Molluca Islands, Indonesia

Leaving Bitung with little wind we were approached by a speed boat with 3 guys proclaiming to be harbour police and asking to see our paperwork, without slowing down or letting them aboard we gave them a glance at the clearance papers from Customs and Immigration and informed them of our next destination which seemed to satisfy them and away they went. It was at this point we noticed sunlight shining through a small hole in a lower seam on the mainsail. Providing we avoided any flogging of the sail we hoped that a repeat of our previous passage would not reoccur.

Ternate Island just after sunrise

 
 Once we rounded the southern end of the channel and outer island we were sailing again with 20-25kts from the north, to preserve the main we dropped 2 reefs in and away we went heading ESE to Halmahera across the Molucca Sea and another overnighter. We sailed all the way to Ternate about 150nm arriving just before daylight and the sight of the volcano island was awesome as it loomed up to us in the fading light of a small portion of moon. The volcano is still considered active but benign at present much to the delight of the many residents perched on the foreshore. We didn’t stop but continued on another 15nm to a small bay on the west side of Halmahera Island where we planned to walk across the ridge to the east side of the island a distance of a few kilometres we thought. First we had to get some sleep then repair the mainsail. The following day we walked to the village which was very small and found that the distance was further than it had appeared on the chart, so by chance 4 locals stopped and gave us a tour to the east on their motorbikes, it was a bit of fun and after some lunch at a dingy restaurant we got a lift all the way back to the boats.



Sailing south from nearby Ternate

Our next destination was about 30nm away which we sailed most of the way with our UPS and poled-out headsail making full use of the light winds and positive current. The anchorage was isolated so we continued on the next day and crossed the Equator again and now becoming fully fledged “Turtlebacks” giving thanks to Neptune with an offering and some beer. Our intended anchorage was in a small inlet marked in detail on one of our computer plotting programs but blank on our main plotter, after a pleasant days sailing we approached the inlet and found ourselves in much less water than we had expected so had to abandon the inlet in favour of the next bay along the coast which thankfully was much more protected than it showed. It was deep and steep to the shore but without a fringing reef so we anchored in the lee of the 20kt winds and seas and enjoyed a well-earned beer or 2 rejoicing the fact of being back in the Southern Hemisphere. Adjacent where we anchored was a small fishing hut which housed the male contingent of a local family who fished with nets very successfully in the small bay. They delivered some coconuts and stayed for a chat.

We asked King Neptune if he could put a fish on our line after crossing the equator, perhaps we should have been more specific with regards the species.



Rafted together in the very deep anchorage close to shore

The next morning we headed a further 40nm south along the coast with a blustery NW wind to another inlet, this one was also only detailed on the computer plotter but was thankfully much more accurate with the soundings despite being 0.5nm out in its location. The anchorage was about 0.5nm upstream from a small village and we were surrounded with rainforest jungle and the sound of birds again. We decided to spend a couple of days here and enjoy the surroundings and the hospitality of the very friendly locals in their village. They gave us a guided tour of the village including the school and asked if we would sit with the teacher so she could practice her English. She needed heaps of practice but so do we with our Bahasa.

Kids at Gane Primary School

We were the first white people this child has ever seen

Our anchorage at Gane amoungst the rainforest

Our next run was another overnighter, 120nm SE to Misool Island. A book we bought in Darwin which lists 101 anchorages in Indonesia had 1 listed for the western end, a small lagoon with all facilities including fuel and a great market. We arrived really tired after motoring and pushing current all the way as well as dodging rain squalls to find the anchorage totally deserted of everything, this was to be our reprovisioning stop!! The anchorage was lovely in all other respects, heaps of birds and surrounding regrowth jungle but NO market. We were enroute to the SE end of Misool which is part of the Raja Ampat National and Marine Park, a supposed pristine isolated area so we were informed by an oz yachtie we met in PP. The SE is most definitely pristine but is a long way from being isolated.



Traversing the limestone outcrops we encounted strong currents and rips

We made our way along the isolated 60nm southern coast of Misool Island, wondering if we will find anyone or anything, weaving in and out of the smaller islands and reefs to find a huge pearling operation, apparently one of the largest in the world (in a national park seeking UNESCO recognition, how can this be???), we also found one of the most beautiful places in the world. A limestone ridge that was pushed up above the sea millions of years ago and now carved out by the sea to be a maze of small islands and thousands of pinnacles all interconnected with deep and shallow channels filled with coral reefs and clear smooth waters. TOTALLY AWESOME!!!



