Back in Blighty

We have been back in London for just over a week now, spending time with family and friends. The sun has been out for about four minutes of the past seven days and it's been quite cold. Still, we don't come here for the weather and we have all enjoyed my sister Ruth's nuptial celebrations which began last Thursday at the Marylebone Town Hall and on to lunch at the Grazing Goat restaurant. Friday night dinner was provided at Ruth's house and finally a great party at the Fish Factory in the docklands. We all had a great time and we have never seen her so happy.
Number 4 kid, Jennifer was also here for a week and it was wonderful to spend some time with her, having not seen her for over a year.
The other joy was to see our baby granddaughter, Sydney. She is now nine months old and weighs in at 25 pounds. She is a delight, a very happy and contented baby doing all the usual baby stuff. She crawls and stands up by herself and grins all the time, it will be very hard to leave her again.
Now that all the celebrations are over we will visit some old friends and see some of what London has to offer. Photos will be uploaded shortly.
It is almost November and the Admiral has permitted me to grow some facial hair beneath the nose for a very good cause, namely Movember, a charitable organisation to improve awareness of men's health issues especially prostate cancer.

Puteri Harbor, Malaysia.Some year end stats

We have been busy cleaning and putting stuff away as we get ready for our trip to the UK and the USA. We leave tomorrow and I can't believe that the cruising season is over for us this year. It seems just like yesterday when Roger and I left Sydney Horbour for points north but it was, in fact, February.
The weather has certainly changed and is now really hot and steamy. We had a huge thunderstorm yesterday and the day before with a massive amount of rainfall.
The marina remains very sheltered and secure. This was a good choice of place to leave the boat while we travel. (Thanks to Bill on S/V Bebe)
Here are some stats from year 2012.
Miles covered                                                         5309
Engine hours                                                           412
Genset hours                                                           268
Fuel                                                                        1028 litres   270 US gallons  228 Imperial gallons
Countries visited                                                    3  Australia, Indonesia  and Malaysia
Islands visited                                                        Many dozens
Fastest sustained boat speed                                   10.5 kts  Albany passage
Highest sustained wind speed                                  38 kts.
Lightening strikes                                                     0
Engine failures                                                         1  (air pressure sensor failed after Bali
                                                                                     low rpm only and no turbo boost)
                                                                                  I still hate Volvo's
Biggest Fish (before moratorium)                            40 pound wahoo
Days on Mooring                                                      49 Sydney harbour
Days at sea and at anchor                                          151
Days in marinas                                                         156 (including this current hibernation)
Guests and crew                                                         Roger and Janice, Young Ron, Tracy and
                                                                                  John.

Hours in the Operating Room                                   Still 0
Phone calls from Patients                                         Still 0

Next post will be from London with photos of the upcoming nuptials

Puteri Harbour, Johor Bahru, Malaysia

All well with us after an interesting run from Nongsa Point in Indonesia. The marina did our clear out procedure from Indonesia with their usual efficency. I handed our passports and customs and immigration documents to them on Sunday morning and got them back duly stamped that afternoon for a fee of about $30.
We were told that there was no problem leaving the following morning which we did at about 0600H along with Ambika, Roxy, Ever After, Blue Heeler, Infini and  Albertina who was towing Comedie who has a transmission problem.
We had a favorable tide to begin with and crossed the main Singapore shipping channel south of Raffles Lighthouse. About half way through the shipping channel we had a sudden loss of engine power, the chartplotter screen in the cockpit went dead and I lost my AIS receiver. We had to sail across the straight using an Ipad and the old Mark 1 eyeball. The wretched Volvo D3 has been showing a fault since Bali and will only run at low RPM due to a problem with an air pressure sensor. Fortunately, we did have enough engine power to proceed but the tide turned at about 1100H and it was slow going after that, dodging the busy ship traffic in this part of the world without the benefit of AIS.
Once west of Singapore, we turned north in the channel between Malaysia and Singapore where we met the usual hazard of fish traps dotted about the channel. Tide was still against us with no useful breeze and we plodded on at about 4.5 kts toward Puteri harbour. The final drama was the bridge between Malaysia and Singapore. The height of the bridge was advertised as being 25 metres at high tide and I know that Callisto's air draft is 22 metres but as we approached the bridge and eyeballing the height of the mast it certainly seemed like we could not get under. Rationality won over and we went slowly under the bridge without problem.
Entry into Puteri was very easy and the marina is only about 2 years old with friendly staff and is very clean. The restaurant and bar are alcohol free and the bacon is made of turkey. They would seem to take Islam rather more seriously in Malaysia than they did in Indonesia. The marina is also miles from anywhere but that suits us, as all we need is a safe place to leave Callisto for the next 3 months.
Oddly enough, once I shut down all the boat's electronics and started them up again all the screens and AIS worked again. This does not inspire much confidence!
The next few days will be spent on cleaning and maintenence chores and it's off to London on Saturday.

Puteri Harbour, Johor Bahru, Malaysia

We arrived safely at Puteri Harbor at about 1500H today after an interesting day. Full report tomorrow

Lots more photos

paper butterfly about 12 cms. in size

our bedding arriving for our trip up river to see the orangs

barge filled with lumber. 70% 0f borneo is being deforested. Most of the logging is illegal without the resource to stop it.

alpha male orang almost 30 years old. His name is Yanni



yanni doing his thing



the smaller orangs were frightened of big yanni, so they would stuff as many bananas as they could into their mouths and eat them later

proboscis monkey swinging about

mother and baby

kingfisher

the kumai river

more photos

sunset down the Kumai river

Indonesian fishing boat at sunset putting out a mile of nets. A significant hazard for sailboats

Thr entertainment at Kumai. Note the poster in "Boratese"

Ralph the Orang( that really was his name)

Ralph again





Nongsa Point Marina, Bitam, Indonesia

We arrived at Nongsa Point Marina yeaterday at about 1500H after a long day of motoring and motor sailing. We had an adverse current for the first half and consequently went quite slowly, again dodging ships and tugs and barges. There were also headwinds but fortunately quite light until we were 15 miles from Nongsa. The marina is spotless and kept in pristine condition, prices are American. There is internet, a swimming pool and airconditioning!
We will spend the weekend here and do the customs clear our from here and head for Malaysia on Monday morning.
For those cruisers coming up behind us, the fishing nets are a real problem, especially at night as are the tug and barge combos. The latter do not show up on AIS and it is sometimes difficult to predict their course and speed and their intentions. Best not to sail at night if you can help it. We know of at least two boats who suffered prop shaft and/or transmission damage due to nets.

the local bystanders watching the dance performance put on for the cruisers in Kumai, Borneo

mother and baby Orangs

These were the most extraordinary buildings. They were built to attract birds by blaring bird noises from loudspeakers at various times of the day. The purpose is to harvest the bird's nests for the Chinese and Koreans who enjoy bird's nest soup. Go figure.

A baby turtle going back to the sea on the beach at the Kumai river estuary

Here are some photos from Borneo. There are lots more to come