Hello everyone.
The saga continues. I'm starting this on the midnight watch as we sail up Foul Bay and cross into Egypt. We're on the second of probably a three nighter. This is, of course, after we vowed to cut these marathon sails out after days and days of it just getting to the Red Sea. Unfortunately, we were planning on some kind of normal weather, but that is not what you get in the Red Sea. The choices are to take advantage of a good "weather window" where the northerlies are light or have moved more south OR you can bash into 25-30 knot winds and choppy 2-3 meter seas. Even if both motors were working (more on that later) we can only make about 3 or 4 knots in those unfavorable conditions. SO--the rule of thumb is get while the getting is good which is why we are sailing as fast and far as we we can with favorable conditions. (Monday 7PM--so much for favorable conditions. In spite of all the forecasts, the wind has strengthened out of the northwest--our direction of travel. Since we're already committed, we are just bashing into it and going only 2-3 knots. Oh well, we've been in LOTS worse; this is just slow and boring!!) On to the news update.
So, we left you a couple of weeks ago (gosh, our letters are getting more frequent now that we have lots more to bore you with) at Port Smyth on Shummi island awaiting the arrival of a whole fleet of yachties. Well, about 6 or 7 boats arrived that afternoon, and it was one guy's birthday so naturally that called for a beach party. It was highly amusing. It was BYO, but everyone brought snacks and someone had a fish to grill up. I got to use up what few fireworks Joey had left me, and one of the girls was pretty good on the guitar so we had a hootenanny. Wow, in 12 years, this is the first time I've actually done one of these even though all the articles say this happens all the time. It was pretty good though, until one of the women relieved the guitar player for the sing-along. She was one of those people who think they're great, but can't carry a tune. Think of the worst ever American Idol audition and you'll have some idea. Of course, the festivities were further disrupted when the awful singer's husband fell over backwards trying to sit down. It's no wonder he gets that loaded if she sings all the time for him!! Anyway, by that time it was way past cruisers' midnight (9PM) so we packed it in.
The next day was an easy 30 miles over to Massawa for the anxiously anticipated trip into the mountains to Asmara, the capital of Eritrea. Someone we had run into years ago that had done 3 circumnavigations ranked it as a top three highlight. A little bit of Italy, dare I say Rome, in the mountains of Africa. More on this later. A couple of boats we knew were in the port which is the largest on the Red Sea. Officials made me tie up to a concrete dock which was a bear to get back off of, and immigration was off on a ship somewhere so check in wasn't complete 'til the next day. Except for the dock and long walk it was one of the easier ones. Next day after check in, we went to the other immigration office to get visas--necessary to visit Asmara--and to the tourism bureau for travel permits. The "go to" guy in Massawa is Mike and he arranged our transport to Asmara which we were sharing with the two guys on Quo Vadis. Massawa is sort of bombed out and interestingly, Mike's cafe is in the old Italian embassy, but, by and large, the place looks like Beirut. One of the guys decided to stay and watch the boats so there was only the 3 of us. Good thing as we had a tiny cab and it's a 3 hour drive. Solomon, our driver, was okay and had something going on the side up there so when we met up with him the next day to return, the cab had a bunch on stuff in the trunk. He got rid of that but then disappeared for about an hour instead of meeting us at the "recycling" market which is a bunch of people making whatever they can out of old tires, sheet metal, etc. This is really a poor country as was evident in the restaurants which were out of meat and stuff like that. While our room was good and really cheap, the trip was a bust. We had all these expectations and the place was really just a dump--no good Italian food, no designer cloths stores, no nothing, really!!. On top of that Rose and I got the Prophet's plague back. I guess African food just does not agree with us, but the pounds are flowing off!! The one saving grace was the beautiful drive up through the mountains to get there. Lots of photo ops!!
By the time we got back, the fleet from Port Smyth had arrived and already done the visas and travel permits. Well what could we do? Couldn't tell them it sucked after they all just spent $100 or so to go. So we all agreed to keep quiet--they actually thought there was a Carre Four up there--HAH! We haven't seen them since the trip as we left the next day and they haven't caught up. We had our first real case of Baksheesh on check out. The immigration/customs officer comes to the boat to make sure you don't have stowaways. Gift? says he. What? says I. $10, says he. Cigarettes say I. Settled on 2 packs. Still suffering from the plague, but wanting to escape before the other crowd got back from Asmara, we took off for Abu Sheik, about 30 miles away. Like all the anchorages so far, this was wide open behind some mud flats, and we had to beat into the wind to get there.
So our choices, given the lovely weather here, were to sit in this crappy anchorage, go another 30 miles to the next crappy anchorage and sit there, or gut it out and head off overnight to a decent place up north--nothing in between. It took us 36 hours to make the next anchorage only 160 miles away in the Shubuk channel, just south of Suakin in Sudan. This was actually fairly picturesque and well sheltered; a lagoon full of flamingos was right in front of us. We actually had a ratty gunboat with about 20 irregulars (un-uniformed) stop by to check our papers. They had a big machine gun and the requisite AK47s, but I doubt they had any ammo--another very poor country. One guy spoke fairly good English and they politely checked our papers and then left--no baksheesh--we were amazed. During the night the main halyard had broken, shattering the sheave and going down inside the mast. AND, the old bugaboo oil problem happened again. Some of you--one I know for sure--will recall that three years ago the bolts holding the high pressure water maker pump sheared off. Since those same bolts also hold the backing plate for the oil pump on the starboard engine, the oil simply goes into the bilge and the engine alarm goes off. Yep, same deal and I'm betting the guys in Penang didn't tighten the bolts properly when they worked on the pump. Anyway, after 2 gallons of oil into the bilge, the light went on and, sure enough, same problem. This meant a long trip to Suakin as the wind was against us again even though it was only 40 miles.
Arrival was easy enough and while Suakin isn't an official port of entry, the "go to" man, Mohamed, clears you in and gets fuel, etc. Our friends on Dreamkeeeper were there as was Joost, the guy who led the convoy. A great weather window was coming up and they were leaving Friday. Fortunately, we arrived on Wed, and with really very little effort and Dreamkeepers help, on Thursday we got the halyard squared away. Mohamed cleared us in, got us 750 liters of fuel (which I got him to lug and dump in the tank) and arranged a mechanic.
The mechanic was a bit thick and wanted to take the back half of the motor out to drill out the broken bolts. Then he decide 2 would do it (originally 4) and using a nail and hammer somehow got another bolt in--One hadn't sheared in the first place. So at 5 or so, we filled up the oil and cranked up the engine while he proclaimed all was well. Yeah right. Shut down the engine after an hour, checked the oil. Empty. Called Mohamed, but tomorrow was Friday (Arabs) so the guy couldn't come 'til 3. No worries as we were going into town--Port Sudan--anyway to do internet (had 3 more giant emails I needed to clear and am happy to report none were from this group!!) and get veggies, bread, etc. Everything, Mohamed assured us, would be open even though it was Friday (Muslim country, you know). Nope, and the cabbie kept getting lost. Anyway, we ended up at a really nice hotel for internet and had lunch there followed by the veggie market and "supermarket", then back to Suakin. Suakin used to be a major port and a lot of cool buildings are on a small fortress island by the anchorage, BUT, they built everything out of coral and the buildings just fell down so it is a big jumble and no one has the money to try to reconstruct anything.
