Small flat islands with small stilt villages.



Strange currents and eddies - at one point we were doing 10 knots between some islands. Then suddenly the computer screen fills up with the tracks of numerous ships and in the mist you make out the buildings of Singapore. It's an eirie experience to be anchored in undeveloped islands looking at one of the most developed cities in the world and watching the busiest shipping channel in the world.

We travelled up with two other boats, one British and one German and set off in the early morning to cross the Singapore straits. You watch the computer screen which shows the vectors of the ships and as soon as you spot a gap it's engines full on and across the shipping lane. Then ten miles later we repeated the exercise to cross over to the straits which divide Singapore and Indonesia.



Then we motorsailed up the straits. On the Singapore side vast areas of land are being reclaimed for new docks and port facilities. You weave through numerous ships at anchor - tankers, bulk carriers and strange looking ships with massive drilling towers in their centre.

Immediately North of the anchored ships you avoid fish stakes, a curious juxtaposition of old and new. It's a long way to Johor Bahru, our destination. Eventually after passing numerous fish farms we wended our way through the shallows to the Danga Bay Marina.

The marina is close to the main road and development is close by, but it does not charge any money apart from electricity fees which are minimal. Yachts appear to be an attraction for the development. Brides have their photos taken with the marina as a backdrop.

The marina has few services but it does have a remarkable and excellent fish restaurant. Numerous tanks contain all sorts of varieties of live prawns, crabs, lobsters and other molluscs along with a fair number of fish. All are brilliantly cooked by the Chinese cooks. Bizarrely scantily clad girls in aprons advertising Heineken scurry around refilling the tiny beer glasses from bottles, all to the sound of live music, a big TV screen, and numerous fans ventilating the outdoor area. The restaurant was filled with Malaysians most nights, most yachties seemed to prefer the more sedate Italian next door.

We did some restocking at the local supermarkets. Tesco is in Malaysia in a massive way - not that the goods it sells are that impressive. The heat is quite oppressive here. It builds up until about 2.30 pm when there is normally a massive thunderstorm which cools everything down for a bit. Any work needs to be done in the morning. However,it was a safe place to leave the boat to explore Singapore for a few days.