Showing posts with label on. Show all posts
Showing posts with label on. Show all posts
Sunday, December 18, 2016
The Dix 43 center cockpit on launch day
This was of course a big day, in many ways the day before was an even bigger day as the keel was fitted to the boat, would the 14 x 20mm keel studs line up with the holes in the boat? Would the 4 fuel tank pipes fit, lots of questions.
Thats John Holmes standing on the aft deck of the boat, John is a good friend and was crew on our trip
to Salvador,Bahia, Brasil on another boat I took over some years back. John took over the job of propping the boat up for me the day before once it was on its keel, thanks John!
Picture taken by RH McBride using a Pentax film camera. Click on the image for a larger view.
The hull of this yacht was constructed mainly by one person in a six week time span period.
Plans are available from www.dixdesign.com we can supply a bulkhead kit set. The coach roof was a custom design for this boat.
Roy
Thats John Holmes standing on the aft deck of the boat, John is a good friend and was crew on our trip
to Salvador,Bahia, Brasil on another boat I took over some years back. John took over the job of propping the boat up for me the day before once it was on its keel, thanks John!
Picture taken by RH McBride using a Pentax film camera. Click on the image for a larger view.
The hull of this yacht was constructed mainly by one person in a six week time span period.
Plans are available from www.dixdesign.com we can supply a bulkhead kit set. The coach roof was a custom design for this boat.
Roy
Saturday, December 10, 2016
Amelia the cat is going to live on a cat!
(Amelia aka "pukey," "princess," "bossy," "baby bear" or "butthead.")
"What about the cat?!" Surprisingly, this is the 3rd or 4th question after "are you moving", "do you know how to sail" and "did you buy a boat". The short answer is, she is going with us.
(Yes, this is a very long post about a cat. If you are not a pet-person, then you can skip it, but I'm not sure why we're friends!)
Amelia was a stray who adopted us about 14 years ago. The vet thought she was about 2 at the time. I thought that would make her an old lady in cat years, but the vet says cats can now live to be more than 20 years old! She's always been an indoor cat, only going for a yearly car ride when it's time to go the vet (or taking a few steps off the front porch to eat grass when Daddy let's her--this is not authorized by Mommy). She can be cranky "princess" who usually hisses at people who aren't her Mom & Dad (yes, a little spoiled and an only child!) Vet trips have historically been embarrassing because in the car and at the vet, she has a blood-curdling scream and hissing combo that makes it sound like she's being tortured. (The kid's a talker and has some LUNGS). It's absolutely, incredibly embarrassing. Vet assistants don't want to go anywhere near her without a muzzle. "She's really very sweet. She's doesn't bite, just nips {smile}."
(Can I be in the picture?)
About 3 years ago, she lost a bunch of weight and we were worried. The specialist couldn't find anything wrong and put her on a prescription digestive and a gluten-free diet (Me: "The cat's gluten-free now." Husband: "Of course she is!") She's doing well and the nickname, "pukey" is used less often. Then she started pooping next to her litter pan instead of in the litter pan (YES, it's clean! She urinates in the pan & steps out to poo!) The vet said, "she's made at you." No kidding. (This makes house showings tricky. Somebody has to go home & do a "poop check"). Also, the idea of having terds rolling around a boat didn't sound fun (this is going somewhere, I swear). On her next vet visit, Dr. Julie didn't flinch at the idea of moving onto a boat with the Amelia, but immediately said "that's a long car ride. Let me give you some anti-anxiety medication." For me or the cat?
(Practicing for the road trip. She prefers the drivers seat.)