This time, I had all the tools out for the mechanic--electric drill, screw extractor, tap and die set. He worked all afternoon and I can't say I know how he did it, but he got the four bolts in. We cranked it up, waited, looked, and he declared it fixed. Nope, but I don't know why. When I checked the bolts and the bracket everything looked good and tight so I think he must have screwed up the gasket or left a hose loose or something. Anyway, we still had an allegedly 4 day weather window so the one engine wouldn't be a problem. Which brings us to now. Window closed, one engine, putting along at 3 knots turning a three day trip into four and getting bounced unpleasantly around. All the weather stuff still points to a favorable wind shift so, with luck, we might get in tomorrow to
Port Ghalib, Egypt where we can get the motor repaired properly.
We have to say neither of us are liking the Red Sea at all. We just want to get to Egypt and do some touring. So far the coast has been pretty much stark desert with extreme poverty and decaying cities. And, of course, no internet. I feel like Goldie Hawn in Private Benjamin!!
Cheers and a belated happy Easter to you all from Rose and me.
Tim & Rose
P.S. I'm sure you all anxiously await and study our little stories, but we're still waiting to hear from someone what the poorest country in the world is behind Eritrea.
Tuesday, May 25, 2010
Convoy March 8 2010
Well folks, if you never hear from us again you'll know this email was in
error. However, fortunately, we are only 30 miles or so from the relative
safety of Aden, Yemen--yes, safe in the place where they bombed the Cole!!
Our
coalition contacts informed us yesterday that we had fortuitously picked a
great time for our transit--good weather for us, bad for the pirates and
activity generally away from our route. Just thought we'd let everyone know
we're okay and we'll send a confirm as soon as we arrive.
T & R
error. However, fortunately, we are only 30 miles or so from the relative
safety of Aden, Yemen--yes, safe in the place where they bombed the Cole!!
Our
coalition contacts informed us yesterday that we had fortuitously picked a
great time for our transit--good weather for us, bad for the pirates and
activity generally away from our route. Just thought we'd let everyone know
we're okay and we'll send a confirm as soon as we arrive.
T & R
Cochrin and Passage to Oman March 1 2010
Hello all.
It's been a chock full couple of weeks so be forewarned; this will be a
longy. Writing this at sea four days out of Cochin.
First things first. Our passage so far has been with light winds and calm
seas. Just today, we've finally had enough wind out of the right direction
to actually turn off the motors and truly sail. Slower going than we'd
like, but between the distance and a nasty 1 knot current against us, we
probably do not have enough fuel to motor all the way. So, except when
we're charging the batteries, we are coasting along at between four and six
knots. Only 1,000 miles and about 8 days to go. As it turned out, we burned 900 liters of fuel and good wind the last couple of days saved us.
Second, nothing new to report about Rose. Her condition remains good and
all her blood tests are okay. Her back is bothering her but that has nothing to do with the other condition.
Back to Cochin--It is dirty there. Rose claimed, when we left, that the boat
had never been that filthy. It was very clean when we arrived from the salt
water bashing we took on the way, but that didn't last. It's been nice and
calm at sea, and we can make water to wash with now that we've left so it's getting
better, but it really needs a good pressure washing. So you will no doubt recall there
were several items of repair necessary. Thank God we were at this little
"boatyard" so the men could come and go. Notice the quotes. The yard had a
rough concrete dock and one set of rails to haul boats as well as a couple
of sheds. The place was a wreck as the new English owner had been gone six months, but
he started to get things cleaned up while we were there. The whole
operation was only about 100 feet, if that, wide, but it was separated from
the street by a high opaque fence and actually had a live-in watchman who
sort of came with the place when the new owner bought it. Spoke no English
and locked us out a couple of times and even locked us in one morning when
he got coffee!! It took about three days to get water (well water not
really drinkable but good for everything else) and electricity. What with
the good security, power supply for the refrigeration and easy access for
someone to look after Charlie, we were still glad we chose this place over
the anchorage. Everyone else was across the channel at a place called the
Bolgatty anchorage, on anchor-no shore power, no clean water to make water
and at a "resort" that didn't even have a proper bar. We discovered this
when we met Freebird for Sunday brunch at the resort--allegedly one of the
best in Cochin!!! We, on the other hand, were at Fort Cochi, the tourist
center of the area, and, while it still wasn't easy to find a place to get a
real drink, there were loads of good restaurants, plenty of shopping and lots
to do and see. We were actually on a narrow road across from the Muslim
orphanage (very handy when telling the "auto-rickshaw" drivers where to take
us) in a warehouse district with all sorts of spice markets. Rarely ate on
board as the food was so cheap and good. The auto-rickshaws are sort of
rickshaws with the motorcycle sort of built in. You have to be there to
understand, but they are dirt cheap--about $.60 to the main tourist area
about 2 or 3 k away.
We wanted to do some inland exploring, but, first, we needed to get repairs
underway and sorted out. This proved to be a nightmare. To make a long
story short, surprisingly, there is a big language problem, and I am
convinced that Indians were born short of a full deck. For instance, the
freezer guys kept trying to work on the wrong unit in spite of me showing
them. I almost gave up when I checked on their progress in the engine room
and found they had started to dismantle the SCUBA compressor instead of
working on the freezer compressor. Outboard guys came and swore I had an
electrical problem and they would send an electrician the next day. Next
day 2 more guys show up and tell me they are mechanics and I need an
electrician. Then, when we were away--yes, we did get away--nothing got
done and we were getting close to departure. I became suicidal, but it all
worked out in the end and we got everything fixed for really little money.
The one exception was the VHF. Tried a new connector, but still only have
about 7 miles range (should be 30) which is a nuisance and affects AIS
reception as well. Will need a new antenna in Oman. What are the chances
of that??!!
So, having thought we had everything under control, we booked a trip to
Mysore, site of a huge palace and some other interesting stuff. We, if we
had more time or the inclination, could have done a longer tea plantation,
national park type of thing, but we had pretty much already done that stuff
elsewhere and Rose wanted to see Mysore. We, especially Rose, also like to
take trains so we can see the countryside. The only problem is there is no
direct train from Cochin to Mysore--you have to go about 800 k to Bangalore
then get another train south for 2 hours to Mysore. Loads of security and guys with Uzis as a result of the Mumbai bombings, we guessed. No problem, as we had
air-conditioned sleeper tickets for the 13 hour first leg and first class the
next day to Mysore. It was pretty amusing, but hard on the bottom as the
seats on the sleeper are really long benches with padding about the
thickness of an exercise mat. We took a morning train so we'd have
daylight, but the windows were so dirty and scratchy, photos were
impossible. Then there was "fartman", one of our compartment mates. Holy mackerel!! For
thirteen hours!!!??? They did serve food--not too good, and buckets,
literally, of sweet coffee and tea (cha) au lait--pretty good for 5 rupees a
cup--$.10.
The only rip-off we experienced was on arrival in Bangalore at about 8:30 at
night. We had to spend the night there due to the train schedule. Some
guy, and this is typical all over, approached as as we disembarked, asking
if we needed a taxi. Sure we said, but it turned out he wasn't a metered
taxi and had no clue where our hotel was. While we negotiated the price
down, an hour and 800 rupees later after several stops to ask for
directions, we finally arrived at the hotel--about 15 minutes and 250 rupees from the
station if they knew where they were going. Rose was sure we were going to
be mugged or worse as along the way we took some pretty spooky back roads.
Anyway, the hotel ($30) turned out to be a very pleasant surprise and we
grabbed a quick room service snack before bed. The layout was sort of a
suite thing with 2 bedrooms off a common sitting area. Breakfast, included,
was also via room service and we were fairly leisurely as the train to
Mysore was at 11. We had really great seats and free bottled water on the 2 hour
journey down, and the station was about 15 minutes away from our hotel
there. The Ginger Hotel was one of a chain and a pretty basic Holiday Inn
type place, but it was in a good location and had a legitimate coffee shop
with really good coffees and pastries. The hotel dining was less than
splendid and was all buffet. We only did breakfast and ate out the rest of
the time. I did manage to squeeze in an Ayurvedic massage where they use
tons of oil including your scalp and, in this case, a steam bath afterwards.
