SV Thyme

Charmed by Romblon town

2012-02-07T18:40:00.000+11:00

Romblon being the home of marble made me think perhaps I could replace our cracked bathroom basin with a marble model. It was removed from the boat and taken to David an English guy running a deli in town. He gave it to a lady who gave it to someone and work was started.

The kids around the port area were making themselves lilos from plastic bags filled with scraps of polystyrene washed into a corner of the harbor.

We passed the time at the close by diving board held down with lumps of marble and checking out the quarry’s where the marble is chipped out by hand and sculptured in to everything imaginable.

After about 3 days when the weather settled we managed to get in a dive at the Blue Hole (see notes below) on the northeast side of Tablas. The film crew from the Filipino TV show ‘Born To Be Wild’ was also filming at the same time so we are going to be on TV sometime around the middle of February. Their host who is also a star of their survivor series filmed in Thailand. Lucky they were not filming in NZ as there is no way they would have survived, they thought the water was cold!

Our basin was to take 3 days to make but after a week we decided to move on and made plans for it to be shipped to the next Island, Sibuyan. Marc and Renate after spending 3 weeks aboard ventured into the mountains for a 2 day climb of Mount Gunting Gunting. Pretty much as soon as they would have started their hike the heavens opened up for the first time since we have been in the Philippines and it rained …and rained. We were thinking of you guys. Before the rains started we managed to visit some of the local attractions a waterfall and river.

Next stop the cows (and maybe beef) of Masbate.

The Blue Hole
Is a vertical tunnel or chimney which you can enter at about 5m. It’s about 6m in diameter and you can descend into the hole until you exit onto the reef via a cave entrance at about 27m. It’s a great spot to dive as the visibility within the hole is good allowing you to explore the marine life within the crevices. From the mouth at the bottom you can sit and watch large pelagics and turtles swim by. We saw large dog tooth tuna and green turtle. A few days earlier a shark was seen at the cave entrance. We did the dive with the 3P’s – Ducks Diving who we found to be incredibly relaxed and friendly. The film crew of Born to Be Wild were also incredibly welcoming and fun to be out with. A few days before we dived some geologists were taking samples and confirmed it is not volcanic, but formed during the last ice age similar to a blow hole which over time has hollowed out enough to let us enjoy diving through it!

North to Tablas

2012-02-03T12:52:00.005+11:00

Our first stop was the small town of Santa Fe where Marc perfected his bomb on behalf of Germany. He actually came up with 2, the flying air guitar and the Kusseler roll.

The plan was to head from here to Looc stopping at Looc’s fish protection zone and reef along the way for a snorkel. All was going well until an official came out and asked if we had registered. Of course the answer was no but we will do it when we arrive in town AFTER our snorkel. This got him all upset and he raced back to get the big boss who came out in the big boat and escorted us to the shore to the awaiting police one of which told me he had killed 27 political extremists in a gun battle in southern Mindanao some years ago before he was wounded. After having the charges read to us while being recorded and photographed I managed to get our fine reduced from $46 to $9.30. The police kindly gave us a ride to town once all was settled.

Our next town up the west coast of Tablas was San Andres where a family took us under their wing taking us the waterfall in the rain.

The track was washed out in a lot of places but after a successful trip they kindly made us lunch accompanied by Tuba? their wine from the coconut tree.

After Tablas the island of Romblon, home of marble was our destination. Here we hired motorbikes. Our trusty machine turned out not to be so trusty with 2 puncture repairs needing to be attended to under burning pistons and running out of petrol on the way home. Lucky for Amanda it was dark so less people noticed her pushing me to the closest coke bottle filled with fuel. Which turned out to be not so far.

To the Bright Lights of Boracay

2012-01-24T12:11:00.000+11:00

Leaving Coron behind we headed over to Tara Island catching a Tuna along the way. Sloop was pleased to be back into the quieter Islands where a run around was possible.

We found ourselves anchored off a deserted beach and hatched a plan to have a BBQ. Renarta marinated pork (Schaschlik from Russia with love) to have with baked potatoes and salad.

Looking back maybe we should have stayed another day, but unaware it was Friday the 13th we headed off for one of the worst trips in ages against the current and straight into the wind across to Mindoro. Finally after averaging 3.2 knots (5.7km) we reached a bay on Ambulong Island well after dark. A stripy tuna also had an unlucky day. Not game to enter the bay in the dark, which was full of seaweed farming and reef buoys we anchored out the front only to have security turn up on a jet ski with their guns. It turns out they only wanted to guide us in and show us around the Grace Island resort which was starting to take guests. The next day after our tour we had them out on the boat for a visit before we headed off to Masin Island.

With the weather now on the improve Masin Island was a great place to stop with loads of kids on the shore waiting for us. We took balloons over which was a great hit.

It’s a wonder the kids didn’t injure themselves running in the wind bare footed over lumps of coral to catch a balloon I let go. After seeing that we just handed them all 1 each.

After we got some coconuts and Marc threw some kids about we departed for the big smoke of Boracy to get more time on our visa.

Feeling left out, Marc joined the Balut club. Our unregistered vendor had to usher us off the beach into an ally way to avoid the police. A Philippine rocker dressed in doc martins, stockings and a kilt provided after dinner entertainment.

As well as us trying to convince a security guard to point his 9mm at Amanda. He even objected to holding Marcs water pistol.

Enough of the big smoke – let’s head for Tablas!

The Swedes Last Leg - to the Calamians

2012-01-21T13:24:00.000+11:00

The Calamian Group was more about the swimming than the fishing with plenty of wrecks from the Second World War and coral gardens to explore.

Robin worked out that by rolling into a ball the fish would hang around close by. I had the opposite problem with the Piranha fish thinking my body hair was eatable.

Sadly, Coron was the drop off point for the Swedes after 40 days aboard, I know Sloop will miss Robins hat and his shoulder massages.

While in town Robin kindly located a Balut vendor. Balut is a duck egg that was firstly incubated for 23 days then stored in a hot steamy environment. Succumbing to peer pressure I joined his club by also eating one. Amanda also wanting to be in the club took the challenge.

With the boat refueled we headed over to the nearby salt water lakes for a look before heading north again.

Our new crew Marc and Renate from Germany had a bit of a bumpy ride with a strong easterly blowing but the anchorage was nice and walking up the hill gave us a good view of the area. Fingers crossed the wind drops off a bit tomorrow for our trip east.

Cruising around El Nido

2012-01-18T10:59:00.004+11:00

Surviving New Years Eve celebrations, a trip up the coast by motorbike to see a nearby waterfall sounded like a good idea.

After cooling off we headed back passed a curious local who kept a close eye on Robin.

The hot springs was to be our next stop however we were told the water Buffalo also swim here and the warm water assisted them with there bowel movements. The plan was changed to lunch near the beach. Here Robin almost found a replacement for his size 13 flipper and the chickens were also dining on the sleeping puppies fleas.

The now famous caterpillar was demonstrated to the kids on the beach but their attempts had them landing face first in the sand.

After relaxing over the drink, we packed up the boat and headed out to the islands to where we visited an abandoned church and bbq'd on the beach. The night turned into a bottle of 15-year-old Tanduay and drum beating on Rubicon Star, Amanda wisely heading home with Sloop.

After a painful trip in choppy conditions where we wished we all went home early (except Amanda), we finally anchored. Our anchorage found us in front of a hill in Halsey Harbor. This time it was Pontus who sensibly declined the hill climb. We slashed our way up the first part, Amanda deciding to wait while Robin and I completed the rest of the trip mostly on all fours.

Pontus brought over one of the best tasting Red Horses ever for a cool off once we arrived back at the beach.

Tomorrow we head towards the wrecks in the Calamian Group.

To El Nido - the scenic route

2012-01-10T13:36:00.002+11:00

Once Anchored at Boayan Island fishing around the many rocks was high on our agenda with Robin landing a great Tuna and all of us getting loads of Barracuda from around what we called “Barracuda Point” These were gratefully received by a small group of people living in the bay. The making of Sushi rolls the next day in the rough conditions ended up being to hard for poor old Robin.

The remaining of the fish was shared with Tim and Barb of Rubicon Star at Teodore Point BBQ style.

From Teodore Point we headed to Liminangcong a small town where Robin again hooked up this time a Brassy Trevally later to be had as Cevice, (Lunch). The following day put us in the Bacquit Archipelago. Cathedral caves were the nearby anchorage attraction. Tim took Robin and I took Pontus for a fishing competition. Our team recorded 1 bite, 2 bottom hook ups and a net around the dingy prop in the dark. Tim’s team got nothing but was halfway through a bottle of rum by the time we got back. Who were the winners? The galley was also closed on Tim’s boat when we got home leaving him to cook his own dinner.

Robin also managed to climb into a cave after a few dips in the sea only to find bird shit mostly on his hands. It entertained us anyway.

Since the weather was on the improve, a trip around some of the outer Islands was decided on before heading to Coron Coron for new years eve. Small Lagoon was the first stop.

The mosquitos were fierce at Big Lagoon where Sweden’s TV program Robinson was filmed.

With the loss of only a pint of blood each we headed around to secret beach, a hole in a rock wall that you swim through to enter a small lagoon. Anchoring in 25 meters over rocks wasn’t the highlight of my day.

With New Years Eve fast approaching, our house clean to be done and maybe a nap to fit in we headed to Coron Coron our nights anchorage for the festivities.

Christmas in Port Barton

2012-01-09T01:00:00.000+11:00

Leaving Oyster Inlet we found an anchorage further north of the underground river for the night and after visiting the village headed around the following morning. Getting ashore was a problem because of the surf on the beach so after one successful attempt we hired a spider boat to take the rest of us. Our cave guide paddled us into the cave and explained what vegetable different rock formations looked like between giving Pontus confusing directions on where to point the spot light.

Arriving back at the boat around lunch still gave us plenty of time to get to Jimboom Bay where the guys in the village taught us to play 61, a form of Billiards. The next morning upon departure Robin informed us of good fishing feeling he had… sure enough an hour later he landed a Tuna.

Our plan upon arriving at Port Barton was to travel to Puerto Princessa by motorbike to do some shopping for Christmas. Things didn’t start out well with Andy locking his motorbike keys under the seat at the petrol station.

An hour later we hit the road or more accurately the mud. The locals weren’t joking about the condition of the road. I had so much mud stuck to the front tire the wheel stopped turning making the bike steer more like a snow mobile.

6 hours later we arrived in the big smoke and went to the fanciest restaurant in town to celebrate our good luck in arriving without serious injury. The trip back was not as bad with the weather gods smiling down on us.

While we were away the swell had crept into our anchorage so first thing Christmas morning we upped anchor and moved to a small island 2 miles away where the water was flat. Robin and Pontus demonstrated the Swedish bomb known as the flying Otter or maybe in Pontus’s case the falling Otter.

Not having turkey, ham etc we settled for spit roasted chicken for Christmas lunch after the present opening. Sloop was more impressed with the wrapping paper than the boots he received. After too many beers we headed over to the Island to find the Karaoke bar we could hear and pumped out a few tunes, me not included.

SIGNAL 1!!!

2012-01-08T22:34:00.004+11:00

After all the excitement of Quezon, relaxing in the tree house at Fish bay was a nice change. Amanda getting low fresh coconut supplies sent us out on a mission to restock.

Oyster inlet was our next stop where we put sea urchin collection technique to the test. After about 2 hours of collecting and another 1 of cleaning we were ready to eat our half a cup of finished product. Mixed with onion, tomato and garlic we turned it into a cracker spread. Although tasty I think it’s more of a survival food source.

With a little bit of Internet we could see a tropical storm building to the east forecast to come our way. With this in mind we decided to hang around for a bit as our anchorage was a recognized hurricane hideout.

The mayor of Puerto Princessa has an Island close by. We had got friendly with the caretaker and his wife and managed to strike a deal were we gave petrol for their boat, milk powder, some matches and pork if they took us to the nearest village where we could get a ride to Puerto Princessa for a day trip.
Our mode of transport was to be the roof of a bus that only got one flat tire.

Vergie the caretaker’s wife also ended up coming along for the trip and was a great help at the markets and with public transport. It also ensured the Mayors boat was waiting at the dock when we returned from town.

By the time we arrived back at the boat we had about 7 hours to prepare before the tropical storm arrived. In the end the wind was not as strong as expected (< 50knots) however the eye passed directly over us, which was a very unusual experience. We waited another day for the sea state to ease then headed off in search of the underground river.

Southern Palawan

2012-01-01T14:18:00.004+11:00

Looking at Google earth we spotted what looked like a good snorkeling spot as a midday stopover. A fisherman collecting sea urchins showed us how to remove the spines and what part to eat. The village close by also was worth a look even though it felt like we had 2 heads, maybe they thought we were aliens? It wasn’t us with the pig head in the pot.

Now out of the Islands and into Palawan anchorages we were starting to feel the NW swell. This didn’t stop Robin and Pontus from having a go with the drag net … in the rain. We had a big one that got away on the first drag but they only ended up with a toadfish for their efforts.

Malipakan Island was our next stop where the reef made the bay lovely and calm even for Shah who ended up a little closer to the reef than what was planned.

The kids showed Amanda how to shoot hoops with a flat football while the older guys smoked the coconuts. It seems this is the first stage in the making coconut oil process.

