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I have found the location of the starting problem, it’s the starting relay, or the connector on it.

This is not meant to reflect on the QA standards of Ireland at all 😉
I can’t work out which is faulty, the connector or the relay, as every time I unscrew it from its location to test it, the relay works fine, but once back in place it fails, I can’t get my multimeter onto the pins when it is in place, right at the rear of the engine by the gearbox. I suspect the connector more than the relay, but I will change both. Suffice it to say it’s working now, but I expect it will stop when next needed. Fortunately Car ownership 101 taught us how to start a car without the key, a basic Scouse right of passage, so I have kept a short length of wire near the starter. I’m off up the mast now, but wanted to share the following with you…

Congkak
I have seen a lot of lovely carved  wooden creations which I wondered what they were used for, now I have found out that they are for a game called Congkak.

I have included the rules below should you want to try this one at home.

 

Paul C.

The postman came late yesterday with goodies, but I missed him at the office, so collected the bits, a new water gauge and a bow light, this morning. So after a couple of poached eggs with Kathy I got stuck into the jobs.

1. Battery Charger
   Yesterday I was doing some testing to understand how much power I was getting from the wind generator and solar system. During the testing I noticed the battery charger was overheating and shutting down, further investigation showed the fan was broken on the charger. I picked one up yesterday and fitted it this morning. Job done, lets hope it lasts a while.
2. Engine Water coolant leak
   I spent some time yesterday in hardware stores looking for hose fittings to improve this connection to the engine, but there aren’t any. I will probably post on some sailing forums to see what others do. I noticed the hose was quite brittle and I’m going to replace it all next week. For now I cut back the bad hose and re-fitted it. 
   This worked, but a lot more cooling fluid poured out of the hose than I expected, I think the calorifier must hold a lot, and be located higher than the pipe. Managed to catch most of it in a 5 litre jug, but when time came to refill it, I had a litre left over, which in my mind means there is an air lock in the system now. I was expecting to have to add an extra litre. Anyway, I hoped that if I ran the engine a bit then it might work it’s way through.
   The engine wouldn’t start, turning the key, gives a click from the engine, but the starter doesn’t turn. Really disappointing and I assumed the solenoid had jammed, so a gentle tap on the solenoid was tried, no luck.
   I hot wired the solenoid and the engine started, the water level dropped, but not enough. So now I have two show stopping faults, when before I only had an intermittent drip.
3. Water levels
   The port water tank level gauge had packed in, the float didn’t float and its magnets didn’t magnetise, so Kathy replaced it for me. I have wired up the switch that used to just show the starboard tank level so that it now switches between port and starboard. I’ve never had such sophistication on a boat before, very posh. Hopefully we can top up now before the tank gets empty, that will save the pump running on an empty tank, and air spurting out the taps when we are empty.

   

   

 

 

 

 

4. Steaming light on mast

The new light finally arrived, and I popped up the mast for a fitting 😉 Well the mast is sort of oval shaped in cross section and the light has a flat back, I took the old light down and worked out a way to use its bracket for the new light. It looks like it will work well, but by now the sunlight was going so Kathy and I headed off to the pool to watch the sunset and have a cooling swim.

Tonight I have been studying the wiring diagrams for the engine, I now know far more about the Volvo MD22 (AKA Perkins M50) than I ever wanted to know. Things like, the engine ground is isolated from the boats electrical ground when starting or stopping the engine. Doesn’t say why, but might be related to galvanic corrosion caused by heavy currents.
Anyway the click I can hear when I turn the key to start, isn’t the solenoid, it’s a separate relay that switches the starter solenoid. I found that 12v leaves the control panel, and the relay is clicking with it, so it must be the wire or relay contacts from there that leads to the solenoid, as there isn’t any voltage getting to the solenoid. I’m very disappointed with the electrical side of the engine. It’s only ten years old, very low hours, yet the electrics are giving me too many problems. I think the control panel is damaged because it’s out in the cockpit, the UV caused the corners to crack so moisture gets in and has its evil way. How long should water hoses last, these are only 10 years old. The engine on Stardust is 8 years old and still looks new.

Not looking forward to tomorrow, the relay I need to get too is in a most inaccessible place. I will do the mast light first before it gets too hot. Hopefully if I can sort the engine tomorrow we can get out of here on Tuesday and go for a sail and anchor overnight somewhere nearby for a change. I’m hoping the rigging will arrive in a few days time and we can depart for Thailand.