This is the only kind of massage we saw in India, and you get, and must
have, a shower afterward. They use sandalwood oil which supposedly has
therapeutic value.
We arrived on a Sunday and lucked out because they light up this palace on
Sunday night--admission free--and holidays only. They use 97,000 bulbs.
Yes, this is a huge palace. So we did that and had some snacks at a place
across from the palace, then back to the hotel to rest up for the big
sightseeing day tomorrow. After breakfast, Monday, we headed off back to
the palace and spent a couple of hours touring it. The rate for Indians is
R20 but R200 for "foreign tourist". Really amazing when you consider this
type of thing was still being constructed in the early 1900's and that the
Rajah or whatever was a fairly minor guy. Man, they had it made. After
lunch, we wandered around and went to the local outdoor market where Rose
bought a bunch of oils, like Jasmine, amber and some others. Used as bases
for perfume and all sorts of medicinal stuff, even mosquito repellent. It
was getting to be a long day, but we wanted to see the art museum in the
same general area and off we went. It was a quick run through and on our
way out we ran into Samile, who solicited us for the rickshaw ride back to
the Ginger. We also worked out a deal with him (it had been our plan right
along to get someone to "show us around") to do a tour the next day. There
is a holy Hindu mountain nearby with great views and a big temple--"one of
the 8 most holy mountains in India" So Tuesday, we did the temple with a
million hawkers around, saw the holy bull, hit the post office and a "real"
grocery store to get snacks for the train trip home, stopped in several
stores looking for the the right kind of wood box for the salon table
(didn't find one), and, finally, went to a real oil factory since the guys
in the market, according to Samile, water theirs down. Bought a bunch more oil. We were done
about 2 (that's when I got the massage) and thought we arranged with
Samile to pick us up for a ride to dinner--he'd done that the night before.
He must have been pissed off that I didn't give him enough money (gave him the agreed amount plus 20%)for the
tour as he never showed up. We never did exactly figure him out as he
always had someone else drive the rickshaw and he just came along. Anyway,
while pissed off about no ride to dinner, the story has a happy ending as
we ordered out for pizza and it was pretty good.
The next day, we took the 11 AM train back to Bangalore--not as nice as the
one on the trip down and a 3 PM train back to Cochin which arrived at about
2:30 AM. We had a nice family in our compartment this time with a cute
little girl and had loaded up on snacks to avoid the train food.
Unfortunately, this one didn't have the coffee and tea guys so we had to
settle for the water we brought with us. Nazar met us at the train for the
40 minute trip home--longggg day.
I've already expounded on being suicidal when, waking the next day, I found
nothing was really fixed. Spent most of that day arranging workmen while
Rose went shopping. I also had 3 parcels coming in via FedEx with parts,
mail and sundries. FedEx has not distinguished themselves this time and has
summarily dismissed my demands for restitution. First they claimed the
address was incorrect resulting in a 2 week delay in delivery. Then they
screwed up with customs--normally yachts in transit are duty free--resulting
in $300 in duties. Then they refused to give me the packages even though
someone was in the office on Friday because it was a holiday. A real bummer
and expensive to boot, but there's very little we can do as DHL has been
equally horrible.
Entertainment wise, we filled the weekend, after finally getting the FedEx
and Rose getting her hair cut and colored even more blond, with a
traditional dance show on Saturday with elaborate costumes and makeup--one
of those must do things. Sunday, Valentines day, we took an all day tour
of the "backwater" so named as it is a series of tidal estuaries about 45
minutes outside Cochin. You take a bus to the boat and are then poled--no
motors--around the channels and lakes and get a traditional lunch which
wasn't too bad, returning about 5 PM. Met some nice people including an
Englishmen with a 70 foot canal barge--definitely need to keep in touch
with him.!!! Monday was provisioning day for Rose and Checkout day for
Tim--takes hours. A final dinner out at a pretty good Italian place and off
we went at 7 on Tuesday. We're back to motoring and the prospects of
decent wind are not good, so who knows when we'll arrive because sooner or
later the engine has to go off and the sails take over. This morning there
was absolutely no wind, but it seems at night things pick up. If we can
just sail 8 hours a day or so we can make it on the fuel we have. Keeping
our fingers crossed. Oh, a final note. A couple of days ago we sailed
right through a school of fish so I thought I might as well put a line out.
Took a while to get a lure set, etc., but I didn't even have the line
deployed before a nice tuna hit it. Unfortunately, once I landed it, I
didn't have a tail noose set and the damn thing threw the hook and got away
before I could tie it down. Probably will update this as we go along and
send it on arrival in Oman.
Sunday Feb 21. Well something had to happen. I've just finished lugging
and siphoning 6 jerry jugs of fuel--we're almost halfway and have about 600
liters left--180 still in jugs, so we might make it as there is no wind and
none forecast for a few days. Since I was already grubby, I checked and
topped up the starboard engine oil--we've been mostly running that one as it
has fewer hours than the other. While checking on a leaking deck shower on
that side as well, I noticed the steering cables were quite loose. This has
happened before and isn't a big deal to tighten. HOWEVER, when I checked
under the helm, lo and behold, one of the cables on that side had broken.
Bummer. What are the odds of repairing that in Salalah. Fortunately, each
side has independent steering so we're okay--just no backup. Keeping
fingers crossed.
Tues. Motor on the autopilot has crapped. Working well enough as I write
to limp the last three days in to Oman, but getting a repair or replacement
is a problem as we're only there 5 days before the pirate alley convoy
departs. On the bright side, we had a 50-100 strong pod of very large
dolphin swim with us today--twice!! Awesome. Also had a green flash at
sunset according to Rose. I really didn't see anything different!!
Thurs. Tired of fiddling constantly with autopilot which doesn't seem to
want to hold a course as the sprocket keeps slipping so the "brain" doesn't
realize the wheel hasn't turned. Whatever--at least I know what I mean.
Anyway, for this very eventuality, I had purchased a "wheel pilot". While
this is designed for a boat about 34% lighter, I figured it would work in
light air and calm seas. It was about 20% of the cost of a full autopilot
backup so I thought it was worth a try. However, when push came to shove,
I was leery about turning it on. Given our luck lately, who knows what
could happen. Hallelujah, it works!! No more tending the wheel. Still
working on getting a new drive unit to Salalah, but haven't heard anything
today and we are running out of time.
As for pirates, there was a "suspicious incident" with a freighter about 150 miles NW of our position around the weekend, so we ran dark and took the radar reflector down for the rest of the trip. This worked okay until we passed near a legitimate ship who, while no doubt having us on radar that close, decided to teach us a lesson and came damn close. After that, we turned the lights back on near shipping traffic. Not that we were paranoid, but about 50 miles out of Salalah, a ship appeared on the AIS receiver (which provides details about the ship, it's course and closest point of approach) which was supposedly only 168 feet, of "other" description and bound for Somalia. The guy was stalking us!!! and our course wasn't the way to Somalia. Are the pirates getting smart and faking being a real ship to get close to their victims? Flashed him with the green laser to get him to move off which seemed to just piss him off and he got to about 1/4 mile off before veering away behind us. This was over about an hour period so we were quite nervous. With the VHF really not working, we had no way to call on local shipping or the authorities to assist us if it had been a pirate.