When we set our one-year goal for moving aboard, we had to address the real probability she would be going with us. Husband pleaded, "we can't leave her behind." Me: "But the car ride alone will be unbearable!" When I came home after a weekend trip, Husband had taken Amelia out to sit in the car several times, to the point where, at least the howling, had stopped. She was used to traveling in a carrier, so I bought a harness and leash (for Mom's peace of mind, really). Being out of the carrier helps a lot. We began taking practice rides around the neighborhood and successfully did a vet visit without humiliating Mommy. When the house went on the market, she became a regular passenger in the car. (It's very difficult to explain to people why there is cat hair on your dash). She even started going to the hangar with Dad every once in awhile (and started pooing in the litter pan at the hangar. Baffling little brat!) There's a story about a hole in a wall & the origin of the nickname "butthead," but that's for another day.
She's also become quite the socialite. She has let several of the guys at the airport pet her. She even let the house cleaners pet her (although I got a pitiful look of "do I have to tolerate this?") Then today, she let the lady at McDonald drive-thru window pet her (What? You don't take your cat to the drive thru? "Filet of fish--no bread & a milk, please. Yes, I'm cute. How are we doing on that filet of fish?")
(She's a back seat driver...)
So in summary, we're her people. Since we can't explain to her why we were dropping her off with family, we are taking her with us. She's seems to be adapting to all the change in the house quite well. Other sailors have moved aboard with elderly cats (Facebook page gatos del mar). Unfortunately, the best way to do it is gradually but that's not an option. SO, we will take our bedding from the house with us and lock her in the master berth while we unpack. We've switched to the Breeze litter box/pellet system so at least there won't be litter everywhere. She'll also be blogging, so stay tuned.
(Pillow fort!)
(Blogging is exhausting. I'll finish later.)
Friday, December 9, 2016
Working on a July Launch Date for the Optimist
My brothers and I have slowed our building of the Optimist down to a crawl. However, my brother Darren has taken the lead and wants the first boat to launch on July 4th.
He has purchased sail, tiller and extension, blades (rudder, centerboard), gudgeons from APS - Annapolis Performance Sailing.
To protect the chine he has laid down a 2 inch strip of fiberglass cloth in simple-clear polyester resin. It should provide a bit of resistance to any "hard blows" on rocks that make up the shore of our part of Lake Ontario.
Polyester resin is quick to harden and very easy to sand. It costs about half the price of shipping epoxy to us. It's just a short drive to the auto parts to pick up a quart.
Thursday, December 8, 2016
Lavranos Leisureliner 2 on display at the Cape Town Boat Show 2013
In the main hall there are no yachts on display really, just one very small one that's an unfinished product and the same one as displayed looking the same last year!
What is being promoted is the new version of an old favourite and with an upgrade by its designer Angelo Lavranos who tells me he will be trying the first LL 2 in Langebaan late December, after which he is sailing in the 2014 Cape to Rio yacht race.
CKD Boats cc will be introducing the new Deluxe Light Ply and Teak & Ash laminate flooring to Admiral Power Cats, the builders of the new Leisureliner 2.
Roy
The entry discount for yacht club members is 50%, so take your membership card!
What is being promoted is the new version of an old favourite and with an upgrade by its designer Angelo Lavranos who tells me he will be trying the first LL 2 in Langebaan late December, after which he is sailing in the 2014 Cape to Rio yacht race.
CKD Boats cc will be introducing the new Deluxe Light Ply and Teak & Ash laminate flooring to Admiral Power Cats, the builders of the new Leisureliner 2.
Roy
The entry discount for yacht club members is 50%, so take your membership card!
Finally living on board in Palma de Mallorca
On Thursday morning July 5 we loaded up with cleaning gear and Rob’s laptop and headed for the marina to start work on the yacht soon to be known as ‘Alcheringa’. We began by creating a comprehensive inventory of the boat’s equipment, spares, tools etc as an excel file which listed every storage space onboard and exactly what it contained. Not only is it nice to know where things are but it also allowed us to begin an equally comprehensive list of what we didn’t have and would need to buy.
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| Preparing to move on board our Jeanneau 43 DS at last |
Then below decks were treated to their biggest spring clean since the boat came out of the factory. We started in the forward cabin and worked our way all the way to the stern. It’s not that the boat was filthy but rather a bit like the difference in the way a rental house is kept in comparison to an owner occupier. From the following day this was going to be our home and we all wanted it just right.