 

Paul C.

 

Not quite the same as the events in Willy Russell’s tale, but it would have been nice to take a monkey from the park if they’d only been more friendly ;).

We hired a car last Thursday so that we could explore more inland places of Langkawi.  The process of hiring a car turned out to be a lot less of a hassle here than in any other country.  Apparently the lady on the desk just took a cursory glance at Paul’s driving licence, charged him the equivalent of £12 for 24 hours, asked for a £10 deposit, and asked if he’d return it with the same amount of petrol. There was no inspection of the car’s condition; in fact she merely pointed to one, seemingly at random, gave him the keys and said ‘there you go, take that one’.  It was small, automatic, air-conditioned and comfortable, even if it did struggle to work out which gear it should be in sometimes. Our first stop was to get some petrol so we stopped at the first one we saw in Kuah Town.  Paul couldn’t work out how the petrol cap came off and was trying various buttons and levers while I searched compartments for a helpful manual or leaflet until an attendant with a world-weary expression came over, reached inside and pulled a lever near the handbrake (I have a feeling he might have had to do this before). Petrol is a lot cheaper here (the equivalent of 40p a litre). Paul put £4’s worth in and could have got away with a lot less for the day’s use.

We’d worked out a rough itinerary of where we wanted to go.  We were heading to the western side of the island, where the Machinchang Cambrian Geoforest Park is located, taking in a few other places on the way.  There is a road that cuts through the island’s rural middle and we drove along that after leaving Kuah’s busy centre.  Soon, lush rainforest was on either side of us, and as we climbed higher, there were steep rock faces (no protective netting or warnings of loose rocks here).  There was hardly any other traffic so we could slow down to look at anything interesting.  The houses in the tiny villages we passed looked just like Swiss chalets or the more ornate sheds and cabins found in garden centres. Other places were made up of ramshackle buildings that looked as if they might fall in strong winds. On the roadsides we saw several stray dogs, beautiful red roosters and chickens, cows and the ubiquitous monkeys, which I’ve since found out are mainly Dusky Leaf or Macaque. On one stop, quite high up, we stopped to look out at the Andaman Sea and on the beach below I was most excited to spot what looked like a crocodile or alligator but it could well have been a Komodo Dragon.  You can just about see it in the picture below in the middle of the beach.

There are adverts everywhere for ‘Crocodile Adventureland’, the pictures on the banners show people variously prising open the mouths of the crocodiles (to place a head or an arm inside), riding on their backs and possibly getting them to perform tricks ‘seaworld’ fashion, and as neither of us are in favour of that form of entertainment, we passed that one by and instead headed for the nearby Handicraft and Art Village.  As well as the usual hand made souvenirs and other unique items, this complex contained a couple of museums about Langkawi’s heritage and culture.

Our next destination on the map was the attractive-sounding Seven Wells Waterfall.  It was a picturesque journey through more thick woodland where all the luxury tourist villas are located.  It was still a surprise, however to come upon an exclusive golf course and resort as we rounded a corner. Suddenly all the jungle-like vegetation had disappeared and it was like we were in the middle of the rural Surrey.  The waterfall was a little way after the golf club according to the map.  Thinking we’d missed it, we had to double back and check the location again and discovered from a roadside plaque that it was still being built! Once finished it will be the biggest man made waterfall in Malaysia apparently.  The climb to its source was open though so we decided to do it. A group of workers on the opposite side (in the pictures behind us) cheered us on when they shouted to check we were climbing to the top and watched us all the way. The pictures don’t show the steepness of the steps – some of the were so steep I nearly had to pull myself up with my hands.  The view from the top was stunning though.

Refreshment was in order after all that exertion so we drove to Telaga Harbour for a late lunch.  We’ll be coming back to this place before going to Thailand and Paul’s getting the rigging done here by a guy he knows.  It’s a modern-looking marina with classy restaurants, cafes and bars around it and although it’s not Paul’s ideal place, I was too hungry to search around so we settled on an Italian restaurant with a view over the marina where we had a very nice pizza (for Paul) and fries for me.

Finally we visited The Oriental Village in the heart of the Geoforest Park. This is laid out very much in the style of theme parks such as Alton Towers, but without the rides: lots of handicraft and souvenir shops, a ‘feed the bunnies’ area, cafes, play areas, a huge lake with a wobbly bridge over it, pretty gardens, oh and a plastic, roaring dinosaur which had people queueing to be photographed next to it.  The Oriental Village is also the gateway to the cable car ride which takes you to the peak of Langkawi’s second highest mountain, and the hugely popular Langkawi Sky Bridge attraction, but we decided to save those treats for when we return to the area.