Okay, just to finish off as this is getting long, we arrived at dawn on
Sat., and check in was a breeze with the able assistance of our Omani "go to
guy", Mohammed. Holiday weekend as it is the celebration of the real
Mohammed's birthday. Our phone number here is 968 977 85179. For some
reason, they've blocked Skype!!! We haven't done much touring as time has
been spent arranging repairs, lugging very heavy jerry jugs of fuel and
cleaning. Good group here waiting for the convoy to Aden--about 20 boats,
and there is a western style bar/restaurant called the Oasis which is
outstanding and our yachtie hangout. As for repairs, they are pulling the
steering cable today and have a new one coming in from Dubai; VHF antenna
due in today. In spite of the protestations of the NZ dealer that amateurs
couldn't possibly service the pilot drive, the guy here seems to have fixed
it. This is a $2,500 drive motor and they used plastic gears. One was
stripped causing the problem and the Omanis replaced it with SS steel.
Worked in port. Sea trials when we leave. Keep your fingers crossed. The
Omanis are super friendly and, surprisingly (to us, at least), their English
is the best we've seen in quite a few countries!! The anchorage is quite
crowded and one of the Dubai sheiks is in with yacht, support ship and 3rd ship
with toys. Port control keeps making us poor yachties move so they have
more room to maneuver!! Going to try to do a bit of touring today. There's
a good museum and some archeological sites. Apparently out in the desert we
have Job's tomb and the Virgin Mary's father's tomb. I, for one, was not
aware that we knew who Mary's father was, but it's here, nonetheless. So
far, really enjoying Oman and regret not having more time. Not nearly as
cheap as where we've been but not outrageous either. Nice to have a change
of venue.
Cheers to you all. Will let everyone know when we've passed the danger
zone!!
Tim & Rose
It's been a chock full couple of weeks so be forewarned; this will be a
longy. Writing this at sea four days out of Cochin.
First things first. Our passage so far has been with light winds and calm
seas. Just today, we've finally had enough wind out of the right direction
to actually turn off the motors and truly sail. Slower going than we'd
like, but between the distance and a nasty 1 knot current against us, we
probably do not have enough fuel to motor all the way. So, except when
we're charging the batteries, we are coasting along at between four and six
knots. Only 1,000 miles and about 8 days to go. As it turned out, we burned 900 liters of fuel and good wind the last couple of days saved us.
Second, nothing new to report about Rose. Her condition remains good and
all her blood tests are okay. Her back is bothering her but that has nothing to do with the other condition.
Back to Cochin--It is dirty there. Rose claimed, when we left, that the boat
had never been that filthy. It was very clean when we arrived from the salt
water bashing we took on the way, but that didn't last. It's been nice and
calm at sea, and we can make water to wash with now that we've left so it's getting
better, but it really needs a good pressure washing. So you will no doubt recall there
were several items of repair necessary. Thank God we were at this little
"boatyard" so the men could come and go. Notice the quotes. The yard had a
rough concrete dock and one set of rails to haul boats as well as a couple
of sheds. The place was a wreck as the new English owner had been gone six months, but
he started to get things cleaned up while we were there. The whole
operation was only about 100 feet, if that, wide, but it was separated from
the street by a high opaque fence and actually had a live-in watchman who
sort of came with the place when the new owner bought it. Spoke no English
and locked us out a couple of times and even locked us in one morning when
he got coffee!! It took about three days to get water (well water not
really drinkable but good for everything else) and electricity. What with
the good security, power supply for the refrigeration and easy access for
someone to look after Charlie, we were still glad we chose this place over
the anchorage. Everyone else was across the channel at a place called the
Bolgatty anchorage, on anchor-no shore power, no clean water to make water
and at a "resort" that didn't even have a proper bar. We discovered this
when we met Freebird for Sunday brunch at the resort--allegedly one of the
best in Cochin!!! We, on the other hand, were at Fort Cochi, the tourist
center of the area, and, while it still wasn't easy to find a place to get a
real drink, there were loads of good restaurants, plenty of shopping and lots
to do and see. We were actually on a narrow road across from the Muslim
orphanage (very handy when telling the "auto-rickshaw" drivers where to take
us) in a warehouse district with all sorts of spice markets. Rarely ate on
board as the food was so cheap and good. The auto-rickshaws are sort of
rickshaws with the motorcycle sort of built in. You have to be there to
understand, but they are dirt cheap--about $.60 to the main tourist area
about 2 or 3 k away.
We wanted to do some inland exploring, but, first, we needed to get repairs
underway and sorted out. This proved to be a nightmare. To make a long
story short, surprisingly, there is a big language problem, and I am
convinced that Indians were born short of a full deck. For instance, the
freezer guys kept trying to work on the wrong unit in spite of me showing
them. I almost gave up when I checked on their progress in the engine room
and found they had started to dismantle the SCUBA compressor instead of
working on the freezer compressor. Outboard guys came and swore I had an
electrical problem and they would send an electrician the next day. Next
day 2 more guys show up and tell me they are mechanics and I need an
electrician. Then, when we were away--yes, we did get away--nothing got
done and we were getting close to departure. I became suicidal, but it all
worked out in the end and we got everything fixed for really little money.
The one exception was the VHF. Tried a new connector, but still only have
about 7 miles range (should be 30) which is a nuisance and affects AIS
reception as well. Will need a new antenna in Oman. What are the chances
of that??!!
So, having thought we had everything under control, we booked a trip to
Mysore, site of a huge palace and some other interesting stuff. We, if we
had more time or the inclination, could have done a longer tea plantation,
national park type of thing, but we had pretty much already done that stuff
elsewhere and Rose wanted to see Mysore. We, especially Rose, also like to
take trains so we can see the countryside. The only problem is there is no
direct train from Cochin to Mysore--you have to go about 800 k to Bangalore
then get another train south for 2 hours to Mysore. Loads of security and guys with Uzis as a result of the Mumbai bombings, we guessed. No problem, as we had
air-conditioned sleeper tickets for the 13 hour first leg and first class the
next day to Mysore. It was pretty amusing, but hard on the bottom as the
seats on the sleeper are really long benches with padding about the
thickness of an exercise mat. We took a morning train so we'd have
daylight, but the windows were so dirty and scratchy, photos were
impossible. Then there was "fartman", one of our compartment mates. Holy mackerel!! For
thirteen hours!!!??? They did serve food--not too good, and buckets,
literally, of sweet coffee and tea (cha) au lait--pretty good for 5 rupees a
cup--$.10.
The only rip-off we experienced was on arrival in Bangalore at about 8:30 at
night. We had to spend the night there due to the train schedule. Some
guy, and this is typical all over, approached as as we disembarked, asking
if we needed a taxi. Sure we said, but it turned out he wasn't a metered
taxi and had no clue where our hotel was. While we negotiated the price
down, an hour and 800 rupees later after several stops to ask for
directions, we finally arrived at the hotel--about 15 minutes and 250 rupees from the
station if they knew where they were going. Rose was sure we were going to
be mugged or worse as along the way we took some pretty spooky back roads.
Anyway, the hotel ($30) turned out to be a very pleasant surprise and we
grabbed a quick room service snack before bed. The layout was sort of a
suite thing with 2 bedrooms off a common sitting area. Breakfast, included,
was also via room service and we were fairly leisurely as the train to
Mysore was at 11. We had really great seats and free bottled water on the 2 hour
journey down, and the station was about 15 minutes away from our hotel
there. The Ginger Hotel was one of a chain and a pretty basic Holiday Inn
type place, but it was in a good location and had a legitimate coffee shop
with really good coffees and pastries. The hotel dining was less than
splendid and was all buffet. We only did breakfast and ate out the rest of
the time. I did manage to squeeze in an Ayurvedic massage where they use
tons of oil including your scalp and, in this case, a steam bath afterwards.
This is the only kind of massage we saw in India, and you get, and must
have, a shower afterward. They use sandalwood oil which supposedly has
therapeutic value.
