Langkawi - Kuah

On Friday November 26 I departed Rebak Marina and headed to Kuah the main town on Lankawi Island. The plan had been to meet up with Nelson and Claude on “Black Swan” and discuss plans for going to the Anderman Islands. It was a very pleasant sail to windward in 10 to 12 knots of breeze. I passed a fleet of racing yachts sailing under spinnaker heading in the opposite direction. I dropped anchor in Bass Harbour near Kuah town just after midday.

It was a real relief to be on anchor again and for the boat to swing into the breeze. At times on Reback I felt like I was going to melt with the sweat dripped off me. Also the breeze has helped dry out the inside of the boat for all the rain leaking through the deck. The battle against culture – mould and mildew was started.

After doing some research into the trip to the Anderman Islands I decided not to go due to extreme bureaucracy, cost and hassle of getting the one month visa. The visa would cost around US$100.00 but required going to Penang by ferry three times to first to fill in lengthy forms, then to leave the passport then to pick up passport and visa. This takes about 2 to 3 weeks. While in the Andermans you have to radio in twice a day on HF with position reports. To damn hard. I’ll stick to scuba diving off the islands in Thailand. Nelson also asked if I would be interested in joining them to deliver a 47 foot yacht from Cochin (India) to the Bay of Islands (New Zealand). I did give this some serious thought even just doing the leg from Cochin to Fremantle. However declined with thoughts of cyclones and leaving the boat for too long unattended. There was no real financial incentive to do the trip. As nice as it would have been to sail to Fremantle in January/February. I’d also miss most the best part of the sailing season in the Anderman sea off Thailand and Malaysia.

Langkawi - Rebak

The boat was still floating when I returned to Rebak. However, she clearly was not happy with having been locked up and abandoned for 10 days. The boat smelled none to good green furry stuff – mould and mildew, culture, had taken up residence. A very good test for the Oil of Clove and water treatment. I had several days at Rebak resort to enjoy the facilities and meet some of the Marina residence. The swimming pool was a welcome relief from the heat The marina did not get much breeze due to the shelter from surrounding hills and trees. There being little breeze meant there were mosquitoes – squadrons of them. I met up with Mark and Rachel from “Galyva” who live onboard their boat at Rebak Marina. Mark is a shipwright and runs his business SeaSpray Marine Services in Langkawi. Someone worth knowing if you need to get some work done on your boat in this area.

The TackTick wind transmitter at the top of the mast was not talking to the rest of the wireless sailing instrument system. I had replaced the aged Brooks and Gatehouse Hornet sailing instruments nearly two years ago. Fortunately I found the receipt and the unit was still within warrantee - just. The Tacktick system uses wireless technology to communicate between devices, not cheap however it has been reliable. The mast head wind unit and displays are solar powered These instruments display boat speed, depth, wind speed and angle plus a vast amount of other information. The system is linked in with the Standard Horizon CP500 chartplotter using NMEA 0183.

Langkawi to Perth the easy way

The middle of November I bit the bullet and returned to Perth for a visit to sort out the loose ends that I had not managed to resolve prior to my departure back in May 2010. I parked “Sadiqi” in Rebak Marina as I did not have the confidence, after recent anchoring exploits, of leaving the boat on anchor while away. The marina is part of a resort on Rebak Island. The charge for 14 days was RM 438.90 around AU$140.00. Not to bad considering you get access to most of the resort facilities. This was the first time in nearly 6 months that Sadiqi was tied up in a marina.

I flew “no frills” AirAsia to Perth via Kuala Lupur at an unbeatable price. Despite having to pay for meals, water and any extras the flights are very cheap. Bear in mind that if you want to choose a seat you will pay extra. At these sort of prices, around AU$600.00 return, I was half expecting to have to pay to go to the toilet. The flight was, thankfully, uneventful and I arrived early in the morning in Perth. Western Australia was extremely dry, not only due to lack of winter rain but very low humidity by comparison to the tropics. It was very good catching up with friends, all of whom seemed the think that I looked 10 years younger – must have been the tan and loss of weight. Yes, I am enjoying the sailing adventure.