Robin was given a cock to demonstrate cockfighting, but just a practice round where no cocks got hurt. In the real event a knife is attached to the foot and the loser is supper.

Our next stop was the big smoke of Quezon, where Robin was a great hit at the Karaoke bar and maybe we all had 1 to many beers and got twisted a little out of shape.

That night I dreamt that the local caves we wanted to visit was on the other side of the hill we were anchored next to and further investigation proved this to be correct so after a hairy ride around through the surf in the dingy we convinced the cave man to let us in with another group. Amanda used her backside negotiate some of the more slippery slopes.

After the tour the option to go back through the surf on the locals boat looked like a safer one. They even had snacks that must taste a little different mixed with salt water.

Once safely around the headland we transferred to Andy’s dingy for the remaining trip.

Another couple days were spent getting supplies, eating pizza, unsuccessfully looking for restaurants and avoiding the Karaoke Bar before heading off.
Loved Quezon.

Clearing Out

2011-12-26T20:40:00.003+11:00

I put in a request with the powers that be (Amanda) for a couple of young girls from Sweden as possible crew. Somehow the message got a little mixed up and we collected our new crew Robin and Pontus from Sweden for the trip to the Philippines.
Our first stop was to be Balambangan where caves were rumored to be. After being pointed in the right direction by local fisherman and without finding anything we asked if they could guide us which they were happy to do the following morning.

Turns out although we had been close by yesterday we would never had found our way up through the mud, mangroves and jungle to the entrance without help.

After our caving experience a little bay further north was our next stop where we found some sea gypsy’s anchored. The kids were very happy with the balloons we keep on board for gifts.

A nice lighthouse built by the Spanish was our next destination however the wind and rain kept us away and it was so rolly we had to move around the corner where we convinced Robin to climb a coconut tree for us.

By this stage Andy on the Star Ship Shar had turned up so along with Rubicon Star we all headed for Balabac town. It’s now official, Pontus caught the first fish of the trip. Unfortunately for us it was a Barracuda which isn’t the greatest eating fish but the fisherman rowing around close by with his lure out was over the moon when we dropped it into his boat causing it to sit noticeably lower in the water.

In Balabac town our first Philippine town we stocked up on Tanduay Rum at $2 a bottle and the local beer “Red horse” which has a bit of a kick at 6.9%. Next on the shopping list was a new sim card for our phones and finally some fruit and veges.

After moving to a little bay north we were awaken by gunfire early the following morning. Once the shooting had stopped I came out and was looking for any signs of bullet holes when I spotted a hole near the top of the mast. Amanda got on the radio to Rubicon Star who had already sailed north to tell them about our possible injury. I climbed the mast to find it was a rivet hole but everywhere we go now other Yachts ask us if we heard Rubicon Star got shot on Balabac? The cruising grapevine is in full force!
The Police came and arrested 2 locals while we swiftly headed to Candaraman Island where the locals gave us coconuts. Amanda has discovered this goes well with the local Tanduay Rum and we now have a daily coconut quota to fill.

Before heading north towards Palawan we made the most of the local reef drift snorkelling on the outer edge.

Leaving home...

2011-12-05T17:40:00.000+11:00

Malaysia has now been our home for about 9 months on and off and tomorrow (1/12) we'll farewell our friends and set sail for the Philippines.

We've learnt the language, made countless friends, enjoyed the culture, food and wonderful family and community environment. We've even forgotten the English for some words! We know our way around government departments, can spot a local driver and are comfortable in being a tourist attraction ourselves. I can eat Rotti with just my right hand (only by sitting on my left!), order a slap up meal and buy any kind of grocery with ease.

We point with our thumb, touch our heart after shaking hands, shake our hand in a maybe sign when we really mean no, give a big smile to everyone showing all our pearly whites and are comfortable welcoming locals into our home.

We like to think we've lost some of our western obsession with rules and indignation at non conformists and instead gained some Malaysian acceptance, patience and "whatever", laughing at life and often ourselves!

There is so much we'll miss about Malaysia and we hope we will be back next year to see all our friends. The anchorage is emptying out and the northerlies are coming in... it's time to be off.

Farewell Malaysia and Philippines here we come...

Return to Kudat

2011-12-02T15:52:00.002+11:00

After farewelling Peter who was off to Oz we lay around the pool for a few days R&R. The resort with wi-fi and swimming pool is right next to the lovely protected anchorage.

Normally dragon flies herald the start of the dry season but not so in Kudat. In between rain storms we managed to get a few jobs done - one of them being patching the dinghy cover with some left over curtain fabric - damn we really look like cruisers now... I also finally found a hair dresser by asking all the girls in town with nice hair where they go - and entrusted her to chop it all off!

Our evenings we spent with the locals enjoying some social snooker in town. The Navy also came over to visit - very surprised at how "complete" the boat is, this being the first Kapal Layar (yacht) they have ever been on.

Unfortunately there was also an accident during our stay where 2 women and a child were tragically killed in a fishing boat explosion. Simon was there to capture the aftermath.

Introducing Maliangin Island

2011-11-29T17:26:00.005+11:00

The reason for the Pesta being held in Banggi by the WWF was to promote tourism for a neighboring Island, Maliangin. Some of the events included a game where the kids race across a field to blow flour off a plate until they could get a lollie in their mouth without hands and race back.

There was also the race to blow up a balloon until it popped and the attempt to eat an apple hanging on a string hands free. This proved tricker than anticipated and the apples were pulled off in the finish.

The traditional stilt race was a favorite of mine. Being experienced in the field of stilt racing from when I was a schoolboy I almost gave it a shot until I seen about half the foot pegs fall out of the bamboo poles during practice.

Women’s tug of war was worth a look although being on the other end of the rope was way to scary. Would rather take my chances on the stilts.

The extreme of the women’s tug of war was the beauty contest. This almost didn’t take place as it was a Friday, and was to be held over the road from the local mosque. The girls were devastated after practicing all morning and in the end the head mosque guy allowed it if they wore their he-jib. (thing that covers the head)

Amanda got roped into a tug of war match the following day on Mallangi resulting in a sore knee and a pulled back muscle. I told her not to mess with the big girls. You will have to watch the video to see the action.

Breaking all the rules - back to Kudat

2011-11-24T14:47:00.003+11:00

After picking up Peter our new Canadian crew member for the leg, and just escaping the plague?? we departed Sandakan deciding to by pass the Turtle Islands in favor Lankayan. Here we got in trouble for fishing in the SIMCA conservation park (what park?) moments after Peter landed a great Coral Trout. Lucky for us the enforcement officer was more interested in whether we were still fishing rather then what we had already caught.

Funny thing is the next day we stopped at Tegapil still within the park to see the turtles laying and were offered Turtle eggs by a member of the army stationed on the Island. Go figure.

The weather becoming wet and squally, and having no luck at one in the morning looking for Turtles we bid the sea gypsies farewell and headed for Simmadel Island just off the mainland. Is the 3 finger wave to show he’s not lost them to fish bombing?

We almost lost Peter to the crabs while touring a mangrove creek when a low branch tried to sweep him over the back of the dingy. Oops, sorry.

A stop at the village where a large sea cucumber farm has been recently constructed proved less hazardous with Amanda learning how to make a Nipah palm shelter with the locals.

After an overnight stop at Mabahoc, where we found an idyllic island community - a few huts, a few coconut trees, white sand beach, fringing reef and many children! After more squalls and another fruitless fishing trip out of Malalawi we found ourselves at Banggi where an archaeological site was rumored to exist. This turned out to be remains of an overgrown Japanese war camp where they collected fish.

A clever but tough way to get full drums of diesel from a boat to a truck was worth a look.

A Pesta (kind of like a festival) was also being held in the town, but more about that later.

Smoking in Sandakan

2011-11-18T16:53:00.005+11:00

Our arrival back in Sandakan was filled with the usual tasks, fuel, gas, and groceries. Being only a short dingy ride from the markets, it was also a good place to get long term, hard to carry stores.

Being the second largest town in the state of Sabah, Sandakan also had a “Giant” supermarket. Out the front some guys were doing the hard sell on Zero Gravity chairs, supposedly designed by NASA. For a joke I convinced Amanda it might be a good idea to take a rest before the trip home.The whole thing somewhat backfired on me when I found myself carrying the chair home on the bus.

We visited the bird park in the hope of seeing some of Borneo’s exotic birds and we rewarded with a couple of sightings of the colorful brown sparrow. Even that was while walking from the bus stop to the park. I’m not sure what the story was, maybe it was to hot?

The evening before our departure back to Kudat, I came across a very cool power tool. It’s a rat killer that sounds like a leaf blower when running, shoots a flame out the front and injects a diesel and who knows what combination of chemicals at the nozzle. The end result is lots of noise and smoke.

Someone I spoke to said that they had seen a similar device used in India to kill rats after a small outbreak of the plague. I think it’s a stretch of the imagination to think Sandakan has a plague outbreak but lets weigh the anchor anyway. Can’t be to sure about these things.

Back tracking... heading to Sandakan

2011-11-04T23:01:00.005+11:00

After weaving around the floating fish traps, we made our way out of Lahad Datu towards our first anchorage. Bombing again was on the menu.

Trevor attempted the NZ staple unsupervised and without sufficient training almost ending in tears when he hit the water face first.

As a joke I volunteered his services to do a talk at the local school in Tambisan. Before I knew it we had all been recruited, donning our most respectable clothes we headed over, guitar in hand to the school. Malaysia has implemented a 33-minute compulsory English reading program for kids in all schools, I think every week. Video is taken and sent to the education department to prove participation and we were lucky enough to be part of the launch.

After this the kids were invited out to the boat for a look-see. They were very impressed and we had a great morning - thanks Tambisan!

The boy’s turn to visit was a little less calm than the girls which did not impress Sloop who is used to a quieter lifestyle.

From reefs to pirates - Lahad Datu

2011-10-28T18:05:00.002+11:00

Our arrival at Semporna was planned in time for both dropping off Cristian and Mane and the rugby world cup final. I can’t say it was the most relaxing game of rugby I have ever watched, even Trevor who is not that interested was nervous.

With a win under our belt we headed back out to Bohey Dulang to have another crack at the mountain behind the national parks buildings.

The mountain was ours.

The national parks buildings house a lab where they are growing various clams for release in the area.

Being very impressed with the snorkeling at Richards reef we decided to head back over there the following day to show Gadfly’s crew the coral gardens. And the bird. (Simon made me do it!)

After dotting our way down Darvel Bay we now find ourselves in Lahad Datu. The Lonely Planet Guide talks about gun wielding pirates on the waters but it appears to be a lot safer the Semporna if you ask me.

With a couple of days up our sleeve before we head to Sandakan to pick up Peter (crew from Canada) we have come up with a rough route for the Philippines.

The elusive mountain @ Tun Sakaran

2011-10-25T20:00:00.001+11:00

Unfortunately Cristian’s mask broke when removing it from its wrapper and we had to fabricate a snorkel from PVC pipe to go with his 1 flipper. Once these issues were overcome he was off.

The snorkeling at Richards reef was much better then we expected even if fish numbers were a little on the low side.

Amanda had obtained a permit for us to visit Tun Sakaran National Park, so with high hopes of doing a jungle trek up the mountain we covered the 15 miles the following day. For the 4 days we were in the park the weather gods didn’t smile on us to allow us up the mountain.

We did fill in our time attempting to catch the last decent fish in Malaysia, and visiting the water villages. Gadfly and Shah also turned up which of course led to dinner and beers.

All in the name of finding some turtles, we invented a new sport, squalkeling (snorkeling in squalls). We managed to find 3 without getting washed out to sea.

A trip up the mast gave Cristian the opportunity to jump from the spreader, breaking his bum landing monkey style into the water.

Having a small stash of give away items such as balloons on board we handed them out to the kids on one of the islands. The next day rain or shine they kept paddling out selling shells.

Much to the disappointment of Sloop (reduced pats), Amanda (back to slumming it with the boys) and I (No more Sop I Peia), the Chileans have exhausted their 10 days and it was drawing to the end of their holiday.

We finally got a good sail on our last leg.

Andele Andele... south we sail

2011-10-22T17:05:00.004+11:00

After picking up crew Christian and Mane from Chile we headed south with Semporna being our final destination.

Our first stop was the southern entrance to the Kinabatangan. Here we found Proboscis monkeys up a creek side by side with an army base. In the wee hours of 3am two large fishing boats that had dragged anchor with their 8 dory’s tangled around the front of Thyme. How rude… Christian summed it well by responding to Mane when asked, “What’s happening?” and he said something that sounded like cagsacaraga and means in English “big shit.”
The fishing crew managed to get 1 boat off and cut the anchor line on the other to free it before sending over their English speaker to give us a bucket of crabs and apologize.

Tigabu was our next stop where we demonstrated the art of washing in the rain to save water. We went ashore and tried to get the kids to climb a tree to get a drinking coconut for us. We were told to help yourself. Lucky for us some contractors came by with an extension ladder. Problem solved.

On the far side of the island while looking for a snorkeling spot we found some locals cutting planks from driftwood. And we thought planking was so yesterday…

Another overnight stop was made at Dent Haven before crossing Darvel Bay. With no wind the decision was made to stop so Christian could demonstrate the Chilean Banana bomb. Mane’s contribution was the monkey jump.