We arrived on a Sunday and lucked out because they light up this palace on
Sunday night--admission free--and holidays only. They use 97,000 bulbs.
Yes, this is a huge palace. So we did that and had some snacks at a place
across from the palace, then back to the hotel to rest up for the big
sightseeing day tomorrow. After breakfast, Monday, we headed off back to
the palace and spent a couple of hours touring it. The rate for Indians is
R20 but R200 for "foreign tourist". Really amazing when you consider this
type of thing was still being constructed in the early 1900's and that the
Rajah or whatever was a fairly minor guy. Man, they had it made. After
lunch, we wandered around and went to the local outdoor market where Rose
bought a bunch of oils, like Jasmine, amber and some others. Used as bases
for perfume and all sorts of medicinal stuff, even mosquito repellent. It
was getting to be a long day, but we wanted to see the art museum in the
same general area and off we went. It was a quick run through and on our
way out we ran into Samile, who solicited us for the rickshaw ride back to
the Ginger. We also worked out a deal with him (it had been our plan right
along to get someone to "show us around") to do a tour the next day. There
is a holy Hindu mountain nearby with great views and a big temple--"one of
the 8 most holy mountains in India" So Tuesday, we did the temple with a
million hawkers around, saw the holy bull, hit the post office and a "real"
grocery store to get snacks for the train trip home, stopped in several
stores looking for the the right kind of wood box for the salon table
(didn't find one), and, finally, went to a real oil factory since the guys
in the market, according to Samile, water theirs down. Bought a bunch more oil. We were done
about 2 (that's when I got the massage) and thought we arranged with
Samile to pick us up for a ride to dinner--he'd done that the night before.
He must have been pissed off that I didn't give him enough money (gave him the agreed amount plus 20%)for the
tour as he never showed up. We never did exactly figure him out as he
always had someone else drive the rickshaw and he just came along. Anyway,
while pissed off about no ride to dinner, the story has a happy ending as
we ordered out for pizza and it was pretty good.
The next day, we took the 11 AM train back to Bangalore--not as nice as the
one on the trip down and a 3 PM train back to Cochin which arrived at about
2:30 AM. We had a nice family in our compartment this time with a cute
little girl and had loaded up on snacks to avoid the train food.
Unfortunately, this one didn't have the coffee and tea guys so we had to
settle for the water we brought with us. Nazar met us at the train for the
40 minute trip home--longggg day.
I've already expounded on being suicidal when, waking the next day, I found
nothing was really fixed. Spent most of that day arranging workmen while
Rose went shopping. I also had 3 parcels coming in via FedEx with parts,
mail and sundries. FedEx has not distinguished themselves this time and has
summarily dismissed my demands for restitution. First they claimed the
address was incorrect resulting in a 2 week delay in delivery. Then they
screwed up with customs--normally yachts in transit are duty free--resulting
in $300 in duties. Then they refused to give me the packages even though
someone was in the office on Friday because it was a holiday. A real bummer
and expensive to boot, but there's very little we can do as DHL has been
equally horrible.
Entertainment wise, we filled the weekend, after finally getting the FedEx
and Rose getting her hair cut and colored even more blond, with a
traditional dance show on Saturday with elaborate costumes and makeup--one
of those must do things. Sunday, Valentines day, we took an all day tour
of the "backwater" so named as it is a series of tidal estuaries about 45
minutes outside Cochin. You take a bus to the boat and are then poled--no
motors--around the channels and lakes and get a traditional lunch which
wasn't too bad, returning about 5 PM. Met some nice people including an
Englishmen with a 70 foot canal barge--definitely need to keep in touch
with him.!!! Monday was provisioning day for Rose and Checkout day for
Tim--takes hours. A final dinner out at a pretty good Italian place and off
we went at 7 on Tuesday. We're back to motoring and the prospects of
decent wind are not good, so who knows when we'll arrive because sooner or
later the engine has to go off and the sails take over. This morning there
was absolutely no wind, but it seems at night things pick up. If we can
just sail 8 hours a day or so we can make it on the fuel we have. Keeping
our fingers crossed. Oh, a final note. A couple of days ago we sailed
right through a school of fish so I thought I might as well put a line out.
Took a while to get a lure set, etc., but I didn't even have the line
deployed before a nice tuna hit it. Unfortunately, once I landed it, I
didn't have a tail noose set and the damn thing threw the hook and got away
before I could tie it down. Probably will update this as we go along and
send it on arrival in Oman.
Sunday Feb 21. Well something had to happen. I've just finished lugging
and siphoning 6 jerry jugs of fuel--we're almost halfway and have about 600
liters left--180 still in jugs, so we might make it as there is no wind and
none forecast for a few days. Since I was already grubby, I checked and
topped up the starboard engine oil--we've been mostly running that one as it
has fewer hours than the other. While checking on a leaking deck shower on
that side as well, I noticed the steering cables were quite loose. This has
happened before and isn't a big deal to tighten. HOWEVER, when I checked
under the helm, lo and behold, one of the cables on that side had broken.
Bummer. What are the odds of repairing that in Salalah. Fortunately, each
side has independent steering so we're okay--just no backup. Keeping
fingers crossed.
Tues. Motor on the autopilot has crapped. Working well enough as I write
to limp the last three days in to Oman, but getting a repair or replacement
is a problem as we're only there 5 days before the pirate alley convoy
departs. On the bright side, we had a 50-100 strong pod of very large
dolphin swim with us today--twice!! Awesome. Also had a green flash at
sunset according to Rose. I really didn't see anything different!!
Thurs. Tired of fiddling constantly with autopilot which doesn't seem to
want to hold a course as the sprocket keeps slipping so the "brain" doesn't
realize the wheel hasn't turned. Whatever--at least I know what I mean.
Anyway, for this very eventuality, I had purchased a "wheel pilot". While
this is designed for a boat about 34% lighter, I figured it would work in
light air and calm seas. It was about 20% of the cost of a full autopilot
backup so I thought it was worth a try. However, when push came to shove,
I was leery about turning it on. Given our luck lately, who knows what
could happen. Hallelujah, it works!! No more tending the wheel. Still
working on getting a new drive unit to Salalah, but haven't heard anything
today and we are running out of time.
As for pirates, there was a "suspicious incident" with a freighter about 150 miles NW of our position around the weekend, so we ran dark and took the radar reflector down for the rest of the trip. This worked okay until we passed near a legitimate ship who, while no doubt having us on radar that close, decided to teach us a lesson and came damn close. After that, we turned the lights back on near shipping traffic. Not that we were paranoid, but about 50 miles out of Salalah, a ship appeared on the AIS receiver (which provides details about the ship, it's course and closest point of approach) which was supposedly only 168 feet, of "other" description and bound for Somalia. The guy was stalking us!!! and our course wasn't the way to Somalia. Are the pirates getting smart and faking being a real ship to get close to their victims? Flashed him with the green laser to get him to move off which seemed to just piss him off and he got to about 1/4 mile off before veering away behind us. This was over about an hour period so we were quite nervous. With the VHF really not working, we had no way to call on local shipping or the authorities to assist us if it had been a pirate.
Okay, just to finish off as this is getting long, we arrived at dawn on
Sat., and check in was a breeze with the able assistance of our Omani "go to
guy", Mohammed. Holiday weekend as it is the celebration of the real
Mohammed's birthday. Our phone number here is 968 977 85179. For some
reason, they've blocked Skype!!! We haven't done much touring as time has
been spent arranging repairs, lugging very heavy jerry jugs of fuel and
cleaning. Good group here waiting for the convoy to Aden--about 20 boats,
and there is a western style bar/restaurant called the Oasis which is
outstanding and our yachtie hangout. As for repairs, they are pulling the
steering cable today and have a new one coming in from Dubai; VHF antenna
due in today. In spite of the protestations of the NZ dealer that amateurs
couldn't possibly service the pilot drive, the guy here seems to have fixed
it. This is a $2,500 drive motor and they used plastic gears. One was
stripped causing the problem and the Omanis replaced it with SS steel.
