Category Archives: Coastal cruising
The Perhentian islands
Long beach taken from Bubu’s
We arrived at Pulau Perhentian Kechil or ‘small island’ on Sunday 2nd August. We anchored off of Long beach (anchorage 112 in the Sail Malaysia cruising guide) at
05˚55.1N
102˚43.4E
We were still on our own as Inspiration Lady and the others were still at Tioman. Long beach, as a holiday destination, is lovely. There’s Bubu’s at one end and the World café at the other end and lots of small resorts and dive shops in between. I was happy because we discovered that not only did the world café have a proper coffee machine (practically unheard of in the islands) but it was being run by a lovely Italian couple Ranieri and Mathilda who made the most amazing Cappuccinos. Bill managed to impress them with a bit of Italian just about remembered.
Looking at Camomile through the beach umbrellas
Long beach is a beautiful sandy beach but the bad thing is that the tourist boats and water taxis are allowed to go where they like at any speed they like making swimming off the boat very dangerous. Added to that as the sun went down about 3 different techno machines started up sending out a cacophony of noise which continued until 3am! That wasn’t so bad, we couldn’t hear it downstairs so well but around midnight fireworks starting going off ……
Camomile on her own
The next morning we left to anchor at the other island Pulau Perhentian Besar ‘big island’ at anchorage 109
05˚54.1N
102˚44.1E
We had the private Perhentian Island resort (PIR) (would be my recommendation if anyone wanted to holiday here) in front of us that has a protected sandy beach and Coral View Island resort next to it. This photo was taken from Coral View as we ate a delicious lunch there.
One of the things we wanted to achieve here was a PADI dive course for Bill. We have recently bought a good second hand diving set and I wanted Bill to take a proper course. Beyond the Coral view was a row of eateries and dive shops, although not as many as Long beach. All the dive shops were the same price but in the end we decided the Turtle Bay divers back on the small island seemed to be a bit more switched on. So we took Camomile back to anchorage 112 and Bill signed up for the 4 day open water course at MYR980 (about £170). Fortunately the fireworks had been a one off and we got used to the music.
Bill off to school
Wednesday 5th Bill went back to school. Note his little homework bag with his reference book in it, I also gave him an apple for break time!
The first day was mostly theory but in the afternoon they started on the skills required to pass the course. None of the resorts have pools here but there’s an area alongside the rocks on the edge of the bay that gently shelves allowing you to gradually get deeper, ideal for learning to dive, and it’s cordoned off.
Bill in his dive kit
Going…..
Bill had been teamed with a guy called John plus there were 2 Korean girls in his class and the four of them gradually submerged with Aswan their excellent diving instructor.
…going..
…gone but you can still see which one is Bill!
I watched from the dinghy on the other side of the line. Bill seemed to be doing very well.
I was glad I hadn’t joined him because the course is much more advanced now than when we last attempted it in the Red sea many years ago. Not only did he have to work up gradually to taking his mask off (a complete no no as far as I’m concerned) and put it back on underwater, he had to swim without it, swop regulators, share his spare regulator with John and vice versa as well as other skills.
Lots of kittens
Meanwhile I went and played with the pussy cats, literally. The dive school has adopted a mummy cat and her kittens, 5 of them. This one is my favourite they have named her Seabelle and she was mine for the taking. I enjoyed playing with her every day and would have loved to keep her but all things considered we decided it would be best if we didn’t.
This is Seabelle
Bill off diving
The next day after spending the morning doing more theory, there are 5 sections to work through, and skills in the cordoned off area we had lunch together. In the afternoon Bill was going on his first proper dive, he looks quite happy going off…..
back again
….. and even happier coming back after a successful dive where he learnt how to regulate his buoyancy, practised rescuing a tired diver, clamp removal and more mask removal. They had seen large parrot fish, angel fish and barracudas.
On the third morning he took the ‘quiz’ and passed so that was the theory over. In the afternoon they went diving at shark point and I was going to go with them for a snorkel but the weather closed in and the sea became a bit rough so I stayed behind. Bill said they didn’t see any sharks but saw a green sea turtle among other things, and got down to 16m but the visibility wasn’t very good with the bad weather. John’s wife Angela, who already had her PADI, went with them.
Bill with John and Angela
Their 4th and final dive was the 18m dive and included working with dive computers which went well. Back at the dive centre Aswan congratulated them all on passing and signed off their log books. Bill enjoyed the course and feels more confident to use the kit to clean the bottom of the boat but also he will be able to join our fellow cruisers on a dive now; I’ll stick to snorkelling or better still when he goes for a dive I’ll book into the local spa!
