18 August 2014

Callisto and crew left Singapore 7 days ago.
The weather began with little wind and isolated squalls .After crossing  the equator they pulled into the commercial port of Pangalpenang on the west side of Banka island where they managed to buy 250 liters of diesel fuel from a tug boat . This entailed inflating the dingy and ferrying it across.
There was a period of time with headwinds that slowed them down and a a few downpours of rain. They have now picked up the trade winds and the sky is blue again.Last night they passed through the Sunda straits( that's is between Sumatra and Java ).
Presently enjoying a speed of 8.8 knts. So far no fish,they will continue to try.

One15 Marina, Singapore

Where to begin.
This has been a very difficult week. The trek started before noon on July 31 leaving San Diego and stopping to meet with Ron and Myrna in Long Beach. We had a nice dinner and they dropped me off at LAX for the twenty hour flight to Singapore, via Manila. All flights were on time but jam packed so not so comfortable in the back of the bus.
I took a taxi from Changi across the bridge to Puteri Harbour in Malaysia.
The boat seemed to be in good shape, the batteries held their charge and the chargers came on line without problem.
The interior of the boat was as we left it with no mould whatsoever. Exterior was dirty but to be expected after three months.
I spent a few hours putting stuff away and Ted arrived about 1800H.
We had a quick tour of the boat, a bite to eat and then bedtime.
Next day, work started with a boat clean and we removed the protective canvas awnings.
I asked Jamie from Totem to check the rig, replace the tricolor lights and fit a new alternator to battery charger that I had brought from the USA.  The first two jobs got done but the charger would not function, despite hours of work.
It was disconnected and I went back to the original system.
Day three was boat diving day in the filthy marina but there was no choice. A plastic bag had been placed on the prop to delay marine growth but this has fallen off and the prop, keel, rudder and waterline were very badly fouled.
Three to four hours under the boat with a scraper took off most of the marine growth and the  engine a transmission ran well.
I switched out the main engine raw water impeller and replaced the raw water sensor on the gen. set. Despite plenty of water running through I still got a low water alarm so I had to disconnect the sensor again.
An electronics check was disappointing. All the wind instruments and radios worked fine but I could not get a GPS fix on either chart plotter, even using an external antenna. It seems very odd that both would have gone bad at the same time and see the same fault on both units. The chart plotter and radar work but no GPS fix.
We did a lot of shopping to provisoning the boat for the Indian Ocean.
Ted and I left Puteri Harbour on Friday for One15 Marina on Sentosa Island, Singapore navigating by IPad. It works surprisingly well and all went well. We met the immigration guy in a pilot boat outside the marina and cleared in. This marina is truly exceptional, probably the best I have ever seen and we were shown to our berth by very courteous staff who allowed is to stay two days longer than we had booked for.
This weekend is Singapore's 49th Independence Day and all government offices are closed.
We visited a massive shopping mall called Vivo City which was teeming
I am waiting for Ray, the third member of our crew who should arrive any minute.
Tomorrow, will again be jam packed. The Furuno service guy is coming by to see to the chart plotters and if they are not repairable, I will buy  a new hand held GPS to hook up to my computer. Ray is also bringing a GPS/computer and we also have two iPads so we should be able to find our way without having to resort to the sextant.
Then it's off to immigration to clear out and if all goes well we will leave on Tuesday.

San Diego, CA, USA

Sliding into my last weekend in the US before going back to Malaysia. Most of my packing has been done.

Enjoying all that San Diego has to offer now that the Comicon loonies are here, downtown is packed.

Comicon is here in force

100 pounds of boat parts, ready to go

San Diego, CA, USA

Only about ten days to go now before the next Callisto adventure across the Indian Ocean. Most of my 60 pounds of boat parts have been assembled and will be packed on the weekend. We have been spending our time enjoying the excellent San Diego weather and attractions. The Admiral and I have been experimenting with Yoga and I've been down to Coronado for Wednesday beer can racing. Binge watching House of cards and watching the Navy move aircraft carriers keep us busy.
We have another announcement to make! Little Sydney will have a new brother or sister in the new year.
Congratulations Jessica and Ben.
Next post from Malaysia.

not too sure about new arrival

Wednesday beer can races

view from our appartment

San Diego, CA, USA

We have just returned to San Diego following  our 6 week, 3000 mile land cruise to Indian Wells, Solvang, San Francisco, Berkeley, Portland, Boise and Sun Valley and then back via Las Vegas. It's good to be back home and as usual, it's difficult to know where the time went. After some unseasonably cool weather in Sun Valley, initially, the situation improved and we enjoyed some hiking and wandering about in addition to the football and the other Sun Valley attractions. We left on July 9th and spent a night in Las Vegas (rainy) and Indian Wells (very hot) and here we are. Looking forward to going back to SE Asia and getting started on the cruise to South Africa.

