Back in Malaysia

After a hurried but efficient re-lauching, we have put the new propellers to test and they ROCK! Obviously we still have a bit more testing to do, but Russ believes we got an extra 1.5 knots of boat speed. We increased the pitch on the propeller from 20 to 23 degrees which puts a bit more strain on the engine but it has plenty of extra power for that. So far so good.

Russ is now taking a well deserved rest, especially his back which got a canning during his time in Satun. Tomorrow we are back on track, taking measurements on Endless Dream (Frederick's boat) to build a new hard top for it, then fit the new parts for our windlass. So maybe another 10 days around Malaysia and we will be on our way to Thailand with a top boat to try and do some charter work and top up the depleted coffers.

For me, well, I am a very happy and proud writer of our first published article in NZ! The December Issue of Boating New Zealand Magazine has a 9 page spread on us! I haven't seen it yet and would love to hear your feed back!

Another day in Satun...

The rain stopped, Russ jumped on his gun, and now Moonwalker has a red bum! The spraying went really well but the blue tape... it has ruined the boot toping, after we had polished an everything! The tape stayed on for only one day and it's supposed to last 7! Anyhow, Russ was about to blow his brains out as you imagine... Now the rain is back so we will paint the cabin top tomorrow weather permitting. Hopefully day after tomorrow we will be out of here. I feel a bit bad saying all this bad things about the place, as the people are just so wonderful here! Last night we were trying to find a restaurant but ended up having this meal with a family at their house. So special. Here are some photos of our day:

Satun - Thailand

Unfortunately the new crane driver for the Langkawi yard never eventuated so here we are in Satun after a heart pumping approach to the yard's creek. There are absolutely no navigational aid, the place is so shallow that I wonder how any monohulls get to this place! Eventually a fishing boat came and we followed it to the entrance of the creek doing a bunch of zig zags. We had to wait for a few hours to the optimum tide, and once we headed for the ramp, we couldn't see the trailer as it was already submerged in the murky brown water of the river. As we were being hauled out, we realized that the beams they put across the trailer were located totally in the wrong place. Too late, after a loud "crack" we screamed for the boat to be put back in the water. Once in the water Russ hopped off the boat and help the guys reset the beams. This after we had given them the plans, measurements and even photos! Russ even saw that the manager had the plans on his hands and still got it wrong! So Russ put some markings and checked the distances of the beams and back the trailer went. As we hauled out Russ realized they had not followed his markings properly and we had to jack the boat up again the next day to replace the beams. That's when we could see the two cracks under each hull. Thank Goodness Russ can fix all this as one of the cracks actually went through the boat hull, meaning we could see it inside! Oh well, welcome to Satan, I mean Satun... The place is a dump really. But people as usual is very friendly and kind of try to get things done but it's so mickey mousey I would never ever let anyone from here touch our boat! Here is a photo of where they placed our hulls! Just at the end of the beam!

As usual Russ befriended some young locals here and disappeared one night for over 2 hours, leaving me freaking out on the boat. Needless to say the ear full he got when he arrived! Next night the same young group invited us for dinner and out we went to this labirinth of alleyways to get to Loh's house. If you left me there, I would still be trying to find my way out! It was a lovely night. I got a ride back from a local young, how cool is this bike!


The work on the boat is going well, Russ has fixed the cracks and other bits and pieces we had to do, we have polished the hulls and are ready to spray the antifouling tomorrow. The plan is to spray the cabin top too. Now the best news is that our new propellers fit perfectly! We are very happy about that. All going well, in two days we are out of here!

Which yard?

That's what happens when I leave Russ to do the updates for the blog in English! It's been ages! Anyhow, to tell you the truth not much has been happening here... We were anchored in Telaga unitl this morning, when we decided to move to Cenang, a backpacker hang out in Langkawi. Reason to be here is basically to do what backpackers do: party! We are catching up with some friends tonight and going to the only club we know in the island. Should be fun.

