Author Archives: yachtcamomile
Camomile’s 30th Birthday refit – week 4 shiny boat
I’ll start this weeks blog with some information requested after last weeks blog was published.
Our new sailbag with our beautiful new sail inside
We got our mainsail from Phil Auger who is based in Kuah, Langkawi. Malaysian phone no 017 625 4902 Phil came to the boat to measure up and discuss our requirements at Christmas. Our new sail is Marblehead Dacron fully battened with UV proof thread. Phil is very knowledgeable about sails and forwards the requirements to a sail loft in Hong Kong where they are made. When it arrived after 5 weeks we gave Phil our old sail so he could remove the cars and sew them onto the new sail, as there wasn’t any thing wrong with them and new ones are expensive. The cost of the new sail worked out to about £2300, which included the battens.
The sailbag was made by Nasir who’s based on the road to Kuah just outside Matsirat. It’s made of sunbrella material. We gave him our old one and asked him to copy it, which he did beautifully. It cost RM2200 (£400)
First top coat
Friday 20th February The 50/50 under/topcoat had been applied on Wednesday and rubbed down yesterday so this morning Bill started the first proper topcoat. He is using International Perfection 2 pack Mediterranean White that is thinned using International No9 thinners. I kept out of the way in case of problems and went off for my run. When I got back Bill had a big smile on his face and said he was pleased with it; praise indeed.
The coachroof before we started
As a result of the successful first topcoat we’ve taken the decision to stay at Rebak and Bill will now paint the topsides too. This is a huge undertaking but as you can see in the photo the coach roof is as bad as the hull and having now started it makes sense to continue. You can also see how worn the Treadmaster has become. The problem we have is our friend Norman, who’s just arrived, has a couple of days spare to help Bill with the removal of the Treadmaster and if we moved the boat there’s a limit to how much of the deck gear could be removed. We couldn’t undertake a 2 day passage with holes in the deck and if we didn’t remove the deck gear Norman wouldn’t be able to help with the removal of the Treadmaster; so you see our dilemma.
Bill and Norman start the scraping
In the afternoon Norman came to help Bill start removing the Treadmaster. After a lot of experimentation with scrapers, solvents, heat guns, multi-tools etc. it really seemed that scraping it laboriously with chisels was the only thing that removed the cork surface leaving the thick epoxy glue to be ground off. All in all, regardless of the extra painting work, this was going to be an extremely difficult and time-consuming job.
The work started slowly
To help with the task, as we weren’t moving now, I was able to remove all the lines off of the deck. The fuel cans needed to be moved too so I tied those to the A-frame, which is looking rather overloaded. Bill also removed the grab handles, which he’s replacing, but this left bolts sticking up from the deck. Bill carefully attached a nut to the top of each one with a bit of blue masking tape around them so that if anyone sits or stands on them hopefully they won’t do to much damage to themselves.
The A frame loaded up
Wash day again
The dinghy cover is almost finished. To attach it to the dinghy I’m going to use Velcro but first the ‘sticking’ side of the Velcro has to be sewn onto strips of Neoprene, which in due course will need to be glued onto the dinghy. So I spent the rest of the afternoon sewing the strips of Velcro to the neoprene. On Camomile I am lucky enough to have a fridge and a freezer. The freezer is a Waco unit and continues to work as normal while we are out of the water. The fridge is a new water-cooled unit that Bill fitted in NZ and unfortunately was protesting about being out of the water without any water to cool it. I have turned it down to stop the unit overheating but it’s protesting too much so I’ve decided to turn it off. In this heat that’s a huge problem but I’ve turned the freezer up so it’s not freezing and have moved some foods in there. It just means I’ll have to shop more often. Wash day again.
Saturday 21st February Bill was up early to give the transom its first coat of Mediterranean white to match the rest of the hull. It can’t be painted on the same day as the rest of the hull because Bill has to start on the port aft quarter first thing moving around the bow and down the starboard side before the sun gets too high. By that time the sun is on the transom and it’s not good to apply the paint in direct sunlight. If Bill painted the transom first he wouldn’t get all the way around, therefore he paints them on alternate days. The rest of the hull had a final very light rub down for the second and final topcoat tomorrow.
More scraping
Meanwhile Norman arrived to do more Treadmaster scraping.
I took my bike on the ferry to get some shopping. The shops should be open now after Chinese new year. I decided to cycle to Hegners otherwise know as the Australian shop because they fly goods in from Australia. It’s a good 6kms away but the exercise will do me good. I cycled round the airport perimeter fence and continued along the road to the shops. I was so cross because it was SHUT. I realised I had 20 minutes before the next ferry went so I cycled as fast as I could back again. I did it in 19 ½ minutes and just made the ferry!
Bill clearing the aft deck
In the afternoon Bill started stripping the aft deck, removing the grab handles and covering them with more nuts and blue tape. The dorade vents were also removed and I moved the lines and the aft fuel cans. When it was all cleared I vacuumed the whole deck to clear all the dust from the deck ready for Bill to paint the final topcoat in the morning. There must be no chance of anything ruining it. There was time for a swim at the end of the afternoon and a meal with Norman and Sara.
Shiny boat
Sunday 22nd February
In the morning I went for my run as Bill started painting the Final coat. I got back and nervously asked how it was going, “Great” was the reply; music to my ears. Bill was really pleased with the final topcoat; all those hours of preparation and rubbing down have paid off. We have a shiny boat. Paint dries very quickly here and within a few hours it was dry enough to remove the masking tape. It was very satisfying pulling it off; like peeling wallpaper, we both had a go.
Peeling masking tape
It has to be left a week now until we can put the blue vinyl stripe on; that will be fun! If it will load I’ll put a video of our beautiful shiny boat on facebook.
Well done Bill
Norsa coming out of the water
We went off to the resort to celebrate with a couple of their lovely coffees. When we got back Norsa was just being lifted out of the water, she’s come to visit Camomile having her spa treatment. Norman and Sara are going back to the UK for the summer in a few days. I spent the rest of the day writing and publishing the blog and Bill rubbed down the transom so that could have its final coat tomorrow.
Monday 23rd February
Bill rubbing down the transom again
First thing in the morning Bill was up to put the final coat on transom but this time he was not happy. I thought it looked ok but Bill said it had fluff in it and there were runs. We went off on the ferry to get one of Mr Dins cars to do shopping but Bill spent most of the day being cross with himself. We did our usual tour of the hardware shops for various bits and did the food shopping. By the time we got back Bill had calmed down and he got straight out to rub the transom down so it could be painted again in the morning.
Removing the yacht leg lugs
At the end of the afternoon Bill removed the lugs for the yachtlegs that will be in the way when we have to apply the stripe. They put up a bit of resistance so using his club hammer made him feel better. They are chunky old things but then they need to be to hold the boat upright when the yachtlegs are in them.
The yacht leg lugs on the bench
Making the holes mozzie proof
The holes had to be covered with tape to keep the mozzies out until the blue strip goes back on.
Tuesday 24th February
Removing the treadmaster
Final coat on the transom in the morning and this time Bill was happy. Bill started burnishing the copper coat with very fine sandpaper, I washed the dinghy ready to do the gluing first thing in the morning and Norman arrived to do more scraping although he has to work on the bow so that he doesn’t spoil the transom but it’s usually dry within a few hours. Norman has a saying ‘Don’t sack I boss just give I a bollocking’ but today he was working away and suddenly he said ‘Why don’t you sack I boss!’ Haha, its difficult work and we are grateful for the help he is giving, it’s in return for the jobs Bill has helped Norman with on Norsa. At the end of the day the decks looked like this and it was time for a cold beer while I vacuumed the decks down again.
Beer o’clock
Poor Norman was exhausted.
Wednesday 25th February
The dinghy masked up
It was too damp to start the gluing on the dinghy first thing. The humidity in the day often leaves dew the next morning for an hour or so. Bill moved the dinghy into the sun to dry off and started reassembling the transom starting with the bathing platform. I cut to length and marked the neoprene strips and laid then out ready for gluing. Before it got too hot Bill started on the dinghy by first masking where the glue was going to go.
Applying glue to the neoprene strips
I had everything ready and first handed him the primer which he applied and also to the backs of the strips of Neoprene.
Next the glue had to be mixed with a small quantity of hardener and applied to the dinghy and the neoprene strips and then a second round of glue to the dinghy and strips. I passed the strips to him one by one so he could stick them in place. We had to work fast because the glue was going off quickly in the heat and the strips were sticking to each other but we did it.
The dinghy with glued neoprene strips on
Finally the masking was removed. I now have to wait 3 days for it to completely harden before I can finish the cover and use the velcro.
Bill working on the Hydrovane
In the afternoon Bill continued with the transom by refitting the serviced Hydrovane and Norman started sanding with the big grinder but he still wants to be sacked!
At the end of the day the finished shiny transom looked like this; just needs her name reapplied now.
The finished transom
Sharpening chisels
We try to be self-sufficient as much as we can and this is Bill regrinding the chisels, he has also made his own cutters because they are so specialised that no-one makes them.
Thursday 26th February
Camomile’s pedicure
I gave Camomile a pedicure after we had scraped her toes on the coral last year (I anti-fouled the keel!) Nice shade of black. It had 4 coats in all during the day.
Finished result
Cutting the rubbing strake
Bill started on woodwork by removing a section along the top of the rubbing strake. The rubbing strake can’t be removed because it forms part of the bond between the deck and the hull and the nuts inside are glassed over and inaccessible but Bill intends to skim it top and bottom and clad it in new wood; a bit like a crown on a tooth. He makes a cut all along the top of the rubbing strake.
The top of the rubbing strake cut off
Then it’s lifted off.
The new top and sides of the rubbing strake
These are the new tops and sides jointed and glued drying. Unfortunately they turned out too weak to lift so Bill is going to glue them in place in sections. We bought the wood in Thailand; it’s Burmese quarter sawn teak. Bill took his cutting list to several wood yards and agreed to buy what he needed from a supplier near Yacht Haven in Phuket. The guy called James allowed Bill to pick his pieces and let him have a carpenter for the day to help him saw and plane it to size. We have enough wood to replace the rubbing strake, the toe rails, all the grab handles, all of the new cockpit planking, a seat by the steering wheel, a dolphin seat and a couple of other pieces. The wood, planned with the use of the carpenter for the day, cost just over a thousand pounds. I dread to think how much it would have cost to buy the pieces ready made.
We had a farewell meal with Norman and Sara in the evening.
Friday 27th February
Bill’s invention
Bill made this routing guide to fit onto his angle grinder to true up the sides of the rubbing strake to set it up for bonding later.
This is it in action. It was very efficient.
Bill’s invention in action
Norman’s handiwork
Norman wanted to do a couple of hours sanding before he left. This is the aft deck after he finished with it. Bill has still got to do quite a bit but Norman’s help has made a good start.
Norman and Sara leaving on Ariel
At 2pm we cycled down to A pontoon to say goodbye to Norman and Sara. They were leaving with Susie and Rex on board Ariel bound for Panang then onto the UK on Wednesday. Poor Norsa up on the side behind them looked on sadly to see them leave in the lovely Ariel. After they left I cycled to the other side of the island to see them motor out into the sea.
Goodbye Norman and Sara see you at the end of the year sometime.
