Penang, Malaysia

We are now anchored up just north of Rimau Island between it and Penang. We had a pretty easy run up the coast mostly motor sailing in calm, murky water with overcast skies. The great sailing  and clear weather south of Port Dixon must have been a fluke. We also had  huge thunder showers the past two evenings once we were anchored. Very interesting experience with 20 kt. winds, no visibility and buckets of rain. The light show was pretty impressive too.

Unfortunately, we could not get into the Straits Quay Marina in Penang as they were completely full. Too bad, really, as everyone recommended it very highly. We shall just have to go back later in the month after our haul-out.

It should be a quiet night here and we plan to be up at dawn and leave for Langkawi tomorrow. We may make it by nightfall but if not we will anchor for the night in southern Langkawi and get to Rebak Marina on the following day. Full report when we get there.

Admiral Marina, Port Dickson, Malaysia.

As planned, we left Puteri Harbour on Monday at about noon on the high tide. There was a bit of drama that morning as the fuel dock pump broke over the weekend and the 500 litres of diesel they promised was not going to happen. I did get one of the dockhands to go to one of the local gas stations and pick me up 300 litres of fuel at an 30 cent markup per litre. Still it was cheaper than the fuel dock and had the advantage of being super clean. The only disadvantage was a few diesel stains on the afterdeck which needed a bit of scrubbing.
We got under the bridge a high water with about 3 feet to spare but good current with us down the Johor Straits and around the corner for about 25 miles to our first anchorage at Pulau Pisang. It was a bit rolly but comfortable enough with a full moon all night.
We were awakened before dawn by some boys in a fishing skiff who managed to get their nets tangled in my anchor chain. There was much yelling but in the end they had to cut the nets free and they then disappeared. Fortunately, nothing got caught in the rudder or prop.
They next day, we left early for the 70 miles up to Pulau Besar, our next anchorage and we had a very nice sailing day with favourable winds and clear weather. Even the Admiral was pleased with our progress as we covered the 70 miles in about nine hours even with dodging fishing boats and their nets all day. She did very well despite it being a bit bumpy going to weather without any anti- nausea meds at all, so she must now have some sea salt in her blood.
We had a quiet night but a lot of wind even in the anchorage and we left at about 0900H the following day for the 40 miles to Port Dickson.
Lots of wind, with gusts of up to 28 knots for most of the day got us there very quickly and the entrance into the marina was easy but we had 0.7 metre water under the keel at one point just before the breakwater.
The Marina has just been refurbished and is in very good shape with very helpful staff. The only problem is that it is miles from anywhere. We will stay for a few days and try to organise a tripe to Melucca about 20 miles to the south, which is supposed to be quite interesting.
One other point of note is that, to our surprise, in the berth next to us is a very new looking Amel 64 of Malaysian registration. Extremely pretty boat and we look quite small in comparison. The owner is not aboard but perhaps he will show up before we leave and give us a tour.

the refueling operation at Puteri Harbour. 12 x 25 litre jerrycans

Singapore

The Admiral and I just got back from our short walkabout in Singapore and although the time was short we did pack in a great deal of activity. We got into the city early and bought a two day MRT pass which enabled travel on all of Singapore's public transit system. It was super clean and efficient and the local people were extremely helpful and courteous. Much more so than in Hong Kong where the natives tended to look right though you and pretend you weren't there. If we just looked a little bit lost we were approached in English and asked where we wanted to go.

Sculpture of a baby in the meadow at the Gardens by the Bay. He seemed to float above the grass

We started out in Gardens by the Bay which was a man made complex featuring a botanical garden a Supertree Grove with twelve towering gardens, a "meadow" for outdoor concerts all against a back drop of the city skyline and the Marina Bay Hotel and Resort.

Super Trees

the Marima bay Hotel and Resort

We wandered about this  very impressive site for a couple of hours and then went on to Chinatown all done up with red decorations for the Chinese New Year next week. The place was a beehive of activity with remaining original, colonial buildings.