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| We love the great all round vision from the salon provided by the deck salon design |
We got a message from Juan mid afternoon saying he’d like to take his wife and daughter out for a last family sail on the boat that evening. That was no problem to us. After all, they actually still owned it until the final payment went into their account overnight. Not wanting to intrude on their family time, we locked the boat up and made sure we were gone before they arrived.
First task the following morning was humping all our worldly possessions down to the marina. Alcheringa was now officially ours and this was moving in day. Following the scant instructions in the owner’s manual, Rob and Marc set to unscrewing various walls and re-erecting them in different positions to convert the four cabin layout to two large ones. The transformation was amazing. Marc now had a very nice private space in the bow complete with good sized double bunk, settee, wardrobes and ensuite. The two aft cabins became our huge single stateroom, far more spacious than anything we’ve seen on a boat of comparable size.
After lunch Marc took a walk to the Port Office with Juan to witness the application for removal from the Spanish Register being lodged and then got busy with the online registration of the boat onto the British Small Ships Register and getting the insurance in place. We had not been able to organise the cover in advance of the purchase so we were a little nervous that we were initially uninsured but the risk level sitting in the most protected marina in Palma was fairly low.
Meanwhile our afternoon project was a taxi ride to Ikea with Karen’s very long shopping list. Linen, pillows, kitchen utensils, storage containers, cockpit cushions, etc, etc were piled high in two huge trolleys that made the checkout girl shudder as we approached. We were only just able to squeeze all our purchases into the taxi for the trip back. By late afternoon a second great transformation had occurred as the bunks were made up with their nice, new coverings and all our acquired goodies found their way to their respective spots on the boat leaving her looking lived in and loved.
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| Marc's cabin in the bow looked great all set up |
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| Converting two cabins to one produced a massive stateroom for us in the stern |
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| The best thing is we can put it back to two cabins very quickly when we have guests |
Now Alcheringa was ready to be our home and it was finally time to mark the occasion with a celebratory bottle of champagne sitting in our cockpit. It was a great feeling. That night we also enjoyed our first meal on board followed by three weary bodies sleeping soundly in our new home afloat.
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| Rob, Karen and Marc enjoy a few the celebratory bubbles |
Day two saw us attack the decks and topsides with boatwash and scrubbing brooms giving Alcheringa’s exterior the sort of going over below decks had already undergone. Rob got stuck into scrubbing some life back into the teak which was looking sad. Fortunately only the cockpit deck and swim platform are teak. The timber decks may look stunning when they’re new or very well maintained but they take a lot of looking after. Teak foredecks also get extremely hot in the sun to the level of being painful to walk on. The fact this boat had anti-slip fibre glass decks was a real bonus as far as we were concerned.
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| Alcheringa's cockpit teak scrubbed up beautifully with enough elbow grease |
After half a day of Rob being down on his hands and knees scrubbing seven years of ingrained dirt and oxidisation from the timber Marc took over the scrubbing brush and continued the process. When the final rinse had dried off the end result was well worth the effort. We finished a big day’s work with a slightly less physical but equally tedious task, peeling off the charter signage from the boom and old boat name off the stern. Boy do those vinyl letter stickers hang on. We all had sore fingers before the last letter was removed.
Being a Saturday, we were surrounded by the charter fleet all in for their quick clean, check over and crew change. Looking at our sparkling boat we couldn’t help feel just that bit superior as we settled in for sundowners.
Early that evening, once the charter hordes from all over the world had made their way out of the marina, we took the next step in making Alcheringa ours. The British Ensign was raised on her stern to the strains of God Save the Queen. We didn’t actually have a recording of the British National Anthem but were able to substitute the Sex Pistols version. We’re not sure what Lizzie would think but we liked it.