Camomile’s 30th birthday refit – week 3
The sander in bits
Thursday 12th February Bill was up early to put the 2nd coat of primer on before we caught the ferry. Yesterday afternoon he had the sander in bits 3 times! It’s really putting up a fight. With all the extra work it’s going to have to do Bill has decided to buy a new one so that’s been added to the days shopping list.
Rebak marina laundry
I spent the first half of the morning in the launderette sorting out the washing. I know it’s odd including a picture of the laundry room but I wanted to show you that we lead a normal life as well as a privileged life sometimes.
We were both finished and ready to take the 11.00 ferry to the mainland to pick up one of Mr Din’s cars.
Bill trying the prop for size
First stop was the machine shop and there sitting waiting for us was the prop shaft, the guy had been true to his word and completed it before their 2-week shutdown for Chinese new year. Bill fitted the prop to it and everything fitted perfectly.
It was straight and true
The new prop shaft was laid onto a bed of rollers to check it was straight and true. The old prop shaft was laid next to it to check it was the right size; it was prefect. They had certainly earned their bonus. After the monies had been sorted they presented Bill with a box of oranges, the traditional gift for your best clients for Chinese New Year, we felt honoured. The awful thing is we don’t even know their names. They don’t have a broad outside with their names on it. For the boats coming along behind us all I can tell you is that it’s on the main road into Kuah about half way between York engineering and the hospital. Big blue building on the left hand side, we would definitely recommend them.
Happy Chinese New year
2nd coat of primer
We carried on into town and to buy Bill’s new sander and the do a supermarket shop. We had a second look for the dinghy factory and found it this time (it’s quite common here to be given directions and still not find a place) it turned out we had driven really close to it on our last visit. I bought some neoprene and contact adhesive so I could now get on and make the new dinghy cover. On the way home we visited Nasir to collect our new sailbag; Camomile is going to look so posh.
All rubbed down
The 4.30 ferry delivered us back to Camomile with our purchases to get on with the next set of jobs. As yesterday the primer was dry enough to rub down ready for the third coat in the morning. I asked Bill why he wasn’t using the new sander, he said he was going to wait until this one broke again then start using the new one. I asked if he would consider just throwing the old one away and he just gave me one of his looks and laughed!
Friday 13th February and Bill was up early painting the 3rd primer coat while I took the ferry, along with my fellow yachtie ladies, to buy our fruit and veggies from the little Chinese man that turns up at the ferry dock every Friday morning at 9.00. For any one visiting Rebak marina this is a worthwhile thing to do.
Our batten collection
When I got back Bill suggested I unwrap the battens for the new sail and sort out any spares. The battens had been delivered tied together with cable ties and formed into a wheel. Sadly I failed to take a photo before I started. Undoing them was a real trial. As I clipped the cable ties they all just pinged open. Good job I did it on the hard stand. We still have the battens from the old sail and this is our collection, how many spares do you need? I managed to prise 2 battens away from Bill for the give away table but he wants to keep the rest.
One prop shaft
Here is the prop shaft ready to go in.
Bill carefully pushed the shaft through the cutlass bearing up into it’s housing underneath the engine. NO rude comments please!
The rest of the day was spent with Bill serving the rope stripper and rubbing down the primer coat and me making someone a Valentine’s cake.
First undercoat
Saturday 14th February. I went for my run first thing while Bill put the first undercoat on. So far she’s had 3 primers with a rub down in between each one to smooth out the orange peel surface, which is normal. Now the undercoat was going on to flatten the surface and you can see the difference. So far Bill is pleased with the result. It took a lot longer to apply then the primers.
Valentine’s flapjack cake
Fortunately for me it gave me time to ice my flapjack cake. This is the finished effort. The letters are made from chocolate sticks. The resort was putting on a special meal for Valentine’s day and Bill suggested we join them. It was a lovely idea but first we had work to do.
Bill assembling the prop shaft
Bill reassembled the prop shaft by first removing it to fit the anode (the little metal thing on the inside of the P bracket). Once reinserted the stripper was fitted and finally the propeller.
Shiny
It looks very shiny and ready for the water. Once in position Bill had to drill a hole from the inside through the 316 stainless steel so it can be reattached to the bottom of the engine. This proved to be a lot harder than he thought. It took ages and the drill got so hot it kept overheating.
Pattern for the dinghy
Meanwhile I made a pattern for the dinghy cover. Although made of Hyperlone we feel it still needs a cover on it. I made a temporary cover for it in Australia but now I had some nice Sumbrella material to make one out of but first I needed a pattern. I used some greaseproof paper that I’ve had hanging around for a while and celotaped it onto the dinghy cutting around it’s various appendages (the dinghy is definitely a boy!) It’s difficult to see in this photo but the tube facing the camera is wrapped in the greaseproof paper pattern. I then carefully cut it off, taking care not to cut a hole in the dinghy.
Dinner on the beach
We had time for showers before our beautiful dinner on the beach. Bill has spent so much time attending to the ‘other woman’ in his life that tonight it was my turn. We had a wonderful evening with the most superb food, it felt like being on the set of Masterchef.
Shocked Sydney Rock oyster macerated in mandarin orange, dill leaves and grey goose (don’t know what grey goose is)
The staff brought round these lovely little bears, a red rose and chocolates along with our sparkling wine.
Tian of blue crab with basil marinated tiger prawn, carppacio of diver scallops and soya malibu froth
Thyme scented essence of cherry tomato with sundried tomato tortellini
I took the photo too early they came and spooned the essence of cherry tomato (soup) over it shortly after. Bill said it should be tortellino because there was only one but it tasted delicious.
A little sorbet
Pan seared fillet of Norwegian wild salmon with fennel root, truffle mash and berry barbecue sauce
For the main course there was the choice of salmon or chicken, we both choose the salmon.
Steamed walnut and gianduja pudding, strawberry panacotta and tia maria creme brule
Mummmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm and yummmmmmy
Bill with his headphones on
Sunday 15th February The undercoat takes longer to dry than the primer so now it’s a day painting followed by a day of rubbing down. Today was a rubbing down day. Bill was getting fed up with the sander continually droning on (it hasn’t broken down again yet) so he wrapped his blue tooth headphones up in socks and played his music while he worked.
First undercoat rubbed down
From the inside it sounds like bees droning but if Camomile was a cat I think she would be purring. I spent the whole day writing, posting photos and publishing the blog.
By the end of the day the hull looked like this. The blotchy patches are the primer showing through but it felt so smooth. As it was Sunday we took some time off for a swim in the late afternoon.
Cutting out the dinghy cover
Monday 16th February I took the canvas and my pattern to the Hard Dock café to cut out. As there aren’t any walls the wind played havoc with my pattern and little gusts kept blowing the pieces around. They all had to be anchored by shoes, boxes, etc. I had quite a few people passing comment so a certain amount of chatting was undertaken but eventually I had all my pieces cut out for the new cover.
Busy Billam
Meanwhile Bill had been up early and given the hull a second undercoat. During the middle part of the day he tries to find inside jobs to do. Here he is with our bed rolled up and working on the inside of the cabinet that the rudder shaft sits in. It was all cleared and painted ready to take the new bearings.
Inside of rudder housing nicely painted
Giving bathing platform a coat of teak oil
All the fittings that have to back on the transom needed a coat of teak oil so Bill did that later in the day. The rudder has had some repairs to the copper coating. Bill is constantly busy, I try to take photos but he just gets on with his jobs and I don’t always see what he’s doing.
A third of a dinghy cover
Tuesday 17th February Bill spent most of the morning rubbing down the second undercoat. It feels so silky and smooth. The rest of the day was spent doing lots of smaller but still important jobs. I spent the day working on the dinghy cover. By the end of the day I had all the pieces sewn together to cover the bow of the dinghy.
Giant butterfly
Wednesday 18th February On my run this morning I found access to another 30% of the island through a little twitten. I normally pass the entrance in a blur on my run(!!!) but this morning I decided to deviate. It led to a very remote and quiet path. There were monkeys in the trees and Hornbill’s and Sea Eagles flying overhead. Everything is bigger here. This butterfly is about the size of my hand, giant bees buzz past, ants are the size of my fingernail and there are spider webs all over the ground. Normally that’s the sign of Tarantula but I don’t think they have those here although if the spider lives in the ground because it’s too big to live in a web I don’t want to see it.
Shiny boat
I came back from my run and found a shiny boat. Bill had mixed the third undercoat 50/50 with topcoat and it looked beautiful. Camomile’s new skirt was coming along nicely.
Dinghy tubes
I spent the day working on the dinghy cover. Today I was constructing the tube covers, they look easy but the dinghy has so many bits to cut round and make holes for like handles, rollicks, ropes, etc.
Servicing Hydrovane
Bill serviced the Hydrovane and rubbed down the transom. Although it’s already been painted it was painted in snow white so now it will be painted Mediterranean white to match the hull. He also gave the prop shaft and prop a coating of lanolin to try and prevent it getting coated in barnacles.
Thursday 19th February Last night we had strange wet blobs falling out of the sky, I think it’s called rain but it’s so long since we’ve seen any I’ve forgotten 😉 In the morning the jungle behind us looked a verdant green as though it had been washed, it’s very dusty in the boat yard. It caught everyone by surprise and there was a lot of mopping up. The masking tape was all soggy and Bill couldn’t paint the transom. Once it stopped every where dried up very quickly and by 9.30 Bill was out rubbing down the hull. It was 2 hours later than he normally started but as it was cloudy hopefully the sun wouldn’t get to hot too quickly.
New sailbag
Our friends Norman and Sara arrived on Norsa later that morning and came over to have a look at how we were getting on. Haha they were immediately given a job. Bill wanted to get the new sailbag and mainsail bent on to try it for size and get it out of the way but it was too heavy for us to do on our own so Norman volunteered to help. First the sail bag was laid out across the boom and tied on.
Nice new sail
Then the sail has to be slid along the groove but not pushing the sailbag out of the way. The new cars were slotted into the mast one by one; at the same time the battens were slid into the sail. All the spare battens that Bill wants to keep are inside the spares pocket on the sailbag.
Flaking sail into bag
Finally we raised the sail briefly to check it’s the right size and then put it back in its bag. It’s a beautifully made sail; Bill is very pleased with it. We aren’t anonymous any more.
Lion dancers at the resort
It’s Chinese New Year today and the resort had a visit from a troop of Lion dancers. I love watching them.
Gong Xi Fa Cai to everyone
Camomile’s 30th birthday refit – week 2
Camomile not looking so good
Last Friday we had what Bill considered a major disaster; the hull wouldn’t cut. We were going to have to make a decision – continue to rub it down using the strong rubbing compound to get the best finish we could or paint the hull. Jimmy the painter at Pangkor had already quoted a price of the equivalent of £5000, which was out of the question for us. Poor Camomile sat waiting for us to make a decision. Bill continued to rub the hull down in the afternoon and I gave the galley a good clean while we each gathered our thoughts. We always knew there was a risk it wouldn’t cut but hoped it would.
The Hard dock cafe
We went for dinner in the Hard dock cafe next to the hard stand to talk further. Bill had worked out how many square metres of coverage there was and that it would still fit into our timeframe if we painted and he wanted to go and find out how much the paint would cost to see if he could do it himself. Bill is very skilful at most things but this was a big undertaking and he wasn’t sure if he could do it. A nice distraction to our thoughts turned up in the shape of Eric and Tamara our friends off of the catamaran Sea Child and we spent the evening having a lovely catch up chat with them.
