Sailing

I have recounted joyful meetings with new friends made in the exotic places we have journeyed to but I would be remiss not to record fond memories of some of our fellow sailors and adventurers. 

We had people of over 20 nationalities on the Sail Indonesia rally. Many live on their yachts and sail from port to port and rally to rally. Some retain a home base. The siren call of the world's seas, peoples and destinations is powerful. They cope with the wear and tear on their boats and sometimes themselves with a lot of endurance, mutual support and hard learnt skills.  Shared tours, meals and happy hours are a source of fascinating stories about previous lives and tales of the high seas.  We have shared companionable times peppered with hilarity, in sweltering heat, rainstorms, squeezed into small vehicles, in a phalanx of motorcycles far up into mountains and lakes, in local people's homes as honoured guests, at a wedding celebration at very close quarters with the marrying couples. These experiences bind and make for lasting friendships. 

Standing on a stage with a bunch of fellow sailors singing Rod Stewart's "Sailing" to a couple of thousand excited villagers at Beriga village, Bangka ....

The deep, maple syrup mellow gentlemanly tones of Canadian Gary of Inspiration Lady on the Net or giving a speech on behalf of Sail Indonesia participants at Lovina, Bali .......... Sorry Janice but the women of the fleet fell in love with your husband's voice :)

Julian from Tropic Bird (with raunchy figurehead) and his crew of attractive young American couples Omar and Alison, Matthew and Rhiannon backpacking their way and staying onshore at the various destinations. Julian has written a book called "I should have stayed on the train ..." or similar about his travel adventures ...

Lyn and Chris of Out of the Blue ll out of Southport. Known to our Southport friends Lea and Geoff of Nestasea (small world), our hosts for an Equator crossing celebration at anchor at Kentor and fellow diners at our last dinner in Malaysia .....

USA couple Jason and Karen of Yolo often attended tours and events. Tall lanky drole Jason speaking for participants at Bangka striding leisurely down the hill in front of the delighted spectators around him and taking two steps at a time up onto the stage on his long legs clothed in bright yellow shorts - reminiscent of John Cleese moves.  Karen was into everything, especially if it was edible. She accompanied me visiting Sylia the guide's grandmothers house in town at Bangka where she managed to obtain free bananas and a pineapple ;)

Karen enjoying the honey at Bangka

Karen and I trying fairy floss or cotton candy at Bangka

A group of us at Dyak house at Pankalan Bun. Jason talking to Colin. 

Helene and Peter of Vallely (home marina Yuringa, Westernport Bay, Victoria) also diligently attended cultural events put on for us. Peter danced beside Colin at Belitung .....

Janice and Mick of Zoa of Perth WA. Mick's skills were very welcome in diagnosing a thankfully small and easily fixed fault in Delphian's generator (or Geni affectionately called). Mick was an electrician employed at Woodside for years. Janice makes very clever use of discarded sailcloth to make handbags and carry bags.  I will share her website with you. They joined us for dinner at a Danga Bay steamboat restaurant. 

Janice of Zoa

Water Musik's USA family Bill, Becky and three children Joey, Raymond and Melodie, while not officially part of our fleet, were welcome fellow travellers. Bill would swing the spinnaker pole out over the water for his kids, often joined by some local children, to swing out and into the water.  Bill had a three year stint as a dentist in Alaska to look forward to next ....

Young Melanie and

Bill and Raymond at wedding feast

 

Crews of Water Musik and Tropic Bird at Bintan Chinese seafood restaurant

Katrina and Ken of Watusi out of Townsville ... Also not part of the fleet but good company at Belitung and Bintan ....

Dutch couple Yann and Marielle of Avanta have chosen to live in their retirement on Malta when they are not sailing around the world. She is an educator with background working with people with disabilities. He is a highly knowledgable person with a career in chemistry and one of the wiser, more grounded and experienced sailors. We got to know them better on the bus tour at Bangka. 

Yann, Marielle and Lyn feasting at village chiefs house, Beriga

Cheryl and Phil of Adagio endured a broken motor and the stress of being towed through the Singapore Straits, a brave feat successfully undertaken by John and Pam in Allicat. Memories of a dark bar in Lovina and a high school graduate party ....

