Haulout Delayed a Few Days

Posted on May 22, 2013 by Frank Taylor

We made excellent time again on Sunday on a beautiful sunny day. The temperature was a bit cooler and less humid as well. We weren’t even tempted to turn on the A/C along the way. We left at first light this time and decided we could make it all the way to the marina/boatyard by mid-afternoon. We wanted to arrive earlier since low tide was at 5PM and the entrance is reportedly a bit shallow in places. But, we had a track from s/v LeuCat who was here a few weeks earlier.

We arrived as planned by 2:30. I called on the radio, but no answer, so I tried the phone. I reached one of the staff and she said they had room and that we could call on the radio and the dock staff would help. They answered this time and offered to send a boat to help guide us in. Just after the call a ferry came out, so we followed their track while the little boat came out. We were soon tied up on a nice dock not far from the boat yard entrance.

We met the owners of a cat (Wharram design) next to us, s/v Tiare, who have been to the marina a few months and also here a year earlier. The skipper is from Auckland, and his wife is from Japan. They gave us a lot of information about the area. While there, they had an Aussie visitor, a woman from a cat in the boatyard called s/v Mad Fish. She told us they have drinks under her boat on Monday night and we were invited.

The marina is on a man-made island in the bay between the island of Pangkor and the mainland. We were surprised that there are some small mountains on the island and in the surrounding country side. There are also signs of a lot of people in this area. We also found out this place is home to a Malay naval base with a large military population plus their families living with them in a large condo-looking complex.

On Monday, I went in first thing to the Marina office to sign in. We talked a bit about the haulout. I had taken some measurements of their lifting device, which lifts us from underneath between our hulls. My initial measurements said it could work, but I wasn’t totally sure. They said someone would come over and do measurements, and he did and said it was ok.

But, by lunchtime, they called to say they would have to delay to Tuesday. The main reason being that the yard is close to full and they didn’t have adequate wood blocks. They planned to put two boats back in the water, and then there would be room.

So, Karen and I went to get transportation to town to find out about shopping. The marina manager offered to take us, but as we were leaving the Aussie gal from Mad Fish called and offered to give us a tour. She did a great job showing us hardware stores, bakery, shopping centers, etc. Turns out there is a brand new Aeon mall similar to the one in Johor Bahru. It even has a movie theater that is close to opening.

The next day, the haulout was going to be at 1PM. They sent crew over to help manage the lines that would be thrown ashore to hold us in the center of the haulout area. Of course, a 15 knot wind was blowing today (which would have been great for sailing two days earlier!). But, we got over there and were soon tied in place for the machine to go under Tahina and lift us.

Unfortunately, after over and hour and several attempts, we could not get the lifting system to fit underneath Tahina without causing problems to the baffles under our bridge that are non-structural. We even turned Tahina around aft-to and tried, but again were unable. Very frustrating! The manager said that we would have to use another approach on another day. So, we moved Tahina back to the marina slip.

They took measurements yesterday and have a metal frame that fits on top of their machine. I showed them photos of our haul-out done in New Zeland so they plan to use a similar configuration. But, it won’t happen for a few days it appears.

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Arrived Pangkor Marina

Posted on May 19, 2013 by Frank Taylor

We just arrived at Pangkor Marina, which is also home to the boatyard where we will be hauling out tomorrow. We made good time on a very pretty day up the last stretch of the Malacca Straights we are going for now. The Pangkor area is home to a burgeoning industry of resort hotels on both the mainland, and on the nearby island west of here. Also, this seems to be a growing port and there is what appears to be a large smelter/ore processing facility with a major dock for loading recently built (not in earlier Google Earth imagery). It looks like a multi-billion dollar facility. There is also another huge dock being constructed as well. The terrain is mountainous nearby, so it’s pretty as well.

The marina, after a few phone calls, provided us with class service. They even sent a boat out to make sure we came the right way into the marina. I had waypoints from s/v LeuCat, but was glad to have the expert guidance. Three guys helped us tie up and we were set in no time. No paperwork since the office is closed on Sunday. Awesome!

