The little Grey boat in P. Tioman
31 May 2016 | Tioman
Shaunnaugh
I've been trying to post this blog for a while but the internet was dropping before it loaded will bring everyone up to date soon.
12/5/16 P. Tioman
When we left P. Sribuat it was low tide, because it was low tide we could see the fringing reef and the buoys that had been under the water when we arrived a few days before, seeing what was around us we were happy where we anchored. The wind was blowing and the tide was right so we hurried to pull up the anchor and get sailing towards P.Tiomans.
It was an uneventful sail.
At Tekok Tekek had a little bit of trouble anchoring, the normal routine - I went down stairs until he found somewhere he was happy with then came up to help with the anchoring. (“Going down stairs with a Whiskey” is often recommended by sailors when times are tough. I know they mean a bottle of Whiskey, not the dog Whiskey but it’s great for me and my dog "Whiskey" to get away from the cursing that going downstairs is a good idea). Kalili was leaving with the rally boats he gave us a call on the radio to say goodbye.
When we finally anchored we had lunch and a swim before going ashore. The town was smaller than I imagined with a bakery, a few restaurants, some duty free shops and a general store. (We only found 1 but I believe there are 2). I noticed some of the shops had stuffed tigers at the front door, I had to find out why, and I was told it was to keep away the monkeys so they wouldn’t sneak into the shop and steal the fresh food. (So Ray took a photo showing who is the scarier attached)
We socialized a with a few yachts people who we had met before and we heard about then went to see a lady named Tilly, whose boat had a leaking stern gland to see if she needed any packing etc.. She had tied her yacht to the sea wall in the canal and was waiting for low tide at 5am to get her gland fixed by the local mechanic. The next morning she was happy with the result. When we got back to the boat we noticed that Nereid had arrived and as we really get on well with these people we called over to say hello and organize a catch up.
Before sunset we lit some mozzie coils as P. Tioman at the moment has dengue fever and they are trying to get it under control.
The next day we rang Sue (niece) to see if she wanted any duty free alcohol for when we meet her on the 6/6/16. We spent the day stocking up on ship stores and the afternoon and evening socializing. We had dinner at the BBQ seafood restaurant; all shared and had a great meal. I would highly recommend this restaurant. After discussing about the island with a few people who had been here before we have decided that because the conditions are right we will circle the island starting tomorrow. First stop Tioman South (Donkey’s ears mountain).
We left Tekok Tekek after lunch, arrived in Tioman South in time for a swim and afternoon drinks on the back deck, than we got ready to go in to the village to find out about the waterfall and have dinner. This village looks very nice, it is clean and has a lot of cats, and it has what looks like tourist cabins all through the village. Dinner was a non-event all they had was Maggie noodles and chicken with no vegetables at all the restaurants. I think someone has forgotten to go and get stores today. So back to the yacht we go and have our emergency meal of chorizo with roast vegetables and pasta. During the night there was a constant swell, getting worst as the night went on, it wasn’t the worst rolling I’d ever had but it wasn’t comfortable. Ray said there may have been a storm out at sea which would produce the swell. In the morning I told Ray that we would have to see the waterfall another time as I didn’t want to leave Whiskey alone on deck in this swell. I was worried she would get hurt or fall over the side. So we left. Next stop Telok Juara.
I love this anchorage; we can see our anchor lying on the seabed in a depth of 9m. The water is so clear with a sandy bottom. I swam all day off and on while Ray mowed the grass on the side of the boat. Ray took me into lunch at Amigos Restaurant that owns a Padi diving branch. They look like they had a good diving program so anyone going there should check it out. The food was basic burgers, chips not something 50 plus (plus) should be eating. We will have to find a healthier option for dinner. We go to the “Beach Shack” which has healthier food on the menu but when we go dinner at the “Beach Shack” they only have curry soup and rice. I think next time I will pre-arrange any meals with the restaurants in the bay. The “Beach Shack” has Wi-Fi so we ring a few people on FB messenger. At the beach shack we get into a discussion with an employee who told us they have surf up to 9m in December, January and February with a left and right hand break. Sorry Drew (son-in-law) defiantly won’t be here at that time of year. The Next Stop Monkey Beach Bay.
We decide to go to Monkey Beach Bay, when we got to the north side of the island we saw a massive storm heading to Monkey Beach Bay, we decide to head direct north so we don’t have to deal with it. This took us near P. Tulai.. The edge of the storm came over us and we had a few drops of rain & a bit of wind, we decide to go to P. Tulai as there were a few yachts anchored in the bay. When we get there; we notice that there wasn’t a lot of room (not again) so we turned around with the idea of sailing to Monkey Beach Bay but the sailing was so good we ended up back at Tekok Tekek. Oh well Monkey Beach Bay another time…
The wind gods took us to the south side of the wharf and there was a beautiful sand anchorage depth 7m within swimming distance of a reef. We anchored and immediately put on our goggles and flippers to go and look at the reef. It was stunning; I enjoyed it as I am only a learner snorkeler. We swam around and noticed Nereid close by and Ian came over to organize dinner ashore. We went to the Chinese restaurant next to the duty free alcohol shop, stopping first at the duty free shop to get some pre-dinner drinks. It was a great night again. Tomorrow we have decided to leave as we are meeting Sue and need to be ahead of schedule.
We love the Tioman Islands and look forward to coming here on our return trip.
To be continued…. Cakai