The best part was the monkeys. There were scores of Dusky Leaf Monkeys there, and we sat and watched their antics for ages. They run wild and free within the park, jumping on fences and climbing the trees to feed in large groups.  Some of them had tiny babies clinging to their tummies and they’re not in the least bit bothered by hordes of people photographing and staring at them as they go about their business. Obviously I took loads of pictures in an attempt to capture their cheekiness/cuteness but Paul’s video just about sums them up.  Watch how one of them knocks another off the fence 🙂

 

 

 

 

Most of the ‘big’ jobs have been ticked off Paul’s list now, so we’ve been concentrating on the smaller tasks this week (ok, Paul has done most of those, I admit it ;)).  The first couple of days after we arrived in Langkawi, both of us took it fairly easy.  Even the trip to the supermarket is quicker and easier as it’s a lot closer than the ones in Penang.  There was a lot of heavy rain during the first few days, especially at night.  In the daytime, Paul worked on the engine, trying to find  and fix the location and cause of the oil leak. My part was to hand various tools and things in the fashion of hospital theatre assistant (‘screwdriver’, ‘kitchen roll’, ‘hammer’ etc’) while Paul contorted his body to access the intricate inner parts of the engine.  The same procedure took place when he worked in the cockpit locker to fix the bilge pump, with the added complication of my not being able to hear him very well from my position at the electrical control panel in the cabin when he was shouting instructions while squeezed inside the locker itself.

I’ve taken to going to the local shopping mall daily here as it’s only a ten-minute walk, and the roads to get there aren’t as hazardous to cross as those in Penang.  The walk is pleasant and it’s always a joy to see the monkeys in the trees opposite the marina. I don’t think I’ll ever tire of watching them. They stare if you get close to them, and when one yawned I saw just how long and sharp its teeth were, but they run off when you get too close.  They tend to pick up discarded crisp/food bags in their search for food, and I often see them scampering over a roadside cafe’s tables when it’s empty.

It was Paul’s birthday on the 18th.  We had our usual leisurely Sunday breakfast after he’d opened his presents (and like me, his one and only card) and then it was work as normal for him for the best part of the day. In the evening we walked into Kuah (about 30 minutes’ walk), to revisit the Chinese restaurant we went to the first time I was here.  It was just beginning to get dark as we walked through the park. Twilight is lovely here: the smaller trees are lit up like Christmas trees and there are stalls selling drinks to the families who come to visit the kids’ play area in the cooler evenings.  As we got nearer to the town, I noticed that more construction is taking place here too. The buildings aren’t as high or extensive as the ones in Penang – Langkawi is more of a holiday resort.  Billboards portray what the finished complexes will look like; modern, elegant holiday apartments and retail arenas, all opposite old ruined hotels and restaurants, their facades are full of character but sadly they seem set for demolition.

The meal was excellent. It’s testament to the success of the restaurant that it alone was busy and lively amid several others that were virtually empty. On learning that I was vegan, the waiter went through all the dishes that could be adapted for me, and he even sorted it so that the sauce that came with Paul’s meal could be shared with me.  You can see all the food being cooked to order in the nearby kitchen.  I enjoyed it all much more than the first time, now that I’m more used to the Malaysian way of dining.

It’s Autumn here now and we’re experiencing the south-west monsoon as it blows over the western coast.  This means heavy thunderstorms, windy days and nights and choppy seas.  The average temperature is still 30 degrees, however and this is probably the coolest we’ll get because it will get slowly hotter from now on.  The choppy seas and wind are certainly making the boat rock at times but that is pleasant, as it’s like being rocked gently which is great when you’re feeling lazy and drowsy, especially when accompanied by the sound of heavy rain on the coach roof.  The rain rarely lasts for longer than an hour, though and during one of these rainy afternoons we sorted out all the folders and files on the boat that were crammed with things like charts,  old equipment manuals, yacht rally programmes, receipts and much more.  I’ve also had lessons on chart plotting (using the navionics app on the ipad) so that I can – hopefully – take on the task of planning the itinerary for Thailand next month.  Another benefit of being here is the proximity of Charlie’s Place, the marina bar. It’s nice to sit there after a swim, or a walk and watch the sun sink below the island.