They all passed
Storm clouds gathering
We had lunch with John and Angela but later that afternoon the storm clouds gathered and we had a big storm. Luckily they aren’t too bad in this area. Our friends further south and on the west coast have been having some awful ones.
Stunning coral bay
Sunday 9th we went ashore for Sunday breakfast, a treat we often spoil ourselves with, followed by a delicious cappuccino at the World café; it was getting difficult to leave. There’s a short walk over the hill to Coral bay so decided to do that to walk our breakfast off. The bay was stunning and the water looked inviting but no good for anchoring as it’s on the west side and the evening storms would put us on a lee shore over that coral.
Amazing views
The next day we came ashore prepared for a longer walk and after walking through to Coral bay again continued on the 1½ hour walk around the south west of the island. The views were amazing peeping through the trees tantalisingly as we headed south. The islands in the distance are Pulau Rawa, Pulau Susudara and Pulau Serenggeh we have been considering visiting them.
Watching the monitor lizard
As we walked up some steps this monitor lizard was having a good hunt around, not sure what he was looking for but once he saw us he scuttled off. Must have been a good metre long.
A village road
Eventually we arrived at the village on the southern side of the island. This is a ‘main’ road. The houses are built on stilts to allow the air to circulate under them to keep it cool. They also store things under them and, if they are high enough, washing is hung out to dry. The houses are very simply built out of wood. This lady was cutting up the catch of the day. There were lots of hibiscus flowers growing around the village.
A village woman cleaning the days catch
Unbelievable!
We sat at one of the little eateries on the sea front and watched these guys building a new construction next door. No hard hats, safety boats, high vis jackets or safety harnesses but they were getting the job done although everything was being done by hand. It was going to take them some time to build this structure especially at the speed they were working but it was very hot too.
A very ornate mosque
It isn’t possible to walk any further so after lunch we hired a water taxi to take us back to the anchorage passing their beautiful mosque on the way. Once back we decided we had ‘done’ the small island and moved Camomile to the other island to anchorage 109 by the Coral View resort. It was a relief to get away from the steady stream of water taxis by day and the music by night.
Turtle hunters
The problem with anchorage 109 is its name – Turtle bay. There are many turtles here and consequently it’s on all 3 ‘tours’; big island, small island and Rawa island. So many times during the day we had this, dozens of boats looking for the ubiquitous turtles. Once the ‘spotter’ has seen one their customers are disgorged into the water, many with buoyancy jackets on, in hot pursuit of the poor thing. They don’t hurt them but the turtles must get a bit ticked off at being followed every day. At one point we had the occupants of 14 boats in the water around us all trying to glimpse a turtle.
‘It’s this way’
Wednesday 12th was another walking day. Behind the PIR is another jungle trek (ask one of the staff where it starts) which we set off on. Our instructions were just keep walking south but the path divided so out came Bill’s compass that his sister Kate had given him and we found the right track.
Another stunning bay
It was a steep climb
After about an hour of walking the path came out onto another beautiful beach lined with small resorts. We had been told it was good for snorkeling but the visibility wasn’t very good so we walked west along the beach and re-joined the path to take us back over the hill. It’s difficult to see the gradient but it was quite steep and reminded us of the Cameron highlands but luckily not as far.
Half way up
Fish cove
The path brought us out to this beach, it was called fish cove. The boulders that surrounded the beach on the southern side were huge. The water was a lot clearer so we went in for our snorkel.
Bill free diving around the rocks
The area around the rocks was astounding. There were also a lot of rocks under the water creating amazing shapes and surfaces for coral to grow on as well as a wall that went down out of sight – would have made a good dive.
Beautiful coral
Coral on the wall
Lunch with a view
The beach continued north back towards the boat. We sat and had lunch with this view.
Rawa just coming into view
Tuesday 18th we finally left the anchorage having been there a week and took Camomile 5 miles out to anchorage 113 off of Rawa island at
05˚57.65N
102˚40.84E this was as far north as we intended to go on this coast.
Magnificent coral under the water around the headland in front of us
Camomile nestled in the rocks
Simply extraordinary snorkelling off the northern headland, probably the best in this area with lots of fish. Lovely spot but no shelter from the overnight breeze so took Camomile back to small island for one night then left the next morning to start heading south.
Rawa island
We made it to Terengganu.