Gail and Bill on Kularoo were often keen to initiate get togethers and expeditions.  

Jon, Irina and Mark of Footloose shared time in the rain on a public holiday at Belitung. They worried about hatches left open. 

Mick popular with the ladies 

Terry of Sylvia May and his wife Jenny who is a Malay Chinese from Singapore often helped with communication Bahasa Malay being fairly similar to Bahasa Indonesian. Jenny had exacting standards which sometimes caused a smile or two ....

German couple Brent and his wife of Elbe were often on tours with us. We had a near incident when their boat was anchored within our anchor chain range and the weather turned stormy at Belitung. Fast work by all and our up-anchoring and moving avoided a certain collision. 

Canadians Gene and Sheri of Reflections shared a taxi with Cecilie and I at Danga Bay one one of our many shopping sprees. Gene has great skill in sourcing meat and other foods by identifying and visiting restaurant suppliers. Sheri was one of the regular posters on the Sail Indonesia website. 

Others we became acquainted with (apologies for any I have forgotten) included 

- Austrian Christophe of Eva 

- Peter and Lisa of Niccone

- Calypso, a South Africal boat we left Bintan with

- USA Virginia and Denis from Libertad another professional and easy on the ear voice on the daily Net

- USA Mike of Nahanni whose gearbox broke at Kumei meaning sailing only all the way to Danga Bay

- Wendy and Stephan of Juliana ll

- Janina and Dean of Tropic Soul

- Maure and ... of Irish yacht Soal Elle

We were also happy to meet in Bali the former crew of Delphian, Marilyn Graham who lives in Hobart and is author of Coastal Cruising Companion (see advertised on Skipr.net) and Tricia Wallace-Smith who lives Mooloolaba and is occasionally seen at SYC on a Friday night as an ex-member :). 

Last but not least will we ever forget the mahogany brown tanned, fit, brown-eyed John Sloan our host. My companion on watch, happy to share stories of teaching days and Melbourne and country Victoria or to enjoy easy silences in that semi trance like state one feels when no hazards are around and the magic of the movement of the boat through the sea and the night weaves it's spell. John enduring the incredible heat of the engine room when mechanical matters needed attending to. Our hat is off to him as a master sailor. 

And Cecilie who is so nimble and strong, quick thinking and alert to the needs of the boat and of us.  Cook extraordinaire. Making sure we are up with the affairs of the world, the latest books and initiator of many highly stimulating philosophical,educational, technology and political conversations. A source of attraction to people of other lands with her long blond hair, big blue eyes and attractive figure and tropical apparel.  Her never-ending curiosity and energy in engaging locals in conversation - often leading further to visits to schools, homes for meals and the development of deeper understandings of the cultures we experienced.  We were so fortunate to find so much in common and to enjoy the company of these two lovely people and so privileged to be invited to share travels aboad their beautiful Delphian.  

Six weeks flew like Delphian under sail in 25 knots. 

Until next time :)))

Developing Malaysia and manicured sophisticated and somewhat regimented Singapore

Malaysia is developing. Very fast!   330k sq kilometers in area. Population close to 30m. Johor Bahru in the South where we are is a place of contrast. Old and new alongside. Many more highways than we have, super well-run train system including underground, plenty of "bas" and "teksi" at very reasonable cost. 

Varied housing from working class shacks, dormitory style blocks, through levels of middle quality to mansions and palaces. Reminders in abandoned building complexes of a previous economic collapse when German investment came to a sudden halt. Ethnic groups include Chinese 28% Malay 50% Indian 7% Indigenous 11% others of mainly European and Asian backgrounds living alongside each other.  Colour, noise, activity. Forget weekends and holidays. Indonesia was the same. They are on the upwards development track and they know it. We feel it. Education is everything. 

Shopping is national pastime. Large centres vary from outdoor markets to kmart style to Southland/Chadstone style and then the up-market Daimaru like. Most Malaysian women possess a black belt in shopping.  One reason is the centres are air conditioned  but also there is money despite the ringat being one third the value of AUD.  