Here are some photos  of Sun Valley 

Redfish Lake

Alturas Lake

Looking down one of the black diamond ski runs on Mt. Baldy. Very scary.

Sun Valley Lake with Baldy in the background

A view of Ketchum and Sun Valley from Mt. Baldy

The deck of the Roundhouse restaurant with a view of the Pioneer mountains

Mt Baldy view

Redfish Lake about 60 miles north of Ketchum

Sun Valley, ID, USA

We have been so busy doing almost nothing at all that I have been amiss in not blogging recently. we have been here at our country seat in Sun Valley for just about two weeks now, enjoying the mountain air and revisiting our local haunts.
We drove east from Portland to Boise to visit with some old friends of ours, Mike and Ruthie. That evening was their  famed sushi competition which was been an annual institution for many years. A very lively and interesting evening ensued with some outstandingly innovative efforts submitted.
Next day we set off to Sun Valley to arrive in unseasonable 85 degree weather. We have been walking and visiting all the bars and restaurants in town. Many of the old ones and some new ones. Micro-brews have migrated to Idaho and we attended the first Micro-brew fest in Ketchum last week. That went from noon to 6.00 pm and a good time was had by with outstanding beer from all over the west coast and Idaho.
I've been back to the sporting clay ranges  in Sun Valley and Hailey and it's good to note that I can still hit some of the targets.
The weather has been strange. From 85 degrees the first week we were here down to 35 degrees and snow on the next. It's rainy today but as the end of June passes we are promised the usual perfect Sun Valley weather. Not much fishing yet as the Wood river is just starting to clear but I may get a few days in before we leave.
We celebrated our 36th wedding anniversary last week, may there be many more. I also spent a few days refinishing our outside wooden deck which had been sorely neglected. It was quite a lot of work to sand down the entire deck to bare wood and then reseal it but the effort was worth it, as it came up very well.
We have had a crew change for our voyage to South Africa. Roger is unable to make the trip and I was fortunate to find Ray, who will replace him through our friends Dave and Marian from Kilkea II.
I look forward to meeting him in Singapore in August for what should be an interesting and challenging cruise. I'm looking forward to going offshore again soon.
Oh, and did I mention the soccer! We had hoped that England had made a better showing but at least we can still root for the amazing USA team. Much time spent in Lefty's Bar and Grill watching the games
Here are some photos.

Lilac in bloom Sun Valley

Sun Valley

my effort in the sushi competition. Not a winner, I'm afraid

us and Donna and Ruthie

Happy hour at the Ram Bar, Sun Valley Inn

Snow in June in Sun Valley

the first annual Sun Valley Brewfest, Ketchum. Not much got done that evening

sanding the deck

the sushi competition

Portlandia, Oregon, USA

 We are almost at the end of our sojourn with Josette in Portland. We 
left Yosemite last week and made the 400 miles in good time. Josette has had us 
on the move every day since our arrival and she tends to underestimate the 
physical activity. An advertised 3 mile walk on the flat turned into an 8 mile 
hike with 1500 feet of elevation and a little bike ride became 18 miles of up 
hill and down dale.
The exertion was worth it as the hike took us through forest and waterfalls and 
was very enjoyable. As was the bike ride in the Columbia Gorge wound through 
spectacular scenery. We have been blessed with great weather, not typical of 
Portland but welcome much the same. 
The city of Portland is an interesting place, to say the least. If any of you 
have seen the US cable  TV show Portlandia, the portrayal is pretty accurate. 
There are some fairly different people here but everyone seems pleasant and easy 
going. There are hundreds of eateries coffee shops and bakeries and some very 
peculiar stores for doggies' clothing and some just dedicated to hats and junk 
shops by the dozen.
We have met many of Josette's friends and have enjoyed numerous dinners out. I 
went on an excellent guided tour of the last US diesel submarine moored outside the 
Oregon science museum with new friend John, at retired US Navy Captain.
An afternoon was spent at the Nike campus in Beaverton. Another very impressive 
place, especially the company store with its fifty per cent discount.

Tomorrow, it's off to Boise, ID for some more adventures.

view of Mount Shasta on the way up to Portland

the Columbia River Gorge

The  International Test Rose Garden 

bike ride along the Columbia Gorge

Hiking the Multnomah Falls

The ultra feminist bookshop and community centre featured in the show Portlandia(it really does exist)

Bills posted on telephone poles. Seems to be a Portland tradition. The bills can be inches thick

Following the tour of SS Blueback. The last of the US Navy diesel attack subs.