Eaten away by the salt water these limestone structures look almost ready to collapse

After traversing some of the deeper channels in search of an anchorage we decided to take the safe option and head further up the main inlet where we knew we could find the depth we wanted. We had to weaver around through the pearl farm and past the adjoining village to get there but it was well worth the effort. Both our plotter and the computer showed absolutely no detail of the area and actual around the pinnacles showed us well inland so it was all eyeball vis at very slow speed ahead, and a couple of times full astern as the depth sounder alarm beeped its head off.

Inside a limestone cave looking out this was adjacent our first anchorage upstream from the main village

The next morning we had a visit from a boat load of locals claiming to be Police, Army, an English interpreter, another guy in fatigues with an AK47 machine gun, the boat captain and 3 lackeys, they insisted on coming onboard to inspect our paperwork, all very friendly and we sweet talked them for about an hour and fed them lemon tea instead of the beer they had requested. They insisted on our presence in the village to meet with the Village Head in another hour, which we agreed to as it was always our intention of going to the village to seek out fuel and provisions anyway.

A visit from the local powers to be



Not sure if it was loaded but were we intimidated, of course we were!!



We were met at the village dock by a swarm of children and of course the guys from the boat and after the compulsory photo shoot it was off to the Village Head. He was an old man who had apparently started up the pearling lease with the Chinese backed company 30 years earlier. He treated us like school children meeting with the headmaster and after some explaining what we were and why we were in his backyard he finally gave us permission to stay in the area for 1 week on the proviso that we have the Policeman, the Army man and the interpreter with us whenever we went anywhere. We think that’s what he wanted as the negotiations were undertaken in the usual Asian way with plenty of smiling, nodding, hand shaking and not a lot of understanding of what was said.

Larger limestone outcrops

We found the fuel shop and both yachts got 2 drums of diesel and the girls bought some eggs and basics from another house-shop and we headed back to the boats with the intent of returning in an hour to go with our new companions to seek out an anchorage closer to the pinnacles. We returned to the dock thinking they would have their boat which they came in that morning only to be informed that it was the pearl farms and that they would be coming with us EVERY BLOODY DAY!!. Me, Chad and the 3 Amigos all in our inflatable in search of other anchorages up to 5nm away.  It turned out to be the best situation actually because after 3 hrs of tediously slow travel in the dinghy, dropping a lead line at various locations to find closer alternative anchorages they were totally bored and disinterested and couldn’t wait to get off.



The 3 Amigos in our dinghy, they soon lost interest

The next morning after a look around the upper reaches of the inlet we headed down to the first of our alternative anchorages. Within 30min we were confronted by the interpreter guy in a different boat to the previous day who told us the manager of the pearl farm had requested that we leave the area. He said he was sorry but couldn’t do anything and was going back to the village. Next a boatload of people in casual uniforms turned up requesting information about us and our intended stay in the national park. All very friendly and no concerns about us being there. I stood on deck scratching my head trying to figure out the situation then decided to front the pearl farm manager and have it out with him as he seemed to be the main man if the farm leased the area we were anchored in.

Enjoying a free feed of delicious oysters, no pearls in these critters however 

Chad and I went to the farm manager with our paperwork and cordially discussed our situation with him and he agreed that we could stay where we were for a couple of days till we found another alternative anchorage. We went searching again this time with the girls as the 3 Amigos were nowhere to be seen and we found a small fully enclosed isolated lagoon with 16m of water and enough room for a couple of yachts. Perfect!!

Our perfect anchorage within the pinnacles

We enjoyed our new home amongst the pinnacles for another?? days completely loosing track of time, none us new what day it was when we were ready to leave. We feasted on huge black-lipped oysters fresh off the rocks everyday and cooked them every night, we toured the whole area in the dinghy and snorkelled the coral reefs which were brilliant but unfortunately lacked very much fish life. It’s a great place to visit but not as isolated as were led to believe. We didn’t see the Amigos again or any other authorities, but we did have a few locals wanting smokes and matches.

Traversing the pinnacles, the plotter showed us on land

It was time to move on again and 30nm south we stopped at the Misool Eco Resort, a small and very expensive resort catering to divers. The resort leases the island and a huge area of seabed which is classed as a no-take zone and heavily policed by the authories. We had to take a resort mooring as anchoring in less than 60m is forbidden with heavy fines if caught, it’s also impossible for us in such deep water. The moorings were a little suspect and Just Magic had a steel FAD as a mooring buoy. Not good!!

