Jeerajak is on the eastern side of Palau Penang. Palau is both Indonesian and Malaysian for Island. To reach the anchorage we had to pass through the opening of a new bridge being built. This is bridge No.2 that will join Penang to mainland Malaysia. Many hundreds of thousands of people travel from Mainland Malaysia to Penang to work. Penang now has many large electronic companies etc and the No.1 bridge can not cope with the traffic, there a long delays during peak hour. No.1 bridge is 13.5km long and the new No.2 when completed will be 24km. For most of us Penang was the highlight of the Malaysian Rally, there were a few boats who did not like being in marinas, so they either anchored in nearby bays or moved on. Penang really is a must see, so if you get the chance, go, a most interesting place. (Will do another blog post on Georgetown and a couple of the other tourist attractions. Penang was where we had to apply for a Thai Visas, a simple operation, one form to fill in, hand our your money and passport and return in the afternoon to collect. So easy.
Leaving Penang on the 4th of December, we formed a convoy, around 2 dozen boats, we passed under the No.1 Penang Bridge, this has become a traditional of Sail Malaysia. As we passed under the bridge, a convoy of motor boats and cruisers passed us going in the opposite direction. There was a helicopter flying above taking photos, it was quite a spectular sight to see. All this had been sponsored by Penang Boat Marina as a promotional stunt. We had decorated the boats with flags etc and Penny from Persian Sands was hoisted halfway up the mast where she stayed for the duration of the convoy. Now we were headed for Langkawi, the final stage of the Malaysian Rally.