Apart from getting some of the stainless stanchions and fittings polished we had a pretty quiet Sunday aboard. With a nice breeze blowing we were very tempted to go out for an afternoon sail but with no confirmation of registration or insurance back yet it would have been a little foolhardy so we settled for some homework reading through the operating manuals of our navigation systems, engine etc. We couldn’t wait to wave goodbye to Palma and be on our way cruising the Mediterranean Sea the way we’d all dreamed of. However, we really couldn’t go anywhere until the wheels of bureaucracy had turned.
On Monday morning Marc phoned the Small Ships Register in London to make sure our online registration had been done and to obtain our SSR number. He found himself speaking to a perfect example of a Yes Minister public servant with a flat monotone voice complete with plum in the mouth. ‘Yes Mr Beerts I can see your application is in the system. Oh No! Registration is not issued online merely applied for online. How long does it take? Oh it varies. All registrations have to go through due process of course. It could be up to three weeks. We’re very busy here you know. You’ll be notified in due course. Thank you for your call. ‘
This is where we started running into Catch 22. We needed our SSR Registration number to apply for a British radio license, which we needed before we could be issued with our unique MMSI number, which we needed to transfer the boats EPIRB emergency beacon to our details, which we also needed to change the distress button transmission on our vhf radio. If we ran into a Sir Basil at every link in this chain we could be in Palma until Christmas.
At least the insurance brokers were more positive. We’d printed out their application form at a nearby internet cafe, filled it in , scanned it then emailed them an electronic copy. When Marc called they confirmed that yes they had received it, no they didn’t need to be posted the hard copy in the mail, yes it had the information they needed, they did understand our position and they would be chasing the insurance company to issue cover as quickly as possible. Oh the difference between government and private enterprise.
Despite the bureaucratic obstacle course we were negotiating we did celebrate another little milestone that afternoon when, with due offerings to King Neptune and the winds gods, Alcheringa was officially renamed and the signage was ceremonially affixed to her stern.
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| New name applied, must be time to celebrate - again |
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| To Alcheringa of London |
Days started to slide by a little as we waited for the various wheels to turn. We did visit just about every ship chandlers in Palma picking up bits and pieces and considerably improving Spain's economic status in the process. One major purchase were three new automatically inflating Personal Floatation Devices, harnesses and tethers. Safety always comes first.
Meanwhile we also had almost daily visits from either Juan or his wife Sassa delivering the spare sails, cruising chute and other bits and pieces that had not been kept on the boat. On stepping aboard for the first time after we’d completed our big makeover Juan looked around at the teak, foredecks and gleaming stainless steel and said to Karen ‘It’s very nice. My boat looks very clean.’ To which Karen took great delight in replying ‘Yes. Our boat looks lovely.’
We took the opportunity to work through a lot of the systems on the boat including hoisting the cruising chute in the calm of one evening to check how it all works. Rob went up the mast in the boson’s chair to see why our steaming light wasn’t working and have a good look over all the rigging on the mast. He also took his camera aloft and got some nice seagull’s eye view photos from the top.
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| It's a long way to the top and you don't want to rock and roll |
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| The Cathedral of Mallorca as seen from the top of our mast |
Meanwhile Marc had discovered just how much hard work it is for a heavy smoker to winch an 83 kilo man to the top of our mast by hand and was looking decidedly fatigued by the time Rob was back on deck with the good news that the light simply needed a new bulb but the bad news that he’d have to go back up to replace it. Funnily enough Marc quickly volunteered for the job. Being much lighter it made sense anyway so he is now officially the boat’s boson’s chair man.
The insurance company came back to us with a couple of questions about sailing history etc which we promptly answered and by midday Wednesday we were covered. Phew! What a relief. However there was no sign of progress from the small ships register. After discussing things with Juan we decided we wouldn’t sit around any longer but now we were insured we would head over to Ibiza for about a week and then come back to Palma and hopefully by then we’d have our SSR and MMSI numbers and we’d get the radio etc changed over when we were back.