Starbucks in the Puteri mall with the water sculpture in front of it
We stayed in Puteri Harbour marina for 2 weeks. Bill and I went to the dentist. We both had xrays. I had a 2 fillings, one big one small, and Bill had a much bigger job culminating in a crown being fitted after 10 days. All for the princely sum of MYR1190 (£205), bargain. The torn sail was taken off, measured, photographed and folded up, while the spare one was hoisted. It’s not as good quality but will do for the next few months while we get a new one ordered. Shopping was brought in, markets explored, jobs completed from the jobs list (it never seems to go down), washing of us, the boat and clothes. Most days being fueled by my favourite cappuccinos from Starbucks and the odd meal at one of the many restaurants at Puteri.
Exploring Singapore
Monday 29th June we took the bus over the 2nd link bridge to Singapore for a few days; a mini break. We had lunch at raffles marina while checking out their Chandler store in the afternoon. Had a wonderful walk around the old colonial area although it’s been dwarfed by the huge skyscrapers everywhere.
Panoramic view of Singapore
A nice meal down by the harbour
Enjoyed a delicious meal down by the old boat quay with a view of the amazing Marina Bay Sands hotel before heading off on the MRT to the night zoo. Good evening but not sure it’s as good as it’s rated.
A new gadget
The next morning after coffee in Chinatown it was back to Bugis and Simlin tower, Bill’s favourite place, to buy a new gadget for the boat. It’s a media player and new hard drive so we can play all the films and TV series people have given us on various formats stored on different computers, hard drives and old fashioned DVDs. Now they can all be kept in one place and played on our new TV.
Cargo ship carrying turbine blades
We went back to the boat for another round of shopping, sewing and preparing for our summer on the East coast of Malaysia before finally leaving at 06.30 on 5th July with Inspiration Lady following. First we had to sail or motor around Singapore on the edge of one of the busiest shipping lanes in the world. There were many cargo ships carrying containers but this one was loaded with blades for wind turbines. From the writing on the bow we assumed it had come from China but no idea where it was heading.
An enormous oil drilling platform
Having left Puteri 2 hours BEFORE low water and taking the last of the ebb down the Johor Straits, the tide turned in our favour at the entrance and was with us all the way around Singapore as we headed east back into Malaysian waters on the other side of Singapore. The sails were out, the engine was off and the tide was still with us so we were reluctant to stop and carried on passed this huge drilling platform onto to the far eastern corner of Malaysia. As we started heading up the east coast the wind turned into an easterly bringing with it a nasty swell. As it was getting dark both yachts stopped in the first bay but it was obvious we wouldn’t be able to stay. Poor Camomile and Inspiration Lady were pitching and rolling badly. The plan was to stop and try and rest for a few hours before continuing otherwise we would arrive at the first island in the dark. This meant poor Bill was doing a night sail for his birthday but he said he didn’t mind. Having left at midnight the anchor went down on the northern coast of Pulau Sibu at 10.00.
Caroline, Bill, Bill, Jackie and Gary
Anchored at
02˚14.0N
104˚03.5 E
Bill’s birthday celebrations could begin. The first thing I did was jump in the water, my first swim in the sea this summer. Hard to believe I know but the west coast is quite murky and I don’t swim unless I can see the bottom. Later Gary and Jackie of Inspiration Lady and Bill and Caroline of Juffa joined us in the evening for a pot luck supper and a game of cards. A great evening was enjoyed by all.
Camomile at anchor
Wednesday 8th July we continued north past the point we had reached last year with my sister Angela on board and onto the north coast of Pulau Sri Buat anchoring at
02˚41.86N
103˚53.89E
An absolutely idyllic spot. We jumped in the dinghy and headed to the beach but I couldn’t resist photographing a beautiful shiny Camomile on the way.
An uninhabited beach
The island was uninhabited so we had this wonderful beach to ourselves. It was great to relax in the warm waters after all the hard work that’s been necessary to get Camomile looking as beautiful as she does during the first half of the year. It felt like summer had started.
Storm clouds approaching
The beach before the rain
But in true British summer fashion we suddenly noticed storm clouds approaching and just got back to the boat before the rain started and this stunning view ….
The rain lashed down
….. turned into this as the rain lashed down. That was the end of summer for the day.
Snorkeling in the beautiful water
The following day the sun was out and we explored the bay in the dinghy. There was another lovely beach behind the big rock and I enjoyed an interesting snorkel there. You can just see Camomile peaking around the edge of the rock on the left of the picture. There was some lovely coral further out.
