Finally finished all the work items on the current list we made which we wanted completed before our departure from our home for the past 7 months, Rebak Island Marina. The list was quite long and included a few items that had been carried over from prior to leaving OZ. The last of which was to paint the cockpit floor and in the process while lifting the beer fridge back into place one of the stainless steel handles broke on (madam’s side of course) and the fibreglass box hit the floor with a great thump. Our first thoughts were, is the fridge still working which it wasn’t, we didn’t even think of the newly painted floor. Disaster dawned on us, what no beer fridge the day before departure!! After several minutes of cursing it was out with the electrical test kit to isolate the problem and hopefully fix it, all the time hoping that it wasn’t the dreaded blackbox. Thankfully it was only a broken corroded earth wire which when replaced had our trusty beer fridge purring as normal again and a huge sigh of relief from both of us and probably our neighbours as well who no doubt heard the whole event.
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| Beer fridge about to be repositioned after repairs |
The next day had us heading up to Telaga Harbour to fuel up, a relatively simple process if they remember to turn on the pump, otherwise it can be a drawn out affair. It’s not as if it’s the first time anyone has ever asked for fuel. Rather than take the yacht into the fuel dock we find it easier to ferry our jerry cans in the dingy, always on the watch full eye for speeding fishing boats. We actually met an American guy at Rebak who 18 months ago was doing likewise and was mowed down by one and had both his arms almost severed, he is very lucky to be alive today and of course the perpetrators were never charged or even sort after by the authorities, so it’s a reminder to us that we must be vigilant in these waters at all times.
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| All work completed and put back together with new water heater |
Customs clearance is a breeze here in Malaysia and within 30 minutes we were cleared for take-off again and back aboard sorting out a few gremlins with the new smart charger system we installed. The problem was traced to one of our battery isolators which must have blown it’s diodes that prevent backflow of power between different battery banks. The new charging regulator on the main engine was being activated by the alternator on the genset. The genset was disconnected from the isolator which is only needed in port on shore power, so the problem was solved and the new regulator recalibrated.
The next morning we were up at dawn, testing the genset again while running down the fridge and freezer, all was ok, so we headed out of the anchorage with 4 other yachts, all of whom had cleared the previous day and we were heading for Thailand again. From Langkawi, Thailand is only 20 miles away so we headed out to the Butang Island group in a good 15kt northeaster which turned more northerly during our run across to the west and increased to 20kt. We had a good sail and it shook out a few cobwebs from both the boat and us. We got the fright of our life when we looked out the back and saw something dragging behind, only to realize that it was a fish on our trolling line. Both of us ran around in circles trying to remember what to do, it had been so long since our last fish. We managed to haul it in and to our surprise it was a dolphin fish sometimes referred to as a maui maui or dorado and fantastic eating, it was the first we've ever caught. Things were definitely looking up.
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| It really was much bigger than it looks and great eating |
The wind kept in from the north and freshened so our next run up to Koh Rok was on the nose and not particularly pleasant, having to motorsail all the 40 miles and when we hauled in our trolling line it was minus the hook, could have been anything that broke it off. Our entry into the anchorage was not soon enough as the winds increased to 30kt about 5 miles short as a line of squalls passed over, thankfully the small channel between the 2 islands offered good protection for the night.
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| Changing to the local Thai flag |
The next day we headed off to Phuket and with the direction more westerly so the wind angle was much more favourable. We managed to sail the whole 60 miles in less time than it took to do the previous days distance, averaging 8kt for the day and with reefed sails pretty happy that we were getting back into the swing of things. The catamaran that left an hour earlier was just ahead when we entered the northern channel of Ao Chalong. Rather than go to the western clearance anchorage we stayed in the more protected and safer option of the northern anchorage with the view to using the dingy to ferry us to the customs clearance facility.
Next morning while splashing the dingy some friends arrived at the anchorage and informed us that another friend that we had sailed with in OZ and across through Indonesia had died the previous night in the local hospital after a bout of pancreatitis 2 days earlier. Russell at 64 was not in the best physical shape, but he had just finished having a lot of work done on the boat and was looking forward to some adventures here in Thailand before heading for South Africa. We had dinner with Russell and Daphne when they stopped at Rebak only two weeks earlier on their way to Thailand. The shock of the news sent shivers through both of us and brought home how vulnerable we all are and that each day should be treated as special.
We eventually got around to clearing in several days later to avoid the weekend surcharge and arranged a hire bike for the day so we could search out some spares and visit Daphne at the marina, which by the way is full to the brim, a legacy of the pirates to the west of India creating a bottleneck in these waters.
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| One of our neighbours the openning in the side is their garage |
A service at one of the local Buddhist Temples was arranged for Russ and although not a believer in that faith, the monks provided a very sincere and moving tribute, along with some words and poems delivered by family members and friends who flew in from various parts of the world. After the service we all went to the Lighthouse pub on the waterfront at Ao Chalong for a wake having many farewell drinks and more anecdotes of people’s memories of Russ.
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| Another neighbour their garage is in the transom |
As Xmas was just a couple of sleeps away we decided to head over to the western side of Phuket to an anchorage called Nai Han, which reminds us of Lizard Island, windiest place in Phuket without a doubt, but good holding and with the wind blowing it’s very cool. The wind hooted in at 30kt for 2 days and again on Xmas day, but we braved the conditions and had a dinner with a few others at a local restaurant on an adjacent beach, not at our favourite restaurant, as it was booked out. Daphne joined us with her son Gareth which was good, after coming down from the marina by car. The winds were generated by an out of season cyclone which originated in the Bay of Bengal about 200 mile west and then gradually drifted further westward and crossed southern India killing 33 people.
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| Xmas tea at a local retaurant at Nai Han |
Boxing day as usual was spent lying around reading and about lunchtime we got a phone call from our friends Wal and Gina who have flown in from Cairns starting a 3 month trip through Thailand, Malaysia, Maldives and then Philippines. They're staying on a sistership to their own catamaran and they joined us at our favourite restaurant and this time it was not booked out thankfully, and we all enjoyed the local cuisine and beer while we filled them in on some of the things to watch out for here.
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| Wal and Gina from Cairns |
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| A burning lanten released at Patong Beach |
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| A very popular place after midnight |
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| An unwelcome visiter that had to be physically removed |
Hope everyone had a good safe new years eve and lets hope 2012 will be a very good year.
Beers and Cheers with Russ and Daphne (centre) and Linda in happier times.
Bye for now
J&J