Worked in port. Sea trials when we leave. Keep your fingers crossed. The
Omanis are super friendly and, surprisingly (to us, at least), their English
is the best we've seen in quite a few countries!! The anchorage is quite
crowded and one of the Dubai sheiks is in with yacht, support ship and 3rd ship
with toys. Port control keeps making us poor yachties move so they have
more room to maneuver!! Going to try to do a bit of touring today. There's
a good museum and some archeological sites. Apparently out in the desert we
have Job's tomb and the Virgin Mary's father's tomb. I, for one, was not
aware that we knew who Mary's father was, but it's here, nonetheless. So
far, really enjoying Oman and regret not having more time. Not nearly as
cheap as where we've been but not outrageous either. Nice to have a change
of venue.
Cheers to you all. Will let everyone know when we've passed the danger
zone!!
Tim & Rose
Arrival in Cochrin, India Feb 1 2010
Hello everyone.
WE'RE BACK ON THE SATPHONE FOR EMAIL, SO PLEASE DO NOT JUST
RESPOND TO THIS OR SEND ANY LARGE GRAPHICS FILES.
I'm happy to report we have arrived safely in Cochin after 1500 miles and 10
days at sea. We'll be here about 2 or 3 weeks before heading south to the
Maldives for another couple (only 200 miles), then it's big bad, pirate
alley. Oooooh!!! By and large it was a very calm passage and, in fact, we
probably motor-sailed in light winds for about 1,100 or 1,200 of the total.
We had the usual pods of dolphin with us part of the way, and, at one point,
Rose is certain we passed a dead body. While large, it looked like an
upside down dead turtle to me, but who knows? Managed to catch what might
have proved a serious problem on the way. The main sheet had been chafing
on itself and no end of trying some kind of chafing protection worked.
Finally, it looked like someone, probably me, had set it up slightly wrong
where it attaches to the boom. In calm seas, up I went on top of the bimini
to work on it. Could have done a better job tying the boom off before I
disconnected the sheet as I took a knock or two in the forehead when it
swung. So in the process of reconfiguring the thing, I found A. it was
almost chafed through in an undetectable spot and B. one of the shackles
holding it had almost worn through. This was especially fortuitous as we
had some really awful weather later on.
So we got in the groove of a passage with 3 hours watches and tan mangement
during the day with naps thrown in to make up for the odd hours of the watch
schedule. After a few days, it all becomes routine. We were able to coax
the Iridium into working and, thus had some contact with friends who had
preceded us on the passage. They warned us about the awful conditions in
the Gulf of Mannar, between Sri Lanka and the southern tip of India. As we
approached Sri Lanka, we finally got some wind and roared across the south
end at about 8-10 knots. Of course as we rounded the corner to head
northwest, the wind died. As this was the eastern side of the dreaded
Mannar, we put a precautionary reef in the main (that's shortening sail,
landlubbers) but were thinking what is the deal with this as we had light
air and were back under motor. Eight hours later, we got our answers as the
wind and waves increased dramatically. At one point with just a corner of
the jib out and the reefed main we were making 15 knots. To get a bit more
comfortable, we doused the jib altogether and "de-trimmed" the main. This
got us down to about 10 knots in 10 foot beam breaking seas and 30 knot
winds. If we hadn't been able to keep on course with these conditions at
least partially behind us and had only 24 hours of the crap, it would have
surpassed the ride down to Tonga a few years back as the worst conditions
we've ever encountered. Rose thinks it was worse because with no radar
below decks we had to spend a lot more time in the cockpit to check radar
for shipping of which there was a lot. The boat looked like it had been
rifled by burglars--tossed is the term I think. The cat even got seasick
and kept barfing after we fed him. Rose was asceered, but I reassured her
we'd been through worse and the boat was just fine--which it was. BUT--it
was badddddddd. Salt water everywhere, waves breaking into the cockpit and
washing machine motion that made it difficult to omove about. Really just
awful. There is no doubt we would have broken the mainsheet and probably
lost the mast had we not discovered the problems earlier. Whew!!!! The
only casualties were a lost fishing line, one teak board from the back deck
and a broken hinge on one of the swim laddrers which the waves had thrown
into the water. Shipping wasn't too big a problem, but a few of the boat
jockeys got their jollies trying to frighten us by running directly at us
and veering away at the last minute. We prefer not to assert our right of
way against 600 foot freighters and most are pretty considerate of our
sailing status. But, there's always a few.....
Post Mannar, we actually had a nice sail a good ways up the coast to Cochin
and arrived at 3:30 Saturday afternoon. That is where we really lucked out.
India is a very bureaucratic country and it usually takes a full day to
check in. Had we been unable to, we would not have been allowed off the
boat until the process was completed on MONDAY afternoon. Fortunately, the
officials seemed to want to get off for the weekend, and there is a really
good local helper guy named Nazar who helped. So we finished with customs
at about 4:30 and Nazar had talked to immigration and found that if we got
there before 5 they would clear us in. Well, we, with Nazar, just made it
on the public bus and accomplished in 1 1/2 hours what is takes most people
a day to a day and a half to get done. We still need to keep the boat in
the quarantine anchorage as Monday AM Customs comes back to take us in to
the Port Captain who gives us permission to move as well as taking our boat
papers until departure. But, we are free to leave the boat. We have new
SIM cards so if anyone want to call it's country code 91 number 984 613
0302. The card cost 27 rupees which at the current rate of 46 to the dollar
cost exactly 60 cents!!!!!!!
Today we're taking it easy and will wait to thoroughly wash the salt off
until we reach the marina/boatyard tomorrow. In the meantime we've talked
to the English owner who is buying us lunch tomorrow and Nazar is due to
arrive shortly to take care of the laundry. He's the "go to" guy here and
will be helping on repairs, getting us fuel and, hopefully, looking after
Charlie while we travel inland.
Stuff that didn't get fixed in Phuket or broke down on the way are VHF
doesn't transmit. I think this was a bad soldering job on the new antenna
connector, no AIS--could be the VHF antenna or lightning damage, engine
driven freezer not cooling--an ongoing problem, jib sun covering torn,
cockpit canvas stitching gone--poor quality thread used in NZ, swim ladder
hinge, instruments don't talk to each other or the repeater at the nav
station, teak board. All in all pretty minor stuff, especially when you
consider we really haven't gone anywhere for over a year.
So cheers for now. We'll get an internet card tomorrow and will send this
then with, maybe a P.S. on our activities today.
Tim & Rose
P.S. The bureaucracy here is nouts. Took 2 hours this AM to pay the port fees and get a receipt for boat docs. Moved over and it was a mission to a sort of dock where we'll have power and water, I hope, tomorrow so we can do some travelling. Took 2 trips and about 3 hours to get an internet card/stick and get it working. It's now 8 PM and still haven't had lunch!!! This is just like something out the movies but okay if you expect it. More on our travels later.
T
WE'RE BACK ON THE SATPHONE FOR EMAIL, SO PLEASE DO NOT JUST
RESPOND TO THIS OR SEND ANY LARGE GRAPHICS FILES.
I'm happy to report we have arrived safely in Cochin after 1500 miles and 10
days at sea. We'll be here about 2 or 3 weeks before heading south to the
Maldives for another couple (only 200 miles), then it's big bad, pirate
alley. Oooooh!!! By and large it was a very calm passage and, in fact, we
probably motor-sailed in light winds for about 1,100 or 1,200 of the total.