The exclusive Misool Eco Resort

The resort was extremely friendly and invited us for dinner at their restaurant, but inadvertently forgot to inform us that they operate on +10hrs UTC whereas the real time zone is +9hrsUTC. They do this so they can get the guests up earlier and away diving. We arrived an hour later than their guests but the 3 course meal was excellent despite the expense of 30 Euros per person.

One of the deserted islands

The snorkelling was fantastic with masses of large fish within a boat length from the yacht reminding us of some of the locations on the GBR back home. We were intending to stay a couple of days but the steel mooring kept banging on Just Magic when the wind dropped that night and would have caused further damage.

In amoungst the pinnacles

We dropped the mooring at midday and headed south for the 120nm overnight trip to Palau Geser on the SE tip of Seram. The wind was too light to sail so we motor sailed pushing 1-2kts of current all the way, it was a long slow night. We arrived about 1000hrs and found an anchorage just inside the channel, downed our previous nights beer ration and then crashed.

A 10 cent icecream durian flavoured of course

The next morning we visited the village and had a walk around meeting some locals and buying some basic provisions, we met the local teacher and the girls helped her with her English, the police just wanted some beer, which again we avoided, informing them that good Muslims don’t drink beer. We up anchored at 1500hrs and headed off SW for the 120nm overnight trip to Banda (The Spice Islands). The weather was great, clear skies and a waxing ¾ moon but no wind, we tried the UPS but even that wouldn’t hold, we had almost 1kt of current with us so we arrived at the channel entrance about 1hr too early and had to sit and wait till after daylight to see our way in. It was an easy entry but the harbour is deep and steep so we had to anchor and then tie our stern back to the concrete wall.

Being greeted by the local kids at Geser

Farewell from the locals at Geser

More on Banda in the next blog, bye for now.

Beers and Cheers aboard "Just Magic" with Kelly and Chad

J&J

Sulawesi Indonesia

We caught up with Chad and Kelli from “Just Magic” at Tawau after first meeting them in PP. Another yacht heading in the same direction at the same time. It’s a Lidgard 36 with a fractional rig and quite a performer especially in light winds. We enjoyed the comforts and hospitality of the yacht club while sorting our entry visa to Indonesia, provisioning and getting as much diesel as we could carry. We had already received our CAIT (Cruising Permit) for Indonesia a month earlier after applying for it while in PP.

A farewell from the Malaysian Authority all very friendly

A weather window presented itself just at the right time as a low pressure system was expected to cross further north changing the wind direction from the prevailing NE through North and then West during our 500nm passage across the Celebes Sea. The Celebes Sea is reported to be “Not Fun” during the NE Monsoon and the North Coast of Sulawesi “Downright Inhospitable” according to the SE Asia Cruising Guide so our expectations were filled with trepidation and anxiety.

A "FAD" more like a torpedo which has to be avoided at night, they are spread all over the Celebes Sea and are unlit

Up early on departure day and the weather grib files indicated that we could expect heavy rain in the location we would be the first night and that the wind would still be NE at the top of Sulawasi when we arrived so we decided to delay a day and relocate to another anchorage 50nm ENE where we had overnighted on our way to Tawau. We set off at 0800 and motor sailed out of the harbour and then sailed with a light westerly wind. Clouds began to build and the wind freshened from the north then backed to the NW giving us a better angle on the wind and we then sailed at good speed all the way to the anchorage. A couple of rain squalls accompanied us along the way but we were fortunate to avoid the worst and set anchor before the heavens opened on us. The conditions had taken their toll as I had developed a sore throat and cough similar to the PP epidemic.



A hut attached to a FAD which is hundreds of miles from land and a guy lives on it

The next morning was overcast with drizzle but the gribs were good so we headed off for the NE tip of Sulawesi leaving Malaysia for the last time. After clearing the inner islands and reefs we lost our depth sounder as the bottom dropped away to over 1000m deep, its over 5100m at the  deepest section somewhere in the middle of the sea. The variable winds changed dramatically as a 30kt squall hit us from the NE as we approached the most easterly reef and with double reefed main and staysail we were closehauled on a course well south of our intended 107 degree track, drenched with rain and not happy. The squall lasted about an hour and the wind held in at NE for the rest of the day, we were also pushing against a 1kt current which made our progress SLOW!!

