South to Borneo

Back in company with Gadfly we left Puerto Princesa dotting our way down the coast stopping at some of the many Islands late in April. I wish I could say I’ve been too busy to write anything but truthfully I’ve just been slack.

Brooks point was the last place to spend our Pesos and by pooling our remaining cash had just enough for 2 beers. The tide having receded in the time we were gone provided plenty of amusement for the local fishermen.

Back to Borneo is also back to the squalls that the Island reputedly has more of then anywhere else in the world.

After too much lamb curry and salty eggs, we did our standard shopping in preparation for taking on Marja and Hannu from Finland. Amanda even managed to fit in a hair cut from her most favorite hairdresser in Asia. Sloop introduced himself by attempting to sleep in their cupboard late at night.

At villages where boats don’t normally stop we got plenty of attention

The man with the red stripped shirt was the grateful recipient of Michelle’s rain coat. I tried to get him to put it on for a photo but Amanda intervened and I ended up with it on.

Our rolliest anchorage of the year encouraged a BBQ on the beach followed the next day by one of my walks. The Finns were happy to come not knowing that I normally get semi lost and the tracks become hard to find.

Amazingly neither of those things occurred however the tide posed a bit of a problem with Hannu and me having to drag the dingy about ½ a km to the nearest water. Ooops.

The locals thought it was a great joke but hey, they were playing soccer on a sand bar.

Clearing Out

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...

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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.