On Tuesday and Wednesday this week, Paul concentrated on jobs that needed doing on the boat’s mast.  There was a fair bit of preparation involved in this.  On Lady Stardust he had to hoist himself up in a bosun’s chair, but this boat has rungs to climb up, so Paul had to ensure he had all the necessary tools and fittings for the job in a bucket attached to his safety rope.  He’s related the details of what needed doing in his post. I felt that I should be outside while he was up there in case he needed me to do anything (although I would have stopped short of going up there to take something to him). I took pictures instead, from as many angles as I could. It wasn’t easy because it was hard to focus for long with the sun in my eyes, and also, it made me feel decidedly dizzy looking up at him that high up. I can only imagine what it must be like looking down! I refused his kind offer of ‘having a go’ at getting to the top myself when he came down. 😉 Some pics of the day are below. Next post will be about our trip around the island in a car yesterday.

Popped up the mast today to replace the Navigation light with a new Nasa Marine SuperNova Tricolour/Anchor light.
I’m going to wait until sunset and go to the bar to see how bright it looks. Kathy thinks this a fine Idea.

So a few pics from above.

 

Paul C.

Powerful stuff, must put more lotion on.

I popped up the mast today to replace the spreader working lights, these are lights that we use to light up the deck at night if we need to work in the dark. I also use them to illuminate the sails to make ourselves more visible if I want other boats to see us.

I also wanted to extract the old masthead Tricolour/Anchor light. I was surprised to see how deteriorated the light was. This was quite crazed when I looked at it back in May, but now it was disintegrating, it really brings home how powerful the Uv rays from the sun are here. One of the screws that fixed it down snapped off as I was removing it, so I need to remove that tomorrow.

The spreader lights work well now, I can’t replace the steaming light, which is a white light on the front of the mast we have to have on when we are using the engine for propulsion, because when I tested the light I brought out, it wasn’t white at all but red and green. I ordered a new one today from Austrailia along with a new water tank sensor, should be here in a few days. Tomorrow I will fit the new masthead light which is an LED job from NASA  Marine.
I have also paid for the new standing rigging to be made, it’s being fabricated in Florida and flown out here as I write this, seems crazy, but these wires hold the mast up, and the quality from the USA is very high, so it”s worth it, it’s also quite a reasonable price.

I’m hoping to have the rigging replaced and to depart Langkawi for Phuket in about 2 weeks time. Kathy is working out our itinerary for the trip, so many places to see and events happening there, I can’t wait.

Paul C.

Yesterday I set to work on fixing the instrument panel I blew up on the way up to Langkawi. The fuse I blew, turns out to be a little resettable button on a box at the back of the engine. If I had known that, I could have reset it on passage. at least I know now.  So I took the panel apart after studying the circuit diagram for an hour or so. Some of the circuitry is in an epoxy potted box and the circuit is kept secret. Somehow I seem to have found the details on the internet of this unit’s internals so that was a help. Anyway the main culprit was the connector shown below,this connects the panel switches and alarm signals for oil pressure, water temperature and battery charge to the aforesaid secret box with the lights in it. Someone had previously rammed the plug and socket together, but 90 deg out of position. It’s there so you can replace the box if needed, I understand Volvo wanted about $500 for the box, which is effectively four LEDS, and a few diodes, so I was never going to buy it, even if they hadn’t stopped making it several years ago. So I hard wired around the connector. I replaced all the bulbs in the meters, and epoxied the front of the temp gauge that had fallen off. Now it works 100% and lights up in the dark. Oh I replaced the buzzer, though I hope to never hear it, it only sounds when there’s a big problem. Cleverly those diodes stop it screeching when you turn the key or stop the engine, as it does on most boats.

So I expect you’re wondering how I can top that story, well just wait till I get on to the hose clamps later, but first I had a birthday today. Kathy kindly got me some lovely chocolates and a nice new money belt, which is handy, my old one is disintegrating.

I managed to get the last of the metal strips onto the side of the boat this morning, these are thin strips that stop the fenders ropes from rubbing the varnish on the cap rails. They also look classy, Kathy polished them to a fine mirror like finish.