The marina is located on a man-made island that is home to resort hotels and vacation condos. The island is called, imaginatively, Marina Island. There are also restaurants, a bar, and the boatyard. We’ll find out more about the place in the coming weeks while we are here. For now, we are enjoying the air as the boat cools down with both the shore power air conditioner and our boat’s A/Cs running to accelerate the cooling. We’re going to shower, clean up the boat a bit, and then go ashore and find the bar and restaurant for some well-earned refreshments after 5 days up the Mallacca Straights!

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Past Kuala Lumpur

Posted on May 18, 2013 by Frank Taylor

Yesterday we made another 80 miles or so, and we are now past Kuala Lumpur. We had a mostly uneventful day. Some motor sailing in the morning and the afternoon which kept our speed up to average about 7 knots. There were several spots where the fishing vessels were numerous. I was surprised the number of ships in the anchorage area off KL were not so numerous. But, a look on the AIS showed there were a high number of ships up the river where the loading/unloading occurs.

We ended up finding a spot to drop our anchor near a developing town called Sekinchan that must have started mostly as a fishing village. We wanted to be near shore so we could pick up Internet. Using Google Earth I discovered this was (and still is) a fishing village which is surrounded by an agricultural area. Interestingly, the crops are criss-crossed with canals and the town itself has several canals going through it. The fishing boats go up these canals for safe harbour and to process their catches. The town has a lot of building going on including what looks like a large hotel. The town already has a new resort hotel just a bit north of town. Quite an interesting place that I wish we had time to see closer. You can see where the town was SE of us in the map below.

We plan to make it all the way to Pangkor today weather permitting. We have just pulled up anchor and are motoring northwest after a night filled with several rain storms and one thunderstorm. We put all our electronics in the microwave oven, but fortunately there were no nearby strikes.

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Admiral Marina and Stowaway

Posted on May 17, 2013 by Frank Taylor

We had a much better run on our third day from Puteri towards Pangkor going up the Malacca Straights. No sumatras and only a little rain. We left our anchorage of the night at 3AM and I had a delightful motor sail for several hours in the early morning hours. There was a land breeze on our beam of about 6 knots, and with just the jib and one motor we were running along nicely. The pre-dawn air was much cooler and since it was a starboard reach I had cool air at our helm seat. There was almost no fisherman traffic before dawn, and so it made for very little stress.

We not only got to Palau Basar, but kept going and made it all the way to Admiral Marina at Port Dickson by 5 PM. We had gotten a reservation by E-mail on the way. The fuel dock was our first stop and we re-loaded the fuel we spent getting here. We then moved to our assigned slip and soon were checked in and had our A/C unit going. Although, the temperatures were pretty pleasant because of late afternoon showers before we got there. Karen and I took showers next and then walked to the nearby resort restaurant for some dinner.

Before we were done with dinner, I was ready to sleep. I had managed a 2 hour nap later in the day, but was still exhausted. Plus, we had decided we needed to leave at 5 AM for our next passage to Port Klang near Kuala Lumpur.

Stowaway

Earlier in the day, I was sitting at the helm when something shot out of the area above the console (behind our spray dodger). It looked like a lizard or gecko. It move quickly to our sliding glass door and inside the area it slides into. In other words, inside our boat. Maybe he’ll eat some flies or something. Anyway, it was interesting to find we had a stowaway!

We also had some critters try and catch a ride with us. Two bats came by around sunrise and flew through our shrouds and sails and one tried to land on several places. I got a picture of it on the mast for a moment, but they soon both left.

We hope to be in Pangkor by Monday morning. Our haul-out is planned for around noon.

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Only a Few Hours Delay

Posted on May 16, 2013 by Frank Taylor

Had no Internet yesterday to give an update.  We were able to leave by noon after helping the other boat that ran aground and damaged his rudder. 