Chinatown

Thw Admiral enjoying her libation at the Longbat at Raffles Hotel

We had lunch in Chinatown in the Hawker's Market, very crowded and colourful with all manner of strange concoctions offered for sale. We visited the Sri Mariammam  Hindu Temple and the rather more impressive Buddhist Tooth Relic Temple.

After lunch it was on to the old Colonial district on the river and a walk around the Singapore Cricket Club and the Parliament buildings.

By 3 o'clock it was time for drinks and where better than the iconic Longbar at the famous Raffles Hotel. It was a bit of a tourist trap but the room was pretty cool and they still have peanuts on the tables and the bar and patrons are encouraged to throw the shells on the floor. So we did.

The Admiral had to try an original Singapore Sling just for the hell of it. We spent a pleasant couple of hours over drinks, watching the tourists and no doubt, they were watching us.



The Singapore Sling at Raffles Hotel



Later, we went to visit with Katy, one of Susan's friends from London at her apartment. More drinks and then off to dinner at the Singapore Cricket Club, a very lively ex-pat hangout with yet more drinks.

The night was still young so we then went over to the "One Altitude Bar" in the CBD, the tallest building in Singapore for guess what, more drinks!



A very young and noisy crowd intent on having a good time and they did look like they were succeeding. The bar had marvellous 360 degree views of Singapore much like the recent 118 bar in HK.

By this time, it was already one a.m and you humble Captain and even the Admiral were starting to get a little worse for wear. Well past our usual bedtime of cruiser's midnight i.e. 9 p.m.
Many thanks to Katy, our host, for showing us a great time in Singapore. She has an open invitation to visit us in Langkawi or Phuket where we hope to return the favour.

A bit of a late start, after the previous night so just spent what was left of the morning touring Little India. Lots of Sari shops, gold smiths and restaurants to look at and a very nice lunch was enjoyed. We decided to Take bus back to Puteri Harbour and what took an hour by taxi the previous day evolved into over 3 hours by the time we used one train, three buses and a taxi to get back to the boat. I think we will have a quiet night tonight and tomorrow do the final chores to get ready to leave on Monday.

stalls in little India

Bhuddist Temple. Bhudda from the Year of the Dragon

lunch little india

little india

Station Sign.Singapore is an authoritarian society but is extemely clean and orderly. Much like the UK. hahah.

Marina Bay resort from the Colonial District

Buddhist Temple of the Sacred tooth

Puteri Harbour, Malaysia

We are back on Callisto after a break of about three months. The flight was tedious as always and Cathay Pacific had the worst airline food I have ever had the misfortune of being subjected to. We made the decision to make a stop in Hong Kong to break up the flight, get over the jet lag and also to see the city. A very good choice it was too, as everything we saw there was quite impressive. From the transportation to and from the airport, the building, the infrastructure and the energy of the city was amazing. We stayed at the downtown Marriott next to the convention centre  with a marvelous view of the Kowloon and the harbour. We didn't do too much the first day as we were both knocked out by the time change.

The harbour at Aberdeen

We had a busy day after that and we visited Aberdeen on the south of Hong Kong island and then on to Kowloon and the Ladies Market which was full of mostly cheap, tourist stuff. We took a look at the Peninsula Hotel , a Kowloon landmark and then on to the Ritz Carlton Hotel for drinks at the reputedly highest bar in the world.

The 118 bar at thr Ritz. The view was mor like from an airplane than a building

 The hotel was simply stunning and the view of Hong Kong Island from the 118th floor was breathtaking. The bar was hopping and full of well dressed, yuppified locals as well as tourists and all seemed to be having a good time.

Ladies Market, Kowloon

Next day we toured Nathan Road on Kowloon. Crowds of people and every imaginable store packed full of any kind of consumer goods anyone one would need. We got the Admiral a new camera back back to hold all her existing toys plus the new telephoto lens. We wandered around a building called Chunking Mansions which was like a rabbit warren full of small electronics and cell phone stores and tiny Indian restarants. A new, allegedly unlocked WiFi  modem was found there for about $35. I hope it works!.

We had lunch on  the roof of the IFC centre, yet another high end shopping mall overlooking the harbour.