Me, Jackie, Janice, Mick, Bill and Gary
Left the beautiful anchorage on Friday 10th to motor the 15 miles to Tioman island. Fortunately there were 2 spaces in the marina so Camomile and Inspiration Lady went in. Juffa was already there. Jackie and I hit ‘the shops’ in the afternoon while Bill tried to organise some power so we could have the air conditioning on for a few days. Tioman is a quaint island and like stepping back in time but Jackie and I managed to find a few supplies to booster our larder. It’s also duty free which meant cheap wine – yessss. Mick and Janice anchored Zoa off one evening and we joined them and Inspiration Lady for a meal ashore.
Another evening we joined Bill and Caroline on Juffa for drinks and during our conversation discovered they were both teachers from Durrington High school, had 2 boys the same age as ours and lived in the next village to us in Angmering while we were there. What a small world we live in!
The chartplotter looked like space invaders
Tuesday 14th Camomile and Juffa left Inspiration Lady in Tioman marina. Juffa headed south as they had to go back to Johor but we continued north on our own. Our plan for the summer was head north quickly and then come back slowly. Finally we had good winds and sailed all the way to Pekan passing these anchored boats on our way, and anchored just after 6pm behind the breakwater at
03˚32.1N
103˚28.1E
It was ok for overnight but quite rolly. The next day we left at 8am, the sails were out straight away and we sailed all the way to the Chukai river.
Inside the Cukai river
The wind had gone round to the south east which was great for sailing but not for entering the river. By the time we reached the bar at the entrance there was a dangerous swell of a metre running. Bill skilfully helmed Camomile through the entrance with 1.5metres under our keel for a minute or two. I sat very quietly watching – doesn’t happen very often – with my heart in my mouth but once inside the swell dropped and the depth gauge increased. Reminded us of the bars across the Australian harbour entrances. Once inside we continued up the river for about a mile and anchored opposite the town.
The next day was the last day of Ramadan and the following day was Hari Raya, a major Muslim holiday. It felt like Christmas eve in the town and the market was very busy with people stocking up for the festivities. As we walked around I saw some live chickens having their throats cut and handed to eager buyers, and a dead cow being unloaded from the back of a truck complete with blood, guts and all – we didn’t stay long and I don’t have any photos of it. Fortunately we managed to find a regular supermarket further in the town. In the evening there were lots of people celebrating with fireworks going off most of the night.
Motoring back out of the river
The next morning Friday 17th all was quiet as we chugged back down the river through a much calmer entrance. There was no wind so we motored all the way to Tenggol. What was really strange was there wasn’t one single fishing boat out, we have never seen that before.
Pulau Tenggol was another 40 miles further north with a deep anchorage of 30 metres! Far too deep for us plus the sea bed was reported to be broken coral and wrecks, deadly for an anchor. Fortunately the local dive shop has tied three buoys to some purposely sunken wrecks quite close to the beach but not too close to the reef. So we picked one up at
04˚48.44N (getting further north)
103˚40.57E
There was another British boat there called Sa Vahn with Fiona and Clare on board with their own dive kit who had dived on the wrecks to check out the lines and all seemed good. The beach looked very inviting so we swam in for a walk. Unknown to us was the fact that the beach is full of sand flies and I came back with my legs covered in bites, they were as bad as the ones we got on South Island in NZ.
Wonderful white sand
Sunday 19th left Tenggol at 9am and sailed all the way to Pulau Kappas dropping the anchor at 4pm at
05˚13.5N
103˚15.6E in 6 metre on sand.
For all you guys following us Kappas is beautiful; a true paradise island. Teal blue sea, verdant green backdrop, white sand and wonderful coral.
There are a series of beaches on the west side linked by stairways so you can walk between them (either my camera or computer ate the photos I took!) Great for lunch trips with a bit of exercise on the way back to walk off chocolate monkey pancakes which are pancakes with caramelised bananas covered in chocolate sauce – nommm nommm!
Amazing rock formations
Approaching the cave
The island is quite small so we were able to take the dinghy around it. The rock formations are magnificent.
100s of bats on the ceiling
On the east side I spotted a cave and on closer examination from the entrance discovered it was full of bats. Not sure if you can see from this photo but the top of the cave was covered in them; very noisy and very smelly.
Amazing coral
We stayed there until Friday 24th July relaxing, reading, a little writing and snorkelling every day. Such a delightful anchorage. It would have been nice to stay longer but we needed to get to Terengganu to check out the marina to make sure it’s suitable to leave Camomile there later in the summer. So I’ll just post some of the many snorkeling photos I took at Kapas for you to enjoy.