Saturday 7th February saw us on the ferry to go over to the main island to pick up one of Mr Din’s cars.
Bill with the young lad at the machine shop
Our first stop was the machine shop where we had left our prop shaft and POM to make some bearings at the beginning of the week. The rudder bearings were perfect; Bill was very pleased. No sign of the prop shaft although the 316 stainless was on order and they were able to tell us it was going to cost RM1000 (£200), which was fairly cheap. We decided a little bribery was in order. Bill told him if the prop shaft was ready by the weekend, before the Chinese New Year shut down of 2 weeks, he would give him another RM500. This brought big smiles and he agreed.
More jobs to do
Bill also gave him the smaller diameter POM to make some bearings for the Hydrovane shaft and some davit bearings. It was agreed we would visit them again on Tuesday to see how they were getting on.
We continued into the town to the International paint shop to find out about the paint. The Chinese guy told us that he just had a shipment of paint delivered from Hong Kong. Colour charts were consulted and advise taken as to how many primers, undercoats and topcoats were needed. Bill had already painted the transom snow white but it looked a bit stark and there was another colour we liked better called Mediterranean white. The guy checked his stock, he had 6 tins in stock and we needed ……. 6 tins. That was it the decision was made – we paint; it was meant to be. So for 3 primers, 3 undercoats and 2 top coats we bought 6 x 750 litre tins of top coat, 3 litres of undercoat and 2 big tins of primer together with the necessary thinners at a total cost of RM2940 with the small discount he gave us which converts to £534, 10% of the painters price.
The condemned sail
We carried on into town to see Phil Auger who was supplying our new main and we wanted to see it before transferring the final money. Beautiful sail; Bill was very pleased. Phil was also able to confirm that our old sail was condemned. It’s not been right since the terrible storm we were caught in off the Australian coast when it was badly torn and had to be repaired. The whole of the leech (the back of the sail) was weak and just tore in your hands, clearly uv damage. The annoying thing was even though it’s nearly 9 years old it was still a nice shape and worked well but was useless, even as a spare.
Happy Bill
After doing the rest of our shopping we returned to the island happily reassured things were going ok.
Sunday 8th February We started the day with Sunday breakfast in the resort, which is our treat. There is so much food on offer that we end up eating the equivalent of breakfast, lunch, tea and pudding. The good thing is we seriously don’t feel like eating for the rest of the day, which saves money! That’s my rational and I’m sticking to it. Rebak is a lovely location and the staff are so friendly. It’s a great place to haul out.
The sitting area at Hard dock
This is the sitting area next to the Hard Dock café, note there’s no need for windows or even walls, and the showers were just behind me when I took this photo, Camomile is the 5th boat along so not far to walk.
Lovely surroundings
Little dings made by the anchor
I spent most of the day writing and posting last week’s blog. It takes me ages to write every thing up, line up the photos and finally publish it. I never know if anyone reads my waffle but we seem to get quite a few viewings so I continue. Depending on our signal sometimes it won’t post, the air turns blue and Bill hides!
As we’ve decided to paint Bill filled the little dings in the gel coat, these ones have been made by the anchor, and rubbed down the waterline. The order of doing things has changed now and he wants to repair the boot line with some copper coat and raise it 2 inches – again.
The repair areas masked up
We raised it before we left but with everything we carry these days we sit further down in the water and the waterline gets very mucky. Finally at the end of the day he masked up all the repair areas ready to start the copper coating first thing in the morning.
The first coat of copper coat
Monday 9th February Bill was up early to mix the copper dust with the epoxy resin and start applying it. The first coat was very thin then gradually Bill made a thicker mix for each coat putting on 4 coats in total.
Thicker coats
Repairs
There were also some repairing of odd patches to do; this is where the rudderstock will be refitted in time. I have now reached the dizzy heights of chief paint stirrer because the mix needed constant stirring to keep the copper particles from settling in the bottom of the pot.
Before and after
I continued to clean the metal work. This is a before and after photo of the metal struts that support the bathing platform.
Working on the bathing platform
This is the bathing platform half finished; I hope you can see which side I’ve done. During the day I discovered that my niece had gone into labour in the UK and I was about to become a great Auntie again so I was up and down the ladder all day checking on the computer for any news.
Delos going back in the water
The boatyard is very busy; they move boats every day except Fridays. Romance came out and this is Delos going back in the water, she is owned by Brian and Karin who we met on the East Malaysian rally last year. They are off across the Indian ocean this year and wanted to give the boat a scrub off and a coat of anti-foul paint before they leave. They’ve only been on the side for 4 days and have worked really hard to get her back in the water so quickly.
Bill sanding down the old antifoul on the keel
In the afternoon Bill had the grizzly job of rubbing down the keel. It doesn’t have Cuprotect on it and needs to have several coats of conventional anti-foul applied before we go back in the water. As we’ve no idea when that will be the anti-fouling will be done later.
Unveiling the new bootline
Finally at the end of the day Bill removed the masking tape to reveal a beautiful new waterline and we rewarded ourselves with a dip in the pool after we’d had showers to get all the grim of the day off.
Eric, Bill, Tamara and Sue
Eric and Tamara joined us again for a meal in the Hard Dock café with more catching up. At 10pm we heard that Kirsty had had a little boy weighing 6lb and they have called him Logan. Mother and baby were tired but well. We had to have a glass to celebrate.
Mr Din’s car
Tuesday 10th February back across to the main island into another one of Mr Din’s cars and onto the machine shop again to see how the guys were getting on with the second set of bearings. The stainless steel bar for the prop shaft was sitting on the lathe ready to be turned – HOORAY. Bill had taken the propeller with us to give to him so he could make sure it fitted and turned nicely. The other little bearings were waiting for us and perfect again. We carried on into town and collected our new sail and visited Nasir to see how our sailbag was coming along, which also looked really good. Every one thinks that jobs like this can’t be achieved this side of the world well we’ve proved they can be; inexpensively. Prices are a lot less here, however, you can still pay twice the going rate for goods of average or poor quality. We have found that it really pays to shop around and do your homework as this often gets you top quality and a very reasonable price. Compared to UK prices, it’s a steal but then we don’t live in the UK and if we did we wouldn’t be able to afford to do half of these things!
Trying the bearings for size
We got back to the boat and Bill spent a couple of hours starting to put things back together. Firstly the new rudder bearings our little Chinese man had made were tried for size on the rudder shaft and they fitted perfectly.
Going …..
Going ….
The lower one was fixed into position in the rudder shaft hole. It was very stiff but it’s meant to be tight. A couple of hefty whacks with the hammer soon saw it home.
Gone and in place
Fitting new cutlass bearing
We had bought a new cutlass bearing in Thailand and again it’s meant to be tight. To get it into the P bracket Bill used his invention in reverse and gradually pulled the cutlass bearing up into place.
Cutlass bearing in place
Cutlass bearing in place
It sits snugly in the P bracket waiting for the prop shaft. Finally he masked up the bootline ready to start the first primer in the morning.
I finished cleaning the metal work on the bathing platform.
Shiny bathing platform
Wednesday 11th February I started my day with my little joggy trot. Rebak island is 80% jungle and the resort and marina are perched on the edge so there’s a lot of wildlife here.
Monkeys on the bank behind the boats
Monkeys are regularly seen coming down onto the hard stand early morning and in the evening looking for food. Camomile is sitting on the water side of the hard but the boats on the bank side have to be very careful not to leave their hatches open in case the monkeys get in. They can do a lot of damage as well as pooh everywhere.
A Hornbill in the trees
There are also monitor lizards here, we saw one nearly a metre long the other day on one of our cycle rides. When I do my run I hear them rustling in the undergrowth as they run away to escape my approach. The bird life is amazing too, I’ve seen sea eagles, hornbills as well as other brightly coloured ones that flit through the jungle canopy alongside huge butterflies.
First coat of primer
Meanwhile Bill started applying the first coat of primer. It’s designed to form a barrier between the old porous gel coat and the undercoat/topcoat and bind them to the surface. The first coat looked quite thin. Bill is using a roller with a short pile head. It took about 3 hours to apply a coat to both sides of the hull.
First primer coat is on
servicing the rope cutter
During the heat of the day Bill tries to do inside jobs where we have the air conditioner on. These are some of the parts of the rope stripper that Bill has thoroughly cleaned and polished.
Nicely polished
This is the rudder shaft seal carrier. When the shaft came out this was all stained and Bill has serviced and polished it. Bill made the comment “ Last time I polished this bit of metal there was snow on the ground!”
One good thing about the heat here is that the paint dried really quickly so in the afternoon Bill was able to get out and rub it all down ready for the second coat tomorrow.
Tomorrow is D day or rather P day; would the prop shaft be ready?
Camomile’s 30th birthday refit – week 1
Panoramic shot of Rebak marina
Bill has been planning Camomile’s refit for over a year now. The treadmaster on the deck has become badly worn, the woodwork is gradually eroding, the hull has become stained and yellowing and the mainsail has become weakened and torn by heavy duty and UV damage. As she will be 30 years old this year and with the miles we’ve travelled she’s in need of a face-lift. I did an assessment of the marina prices before Christmas and, despite everyone saying Thailand is cheap, it was going to be cheaper in Malaysia. The two options were Rebak marina or Pangkor marina further south. They both had lifting facilities but also both had their pros and cons. The biggest pro for Rebak for me was that it has proper showers, washing machines and a pool to cool down in after a hot day working on the boat, the con is that the internet signal is weak and it’s based on an island so everything had to be on board or brought over on the ferry. Pangkor pros were that it has a reasonable internet signal, Joe had given us a competitive quote to do the deck painting and good shops nearby but the biggest con is that there are no proper showers and only men’s toilets that the yard boys use. Call me a princess but I choose Rebak for our haul out!
A beautiful beach in Thailand
So after leaving Thailand early on 30th January (I’m hoping to write a blog on our adventures in Thailand soon) we motored all day and arrived back in Kuah, on the island of Langkawi, Malaysia at 9pm ready to check-in the next morning. Our last week in Thailand had felt like a holiday and now we were back home (?) to get on with some work.
Saturday 31st February
Camomile ready to be lifted
There were a couple of errands to do after we checked in (so easy in Malaysia). Bill bought a length of studding for taking out the rudder and after taking our mainsail off it was taken into Phil the sailmaker in Kuah to see whether or not it was beyond repair as a back-up; our new one was due to arrive within the week. We then motored round to Rebak tying to the pontoon at 7pm.
Diver adjusting strops
Sunday 1st February was lifting day. First on the list Bill backed Camomile onto the lifting jetty while the yard boys tied up our lines. We’ve found in the past they always take such care when lifting boats on this side of the world and Rebak was no exception. A diver was sent down to position the strops maybe they don’t do that in the UK because he would need a full wet suit on.
Camomile slowly coming up
Once every thing was in place Camomile slowly raised up out of the water. I always feel a bit emotional watching her come out; she looks like a fish out of water.
Shovelling barnacles
Straight away we could see how mucky her hull was. The Cuprotect is still working fairly well because there wasn’t any serious weed growth just the usual layer of slime and loads of barnacles which the yard boys starting shovelling off straight away. The travel lift wheeled Camomile into the pressure wash area for her ‘bath’.
