Langkawi 2015
16 March 2015 | Rebak Island, Langkawi
Andrea and David
In need of some time away from boating the crew of Diomedea laid her up for a few months in Rebak whilst they returned to Sydney to visit family and friends. And also to do some work in our chosen fields. We were treated very generously by everyone but perhaps most so by Jen and Charles, without whom our residential status would have been dire indeed. A big thank you to Al and Barbara, Rob and Marion, Peter and Vicki, Suze and Libby, Ingrid and Kel, Brett and Debbie. Sorry if we have forgotten anyone. I apologise, I forgot our close friends Adam and Rachel. Thanks for all your support and friendship.
No sooner where we back in Rebak than our daughter Hannah and boyfriend Eddie came aboard for an all too brief stay and short cruise. We had a look at the islands on the south side of Langkawi and enjoyed a sail with the new main.
After a tearful farewell at the airport it was back to the humdrum of boat maintenance. We made the decision to haul out and antifoul at Rebak and spent 10 long days on the baking pan that is the hardstand in the marina. Little wind penetrates the area and the tiles reflect heat up onto the hull, as well as the sun beating down from above. Cabin temps of 37 were not uncommon and made the boat unbearable. We wisely chose to stay off the boat at the small and bargain priced Senari Bay Resort ($45 per night for a nice room with ensuite). A multitude of repairs such as prop shaft bearing, prop shaft seal, rudder bottom bracket, engine alignment, painting, polishing, hull ding repairs etc were carried out and Diomedea returned to the water looking almost like she had just come out of the shed at Newcastle in 2009. She was a tribute to the work of Mark, Din, Rachel and the team at Seaspray Marine. We highly recommend their services to yachts in the region. For meals we ate in Pantai Cenang which is quite the tourist mecca with its white sand beach. Orchid Ria was our favourite and will be remembered by team Fujin.
During our stay we met many of the cruisers in Rebak and enjoyed Friday night jam sessions with those possessing musical talents. These were followed by dancing with the resort singers. Most ordinary evenings were initiated by a dip in the pool to wash away the day's blood, sweat and tears. David developed a passion for the frozen slurpee strawberry daiquiri which was sold at half price. Andrea preferred the Chi Chi. A firm friendship was established with Gary and Tina from "Dragon", a gorgeous and very sexy catamaran. They joined Diomedea for an overnight cruise to Singha Besar island for a beach BBQ and jam session led by Freddie from Lara Pinta.(Freddie runs a SS fabrication business and made an excellent mounting bracket for a new saltwater filter for Diomedea's diesel)
During this period the air space over Langkawi became rather noisy as teams of acrobatic fighter jet planes practiced their manoeuvres for the LIMA exposition (Langkawi International Maritime and Aerospace). We were treated to incredible displays of flying at extraordinary speeds, often remarkably close to the ground. The practice sessions also included bombing runs in which exploding smoke bombs were dropped causing what sounded like sonic booms. A fleet of naval vessels including a submarine also appeared. Apparently the show is all about ASEAN's plan to spend US$80 billion in the not too distant future on defence. Yes it is a trade fair for weapons.
The time came to move on to Thailand. We had a busy morning, clearing customs and immigration before shopping for food and wine. Then it was off to Telaga Harbour for the night in preparation for the hop across the border to Ko Lipe, only 22nm away to the west.