I went over and helped him remove his very bent rudder.  It was bent to 30 degrees in two places!  He made some calls back at his last marina.  They had another boat coming to the island who could watch the boat while he took his rudder ashore to get it repaired.

So he told us it was fine if we left.  We left by noon, but only made about 25 miles due to currents and lack of wind.

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Sumatra First Night and Aborted Departure

Posted on May 15, 2013 by Frank Taylor

We arrived yesterday afternoon after a slow hot day of motoring up the Malacca Straight. No major issues coming up – but we did see some small tree trunks in the water, and one medium one. We were warned there can be lots of debris up the straight. We also saw half a dozen fishing boats, but no nets to dodge. That’s another thing we were warned about.

As we arrived, there was a trimaran at anchor at Pasau Pisang – 4 islands with one larger which is home to a lighthouse (see map below). The skipper hailed us and is a Frenchman who has live the last 15 years in California. It turns out he is on a similar schedule and wanted to accompany us up the straight. He also wanted to go to Palau Basar the next day, and like me concluded we would need to leave by 3 AM. So, it meant an early dinner and early to bed.

We had a nearby thunderstorm at sundown, but although it rained and thundered we didn’t see much from it. Unless it was the same storm that hit us at 2 AM. We had a real Sumatra – storms that blow really hard and have lots of rain and lightning. I estimate we saw winds above 40 knots. It blew steady at 30 knots for about 15 minutes after I turned on our instruments. Our anchor held fine though, and we were protected some by the island.

We aborted the plan to leave at 3AM and I told the other skipper we would wait until it stopped raining, or first light. At 5 AM I woke up to find no rain and texted him. We agreed to raise our hooks at 5:20. It was raining a bit, but we proceeded.

Right as we got Tahina’s chain coming up, some winds started blowing – about 15 knots blowing us shoreward. I carefully paid attention to our position while Karen managed watching the anchor raising. She was spraying the anchor with mud while I started backing us away when I got a call on the radio from the other boat. He had run aground! I replied we would re-drop our hook and come help. He asked if the tide was going out or in, and I said out.

We concentrated getting our hook down again and while doing that he said he managed to get free, but his rudder was not working. I told him to get anchored again and we would come help. Once our hook was set, he called to say he thinks his rudder is bent or otherwise compromised. I told him to rest a while and we would look at it at first light (now only an hour or so away). We’ll also try to re-position him as he is still too close to shore. I’ll use the dinghy to do that.

So, not off to a great start today. Hopefully we’ll be able to do something for him and still be able to depart today. Otherwise we are going to have to call the boatyard and delay our haulout. Which we can do if needed.

Here is where we are located:

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Departing Now

Posted on May 14, 2013 by Frank Taylor

We are finally leaving Puteri Harbour Marina after 6 months. We really like the marina, and it’s about to undergo a lot of improvements in terms of surroundings. A hotel is opening next week, new restaurants and shopping will open in the coming weeks as well. The ferry terminal just opened and customs/immigrations will now be a short walk away. The staff is very nice and the marina itself is well equipped, clean, and very pleasant. We would gladly come back again.

Today we will be sailing (well, motoring most likely) to an island just up the coast a way about 43 miles away. We’ll make short trips like this (about 7 hours) each day as we make our way to Pangkor about 250 miles away. We just need to be there by Monday for our haul out.

We should have some 3G connections along the way, so we can make reports if anything interesting happens along the way.

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Dinghy Motor Started

Posted on May 13, 2013 by Frank Taylor

This is one of those stories boaters tell when they’ve figure out how to fix something they should have figured out a long time ago. Most people just feel like an idiot and never tell anyone about it. But, I’ve decided this one is more important to share than my pride.

Since we’ve started the trip, we often would use the dinghy on a regular basis. The engine would start every day no problem. But, every once in a while we would go home for a month or two, and in others we would go traveling without the boat for a few weeks. When we would return, I would always have a hard time starting the dinghy motor. I would have to pull the starter cord about 20 or 30 times before it would finally start.