We met with our old friends Marian and Dave from Kilkea who were also visiting Hong Kong on the way back to Langkawi.. Lots of drinks and then an enjoyable dinner catching up on the events of the last three months.

Back to the airport early the next morning. Our bags were checked in at the train station and then a three hour flight to Singapore. We arranged a taxi service from the airport and were met as planned and we were back on the boat 45 minutes later.

The view from the Marriott on Hong Kong Island

Callisto was in quite good shape after 3 moths of inactivity. The exterior was dirty but some elbow grease on the following day set that straight. All the stainless was clean and bright and fortunately there was absolutely no mould inside the boat. Most things are working well. I replaced the air pressure sensor on the Volvo and it started up right away with no more alarms and flashing lights. All the furlers, winches, gen set and watermaker all seem to be good.

The navigation electronics came up but I cannot get any AIS readout and the radar is also playing up but I will attend to that in Langkawi or Phuket when we get there. All the A/C units can on initially but the one in the salon decided to quit yesterday and I can't get it going again. Too bad as it's quite hot and humid in the daytime.

Frank and Karen on Tahina are here and we spent some time over the past few days.

Lots of cleaning and checking to do and we think we will be able to leave Puteri on Monday after fueling and provisioning for the trip north. We will spend Friday and Saturday in Singapore to see some of the sights.

From what we gather there is not much to see up the Malaysian coast so we will head straight for Penang and then Langkawi where we will get the Callisto hauled for some TLC.

Photos to follow.

San Diego, CA

Our three month break from our cruise is almost over and we are packing up to return to Malaysia on Tuesday with a three day stop over in Hong Kong. I don't where all the time went so we obviously must have had a good time. We are back in sunny San Diego now, after a pleasant weekend in San Francisco to visit with James and Katie and it was great to see them again after over a year. We visited some very nice restaurants and the De Young Museum in Golden Gate Park. The weather was rainy and cold but we didn't go there for the climate.
We should get to the boat by the 20th and I can't wait to find out what doesn't work after 3 months of inactivity in the hot and humid conditions in Malaysia. No doubt much fixing will be required! I have some parts to repair the problem with the air pressure sensor on the dreaded Volvo D3 and hopefully this will do the trick, without having to resort to getting the Volvo technician from Singapore to help me out.
I'll have to dive on the prop and clean the hull before leaving and I hope that there won't be too much to do.
We plan on spending a few days in Singapore and should get going north towards Lankawi by the end of January.