They also know how to party. Halloween was a fun experience at our bar on the marina.  Every night there is music. 

Colin and I had a long day out visiting Singapore. We taxied to the city centre where we picked up a Singapore taxi allowed to take us to Singapore across the Causeway and on to the zoo. At the border our passports were checked and stamped. We have tourist visas now to travel in and out for 30 days. 

Singapore zoo was fantastic. We bought a 30 day ticket covering the main zoo and its feeding and educational activities, the river safari, the tram and the night safari. We used all except the night safari that day. Lots of walking.  The River safari is relatively new and has exceptional aquarium type facilities where the river systems of the world are on display including the Murray. 

White tigers

White rhinos incredibly close to us

Large enclosures where we walk amongst inhabitants. 

Komodo dragon

Polar bear so close we could touch paws

It was here we met a lovely Singaporese woman and her children and learnt better ways to move around and places to go. Off to Chinatown to explore and eat. Found a place favoured by the locals - Hong Kong Street Fish-head Steamboat. Excellent and very cheap. 

Home by MRT (metro rapid transport) bus and taxi. $70 to Singapore, $12 to get home :). It does take longer and you have to jump on and off the bus a couple of times to pass back through both Singapore and Malaysia Immigration. All good fun and 800k Malaysians do it every day. 150k motorbikes cross the Causeway every day at $4 each way. 

Diwaly is the festival of light in the Hindu religion. Equivalent to Christmas. Beautiful clothes bought by families for the occasion. I tried a few on but nothing to fit. We went to the Hindu temple in city central which had stalls and activities around it. 

Very beautiful and a spiritual experience. We met a lovely young couple who explained some aspects of the festival and Hindu religion to us and advised we visit the only crystal temple in the world nearby. We were so glad we did. Here there was only us and a Chinese family other than the locals. We were made very welcome and watched the religious rites taking place including blessings. The music, chanting and acoustics were wonderful. 

Interesting story to this place and the community program run from it led by a former teacher.  Sounds, smells, sights so foreign and yet what strikes us is the similarity of the stories and values running through all the religions we are experiencing. In this place there are statues of Jesus, Buddha and Mother Theresa as well as Hindu notables. Makes you wonder. 

After we wander down back streets and catch buses to see further afield than the city around us. 

Cecilie and John are already planning the next year's travelling and visitors to join them and saying they won't have time for this or that along the way. We think they will be here for several years. So much to see and do and often so inexpensive to live.  We look forward to more travels with them and hearing about their adventures. 

A last dinner at our excellent Italian restaurant. The chef trained in Singapore and one of the 5 star hotels for six years. Joined by Lyn and Chris of Out of the Blue ll. They live and travel on their catamaran as do a number of the Sail Indonesia fleet. 

So today is our last day in Malaysia and on the beautiful Delphian. Goodbye to the sounds of the Mullahs in the fresh early morning and the small cats with their crooked truncated tails, the daily storms that allow us to quickly fill the tanks and drinking water containers and thunder violently right over us. 

The four of us are off for two nights in a hotel in Singapore then back to Australia for Colin and I. It will be sad to leave this incredible highly emotional and spiritual journey through Asia. Life culminates in unexpected ways and places. We have woven strong threads with those we love through Canberra, Queensland, the outback, Northern Territory and Asia.

And the women are still strong, the men good looking and the children above average at Camp Wilkinson. 

Hello Malaysia

How we laughed. Last night after a great dinner at an Italian restaurant at the Danga Bay marina, Johor, Malaysia we opened a box of Cadbury Choc-coated Almonds I bought at the hypermarket at Pangkalun Bun I was saving for a celebratory treat. Box 10x6". Inside the usual moulded container. Sitting in that a tiny foil packet of almonds. Never seen so much packaging for so little result. 

Might have been a hint of hysteria and tiredness in our laughter. What a day we had. And what an experience Indonesia has been and how sad we are to leave it behind. 

Starting out from Nirwana Waters resort, Bintan in company with other yachts. Blue skies, lovely morning, little wind but faint cooling breeze. 

Here is Calypso with South African friends aboard.