10 points for enthusiasm, 2 for splash. Amanda needn’t have moved so far away from the drop zone. The weather being as settled as it was we did a change of course and headed to Richards Reef for an overnight snorkeling stop.

Farewell Kinabatangan

2011-10-11T12:47:00.007+11:00

Hunter’s departure saw meat back on the menu… in a big way! On the flip side we were now running solo without our hockey star to remove the log jams from the anchor chain.

On the way back out we stopped by at the village of Abai for some of those yummy fresh water prawns. This was my favorite stop! Elephants passed by not far from the boat and we fell asleep to the sound of their trumpet. Our nightly ritual of showering on the back deck with the cold river water could now be conducted ‘sans clothing’.

The next morning we strolled around town meeting the locals. Here we met Ghafar and Jarima who run the Moido Waloi Homestay. They immediately invited us for a tour of their garden and rice paddy, and then showered us with fresh coconuts, biscuits and mangoes. We made plans for them to visit the boat later that day with promises of smoked fish and fresh veges. Yummy! It was a great afternoon with lots of laughs – the no smiling in photos must be a cultural thing?

Further down the river Sloop managed to sneak in the dinghy for a trip down a creek where we met more monkeys, proboscis, eagles and kingfishers.

We managed to get out the river with only 5cm to spare under the keel. Sloop was rewarded finding a fish on the foredeck that jumped onto the boat – sadly no one would fillet and steam it for him. Off to Sandakan for some chores and preparing for the next leg to the Semporna & Sipidan area.

This is the East coast at Sandakan and our planned route to Tawau - our turn around point.

Note: If you were interested to stay in the Moido Waloi Homestay, this can be arranged through Ghafar on +60109314303 or the Sandakan Tourist Information centre. Highly recommended - great people and lovely location - living with the locals.

Call of the Wild - Sukau

2011-10-04T12:39:00.000+11:00

Finally we made Sukau after dogging and pressing through the log jams in the river. I thought Hunter would possess some Canadian Lumber jack skills however he was a little reluctant to jump on a jam after hearing crocodiles inhabit the river.

Another boat Alice, who had entered the river at the same time as us ended up with a big log stuck across the front of their boat while they were away. We tried to move it until they came back without success.

The main objective of coming all the way up the river was to see the Asian Pigmy elephants of which officially only around 130 of still exist. The locals think real numbers are only 70. We took a local boat upstream as it looked as if Thyme might not fit under the power lines, passing the Croc that was waiting for Hunter to jump on a log jam.

We were not disappointed with the turn out. Our driver told us that the Palm oil plantation owners shoot the elephants to keep them from trampling around in their plantations. The female elephant on the right has a scar from a gunshot wound on her right cheek.

Our driver took us home via an Ox Bow lake that’s being slowly over taken by Hyacinth.

The next morning Amanda and I headed out early (early and Hunter don’t work well together) looking for monkeys, birds etc. We nosily passed a few unimpressed tourist boats before finding an old swing bridge made from canvas hose.

Hunter having completed his 2 weeks relatively unscathed, headed back to Sandakan to start his journey back to Toronto and us needing to renew our visa began the trip back down the river. The tide lets us out on the 8th.

Jungles of Borneo - off to the Kinabatangan River

2011-10-01T16:30:00.006+10:00

From Tegipil we carried on to Lankayan getting lost in the reef before being pointed in the direction of a mooring owned by the resort located on the island. The snorkeling here was very good; we even spotted a giant stingray.

The Turtle islands was to be our next stop however after anchoring the Park officials paddled out on their surf ski with their “talky talky” so the “big boss” could tell us to go “far far away”. Turns out we did not have a landing permit which apparently we should have got from KK. The fact we weren’t landing was beside the point. We moved far away to the next island but were again told the same thing prompting us to move far far away. During the night we had a good squall 30+ knots and Hunter reviewed his personal belief of not using insect repellant.

The yacht club in Sandakan was a good stop for more supplies, the dentist for me and a chance to watch the All Blacks flog France in the rugby. The bar staff needed a little bit of convincing to change the channel from the badminton but we got there in the finish.

Of course the rugby turned into beers and once back at the boat. Hunter after not coming up with a bomb for Canada that could rival the Aussie "Star Horsie" or the US "Flying Wombat", pulled out the beer shot gun. I must say I was impressed. Not to be attempted without adult supervision it goes something like, Step 1 pierce the can and fold in the torn aluminum. Step 2-hold hole to mouth with tear tab at highest point and open. Two - Five seconds later your no longer thirsty.

With the tides still in our favor we left Sanderkan at 4.30am to cross the Northern bar into the Kinabatangan at 8.00am. All went well and we started the slow trip up stream.

At our first anchorage I managed to get 6 large river prawns off a fisherman going past for the evening BBQ.

We also spotted our first troop of Proboscis Monkeys in the trees near the boat. A closer inspection almost got us lost.

After a night of fireflies we took the dingy to a near by lake early in the morning before heading to the metropolises of Sukau further upstream.

South from Kudat

2011-09-29T20:24:00.001+10:00

We headed out to Banggi with Hunter only a little grazed from his Coconut climbing exposé. Can’t blame him really as they probably are pretty thin over the ground in Toronto. Our next stop was to be Tigabu however we stopped for an afternoon snorkel at some random sand hill in the middle of the Sulu sea.

Hunter in his enthusiasm to go snorkeling threw himself out of the dingy onto a sea urchin. Ouch, injury number 2. I heard they don’t do much snorkeling in Canada.

After meeting some locals on Tigabu they kindly offered us much-needed tips in collecting and opening coconuts.

Our new friend took us to town after loading our dingy with drinking coconuts and showing us around his Beche de Mare farm. (sea cucumber). Here we got invited for lunch.

Lunch rolled into a snorkeling trip where our new friend and his offsider collected various shellfish for us that we could not accept not knowning what it was or how to cook it. They did however do battle with a Cuttlefish which we ate but not before it showered the dingy and Amanda who was sitting in it with black ink.

Carrying onwards southwest, I found Hunter sleeping on the foredeck mid afternoon resulting in Injury number 3. Apparently Canada has trees to provide shade from the sun.

The small Island of Tegipil with a small army base is where Hunter perfected the art of snorkeling. Amanda offered pearls of wisdom such as “you sound like a heard of elephants” and “can you float?”. Fins also kept his feet safe. While walking on the island we admired the army’s lookout post.

Bottom Job in Kudat

2011-09-27T08:17:00.000+10:00

Kudat is a small town near to the northern most point of Borneo that has a well priced and run ship yard. The weekly snorkeling bottom scrubs were becoming tiresome and it was Thyme for some anti-foul. Simon donned his OH&S approved workwear and got stuck in with the grinder – yes he is wearing over his head a satin nightie with cat whiskers drawn!

While Si and I worked swearing and cursing the heat, Sloop was having a grand time. He had all the local dogs and cats bowing to him and even seduced the local children into all day patting fests. The facilities were not 5 star, but we did have our own bathroom and a shared laundry – No 5 was about 3.5stars after a few hours of scrubbing!

After Hari Raya was over, life became easier. The shops and restaurants opened, we finished the last coat of anti foul and were up to final jobs, buffing and running the wires for the new depth sounder.

Before we knew it we were back in the water sparkly and new, marking Hunter’s arrival from Seoul. We collected some final coconuts from the golf course, farwelled the friendly town of Kudat and set sail for some island south.

Farewell Layang Layang

2011-09-25T20:09:00.000+10:00

With time starting to run out, a trip to a small island home to the many sea birds in the area was planned. Some of the paired Noddies had eggs or chicks.

Not being a bird expert it looked like 2 other species were hanging out on the island. The one’s with the Mohawks were apparently Crested Terns.

The other end of the Lagoon had dive sites like shark cave, Snapper Ledge and Wrasse strip so the decision was made to up anchor and shift down to the other entrance. We passed some possibly disused automatic fish farms along the way, anchored and headed out for a snorkel.

Lucky for us the tide had just changed and the current was sweeping us along the edge of the wall back the way we came. A check of the GPS showed we had actually snorkeled 1.7km back… my how time flies.

Amanda did see a large shark at shark cave but scared it off before I got there. Who scares off sharks?

With the weather starting to pack it in we moved back to our previous anchorage in preparation for leaving

During or trip back, much to Sloop’s disgust we had small birds and even a cricket stay for the night. How these guys get 80 miles against the wind from land is a bit of a mystery. Safely anchored in Kudat, Ivonne headed off for new adventures and we psyched ourselves for a haul out.

Life at Layang Layang

2011-09-23T18:56:00.002+10:00

After the excitement of the beach clean up Ivonne braved a trip to the top of the mast.

The mission for the days snorkel was to locate a sea horse. We had read they hang around in areas with a lot of sea grass and as it happens, we had seen such an area.

The Sea horses were a little thin over the ground (read none) but there was plenty of other marine life with Nudibranchs and various wrasse.

The water over the sea grass was hot compared with the outside of the reef where a swim into the abyss was needed to cool down.

With the sun on my back here is what my shadow looks like in 1,700m of water.

Trevor and I decided to have a go at fixing the dive compressor without success while Ivonne and Amanda entertained themselves tied to the back of the boat for the afternoon, with Ivonne sneaking Amanda some liquid refreshments from the boys stash.

Layang Layang

2011-09-12T19:11:00.006+10:00

The trip out was fairly uneventful motoring most of the way in light conditions, catching only weed. The local pod of Bottle Nose Dolphins showed us the entrance to the lagoon.

Of course the morning following our arrival I headed out before first light for fishing, managing to get a dog tooth Tuna. Food for all. Snorkeling was next on the agenda.

The weather was treating us kindly with lovely hot days and 50 meter viiability along the reef.

On day 4 the dive compressor shat itself however by this stage we all had had plenty of dives and were happy to snorkel along the 1.7km drop off amongst all the marine life.

The evening brought more fishing with Ivonne throwing back the plate sized fish and catching her biggest ever fish. Amanda meanwhile was showing the GT's living in the channel to the lagoon whos's their daddy

Even Trevor (yes Gadfly Trevor who is not known for his fishing prowess) went out in Thymes dingy to my secret spot and managed to show something for all his investment in fishing equipment. His best catch being a GT on the middle hook of his lure and a Barracuda on the back hook that was attacked by a shark while he was winding it in. The end result was a GT in the bucket and a twitching Barracuda head over the side.

The following morning Amanda, bless her cotton socks organised a beach clean up, attendance compulsory.

In case your curious, Layang Layang is a small coral atoll formed by the caldera of a volcano situated about 150nm off Kota Kinabalu. It is one of about 600 islands forming the disputed Spratley Island group. As such there's a naval presence on the island and permits are required to visit issued by the National Security Department of Malaysia.

Police Bay

2011-09-09T18:30:00.002+10:00

Well, it’s been so long since I had to write something, I have had to look back to what was last reported. It appears we were in Kota Kinabalu waiting for our Layang Layang permit to come through. The permit finally arrived, along with Ivonne, a new crewmember for our trip.

Our first stop was Palau Gaya where we had a communal BBQ with prawns and Daryl’s special Papaya marinated steak.

The evening as usual turned into beers, wine and even champagne. Trevor then cranked up the Guitar to scare off any monkeys that may have been lurking nearby.

The next morning we moved around the corner into the next Bay where a yacht unfriendly resort was rumored to be located. After some diving with the electric hooker system 3 of us headed over to the resort to see if we could sneak a swim. Our plan was to run up the beach and jump in before being kicked out. The plan went swimmingly with Trevor and me floating about the infinity pool feeling pleased with ourselves waiting for security. Gabrielle who had decided against the swim then turned up with a free cocktail which somewhat took the wind out of our sails. Hearing the guests get the first drink free and not to be out done Trevor and I headed in search of the bar, Trevor ending up with the house special and me a Long Island Ice Tea. The manager did inquire if I arrived that day which I could honestly answer yes. Thanks guys.
The following morning much to Sloops disgust we headed out to travel the 150 miles to Layang Layang.

Some photos above are stolen from Ivonne - check out her site - www.inspirationworldwide.com

2011-08-03T16:58:00.005+10:00

It was still another 3 days before Amanda’s parents were due to arrive so with previous crewmember Josh and his friend Ben in the neighborhood the plan to head out for some diving was hatched.

While to four of us were diving the sound of boats could be heard above us and after surfacing we discovered Trevor from Gadfly, Darryl from Matana and Dave from Mirage were anchored in the next bay. As we hadn’t seen Trevor for 4 months beers seemed like a good idea. This of course led to a bombing competition with moves like the Flying Wombat, Star Horsey, Staple and the Layback all being demonstrated.

Trevor managed to lose his sunnies but with the assistance of dive gear recovered them after a 15 min search.

That night we had a fire on the beach with marshmallows before heading from Gaya around to Edgell Patches the following morning. The plan was to do the open sea dive before the wind came up but conditions weren’t great so we dropped Josh and Amanda off and returned to the general area ½ an hour later. I kept thinking if the GPS was to lose the waypoint or there was a strong current below the surface how would we find them? None of these things happened so alls well that ends well.
With the arrival of Amanda’s parents we hit the Tourist trail heading over to Poring hot springs.

They also have a rain forest canopy walk, which consists of Aluminum ladders bolted together, overlaid with planks and hung in the treetops.