Now we were getting excited. We spent the day loading up with final provisions, making sure everything on board was ready for us to go to see and poring over grib file weather reports working out our plan. Next day we were actually going to get out there on the water and sail away.
For more about our travels check out and 'like' our Dreamtimesail facebook page at
http://www.facebook.com/DreamtimeSail?ref=hl
For more about our travels check out and 'like' our Dreamtimesail facebook page at
http://www.facebook.com/DreamtimeSail?ref=hl
Wednesday, December 7, 2016
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Friday, December 2, 2016
More on Dark Harbor 20 Design 68
This is a follow up to my posting of September about the Dark Harbor 20. We have had so many inquiries about this design but the enthusiasm wanes the moment a potential builder learns there is no auxiliary.I was reading the current issue of Maine, Boats & Harbors (issue 112) about the Artisan 30 which references a bunch of other boats such as the Herreshoff Buzzards Bay 15, Watch Hill 15, the B.B. Crowninshield 17.5 and the Dark Harbor 17. In the article there is a drawing of the Artisan boat along with an image of an older boat (one apparently from the above list of boats) with an engine sitting right in the middle of the cockpit.
In any event this inspired us once and for all to engineer the installation a diesel auxiliary in the Dark Harbor 20, which you will see illustrated above and below. The rendering above shows the installation in the fiberglass version of the Dark Harbor.
The engine is a Farymann 18W marine diesel which generates 7.1 hp at 3,600 rpm. The engine is slightly undersized and is meant as a "get home" engine. It's small and we have installed it in such a way that the engine enclosure is to act as a small table in the cabin. There is a 7 gallon fuel tank built into the same enclosure for simplicity.
Here's a plan showing all three views.
I think I should clarify that this modification has not been suggested nor sanctioned by the class, it is intended for those looking to build a boat to use as a beautiful, classic daysailer. Please feel free to contact us for more information.Tuesday, November 29, 2016
More people should be out on days like this
It's mostly cloudy, windy and cold enough to snow, because it did. The thick dark clouds put a steel blue color on the bay. When the sun pops under at just the right angle, it spotlights the ducks and leaves the water dark. I head out through the east channel next to the burial island. There is still a few extra inches of water in the lake, so I paddle along the edge of the marsh, because you can't do that once the lily pads have come up in the spring. I see a dead beaver back 10 feet in the cattails. Scavengers have just started to nibble on it, so it has probably been less than a week. I cross the bay. I don't see the eagles and I do not find the last two swans - they are probably back up near Skagit Bay. Over by the west islands, I haul a large road construction barrel out of the water. Then, I spot both eagles in a tree on the west shore. The female flies over as I head towards them, she is enormous. Enjoying the blustery day and not ready to quite I head through the cut into Portage Bay and continue into Lake Union. The wind there is out of the west as I paddle south into the lake. The wind is stronger, the waves are bigger, but not yet white-capped. I paddle past the drydock where they are dismantling the Wawona, an old wooden bald-headed schooner. They never got the funds to restore her and she has been slowly rotting in the lake since before I moved here. I remember when she still had her masts up. It starts snowing. I take out and walk up over the hill to home.
Sunday, November 27, 2016
On to Malaysia – the final sea passage
15 – 20 October 2011
The Sail Indonesia Rally 2011 was officially over. All that remained was for the fleet to leave the country. About equal numbers were heading to Raffles Marina on the Singapore side of the Johor Straight or Danga Bay Marina at Bahru Johor on the Malaysian side. As Danga Bay was the assembly point for the West Malaysian Rally which Will and Margaret were embarking on in November, Atlantia was heading to the northern option. It also had the added attraction of free mooring fees with Malaysian Rally participants getting priority for berths.
