ice cold beers and tell taller tales!
The four of us along with Dave and Joanne from Pied A Mer heading back to the marina decided to stop at a restaurant for a top up in the food department. Six dishes were selected for us to share and hit the spot perfectly each dish very tasty and flavoursome.
Cats, cats and more cats are everywhere, wandering through the restaurant, jumping up on tables to eat left overs and would have liked to rub around our legs for affection but there was not much chance of that! No sign of rats here or dogs.
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26/05/2009, Tioman
From Tinggi Island we started a slow and leisurely sail to Tioman Island a renowned and beautiful spot and a marine park. The day started slowly motoring and uneventful and we had about a five to six hour trip planned. Mostly motor sailing we were doing ok and making water etc as we went. Approaching Tioman a very steep and 3500 feet high peak island of jungle we were catching three or four boats that we knew and there were signs of a tropical storm and rain coming through in the last couple of hours of our approach. We had passed a couple of trawlers who proudly showed off their catch.
Then whammy the breeze swung around and we had lightning and thunder to the north and the breeze backing around the clock and before we knew it we were right under a thunder storm in company with four other boats one of which was having gear box trouble and was under tow.
The tow was cast off as we milled around the storm intensified, flash- lightning, boom, thunder it was right overhead and a fork of lightning flashed down and hit the water very close to "Milliways" one of the boats near us. A voice boomed over the radio "we've been hit by lightning, all ok but have lost our navigation"! The thunder was deafening as the lightning flashed simultaneous with the boom, boom of thunder. Milliways was the boat that had been struck, they had lost all their instruments and radio, fortunately they had a hand held as a backup. We floundered around in the circling winds and driving bullets of enormous raindrops waiting for a little clearing.
Eventually it cleared and to cut the story short (due to the fact that it is 11.45pm just now) one of the boats that we knew accompanied Milliways into the marina and we towed Panthalassa, the boat with gearbox problems, to the marina entrance where waiting dinghies tied along side and guided it into the marina, fortunately we also were given a berth in the new marina which is now full, for the first time, with boats from the rally@!
Fellow boaties were heading up the street for a Seafood BBQ at 7.30pm which we participated and caught up with others from last years rally that had by passed Sebana Cove.
Some of the group opted for the chinses restaurant next door and about 12 of us had the fresh seafood bbq selecting our own fresh fish and squid from the selection available. Beers purchased at the duty free next door, sitting outside under the stars on a very comfortable balmy evening. Food and company excellent and enjoyed by all.
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25/05/2009, Tinggi Island
Interesting day as we launched the dinghy to go to Sibu, the winch handle slipped through my sweaty hands, YES I KNOW, I did this last year and got wacked on the nose, well this year not one wack but a series of wacks from the palm of my right hand right up to the elbow followed by massive swellling and bruising. Yes you are right a very slow learner, don't talk while launching the dinghy, keep the brake on and don't do it with sweaty palms! Anyway a pulverised right forearm and very cranky for being so stupid but these things to happen - even on the best of regulated ships.
So after icing it, pressure bandage and sling we set off across the island to another resort on foot which was most enjoyable and engaged in conversation with the English/Norweigan female owner of many years and a swiss traveller who would love to learn to sail. Back over to the bay and only 2 of 16 yachts left so we head off to Tinggi Island under genoa and one engine, it is just 12 nautical miles away. We go to the top of the Island where a number of other yachts are anchored in a crap anchorage so we go back to the western side of the island where the locals anchor and it is beautiful, flat and calm and we swim to the pretty beach, have a walk and snorkel and return for a delightful dinner and some pain removers in a glass to take down the swelling in the arm which work a treat.
Tomorrow off to Tioman Island - we seem to need a new alternator for the Starboard engine and water pump for the genset, hopefully we can get them there!
More tomorrow.
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What I would like to see is Gran swimming!! Must of taken your mind off your hand!
All the best