Town also had its sights such as 6-foot long Monitor lizards living in the street drains and some pretty interesting cuisine being live stonefish at 10 RM per 100 grams.

After a few days I was pretty much touristed out so moved onto boat jobs giving Amanda, Derek and Janet some time alone to visit the wild life park, Islands etc. They got a good taste of local safety on the boat trip having to wear kids life jackets that won’t do up and a life ring that’s going to the bottom of the sea with the boat if it sinks.

Amanda says – I had an absolute ball with my parents here – 8 days was too short! Wildlife spotting, mountain and jungle walks, hot springs, islands – we enjoyed it all. I hope you come back to visit soon – miss you already.

Racing against Thyme...

2011-07-30T11:05:00.006+10:00

The trip to Kinabalu was largely done with the motor running, the only real excitement was provided by the Malaysian armed forces.

As we were not part of the rally or the race we anchored just south of the marina on our arrival. The next day the race organizers convinced us to do the Kota Kinabalu races therefore be entitled to free marina usage for 5 days. Count us in.

Even though the wind was practically none existent we headed out for our first ever race in Thyme. The course was shortened and we drifted around, coming a respectable 3^rd for our class. I don’t think anyone spotted my small mistake of in my excitement of putting the inner jib on upside down.

I woke up early the next morning to the noise of the wind in the rigging. The afternoon races were anything but lacking in wind. Being only the 2 of us we had our hands full getting around the course and seriously considered reefing the main at one point. We were rewarded with a 2^nd for our efforts and as the boat that came 3^rd was still a long way back, this put as second over all. At the dinner and prize giving we picked up our first silverware… maybe I need to build a trophy cabinet?

Once our 5 days were up we moved out back on anchor even though a swell was still coming in from the earlier weather. The roll although acceptable was a bit much after the marina so I scouted a new spot with the sounder in the dingy. This found us later that afternoon up a canal, tied up to large traditional boat just across from town.

Brunei, where everything is gold

2011-07-25T20:55:00.003+10:00

We entered the country of Brunei at a little Port called Kuala Belait where we heard that even Australians could get a free unlimited time seamen’s pass or in Amanda’s case a sea women’s pass. Apparently the Australian government had upset the Sultans brother at one point and so the visa rules are a little different for Australians however the local yacht club gave us a warm welcome.

After getting our clearance done we continued on to the main port of Muara where we could anchor off another Yacht club. With facilities like a washing machine, wifi and a pool Amanda was in heaven. After getting our 500 liters of 31-cent p/l fuel we made a plan to go to town to see what was going on for the Sultans birthday.

Being to far from town for the bus a plan was hatched to hitch hike to the nearest bus station. The second car along the road was a brand new V8 BMW. He picked us up and offered to drive us the whole way, which he proceeded to do at 180km. Amanda observed that even the back seat had air bags.

It was a funny old day in town. We came across a tourist being rescued by the emergency services after slipping on the riverbank while trying to get a photo. He was stuck fast in mud up to his armpits unable to get free. The streets in town were packed with Pakistani, Indonesian and Vietnamese workers (all male) who for their day off come to town and hang out. This caused a problem at the end of the day when everyone wanted to go home. The crowd at the bus station resembled an All Blacks game at Eden Park. We could only watch as our first bus pulled in and was mobbed. An Indonesian conductor took pity on us and when the next bus turned up he vaulted his friend through the window to open the rear emergency exit for us. Once the door was opened I pushed a few people out of the way and climbed up. Amanda who was following in a skirt couldn’t get her leg high enough to get in. With the bus now filling fast from the front the crowd behind her gave her backside a shove and she was in with only a dent in her pride. We even got a seat.

After leaving Brunei we headed to Labuan to get our duty free and clear back into Malaysia before joining the Miri to Kota Kinabalu race. Even managed to catch a couple of fish on passage.

Bintulu to Miri with the Yii's

2011-07-11T13:05:00.005+10:00

After leaving the mouth of the Lassa at the very civilized time of 11am we traveled through the night to our next stop at Bintulu. After hearing about yachts before us having stuff stolen off them while anchored in the river we opted for the secure port 10 miles further north. From here it was a pain in the ass to get to town involving a long trip in the dingy through the Port before, in the words of the port official, hijacking out on the main road. The 24hour security made up for the inconvenience.

The weather being unsettled we stayed 3 days. When in town on day 1 we got sausage-making ingredients and filled in the other days making sausages. Hippy Amanda went all out even attempting to make Feta cheese as well as other things.

Another overnighter saw us through to Miri, arriving early in the morning with a blood splattered hull after catching 2 fish and running into a 35 foot long log in the middle of the night. After walking into town we found that Miri does not have anywhere to hires a motorbike. Everywhere we went I asked the locals if I could hire their bike for 4 days until we found a spare one. With wheels we found a great electrical shop that should have Avalanche danger signs posted and of course the friendly local Butcher.

Yii, the Butcher was a little surprised when we turned up wanting Pig intestines but after explaining what they were for he ordered them for an early pick up the next morning. He must have mentioned the crazy tourists making western sausages to his wife as we then got a message inquiring if we could do a sausage making class for her and her friend. Sounds like fun.

After a batch of Old English Pork Yii and his family took us under their wing and couldn’t do enough for us. We mentioned taking our bike the 100kms down to Niah Caves, but they would not hear of it insisting on driving us down.

After only 1 wrong turn we found our way through the cave system to the paintings on the other side.

Being a weekday not many people were about therefore the bats, cave Wetas etc were relatively undisturbed.

Once back at the marina we thought since the Miri Marina was full of boats, a taste test evening would help present our superior product to the marketplace. It ended up being such a success we did the same the following evening managing to sell out (24 half kilo packets) as well as back orders. This caused a delayed departure to make more sausages and Amanda was keen to go out with Yii’s wife and family while I got the boat prepared. Their plan of sneaking over the bridge to Brunei had its problems I believe.

A week later with sausages in the freezer again we headed off for Brunei. Thanks Yii and family for the great time we had while in Miri.

Nuts in the River - leaving the Lassa

2011-06-28T21:18:00.004+10:00

Using the outgoing tide most of the time we made or way down the river system to the mouth of the Lassa some 65 miles further north of where we entered the Rajang. Having a little bit of time on our hands waiting for the tide we decided to try some Betel Nut purchased from the market in Sibu for 3RM ($1).

The idea as far as we could tell was to combine the 3 ingredients into the green leaf and roll it up like a cigar. The Beer was in case everything went pear shaped.

The white paste was very bitter, numbed the tongue and tasted something like chalk with a generous splash of paint thinner. Don’t ask how I know what thinners taste like. We pushed on hoping that the combination of all the items would produce some magical flavor… it didn’t.

After 3 bites and the urge to vomit it went in the bin and the only euphoric sensation we got was the one associated with knowing we didn’t have to eat any more. An Internet search later revealed the mouldy leaf was probably tobacco. The green leaf from the betel nut or correctly named Areca Palm and the white paste is a mystery. Its often lime powder but not so in this case. The whole concoction is known to remove intestinal parasites and cause cancer. Maybe that’s what kills the parasites?
Next stop Bintulu.

Sausages in Sibu

2011-06-24T19:52:00.002+10:00

Sibu is a bustling town of about 250,000 residents who are largely Chinese, servicing the small towns up and down the 100’s of miles of riverbanks.

The Market place here was the biggest we ever seen and your chicken could be purchased in a variety of packages but not with chips.

Here may go down in history as the birth of the worlds best sausages available to mostly cruisers. Tired of life without a decent banger we have decided to manufacture our own and share the fruits of our labour with other people afflicted with the same addition. 2 days on the Internet gave us the know-how and off we set to purchase our equipment and ingredients. Synthetic casings not available the 100% natural sausage was the obvious choice. How did I end up with the job of sorting these?

Our first run of Old English Pork had a few teething problems such as bursting on the BBQ caused by over stuffing, but the taste was definitely there. The second run of more Old English Pork and fresh Chorizo was far more successful.

A couple of other cruisers came up from Santubong by ferry for a visit (think they heard about our sausages) so we hit the town before lifting anchor again and heading back down the river.

Rumah Lidam and the Iban Bomb

2011-06-22T10:59:00.000+10:00

The following morning once it was obvious we were out of bed the tide brought with it a tsunami of kids aged 6 –14. Apparently a Tarzan swing was to be erected.

Being the heaviest (by only a small amount) it was me who had to do the swing testing. Once the girls mastered the swing the boys went one better with summersaults off the back handrail.

Amanda braved the river herself with some move of her own yet to be named which even forced the mud skippers up the side of the boat.

Not wanting to leave we made the half hour dingy trip to town for the internet, changing our arrangements wanting to stay longer. We were kept on our toes avoiding the clumps of palm floating in the river and the occasional tangle with the riverside trees.

After almost a week we took the children ashore one last time as sadly the time had come to move north. We made our way up to the longhouse this time with beer and our mix of a Midori Splice to bid farewell. When on the Internet in Bintangor I productively spent my time researching the Iban rice wine recipe. When enquiring about the finer details of the methods used we were presented with a very generous amount of bottles from the various families for our travels. Each family seems to have a slightly different recipe or mix.

Amanda in her excitement having found some form of appetizing wine woke up…slowly and we headed off upstream past all the log barges for the metropolis of Sibu.

The Mighty Rajang River

2011-06-20T17:52:00.005+10:00

After a 4am start (groan) we reached the mouth of the Rejang just catching the beginning of the ebb tide. Moving at walking pace into the river we anchored ASAP. The following morning at the far more civilized hour of 8.30am the tide began to flood and off we went to Sarekei, the first of our riverside towns.

This friendly bustling little town had all we hoped for, me getting a new pair of sandals incase I have to climb Mount Kinabalu and Amanda finding both Internet and a steamboat restaurant. Beer at 4RM almost made us stay another day but the tide was turning and our next stop Bintangor beckoned.

After visiting the local market where your chicken starts off alive at the beginning of the purchase process, we got a few supplies (biscuits for the kids)and headed up to the Rumah Lidam Longhouse.

The longhouse is off the main river, and was recommended to us by Crystal Blues, another Ganley cruising boat who had first explored here in 2006 and made regular visits since.

They invited us over for dinner so we thought we could maybe take something a bit different. After some serious thought we hit on the idea of pizzas and bloody Marys. Bet they don’t have that often! I can’t say it was a huge success; especially as it turns out they don’t really like spicy food. They at first thought the bloody Mary was sauce, and it almost ended up on the pizza at one point. I think maybe 1 out of every 20 people thought it was drinkable (it made the baby cry). The pizza topping was fairly popular but the base was only a means of getting the topping to your plate. It was a good night, lots of laughs.

We made plans to come over the following day for a look around. The monkey pot, a type of pitcher plant was worth a look.

The kids made plans to come out to the boat and demonstrate the Iban bomb technique.

Bugs, Turtles & Monkeys - Setang Besar to Bako

2011-06-17T13:12:00.001+10:00

Much to the disappointment of the local mosquito population I’m sure, it was time to leave our safe haven in the river to start moving north again.

Not getting to carried away for a start we decided to do the 10 miles to Palau Setang Besar, an island where they have a breeding program for turtles. The idea is to wait for the turtles to come up the beach at night and start laying their eggs. The Park Rangers then tag the turtle, measure it and remove barnacles etc. Once the turtle has gone, the eggs are dug up and relocated to a fenced area out of harms way. After anchoring and lunch (Jungle fern – the local specialty) we headed over to find out what the deal was.

The Rangers informed us that the previous night 3 turtles had come ashore and after encountering problems during the hole digging process had headed back to sea without laying. We were welcome to come over at 10pm - high tide. By the time 10pm rolled around it was raining and the waves made it feel like we were trying to sleep on the back of a rocking horse. After discussing the pros and cons we bit the bullet and went over anyway.

The ranger greeted us on the shore with the news that a group of Hawks Bill turtle eggs had just hatched and we were welcome to take them down to the shore and set them free.

The rain then stopped and 2 Green turtles came ashore and started digging. One hit a log in it’s first hole and roots in the second, so went back to sea however the second one laid its eggs.

The laying went smoothly after a long and protracted hole digging. After being tagged, etc it headed back to sea.

After a sleep in we donned our snorkeling gear for some barnacle removing of our own on Thyme’s hull. A last stop at the beach revealed our Green Turtle had laid 114 eggs which were now safely buried in a chamber under the sand. In 60 days from now hopefully these baby Green Turtles will scurry down the beach to start their life at sea!

Next on our nature hit list was to find the Proboscis monkey, so we headed further north to the Bako national park. Once anchored we could see them in the treetops on the mainland. The following morning we set out on our search but surprise, surprise it rained forcing us back to the boat.

The next plan was to try our luck on Palau Lekei, the island we were anchored next to. Again the Proboscis could be seen in the treetops but we couldn’t get close. The island did have some nice short walks through different varieties of Pitcher plants and down to a creek. Here the myth has it that an ancient warrior engraved the script in the creek bed with his finger 100’s of years ago. Nobody has been able to translate the writing.

Our next stop will be the mouth of the mighty Rejang, Borneo’s jugular, and the main trade artery for all of central and southern Sarawak.

National Parks - Sarawak

2011-06-15T13:58:00.002+10:00

We decided Gunung Gading National park, home of the Rafflesia was to be our first visit being the furtherest away, a 2.5 hour scooter trip.