In Belitung, the Sail Indonesia organisers had done a great job working with the Government to create a one stop clearing out process for the cruisers right on the spot at Tanjung Kelayang Beach. A couple of resort units had been set up as offices for the relevant Harbour Master/Customs/Immigration officials and the whole process proved to be very quick and quite painless. To make things easier we were permitted to formally clear out a couple of days in advance and simply nominate the date we would be leaving Belitung, and officially Indonesia. We were also provided with a letter we could show any officials we subsequently ran across that stated that although we had cleared customs and thereby without visas, we were permitted to anchor in Indonesian waters on our way to Malaysia where necessary provided we did not go ashore.
It’s first and final impressions which have the most impact and while we had some minor problems with excessive profiteering when we entered Indonesia at Kupang, every single official, volunteer and local we encountered in Belitung went out of their way to ensure our most recent memories of the Sail Indonesia Rally 2011 would be the most positive and enduring. Thank you Belitung.
While we were a little sad to be leaving as we hoisted anchor, we were also very much looking forward to getting back to sea. The beauty of cruising is that not only do you get to see so many amazing destinations, the actual process of getting their under sail is, most times, so enjoyable. The majority of people we had talked to planned a two day, one night sail to the northern end of the island of Pulau Bangka as their first leg. In contrast, Will prefers the more relaxed approach and likes to day hop, anchoring up each night where possible. On studying the charts he decided to take us on a slightly indirect course to the west and anchor at the southern end of the island for the first night. It proved to be a fortuitous choice.
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| Leaving Belitung - click on any image to see larger version |
October marks the beginnings of the monsoonal wet season in northern Indonesia. While the strong monsoon toughs had not yet developed, since our stormy approach to Belitung most days were falling into the early wet season pattern of bright sunshine contrasting with reasonably intense thunderstorms. As we headed on our lonely course to the north west we watched a procession of masts to our starboard sail north into an ever darkening sky. All day we watched thunderheads develop and dump their moisture as intense storms to our north, south and astern while we never so much as encountered a sun shower. It may have been pure luck but the weather gods were smiling on Atlantia and we were certainly not unhappy about it.
We reached the southern tip of Pulau Bangkar mid afternoon and decided to make the most of the remaining daylight by heading north along its eastern shore which was one very long, continuous palm fringed beach. Throughout most of Indonesia that we had sailed through the water was very deep with the islands rising sharply from the sea bed as a result of their violent, volcanic origins. As a result finding a safe anchorage can be difficult as when you approach the steeply shelving shoreline you can be in 60 metres of water one minute and two the next. In northern Indonesia however, we were finding the islands much more friendly and here an inspection of the charts showed a gently shelving bottom leading up to the sand beach virtually all the way up the coast. With the wind coming from the east, this meant we were able to sail north virtually until dark, then simply head in closer to the beach and drop anchor in relatively calm, shallow water. Click on the link to see your choice of map or satellite image of the anchorage http://www.findmespot.com/mylocation/?id=6D-qJ
After a very relaxed day’s sail it was very nice kick back and enjoy huge serving’s of Rusdi’s barbecued chilli squid washed down with a few of Will’s very nice, boat brewed, alcoholic ginger beers. Life is good.
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| We were intrigued by these platforms in deep water |
That afternoon we rounded a small rocky island off the northern point of Pulau Bangka to find a number of the Rally boats settled nicely in a beautifully protected and extremely attractive anchorage. Click on the link to see your choice of map or satellite image of the anchorage http://www.findmespot.com/mylocation/?id=6EWsS
When Atlantia had joined them with her anchor buried nicely in the sand it was time for sundowners again followed by Rusdi’s huge garlic prawns and rice. Life is very good.
Once underway about 6.30am next morning, Rob elected to have a go at catching at least one more fish in Indonesia. We hadn’t caught a thing since the solitary Turum we landed months ago in Larantouka and Will informed us that he and Margaret had not caught a thing on Atlantia so had eventually given up. On the way to Belitung we had lost our second last spoon lure when the wire trace kinked and broke once more. With the boat getting through the water at over seven knots, the lure darted about in the water much more violently than intended and may not only have been causing the trace to break, but may also have been unattractive to the fish we were trying to entice. As Rob pieced together the line with the last of wire he added an extra swivel into the rig in the hope that two points of rotation may extend the life of the wire trace. Out behind the boat the line went and was soon forgotten.