So onto the hose clamps, I decided to fix the manual bilge pump which wasn’t working, This will be my last contact with the boat before it sinks, should I ever end up in a sinking situation 😉 It’s a pump for pumping water out the bilge, assuming the two electric pumps can’t work. I took it out, serviced it, tested it and couldn’t really find a problem, so put it all back together. On tightening the hose clamps, it has two, they both snapped, this had me thinking, My surveyors and insurance company always insists on double clamping the hoses so that if one breaks, the other will still hold the hose on to the device, yet they both generally are identical when fitted, often from the same production run, live identical lives, and should fail at exactly the same time, all things being equal. I bet they have a different strategy on the International Space Station!
Anyway, both electric pumps and the hand pump work now. The second pump, marked “Emergency Bilge Pump” can’t half shift water, like gallons per second. I was very impressed. I cleaned the bilge some more and ticked that one off the list now. We had some fun when I turned up the tap on the hose pipe Kathy was squirting into the bilge with and the hose jumped out of her hand and started a snake like dance around the galley 😉

While I was in the engine area I had another go at fixing the oil leak, I had tightened up the scavenger pump fitting where I could see it had been weeping oil the other day, but it was still weeping. I think it was a lot better, but it was hard to say as we hadn’t used the engine much on the trip up here, so that may be a factor. So I took the fitting out this time to inspect it. It comes with a soft washer, I remember having an air leak on the fuel system of the old baba , which was a Volvo, and it was down to a slightly worn brass washer somewhere in the fuel line. I wonder if this washer might be causing the leak. I will order a new one. For now I cleaned the surfaces and re-assembled, making sure to get the fitting up tight, and the pipe that goes onto it, snugged up tight too. We shall just have to see if this works or not.
I also had a made a note to look for a water leak, back in May I had to top up the fresh water, not by a lot, maybe half a cup, but it shouldn’t need topping up at all, there’s no way out for the water.  However the water level has been fine since, so I had a look around and found a small leak where the hot fresh water leaves the engine block to go off to heat the domestic water via a heat exchanger. It’s just on the pipe with the hose clamp in the picture. There is the tell tale sign of corrosion building up on the clip. This is going to be a sod to change, the reason it’s leaking is because it’s not fitted on snug, and it cant because of the angle the hose approaches, so whoever fitted it must have struggled, and given up before getting it to fit properly, then tightened up on the clamp and hoped for the best. The worst bit is that it slowly drips hot water onto fittings below which are showing signs of corroding. It’s either bad design by Volvo, or more likely, there is another fitting that should be used to get the pipe to connect properly. As it’s used for an optional external domestic water heater, this hose will have been fitted by the engine installer, not Volvo.
I won’t be happy until this is sorted, because when this pipe fails the engine will lose it’s cooling water and fail. worse than this it will be a sod to fix if under way.
We had a very similar situation on Lady Stardust in Martinique with Max and the boys nearly 10 years ago, a leaking pipe was dripping onto the throttle cable for some years and had caused it to corrode, just as we were trying to get into a port in a very heavy headwind, the throttle cable seized up at the point where it had corroded, I couldn’t work out what was wrong as I couldn’t see the spot on the cable, and had assumed the fuel pump the throttle was connected too was seized and we ended up needing help to get into the port. A very expensive affair, all caused by a slow and persistent drip drip over time.
So given that I had fitted the steel strips, fixed two pumps, an oil leak and found the water leak, it was time to go for my birthday dinner with Kathy at my favourite Langkawi restaurant “Wonderland”
I had Sea Bass grilled and served with a black bean sauce, It was very tasty, we also had a sauce called ABC, which along with the black bean sauce and the rice, they had made vegetarian so Kathy could enjoy it too.

Wonderland was  Kathy’s first encounter with Malaysian restaurants and she was a bit shocked when we first went the back in July, but now after she has eaten at several different places, she appreciates what a class joint it really is 😉 they even sell beer!

I picked up a parcel here that Isaac had sent out, it included lots of things that need to go on the mast, LED lights etc, so that’s tomorrows fun.

Paul C.

On Sunday afternoon (11th September) after we finished work for the day, we ordered a taxi via Uber to take us to Straits Quay Marina. Paul asked him to drop us a little way from the marina itself so that we could walk to it.  There were so many high rise buildings surrounding us that it was hard to believe we were anywhere near water. More of these towering apartment buildings are being constructed constantly – all over Penang. So many homes are contained in each of those huge complexes, it really creates a sense of how many people live there.  I keep wondering where they all lived before they began to build them. Straits Quay is another smart shopping and dining hub, and it’s only when you walk through the ornate entrance with its cafes, shops and restaurants that you spot the masts of boats in the marina and beyond, the channel of water between the island and the mainland. It was a hot, sunny day and the smart bars along the waterside were too tempting to resist (for me anyway), so we sat at one of them and people-watched for a while, enjoying the view over to the mainland.