In need of a bath
Bill dismantling the rudder shaft
Meanwhile Bill took our mattress out and rolled the bed up so he could take off the front of the cupboard to start releasing the rudder. The studding Bill had bought was passed through a wooden block and screwed into the rudder shaft to stop it suddenly dropping out. Bill released all the bolts that held it in position.
Our view across the bow
After about an hour Camomile had had her pressure wash and was wheeled into her new position. We’ve got a nice view of the marina across her bow and the jungle from her stern.
The forklift was ready
The yard boys brought the forklift in ready to take the rudder out but Camomile was objecting to her ‘colonic irrigation’ and wasn’t going to release the rudder easily.
The rudder slowly releases
Bill unscrewed the studding and the boys were jiggling from the bottom but still it wouldn’t move. Bill started hammering on the top of the shaft with the old Hydrovane shaft but it wasn’t having it. There must be something else holding it. Bill did the studding up again to stop it accidentally falling out and did a further check inside the cupboard and discovered a keyway had become fouled. Once cleared and with the rudder resting on the forklift the studding was slowly released to allow the rudder to gently slip down.
The rudder was carefully lowered
Putting the cradle into place
Once the forklift prongs were on the floor Camomile was lifted higher in the strops and it was out. Finally the boys could get on with their job of fitting Camomile into the cradle that would hold her steady for the next 4 or 5 weeks.
Releasing the strops
Taking the boat lift out
The strops were dropped and the boatlift pulled away leaving Camomile comfortable in her new bed.
Scratches on the keel
The first thing we noticed were the scratches across the front of the keel from sitting on the reef in Indonesia. No damage but it would need some sanding.
Looking up into the rudder housing
This photo is looking up into the hole the rudder came out of. The bearing will need to come out and it all looks a bit worn.
Working on the propeller
While I disappeared off to the laundry Bill started scrubbing the propeller with a rotary wire brush and by the time I got back it was nice and shiny Apparently he had found a live oyster growing on the prop.
The rope cutter behind the prop
The prop holds the rope cutter in place, which is our silent friend. We never know whether its done its job or not but we’ve only ever been caught in one net so it obviously does. Bill loves to tell the story that I bought him a stripper for his 40th birthday and it usually raises a few eyebrows until he tells the full story.
His puller kit laid out on the rudder
Bill got his ‘puller’ kit out and removed the prop without too much trouble; the rope cutter decided to be more difficult. The reason the rudder has been removed is partly to replace the bearings but also to get the prop shaft out.
Cleaning up the P bracket
After Bill detached it from the engine it came out without too much trouble and Bill was able to clean up the P bracket – which he also managed to bang his head on giving himself a nasty gash on the head and renaming it ‘the complete and utter bastard bracket’.
Bill’s first injury
A bare rear end
So her rear end looks a bit bare now without a rudder or a prop shaft.
Removing cutter
A grovvy prop shaft
Bill set about removing the cutter from the prop shaft, which took another hour. Time flies when you’re having fun.
And this is why it needed removing. The stuffing box packing has worn a grove, which has been causing bad leaks in the engine bay. We intend taking it to a local machine shop to get a new one made.
Cutlass bearing inside the P bracket
Inside the P bracket is the cutlass bearing, which also needs to come out and be replaced.
Bill’s cutlass removing ‘tool’
The cutlass bearing is extracted
Bill, of course, had made an invention to remove it. As you can imagine the P bracket unattached to any thing is fairly delicate and the last thing you can do to it is whack it with a hammer, tempting though it may be.
The cutlass bearing out with a final tug
So Bill put together a series of metal tubes with the studding through the middle which when tightened with the clip on spanners gently pulled the smaller tube into the P bracket pushing the cutlass bearing out with it. I’ve suddenly realised all this detail is way too boring but some people might find it useful. That was the end of our first day out of the water. In the evening we sat down to a nice lamb curry that I had made. Our bed was still upside down so we had to sleep in the forepeak.
Monday 2nd February
The ‘before’ picture of the transom
This is a view of the transom before we started. As you can see the paintwork isn’t in bad condition but all the metal fittings need a through clean and the wood of the bathing platform has gone all green and black. As the transom has always been painted it will need to be painted again so everything has to be removed.
Bill removing bolts from the inside
This had Bill back in our cabin removing all the bolts from the inside.
100s and 100s of barnacles
Meanwhile I haven’t been sitting around without anything to do. When Camomile was pressure washed it took all the slime off but left the bases of lots of barnacles that needed to be removed. Not sure if you can see the little white dots in the photo because they are quite small but some of them were stuck fast and needed quite a bit of scrapping. I felt that was something I could do so over the space of several days, in between the washing, cooking, washing up and generally trying to keep things tidy I took every one off with a little scraper and the hull went from this….
All gone
… to this.
Matching shorts and crocs
Bill said to point out that I still managed to find some old shorts to match my crocs!
The forepeak has become Bill’s store cupboard
Inside our bed is back in place and the forepeak bed has now been lifted to store all Bill’s pots and potions. All of this is supposed to be kept cool but with 32C outside and 80% humidity it’s a bit difficult. Luckily we’ve got the air conditioning unit going. This job would be so difficult without somewhere cool to retreat to at the end of the day.
Tuesday 3rd February
The ferry across to the Langkawi
We needed to take the prop shaft and rudder bearings to the machine shop on the main island so we joined the 8.45 ferry, which takes about 10minutes, and hired one of Mr Din’s cars. The advert says “ALWAYS starts, usually no fuel, no insurance, cash only 40RM” (£8) and that’s exactly what you get. Our one also had air con and the doors locked! (We’ve had one before that didn’t, neither did the speedo work but as they don’t do more than 40mph it doesn’t matter.) Forgot to take a photo, I’ll take one next time.
Chinese father and son in machine shop
We drove to the little machine shop we found at Christmas time and showed the father and son our prop shaft. Bill had made a drawing of what he wanted and took it with him. The son speaks a bit of English but the father very little. There were lots of smiles and ‘can do can do’ which was encouraging. “New year, new year” meaning after the chinese new year wasn’t quite so but he has a lathe and he makes all the prop shafts for the local ferries so fingers crossed. We also gave him our lump of POM bought in Thailand to remake our rudder bearings “can do can do” along with big smiles so here’s hoping. I’ll let you know if we ever see either of them again! We carried on into town to the International shop to buy the paint for the transom, one of the few things we hadn’t bought in Thailand. After lunch we headed back to the ferry, left the car in the car park with the keys in it (NO ONE is going to steal it) and back to the boat.
Removing Camomile’s name
In the afternoon Bill started removing the lettering with a heat gun and rubbed the transom down. Camomile is now completely anonymous because the sail bag with her name on it was removed at Christmas to be remade. She’s going to look so posh at the end of this refit. I carried on with my scrapping.
All bare and rubbed down
At the end of the day the transom looked like this ready for painting. The rubbing strake was new in 2008 so won’t need replacing. Bill has rubbed it down ready for oiling with the rest.
Cycling to the pool
As I said at the beginning of this blog Rebak has a pool. This is our third day here but we haven’t visited it yet. So after we’d finished our work we cycled over to the other side of the island for a well-earned dip in the pool.
Into the resort
A rare photo of Bill relaxing
Wednesday 4th February
First coat on the transom
Bill was up early before the sun got too hot to put the first coat of paint on the transom.
Barnacle removing from the rudder
After my run (walking jog) and more washing in the machine I carried on with my scrapping, this time on the removed rudder. So as well as router and navigator, chief cook and bottle washer I’m now an expert barnacle scraper with sweat dripping off the end of my nose like a dew drop, at least it’s not a cold dew drop. One of the odd things that happen here is that the hotel does tours of the boat yard so every now and then a golf buggy carrying photo clicking tourists comes by taking pictures of us all – bizarre.
Removing the gold strip
After painting Bill moved onto removing the gold strip and rubbing down the blue cove line. Again we’ve got new ones of these. He has to keep changing sides because in the tropics it’s important to work on the shady side of the boat unlike in the UK he used to work in the sun to keep warm.
Rubbing down blue strip
Cleaning the hull with oxalic acid
Thursday 5th February
Bill gave the transom a second coat of paint and finished off sanding the blue cove line before spraying down the topsides with oxalic acid. This was time consuming because each section had to rinsed before continuing to the next.
The reconditioned bathing platform
In between jobs Bill has been rubbing down all the pieces that came off the transom. This is the bathing platform hardly recognisable with all it’s green slats rubbed down. I finished scrapping the hull and washed down where the boatlift straps had been as the pressure washer missed them.
Ready for chatting
My next task is to clean all the metal work from the transom with metal polish. It’s a nice job because I get to sit in the shade and chatting to everyone who comes by. Another swim in the pool at the end of the day.
Friday 6th February
The end of the week here. Fridays are the Malaysian Sundays. All the shops are shut on the main island, the yard boys don’t work on a Friday and all the men go to the mosques to pray. It’s also the day the little Chinese man sets up his fruit and veg stall on the Langkawi side of the ferry dock. After my early morning run I joined a group of yachties on the 8.45 ferry to go and see what he had. All the fruit and veggies were really fresh plus he had some frozen salmon and chicken in polystyrene boxes and Easi-yo yoghurt mixes, which are really difficult to get here. I came back all happy to find Bill despairing back on the boat. The hull won’t cut.
We went over to the resort to sit down and have a coffee and talk over our options. Apparently while I had been out he had rubbed down a section of the hull and tried cleaning it with the aggressive rubbing compound we had bought but it wasn’t cleaning up. There are white blotches on the hull from past repair work and they show up against the yellowing of the original hull. Bill had hoped to clean up the yellow patches to bring them closer to the colour of the repairs but it wasn’t working, he said he had been dreading starting this stage because it was make or break time. Do we go to the expense of repainting the hull or do we leave it as it is?
The Hole in the Wall
The emblem of Langkawi
After our wonderful Christmas at Rebak Camomile and Norsa left the marina on 27th December and headed to Kuah on the main island. As Langkawi is a duty island we restocked with wine and visited the supermarket before checking out of Malaysia. This huge statue of a sea eagle dominates the harbour and is the emblem of Langkawi. The place to see them is at the ‘Hole in the Wall’ anchorage on the north side of the island so before we headed north to Thailand it was decided that a day or two there would be nice. Langkawi isn’t very big and it only took about 3 hours to motor around.
Camomile and Norsa
Camomile was anchored at
06º25.2N
099º52.0E
Norman had been having trouble with his new battery management system that Bill had helped him fit in Pangkor so the next morning Bill and Norman spent several hours sorting that out. Just upstream from us there was a ‘crossroads’ in the river.
Norman and Sara in their dinghy
I had noticed quite a lot of tourist boats heading round to the left so Sara and I packed up picnics and the 4 of us set off in 2 dinghies to explore.
There are 5 sea eagles in this photo
Round to the left we found the sea eagles; there were dozens of them. Some were soaring high up in the mountains but some were swooping down on the fish that the tourist boats had attracted by feeding them. I’ve got so many photos with half a wing or a bit of a splash but this one has no less than 5 birds in it although they are difficult to spot.
Just the one in flight
Managed to get close to this one
We motored back towards the boats but decided to cross over the ‘crossroads’ and see what was the other way.
A row of floating restaurants
Just around the corner from where the boats were anchored was a row of fish farms with restaurants attached to them and mooring for boats. We should have ventured further up the river when we arrived. Continuing further up stream from the restaurants we stopped and tied the dinghies and while they slowly drifted we had our picnic.