The endangered Rafflesia is the worlds largest flower found only in this area, takes 9 months to mature and can be over a meter in diameter. It flowers for 4-5 days and gives off a smell similar to rotting meat to attract fly’s and other insects for pollination.

After the flower we found a near by waterfall to wash off the road grime. Some of the local inhabitants considered us possible food, nipping at our feet if we stood still for too long.

Absorbed in all the wild life living around the stream we didn’t notice the clouds rolling over until it was to late. It appears to be called RAIN forest for a good reason. It pissed down leaving us with no choice but to ride back to the village to purchase raincoats for our trip home. Maybe an early start would be a wiser move tomorrow when a visit to Semenggoh Nature Reserve to see the Orang utans was planned. It’s not guaranteed that you will see them, but if there is not much food in the jungle they will come to the park for an easy meal.
We were in luck.

We were told that it’s best to only stay in the feeding area for a short time as the Orangutans get annoyed and have been known to throw sticks and snakes at the tourists. With that advice, and having seen the pictures of some of the wounds inflicted by bites we were only too happy to move along when told.

Detouring through town to pick up some charts for the Rejang River system and lunch we slowly made our way back to the boat before the afternoon rain.

Kuching Days

2011-06-13T17:21:00.006+10:00

Our crew departed to enjoy some land travel and we took a 2 day rest before we hit the town and what better way to start with a visit to the cat museum. Yes a cat museum, but I guess you would expect that in a place called Kuching, (Malaysian for cat).

Then next order of business was under duress… a climb of mount Santubong - all 823 meters!

Of course we tackled the task on what was to be the wettest day of our entire stay in the Santubong river.

After the rain flushed us out of the forest, we started our 3km walk home only to run into a traffic accident. A Pajero had hit the guardrail and flipped into the jungle. The occupants had gone to hospital by the time we arrived but we hung around to see what condition the 4-wheel drive was in. No blood.

Wild life was next on the agenda, and with the distances between parks a motorbike would be needed.

West to East - off to Borneo

2011-05-31T18:38:00.004+10:00

The Islands out this side of Malaysia were a very pleasant surprise. After Palau Sibu we headed off in search of the waterfall rumored to be on Palau Tinggi. A couple of anchorages later at a few villages we met with success.

On the way back to the boat we stumbled on a small eating-place. Once seated they brought out a really nice fish curry, veges and a few other things. With no menu to gauge the cost we keep asking, “Berapa?” (how much) but with no clear answer, Amanda headed into the kitchen and after much discussion was eventually told 70 Ringgit ($25). A far price would have been 15 Ringgit so we pointed this out, paid for our drink and made moves to leave. Obviously embarrassed a local rushed over claiming he had paid for our meal and not to leave. Local workers were arriving so I suggested that they would appreciate such a lovely meal and we headed back to the boat for lunch.

Next stop Palau Aur, I thought this was going to be my favorite but was yet to visit Tioman. Crewmember Josh decided to climb the closest rock to spice up his afternoon.

A snorkel sounded like a better idea to me.

We tore ourselves away heading to Palau Tioman our clearing out spot. Hard to believe, but it was even better here. The water visibility here was 25m+. Crewmember / dive instructor Josh got roped into a trade doing Amanda’s advanced ticket and changing my dive tickets over to Padi and that involved mostly an exchange of beer. We hired 9 tanks and 4 sets of gear and headed out for a few days of diving.

Of course diving really worked up a thirst and the friendly guys at the Pirate beach bar (Tioman Cabana) helped us out with this problem. Things got a little messy on our last night when they ran out of beer. Feeling bad we were served really discounted Tequila which ended up with me leading the locals and the bar in a Haka rendition at about 1am.

With still 400 miles to go we set out at 7pm the following evening still recovering from my hangover. The weather treated us nicely with everyone except Sloop happy to be motor sailing for the first day.

We all practiced our safety on board skills but fortunately it was 3 uneventful days later that we entered Malaysian waters again to be greeted by the coast guard.

Departing Johor

2011-05-24T14:13:00.004+10:00

After 5 weeks of meals out and taking care of some odd jobs only a few parts from NZ to re-assemble the Furler were holding us up.

Our parts and our new crew arrived in time for the planned departure on the 15th. We almost lost our bike but recovered it without having to enter the water. I think if that were necessary it would have stayed there.

Traveling down the river it was noted that the engine was running hotter than normal. After anchoring at the entrance an inspection reveled the barnacles had moved in covering some areas of the hull and prop. After a swim and scrape in the murky water to clean the prop, sunrise saw us making our way around Singapore.

Once clear of the shipping and oil Riggs the water started to clear up and soon we were swimming at the mainly deserted islands.

The barnacle scraping job when viewed in clean water turned out to be a big one so using the dingy pump and some stuff off the power dive unit (which wasn’t working) I managed to make a Amanda powered unit. It was only a matter of dodging jellyfish after that.

Palau Tioman is our destination for clearing out before the 400 miles to East Malaysia.

Locals in Johor

2011-04-29T18:11:00.008+10:00

We now call home Johor Bahru (for the next few weeks anyway) and are starting to feel like locals, jumping on buses around town, making friends and finding favourite stalls at the market.
We're spending our Thyme Out industriously, working on some boat jobs. First on Simon's agenda was repairing the damage from Thyme's battle with the wharf at Ambon.

I on the other hand practised my baking skills, fattening up our neighbours at Danga Bay - apparently Simon thinks he's sweet enough...

After lots of advice from well intentioned fellow yachties we've succumbed to the pressure and replaced our forestay - or at least are in the process.

Sloop, the snoop of course is up to his old trips, collecting lots of goodies from neighbouring boats, much to our embarrassment!

Route Planning

2011-04-27T16:49:00.009+10:00

For me, the next best thing to actually travelling is planning. I'm now knee deep in route planning, the fan set up (did we mention how hot it is here?), books and guides around me, google and google earth roving and loving it!

At this stage the next few months of our lives will include sailing up the East coast of Malaysia, across to Borneo and onto the Phillipines. There are so many possibilities to explore untouched areas on this passage - no doubt our river experience will come in handy too allowing us to venture deep into the jungles.

The east coast of Malaysia is supposed to have clear waters and some reef so I'm dying to dive into cool blue waters of palm fringed tropical islands! The muddy brown waters of Johor where we are currently docked are not at all enticing!

From here we'll sail across to Borneo landing in Kuching where we can explore Bako National Park and the city delights and markets. Next stop will be a river passage, the Batang Rajang and it's tributuries to some isolated, traditional long house communities - the ones the tours can't get to!

Onwards and upwards along the Borneo coast visiting Brunei and P Labuan along the way. We're trying to get permits to head out to Layang Layang. A coral cay where diving and snorkelling will be the order of the day!

From here we'll sail back to Kota Kinabalu with a plan to climb Mt Kinabalu, hopefully see some amazing birds and pitcher plants in the many hiking trails and parks. Maybe do an inland trip to go caving and camping?

Next we'll sail around the top of Borneo to visit the Turtle Islands National Park and maybe down to Sandakan to spot more wildlife depending on time. Then onto Palawan for some sailing, the winds are meant to be good this time of year, clear waters, reef - this means swiming, snorkelling and exploring. Tasting new foods, learning a new language and meeting new people!

Back down the Malacca Straights

2011-04-18T11:44:00.004+10:00

Storms were starting to roll in most afternoons so after the departure of Mum and Karen the decision was made to head south before the weather packed it in. Gadfly turned up after playing catch up since Phuket and we headed off early to the new marina at Port Klang via Pankor. No real surprise, nobody else was there.

The management had been busy while we were away building a water feature out the front, putting in free washing machines, dryers, big screen TV’s etc. Amanda was very impressed. Thyme had everything washed, Sloop included.

We even found (again free of charge) the flashest massage chairs I have ever seen. They gripped your whole body and did things that were almost scary.

Our friend the monkey was still here not having changed at all.

After 2 days (an amazing feat in Asia) Simon had installed powerful new 8v batteries on Thyme and with everything clean we headed to Palu Besar. From here we caught the ferry into Melaka needing the Internet and someone to send us a fax. Easier said than done. It appears to be much easier to by a coffin than send a fax.

After another overnighter we arrived in Johor Bahru at Danga Bay Marina where we've decided to spend the next month or so preparing for our trip East. Who knows might even have time to break out the secret photo comp again?

A Kiwi Border Crossing

2011-04-18T09:31:00.004+10:00

We headed over the border to Malaysia, first stop Langkawi for a bit more hiking. After the cable car, we convinced Sandra to tackle a few hundred stairs with the promise of more fresh water swimming holes. When we finally made it to the top it was swimming all round.

After stocking up in Langkawi, we headed south to Penang. I was keen to show Sandra and Karen my favourite city in Malaysia. With awesome food stalls, great history and very humorous locals we had a great time. Sandra and Karen also finally enjoyed unlimited fresh water and a bed to themselves in a hotel. What visit to Penang would be complete without a drink and free entertainment at the Hong Kong bar? The crew from Thyme met up with Michelle from Gadfly for reminiscing about the Andamans and tasting new delights.

Kiwis loose in Thailand

2011-04-14T19:13:00.001+10:00

Sandra and Karen decided a holiday was long overdue and headed to Asia to visit Simon and Amanda on the yacht Thyme.

After kicking up their heels around Thailand, Sandra and Karen arrived in Ao Chalong straight into the arms of a bargirl. Trevor insisted this was a good place to shelter from the rain?!?!?! The tune of, “I love you my mother” and “When you happy, I happy” were set to become our mantra for the trip.

The weather put on a good show and we pounded our way Phi Phi Don in the rain. Phi Phi was beautiful but very crowded and in the evening we retreated to the quiet of the boat to watch what else but The Beach.

The next day we headed for the Emerald cave on Koh Muk. Sandra and Karen practiced steering their hovercraft around Thyme before braving the pitch black of the 200m long cave.

We bravely battled past the stinging jelly fish, through the roar of the surge in the dark, past the bats and finally saw some light at the end of the tunnel. We popped out of the tunnel into a jungle green open cave with a white sand beach. Ahhh, heaven. It was well worth the jelly stings.

With the bar set high for adventure, we had a tough act to follow the next day. Where could we find some more excitement? Koh Taratau of course, wasn’t that the setting for a survivor series? Day 1 found us exploring the mangrove creeks looking for Crocodile Cave. After a few hours, some wrong turns, a little debate over dinghy fuel levels we finally stumbled upon a run down concrete wharf of sorts. Curious we dimembarked, followed the trail and entered another cave we found some kayaks and paddles kindly awaiting our attention. Si and I jumped in and were off… just to make sure the path was safe… NO – of course we weren’t waiting to get photos if they fell in!

For the next 2 days we wore ourselves being attacked by green ants and plunging through thick rainforest trying to find a waterfall. Finally on day two of the expedition we came across the cool freshwater pool and falls. We all jumped in keen to cool off only to be surprised by an attack of thousands of tiny fish.

I think we might be starting to wear them out…

The crazy signs of India

2011-04-12T11:27:00.000+10:00

Always wanted to try some Lobestar.

The injurious to health sign was out the front of a typical bottle shop in a dark corner. Locals conceal their purchase before leaving the area. A variety of activities similar to snorkelling seem popular.

If you opt on not using the civic toilet complex you can go to a bar for a light beer (5%) and use their facilities!

Birds, Tribes and Gaol

2011-04-10T10:37:00.003+10:00

Long Island was an old timber town and as a result all the buildings were large timber ones although very run down. We did manage to find a restaurant after following the blue arrows painted on the path. The ½ hour walk needed the arrows. Here the record for the time between ordering and eating was broken at 2 hours 14 mins. A long time, when they don’t serve beer. Trevor got separated in town so we sent out a motorbike to find him. He had stumbled across the code word to get the only alcohol available a home brewed whiskey, which was quite drinkable with coke.

The next day, we were all keen to head up the Humphrey Straight apart from Amanda who wanted to spend time hunting the local Hornbill. After confirming the arrival of a ferry the following morning heading to Neil Island she decided to stay another night and meet us at Neil. We anchored near the ferry crossing and got a rickshaw limo (seats 6) to the local village. Having seen very few westerners we were a highlight for the village getting invited for tea with the school headmaster. Trevor got the code word for whisky however as thyme was short didn’t try the local brew.

Catching the tide the following morning we headed to South Button and had a dive before over nighting at Henry Lawrence Island. We arrived at Neil around lunch to discover the Islands accommodation was booked out. This resulted in Amanda not being at the rendezvous point. I went from place to place on my hired bike eventually finding a very excited manager who claimed the Police came for her. After he calmed down I got him to show me the guest register and her room to make sure we were talking about the same person and made the Police station my next stop. Sure enough there she was waiting for an official to return with her papers. It turns out upon arrival by plane you are issued with travel papers that need to be shown when traveling between Islands and when checking into accommodation. Her papers allowed the boat to travel around but in the fine print said that you couldn’t leave the boat. Of course when he arrived back and wanted to know the boats whereabouts she was able to say anchored out front and things sort of blew over after that.

We were planning on staying a few days until my birthday but the wind had changed the anchorage was uncomfortable so we decide to head over to Port Blair in preparation for our outwards clearance. Sven and Kartja booked a flight to main land India leaving us to explore the local sights. The jail was well worth a look.