One of the westerly squalls which hit us enroute

By nightfall the wind had died and backed to the NW so we motored with just the mainsail up in sloppy seas left over from the earlier squalls. The head current persisted and at times increased to 1.5kt but we were happy to continue on at low engine revs maintaining visual contact with the other yacht and try getting some rest. At 0300 after the half-moon had set and all was dark and I was trying to sleep Jen calls out to wake me with the news that we have a ripped mainsail and that a storm is brewing with lightning to the north and perhaps I should get up. These are NOT the dreams I want to be weaving!! More like a NIGHTMARE!! The mainsail was pulled down and inspected, a seam had separated below the top batten caused by the flogging from the lack of wind and slop we found ourselves in. The sail could not be repaired during this passage but I thought it could be at anchor in Bitung, but at our current speed that would be another 3 days.

Chad helping stitch the mainsail, it's a 2 man operation trying to keep tension on the twine

After daylight the wind freshened from the north so we sailed with our headsail and set up our storm trysail which is a replacement for the mainsail when in storm conditions or when the main is damaged. It’s only a small sail and is hoisted in its own track which runs parallel to the main track up the mast. It helped to counter the roll from the northerly swell and kept us sailing all day and night at a slow but acceptable speed. We had to manoeuvre around several ships we encountered that night which were traversing across the Celebes Sea to and from the Makassar Strait, in addition to the ships we had to hope we didn’t hit a FAD (fish attracting device)  which are somehow anchored in this deep sea and have boats and huts attached to them without any lighting. They are hard to see in daylight and impossible at night.

Repairs to the mainsail seam and patch on the luff, the sail then had to be hoisted so the leech line near the batten could be stretched and secured

On day 3 the wind backed further to the west as predicted so we played with a few different sail combinations which proved to be successful as we were still keeping up with our companions, the sloppy seas were slowing them more than us and by dark we were actually ahead. A westerly squall hit us just before dark at 30kts but passed quickly and then the wind dropped to about 6kts so we motored through the night and at 0200 the head current weakened then by daylight changed to a favourable current of 0.5-1kt and the seas calmed to a more acceptable state.

Everything hoisted at the bow running with a westerly wind and our little storm trisail replacing the mainsail, this combination kept us sailing much longer than we expected

We continued motoring all day and saw land at 1600 to the south east, a prominent volcano which is typical for Indonesia, we rounded the northern tip of Sulawesi at 1800 then headed south towards Bitung through a maze of brightly lit fishing boats and finally dropped anchor at 2345. My flu had worsened and moved to the chest so as well as the panadol I was on a course of antibiotics. Thankfully it was time to get some real sleep so after a couple of beers we both crashed out till the following lunchtime or later.

The anchorage in Bitung and 'Just Magic' in the foreground

When we arrived at our anchorage we were tired and it was dark so we could see very little we had pretty much sailed in by instruments, in the daylight we were surprised to find ourselves behind this beautiful small island covered in greenery and situated in the Bitung Channel with clean blue water and surrounded with lovely lush rainforest hills and two dormant volcanoes in full view, simply stunning.

Survival training at the Academy where we left our dinghy for the trips to towns with the girls

After a full 36hr rest we set to mending the mainsail, so with the help of Chad and Kelli we first glued and stitched the separated seam and glued a patch over a section of sail which had pulled away from the luff. This took 2 days as the winds had again freshened from the NE and it was hard work with the sail partly raised. The sail was finally repaired and fully zigzag stitched then the stitching covered with sticky-back sailcloth courtesy of 'Just Magic' who had a large piece tucked away for such emergencies. Our stock of sticky-back was depleted at Kudat where we had patched up some small sections of the mainsail after hauling out.

A local lunch in town, we actually ordered 4 ice waters and this is what we were served, it was shaved ice with toppings and who knows what but was absolutely delicious

The next job on the agenda was to clear in to Indonesia, a daunting task we believed after our previous experience at Kupang with the rally. We had only a general idea where to go so Chad and myself headed to the port 2nm away in our dinghy. We decided to leave the dinghy tied to a large police boat thinking this would be safe and to our surprise they offered to give us a lift to Immigration our first office to call on. All was good till we arrived at the office only to be told it was the wrong office, however the Immigration Officer offered to take us to the right office which happened to be just 100m away from where we had left the dinghy. Immigration was easy and we had our passports stamped within 30 minutes.

