WELCOME BACK
Phuket to Kota Kinabalu June 2024
Well we’re back. After a 6 year hiatus due to covid and work we are back on the seas albeit with a new (but old) boat. While in Phuket in 2016 we purchased Kanaloa, a 55’ Oyster. She is an older boat and as we dug deeper into her systems and hardware we realised that there was a lot of work ahead of us to get her to the level of safety and reliability that we are comfortable with for passage making. And after a couple of years of work both in Pangkor and Phuket she is finally ready for some travel.
Kanaloa getting ready to splash at Boat Lagoon Phuket June 2024
We still have Mustang Sally who we sailed back to NZ via Cocos Keeling and Perth in 2017 and 18. MS is berthed in Opua NZ and is used in the Bay during summer when we return to NZ for a few months. She is still Warren’s darling and with nearly 30 years of memories is difficult to part with.
Warren returned to Phuket in April 24 to oversee the last few jobs on Kanaloa with the intention of sailing to Pangkor to join up with the East Malaysia rally which will provide us with a navy escort around the NE of Borneo where piracy has previously been an issue. Although with a combined edict from the Malaysian and Indonesian Governments for the navies to blow the fekkers out of the water the area has been relatively free of trouble for the past few years.
BUT on leaving Phuket for Langkawi a loud graunching sound put a stop to the engine and a dive over the side found the rope cutter jammed up against the P bracket, resulting in a tow into Boat Lagoon on the SE coast of Phuket. Meanwhile Morgan and I delayed our flight from NZ . What we though would be a week’s work fitting a new shaft in true boat fashion dragged on to 5 weeks.
So with the nod from Warren that we might splash in a week or so Morg and I packed up and headed for Phuket. We convinced Warren to buy a couple of electric scooters, so we ditched the old rusty bikes to some desperate Australians and had great fun hooning around the marina on our new wheels. Warren managed to catapult over the handle bars but luckily on grass and so bounced, no medical attention needed.
Two weeks later we were underway with an almost contented skipper, happy with the condition of the boat and ready to start our adventures once again. I had every limb and digit on my body crossed at this stage.
A couple of miles out of Boat Lagoon we were hit by a good squall, only 30 knots in it but fun nevertheless. Full sails and no vis, but it passed by as quickly as it came and off we headed for an overnight at Phi Phi, our go to anchorage on the way to Langkawi. WE opted to stay in our old haunt at Rebak, a small resort island off the west coast of Langkawi. Here we were joined by Uncle Doug, Warrens brother for the trip up to Kota Kinabalu (KK).
Long story short, after Rebak we headed for Pangkor where we needed to pick up a few spare parts and install Starlink. This was game changer-full internet connection on the open seas which means constant comms and numerous weather apps to hand. As much as we love to loath Elon, bring it on! A week went by in Pangkor and we departed on the 26 June for a direct run through to KK. Kanaloa resided in Pangkor for 4 years over covid and for a 5 mth semi refit last year so we had got to know the marina and surrounding towns well. I just need to mention the marina staff here- James Khoo the fantastic marina manager who is a font of knowledge, always available to help, and a great story teller, the anecdotes of his tiny, elderly Chinese mother are hilarious, especially the one where she successfully wrestles a 12 foot python in the back yard, no way was she letting go of the beast as an intact python skin and meat are of great value at the local market. Trust me we saw the video.
The nights spent sailing along the one of the busiest shipping channels in the world-the Straits of Malacca- is quite surreal. There is a constant stream of cargo ships -some of the Super tankers up to 400m long -ghosting along in the distance, and an occasional eery blast echoing out of the dark. You feel very, very small on a yacht next to these behemoths. Needless to say one has to be very vigilant but AIS is an amazing support.
Before rounding the corner into the Singapore Straits that evening and trying to tackle the crossing in the wee hours of the morning, much like playing chicken on a 6 lane highway with ships, we opted to anchor at Pisang, a small island NE of Singapore to await the dawn.
Ships waiting on anchor outside Singapore
We motored sailed away early down through the Singapore Straits via hundreds of anchored ships against the backdrop of Singapore. A great sight. The Singapore Maritime Police approached us a couple times, and after identifying ourselves we were given a bearing by one of the patrols which set us on a course for the middle of the shipping lane. We chose to ignore their command and they tailed us for 10 minutes before racing off to give someone else a bum steer.
That afternoon we were finally clear of the Straits and heading out into Blue water. YAY!! After 7 years of Peninsula Malaysia and Thailand we were all ready for a change of scenery.
As the water changed from a dirty brown to that beautiful ocean blue that almost takes on a deep violet colour we were pleasantly surprised to see an abundance of sea life. Fish jumping, dolphins bow riding and then that awesome sound of the reels alarm telling us we had a hook up. A 8 foot Marlin hauled in by Warren, well not quite. Kanaloa doesn’t have an easily accessible duck board like Mustang so after a big fight Mr Marlin was reeled up alongside with the idea of gaffing him and getting a rope around the tail. Hanging over 3 foot side topsides with rope and gaff trying to secure a fish that size requires the art of a yogi, which the two Batt brothers are not, so after much grunting and sweating the fish escaped back into the blue. A blessing as not sure where we were going to store all that meat.
BUT an hour later, another strike -which was a manageable 1.9 metre sail fish bought in by Morgan. Sashimi that evening. Nice.
Proud Morgan with his catch.
The passage up to KK was mainly spent motor sailing interspersed with the odd squall apart from one gusty wet night with a constant 20 knots and spurts to 25 knots. I awoke for night watch to find the main saloon rather wet, as the previous watch had not shut the 2 main saloon hatches, not sure how they missed that as I could feel the cool breeze as soon as I came into the saloon. Water also running down the mast, so a patchy Silicon job done by Morgan and Warren stemmed the flow a little. Doug had also neglected to lock down the forward hatch and had a lovely floating salt water bed. Hmmmm
Doug on watch. Hmmm
So, our first passage on Kanaloa completed what was the consensus?? A very different motion to MS, but she sails very nicely given her weight, down below you would have no idea you were moving along at 7 knots in a mod sea.
We arrived in KK on 3 July and flew out to Brisbane on the 4th to attend my nephew’s wedding. Doug also flew back to NZ. After a good catch up with friends and family in Brisbane for a few days, Morg and I flew back to KK and Warren to NZ for a week. We had finally caught up with the rally boats which were 2 months ahead of us and due to arrive in KK over the next week.
Be back soon. Cheers Trish