Stunning green coral
Many colourful clams
I love the shapes in this hard coral
and many fish
Panang to Pangkor
Old Panang
We had stopped at Panang to visit the Wellness clinic at the private Loh Guan Lye hospital. There wasn’t any particular reason but as we are unable to visit the doctors in the UK it’s nice to be able to have a check up. The last ones we had were in Sydney. We’ve stopped in Panang several times on our way up and down the coast so we weren’t going into the old town but this is a previous photo.
Monday 8th June after leaving Camomile at anchor and taking the dinghy into the marina, we jumped into a taxi and headed down to the hospital to make an appointment. The receptionist was very helpful and produced leaflets for various options. We decided to go for the Executive Health screening package at MYR700 (£127) each adding on a mammogram for me and a few bits for Bill and full cancer marker tests for both of us bringing the total to MYR2066 (£375) and were offered appointments the following day – what service!
That evening a big storm crossed our path with simultaneous thunder and lightening right overhead. Oh no here we go again! Bill put all the computers in the Faraday cage that he’s made while I sat cowering; after last years strike I don’t like lightening any more.
Camomile in Straitsquay marina
The next morning, after fasting over night, we returned to the Loh Guan Lye and spent the morning having full blood tests, ECGs, chest x-rays, my mammogram, and ultrasounds of our upper abdomens. The staff couldn’t have been nicer, we were escorted to various departments of the hospital for the different procedures. The hospital was spotlessly clean and very busy considering there are 3 private hospitals in Panang. After lunch we were given appointments with one of the doctors who was also a cardiologist and had trained in the UK. All our results were back and neatly printed in a folder together with a dvd with our various xrays and tests we’d had. Amazing. I’m happy to say I was given a clean bill of health and so was Bill although the doctor advised him to wear a portable ECG machine for 24 hours to monitor the heart palpitations he’s been getting for the last few months.
Upon returning to the marina a berth had become free and we took Camomile into the marina for 3 nights. The first night we were joined by Chris and Lyn of Out of the Blue II. It was lovely to catch up with each others news. We had a nice meal together but the following day they left to head north.
Right in front of Starbucks
Our berth was perfect for me – right in front of Starbucks! The next morning we went in for coffees and Bill had a double espresso because, typically, he hadn’t had any palpitations since having the monitor fitted. Sure enough the caffeine started them off and the monitor recorded them. We went back to the hospital in the afternoon to have the monitor removed and the reading assessed. The doctor felt they weren’t any thing to worry about thank fully and just gave Bill some advice on dealing with them.
The Gurney Plaza
There was a big mall down the road from the hospital so we went for a wander. It was huge with 8 stories in some sections. It would have taken all day to see it all but I found an M&S in there selling my favourite Percy Pigs!!! How lucky was that? Bill was looking at watches and decided it would have to be a Rolex! Maybe one of sons might treat him one day!!
‘I want that one’
The apartment block behind the marina
Our third day in the marina was spent doing jobs such as laundry, shopping (Tesco was within walking distance) and cleaning the boat. I was just scrubbing the decks when I heard a familiar voice calling me over the fence. It was Stefan and Silva of Meditteraneo. It turned out they had rented an apartment in the marina complex. So another evening was spent catching up with news. Fortunately they knew of a really good Indian a short taxi ride away in the old quarter that had an authentic Tandoori oven. We enjoyed a delicious meal for 4 for MYR100 about £20 or £10 a couple, really good value.
Storm clouds approaching
Friday 12th we left Straitsquay on the high tide. We had had our 3 nights and needed to get going again. Tricky, Jane and little Millie on Ananda had left the day before and Bill and Caroline on Juffa, who were anchored outside the marina, were leaving at the same time as us. As we motored past this cruise liner in the cruise terminal the clouds were bubbling up behind it. Within an hour they were overhead and lashing us with rain. The visibility was down to less than 100 meters. Following Juffa towards the Panang bridge they called on the vhf to warn us there were fishing lines in the water. They were trying to weave in between them and we followed. I could see the floats in front of us but the two ends disappeared off into the distance. Bill took the decision to go over them. So with bated breath and the engine out of gear we floated over them. Luckily they didn’t follow us so we obviously hadn’t hooked it.
Strange objects floating by
Within an hour or so the storm clouds past over us and the sky cleared. Panang island is only about 15 miles long but has 2 bridge crossings from the mainland. We passed under both of them but decided to stop for the night. If we carried on it would almost certainly mean a night sail and with the storms in this area that wasn’t an inviting prospect. There’s a saying ‘It’s better to be in an anchorage wishing you were at sea than at sea wishing you were in an anchorage’. We went back into the Jerejak anchorage for the night with a plan to leave at first light. Juffa stopped a bit further down too. The high tides at the present are dragging a lot of rubbish into the water. This strange object floated past us in the evening. I think it’s part of a tree.