The locals are extremely friendly and love getting their photo taken, this one was at the local Pasar (market)

 Next was Customs which we were told was around the corner about 500m away. The Customs Officers were great, we had an informal interview sitting on a lounge and filled in our declarations and handed them our ships papers, etc. They insisted on coming out to our boats which was a concern when they declared that their boat was broke and could they use ours. Surprising how quickly it was repaired when they heard we only had a small inflatable and our yachts were 2nm away. The visit was brief and we actually caught both ladies coming back from a kayak adventure, in fact the trip to the yachts and back took longer in their poor excuse for a Customs boat. We had a few laughs with them which broke the ice and all in all it was a pleasant experience. We avoided any contact with the other authorities Quarantine and Harbour Master as they are usually the ones who cause the most grief and we don’t need their clearance to get back out of the country. We hope!!

Chad and Kelli share a bike taxi our main means of transport in Bitung

After clearance was completed we needed to find a fuel supplier to fill our drums, we headed to the shore and after a couple of attempts to land and find a service station we found a fuel depot on the water front which would sell us diesel for 8000Rp/litre which is about A$0.80/litre. We arranged to return at 0800 the next morning and fill all our drums.

The hole in the wall natural archway close by to the anchorage

With the fuel run completed the next chore  was provisioning with fresh produce again, this time the ladies came with us and we secured the dinghy at The Marine Academy jetty adjacent the anchorage and under the watch full eye of a local boatman. We then tried to catch a taxi but were informed the only way into town was on the back of a motorbike so we hailed down 4 bikes and were delivered to the local fresh produce market. We became the days entertainment for the locals as we traversed the market buying our fruit and veges. Next was a taxi down to the main street and supermarket to get some basics and beer, then after some lunch at a local restaurant we caught another taxi back to the dinghy landing and then back to the boat for some well earned R&R.
Bye for now,

Beers and Cheers with a 3 Amigos beer at Bitung

J&J

North East Borneo

Back in Kudat again after some of our best sailing since leaving OZ. The trip down from PP was quick and despite some strong head winds on the last day relatively relaxing and enjoyable.

Kudat Marina basin just after hauling out

We anchored overnight inside the channel rather than going into the marina and were hauled out at 0930 the next morning after giving 30 minutes notice, hassle free and thankfully before the onshore NE wind set in which would have made the entry into the haul-out pen a manoeuvring nightmare.
The haul out facility at Kudat is run by Chinese and as is typical with the Chinese they find the most cost effective way of conducting their business, so here don’t expect costly fabricated steel frames to support the boat, instead you’ll get large concrete blocks which have been pilfered from the sea wall which surrounds the facility and paid for by some other party, probably the Malaysian Government.

They should call it the Bedrock Hardstand, it's what you would expect to see on the Flintstones

All went well with the wash down and wet sand despite not having a hose point and having to bucket water from the closest single tap point 50m away, another Chinese cost saving measure. We did have 240v power supplied after we ran out all our leads and waterproofed the joints. We also re-rigged the freezer/fridge cooling system and recirculated it through a 20ltr water drum which worked really well and will be adopted for future haul-outs, it also serves as a water heater for showering providing the drum is topped up after.

Small by our standards but nice all the same, purchased from a local enroute to Sandakan

Back in the water again after 1 week with a clean bum, plenty of rain but relatively unhindered with our progress, we lifted the centreboard out and scraped the casing but haven’t fixed the problem of the board catching half way down, may need further work next time out. We slotted into the marina and while we were away in the Philippines the owners had stabilized the pontoons by welding some extension brackets around the piles, very agricultural but effective for the moment until they break or rust away. It made walking along the fingers upright possible for the first time.

The sons of the Sea Gypsie fisherman who traded the crayfish

It was only a short stay at the marina to catch up with some friends and say farewell, get provisions and set sail again. We headed east along the north coast of Borneo and found a couple of nice protected and isolated anchorages but only stayed overnight at each. Moving on we anchored at the Sandakan “Yacht Club” on our third night out of Kudat and stayed for 4 nights. The weather had deteriorated with rain squalls and swell rolling in from the NE. The masses of local fishing boats and ferries milling around our anchorage didn’t help the situation either but we know we are in their space and can’t really complain.

Fisherman are the same all round the world just different boats

With the weather improving we headed further east to the NE tip of Borneo and then around the corner pushing current and wind the whole way. After 2 days we were in the lea of the NE swell and the anchorages became more pleasant, we found a lovely island anchorage just north of Semporna which provided us with marina like conditions and completely isolated, no local boats, just birds and clear skies, it was by far the most relaxing anchorage we had found in SE Asia. We stayed 4 nights and thoroughly enjoyed the peace and quiet.