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| Rob with his wahoo - our first fish for months |
About lunchtime Rob happened to be looking astern and said he saw a big silver flash near the lure and thought something had just had a go at it. No sooner had the words exited the mouth than the fish returned and took the lure. Despite an initial moment of disbelief, we were on. Karen headed for the gaff as Rob hauled in the line which was being made more difficult by the fish’s obvious reluctance to be turned into steaks. Getting the fish to the boat was far from the end of the challenges though as Atlantia features an extreme amount of free board, for our non-boating friends, the deck is a long way above the water. Simply trying to haul the fish up the three metres or so out of the water onto the boat would risk the hook tearing out of the mouth as its full weight came to bear. With Karen leaning far over the stern rail working at full stretch, getting the gaff in the fish’s gills was not easy but again her upbringing as a fisherman’s daughter came through and we soon had a magnificent, but none too happy, Wahoo on board. A tipple of Will’s Jamaican rum poured in its gills soon calmed it down.
Wahoo are amongst the fastest fish in the ocean and prized not only as game fish but also for their fantastic flavour. Karen’s father’s game fishing charter boat was actually called Wahoo but despite catching many a fish aboard, she had never actually landed a Wahoo on Wahoo so this was a little special. We’d also broken Atlantia’s Indonesian fishing drought which Will was very pleased about. We had no idea whether the second swivel made the difference or we were simply in better fishing grounds but as long as we had a fish who cared. Karen quickly converted a live fish into an enticing collection of Wahoo steaks, bagged and in the fridge for later.
About four o’clock we reached our anchorage on the south west coast of Kapok Island which was even more beautiful than the previous couple. Crystal clear water, nice live coral easily visible on the bottom, a mix of sand beaches, mangroves and dramatic rock formations forming the uninhabited shoreline backed by dense rainforest rising very steeply to high mountain peaks creating yet another perfect vision of tropical paradise. http://www.findmespot.com/mylocation/?id=6E_lL
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| Rampisard at Palau Bangka Anchorage |
We were up early for a dawn departure and motored north across glassy seas all morning. The water here is very clean and clear and we delighted in watching Dolphins, large garfish, thousands of flying fish and even a couple of huge sea snakes slide by. We were getting along nicely towards our planned night stopover at a small island of when once again just after midday Rob raced sternwards as another fish was hooked. After a short but vigorous fight we had another good Wahoo aboard which Karen quickly set about cleaning.
Mainly to get the line out of Karen’s way on the stern Rob threw the lure back over and unbelievably no sooner was all the line out than we had another hookup. Karen switched from cleaning to landing a fish, hauling in an even bigger Wahoo. This time the line got wound up and put away in case we caught any more. There’s only so much room in the fridge. After one fish in three months we had suddenly landed three beautiful Wahoo in two days and had to put the cue in the rack and stop fishing because we were full up. Talking about fast to famine.
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| Crossing the equator wasone of the milestones of the trip. |
http://www.findmespot.com/mylocation/?id=6FVaL
We duly toasted the occasion with a small ginger beer and made sure old King Neptune also received his dram of the same. We were saving the good stuff until we got the anchor down which fortunately wasn’t too far away.
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| We carried this bottle all the way from home for this moment |
A number of boats that had been travelling ahead of us were sitting at anchor with their crews ashore enjoying an equator party but as it was virtually dark by the time we settled in place we elected to stay aboard. Out came the bottle of Veuve Cliquot we’d been carrying around with us ever since we left home and we celebrated our crossing in style as the last of the sun’s glow lit the western sky behind us. Another dinner of fine seafood followed.
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| Waterspout visible on the other side of the island |
We headed north towards our final stop before Malaysia and found ourselves sailing in company with the big Australia catamaran Splash Down and the German Ketch Nuka A Loofa while most of the boats headed further east . Again the weather gods favoured our choice of course as we watched as storms built to the east and at one stage saw a huge waterspout twister which we heard some of the boats having to alter course to avoid.