Monkeys among the mangroves
Even further upstream it started to shallow off but we spotted some monkeys on the bank. Unfortunately they saw us and started following us. One of the tourist boats warned us about letting them get onboard so we watched from a safe distance.
The hole in the wall?
or maybe this?
We thought we had discovered the ‘Hole in the Wall’ when we came across this gap in the rock but a bit further round and we think this is the hole in the wall.
There were some lovely stalagmites inside.
Later that evening we had planned to have a meal in one of the restaurants but the heavens opened and we had an absolute downpour for about an hour. As we had made it as far as Norsa it was decided to open another bottle of wine and wait for the rain to stop. Once it stopped we ventured out and had a really nice meal.
The next day we left for Thailand.
Christmas at Rebak marina
We’ve got a decent internet access so wanted to post some late Christmas pictures.
Beautiful Christmas tree
We arrived in Rebak marina on an island off of Langkawi in Malaysia on the 9th December at the end of the Sail Malaysia rally. It was also where we had started Sail Malaysia East in April so we had come full circle. After spending a couple of weeks doing boat jobs and relaxing in the wonderful Rebak marina resort, of the Taj group, our Christmas celebrations started with a wonderful dinner on Christmas eve in the resort. The dining room looked spectacular with a Christmas tree at the entrance and food of every description laid out on one side of the room. The ‘all you can eat’ buffet at the equivalent of £30 a head was remarkable.
The crews of Camomile, Norsa and Sternchen
We shared a table with Norman and Sara our friends on Norsa and Georg and Mauella from the German yacht Sternchen.
Very smart
It was fun to dress up for a change. I wore my new dress that I had had made in Vietnam by a lovely lady called My (pronounced ‘me’ which caused some confusion) and my fabulous intricate silver necklace and earrings that Bill bought me in Yogyakarta.
Delicious
They had traditional Christmas cuisine as well as Malaysian curries
Yummmmmm
I couldn’t resist
And the desert table …… I thought I’d died and gone to heaven! And this was just one of them, there was a second table full of goodies as well as a chiller cabinet with mouth-watering Tiramisu, among others.
This was my choice – diet can start after Christmas.
It felt so strange dressed in a sundress for Christmas and eating next to the beautiful pool, which looked brilliant in the evening light.
Floodlit pool
Sara and I couldn’t resist dancing to the YMCA
The dancing got under way and Sara and I soon joined in dancing to the song YMCA along with the arm movements.
Santa Claus on the beach
The next morning Bill and I opened our presents to each other. I had bought him some new binoculars because ours have suffered from being dropped several times and he had bought me a new bag that I wanted and some Body shop bits (yes Body Shop is in Malaysia). He had also found some dark chocolate Belgian seashells – yummmm. We had bucks fizz with Norman and Sara before walking down to the beach to watch Santa Claus arrive on a jet ski! After he’d handed out presents to all the children staying in the resort he came up to the restaurant to wish all the adults “A very Merry Christmas.” This seemed a bit bizarre because the Malaysians don’t celebrate Christmas but I’m sure he was entering into the spirit.
Roast turkey
Again the food was wonderful. This turkey had been roasted in an oven but the staff had set up BBQ’s for the chefs to cook a sumptuous feast on.
Hats and bubbles
The Christmas lunch, at the equivalent of £20 a head, included unlimited sparkling wine, is this a good thing you may well ask? Bill and I sporting our Christmas hats brought from the UK with our first glass of bubbles. Norman and Sara joined us again. (My new bag is in the foreground).
Friends together
Christmas dinner combination in the tropics
The meal started with a delicious pumpkin soup followed by an amazing array of starters and salads; again as part of an all you can eat buffet. (Should have joined us James) My Christmas dinner was roast turkey, a little sausage thing, a barbecued chicken leg, a really tasty piece of barbecued lamb and a Brussel sprout but NO roast potatoes! Can’t please some people can you? It was all beautifully cooked and tasted all the better for not having cooked it myself.
Christmas dessert but no Christmas pudding
The desserts were even nicer than the night before, if that was possible. It was so difficult to choose so I had a bit of everything.
Shhhh
After lunch some people had a snooze!
It was a fabulous setting with lots of our yachtie friends enjoying life together at a very different Christmas.
Lunch and snoozes were followed by a dip in the pool.
Happy Christmas everyone
Christmas Newsletter 2014
I tried to send this potted version of our year out on email but some of them failed so I’ve published here with a few more photos on it.
James’s 30th birthday
Firstly apologies that I didn’t do a newsletter last year. We had made our way up the Eastern Australian coast and reached Darwin by July. While there, as many of you know, I flew back to the UK because Mum was taken very ill. Even though she seemed to be recovering, allowing me to return to Australia, she died in August. Unfortunately as we had just entered Indonesia on single entry visas, it would have been very difficult to leave the country so Bill and I had our own little service on a beautiful island at the same time as the funeral in the UK; one of the downsides of cruising. After continuing up through Indonesia and into Malaysia, where we put Camomile up on the hard for 3 months, we returned to the UK for the internment of Mum’s ashes and to sort out her bungalow with my sisters. We had a nice time back in the UK. We also celebrated James’s 30th birthday (can’t believe my oldest baby is 30!) and spent Christmas with James in Scotland with Thomas and Sonal joining us there. The boys cooked a delicious Christmas lunch between them.
Returning back to Camomile on 2nd January Bill spent a week doing the usual out of the water jobs before having her re-launched on 7th January just in time for James to arrive. Having left the RAF at the end of 2013 James took a year off to go travelling starting with visiting us while he got over his jetlag and deciding where he wanted to go.
Elephant ride
We all left Camomile on 19th January, James went to Vietnam, Bill and I to Laos and Cambodia. We had a fantastic time visiting Vientiane, capital of Laos, then onto Vang Viang and the old capital of Louang Phabang where we enjoyed visiting the beautiful temples. While there we took part in a long arduous trek to an elephant camp where I was richly rewarded with a ride on an elephant, something I’ve always wanted to do.
Superb Angkor Wat
Phnom Penh in Cambodia didn’t quite reach our expectations but our final destination was the Cambodian ancient temples of Angkor with Angkor Wat, where we met up with James again, turning out to be the highlight of our trip.
Zoe and Bill
After returning to the boat 9th February to complete a few more boat jobs we set sail a week later and headed north. Most of March was spent in Thailand where we had 2 visitors. Firstly James arrived again for 3 weeks. The first 2 weeks spent on the western coast of Phuket and out to the Similian and Surin islands which were wonderful. That was followed by a week visiting the ‘hongs’, hollowed out rocks in Phang Nga bay, where Bill’s stepsister Zoë also joined us for 4 days as part of her 6 week stay in Thailand. It was great getting to know her.
Susan and Angela
April was spent cruising south back down the western coast of Malaysia on the Sail Malaysia East rally to Johor Bahru in time for my sister Angela to arrive on 27th April for a 2 week holiday. Unfortunately shortly before she arrived we were struck by lightening. Luckily it wasn’t a direct hit but it was close enough to take out most of the navigation equipment, both VHF and SSB radios, battery management system, the fridge, the alternator, TV, music radio, the list kept building over the first few days. My poor sister arrived to a very sick boat but hopefully she still had a nice time. We all went to Singapore for a few days to celebrate my birthday as well as limping out to see a couple of islands to give her a taste of the cruising life. Once she had gone Bill set about restoring Camomile with the help of a Singapore supplier and our insurance company, miraculously we were up and running in 7 weeks and finally able to leave JB on 16th June to catch up with the rally and continue on our travels. Top Sail on behalf of RSA settled our claim in full.
Pulau Gaya
July and August were spent on the Sabah coastline of Malaysian Borneo. Our week in the most excellent Kinabatangan River being the highlight. We saw lots of Proboscis monkeys, macaque monkeys and dozens of varieties of birds but our sighting of a Pygmy elephant on his own and later a small herd was the pinnacle of the trip. Pygmy elephants are only about 4 inches shorter than normal elephants but with the removal of a lot of their natural rainforest habitat, sightings of them have become rare so we considered ourselves fortunate.
Fantastic Borobodur
At the end of August we headed south into Indonesia crossing the equator back into the southern hemisphere again. It took us 5 days to sail to Lombok arriving in time for our 36th wedding anniversary on 2nd September. While Camomile was safely tucked up in Medana bay marina we took the opportunity to fly to Yogyakarta for a 4 day to visit Prambanana, the biggest Hindu temple in Indonesia, and Borobudur, the biggest Buddhist stupa in the world, along with a selection of other sights. It was all pretty spectacular.
Thomas and Sonal with Sue and Bill in Gili Air
We returned to Camomile to welcome our youngest son Thomas and lovely girlfriend Sonal onto Camomile, their first visit since we left the UK. We had a wonderful time with them visiting the waterfalls of the Rinjani volcano and the Gili islands among other things. They were with us for 8 wonderful days before heading to Bali and onto Singapore before flying home. It was the highlight of the year for us.
The beautiful beach at Tanjung Kelayang
1st October we arrived at the Karimanjava islands which are north of the island of Java in Indonesia, while there we found some of the best snorkelling of our trip, almost as good as Fiji. Continuing to the island of Belitung to the beaches of Tanjung Kelayang, which we both decided was the best beach of the year. It was also the last beach for this year because on 13th October we checked out of Indonesia and headed back across the equator again and onto Johor Bahru at the bottom of the Malaysia peninsular arriving back at Puteri marina on 17th October to check back into Malaysia for the rest of the year. We were sad to leave Indonesia having spent 2 summers there and discovered such nice friendly people.
Buying goods in the Bac Ha market near Sapa
After spending a couple of weeks doing boat jobs (the list never seems to go down, as fast as jobs come off one end, more jobs get added on the other end!) we headed on ‘holiday’ to Vietnam for a couple of weeks. Vietnam was wonderful and worth the trip. We visited the capital of Hanoi, madness, took the train to Lao Cai to visit the hill tribes of the Hamong people and do some trekking, back to Hanoi on the train.
The waterfront at Hoi An
Flew to Nadang to visit beautiful Hoi An, which was our favourite, and the enigmatic Cham ruins of My Son, practically destroyed by the American airforce during the war. Then finally flew to Hoi Chin Minh city even madder but with a certain amount of charm where, among other things, we visited the evocative and haunting War Remnants museum. It was very sobering and told a totally different side of the war story. Although some of it was propaganda the photos were not fakes and left us emotionally drained for the rest of the day. We finished our tour with a visit to the Cu Chi tunnels, which was also very thought provoking. We loved Vietnam and the Vietnamese people; they are spirited survivors.
Norman, Sara, Sue and Bill at pre Christmas cocktail party at Rebak marina
On the 12th November we returned to Camomile to start our journey up the west Malaysian coast. At Pangkor marina, where we had left them last year, our good sailing friends Norman and Sara were waiting for us on Norsa to sail north with us for the next 3 or 4 months. We are all spending Christmas together at Rebak marina off the island of Langkawi, which is on the Malaysian/Thailand border. A real yachtie paradise because we can use the 5 star resort facilities, including their beautiful pool.