Delicious to call friends and family as we go along via Facebook. We think FB has bought out Viber and that's how we can use the iPad as a phone and surprise the recipients with an unexpected ring.   Last calls to make contact before leaving Indonesia and use up our phone credit. 

The volume of ship traffic increases as we motor along, as do the flotsam and jetsam.  Are we phased by what the Singapore Straits look like live on Ship Traffic?

We slow to pick up a heavy duty orange life buoy lost from a vessel. Some nervous anticipation of crossing the Malacca and Singapore Straits and dodging the traffic with no right of way whatsoever. 

You need to magnify to see the number of vessels here.

As it turned out, in Johns's excellent experienced hands and three other pairs of eyes to monitor we had no issues and all potential incidents could be seen and avoided. We smiled to see the tiny fishing boats half a mile from ships. They seemed almost underneath. The usual waves and smiles exchanged as we passed by. 

The day gets hotter, more overcast and incredibly humid. Singapore is impressive and we pass about 20 miles of coastline as we head to the Jahor Strait. We see the high towers with the swimming pool suspended on a platform above (Elizabeth Baird had recently shared photos she and Malcolm took of this close up), the giant ferris wheel and the Durian shaped arts and entertainment precinct. We pass around Raffles lighthouse (see below), 

Raffles marina and finally up the river with Singapore on the right shore surrounded by a wire fence for border security and Malaysia on the left. 

We approach the Causeway bridge that links Singapore with Malaysia - it has 25 meter height clearance above water. Our mast goes under with 2 meters clearance. Looks pretty interesting from underneath. 

We pass Puteri marina which is very upmarket and has huge shopping complex. Toys R Us is here too:). On approach to Danga Bay marina the friendly efficient voice of Terrence, Marina Manager, leads us to our berth alongside pier 4 where we find many of the Sail Indonesia fleet already tucked in. 

The weather looks decidedly ominous over the nearby land reclamation area and we hope the rain holds off.  It does and then we experience the heaviest downpour so far in our travels. What a pity we hadn't time to get the rainwater collection device ready. 

 As Chris of Out of the Blue said, the day was a buzz and it was great to be in a marina with club facilities after weeks at anchorages.

It is quite different here. At first, it seems no one wants to shake our hand or have photos taken. Oh dear, "Rooster one day, feather duster the next".  However as you wander around and speak to people, especially in their language, it does happen. Met a girl this morning for instance who just graduated in CivilEngineering and spent time in Melbourne last year.  It's just that we kind of got used to being mobbed and having star status :)))

Very friendly helpful staff at the marina and in the restaurants and bars and the best lasagna I've ever had even though made with chicken instead of beef. Lots of Mosquitos so out comes the net for our bed tonight. 

 Enjoyed the shops today and decide to change our flight back so we can enjoy more sights at leisure. 

Delphian is now snug under its boat covers 

which will be great to shelter us from sun and rain. It's nostalgic to see Ted's 'T' on the sails and covers. Ted was a sailmaker known to all Sandringham Yacht Club sailors who sadly passed away last year.  His work lives on. 

We enjoy the bar at night with some good singers. 

Our photographer. Seems the Malaysians are as happy to pose for photos as the Indonesians.

Johor Bahru or JB as the locals call it has been a shopping experience, with daily storm and rain in the afternoon and pleasant evenings. Nice to stop still for a while. Still to explore Singapore and have extended return flight date to do so.  Our laundry went off to be done today. Yay!  It's the little things that give so much pleasure. 

Enjoying keeping in touch with you all back home and those new friends of all nations we have made on our travels. 

What do we look forward to on returning home to Australia?  A good cappuccino, crusty white bread, affordable red wine as we travel down through the red centre, cuddling family and friends along the way and back in Melbourne, including the furry ones. Mowing the lawn (ha ha), sharing photos and stories, a visit for me to the podiatrist and not having swollen feet, swimming in cool surf. Going to the movies and Tiamo in Lygon St. Getting back to art class and the lovely company and lunch that goes with that. Seeing my Vietnamese students and hopefully two new arrivals to the Dinh family. 

Using this experience to enrich the interactions I have in my volunteer work and thinking about the next adventure to the outback and on the oceans.