The Indians also appeared to have had some trouble with Simon in the past

Clearing out was straight forward, visit the required offices, wait for them if they are not in and meet them 1 hour after agreed for our stamp in their port office or foundations of, then leave. Two ezy.

The trip back to Phuket was mostly uneventful however Amanda suffered from chest pain, and difficulty breathing for the trip. As soon as we arrived I took her to hospital on a motor bike where she was rushed to a doctor, sent for X rays and back to the doctor who kindly told her maybe she pulled a muscle. Ha ha, I told her it was quibblitis. We later found out 2 other people had suffered from the same thing at the same time so maybe whatever it was had cleared up by the time we got to the doctor?

Here's the route we took around the Andaman Islands.

Port Blair heading north

2011-03-27T14:39:00.000+11:00

Our visit to Neil Island was a nice surprise. Not expecting to find much at all we discovered a small town center, restaurants, low key resorts, and even a pub of sorts.

We all decided to hire bikes, Chopper stalking it past the impressed ducks.

Making the most of our $1.20 per day bike hire we went everywhere. I think Amanda’s deposit exemption was probably because her bike was only worth that with its lack of breaks etc.

Somehow we picked up a dog in our travels. We called her Nellie and she followed us everywhere, even to the pub at the end of the day where she sat under our table. She even looked surprised to be allowed to remain there, maybe the barman didn’t want to upset us. Thanks to the super strong Heyward's beer (8%), Amanda was a little unsteady on the bike - only falling off twice and running into 2 people!

After a few days it was time to move the next stop Havelock and then dotting our way up the Islands to Long Island, the turn around point. Sven not big on the sight of blood was finally convinced to come fishing. The first night he managed to catch a small Barracuda but night 2 we struck pay dirt with a good fighting GT. Amanda was content at the beach and Kartja remained close to the boat, an attack of sand fly’s still fresh in her mind.

We came across Ultimate Dream again at Inglis Island and made plans to meet up with them the following day at North Button. This was another sand fly beach so a kind of water polo was the order of the day. Girls against Boys, flippers allowed. The rules were invented by our umpire Trevor as we went and for reasons unknown a boy getting drowned by a girl was penalized.

Apparently the bird watching at Long Island was next on Amanda’s agenda. Can’t wait...

Cruising the Andamans

2011-03-25T14:32:00.005+11:00

After a slow start we headed out of the bay managing to hook up a GT on both lines at the same time. I tried to rouse Sven to assist with pulling in a line but it was still hours before he surfaced. Gadfly must have gone through the same school of fish losing two more lures. Feeling sorry for him we passed over another one of our fish. Next stop the Cinque Islands.

Looking for a good snorkeling spot we headed over the reef in the dinghy’s. Our dingy was having engine problems after about a mile we turned back. Seeing us in distress The Gadfly dingy attacked us, throwing buckets of water our way. Sven who had partially recovered tried to fight back. No more fish for them.

As North Cinque was a bit rolly the next morning we headed further to South Cinque.
In this was a very protected bay we spent a few days walking and snorkeling. We also took Thyme on a day trip down to the Sisters with every one on board to save taking 2 boats. My lower injury from the falling branch had ruptured so most of my time was spent standing up. Just to keep things interesting I kicked a toe nail off on the winch… is that three things yet.

From here we traveled back to the land of the Samosa wars hooking up a sailfish on route. Our crew having Internet withdrawal took the bus to town for the day while Trevor and I did an interesting dive on a well-preserved wreck from the early 1900’s.

Deciding not to go all the way into Port Blair we anchored out the front at Ross Island the next day to gather more supplies. Ross Island was the administrative center in the British colonial days and was also used by the Japanese during the war.

While in a Museum in Port Blair I came across an old black and white photo of the church on the Island.

Next stop Neil Island.

Clearing In (?!?) and Heading South

2011-03-21T14:43:00.006+11:00

Our Monday morning arrival in Port Blair happened as planned however despite Amanda’s best efforts to have all the correct paper work which included 20 copies of everything, she left me with one task. Clearing out.

This resulted in us arriving without a Port Clearance. That’s like trying to travel without your passport, best described as a cockup. In my defense I was suspicious at the time and asked the Thai Immigration Officer 3 times if I required any further paperwork other than what he gave me until he became grumpy. Well actually he was grumpy to start with, so I got sent away with some papers written in Thai.

After a late night meeting, a declaration where we were told what to write, “in our own words”, and the departure of some US dollars we were also free to depart getting a taste of the local transport.

We decided to spend the first week of our 30 day stay exploring the islands to the south.

Was the navy keeping an eye on us or maybe looking for Crocodiles?

The guys on Ultimate Dream had caught up by this stage so we all headed down to Rutland Island for a fire on the beach while the sun went down.

Things we going along swimmingly until despite Greg’s best efforts to stop me, I had the great idea to shake down a tree for fire wood. The plan kind of worked with the tree breaking off half way up and landing on my head. Ouch. It felt as if my lower intestine had passed through somewhere it shouldn’t have. I got back to my feet, had a few more beers and we all headed home. Maybe then it was Sven’s idea to attack Trevor’s boat with water buckets. This didn’t end well with him falling out of the dingy and getting rescued by the Gadfly crew.

The next day is not going to be good.

Off To The Andamans

2011-03-20T14:37:00.002+11:00

We headed back to Phuket to collect our Indian Visas, crew, fuel, supplies etc before our trip to the Andaman’s. We also made a lucky find in our travels, a mobile Oyster vender.

Once under way we put our new hands to work, day hopping up the coast before crossing to the Surin's. There we waited for Gadfly and Ultimate Dream to arrive before crossing the Andaman Sea to Port Blair.

As soon as we crossed into Indian waters the fishing improved 10 fold with catches that included Yellow fin, Mahi Mahi and Spanish Mackerel. On Gadfly the fish came out on top taking Trevor’s prized lures. Fish 3, Trevor nil.

Finally we got a little bit of wind managing to sail the last 24 hours. Sloop was keen to sight land after his 3 days at sea. Me too.

Welcome to India

Off to the Andamans

2011-01-22T13:17:00.003+11:00

It's been a huge week. After what feels like hundreds of overloaded trips on the motorbike we are finally ready to check out. Not sure when we'll see internet again but we'll try to post some pictures of the awesome Andamans!

Stepping back in Thyme - Ko Phayam

2011-01-21T13:33:00.000+11:00

We left the Similans with the wind on the nose, tacking back and forth unsure of where we would anchor. We finally rounded the point of Ko Ra to watch a flotilla of 50 or more fishing boats leave the port right before a torrential rain squall hit. Simon sent me up the front to keep a lookout and I only wished I had taken my shampoo with me!

We pottered around some deserted islands for a few days before heading to Ko Phayam near the Burmese border. It was like stepping back 20years. Small-scale tourism, friendly locals and older hippy tourists. We hired a motorbike – not sure why they insisted no riding on the beach given the roads???

Wanting to stay longer we decided to tackle some jobs here rather than rush back to town. Simon had to seek inspiration before cleaning the inside of the toilet plumbing. Toilet jobs not my cup of tea I made myself scarce and headed to the beach.

There was no more delaying, we really had to drag ourselves away and head south. The map shows our trip north from the Similans to Ko Phayam.

Still at the Similans

2011-01-19T13:21:00.000+11:00

Our days in the Similans were spent mostly in the water exploring.

During one of our dives, the dinghy’s unknown to us must have circled each other. The result was a tangle of hoses that somehow Amanda ended up in the middle off. Underwater bondage?

During the day, around 11am the fast boats turn up bringing their guests for lunch. Feeling bad for them as we had a lot of the moorings I offered to let them tie up behind us. 5 grateful captains did a whip around and gave us a bag of soft drinks. This became standard practice during our stay.

We also decided to try a meal on shore, however this didn’t start well with our dingy getting caught by a wave during our approach and doing a 360. I surfaced to find the engine still running in gear and our stuff floating away as the next wave started to build. Tony from Jellyfish came out to help and as our camera etc was in a waterproof bag no harm was done… apart from a dent in our pride.

With time ticking and stronger winds forecast from the north we pounded our way back to the mainland to continue exploring northwards.

Lazy days @ The Similan Islands

2011-01-17T13:13:00.003+11:00

The 50 mile sail out to the Similan Islands was the best we had in a while, having the MPS (big sail) up for most of the trip. Our first stop was the main south island where we could take walks and our book advised there was food and accommodation… which turned out to be a tent village.

After a rolly night on our mooring we tackled the walks. Sloop was keen to come but signs said in no uncertain terns that no cats and dogs were allowed on the Island. This must be to protect the food for the cat owned by National Parks.

We wandered around the place noting the twigs used to prop up some rather large rocks on the way to the lookout.

After a walk to the western side for a look it was back to the boat, a quick bit to eat, then off for a snorkel before heading north in the hope of finding a less rolly anchorage.

We arrived around 3pm to find only 1 available mooring. Luckily being first, Thyme quickly snapped this up. Much to their disappointment, Ultimate Dream and Gadfly had to head over to the other Island, another crappy spot. Apparently only yachts are not allowed to anchor in water less than 40m. Anyway the bay was really nice once the tourist boats had left for the day.

First light brought with it a free mooring that Ultimate Dream jumped on, and by 10am another came free which was a relief for all of us as Trevor had well and truly cracked the shits by this stage. Having 3 of the 7 moorings in the only protected bay in the Islands we were going nowhere for the next 3 days.
Although the coral was crappy the area was full of a large variety of fish, the best find being a Lionfish living on our mooring.

Our Mooring like most was a rope tied around a large rock.

Christmas & New Years - Nai Harn & Patong

2011-01-15T17:19:00.001+11:00

After picking a quite spot in the bay Christmas was the usual affair, endless food and cold beer. Trevor and crew arriving with roasted Pork and salads and us spit roasting a Duck with veggies and of course NZ invented Pavalova cooked by yours truly.

Amanda and Miss V after drinking Wild Africa decided it was cougar milk and they were now cougar girls. Wondering if it had the same affect on men, Amanda tried to force Trevor to take a sip. It didn’t work.

Richard and Susanna arrived as Ginny fell victim to the cougar milk

Rudolf tried to make me drink the stuff but like Trevor I resisted and decided a swim was a better idea. We had a bombing competition off the side of the boat, which managed to clean the decks. Miss V after breaking one glass and losing another was sentenced to a plastic vessel attached to the boom with a bungee cord to prevent further loss.

After a few more days relaxing at Ko Racha Ya to recover from the shennangans of Xmas, New Years Eve was upon us. This turned out to be more of the same held on Richard and Susanna’s boat in Patong with the inclusion of fire works. The usual remedies, Hungry Jacks, a swim etc etc still didn’t cure the following days illness (for Simon and Richard that is).

Enough of the girly bars and crowded beaches - we're off the Similans.

Sailing around Phang Nga Bay

2011-01-13T17:11:00.002+11:00

With Christmas fast approaching Trevor had to travel south to Ao Chalon to collect new crew and drop off existing ones. Us wanting to avoid the chaos for as long as possible were not planning to arrive in Nai Harn till the 24th. One of his crew was keen to stay on the water till the New Year so we put up our hand and offered to take her north with us. Our first stop was to be James Bond Island. Getting right into theme, we even bought the The Man With Golden Gun DVD only to find the high quality pirated copy got stuck half way through!

Ignoring all the domes dayers who said we would run aground (like that hasn’t happened before) we opted to go further north to a Muslim stilt village.

Here our missions were to find some paintings believed to be from the Neanderthal era, a hole through a rock and of course Internet. The Paintings were the easiest to find.

The Internet was a little more trouble some however Amanda did find some good clothes on the mission. And the hole through the rock was an 8-mile dingy ride into the mangrove river system. If there had not been fishermen along the way to continually point us in the right direction we would never had made it.

The place was full of friendly locals.

Having visited the tourist hot spots it was time to go in search of cleaner water. This meant leaving Phang Nga Bay and heading to Koh Racha Yai, south of Phuket. Here swimming was back on the menu.

Unfortunately so was walking. I did however get to make some new friends

The 24th had arrived so we put Miss V (identity not disclosed as she is very shy) on the wheel and we headed off to Nai Harn for Christmas.

Phang Nga Bay

2011-01-11T17:03:00.000+11:00

We dotted our way north West checking out what’s hot and what’s not, finding bats, Hongs and calm waters.

What we didn’t find was a doctor. Amanda was a little nervous about some stomach pains she was experiencing (not pregnant) and after taking various medications on board wanted professional advice. We were still traveling with Gadfly at this stage and he had a friend in Aussie who was a doctor. Next problem, phone service. We headed into the bay in search of reception.

After having no real success we headed back to the boat with the plan of heading to Phuket in the morning if no improvement was felt. Fortunately things were much better so we decided on Ko Hong for a day stop.

We bumped our dinghies through the 100s of tourists in kayaks to visit the numerous tunnels through the island. We even bumped into National Parks who wanted money for visiting the area. We advised them we were just leaving and headed off to Koh Ping Kan for the night. This was a much quieter spot and we found a long tunnel that cut right through the Island.

Once getting to the center of the Island things shallowed up and one of Trevor’s crew went forward to investigate the lay of the land reporting back “impassable”

We headed back to the boats for a meal of prawns procured from local fishermen.