Thanks to my dear friend Patricia for feeding me and suffering my company while I was in Perth. Thanks to Helene for the fantastic fruit cake – defiantly won’t get scurvy and for the tip on using a few drops of Oil of Clove in water to get rid of mould and mildew on the boat. It was very pleasant catching up with some of the people I used to go cruising with off Fremantle. I am indebted to them and all the people I have sailed with over the years for their companionship and the knowledge I have acquired. To “No bloody Rules” Ron I shall miss the trip south to Busselton this Christmas – my thoughts will be with you. Thanks go to all my friends in Perth, I do miss you. I have to rationalise this by thinking of the new friends I have not met yet in my adventures.

I was asked a few questions; one of them was if I had been afraid at any time. I couldn’t say that I hadn’t been afraid during the two and half thousand miles of this adventure so far. Fear, a certain amount of that is, is what helps to keep us alive. However, dwelling on fear can be very destructive. I had a few moments, usually when I was very tired and far from anywhere in the ocean, where the thought that I was alone and what if something went wrong. “We” tend to create a situation in our mind that is usually far worse than what actually transpires. In a recent book I read “Who Moved My Cheese” counteract the thoughts of fear with “What would you do if you weren’t afraid”. Deal with the situation!

Some of the “loose ends” that I returned to Perth were resolved. I was not able to sell the mooring on the Swan River. This is getting expensive to maintain and license. Anyone interested please email me.

The AirAsia flights are tough to fault and both I and my luggage arrived in reasonable condition back at Langkawi via Kuala Lampur. My blood most have thinned in the tropics as I found the air conditioning on the flight very cool.

Langkawi

Langkawi – a duty free archipelago made up of 99 islands on Malaysia’s north west coast – is the country’s best-known holiday destination. Surrounded by stunning turquoise sea, the interior of the main island is a mixture of paddy fields, rubber planations and rain forrest covered hills. Despite the number of resorts dotted around the islands it was not over crowded as Phuket appeard to be. Exchange rate – roughly 3 Malaysian Ringgit to $US1.00

Friday night I had dinner on "Black Swan" with Nelson, Claude and friends of theirs; Rob and Trisha. Rob and Trisha had sailed their Sadler 25 foot yacht "Bluet" from the UK. They have been living on "Bluet" mostly in the Mediterranean for the past 10 years. Heck and I thought Sadiqi’s 30 feet was small. Amazing a difference a few feet can make. Saturday was a very slow day nursing a sore head for some reason. It was a very pleasant evening.

Nelson had to go to Phuket to get some engineering done on his engine. He lent me the motor bike he had hired. I would not attempt to ride a motor bike in Phuket as I’m sure my guardian angle would abandon me. Nelson visited a friend in a Phuket hospital who had almost not survived a motor cycle accident there recently. I had the pleasure of Claude’s company for a few days. Riding a motor bike in Langkawi was relatively easy – the roads, traffic lights and general infrastructure are all very good. In fact after Indonesia and even Thailand Langkawi is very civilised by comparison. I did, however, have two disconcerting flat tyres while riding the bike.
November – a Tropical Depression passed in a North Easterly direction over Phuket, with strong winds affecting Langkawi. Many yachts made for the safe havens of Telaga and Rebak Marina’s anticipating the worst. Black Swan headed to more sheltered and a less crowded anchorage. I chose to stick the storm out in the “frog pond” outside Telaga Marina. As usual around midnight the wind howled. The CQR anchor dragged not once but twice! After the second slide down the anchorage, fortunately with out hitting any other boats, I changed over to the Admiralty/Fisherman’s anchor. B-anchor just was not holding in the mud and what ever else was at the bottom of the frog pond. The Admiralty/Fisherman’s anchor held fast.

I finally found the leak that nearly caused me to abort the trip to Cocos Islands back in June. Some bright spark had sealed the limber holes with epoxy that allows water to drain from hidden compartments into the bilge.