The plan next year is to spend January in Thailand before heading back to Rebak beginning of February for a month up on the hard where Camomile is going to have a new prop shaft, rudder bearings and cutlass bearing and the GRP on her hull is going to be thoroughly cut back and polished and new cove and boot line and the transom painted. The old treadmaster deck is going to be removed (a lot of it has disappeared already) and the coach roof will also be cut and polished. We will then go back in the water and move down to Pangkor where Joe is going to paint the decks with 2 pack paint and Bill will replace all the woodwork. We’ve also got a new Mainsail and sail bag on order so she will look thoroughly beautiful after all that.
Meanwhile I’m going back to the UK for 3 or 4 weeks in March to visit my niece’s new baby due in February and for my sister’s wedding.
Hopefully Camomile will be out of cosmetic surgery by end of April in time for us to cruise the Sarawak and Sabah coast of Malaysian Borneo again as we missed a lot of it last year. The Philippines is planned for June before heading back down to Sabah. Depending on the weather we would like to get over to the eastern Thailand coast in August and our ‘holiday’ next year is hopefully going to be Hong Kong and China for the first 2 weeks in September. We’ll probably eventually end up back in Western Thailand at the end of the year ready to head across the Indian Ocean in 2016 but plans on a yacht are always set in jelly so any of this could change.
I started this newsletter on a sad note so I want to end it on a happy one and wish everyone a Happy Christmas and a wonderful and healthy New Year wherever you may be.
Lots of love from Bill and Sue xx
Happy Christmas from Malaysia
Hanoi, Vietnam
Lunch in Hanoi
With Camomile safely tucked up in Puteri harbour for a couple of weeks we decided to visit Vietnam. All we knew of Vietnam was from American war films and we wanted to learn the other side of the story. Oh boy did we find a different side to the story. Our journey started on 29th October with an early taxi ride to Senai airport in Johor for our flight to Kuala Lumpur where we stayed in the brand new Tune hotel on the airport grounds. Our flight to Hanoi was an even earlier start the next morning at 6.15 but fortunately that put us in Hanoi early enough to enjoy a delicious lunch across the road from our hotel in the old quarter of Hanoi.
View from Ngoe Son temple across the Hoam Kiem lake
In the afternoon we embarked on a self guided walking tour starting at the Hoan Kiem lake, the epicentre of old Hanoi. Ngoe Son Temple sits on an island in the lake serenely gazing across the water. A scarlet bridge connects the island to the shore. Trees surround the lake but beyond them the relentless traffic of Hanoi droned on.
The old quarter
The tour took us into Hanoi’s historic heart that is the Old Quarter. It was bubbling with commerce and buzzing with motorbikes. The streets were narrow and congested and crossing the road was a nightmare but if you dared to take your eyes off the traffic when you looked up there was some elegant old architecture in among the chaos.
Your shoe shop Angela
The original name for the area 36 streets because in the 13th century Hanoi’s 36 guilds established themselves there each taking a different street. They were each names Hang, meaning merchandise, followed by the word for the product they sold. There are over 50 streets now but many of them have continued to sell the same products. The first street we came to was Hang Dau which contained most of Hanoi’s shoe shops – how lucky was that!! Thought of my sister when I saw this shop.
How many beer barrels can you get on a motorbike?
The maze of streets was interesting but for us it was spoilt by the amount of motorbikes everywhere. Up to the early 1990s motorised transport was reported to be rare with most people using bicycles to get around but now everyone seems to have a motorbike and the city now struggles with soaring pollution levels. Motorbikes are used to transport everything and everyone. It was common to see Mum, Dad and 2 or 3 children all riding together, many without helmets. This man was transporting barrels of beer on his.
Quan Chuong the old east gate.
At the top of the town was the well-preserved Quan Chuong, the old east gate. It’s the only remaining gateway to the Old Quarter out of the original 36. We saw a photo of this from the 1950s and it hasn’t changed. On the other side of it was a busy motorway carrying all the traffic.
The Dong Xuan market
Continuing north we came to the Dong Xuan market, which is the oldest market in town. Built near the end of the 19th century by the French it was almost destroyed by a major fire in 1994. Although it was rebuilt in 1996 all that remains of the original structure is the restored 1889 façade.
Smelly fish
These days it’s a bustling 3 story structure packed with a wide range of goods ranging from these sacks of dried fish (good job they haven’t invented ‘smelly’ websites yet) …..
…..to more shoes.
Beautiful horse statue
Heading south again we entered the Bach Ma temple said to be the oldest temple in the city with much of the current structure dating back to the 18th century. Emperor Ly Thai To built the original temple in the 11th century to honour a white horse that guided him to the site where he decided to construct his city walls that became Hanoi. There’s a beautiful statue of the legendary white horse inside.
Bill admiring the tin boxes
On the way back to the hotel we walked down Hang Thiec (tin) where Bill found a shop selling tin boxes. Fortunately there was no way to get them back to the boat otherwise he would have bought some.
‘Now which one shall I cut?’
Having been built before electricity the whole area is covered with thick power lines (as are many of the streets in other Asian cities) this guy looks like he’s come to fix them. Don’t think I would want his job!
The Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum
Our second day in Hanoi was to be a museum day. We set off down Hang Gai (silk) and then walked up the grand Dien Bien Phu towards the Ho Chi Minh mausoleum complex. Ho Chi Minh had shunned the trappings of power during his life and had specifically requested that he be cremated and his ashes scattered in Northern, Central and Southern Vietnam symbolising the national unity he had devoted his life to. Unfortunately after his death in 1969 his final testament was altered and the great leader was embalmed and installed at the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleaum. Sadly for us Ho Chi Minh’s body had gone to Russia for it’s annual re-embalming and this photo was taken as close as we could get to the building. The grey structure, built of stone quarried from Marble mountain, was intended by the architects to represent a lotus flower; a bit of imagination needed there. We looked around the museum but it was a bit of an eclectic mix of memorabilia and photos from his youth without saying very much.
One Pillar Pagoda
In the grounds of the Mausoleum are Ho Chi Minh’s stilt house, where he is said to have lived in favour of the presidential palace (but it was closed), and the One Pillar Pagoda, which was being renovated but at least they were letting people in to take a photo of it. So we came away a bit disappointed.
Beautiful flower tray
Our next stop was the Temple of Literature, the oldest and possibly the finest architectural complex in Hanoi. It dates back to 1070 and was founded in honour of the Chinese philosopher Confucius. It consists of 5 courtyards each separated by walls and ornamental gateways. A central pathway through the middle divides it into two symmetrical halves. The guidebook says ‘it’s a spiritual retreat from the busy streets’. Again we were unlucky because the day we visited it was packed with students and their parents from the local university for their graduation ceremony. It was wonderful to see them all happy and pleased with themselves but their shouting and squeals of delight didn’t do much for the ambiance of Confucius.
This is Thien Quang Tinh or Well of Heavenly Clarity, which dominates the third courtyard. The buildings on either side house 82 stone stelae, the most prized relics of the temple. Managed to get a photo without too many students in it.
These beautiful young ladies are wearing ao dai, the traditional Vietnamese dress.
Bell tower to the west
These two magnificent towers were added either side of the fifth courtyard during a recent renovation. To the west is a splendid bell tower and to the east is an impressive giant drum. They have been built in symmetry, as is the tradition.
Drum tower to the east
Hexagonal flag tower
We moved on to the Military History Museum but because it was Friday it was closed! We weren’t having much luck. We sat and had a coffee outside so we get get a view of the iconic hexagonal flag tower, which was rebuilt in 1803. the view from the top is reported to be one of the best in the city but not for us.
Entrance to Hoa Lo prison
After lunch we walked to the Hoa Lo prison, which is now a museum and it was open – hooray. Built by the French in 1896 to hold around 450 prisoners but by the 1930s there were over 2000 detainees. It was also used to house downed US pilots during the war. Most of the original buildings have been demolished to make way for the Hanoi Central Tower buildings but enough of the old prison has been preserved to create the museum. There was a scary array of whips and other instruments of torture and the living conditions must have been horrendous. In contrast the section devoted to the American POW showed how well they were treated by the Vietnamese during their stay. Possibly propaganda but the photos showed unmarked well-fed Americans in contrast to the pictures of the ill-treated, under weight, Vietnamese at the hands of the French.
Bill posing with ‘the prisoners’
Costumes on display at Woman’s museum
The Vietnamese Woman’s museum was a bit further down the road so we had a wander around that. It was very well laid out with lots of informative slides. There was a section of the wartime contribution by individual heroic woman that was fascinating. Despite Bill’s initial resistance it turned out to be an interesting visit.
Flowers on a bike
On the walk back to the hotel I spotted this lady cycling down the street with a fairly big load!
Having had a mixed day we decided to visit the night market before going to see the famous water puppet show – big mistake. The market runs the length of Hang Duong and Hang Ngang; we were told the streets were shut until midnight. Firstly the streets were shut but the b*****y motorbikes were still weaving their way through the crowd so you had to constantly watch your backs, secondly there was no chance of looking at any of the goods because the stallholders pounced on you as soon as you stopped to look at anything. At the top end there were lots of street stalls selling food where we ordered noodle soup expecting a simple bowl of soup as we’ve had in the past. What we got was a stewpot sitting on a mini stove with an array of baskets containing veggies, various meats, fish and shellfish on a plate to add to the stock, and noodles. The lady kept coming back and adding more food despite our protests! It was lovely food but there was enough to feed half a dozen people and it cost the same as the three-course meal we had in the restaurant the night before. To top it all we missed the water puppets; I was not amused. We hadn’t fallen in love with Hanoi as many others had.
Ladies on the Suoi Yen river
Having had enough of the continuous traffic we decided to spend our third day in Hanoi out of the city and booked a tour to the Perfumed Pagoda. The complex actually consists of around 30 Buddhist shines but we only managed to see two of them. The day started with a bus ride to My Duc, a township on the Suoi Yen river where everyone was loaded into metal rowboats for the hour’s journey up the river. Traditionally women row these boats.
Shines along the waters edge
The lady who rowed us was tiny but she managed to row our group of 6 for the next hour and a half through wonderful scenery passing little shines along the way.
Beautiful scenery along the way
The scenery was magical as a dozen boats or so glided through the limestone cliffs; this is what we imagined Vietnam would be like.
Locals collecting bamboo
The bell pavilion at Thien Tru pagoda
At the end of the river the tour continued on foot for about half an hour until we arrived at Thien Tru Pagoda also known as the Heavenly Kitchen Pagoda. The 18th century shine rises through three levels on the mountainside. An elegant triple-roofed bell pavilion stands in front of the temple.
The altar at Thien Tru Pagoda
The main altar inside looked stunning against the backdrop of green forest behind it.
Flying over the jungle in a gondola
A bit further on everyone got into gondolas that whisk you the last couple of kilometres up across the jungle to Huong Tich Chu otherwise known as the Perfumed Pagoda.
Bill walking down the steps to the shrine
120 steps lead down into the deep cavern filled with incense smoke and gilded figurines of the Buddha and Quan Am, goddess of Mercy. It was an amazing place.
Guilded Quan Am statue
We opted to walk the 3kms back down to the river instead of taking the gondola. Sadly this was the view for the entire length of the walk. Most of the stalls were closed and covered up, such a shame the Vietnamese have spoilt an otherwise lovely walk.
Our lady rower
Once down by the river we were rowed back to the village and bused back to the city where we boarded the night train to Lao Cai, gateway to the hilltribes of north Vietnam.