Krabi

2011-01-09T16:57:00.002+11:00

Once arriving in Krabi the first business to attend to was our inwards clearance. This involved getting a Songthaew to town and finding Immigration, Customs and the hardest of all, the Harbour Master.

Resisting the urge to have our feet cleaned by little fish, we found the markets then headed back to the boat.

Wanting to get away from the racket of long tails ferrying about tourists, Railay beach sounded like a good idea.

After a day of snorkelling and exploring it was time to move. We decided to head into Phang Nga Bay in search of Thailand’s famed Hongs (Thai for “room” but are holes in rocks) and of course James Bond Island where The Man With The Golden Gun was filmed.

Koh Lanta - Old Town

2010-12-30T08:27:00.000+11:00

The trip from our peaceful anchorage behind Ko Muk to Ko Lanta was as expected a little rolly.

Motor bikes were again the order of the day for exploring the island. We went south first thing having to shelter in a interesting resort for a number of hours to wait for the rain to ease.

Having discovered we went the wrong way, we made our north and crossed the island in search of a waterfall and caves. After skillfully navigation our way past the guides with elephants, we made our way up the slippery clay track following our nose. When the bikes could go no further we continued on foot.

Finally after a half hour jungle tramp we found the elusive waterfall without the assistance of a guide where I got my first thai massage.

The trip back to old town wasn’t without event. Trevor on the lead bike sustained a fall, resulting in the loss of a small amount of blood and 5,000 baht. Not sure what hurt most…

From Franny

2010-12-29T18:33:00.001+11:00

Found this in the email archives... thanks Franny!

Meet Si and Amanda just passing through
And I admit a hint of envy of these two
Living the Dream, just floating around
Enjoying the freedom it truly does sound
It’s not by sheer luck though they can keep a ships log
But through very good team work and lots of hard slog
Amanda’s done well a successful bean counter
Si a good tradie and great general all rounder
Of course there’s much more to this pair, filled with talent you’ll
Find, and subtle as brick is Si while Amanda so kind
It can’t go unmentioned they are not all alone
There is a 3rd crew member aboard this vessel home
Sloop the boat’s cat looks like any lounge sleeper
But kid you not, turns out he’s rather the creeper
Not afraid to venture round any new port
Beware this mogul has an unusual sport
Most cats bring home a birds, A lizards or rat
Sloops haul is usually more lucrative than that
I’m sure no trainings gone into the goods that he bears
Seems he has a natural talent for moving all types of wears
I think not be suspicious of this neat looking team
If you happen to meet them under sail or steam
They are truly every bit as lovely as they appear
Its been great fun guy’s the time you were here

Franny
Darwin 2010

Island Hopping north - Thailand

2010-12-27T16:52:00.005+11:00

We continued north enjoying short hops from one white sand beach, limestone cliff and lush jungle to the next. We've reached paradise. Koh Rok Nok, Koh Kraden, Koh Muk and Koh Phi Phi were all on the schedule.

Our favourite was Emerald Cave. This involved donning snorkel gear (for Simon anyway - I used the kayak) and swimming through a tunnel for about 500m. The tunnel was pitch black and had a number of offshoots where we managed to get a bit lost. The roar of the ocean, the surge and overhangs made it quite exciting in the dark. We spotted some light at the end of the tunnel and swam into a crystal clear lagoon with a white sand beach surrounded on all sides by steep limestone cliffs covered in green ferns. The emerald glow that was cast made it live up to it's name. A few minutes after we arrived, the tour boats left and we had the place to ourselves!

Koh Lipe - Thailand

2010-12-27T16:23:00.005+11:00

We crossed the border into crystal clear waters under a clear blue sky - welcome to Thailand. Koh Lipe was an island paradise, inhabited by sea gypsies and home to the long tails.

After discovering it was George's birthday of undisclosed vintage (SY Amable) we had an excuse for a party on Thyme. The day started with cake and ended with Trevor from Gadfly jumping from the spreaders.

Keen for a bit of exploring we headed to Pirate's Waterfall for a quick dip. Luckily we found no leeches here. There was plenty of bats along the way.

Langkawi

2010-12-20T22:03:00.005+11:00

Langkawi is all about nearly free booze. Beer Aus $9, Bombay Sapphire Aus $12, Vodka $8… The first night we were like kids in a candy shop after exhausting our rationed supply some time ago. After getting over that we got down to business of stocking up.

After stowing our stash we thought we better check out the sights on motorbike. The top of the island was covered in cloud so we opted for the waterfall where we met some of the locals.

Traveling anti clockwise around the island the hot springs were next (under construction) and some gallery were we saw glass blowing. Here Amanda tried to spend too much money on Batiik. Unsuccessfully. Moving on, the 7 Wells waterfall was next on our list of must sees. The walk looked steep so we tried to convince the powers that be that we could get our scooter up the hill. The walk was worth the effort.

After the Monkeys tried to steal our stuff we went to check out the marina over this side and seeing a cable car and a nice bay to anchor in decided to move.

Leaving early one morning to beat the crowds we walked over to the cable car and only had to queue up for 1½ hours before getting our ride to the summit. Lucky us.

From here we could see our 7 Wells waterfall and the anchorage. Also there was a sky bridge that was pretty cool even though it doesn’t go anywhere.

Now all stocked up the time had come for us to clear out of Malaysia. Thailand here we come.

Pregnant Maidens Pool

2010-12-18T17:49:00.001+11:00

The trip from Penang to Langkawi was broken up with a stop at an idyllic deserted beach. Missing the keen ocean traders of Indonesia we hunted down the fishing boats all afternoon until Trevor from Gadfly finally managed to score a catch. OK, it was a bucket of tiny fish that no of us knew how to cook, but I wouldn’t be able to call myself a yachtie if I couldn’t come up with some concoction – small fish fritters, Thai style it was. While separating the jellyfish from the little fish, Simon shared his last homebrew with us.

En route, we saw what looked on the chart to be a lake on an island just south of Langkawi so off we headed. According to legend if you drink the water from this lake you will become pregnant. Needless to say we were all very careful!

With the beer cupboard well and truly empty, delaying Simon for a day more would be impossible. Langkawi here we come!

2010-12-16T19:23:00.000+11:00

We loved Penang! For us, it was all about eating. Indian, Chinese, Nonya – we went from one eating house to the next.

We also went to every historical building, museum and fort on offer. We are officially touristed out!

Wanting to escape the tourist trap we headed for the national park, taking our lives in our hands once again and braving peak hour traffic on motorbikes. The walk was tough on a full stomach!

With duty free beer calling Simon at Langkawi and near miss with a wandering yacht in the late night squalls, we headed north. Not before picking up a mooring line.

Holiday in Malacca Straights - Pangkor

2010-12-14T19:17:00.004+11:00

Pangkor Island, slap bang in the middle of the Malacca Straights is one of Malaysia’s island resorts. Our visit started off with an island tour by motorbike with Daryl, the group expanding as we met up with other yachties along the way. Water pistols added to the challenge of negotiating the windy roads!

We stocked up on dried fish, the local speciality and paid a visit to the Chinese temple.

Malaysia is development mad and once again we saw more misguided investment. A swinging bridge over what else but a walking track and an empty brand new, now broken up marina, around the corner from another new marina!!!

The highlights were a BBQ on the beach with friends and the bird life – not in a cage for a change.

The lowlights were my toenails. Still giving me grief from our hike up Mount Rinjani one finally fell off and the other is hanging loose. Looks like no nail polish for while. Turns out Rinjani is only 27m lower than New Zealand’s highest mountain, Mount Cook and 50m lower the Austria’s!

KL

2010-12-05T19:28:00.000+11:00

We were warmly greeted at the Port Klang marina by the resident baby monkey who had just lost it’s mother. We fell in love with his cheeky antics and were soon spending hours playing with him, emptying our vege stores into his bowl and cuddling him to sleep.

Being so far out of town, a complex plan of cars and trains was devised ensuring an early arrival to see Petronas towers. Unfortunately as it was a public holiday, the towers were closed so we settled with looking from the outside.

In between meals we managed to take in some of the sights of KL.

After the cultural portion of our tour we squeezed in another meal before heading to the Botanic Gardens for a dose of nature. At the butterfly farm we found more than just butterfly’s.

We walked through the hot sun, much to Trevor’s disgust in search of some mosque. The mosque turned out to be the Royal Palace. All this walking is working up an appetite!

With the day coming to an end, dinner in Little India sounded good. What trip to Little India would be complete without the purchase of Sari? I hope this comes with an instruction manual.

We finally limped back to the marina at 9pm. Being a tourist is exhausting, can we find some quiet island somewhere?

Port Dickson

2010-12-03T13:49:00.001+11:00

I managed to trick Simon into anchoring next to a forest. After a bit of arm twisting I led Simon up the jungle path, this time for a bush walk. Luckily there were some Monkeys to entertain him. We also stumbled across Malaysia’s oldest lighthouse.

The next day we ignored the fact that the 5 boats ahead of us were told the marina was full at Port Dickson, sailing right on in and tying up before the staff arrived.

I made the most of the luxurious environment finding myself a lounge beside the pool for the day, before flogging Simon at table tennis.
Sorry Simon, is that you shouting in the background??

The Shining @ Palau Besar

2010-11-16T18:55:00.000+11:00

Palau Besar the small island we are anchored off, just out from Malacca town looked like it would provide a good opportunity for a walk. The islands in this group are called the Water Islands possibility because of the high water table.

During our circumnavigation of the Island we found 18th century graves of warriors. The locals come here to worship, burn incense etc. The Island was going to be a resort but after all the construction of hotels someone changed their mind. The stories we got were the power cable to the main land was never run and the idea was canned as the locals became reluctant to come because of the tourists.

After finding an 18-hole golf course we found an abandoned hotel that needed further investigation. It looked a little risky so I sent Amanda in to check if the coast was clear.

For those who have read Stevens Kings book “The Shining” this is the Hotel minus the snow. Its huge, maybe 2,000 rooms, windows and doors bang in the breeze however all the gardens are well kept and the leaves raked.

We wandered about luckily for me not seeing or hearing a soul. It would be a little tricky to explain to Amanda’s parents how she came to be shot during a walk.

Getting a little braver we checked out some of the rooms half expecting to see Redrum written on the walls but they were all empty.

Well almost everything, I did manage to find a hand basin that looked like it might fit in our bathroom.

Anyone looking for a 2,000 room hotel going cheap? I might be able to point you in the right direction.

Malacca Straights... Here We Come

2010-11-13T15:44:00.001+11:00

We weaved our way through the assortment of ships and dirty water to our first anchorage Palau Pisang that we were lead to believe wasn’t that great.

After the arriving the squalls rolled in and as expected it was a rolly anchorage.

From here we left at 3am for the run up to the Water Islands. After a bumpy start the current turned and before we knew it we had arrived. Palau Besar is only a short ferry trip from Malacca so the plan was formulated for a trip into town. Once arriving in town number one priority was breakfast.

We then took in some of the sights

This of course worked up an appetite and so the search for a good lunch spot began.

I couldn’t bring myself to sample some of the more exotic cuisine so we settled for something a little less alive.

Amanda of course had to slip in a little shopping while I had no choice but to sample the local facilities as my stomach hadn’t agreed with something I had eaten. Once seated the discovery of a hose in place of toilet paper was made. Things went even further down hill when I pulled the handle to flush the loo dislodging the water pipe from the toilet and giving the inside of the cubical a shower… Not Good!

In all the excitement we somehow missed the last ferry back to the Island and had to charter a boat to take us home.

Johor Bahru, Malaysia

2010-11-11T13:25:00.001+11:00

1st Stop – Hit the Shops

Being a city slicker, I settled into life in Johor Bahru quickly and within a few days had scoured all the shops within a 20km radius. The wet markets were awesome – all the fruit and veges you can imagine and so cheap. They even had beef, roast pork belly and Chinese roast duck - heaven!

How do I know it was beef they were carving from those legs? The cow’s head was a dead giveaway.

2nd Stop – Marina Pampering

The marinas are so cheap here, we headed to the flashest one in Johor where we enjoyed long showers, air-conditioned club rooms, free wi-fi, 6 assistants to take us to the fuel wharf and a car and boat service to more shops.

Sloop was quickly up to his old antics with a trail of stolen goods along the docks. As we were leaving, the marina manager said, you should fill out a feedback form requesting pets to be allowed on the marina – oops!

Last Stop – Clear into Malaysia

Apparently wheels turn slowly here, so after a few days we were taken by the marina to clear immigration into Malaysia. While someone took my passport away to be stamped by immigration I lay back with a duty free beer and had a 30 cent massage!

With time ticking away and Simon growing tired of shopping, it was soon time to leave the shelter of the marina and take on the squalls of Malacca Straights.

Farewell Indonesia

2010-11-09T10:02:00.001+11:00

After unsuccessfully scouting the nearest village for a market we continued north past the many fishing platforms stopping firstly at Benan.

This village although a bit strange at first tuned out to really nice. Wherever we went the people kept pointing inland. Turns out the other side of the Island had a picture postcard beach that they wanted us to see.

I persuaded one of the kids to climb a coconut tree on my behalf, as I didn’t want to show them up with my climbing skills. He collected a few eating and a few drinking ones for us to try.