Will had studied the charts searching for an anchorage we could get to in the day but that would leave us within reach of the Singapore Straights and Malaysia the following day. He picked an area between two small islands off the south east coast of Batam. As usual the radio chatter was about how are you going and where are you planning on anchoring. Both Splashdown and Nuku A Loofa were heading for a listed anchorage not far along but when they heard about Will’s plan and had a look at their charts they realised that by pushing on a little further they could be in Danga Bay Marina a day earlier than they planned and soon elected to join us. That suited us fine because – we had a small truckload of Wahoo on board so we soon invited both boats for dinner that night.
The anchorage proved to be perfect, well sheltered spot, not too deep with a good sand bottom to hook up on. The link will show you the anchorage but make sure to look at the satellite version for a better idea of its layout. http://www.findmespot.com/mylocation/?id=6F_ew
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| We had almost enough wahoo to go round |
Cooking for a large group in a small galley with two burner stove is not easy but that evening Karen worked her magic again serving up dinner of wahoo steaks with vegetables in ginger and oyster sauce for eight as Helmut and Renata off Nuku Aloofa along with Colin and Bev along with their eleven year old son Alex from Splashdown joined us for what turned out to be a very enjoyable final evening in Indonesia. Karen has taken a shine to Alex and they enjoyed some boisterous play all over the boat. It showed how much she misses the boys back home.
The other two boats were away a bit earlier than us the next morning opting to take the western route right around the Batam Islands to the Singapore Straights while Will was again marching to the beat of a different drum. He’d decided we would take a short cut through a slightly narrow and twisting channel between the islands that he’d spotted on the charts. Again it turned out to be an inspired choice as unbeknown to us it was to provide yet another high point of our travels.
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| The shipyards stretched for almost 20 nautical miles |
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| I hope he's going to turn soon - very soon. |
We got our first glimpse of the high-rises of Singapore as we cleared the northern end of the channel and had but to dodge a few high-speed ferries and weave through the last few islands before entering the fabled Straights.
Oh my god! No amount of previous discussion prepared us for the sheer volume and size of the shipping in the Straight between us and Singapore. There were super-tankers far larger than anything we’d believed possible, container ships, freighters, bulk carriers and other tankers of all shapes and sizes and at first glimpse all seemed intent on running us over.
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| Oh shit! We have to get through that lot to Singapore. |
This is when our AIS system should have come into its own. Instead it detected so many targets it simply overloaded and froze up. OK back to old fashion Mark One eyeballs.
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| Aim to just miss the stern to avoid the next one behind |
Step one over, we then had to make our way to the Johor Straight around the west coast of Singapore through a series of channels and literally thousands of ships of all sizes both underway and anchored. We both agreed that we saw more ships in a single day than we have in a lifetime.
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| There really wasn't a hell of a lot to spare. |
Just after 4.00pm on October 20 we slipped into Danga Bay Marina and tied Atlantia up alongside for the first time since Marlin Marina in Cairns, Australia. To see where we moored in the marina click the link and have a look at the satellite image, http://www.findmespot.com/mylocation/?id=6GUze
It was certainly good to be able to step ashore without using the dingy but it also meant that our sailing adventures had come to an end for the time being and our time with Will on Atlantia was drawing to a close, but not quite yet.
To stay right up to date with what we’re up to these days and see lots more photos check out and 'like' our Dreamtime Sail Facebook page at Dreamtime Sail on Facebook
To stay right up to date with what we’re up to these days and see lots more photos check out and 'like' our Dreamtime Sail Facebook page at Dreamtime Sail on Facebook
If you have only recently discovered our blog and would like to read how it all started, or work through our previous adventures, click the link to go back to our first blog entry. Stuff it. Let's just go sailing anyway. We hope you enjoy reading the previous posts to catch up on our story.
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