Walking further along from here, we passed ‘Uncle Albert’s Fish and Chip Restaurant’, English-style pubs and tearooms, and a lively Irish Pub packed with people in green T shirts watching a rugby match. Time to move on! We ambled slowly and leisurely along a path by the coast watching the boats out on the water until it began to get darker, then went for a drink in Gurney Plaza before heading on to Hawker Food Market for dinner.

The following day we took the boat out for a spin to check the sails and to practise a few boat manoeuvres. It felt great to be out on the water, making the most of the sea breeze – a respite from another sweltering day. It was hard work keeping the boat on course while Paul tacked and gybed but I felt that I learned a lot in the few hours we were out there, and certainly feel more comfortable with the steering now.  When we got back, Paul taught me the correct way to cleat off on the pontoon, and the art of throwing and catching ropes (this time with no spectators to put me off :)).  However, when we moved the boat onto the emergency pontoon ready for the morning departure, I didn’t throw the line far enough for the guy to catch it so he had to retrieve it from the water, and then when Paul threw a line to me, I dropped that in the water so it seems I need a lot more practise yet.

Luckily, the 10am morning departure on Tuesday went without a hitch and soon we were watching Penang’s skyline fade into the distance. The conditions for sailing weren’t quite as good as Paul had hoped but we got some sailing in and the six-hour passage to our anchorage was squall and storm-free. Paul let me choose the place to drop anchor and it was Pulau Bidan that took my fancy – not because Song Song was further away but because it looked so intriguing.  The island was bigger than Song Song and we could see people moving around near huts by the beach and it was very peaceful and serene-looking. I thought it a nice spot to watch and listen to the birds and to spot any other creatures that might inhabit the place.  As we were anchoring I saw a fish (looked a bit like a swordfish) leap out of the water and it went higher than I would have ever thought possible – a real ‘wow’ moment.  Despite its being a rich fishing area, Paul has yet to catch one, even after putting two lines out over the stern ;).  Once we were secure, we went for a quick swim round the boat to cool off.

Paul looked up some information on the island and my guess that it looked like a place for volunteers interested in nature-watch projects turned out to be on the right track. It’s an ecotourist destination, host to a range of wildlife and natural biodiversity and the aim of the organisation running it is to build up a community dedicated to preserving and protecting the island’s ecology. We spotted some geese marching up and down the beach and heard a cockerel crowing regularly, so I guess there are hens there too. The living conditions looked fairly rudimentary but I thought what an amazing and worthwhile experience it would be – it beats what Bear Grylls has people doing on the islands in his TV series’ anyway.  While we ate dinner in the cockpit, the shore of the beach was lit up with a line of subtle ‘street lights’, creating a wonderfully atmospheric picture for us to look at.

The night we spent there turned out to be the hottest and stickiest night I think I have ever had! Paul slept in the cockpit and I thought I’d try the V berth as it had been fine at Song Song but it was too hot in there so I moved to the port side sofa and that was no better.  I didn’t fancy the cockpit because mosquitoes feast on me, so I put the boat fan on and lay as still as possible until I dozed off.  I woke three hours later, soaked in sweat and itching with bites so I gave up and read for a few hours which was pleasant enough. As the boat shifted with the tide, a breeze came through the hatch and window in the V berth, and I was finally able to get more sleep in there until Paul woke me at 8 with a Happy Birthday coffee and said we’d need to get moving soon. I opened my one and only card and the thoughtful presents he’d got me (see below), and then we set off for Langkawi.

The journey was very relaxing. I tried to get some more sleep but it was still very humid, even up above so I lounged below, reading (currently reading Dickens’s Little Dorrit, The Long Day Wanes by Anthony Burgess, White Jazz by James Ellroy, The Enemy by Lee Child, Far Eastern Tales by Somerset Maugham, and four mystery/thrillers on my kindle phone app, so no shortage of material to get through).  Not a bad way to spend my 56th birthday all in all.