We had the usual pods of dolphin with us part of the way, and, at one point,
Rose is certain we passed a dead body. While large, it looked like an
upside down dead turtle to me, but who knows? Managed to catch what might
have proved a serious problem on the way. The main sheet had been chafing
on itself and no end of trying some kind of chafing protection worked.
Finally, it looked like someone, probably me, had set it up slightly wrong
where it attaches to the boom. In calm seas, up I went on top of the bimini
to work on it. Could have done a better job tying the boom off before I
disconnected the sheet as I took a knock or two in the forehead when it
swung. So in the process of reconfiguring the thing, I found A. it was
almost chafed through in an undetectable spot and B. one of the shackles
holding it had almost worn through. This was especially fortuitous as we
had some really awful weather later on.
So we got in the groove of a passage with 3 hours watches and tan mangement
during the day with naps thrown in to make up for the odd hours of the watch
schedule. After a few days, it all becomes routine. We were able to coax
the Iridium into working and, thus had some contact with friends who had
preceded us on the passage. They warned us about the awful conditions in
the Gulf of Mannar, between Sri Lanka and the southern tip of India. As we
approached Sri Lanka, we finally got some wind and roared across the south
end at about 8-10 knots. Of course as we rounded the corner to head
northwest, the wind died. As this was the eastern side of the dreaded
Mannar, we put a precautionary reef in the main (that's shortening sail,
landlubbers) but were thinking what is the deal with this as we had light
air and were back under motor. Eight hours later, we got our answers as the
wind and waves increased dramatically. At one point with just a corner of
the jib out and the reefed main we were making 15 knots. To get a bit more
comfortable, we doused the jib altogether and "de-trimmed" the main. This
got us down to about 10 knots in 10 foot beam breaking seas and 30 knot
winds. If we hadn't been able to keep on course with these conditions at
least partially behind us and had only 24 hours of the crap, it would have
surpassed the ride down to Tonga a few years back as the worst conditions
we've ever encountered. Rose thinks it was worse because with no radar
below decks we had to spend a lot more time in the cockpit to check radar
for shipping of which there was a lot. The boat looked like it had been
rifled by burglars--tossed is the term I think. The cat even got seasick
and kept barfing after we fed him. Rose was asceered, but I reassured her
we'd been through worse and the boat was just fine--which it was. BUT--it
was badddddddd. Salt water everywhere, waves breaking into the cockpit and
washing machine motion that made it difficult to omove about. Really just
awful. There is no doubt we would have broken the mainsheet and probably
lost the mast had we not discovered the problems earlier. Whew!!!! The
only casualties were a lost fishing line, one teak board from the back deck
and a broken hinge on one of the swim laddrers which the waves had thrown
into the water. Shipping wasn't too big a problem, but a few of the boat
jockeys got their jollies trying to frighten us by running directly at us
and veering away at the last minute. We prefer not to assert our right of
way against 600 foot freighters and most are pretty considerate of our
sailing status. But, there's always a few.....
Post Mannar, we actually had a nice sail a good ways up the coast to Cochin
and arrived at 3:30 Saturday afternoon. That is where we really lucked out.
India is a very bureaucratic country and it usually takes a full day to
check in. Had we been unable to, we would not have been allowed off the
boat until the process was completed on MONDAY afternoon. Fortunately, the
officials seemed to want to get off for the weekend, and there is a really
good local helper guy named Nazar who helped. So we finished with customs
at about 4:30 and Nazar had talked to immigration and found that if we got
there before 5 they would clear us in. Well, we, with Nazar, just made it
on the public bus and accomplished in 1 1/2 hours what is takes most people
a day to a day and a half to get done. We still need to keep the boat in
the quarantine anchorage as Monday AM Customs comes back to take us in to
the Port Captain who gives us permission to move as well as taking our boat
papers until departure. But, we are free to leave the boat. We have new
SIM cards so if anyone want to call it's country code 91 number 984 613
0302. The card cost 27 rupees which at the current rate of 46 to the dollar
cost exactly 60 cents!!!!!!!
Today we're taking it easy and will wait to thoroughly wash the salt off
until we reach the marina/boatyard tomorrow. In the meantime we've talked
to the English owner who is buying us lunch tomorrow and Nazar is due to
arrive shortly to take care of the laundry. He's the "go to" guy here and
will be helping on repairs, getting us fuel and, hopefully, looking after
Charlie while we travel inland.
Stuff that didn't get fixed in Phuket or broke down on the way are VHF
doesn't transmit. I think this was a bad soldering job on the new antenna
connector, no AIS--could be the VHF antenna or lightning damage, engine
driven freezer not cooling--an ongoing problem, jib sun covering torn,
cockpit canvas stitching gone--poor quality thread used in NZ, swim ladder
hinge, instruments don't talk to each other or the repeater at the nav
station, teak board. All in all pretty minor stuff, especially when you
consider we really haven't gone anywhere for over a year.
So cheers for now. We'll get an internet card tomorrow and will send this
then with, maybe a P.S. on our activities today.
Tim & Rose
P.S. The bureaucracy here is nouts. Took 2 hours this AM to pay the port fees and get a receipt for boat docs. Moved over and it was a mission to a sort of dock where we'll have power and water, I hope, tomorrow so we can do some travelling. Took 2 trips and about 3 hours to get an internet card/stick and get it working. It's now 8 PM and still haven't had lunch!!! This is just like something out the movies but okay if you expect it. More on our travels later.
T
Sunday, January 17, 2010
Last Gasp in SE Asia Jan 17 2009
Hello everyone.
WE'RE BACK ON THE SATPHONE FOR EMAIL AS OF WED. OR SO, SO PLEASE DO NOT JUST RESPOND TO THIS OR SEND ANY LARGE GRAPHICS FILES.
Well, first things first. Rose's new medication seems to be working extremely well. She's pretty much back to her old self and the pain is very manageable. In fact, my assessment is that most of her pain is now from the bone spur they found in her shoulder and nothing to do with the rheumatism. Rose disagrees and says she still has aches and pains all over--they just aren't nearly as bad. Guess she knows. So, instead of Rose worrying about handling things on the passage, she's actually looking forward to leaving on a 10 day sail. Boy, does this make our lives easier!!!!
Second, I thought I had written after we arrived in Phuket, but can find no evidence of that, so there is a bit to bring you up to date. Starting with damages from lightning: all new radar (fortunately, I had purchased a used system--as they don't make spares for mine anymore--and we smuggled that in from Langkawi. Thailand requires a license to import radar which is impossible to get and the local guy here sold a replacement out from under me), new wind instrument, new stereo, new inverter, new batteries (the good news there is there is not a 6 volt gel cell to be had in SE Asia and nothing else will fit in my battery box. As a result we had to get 6 volt wet cells but that saved me about $2,000. In return for the savings, I have to watch them and top up the electrolyte every so often--no free lunch), 3 new regulators for the alternators, all new nav light bulbs ($50 a pop!!!), repair (Yea!!!!) fairly cheaply the SSB radio, freezer repairs, Iridium repairs (non-lightning related, I think) and, finally, a new GPS receiver. There were also a myriad of smaller things we had done prior to leaving like reconditioning the autopilot motor as it was the only part of my instrumentation not to fail over the last few years, a new heating element for the hot water heater, etc., etc. We are now in pretty good shape and the guys are coming to install the radar and wind tomorrow. We expect to depart for Cochin, India on Tues or, more likely, Wed. for the 1500 mile passage. Should be at sea for about 10 days. The downside of all the repairs is we have to skip the Andaman islands on the way. While beautiful, we're hearing from friends it is an administrative bureaucratic nightmare so we're not too upset.