The fishing villages of Pangkor island
Saturday 13th was a long day. We left at 7.00 and arrived at Pangkor island just before 8pm, apart from an hours sail in the morning we had motored all the way. We’d lost sight of Juffa during the day but our friends Terry and Alison on Panir from Rebak came up behind us and called on the vhf for a chat. Panir and Camomile anchored just north of Pangkor island at 04˚15.5N 100˚33.5E. As the south west monsoon season is upon us this should have been a good anchorage but on this one night only the wind decided to swing round to the north and blow into a storm. Bill was up half the night checking the anchor and Camomile was tossing in the waves but fortunately the anchor held firm. Winds of 30kts+ were blowing across the decks. By 3am Bill decided we couldn’t stay there so we got ready to move the boat, which wasn’t going to be easy. Just at that moment the heavens opened and the visibility was almost zero so we decided to wait until it stopped raining. I went back to bed and luckily the wind started to die down. Within an hour Bill came back to bed and said we would wait until first light to move. In the morning the storm clouds had gone and the skies cleared. We motored the short distance round the island to Pankor marina where our good friends Gary and Jackie on Inspiration Lady had been waiting for us. Our little group was growing.
Langkawi to Puteri – Getting away from Langkawi
Camomile ready to go
Monday 1st June we were ready to leave – just. We folded up the cockpit cover. Bill put the last of his tools away and put his little work bench on the giveway table, it had served its purpose.
Goodbye Hard dock Cafe
We went over to the office to pay our final bill and say our goodbyes to the office staff and have one last look at the Hard dock café. Quite a lot of the boats are unoccupied now as a lot of cruisers have headed home to avoid the southwest monsoon or headed south already. We needed to catch them up.
Photo call on the aft deck before we left
There were a few goodbyes left to say before our photo was taken on the aft deck and we left at 1pm.
Byebye Rebak marina.
Bill relaxing
Bill enjoying the view from the new dolphin seat he made. It felt good to be out in the beautiful blue sea again. The first part of our journey only took an hour as we headed to Tulaga on mainland Langkawi for fuel.
Camomile on the fuel pontoon
Our jerry cans were all empty and the main tank took 100 litres as well. It was quite nerve-racking coming alongside for the first time because of our beautifully painted topsides.
Bill’s well earned cigar
Within an hour we were off again on the 3½ hour journey to the main town of Kuah. Bill wanted to raise our beautiful new sail to check it out. Good job we did because as it has deeper reefs than the old one the reefing lines weren’t long enough. Big problem, new reefing lines were needed, more expense! Eventually the sail went up without the reefing lines attached and Bill could sit back on his superb seat under our lovely new bimini cover and enjoy his Christmas cigar that he had been saving for the occasion.
Stunning sunset
We arrived at Kuah at 18.30 in time for the most stunning sunset. This is what we’ve missed. We sat on the deck with our sundowners.
The next morning Phil from Lyttleton Sails came on board to look at our sail and confirmed that we needed new reefing lines. Fortunately he was able to give us some tips on where to get them from. After managing to land the bikes ashore Bill and I cycled up to Chin Ho trading to look at rope and do some supermarket shopping. The gears on my bike weren’t working properly and Bills tyres kept going down so we took them to the bike man again but this time he was unable to fix them. They’ll have to go back in their bags until someone comes out from the UK who can carry some bike parts for us. Any volunteers?
Storm clouds building
That evening wasn’t as good as the first one and in fact as we got back to the boat storm clouds were brewing. We started to lift the dinghy onto the davits before the clouds burst but one of the wires broke – another problem; would we ever get away from here?
Wednesday 3rd I gave Chris and Keith ex of Poco Andante a call in their apartment in Kuah and luckily they came to our rescue driving us around for the day so Bill could buy his rope. We all had lunch together before they took us to a duty free shop they knew to top up our alcohol stores. That evening we joined them again along with many other cruisers including Lorraine and Graham of Lorrigray for the cruisers mid week get together. All enjoyed a wonderful evening. (Forgot my camera.)
View of the ferry port from the park.
Thursday 4th I walked through the park to the ferry port to check us out of Langkawi and get our port clearance for Puteri 400 miles south. There just happens to be a Starbucks there so I finally got my cappuccino I had been looking forward to. The giant eagle is a symbol of Langkawi, there are many eagles in the area. After lunch and a final wine shop we headed back to Camomile.
Cheers!