We arrived at the marina at 5pm and the cleating lessons paid off because I was able to jump ashore with a line and tie us to the cleat with no difficulty. It was very hot and humid and by the time we’d got secure and the boat shipshape we had to use the hose on the pontoon to cool ourselves down.  My unusual and enjoyable birthday ended with a drink and a meal at Charlie’s Place. It’s great to be back in Langkawi 🙂

Kathy

 

 

So Tuesday morning had me up early to get down to the post office for 8, to get a ‘money order’ to pay the marina. All post offices in Malaysia open at 8, or so I was told by the marina manager. So off I popped at 7:45 sprinting along the coast walk to the post office POS in the mall. It was nice seeing lots of Chinese out doing their Tai Chi routines before work. Arriving at the mall I was disappointed to see it all shut up, the security guard told me the mall and post office don’t open till 10. so after a bit of research with my trusty friend Mr Google, I worked out the University USM had a post office and that might be open now. I asked the guard for his opinion and he replied, of course it will be open, all post offices open at 8! so into a taxi and off I went.

Not long later with the bill paid, and the air-con dispatched to a locker we set off for Langkawi. I think Kathy was pleased to leave, judging by her massive smile and the fact she was dancing and skipping along the pontoon singing , “were leaving, were off,hurrah, hurrah”, I might have exaggerated a little, but Batu Uban is a bit basic / back end of nowhere, but I liked it. I will also miss the interesting group of sailors there too. Touch from ‘MV Memory’ snapped this picture of us leaving, Kathy at the helm, and me bringing fenders in. That’s the Malaysian mainland coast ahead, but we have to turn 90 deg to starboard here as the water is only 3ft deep ahead, and we have to go around Palau Jerajak to get out.

Shortly after our departure at 10:00 AM we are  around the island and passing under the old bridge to the mainland, this is my third time under the bridge and I felt very confident we would fit this time 😉
We were fortunate to have a dry day, with the wind at a nice steady 10 knots from the North West, which allowed us to sail 90% of the time, making 5 knots to the north. I had all the sails up and she handled well. I messed around with the Dutchman, but will need much stronger winds to see how well it works really, but the setup I have seems ok for now, and will control the boom making it safe.
The waters were very quiet, no fishing boats to worry us, just one small course change to miss these fish sticks you can see behind Kathy.

We had a choice of three islands to rest at overnight, the passage is just a little to long to do in one day if you want to stay in light, and sailing at night this close inshore is hazardous in the dark because of all the unlit fishing boats that appear, or rather don’t appear until too late. The previous two trips along this route we stayed at Palau Sonsong, but this time Palau Bidan took Kathy’s fancy so we dropped anchor there. The Spade didn’t set again, but in a way I was happy because it was very calm, we were not in a rush and I fancied the practice, mostly I wanted to play with the windlass and watch my fluorescent cable ties going up and down. Kathy also needs practice and we are still working out how to communicate effectively from me at the bow to Kathy at the wheel. We agreed that me shouting “More” would be more effective if I added a noun like “More Revs”.  Of course more Revs means more engine noise by Kathy so “Less Revs” doesn’t get heard so well. Some couple use hand signals, others have walkie talkies, some end up divorcing!
However we very effectively recovered the anchor and re-set it quickly. I’m very pleased with how the cleaned up clutch works, I can easily control the speed of chain descent, and also set the clutch so it slips when the anchor is fully up, something it didn’t do before, possibly explaining why the anchor platform had been so mangled. Once set we could put the boat fully astern and I could see the chain taught and rigid, the boat stationary, and a lot of water being churned up by the prop. That’s a nice feeling when you have to sleep soon and you’re quite close to a rocky shore. We anchored just beyond the palm trees on the right hand end of the beach below. I think Kathy will post better pictures as she was fascinated by the people living on the island. It’s a place you can go to be part of an ecology project, living in a tent with no amenities.
At some point I checked the Navtext to see if there were any weather warnings and the first line said “Typhoon” when I scrolled down it said Force 17, which seems a lot, I thought it only went to 12!. Anyway, this was for much further north and of no concern to us. The weather here is very predictable, other than for powerful squalls that pass through, it’s generally very safe.

We left P.Bidan early, 08:20, on Wednesday as it’s quite a way to Langkawi still, some 9 hours and we wanted to be there before dark. I also wanted to sail as much as possible. The sea was very calm and the wind was light and from the NE which is all wrong, it’s meant to be from the other way, which would have been lovely, but from the NE meant we had to sail close hauled, which isn’t that fast, but the boat performed very well. We managed 5 knots in about 8-10 knots of wind, I would be very happy to sail around the world under these conditions. We sailed between the two islands at Pulau Payar, a renowned scuba resort where the water is very clear and there is an abundance of fish of many varieties. They say if you can’t catch a fish in these waters you may as well give up, however I think my problem with the two lines I had out was that all the fish were over by the scuba divers. Perhaps next time I will be lucky.

