Friday, 19th June, 2009

I had not realized it was so long since I had updated the blog - time flies when you are having fun!

We had two nights up the Kemaman River and had a good look around the town which was called Chukai but by NZ standards would be quite a large city. We got away early (6.20am) on the morning of the 4th June and were heading 38 miles north to Tengoll Island but Barbara & Dave on Baker Street were a bit ahead of us and were not that happy with the anchorage as there was a good 15 knot wind and so on discussion, and as we were both having a wonderful sail we decided to carry on to the next rally stop at Kapas Island where we arrived at 6.45pm and what a beautiful spot. We actually had the best days sailing since we left Darwin in July 2008 and did 74 miles in 12.5 hrs.

We had a lovely five days relaxing at Kapas, with lots of swimming and snorkeling. Baker Street and us were the only two yachts in there the first night but gradually over the next couple of days more of the rally boats arrived and most nights we all got together to have sundowners on the beach.

At 3pm on the 9th June the Terengganu State Government put on a welcoming reception for us along with a nice meal. All in all it was over and done within a couple of hours.

The next morning we went in convoy to Terengganu and most of us had either press or local government officials on board for the 11 mile passage. We had a press photographer on board and he had never been on a yacht before so was a new experience for him. The convoy was quite a sight as most yachts had their spinnakers up but unfortunately we had to motor sail as ours was still in the ripped state. We left Kapas at 10.30am and arrived at the Ri-Yaz Heritage marina at 1.30pm. After checking in, the marina staff gave us all a bowl of fruit which was great as we had run out of fruit for breakfast the next morning so it tided us over until we went shopping again. The marina was built solely for the Monsoon Cup which is an international sailing event. When it looked like not being completed on time they imported 1000 Indonesians to get it finished. They ran out of water to mix the concrete so they used sea water instead so you can imagine what is starting to happen now!!

That night a Rally dinner was put on for us along with entertainment and it was a wonderful night with terrific food and plenty of it. All rally participants (including the men) were presented with beautiful batik sarongs. I would like to make either skirt/top/shorts/ dress out of ours and would certainly get more use out of them. Unfortunately it seems impossible to buy patterns so will have to wait until I go back to NZ.

The next day we were taken on a tour and visited a couple of traditional wooden boatbuilders (one of them was, I think, our friend Arnau, in Langkawi's, family). It was most interesting and most of us were scrambling over a couple of the boats. From there we were taken to Taman Tamadun Islam which was a park displaying miniature replicas of all the first mosques built in the various countries around the world. It was only opened at the beginning of this year and was most interesting. From there we visited the crystal mosque which is built in glass and steel on a platform in the river. We were allowed inside but had to put on long gowns, including the men, and us women had to cover our heads with a veil and was it hot being so togged up, so we did not stay in there any longer than necessary. Terengganu is a city of mosques and I think there are 21 mosques altogether. From the Crystal Mosque we were dropped off in Chinatown where we wandered around for a look and also had lunch there before being met again by the bus driver to take us back to the marina. The marina is across the river from the main town on the island of Duyong and is attached to the Ri-Yaz Heritage & Spa Resort. Kuala Terengganu is the state capital of Terengganu and is Malaysia's oil producing state so is quite a wealthy city.

The next morning we were taken by mini bus (several van loads) by the resort staff to the local Giant supermarket and we all filled in 2 ½ hors there quite easily as there were a few other shops to browse through.

Dave and I biked into town on Saturday (a ¾ hr bike ride) and spent the day looking for a 15 inch 12volt LCD TV/Monitor to put on the wall in the aft cabin and connect to the computer so Dave can see from the cockpit where we are to go when we are in places where we have to be careful. We did have a monitor which we had up under the spray dodger but when not in use we took it down but then several weeks later went to use it and it had died - think moisture killed it. It still goes but the screen has massive blotches on it and you can't see a thing. It became imperative to have one when we got into quite a bit of difficulty going up the Kemaman River when we had great difficulty finding deep water as the river is very shallow in most places. We thought we had it sussed but had the same problem when we went back out as it is difficult with me having to go up and down the steps from the navigation table to tell him where to go. We must have gone to at least 20 TV shops but there is obviously no demand for small TV's and the smallest available was 20 inches and all 230 volt - the same applied to straight computer monitors. We had finally given up when we came across 2 shops next to each other and we could not believe our eyes when we saw one on the top shelf in the first one we went into and was a really good price. It is a Malaysian brand and they took one from stock so we were delighted and have had it up and running today. I think the secret of keeping it dry is to run it all the time while we are sailing.

Monday was another cycle day into town looking for someone to repair our main fresh water pump as it had died. Also tried to buy a new one but no joy in that department but finally found a guy who said he could fix it so while he was doing that we went looking for a window air conditioning unit. Had been quoted one price on Saturday but it was too dear for our liking, especially as we had a rough idea how much they did cost. Visited another outfit who sold the same brand and they quoted us 420RM less for the same unit. Neither outfit had them in stock but when they went to order one from the distributor there were none available. It appears the window ones are no longer going to be made. However they said they could get us a second hand one for 300RM that a hotel was replacing with a newer sort. So the guy bought it over to us on Tuesday morning so we spent the rest of Tuesday and Wednesday installing it, with Dave building a frame to direct the air into the main saloon and me making two covers to protect part of it from rain and the other half from sea water when we are sailing. The cover necessitated another bike ride into town Tuesday afternoon to get some water proof material and also I had to go to a dentist as I broke a tooth when I bit down on a date - didn't know it had a stone in it. While there had him check for any other holes and I had one little one where a piece of enamel had broken off so he did that at the same time and cost about ¼ of what it would have done in NZ. The air conditioner is a great success and it feels so nice and cool coming into the boat after having been outside - even if the inside temperature is 28 degrees. Certainly a lot more comfortable for sleeping at night and this morning it was 23.5C when we got up. However, we can only use it when we are in marinas but the main purpose for it was so that when we go home to NZ in October we can run it on a timer and it will keep the mould away as with the boat being locked up for long periods of time it will get up to 45C.

We also couriered our spinnaker to Malacca to Quantum sails to repair as when we looked at it, it was a much bigger job than we anticipated for me to repair and we did not have the right materials. We expect to get that back next week before we leave for Borneo, at this stage planned for Friday, 26th June.

Yesterday morning we biked the 20 minutes to Giant supermarket to stock up on fruit and vegetables for our trip further north and in the afternoon Dave went looking for a fibre glass place and to get some fuel on the bike which he managed to do but was away for a couple of hours. Needless to say my arthritic knees are pretty sore today with all the biking. I am definitely not good on hills!!

We are now at Redang Island having left Terengganu just after 11am this morning arriving at 6pm. Once tied to a mooring buoy we were in the water for a nice swim in lovely clear blue water after not being able to swim for 10 days. We had a gentle breeze so only motored for the last 2 ½ hrs as the wind gradually moved around to on the nose which is par for the course in these waters, not that there is much of it. We will head off the 17 miles to the Perhentian Islands tomorrow.