The night train to Lao Cai
Vietnamese train
Lombok and the Gili’s with Thomas and Sonal
Minibus into town
Friday 12th September was an exciting day, our youngest son Thomas and his lovely girlfriend Sonal were arriving for an 8 day stay with us in Lombok and hopefully the Gili islands. We had a message from them that they had arrived safely in Singapore and were checked onto the Bali flight ok so it was time to leave the boat and head down to Mataram where I needed to do some shopping. Medana marina, where we are staying, is an oasis of calm and order next to a little local village bordered by a frantically busy and dusty main road. Step outside of the gate and you are transported into the chaos of half finished houses with many people living side by side in a friendly but very poor existence. Bill and I agreed we would wait 20 minutes for a local bus to stop for us, if they didn’t we would call for a taxi. We were in luck after 10 minutes waiting at the side of the road (bus stop would have been too grand a word) a local minibus on it’s way to the market stopped for us. I managed to find a seat among the ladies and their wares in various boxes and baskets while Bill got into the front seat (commonly known as the suicide seat as there aren’t any seatbelts). He spent the rest of the journey observing the road rushing past through a rusty hole in the floor, contemplating Karma and brakes while taking care not to lean on the door, which randomly unlatched itself. The journey took 2 hours over the mountain pass and cost us 60,000 rupes, about £3, for the pair of us, I love Indonesia.
Thomas paddles in the tropical water
First stop in Materam was a coffee shop in the mall for our first proper coffee since leaving Puteri harbour and the afternoon was spent in the Hero supermarket stocking up on fruit and treats that you can’t get in the outlying villages. The airport was another half hour from the city so we took a citycab out to it. There was a bit of a hiccup because we had a message from Thomas that they had arrived in Bali safely but the flight to Lombok was closed. Luckily there was a Garuda flight also coming to Lombok and they managed to get seats on that. Finally at 18.30 they came through the arrival gate looking very tired but happy to have arrived. By now it was dark but when we got back to Medana (taxi all the way) Thomas couldn’t resist putting his feet in the warm tropical water. They managed to stay awake long enough for a lovely meal in the restaurant before getting into the dinghy and Sonal’s first view of Camomile, the family home, even though it was in the dark.
Early morning view
The next morning Thomas put his head up through the hatch and said ‘Wow’ when he saw this view.
Tropical fruit for breakfast
I prepared a lovely breakfast for them of tropical fruits, yogurt, muesli and juice.
Medana bay resort
Thomas and Sonal relaxing
We wanted them to relax on their first day and have a chance to recover from the jet lag so we walked to a very nice resort behind the marina complex for a chill out day and lunch by the pool.
Sue and Sonal in the pool
Bill and Thomas catching up
The resort was deserted and we all had a wonderful day catching up on all the news and gossip.
As the next day was Sunday I cooked a Sunday breakfast of sausage, scrambled eggs and toast while everyone relaxed on board.
Thomas snorkelling
Later that morning we all got in the dinghy and took the snorkels and fins over to the beach. The water is so warm here and the beach gently shelves so it was ideal for some snorkel lessons.
Sonal snorkelling
Thomas and Sonal both did really well although the water was a bit murky so after about half an hour we got back in the dinghy and headed out to the reef where the water was clearer, for a better view of the coral and fish.
Fish swimming over coral
Thomas’s starfish selfie
Thomas took my waterproof camera and got some good shots of the coral and fish.
Local kids stickfighting
As we are here at the same time as Sail Indonesia the marina had a couple of events planned. The first of which was stick fighting. There appeared to be members of 2 villages present and it started with ‘fights’ among the boys first. We weren’t sure of the rules although the referee had a whistle, which was blown frequently to prevent anyone getting hurt.
The adults having a go.
When the adults started it became much more violent although it still seemed friendly. Several of the men finished with welts across their bodies. I’ll put a video on facebook of one of the fights. Not sure what the ‘elf & safety’ people would have said back home, let alone the NSPCC.
The early evening line up of the Blues band
After a delicious buffet supper of local foods the Blues band started playing. There were about a dozen musicians available and they took turns in playing and singing. Once the evening got going and everyone was enjoying dancing they brought on ‘Aretha Franklin’, a local lady who was a little on the large side but her voice was amazing, she sang along with a guy in a top hat who also played the guitar. If they lived in the western world they would make a fortune. The range of their voices was incredible. The band stopped playing at 11pm but not before we had all danced the night away in bare feet on the sand.
The local kids watched us all dancing.
Bill feeding the monkey
As Thomas and Sonal had arrived in the dark they didn’t get to see the monkeys on the mountain pass so on Monday morning we hired a local taxi to take us on a bit of a tour. We drove through some local villages then up over the mountain pass where there are lots of monkeys sitting beside the road.
Sonal feeding the monkeys
Sue feeding monkeys with beautiful view across the valley
Our driver had bought some bags of nuts from a street seller but warned us to get them out one at a time. The monkeys were delightful taking the nuts from us so carefully and gently.
They took the nuts so gently
Monkey drinking from the bottle
They are really clever. The driver gave the water to this monkey with the lid on but he carefully unscrewed it and drank from the bottle. There must be an advert there somewhere!
There were lots of mums and bubs
This one seemed to be enjoying himself!!
We spent about half an hour watching them play.
Workers in the field
The drive continued across the valley with rice padi fields but a lot of them are unplanted this time of the year because it’s the dry season. This group were working out in the hot sun. We stopped at a wood carvers where we bought a nice bowl, and a pearl shop where Thomas bought Sonal a beautiful pearl necklace.
Gili Trewangan on the left, Gili Meno in the middle, Gili Air on the right
The circuit took us to Senggigi where we stopped for lunch before driving back on the coast road with tantalising views of Gili Air.
Panoramic view of the marina frontage
We got back just in time to see the other Sail Indonesia event put on by Medana marina. The marina guys had spent the day erecting canopies for us to sit under. Once the dignitaries had arrived the festivities could begin. There were welcome speeches from government ministers and 2 cruisers from 2 boats responded thanking them for providing the event and saying how wonderful Indonesia is. We were all presented with hand made scarves then invited to watch a wonderful dance programme.
A local band
A local band playing traditional music supplied the accompaniment.
These two men danced and played these drums at the same time, very clever.
Drummer dancers
The fan dance
These stunning young ladies were performing the fan dance.
More beautiful dancers
These girls had a very interesting dance portraying cleaning the house. Videos on facebook again. After the show was over we were all invited to another Indonesian meal.
Thank you Medana marina.
Rice paddies
Tuesday was hopefully going to be one of the highlights of Thomas and Sonal’s visit. We had booked a car to take us all to the Rinjani national park. The journey took 2 hours passing through green rice paddies and climbing the steep road to Senaru, the start of the 3 day trek to the rim of the caldera. Sadly we didn’t have time to do the trek but we opted for the 4 hour village walk that takes in two waterfalls. Eddie and Nemo were to be our guides.
Traditional houses
First stop was a traditional village with houses made of bamboo. At first we thought it was just set up for tourists to look at but then we realised that there were people living in them. Many of the houses had fires burning with smoke just being allowed to drift out through the straw roof. We didn’t get to see inside but it must have been bad for their lungs.
Dear little chap
I found this beautiful little chap and couldn’t resist a cuddle before handing him back to his Mummy and sisters.
Local petrol station
Believe or not this is a petrol station. All of the bottles contain petrol for the numerous motorbikes in this area. Anyone got a light?!!
Lots of the houses had coffee beans drying outside; this lady is grinding the beans to fill the sack with coffee. Note the cockerel just strolling out of the house.
Lady grinding coffee beans
Wild pineapples
It was a wonderful walk and Eddie and Nemo were very informative about our surrounding. There were wild pineapples growing along the track and huge bushes of wild poinsettia’s that would only grow in a green house in the UK.
Wild poinsettia
Large vines
We couldn’t work out what these were but they looked like huge grape vines. Nemo said they make palm wine with them.
This lovely lady has been out in the bush gathering food for dinner, she very generously gave us some nuts from her gathering. Even with the pot on her head she’s still shorter than Sonal and I.
The people are very small
As we got higher and nearer to the waterfalls the area became more lush and green. The scenery was beautiful; very rustic.
Lovely scenery
Dutch irrigation system
The water has lots of uses
This canal irrigation system using mountain water from the volcano was designed by the Dutch, built by the people of Lombok to keep the paddy fields watered and is used by local people for bathing, washing their clothes and washing up.
We’d already walked several miles but everyone was still smiling.
Sonal with her selfie stick
Difficult to capture in one photo
The last section before the first waterfall was along the edge of a ridge with spectacular views across the valley.
Sweet monkey
We started seeing wildlife; this little monkey was watching us along with several friends.
Amazing waterfall
Finally we came to Air Terjun Sindang Gila, a spectacular waterfall. The foaming cascade exploded over the volcanic stone 40m above our heads. It’s impossible to get an impression of what it was like so I’ll post a video on facebook.
Picnic by the falls
We sat and ate our picnic, which the guides had brought along. This picture looks like the water is landing on the table but it’s actually about 30m away. The noise was deafening.
Crossing the river
The second waterfall was another hour or so uphill and it involved crossing the river. Fortunately it wasn’t flowing very fast.
Rare black monkey
We were up in the jungle now and lucky enough to see a black monkey in the distance. Our guides said they were rare. (It didn’t move, could it have been stuffed?)
Air Terjun Tiu Kelep waterfall
The pool at the bottom
We continued on, Thomas and Bill decided not to put their shoes back on so were barefoot for the last quarter mile, until we walked around a rock and Air Terjun Tiu Kelep appeared in front of us. So lucky to get this shot without any one in the water.
“Beats working”
“Do I look younger yet”
Rumour has it that if you swim in the water you will become a year younger each time. While the rest of us were trying to decide if we wanted to go in Bill was off across the rocks for his dip. Apparently it was freezing cold but bracing.
It was cold
Thomas and Sonal joined him but I stayed back with the camera although I might as well have gone in because I was soaked by the spray any way. We all agreed it was the most spectacular waterfall we had ever seen. Our guides were telling us that in the wet season it’s closed because someone died last year by getting trapped in a whirlpool that the cascade produces.
Stunning
Thomas took the camera into the pool for a closer view.
An amazing sight.
We entered the tunnel (we must have been mad!)
On the walk back the guides were telling us of a tunnel that’s a short cut through the hill. We thought they were joking until we arrived at it. After about a 5 minute discussion with everyone daring everyone to do it, we went ahead and took the short cut. The water was up to our knees but not flowing very fast but there were lots of spiders and bats in there. It had air holes at intervals that would have been escape hatches but a bit of a drop on the outside. Half way along Eddie, who was in front, warned us that the concrete was breaking up and be careful, we had to walk over a sort of criss cross mesh that normally holds the concrete but the concrete was gone, what was under it I shudder to think. We all felt really brave at the end, again ‘elf & safety’?????
Dinner with a view
After a total of 5 hours and about 8km we arrived back at the restaurant for an early dinner with a view across the valley one way and Gunung Rinjani the other, before our car took us back to Medana. We all slept well that night.
Gunung Rinjani
Bat fish
After our exertion the day before Wednesday was spent quietly. It started with Thomas and Sonal taking us for breakfast ashore in the restaurant as a late treat for Mothers day and Fathers day. We all had a lovely snorkel in the morning when we were lucky enough to see some bat fish among others. In the afternoon Thomas and Sonal had a look around the village outside the gate and had a peaceful walk along the beach. The wind had got up and Camomile was rolling a bit in the afternoon so they were happier ashore. We joined them in the evening for a delicious meal in the restaurant.