Timbun Mata anchorage, a sanctuary once safely through the seaweed farm

Our trip through Semporna Strait was uneventful despite the mass of rubbish we had to traverse, clean water sadly cluttered with heaps of garbage, mostly plastic bags, we were surprised by the quality of the stilt villages we saw and how opulent they appeared in comparison to those on the west coast. Rather than stopping early in the day we continued on towards Tawau the most SE city in Malaysian Borneo and situated on the border with Indonesia.

Built on the side of a coral reef at the entrance to Semporna Channel this stilt house has everything even a large modern speed boat parked in the garage

We anchored off the Tawau “Yacht Club” another Chinese run elitist club similar to Sandakan (left over from the British Colonial era) which surprisingly doesn’t particularly like to cater to yachties. The anchorage is subject to some fierce tidal flows especially during spring tides which was the situation after we arrived. The current can flow at greater than2kts making it difficult securing and getting in and out of the dinghy especially at the clubs jetty.

Yachties entry point at Tawau Yacht Club jetty

Bye for now.

 Beers and Cheers from Tawau Yacht Club

  

J&J

Farewell Philippines

Now where were we?? Ah yes, post Typhoon Botha, heading north to Coron for some diving, well unfortunately we didn’t make it. 2 days out of PP and more problems with the new anchor winch saw us returning to PP in the night and thankfully for the saved track, radar and a bit of guess work no incidents.

It is possible to catch a fish here but we're still not desparate enough for this barracuda

By the time the anchor winch and replacement deck switch were completed and operational the NE trades had kicked back in preventing another attempt north. Our only hope was another typhoon to pass north of us again. Anyway Xmas was almost upon us and the club was always open to keep us amused, so we settled in and did some touring of Palawan by motorbike.

Imagine this in OZ

The bike was similar to a trail bike, not so good on the bitumen/concrete but necessary on the off roads which are pretty much rock spoils which develop because the roads or tracks are totally washed away. One trip to the west coast had to be abandoned because the road was so bad and steep Jen refused to go any further. Another trip was to the Underground River which is a huge limestone cave network accessible by river from the sea in a canoe. Interesting but not breath-taking and very tourist oriented.

Inside the Underground River looking out

Another trip to the west coast was to a totally deserted lovely beach where surprisingly a good swell was rolling in offering the opportunity to do some body surfing. We were hoping to take the boat around to the west coast when returning to Malaysia but after seeing the swell it changed our minds totally.

Nice location for a weekender, totally deserted

Xmas was a gala event at the club but as our 2012 bad luck continued we both became quite ill with a stomach complaint on xmas eve so missed everything even a beer. We had bought some local ham from a German expat and think his curing process or the pork must have been suspect or else we just over indulged. It took 3 days to recover so at least we didn’t miss New Year as well. It was spent at the club till 2am after a very impressive fireworks display which was viewed from the dinghy. The cost of the fireworks could have feed the whole of PP for a month.

Still very traditional living away from the city

Another low pressure system came threatening and crossed just south of PP and we were hoping it would track north so we could ride the back of it again but it lost momentum and turned further south once it entered the South China Sea. It did give us stronger winds than the typhoon but from the protected NE direction. This was our last chance as Jen was booked in for her dental treatment and our visa was running out, we could have renewed our visa’s for another 59 days for about $200 but we were becoming Philippined out. The beer is not great and the food even worse. The money is filthy and we believe partly responsible for our ongoing poor health. Every country takes a while to acclimatise to but we just couldn’t in the Phillipines. Palawan is the poorest place we have visited in Asia by a long way, only topped by New Guinea.

Local living

The anchorage in PP was bad for marine growth and the bottom had to be cleaned every 2 to 3 weeks to prevent major build up, so we decided that after the dentist we would return to Kudat, Malaysia and haul out at the hardstand yard. The trip back south was brisk as we had wind and it was from behind, our best sailing for a long time.

Rice drying

We are disappointed that our trip to the Philippines was not complete similar to Thailand and Andaman Islands in 2012 but it’s been a prick of a year and I am glad it’s over. It’s not easy over here for yachts, everything is a compromise and ours is showing its Asian signs after only 3 years, despite sorting some ongoing issues the prolonged haul out at Rebak probably hurt more than it fixed.

A cute little guy waiting for a handout

How many power sources does it take to turn on 1 light

Bye for now,

Beers and Cheers

J&J