The next hop was to Panjang where a diver enthusiastically waved us away from the shore as we approached to anchor. The depth went from 15m to 2m instantly here. After anchoring safely in the channel he came over and we purchased half a bucket of Blue swimmer crabs. Dinner.

One more stop and then the time had come to test our luck in the Singapore Straights. Amanda distracted herself from the 260 ships showing on AIS by pulling down the flag.

Our method of pause and run worked well and in no time we were into the safety of the river.

I put up our relevant flags to the sound of machine gun and heavy artillery fire. Welcome to the Singapore Malaysian border.

Equatorial Games

2010-11-06T23:23:00.004+11:00

We made our way past Kentar to the island of Sebanka.

Here we found a nice beach lined with driftwood. Perfect for tonight’s fire and treat, beef or squid kebabs.

Tim came in a Toga made from Captain Trevor’s bed sheet, which didn’t go down too well for a start, and NZ Trevor used a tarp cut from the prop to make an Aladdin outfit.

We played Bocci Balls until near dark. Amanda was made referee and not allowed to participate after her success in the shooting event.

The following morning Gadfly continued on and we remained so the sandflys wouldn’t go hungry. We also heard Moontan was only a day away.

Crossing the Equator

2010-11-04T20:25:00.003+11:00

The morning following our 9th wedding anniversary celebrations I was up at 5.30am packing the boat for our 7.00am departure to Gelasa. Not good. The Moontan Clan perhaps wisely elected to stay another day.
Once safely anchored and feeling better a plan was hatched to have a fire and cook some spuds with our most recent catch.

NZ Tim crew from Gadfly broke out his newly purchased BB gun. We all took shots at a plastic bottle placed on a rock over tea and somehow to all our disgust Amanda managed to hit it. It turns out it was shooting low and to the right. Fluke.

All fresh we headed off early after Gadfly traded biscuits for Squid with the fishermen. The plan was to head 2 days and a night to Bangka however with the good breeze and current we continued on doing the 3-day 2 night trip to Lingga instead. This put us only 30 miles from the equator.

“Last one to the Equator is a rotten egg” was the morning cry. Black beard Amanda broke out the Navy Rum while I had a Northern Hemisphere hair cut.

After Towing the boat over the line and Black Beards swim we anchored on the equator for some much needed refreshments.

Sloop not to be outdone decided to dress as a yellow Fin Tuna.

From our boat we watched the antics on Gadfly. Was that the White Whale we heard inhabited these waters?

In the end the excitement was too much for Black Beard. Or was it the Rum.

Belitung

2010-11-03T15:42:00.007+11:00

After just beating a large squall into Belitung we found a nice beach bar and celebrated our arrival safe arrival apparently missing the Tsunami and eruptions down south. I had some great tails of the Sailfish and Spanish mackerel I caught along the way.

Unfortunately that was not the only thing we caught. Somewhere along the way we hooked up a fish trap, the rope first catching on the depth Sounder before tangling and being chopped up by the prop. The Sounder has suffered a little, pulling away from the hull but still working and not leaking. Phew.

The following day was spent traveling to town to complete our exit Indonesia paperwork. We did however go via a pepper plantation, market, and shops in between our visits to Immigration, Customs, Quarantine, and the Harbor Master who we had to come back for as he was having his afternoon nap.

With all the formalities out of the way the next day the 8 of us formed our very own bikey gang. The Whitey’s. We let Trevor (crew from Gladfy) come being from NZ.

We visited some local hot spots after riding all over the Island sort of lost. The fresh water pools were a must, followed by lunch in town.

Still with a long way to go it was time to leave. The beer is too cheap here.

Bawean to Karimun Jawa - Attack in the Shark enclosure

2010-10-26T18:55:00.000+11:00

The rendezvous on Bawean was celebrated with a lamb spit roast, champagne and cocktails. Needless to say none of us were in any state to leave the next day so we lingered, swimming and socializing in between preparations for our next passage to Karimun Jawa.

At Karimun Jawa we braved the Shark pool where we swam with over 20 sharks. Shaun was severely wounded by a massive, angry and vicious Triggerfish. He needed loads of TLC over the next few weeks to help him recover both emotionally and physically. Just between you and me, I think he was milking it for sympathy…

With the temptation of Malaysia so close, we set sail to the backdrop of a waterspout for a 2-day passage to Belitung Island some 270nm away. We now had 3 in our company being joined by the yacht Gadfly. It was great sailing in company, the support of friends when times are tough… One afternoon with the spinnaker up and a ship looming down on us that refused to respond to our radio calls, I could hear Moontan and Gadfly taking bets as to whether we would be taken out or not! With the engine in reverse, the spinnaker flapping, and the crew threatening mutiny we watched the ship pass by about 300m ahead.

R&R at the Gili’s and Lovina

2010-10-23T18:48:00.000+11:00

With the big climb finally over we decided to kick back at the Gili Islands for a few days. Sunset pools and cocktails here we come!

An overnight sail took us to Bali – Lovina Beach on the north side. Simon managed to catch his first Indonesian fish – a yellow fin tuna. What was once a throw back in the Kimberly’s has become a gourmet delight in Indo! After honing our traffic skills on smaller islands, we decided to brave the traffic and hire a motorbike for a few days.

Lovina was great – really quiet, not many tourists and heaps of outdoor attractions. We visited all the waterfalls, lakes and hot springs, coffee plantations and Simon even got up close to some of the wildlife.

With a rendezvous planned for 2 days time at Bawean Island with Moontan, our friends, Shaun, Karina and Keshi from Darwin we headed out to brave the squalls. Check out their blog www.moontanclan.wordpress.com for some tall tales on the high seas.

Rinjani the Final Push

2010-10-20T18:30:00.003+11:00

After a ½ nights sleep in the confines of an Indonesian sized sleeping bag, I awoke at 2.30am to Full wanting me up and Amanda wanting my sleeping bag and bedroll. One bag wasn’t cutting the mustard. Being unable to get up she had become the 40% of our party who was not going to make the final assent. After a coffee we got underway with torches in frozen fingers. Just as well it was dark.

In my mind I was looking for excuses to turn back. Maybe it was too windy or there was too much cloud. It was windy but not too windy and as the cloud dispersed and the summit came into view I accepted my fate. I would make it eventually.

After a lot of sheltering behind rocks and a packet of biscuits (the final 300 meters taking 1 hour to scramble up) the summit was mine.

The trip back to camp took 1/6 of the time and after some breakfast we headed off.

At one of our rest stops Amanda headed off into the bushes for a toilet break only to come skidding out 5 mins latter on her backside, pants still around ankles. Apparently a monkey heard her taking the plastic off the toilet roll and thought she had biscuits. He decided maybe he could fight her for them as she looked about his size in her position.

Walking down hill also had its problems with toes jammed into the front of shoes (for those who had shoes). Amanda having no pack had galloped off like a pony on the home straight at the cost of a lot of black toenails. Today Full showed us magic mushrooms that could be purchased at most restaurants around the area in the form of omelette’s or a shake. Finally we approached civilization again with the locals giving us funny looks probably due to our smell. At least Sloop was glad to see us.

Sea to Sky Day 2

2010-10-07T15:49:00.000+11:00

The day started with a 6am rise which suited me fine as it was to cold to sleep, breakfast and on the track by 7am. Lim was left behind to pack up the tents, do dish’s etc but somehow passed us after only an hour. Full kindly pointed out to us this evenings camp site… way off in the distance on the opposite rim.

Today’s stories were about the tourists who had died on the mountain in the 6 years our guide had been taking people. A real confidence booster for Amanda. The up shot of it was that if you fall it is better to die than to break a leg as a dead person only requires 2 porters to carry them out where a injured person needs 6. Arriving on flat ground by the lake was a welcome relief.

From here it was only a 10min walk to a hot water fall. This was much needed as we were starting to get a bit stinky. Amanda took the bull by the horns and went in clothes and all.

After our swim we headed back to the lake for lunch and prepare for our 700m near vertical ascent to camp 2. Not long after starting a muscle in Amanda’s leg that was giving problems on day 1 flared up again and as we headed north the clouds closed in.

When the going got real tough, Full and I divided Amanda’s pack up for the 3-hour scramble up to the ridge. Apparently 3 French people have fallen to their death on this part in recent times – the trick is don’t look down. From here the walking became easier but it got really cold again.

Sighting camp was a welcome relief; most of us were unprepared for the cold using our sleeping bags to keep warm waiting for dinner. 40% of hikers intending to reach the summit don’t make it. That doesn’t surprise me, as the last 1,026m requires a 2.30am start with torches in temps of around 5 degrees. And after that you still have to walk 5hrs downhill back to civilization.

Sea to Sky

2010-10-05T18:18:00.000+11:00

The morning after anchoring Teluk Nara I found myself at the Internet researching what turned out to be Mount Rinjani and before you could say Jack Rabbit we were leaving the next morning at 5am for a 2-day hike up the mountain. Once arriving at our departure point, Senaru things went even more down hill when the 2-day hike turned into 3 days and the summit, all 3726meters of it appeared on our itinerary.

Anyway being a good sport I saddled up. Amanda, myself, our porter, Lim and our guide, Full hit the trail, with poor old Lim carrying all our food, cooking gear, tents, sleeping bags, bed rolls, axes, water etc, etc, on a bamboo pole.

The day started off pleasant enough walking through the jungle lunching in the shade and taking in the wild life.

However things did not remain this way for long as we had to get from 600m to camp 1 at 2,641m by dark – 9kms uphill. Our porter, Lim disappeared into the clouds ahead as Full told us stories of a large ape that was rumoured to live in the forest eating humans after dark. Giddy up.

Lim who had set up our tents and had water on the boil for coffee or tea greeted us at camp 1. After spending 3 years of temps above 25 degrees the 15 was a shock to the system.

The shock however was lessened with our first view into the crater.

After watching other people’s tents blow away over dinner we were given the plan for tomorrow that basically was go down 641m, lunch by the lake and then climb up 700m. Not good.

Komodo to Lombok

2010-10-03T18:13:00.005+11:00

With another forecast of nothing in particular we departed Komodo for Lombok all hands on deck.

One of our stops along our route, an anchorage given to us by Jay off Makani Kai was Satonda Island. We were surprised to see a tourist boat as we pulled in and signs indicating a walk on shore. The following morning found us walking around a crater of an old flooded volcano.

The ranger who looks after the area and relives you of 10,000 rupiah per person also recommended the snorkeling here. $1.40. His offsider is the only person in Indo who we have ever seen pick up rubbish. Lets hope it’s a catchy habit.

Our final anchorage of the north side of Lombok made me nervous as in the distance rose a very large hill. Out of the corner of my eye I could see Amanda’s hungry gaze.

Enter the Dragon

2010-10-02T12:30:00.000+10:00

After talking to a few people we discovered that the Komodo dragon eats wild pig and Barking Deer. They also come out early in the morning, dusk and live on Komodo and Rinka Islands. With this in mind we decided to move around to Komodo. As it was lunchtime at bit of snorkeling was on the agenda.

As the sun got lower we set of in search of the dragon creeping through long grass. 2 hours later, numerous pigs, deer and a rooster… nothing. Not even a foot-print.

We kicked of the next morning at 5am and spent another 2 fruitless hours wandering around before heading back to the boat. As the snorkeling here was really good with turtles, sharks and big fish we went back for another swim while waiting for the tide to change. Next stop Rinka

We were swept the 19 miles to Rinka by the tide, reaching speeds of 11.2 knots through a pass to be greeted by another good bay and some more ocean retailers. They pointed us in the direction of where the dragons live so we popped out for a look not to be disappointed this time.

The next morning another early start found us on the beach at 6am.

Our work here is done. Next major stop Lombok 250 miles west.

Makassar to Komodo

2010-09-30T12:21:00.000+10:00

Sloop was fighting fit on our return to Makassar and had only half successfully befriended the security man, Sempo who slept on the boat at night. I think his downfall might have been trying to sleep on his head. Arif was the man in town who could get things done (proven by his 10! Children) so we gave him the task of renewing our Visa’s, laundry, fuel and gas while we took in some sights.

We did the usual tourist stuff, visiting the Fort, dried fish sellers and if you have an iron stomach, the traditional port where fish is brought and sold each day straight from the traditional craft that ply the coastline. It can be found from about 2k’s away by smell.

As the rally plans to go here next year Arif invited the 5 Yachts that were in the harbor for a PR dinner attended by media and local dignitaries all expenses paid. Beer included!

Arif came through with the goods and with our visa extended another 30 days we headed south the 200 miles to Gili Laut, the closest of the Komodo Islands. During our trip we encountered what turned out to be a survey ship towing a 5-mile long cable with a float attached to its end. Understandably we almost ran over the cable as even a container ship can hardly be seen from 5 miles in perfect conditions. A tug was guarding the end of the cable and intercepted us by steaming straight for us at 12kts causing Amanda to demand over the radio, “Tug boat approaching yacht Thyme, please state your intentions!”. Finally with lots of hand signals and various crew attempting English we got the message, “follow us to the end of the cable” enabling us to pass safely around the end. Finally 40 hrs later we arrived.

A couple of guys who had been staying in the bay for days approached us in an effort to sell their wares, pearls carvings etc. After some tough negotiation I managed to trade 20 litres of water and some first aid supplies for a Komodo Dragon carving. I think they really wanted US dollars.

Enter the Dragon