Gili Air
Thursday morning we dropped the buoy and headed around to Gili Air. The wind had dropped and it’s only an hour’s journey so at least Tom and Son could say they went to sea. The beaches looked very inviting on our approach. With 6 other yachts in the anchorage we didn’t think we would find a buoy but we were lucky to get the last one. Bill wanted to stay on board to check everything was ok with Camomile but dropped the 3 of us ashore in the dinghy to explore.
Tom and Son outside their little cottage
Thomas and Sonal had done really well and survived 6 nights on board but when they found that accommodation on the island was only £30 a night they couldn’t resist checking in. They found a lovely place with little cottages around a garden with verandas outside complete with hammock, a proper bathroom and air conditioning.
‘Bob Marley’
Gili Air is a great place to chill out with bars and restaurants all along the beach. This was our favourite bar man, we named him Bob Marley because there was reggae playing there all the time and he walked around with a joint in his mouth most of the time. Really friendly guy.
Best table on the beach
We had a meal at a table on the beach that evening. The boys had huge pizzas cooked in a proper wood burning oven and Sonal and I had massive kebabs from the BBQ served with jacket potato and salad. Mmmmm.
Sonal at sea
The next day, Friday, Thomas had arranged for us to all go on a snorkelling trip. The public boat was only £5 each for the day but a private trip for just the four us was only £30 which included a guide, so that’s what we decided upon. Tom and Son boarded the boat on the beach and then it came out to Camomile to pick Bill and I up, it saved having to drop the dinghy.
Conger eel well camouflaged
The first snorkel was off of Gili Meno turtle sanctuary and within 10 minutes of being in the water our guide had spotted a turtle rising to the surface. Tom and Son swam with it for a while and when it lifted his head out of the water to take a breathe, Sonal did too, she was really happy. (Forgot camera) On the second snorkel the guide spotted this conger eel poking out of the coral, it was very well camouflaged; he was looking for an octopus but didn’t find one.
Beautiful Gili Meno
Sonal didn’t want to join us for the next snorkel so the boat boy took us to the beach to drop her off and we went out for our third snorkel before we all went back onto Gili Meno for lunch. The island had beautiful white sand beaches, true paradise.
In the afternoon we had one more snorkel off of the reef that surrounds Gili Air. The water clarity was amazing. There were lots of fish. We dropped Bill back on Camomile then I returned to their room with them for a wonderful shower.
Lovely horse and carts
The only way around the island is horse and cart or walk. After our showers we decided to take a horse and cart for a trip around the island. It only took about an hour but it was a great way to see all around the island. On our last evening Sonal treated us all to a meal in Scallywags for our late birthday presents, it was delicious.
Waiting for the Bali ferry
All to quickly their time with us came to an end and on the Saturday morning they checked in with the ferry that was going to take them to Bali. The original plan had been to sail there but we thought it would be too much for Sonal on her first trip, maybe next time. We all sat on the seats on the beach waiting for the ferry to arrive.
Getting on the ferry
Tears were shed as they boarded the boat that was taking them onto the next part of their adventure, 4 nights in Bali and 3 nights in Singapore. We’ve all got 100s of photos so I hope you’ve enjoyed looking at my selection.
Their ferry passing Camomile
Goodbye Thomas and Sonal, see you in March. XX
PS Miss you.
Into Indonesia and Camomile on the Rocks
The journey continues.
From Tawau you have two choices
- Go back the way you came through pirate alley! A couple of boats did that and were offered another escort
- OR head south into Indonesia.
There’s an Indonesian consulate in Tawau so it’s possible to obtain a visa. To enter Indonesia you need a CAIT (Cruising Authority for Indonesian Territory), which needs to be applied for in advance. There are various places to obtain a CAIT. The Raja Ampat rally follows on from Sail Malaysia and the organisers were offering free CAITs, which many participants took up. As we weren’t going to Raja Ampat but heading south we paid $150 for ours, which is quite good value. I won’t include any more detail here but if anyone requires more information please email me.
Sunset over Tarakan
We arrived in Tarakan, Indonesia from Tawau, Malaysia on 19th August. We anchored at
03º17.05N
117º35.16E
It took all afternoon for the authorities to check in the rally, which now consisted of 13 boats. We had a beautiful sunset that evening.
Tarakan was very under whelming so once we had our numerous bits of paper giving us clearance to proceed into Indonesia the rally moved south on the 22nd August to the Derawan islands.
Camomile dressed overall
The rally anchored off of Tanjung Batu on 24th August at
02º16.2N
118º05.8E
They don’t see many yachts in this part of the world and there was great excitement when the rally arrived. The organisers asked if we could put some flags up so we dressed Camomile overall, being one of only two boats who had the correct signal flags; the other boat was also British. Some people put up an assortment of courtesy flags. Shame I didn’t get a better photo.
Steps down to the lake
The following day we were all picked up from our boats by a local passenger boat and taken on the 3 island tour. If you get the chance to do this I would recommend it. Unfortunately we arrived at Pulau Sangalaki, famous for it’s Manta rays and sea turtles, on a falling tide and the boatman said we couldn’t go in because we wouldn’t be able to get out until much later and there wasn’t time to do that. I have to say they should have known that before they took us down there but I think the boatman had told the guy in charge but he wanted him to try. We carried onto Pulau Kakaban and landed on the jetty and walked about 10 minutes to the centre. This photo shows us descending to the lake in the centre where we all got in the water and encountered these.
Non stinging jelly fish
Handling jelly fish
Normally if I see a jellyfish while swimming I’m straight out of the water but these creatures are non-stinging. Many thousands of years ago the island rose creating the lake, the jellyfish were stranded and without predators they have evolved as non-stinging. I believe the lake is one of only two places in the world that has these creatures; there were 4 different species. It was bizarre swimming among the hundreds of specimens surrounding us.
Bizarre
Bill getting out of the ferry
On our way to the third island our hosts handed out lunch boxes. Kind though it was the food wasn’t very nice and not many of us ate from it…. luckily. Maratua was a picturesque island with a striking beach. This is the boat we arrived in, Bill was happy to let some one else drive for a change! The water was an incredible azure blue inside the coral fringe.
Beautiful water
Wonderful gardens
We didn’t get the chance to swim in the inviting water but walked around the beautiful gardens on the island instead.
Scorpion fish
When we got back to the jetty I spotted this chap in the water. I think it’s a scorpion fish or lion fish but highly poisonous. It was quite happy swimming around the jetty supports and I was able to get really close to it in the shallows.
Fantastic hats
After a great day the ferry took us all back to the town where the locals had prepared a welcome ceremony for us presenting everyone with one of these beautifully handmade hats.
Dancing girls
Dancing by some young ladies in the most remarkable hand made costumes followed the presentation. Their dresses were embroidered with exquisite pearls and shells; it must have taken hours of work.
The detail on their dresses was exquisite
Happy Smiling Children
As always the children were wonderful. The day was finished off with a buffet meal. Unfortunately either the lunch boxes or the buffet meal had some thing lurking in them because half the rally went down with suspected salmonella poisoning over the following few days including Bill. It was difficult to narrow down but it was decided it was either the boiled eggs in the lunch box (which tasted revolting) or the calamari.
The following day was a sad one because the rally were leaving for the next destination but we, along with 3 other boats, were staying behind. Among the boats leaving were Steve and Julie on Samsara II and Peter and Pearl on Simply Sensational both of whom were heading back to Australia. Saying goodbye is the one part of cruising I like the least. Great to know you guys and maybe we’ll meet again one day.
Camomile aground
After saying our goodbyes we lifted the anchor to motor out to the anchorage by Pulau Derawan with Jackster, Calypso and Saol Elie, unfortunately Camomile found a rogue bommie only about a mile from the anchorage. Dinghies were launched and everyone tried to help us. A line was passed to Jackster, a 55’ Amel, who tried to pull us off while Steve took the topping lift to try and pull Camomile over but the tide was dropping and she wasn’t moving. Luckily we were still inside the reef so there wasn’t any swell running. After the initial rush to tow her off Bill said we needed to stop her falling over so yachtlegs were needed. They are stored underneath the saloon bunks and even though they’ve been used 3 or 4 times to dry out they haven’t been used in an emergency before. I just threw the cushions across the bunk so I could get the legs out.
The yachtleg on the starboard side
Bill fixed the starboard leg in place before we had leant over too far.
The reef was visible in front of us
The foot of the leg sitting on the piece of wood
Camomile was sitting right on the edge of the reef and the foot of the leg wouldn’t quite reach the bottom. Bill dived down to check. We put a call out ‘does any one happen to have a piece of 4×2 about a foot long’? Amazingly Saol Elie came back that they had some wood that size. I raced over in the dinghy to get it, it was just enough to get the foot on the bottom.
The topping lift going out to the reef is just visible
To relieve the pressure on the leg Bill tied a grapnel anchor to a line, which was tied to the topping lift and dropped it in the water the other side of the bommie, I winched it in and we were secure. There was nothing to do but wait.
Bill scrubbed the exposed hull
The others carried onto the anchorage while Camomile creaked as the tide fell. Bill got in the water and decided to make use of our predicament and scrubbed the hull!!
4 hours we waited, 2 down and 2 back up again. Eventually, with me in the dinghy pulling on the starboard aft side to protect the rudder as we came off and Bill on the helm, Camomile glided off the reef with nothing more than a few scratches in the anti-foul underneath her iron keel. Westerlys are made of strong stuff.
Nice clean hull
The waypoint of the bommie is
02º16.803N
118º06.291
If you are coming along behind us that position looks like it’s on the reef but the chart is out and the reef was several 100feet to our starboard but there were obviously a few bommies around the edge and the one time I wasn’t on deck spotting one jumped out and grabbed us!
Anchored safely off Derawan island
We joined the others at the anchorage before nightfall in time for a stiff drink. The food poisoning really took hold then and of the 8 of us in the anchorage, 5 became really ill and spent the next few days recovering. Bill didn’t eat for 2 days and Dave on Jackster was really ill too.
The anchorage waypoint is
02º17.24N
118º14.24E
Crossing the equator
On the 28th Camomile and Jackster left Derawan leaving the others to continue to recover. We really wanted to go to Maratua, the third island on our trip, and anchor inside the reef but as we approached the swell was up and the entrance looked untenable. Having kissed one reef we weren’t about to do it again in an open sea. Sadly it was goodbye to Jackster on the radio because they were heading across the top of Sulawesi to Raja Ampat and we were heading south to Lombok to meet up with our son. The wind was strengthening and we had a good 5-day sail. On the second day we crossed the equator again but we’ll only be in the southern hemisphere for 2 months.
The Sulawesi coastline
We headed towards the Sulawesi coast but decided not to land but to keep going. This was the closest we got and also the most easterly point of our journey this year.
Sunset at sea
On the fifth day we had a fantastic sail with the wind on the beam and a good current with us. Our 24 hour run was 162 miles which was very close to our record from the Pacific ocean. There was a lovely sunset that evening and we arrived at Medana bay, Lombok the following afternoon. We travelled 747 miles in 129 hours giving us an average speed of 5.7mph, a good average for us.
Camomile 