San Diego, CA

The Great Basin Highway, NV looking south between Wells and Ely

My last blog posting was awhile back...
Summing up the highlights of our last 6 months ,we left Australia in july 
destination Indonesia .I must say that the constant and unconditional smiles of 
the Indonesian people remain my strongest memory,this is  a country of many 
diverse cultures and religions  ,there was never a moment that we felt unsafe, 
however poor the area we visited.We sailed with good friends making our 
discoveries more rich by being able to share our experiences together.
 We arrived at the beginning of Ramadam , so we heard the calls to prayer for 
many weeks. The sounds resonated day and night and became normal to us after a 
few days, surprisingly  raw and comforting.
This is the land of volcanoes with dramatic and beautiful landscapes.So many 
remote ,unspoiled places to visit. The markets were vibrant ,full of live 
animals and wares .Locals from all the neighboring villages selling a wonderful 
choice of fruit and vegetables ,weavings and spices. 
The orangutans in Kalimantan stand out as a major highlight of this leg in our 
journey, to be able to be so close ,sitting at arms distance and observing their 
interactions was a wonderful opportunity. I have taken so many photographs which 
someday I hope to organize and manipulate. 
The whaling village  and the Komodo dragons are also in the top ten attractions 
.
There were definitely some tricky and sometimes hair-raising  legs of sailing 
during the 3 months, the usual coral hazards,but mainly strange floating 
obstacles ,pearl farms and fishing nets ,unmarked and unlit standout the most.We 
learned how to skim along the coastal back eddies ,so as to avoid the extremely 
fierce tidal currents. I became brave enough to snorkel in a wet suit, this has 
taken me 3 years to accomplish!
The most disappointing ,sad ,and sometimes toxic experience was the slash and 
burning of their forests,combined with the trash burning ,this was at times 
painful for breathing and reduced our visibility .
We dutifully used deet at sunset and sunrise and kept nets over all ports and 
hatches so escaped from the pesky mosquito bites.
I have to admit that one of our most useful and enjoyable gadgets this year has 
been yet again the iPad, we are now proud owners of two of them. They  have 
served as a navigation system for us with the navionics app. It also serves as 
our car navigating system when we drive around the remotest of 
regions,especially now as google maps has been restored! Video skype is of 
course our best way to stay in touch with family .I could list so many more 
useful apps if anyone is interested?
When we arrived in Malaysia it was the beginning of the rainy season, so humid 
and hot,but luckily we set off for England soon after for a month of family 
gatherings.
There is nothing better than spending time with family ,friends and of course 
our new grand baby ! I can't believe she will be a year old next week.
After a wonderful month in England we came back to the USA.
When we come  home to San Diego we realize what a wonderful place this really is  
to live,in spite of all the fantastic places we visit nothing beats this.
We drove up to Sun Valley mid-december ,stopping off for a few days to catch up 
with Doctor appointments and old friends in the desert, our old stomping 
ground,strange how we took the beauty  for  granted during the 25 years we lived 
there.
We had our 5th and  last undergraduate graduation at Boise state university with 
Josette our youngest ,a very proud moment for us both.
This was our first Christmas in Sun Valley, it was truly magical. I have never 
experienced such cold, -13F at 8am in the morning! The snow was breathtakingly 
beautiful ,so crisp and pristine. It was lovely to have Josette and Julie share 
this time with us.
We are always looking at weather windows on land or at sea, so choosing the 
right time to drive the 1000 miles from Sun Valley to San Diego during the 
winter was no different,as you will see from this photo taken on the great basin 
highway it was magnificent.
We are going to San Francisco this weekend to see James and Katie as they were 
unable to make it for Christmas ,then we will have caught up with all 5 of our 
brood this trip.
I have loved having the last 3 months on terra firma,but we need to get ready to 
return to continue on our journey.We are now packing up all the usual boat 
goodies to take back with us. We will spend a few days in Hong Kong on our way 
back to Malaysia.

Sun Valley, ID . USA

We are back in Sun Valley now after a busy week and two trips to Boise. The first trip was for Josette's graduation from Boise state University with a Bachelor's degree in Political Science, a major milestone for all of us as Josette is last of her five siblings to graduate.
Julie arrived late in the evening prior to the graduation but James and Katie's flight from San Francisco was cancelled due to mechanical problems and there were no other flights available until after the New Year, so they were unable to make it.
The graduation was held in the basketball arena with about 20, 000 of our closest friends. The usual speeches and ceremony occurred and then off for a nice lunch in downtown Boise.
Fortunately, it had stopped snowing so the ride back to Sun Valley was uneventful.As soon as we got here it snowed about a foot and all the locals were pleased to have fresh powder to ski on.
We attended the Nutcracker on ice at the Lodge in Sun Valley Village and watched the fireworks and the skiers come down Dollar Mountain carrying torches, very enjoyable but absolutely freezing. We spent Christmas here with Josette and Julie but James and Katie were sorely missed.  Lots of eating and drinking and present exchanging. Santa brought  the Admiral a new telephoto lens to facilitate better wildlife shots next year.
We went back to Boise on Christmas day to get Julie on her flight  to San Diego and we spent some quality time with the new graduate.
We went to see Les Miserables, the movie and I would strongly recommend it. Hugh Jackman and Eddie Redmayne were brilliant.
We dodged another snow storm and returned to Sun Valley yesterday, to a further six inches of snow and clear blue skies. It's bloody cold though with highs at 23F and lows at 5F.

The Admiral and new graduate in some very high fashion shoes

proud dad and graduate

outside the Sawtooth Club, Ketchum

Fairfield, ID on the way back from Boise. Lots of snow