Well, yesterday I thought after 6+ months of not using the dinghy I should put it in the water and try to start it. I had read that some boaters recommended taking the fuel filter lid off and filling it with fuel after a long storage. I guess that the fuel evaporates and/or settles after long use. I took off the engine cover and looked. I noticed the fuel line went straight to the fuel filter of course. But, I didn’t see an easy immediate way to fill the fuel filter. I also squeezed the fuel bulb on our fuel line a bit like I usually do to help get it started. I noticed air came out when I did this. So, I squeezed the bulb multiple times until all the air came out. Guess what? The motor started right up! I have no idea why it never occurred to me that I would have to squeeze the bulb more and that this was the problem with it not starting. But, now it all makes sense.

So, if you’re having problem starting the engine, and it’s been a while – look at the filter and if isn’t filled with fuel carefully add fuel to it, or use the squeeze bulb if you have one. Be careful not to overfill or it will flood the engine.

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Preparations to Leave Complete

Posted on May 13, 2013 by Frank Taylor

We have been hunkered down getting things ready to leave for the boatyard in Pangkor (about 250 nautical miles north of here). I have juggled a number of shipments of boat parts and the sails and it was apparent things weren’t going to arrive here in Puteri Harbour soon enough. We got the most important box from New Zealand – which contained replacement ball-valves for our thru-hulls which needed replacing. It arrived without a hassle. But, the rest were delayed for various reasons.

Meanwhile, we finally heard from the boatyard and have a haul-out scheduled for Monday next week. Last week we went to Singapore for one last trip for Karen’s physical therapy. I managed to play my game for a couple of hours, and we went to dinner at the Chili’s at Sentosa one last time. We spent the night this time because her appointment was in the morning. We also got a few hard-to-find items in Malaysia while we were there.

Last week we did a big shopping run and got two weeks worth of provisions for the trip to Pangkor. I also spent time working on various little projects like a new water filtration system for getting shore water, continuing to clean and wax the top sides of the boat, putting new radiator fluid in the engine that had the water problem a while back, checking the engines/oils before a passage, filing for health insurance benefits, working on our finances, etc., etc.

I fixed a problem with the Google Earth file for our maps. It was a bug in our migration to the new server a while back. It’s working again. I’ve also worked on our photo archives a lot, but nothing really notable to share. Mostly database management and minor refinements to photos that I wanted to improve.

Anyway, we should be leaving day after tomorrow. Tonight we’re going out with a bunch of the boat crews here at the marina now to have drinks and dinner.

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Going to the Gym

Posted on April 30, 2013 by Frank Taylor

The Clubhouse with GymAfter my surgery, I kept fit primarily by walking a lot while we were in Singapore. Keeping our boat in marinas here in the area has not given me much other opportunity to get stay fully fit. The upcoming work on our boat will be pretty physically demanding, so I decided to get some better exercise. The marina here in Malaysia has a van that will take people to a nearby gym. The cost is very reasonable (about $5 per visit, or you can get 30 visits for about $1 per visit), and the gym is located at a very nice clubhouse. It has an awesome pool, an air conditioned gym with very modern equipment, two restaurants, and you can have a massage there.

I started going to the gym as soon as we got back. I’m already feeling much more fit after only 3 weeks. My exercise hasn’t been confined to just the gym though. I started cleaning the boat a few days ago, and also waxing. The deck scrubbing and wax on/wax off is also giving me quite a work out – especially considering the outdoor temperatures around here. At least with the cleaning and waxing you get a very satisfying result to look at. And the wax has the advantage of reducing the amount of cleaning needed for the near term.

If those things weren’t keeping me busy enough, the preparations for our eventual boat haul-out have begun in earnest. I’ve been making calls and e-mails every day trying to get things organized. The hard part is not just identifying parts, but trying to find suppliers and convince them to ship in time for the parts to arrive at the right location. This is one of the less joyful parts of sailing, but is very necessary.

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