Bill spent all of the morning of the 5th June trying to replace the davit wire. It proved to be quite difficult but he managed it in the end. The anchor came up just after 1pm and finally it was goodbye to Kuah until the end of the year. We didn’t go far and anchored at Pulau Besar just 2 hours away. Sundowners on the deck again.
Beautiful Pulau Besar
Bill wanted to get the new reefing lines in before we headed south so Saturday 6th he spent quite a bit of the day rerunning them in and out of the boom while I sat writing. Once he’d finished we raised the sail to check all was ok and thankfully, with a few minor adjustments, everything was fine.
Stunning limestone islands
Sunday 7th we finally left Langkawi. I was beginning to think we wouldn’t ever get away. Camomile motored through this gap and headed south for 60 miles. After all the playing with the main before we left there wasn’t any wind and we only managed to sail one hour of the 12 hour passage.
A storm on the horizon
As we are now in the south west monsoon season there are a lot of storms around. We watched this one approach with trepidation. It’s also possible to see them on the radar and we were able to skirt round some of it but it still hit us with torrential rain and strong winds.
Fishing traps
There were also a lot of these guys dotted along our path. No they aren’t pirates just fishermen but they set these fish traps. Not sure how they work but we always steer well clear of them. They are everywhere.
More fishing traps
Just sticking out of the water
Most of them have a fishing boat next to them but some don’t and as they aren’t lit travelling in these waters at night is very dangerous.
Finally we reached Panang just as the sun was going down. We planned to stay there a few days.
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.
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.
The Turtle islands
The beach on Siligan island
Thursday 10th July we left Pulau Lankayan and headed south to the Turtle islands marine park. After arriving in the afternoon a squall blew up preventing us from going ashore but the following morning we headed for the beach. The white sand squeaked under our feet as we walked around the waters edge.
There were turtle tracks going up into the sand dunes all around the island where the female turtles haul their huge bodies ashore to lay their eggs. Once the eggs are laid she crawls back down the beach into the ocean leaving her eggs to fend for themselves.
The hatchery
It was forbidden to walk among the nesting sites although there aren’t any eggs there because the morning after they’ve been laid the staff from the conservation centre dig them up and remove them to the hatchery where they have a better chance of survival.
A monitor lizard prowling around the island
Turtle eggs are delicacies to monitor lizards, like this big chap we saw walking around the island, and to the Chinese who buy them on the black market.
Beautiful clams under the water
We spent a few days relaxing there as the rest of the boats arrived. We found a bit of nice coral but it wasn’t a patch on Pulau Lankayan.
Clown fish (Nemo) hiding in the sea anemones
We tried anchoring off of one of the other islands for a change of scenery but the area has very deep water and the anchoring was challenging so we went back to the main island and spent a few days doing boat jobs and writing.
The boats at anchor
Dinghies arriving on the beach for the meeting
Monday 14th Sazli the rally organiser arrived and we were all invited to a meeting on shore. We spent an interesting afternoon learning all about the turtles and the conservation carried out at the resort on the island. It was also arranged that one of the resort boats would come and get us all after dark to watch a turtle laying her eggs and to release some baby turtles.
Storm brewing.
As usual the weather didn’t behave, can you see the storm clouds gathering?
Poor Camomile
We managed to get back to the boat before the storm broke and raised the dinghy. Very soon the rain started, how it rained and rained and rained. At the same time the wind picked up to 30 then 40kts. The first boat to start dragging was Sailabout but there was nothing we could do but look on as they fought to get the anchor on board and re-anchor. The boats were all bucking like broncos and the rain continued to lash down. We were watching Calypso behind us and Labarge in front of us and they stayed the same distance from us. We thought that Out of the Blue II were motoring forward. I called Lyn on the radio to ask if they were motoring forward but she replied they were still anchored that meant only one thing – Calypso, Labarque and we were all dragging our anchors towards the island.
Camomile disappearing behind the waves
Bill had already managed to get the snubber off earlier so I crawled to the bow to guide Bill with hand signals as we raised our anchor. After about 10minutes of screaming into the wind and gesticulating frantically the anchor lifted clear of the water but not without a massive thump on the bow as it swung clear of the water. We motored to the other side of the bay, where there was a bit more shelter from the strong current that was pulling us towards the island, and re-anchored. Needless to say the trip ashore was cancelled and I didn’t get to see the turtles laying their eggs or release the baby turtles.
Chris on Out of the Blue II managed to take these photos of Camomile as she was bucking in the storm.
