On our way to Indonesia via Malaysia??

Greetings me hearties!

We rest t’day at the fair docks of

Kuching, 10 miles up the Sungai Serawak, a river of Borneo remembered for its head hunters of yesteryear (we hope) and Proboscis monkeys (Jimmy Durante eat your heart out). Let our dear friends Dennis and Rita (we are four aboard S.V Conversations these days ) tell the tales of hardship in the city, of broken gear, and fast passages on the South China Sea during the high season of the SW monsoon.

Dennis: After spending 5 wonderful days exploring Singapore and all its sites, eateries and getting spoiled in a 5-star hotel arranged by Irena we were able to get out to the sailboat and ready ourselves for our journey. In fact, Irena and Cress being the great hosts they are, left us with their room at the Marina Bay Sands Hotel. The hotel came complete with a 150m swimming pool atop of the three tower 57 story structure. They went to the boat for the weekend to start cleaning and provisioning it. Rita and I went to the boat on Tues night with a taxi full of food for the trip. As we were anxious to get sailing, we decided to forego getting propane for one of the tanks as it would take 2 days to refill it -- bad decision). Once underway we were surprised to see the sharp contrast between the very clean city and the absolutely filthy harbour. With up to 1000 freighters in anchorage at one time and the crews having no regard for disposal of waste, there was crap floating all over the place.

There were no birds or marine life anywhere. In fact the whole of the South China Sea has little marine life as opposed to the abundance we saw on our first passage across the South Pacific. Otherwise our sail has been very pleasant.

Rita: Ahh…to be on the ocean again!! But all is not to be smooth sailing!

Before we even got away from Singapore, Rita broke the chain in the steering column. That’s right, the chain!! (think we have a candidate for strong lady in the next circus). Out came the emergency tiller as we made our way to a grubby looking fuel boat, then off to anchor at a “small island”.

First job next day was for Cress and Dennis to fix the steering. Success! (much to Rita’s relief) Now we are really on our way. We sailed all night, through tons of freighter traffic, and reached Pulau Aur (80 mi. from mainland Malaysia), greeted by a fabulous sunrise. There are several resorts lining the shore, but it is mostly quiet and the landscape is breathtaking. The water is so clear that we can see the fish, just off the sides of the boat. We had several fun excursions snorkeling; our first day we saw a sea turtle. Unfortunately on one of our trips away from the boat we left all the hatches open and YUP!! We got a tropical downpour!! After scooping up coconuts on our way back we had to mop up and try to dry out – cushions, rugs, bedding. Aside from the inconvenience, it was nice to feel cool. We had a couple of days of unsettled weather so we finally sailed in the pouring rain to Pulau Tioman, but not before Cress & Dennis had to spend several hours repairing the throttle which had got stuck in reverse!! We anchored in a lovely bay on Tioman. There are lots of resorts, a golf course, and a commuter ferry, but the water is clear and the landscape is lush. There are trees full of ripening mangos, jackfruit, and bats by the scores!

NOW WHERE IS THAT RUNWAY AGAIN????

By June 6^th, we were anchored near the marina, which was full, as we watched several Dash-8’s land and take off from the narrow, short runway in the trees. Irena is arriving on one of those??? But she made it!! A happy reunion and a fun evening.

The next day was another adventure as Dennis & Rita made their way by ferry over to Mersing in search of propane. No luck!! However, Cress, with the help of the local marina, cobbled together some system whereby he was able to fill our tanks with butane. So we can cook (and eat!!)

We sailed 3 days and 3 nights to Kuching on the Malaysian side of Borneo. Arriving at night, we anchored off shore. In the morning we went in search of the “marina at the mouth of the Santubong River”. Either we misinterpreted the guidebook or it was mistaken. The only dock there is private and we couldn’t tie up there. So off we went to Pulau Lakei. Slow going at first due to lack of wind, but we made it. We anchored in a beautiful bay, just at the foot of Bako National Park.

There is a huge pile of boulders that looks like a male figure – a guardian on the point between the park and Pulau Lakei. The waters are calm, the terrain rugged – much like the coast of BC. We spent a serene evening there, with the songs of the birds and other night creatures to lull us to sleep.

Irena: Well I think I have finally shaken off the work ‘buzz’ and have managed to slow my pace down to almost the rate of the local Malaysians (can’t quite get myself into that slow amble). I cannot imagine what it is like for the women here to be fully clothed complete with headscarf AT ALL TIMES when outdoors. Being a predominantly Muslim country, these are the ‘rules’ (I am quite certain these must have been made up by men!). In any case, we are at a small marina for a few days, so the air conditioners are going at full tilt while we are one board. Tomorrow we are going for a hike into Bako National Park to see what wildlife we can and get a taste of the jungle, that we can’t really get from the anchorages and seaside. Then we will start making our way into Indonesia since our cruising permit has finally arrived.

Cooking with Dennis and Rita on board has been a wonderful treat. Waking up to freshly baked scones and bread is the most amazing thing. In fact Dennis and Rita are in town as I write to pick up some local produce for the next part of our journey. We will have email access for the next couple of days, so please drop us a line – we would love to hear from you!

That’s it for this installment. Drop us an email or comment on the blog, we miss you all and would love to hear from you. Cresswell(at)sail7cs.com.