Now, the reason we are STILL in Malaysia, is the eternal yard drama that every cruiser goes through once a year, or two for the lucky ones. Moonwalker hasn't been out of the water for over 18 months! We had booked a yard in Phuket - Thailand, which was the cheapest we had found and knew. However we have been told you are not allowed to spray there, only if you cover the entire boat (even if you are doing only the antifouling!) at a massive cost of over NZ$400! So we started researching again, and found two alternatives: one in Thailand in a place called Satun, and the other a new yard, right next to the main port in Langkawi, run by a French man called Jean Pierre. Satun is well known by the cruisers as a very cheap place with the cheap approach to everything else too, they use a trailer to haul out. Ok by all means but Russ would rather try the new yard here in Langkawi (they use cranes). However, the crane driver whom was to haul us out, hit a buffalo while driving home on his motorbike and managed to plant himself in the hospital! Now we are waiting to see if a new crane driver can be arranged this week, otherwise we will head to Satun in Thailand. By the way both haul outs were cheaper than in Phuket but still much more expensive than in Australia. Just an idea, in Australia we spent  around NZ$500 for the haul out (and in) including 3 days on the hard. Here it will cost us NZ$600 just for the haul in and out at the cheapest place - which is in Langkawi.

The propellers are here! They are beautiful and we are very hopeful they will deliver the extra knots we want. Russ and I are scraping and sanding all the wooden trim of the galley and re-varnishing it. It looks great! The wood is a bit lighter now.  And we sold our 15hp outboard too. That will pay for the haul out and etc. We were not using it really. And it less 30kg from the boat.

Well for "not much going on here" I managed to write quite a lot... Will keep you posted on our yard saga.

Waterfall in Langkawi

Here in Telaga Harbour we had the chance to see many of our cruising friends again and have been having a great time exploring the area. One of the great finds is these waterfalls located less than 3 miles from our anchorage. We have been visiting the falls everyday since, enjoying a nice natural jacuzzi and some cold coconut. Not a bad way to kill time until our new props arrive from NZ!

Langkawi - Malaysia

After visiting the islands of Deudab (where Russ managed to score some nice waves) and Breueh, we got to our little refuge of Pulau Rubiah, where to our surprise other 5 boats where happily moored. Busy! We had a great time with the other cruisers and met some interesting locals. Dodent is the dive shop owner in Pulau Weh and he is the one whom put down the moorings for the sailboats for free! His reason behind that is an attempt to save the very little coral left in the Rubiah area after the tsunami. On top of that Dodent has an amazing coral replanting program which is in full swing at the moment. They place concrete blocks in certain parts of the bay and "replant" some coral on it. Their success rate is really encouraging. Dodent is a kind of lone fighter there though. He is having a hard time with the authorities that don't like the boats moored there in "hiding" and rather have them anchored in Sabang. However the anchorage in Sabang is awful and mooring or not, no one would be there, but the authorities don't see to see that and give poor Dodent a hard time. He is winning the coral battle though and we were very pleased to see an Indonesian so in tune with the ecology and genuinely concerned for the place's future.

Eventually we managed to de-tangle ourselves from Rubiah and headed for Penang, but wind and possible work ended up taking us up to Langkawi instead. So here we are back to Malaysia and slowly getting used to the whole civilization thing: ice cream, ice, tidiness etc etc, however the odd lady covered with a black burka with only her eyes out did wake us up to the fact that we are still very much in Muslim country.


The crossing was great - as far as crossings go - and we managed to sail half of the 270 miles we covered. Now the big surprise was finding a huge water spout on the way! It was terrorisingly
amazing.
Check the photo out

End of our Sumatran dream

Hi Fullas, we have just left the outer islands off the west coast of Sumatra and are now anchored in a small cove about 50 miles down the west coast from Banda Aceh.

On my last days surf in Lakon Island I got caught up in the lip of substantial wave and had a major freefall to the bottom, not only was it the longest hold down I’ve had this year but I do remember when I was groveling around down there that I probably have broken my board as well. Sure enough a clean snap .Oh well, only one board in 3 months.

In the last 2 days we have had more sailing than the last 3 months and it’s been lovely just seeing how well the boat sails again. I’m sure you guys know what I’m like when I haven’t been sailing for a while. For those who don’t, I am a prick. All good now though.

We are heading for Pulau Weh and islands near ,just off Banda Aceh ,for a food and fuel stock up and clear out with Indo officials, fun.

Karin’s hunter/gathering spear fishing is going well so we are not going hungry. Rice is a stable diet though, just as well we like it. Karin was saying this morning that she’s really hanging for a big steak. The closest I have come to it was some dry buffalo jerky last week in Nias.

Someone please tell America, England and Australia that it is official, there are no pirates or terrorists here, maybe back in 1640,but not now. The people here are normal, just like us ,with family just like us and values just like us, however unlike us they are not so concerned with the current world crisis as they have had more than their fair share of REAL crisis. Even though they hardly have a thing ,they have big smile and have been very, very welcoming to us on Moonwalker.

Cheers for now ,and the worst thing is not having you all here to share it with us.

Please if you read this just drop us a couple of lines!