Joining the Rally in Kudat
Leaving the Rig support vessels behind
At the beginning of the journey to Kudat a gentle breeze in filled our sails and gave us 2.2kts of speed, hmmmm this was going to take a while. We realised that the island was shielding us from the wind and, despite hoisting the cruising chute, we’d have to motor. We soon left the rig support vessels behind us in the distance. If you look in the foreground of this photo you can see the tips of part of a tree sticking up in the water. That’s the sort of thing we have to look for on this coast, the tropical equivalent to icebergs.
Mount Kinabalu shrouded in cloud
We had decided to do one more night sail mainly to catch up with the rally but also, with the swell that was running, any anchorage on this side of the peninsular would have been untenable. By 15.00, when the sea breezes set in, the mainsail and the cruising chute were back up and the engine was off; we were sailing again. By 18.00 the wind had got stronger and the cruising chute was replaced by the genny and the sea was getting rougher. By 23.00 the wind died completely and the engine was back on. I went to bed at 2am, although sleep was impossible in the swell that was hitting Camomile from the west. Bill came up on watch just in time for the squalls to start; poor Bill got soaked. The wind was up and down during the night, as the squalls crossed our path. At 6am I came back on watch and we were sailing although it was like a washing machine down below and I hadn’t slept much. Bill went down to try to sleep but by 10.00 he was back on deck as we started having 30/35kt squalls. This is Mount Kinabalu, I had hoped to see it in all its glory but it was shrouded in cloud for our journey. Unfortunately we had the tide against us giving us wind against tide and we were only achieving a boat speed of 4kts.
Approaching the northern tip of Borneo
At 2pm we rounded the tip of Borneo, this is the most northerly part of mainland Malaysia.
Much calmer on the eastern side
Thankfully the swell disappeared as we started heading south on the other side of the peninsular. I was hoping we would arrive in time for the trip the rally were running to a Longhouse further inland that was leaving at 4pm, the GPS was giving us an arrival time of 16.01! As we approached I called our friends on the boat Jackster and asked them if the coach would wait for me, although Bill wouldn’t be able to leave Camomile if we had only just anchored. As we arrived at the anchorage and dropped the anchor it was indeed 16.01, how clever is that? Dave very kindly came out to get me in their dinghy and I was whisked away leaving poor Bill to sort the boat out. Luckily he didn’t mind.
A traditional Long house
After a drive of about ¾ of an hour we arrived at the traditional Longhouse, which is one of the distinctive features of Dayak life. The longhouse was raised above the damp jungle floor on stilts and built alongside the beach. In fact this was the stretch of coastline we had battled along earlier in the day. Some longhouses have whole villages living in them but this one was available for guests. It consisted of a long covered veranda along which were rows of doors giving access to the basic rooms.
Drinking from a fresh coconut
We were invited to sit down inside the veranda and offered fresh coconuts with the top sliced off allowing us to drink the delicious liquid inside them.
Village girls in local costume
The rally was invited onto the beach to watch local girls performing some traditional dancing. Their costumes were beautifully made. The guy on the end seemed to be doing his own thing.
Clever dance using bamboo poles
The rocks behind the beach made a wonderful backdrop. After the sun had gone down we were invited into the living quarters of the longhouse for a meal. As we are in the time of Ramadan at the moment many of the locals fast from sunrise to sunset. A delicious buffet meal was served but with very little light it was difficult to see what we were eating; perhaps that was the idea! It all tasted very good and it was nice to have finally caught up with the rally.
Beautiful sunset
Kudat was a funny little town. It had quite a few Chinese hardware stores, a couple of small supermarkets and a handful of eateries. After 2 days of wandering around we decided we wanted to get out into the surrounding islands rather than sit in anchorage surrounded in murky water.
Scenery surrounding island of Banggi
So Saturday 5th July we left early and headed north to Banggi island. It was beautiful. We tucked ourselves into an enclosed anchorage with little islands to the south covered in jungle. We took the dinghy on a little tour of the anchorage but there were mangroves growing down to the waterline and we couldn’t find anywhere to land. For those following along behind us the waypoint for the anchorage is 07º10.15 North 117º09.5 East.
Happy Birthday Bill
This was the furthest north that we were going this year so the next day we headed south again. Bill wasn’t happy being on our own as we were now in the Sula sea, one of the areas in the world that claims to have pirates. The rally have arranged for us to have a naval escort when we get further south into the more notorious area. We headed to Silk island where many of the rally boats had arrived having just left Kudat. As it was Bill’s birthday we invited our friends Dave and Jacqui from Jackster to come and join us for a meal. We had a wonderful evening together.
Camomile 