Well a bit of blog catching up needed!! We had a few days back in Terenggenu catching up with things, restocking, refuelling, banking and enjoying the marina showers where they provide you with a towel, gym, spa, sauna, pool etc......Some marina's really are world class.

Anyway the day before yesterday we headed off to Kapas Island or Palau Kapas which we had visited before. It was only ten miles from the mainland and pretty much on our track so it was a chance for an easy night before departing and to wash the sludge off the waterline!

We zoomed down the harbour on the way out on an outgoing fast tide and then slogged into the tide, current and wind to go to Kapas - short trip but it took three hours at times down to 2.5 knots.

A good night there, we ran the fleet radio sched the following morning, cleaned the hulls and left at about 1000 for the South China Sea. Left in a nice favourable westerly which soon became a south easterly although we were on a flat sea. A good run for a few hours BUT then we had the wind EXACTLY on the nose, and a tide and current against us running at about 2 - 2.5 knots. Now this is one interesting tide that started going out at midday and went out all day until 4.00am the next morning - and when it was going out it was against us.

Well yesterday we sailed for a short time and then motored, and motored and motored all the rest of the day and ALL night sometimes down to to speeds of 2 knots with just one engine running and tide, current and wide against us. At other times we did 5 knots as we escaped the run.

Through the night we entered the South China Sea Gas and Oil Fields with shipping traffic, fishing vessels and other barges, tugs and dumb barges travelling through. At one stage a fishing vessel "pursued us" and we had to ultimately turn 180 degrees to avoid it.

We passed through a shipping channel, presumably vessels for the oil fields - thanks heavens for the TRANSAS AIS transponder as we could identify the ships and they could see us. We spoke to a number of the ships.

At 0600 this morning at last a favourable breeze came in so it was up with the main, unfurl the genoa, off with the motor and GO. Today we have travelled at 6 - 8.5+ knots with a breeze forward of the beam, smooth seas and about 10 - 14 knots of true breeze. At last we are making miles!!!

We have about four other vessels known to us in VHF range but the rest of the fleet only left Terenggenu and Kapas today and some left from Tioman and other places.

We talk to the closer by boats on VHF but cannot see them. Each day we have a HF sched at 0900 and a chance to link in at 1500/2100 and 0300.

Today it has been quiet on the water as we follow the rhumb line to Kuchin. There are gas and oil platforms that we sail past. More tugs and huge barges loaded with who knows what. Not so much action on the water during the day however as we get further away from land.

Let's see how it is tonight. Would be great if this breezed stayed in.