KUCHING'S SINGAPORE TO LANGKAWI LEAP

It all came together at the last moment. The starboard engine repaired (ok patched) but still having a leaking oil seal and the compressor delivered at the last moment. Away for the 600 mile trip to Langkawi. We had to make 30 miles the first day which we did motoring on the Port Engine. We anchored on the S E end of Pulau Pisang at 1"a 28.063N 3"a16.022E in 3.4 metres.

The next morning we set off with Mokoko et al in unfavourable conditions for Pulau Besar 67 miles away. We motored and motorsailed all day but by 8 pm were still 2 hours away from the anchorage. The boats ahead reported numerous fishing nets in the water. We��d already dodged a couple and decided not to venture into the anchorage in the dark and risk getting our one good engine caught by a net. We changed course and headed for Port Dickson arriving at about 11 am after a slow trip with wind and tide against us �V sometimes only making 2 knots! We had some difficulty finding the entrance to Port Dickson as the chart and coordinates didn��t seem to match. We called Admiral Marina and once we had their waypoints it all made sense.

Later that day Mokoko et al arrived and Ray from Fontana persuaded us to beach the boat the next day and he would help us do the oil seal. To make a long story short we did change the oil seal at midnight under torch light. It was an educating experience and heaps of gratitude to Ray without whom we certainly wouldn��t have completed the job in a single tide!

Resting up at the pool, a figure from David��s past arrived �V Tony Bolingbroke who had been his training officer when he was a midshipman and was now circumnavigating with his charming wife Serena. With our minds at ease on the engine front we planned a trip with Tony and Serena to the Cameron Highlands to see the colonial tea plantations. We set off early one morning taking a 1.5 hour taxi ride to KL and then a 4 hour bus ride to the town of Tanah Rata. We found a clean and comfortable room at the Hillview Inn and arranged a tour of the tea planations for the next day having discovered it rained every afternoon and there was nothing to do but have cream teas (life is hard sometimes!). We changed hotels the next night to the Junin Inn run by the delightful Mr. Mari. It is immediately behind the Hillview Inn and we would recommend it.

The tea plantations were gorgeous and we enjoyed the tour, bought tea, had a great lunch (the small town has surprisingly good restaurants) and planned our return for the next day. We were up early to take the VIP bus (24 RM with plush wide seats) to KL and then the bus to Seremban where we did some provisioning.

The 21st of November we left Admiral Marina headed for Pulau Pangkor off the mainland town of Lumut having decided to skip Port Klang. Another marathon motor trip and we arrived about noon. What a pleasure to be at anchor again! We relaxed and enjoyed an afternoon spin around the anchorage in the dinghy looking at the extensive resorts that have been built on Pangkor Laut. However just as we neared the boat the outboard died and refused to restart. The next day we took the 30 minute ferry over to the mainland for the startling price of 3 RM return (less than a dollar) where we walked around the newly built waterfront and checked out the rather down-at-the-heels yacht club who gave us some up-market estimates for long-term berthing (with the assurance that it was negotiable).

We were rudely awakened the next morning when our anchor dragged. We hadn��t anticipated leaving Pangkor that day but we decided we would since the anchor was up anyway. We set off for Penang and, wonder of wonders, the wind was blowing and it was on our stern quarter. Hurray! Sailing again. We sailed off and on all day dodging (and sometimes not dodging) rain squalls. Arriving at the southern tip of Penang we found a minefield of fishing nets and finally just motored through them. No one complained and we didn��t foul our props. We anchored at the Seagate anchorage (5"a18.82N 100"a18.42E). It was a very still anchorage close into the west side of Pulau Jerejak. Right above us in the trees a sea eagle had made its nest and we heard the young squawking madly as the parents returned to feed them.

Next day we sailed under the Penang Bridge and into the new Georgetown marina. A great location in the heart of the old town that we thoroughly enjoyed walking around looking at the commerce and industry and discovering some great restaurants. Penang is cool - not tarted up for tourists yet so there are lots of fascinating shops and industries being run out of two storey shop houses. Over the five days we were in Penang we wandered about finding a wonderful variety of enterprises from a newly opened art gallery in a converted shop house to an anchor maker and a handmade beaded shoe shop. A favourite spot was the clan jetties which are ramshackle wooden jetties extending out into the East Channel along which families are living in one to two storey houses that don��t appear to have changed much since they were built in the late 1800��s. A few have been renovated to an upmarket level and are likely indicators of what will happen as the Penang economy strengthens.

We can��t mention Penang without talking about food. We ate wonderfully. Indian, Chinese and Malay meals and all delicious and costing ridiculously small amounts. Out last night we had take-away from a Malay-Indian corner restaurant and had four courses for under a pound. All in all our experience of Penang was wonderful �V it is truly like Singapore of at least 30 years ago �V the people were universally friendly and really helpful and everything was such good value. As an illustration D had spent a morning struggling to repair the ouboard �V changing the fuel and concluding that a blocked slow running jet was the culprit. Attempts to clear same with wire having failed we phoned the local outboard repair man. 5 hours later having collected from us, stripped and serviced the carb, changed the oil and spark plugs returned and checked that it was running perfectly �V he charged us the ringgit equivalent of 13 pounds sterling �V why did I bother to get my hands dirty(still at least I diagnosed the fault!)??

We thoroughly enjoyed our visit and look forward to going back but Langkawi beckoned so we set off on November 30th and motorsailed our way to Pulau Payar Marine Park. We had hoped to dive in the marine park but that night a huge storm blew through and we decided visibility would be poor. We did snorkel off the Marine Park centre and were pleasantly surprised. We saw the largest population of Gropers that we��ve seen in anyone place, a good variety of other fish and had a visit from a small but inquisitive black tip shark.

December 1 we set off for the short trip Bass Harbour which we sailed and motorsailed. And here we are! Almost in Thailand �Vonly 120 miles to go!