Not long after we left the engine temperature gauge stopped working, this is a pain as we had been running the engine on and off and I like to keep an eye on the temp. If it overheats, and they often do on boats as they are cooled by seawater, and that system can get blocked, or the pump stops working, then when the engine overheats it can do serious damage.
The gauge didn’t work when I bought the boat, but after cleaning all the connections to the panel, it started, so I assumed it was a bad connection and I needed to find the exact one. What better time than now, so off I went with my multimeter. Sadly after a little probing my meter probe slipped and shorted the supply out. I could have predicted that would happen. The panel went crazy, showing revs of 4000RPM, no oil pressure, and no battery charging. Bother.
I brought up the laptop and checked the circuit diagram and it looked like I have probably blown the fuse, but where is the fuse. I have no idea, probably behind the engine, or under the very hot exhaust system. Anyway it will have to wait. After a little bit of fretting I thought that I could run a new supply to the panel from the cigar lighter in the cockpit. This was duly setup and Voila, meters reading again, except for the temp. So now we decided to keep a close watch on the water coming out the exhaust for the rest of the passage and the rest can wait.

I think I have posted a picture of this boat before, the Lili Marleen, but we sailed very close this time and she looked wonderful in the sunlight with the blue sky behind. She seems to be parked up here like several other big ships.
This boat, the one I scoffed at for being registered in Grimsby, was how she looked when I sailed past with Tim on board a few weeks back,
However on the way in the Kuah, the main port of Langkawi we spotted this ship, on the rocks along the coast, on closer inspection I’m pretty sure it’s the same ship. I don’t know if it’s a coincidence, but she was directly downwind from where I remember her being moored. I suspect she broke her mooring, probably at night. I will try to find out the story, I hope she can be salvaged, the coast there is rocks, then a stretch of beach, then more rocks, she missed the beach and is firmly on the rocks!
So into the marina at 17:00, I managed to get a clear view of the pontoon finger as we came in, and put the boat alongside so Kathy could step ashore and cleat the bow, walk back to me and take the stern line. Job done, and the smoothest berthing yet. We’re getting there.

A quick tidy up, then off to the bar for drinks and a nice dinner for Kathy, well it is her birthday, and the postman didn’t seem to be able to find us on Palau Bidan.

 

Paul C.

Yesterday started with me having a go at the windlass, this is the electric motor that pulls up the anchor, seeing as we will need it soon. It wasn’t letting the anchor go down easily because the clutch was sticking, like trying to start a car in gear.

Anyway I managed to get the clutch cone out to find it was very grimy as was its matching surface. I put the picture here as you can see how well it cleaned up. Now it works really well and I’m right chuffed. A full service of the windlass is still  required, but that requires me to drill out the allen keys holding the chain control in place.
Once that was done we headed off to straights quay, Kathy had a wine on the waterfront before we moved on to the shopping mall at Gurney plaza.
After the plaza we headed over the road for a bit to eat. On the way we could see a huge area of land reclamation going on.
Kathy was excited to find a new vegetarian stall on Gurney drive, however it was really the same one with a new sign.
Today is a national holiday, I had planned to settle up at the marina ready for an early start Tuesday, but due to the holiday I now have to get up very early tomorrow to go into town to sort out a postal order to pay the marina people. Still we might get away before 11 and be at anchor at pilau Songsong or nearby by 17:00.
So we took advantage of the tide, and moved the boat from the berth to the outside of the marina in preparation. Before we tied up though we went for a sail down towards Batu Maung. It was a lovely day with 5-10 knots of winds on the nose. We tacked up the strait making 3.5 knots in about 7 – 10 knots of wind. And this was just the main and staysail, we could have done more if I unfurled the big genoa, but I wanted to do a lot of crash gybing and that would have been awkward as you can’t tack the genoa without going up f’ward to manhandle the sail across. So I had the Dutchman working as a kicking strap as we tacked up and it worked well. On the way back it was pulled tight and we did some crash gybes and it worked well, often too well, but that made it no worse than a preventer. The biggest problem in a crash gybe is the main sheets, they still get tangled around everything, even with the boom going slowly across. More fine tuning is needed, but all in all I’m very pleased.

This is one of the land reclamation ships building the land for the new World City complex

Tomorrow we will be on our way north. possibly limited internet, but AIS should be good.

Paul C.