So, after our last letter, we hung around Langkawi a bit longer than we wanted to get parts brought in. While we weren't doing most of our repairs there, it is a duty free island so we avoided larges duties and taxes and radar prohibitions, etc. in Thailand. After fueling up at Telaga Marina in Langkawi (fuel is about 2/3 of the cost in Thailand, and we loaded up all the jugs, too, as fuel the rest of the way to the Red Sea is expensive until you arrive in the Middle East), the trip up to Ao Po Marina in Phuket was reasonably uneventful, but we were a bit worried as 1. we were hand steering all the way and 2. the batteries were cooked and 3. we had no instruments. Fortunately, the winds were favorable. Our biggest concern was taking a mooring at an overnight stop on the way and the wind and tide made it a "lee shore" i.e. the winds would have blown us on the beach if the anchor dragged. With no radar or GPS for ranging our distance off the beach it was a nervous night. We ran the generator 24/7 on the way up to insure we had power if the batteries completely failed. Oh, I forgot to mention, somewhere along the way up from Penang, we picked up a fishing net on the starboard prop. While we didn't find this out 'til Joey dove on it in Phuket, it created all sorts of problems maneuvering the boat at the Langkawi fuel dock and at Ao Po. Surprisingly, it didn't affect us motoring much, but we knew something wasn't right. We arrived in Thailand on Dec. 19th, checked in the following Monday. Pleasantly, the marina has added a bar/restaurant. While it has a long way to go service wise, the prices and the food are great. We also got a car from our old friend Mr. Morn as Ao Po is in the middle of nowhere. We had hoped to depart by the 7th of Jan., but it was not in the cards with all the work that needed to be done. Joey moved on board at the end of the year when his lease at Boat Lagoon was up and has been doing odds jobs like buffing the hull, changing light bulbs, fixing minor problems generally. Congratulations to him on completing his RYA Yachtmaster on January 2nd. He's picked up a delivery to Singapore that leaves this week which may develop into a permanent job and has a prospect with another boat here. If nothing pans out, he'll head back to Fort Lauderdale for the season there. At least in the states, he doesn't have to worry about work permits, etc. and can flip burgers if nothing else. He's in love--AGAIN--but this one seems normal. Unfortunately she lives in Sydney. He's managed to wreck 2 scooters and roll a car while here, seriously depleting his funds. One of the scooters wasn't his fault. He claims none of them were his fault.
Our holidays were mixed results. Christmas was great. We opened presents and took a leisurely drive down to Royal Phuket Marina to meet Freebird at about noon. After a drink or two on board, we segued to Les Anges, one of the restaurants there, for a really good Christmas dinner with eggnog, a bottle of wine and turkey with all the trimmings. We didn't finish 'til 4:30!!! New Year's was a different story. We decided to go over to Patong Beach for the festivities and were meeting up with Scot Free II and Shirena. Being New Year's eve and it's a long way, we hired a car and driver for the night. The other guys were over there in their boats. Unfortunately, against my better judgment we agreed to meet those guys to see the Simon Cabaret. Now I think there is a conspiracy. Several cruisers have told us what a great show it is, but I believe it's "misery loves company". The captain does not like Las Vegas style revues nor is he fond of lady boy shows. Well this was even worse than I thought. The dancers couldn't dance; half the show was screeching Chinese stuff and it was all lipsinked. They got a zero for six vote from our party--nobody liked it. Post show we walked over to the actual beach and had a pretty good dinner. Only time for one drink. Then to the beach to light these really cool hot air balloon lanterns--there were thousands sent up. By this time it was eleven and the old fart cheapskate cruisers we were with decided to go home. So Rose and I said screw it, called our driver and hoped to be back at the marina for their midnight festivities. It was not to be. We spent midnight in a traffic jam and it took 3 hours for the 45 minute trip back to Ao Po. We did get to see the extensive fireworks out the back window of the cab. I had one drink all night!!!
Or last couple of weeks have been pretty tame. We met a nice English couple at the Marina bar who are in a nearby condo and have gone out with them a few times. They found a killer Italian/Thai place with great food and even better prices. I had a full beef tenderloin dinner--cooked properly rare-- for 90 baht, less than $3. Um, I think I'll be missing Asia when we hit the Med. Freebird took off right after New Year's but Scot Free II is staying another season so we've met up with them a few times. We've loaded up the boat with provisions, especially pork products and Rose has done every possible superstitious thing she could to assure a safe journey--Buddha statues, Monk blessings, etc. Just covering all the bases.
So, Happy New Year to you all; wish us smooth sailing. You'll next hear from us in India or the Maldives, then it's on to Oman, Yemen and the dreaded pirate alley. Our take on that is if we are hijacked, we'll lose a lot of weight which is good and get a seven figure book deal which is even better!!
Cheers
Tim & Rose
WE'RE BACK ON THE SATPHONE FOR EMAIL AS OF WED. OR SO, SO PLEASE DO NOT JUST RESPOND TO THIS OR SEND ANY LARGE GRAPHICS FILES.
Well, first things first. Rose's new medication seems to be working extremely well. She's pretty much back to her old self and the pain is very manageable. In fact, my assessment is that most of her pain is now from the bone spur they found in her shoulder and nothing to do with the rheumatism. Rose disagrees and says she still has aches and pains all over--they just aren't nearly as bad. Guess she knows. So, instead of Rose worrying about handling things on the passage, she's actually looking forward to leaving on a 10 day sail. Boy, does this make our lives easier!!!!
Second, I thought I had written after we arrived in Phuket, but can find no evidence of that, so there is a bit to bring you up to date. Starting with damages from lightning: all new radar (fortunately, I had purchased a used system--as they don't make spares for mine anymore--and we smuggled that in from Langkawi. Thailand requires a license to import radar which is impossible to get and the local guy here sold a replacement out from under me), new wind instrument, new stereo, new inverter, new batteries (the good news there is there is not a 6 volt gel cell to be had in SE Asia and nothing else will fit in my battery box. As a result we had to get 6 volt wet cells but that saved me about $2,000. In return for the savings, I have to watch them and top up the electrolyte every so often--no free lunch), 3 new regulators for the alternators, all new nav light bulbs ($50 a pop!!!), repair (Yea!!!!) fairly cheaply the SSB radio, freezer repairs, Iridium repairs (non-lightning related, I think) and, finally, a new GPS receiver. There were also a myriad of smaller things we had done prior to leaving like reconditioning the autopilot motor as it was the only part of my instrumentation not to fail over the last few years, a new heating element for the hot water heater, etc., etc. We are now in pretty good shape and the guys are coming to install the radar and wind tomorrow. We expect to depart for Cochin, India on Tues or, more likely, Wed. for the 1500 mile passage. Should be at sea for about 10 days. The downside of all the repairs is we have to skip the Andaman islands on the way. While beautiful, we're hearing from friends it is an administrative bureaucratic nightmare so we're not too upset.
So, after our last letter, we hung around Langkawi a bit longer than we wanted to get parts brought in. While we weren't doing most of our repairs there, it is a duty free island so we avoided larges duties and taxes and radar prohibitions, etc. in Thailand. After fueling up at Telaga Marina in Langkawi (fuel is about 2/3 of the cost in Thailand, and we loaded up all the jugs, too, as fuel the rest of the way to the Red Sea is expensive until you arrive in the Middle East), the trip up to Ao Po Marina in Phuket was reasonably uneventful, but we were a bit worried as 1. we were hand steering all the way and 2. the batteries were cooked and 3. we had no instruments. Fortunately, the winds were favorable. Our biggest concern was taking a mooring at an overnight stop on the way and the wind and tide made it a "lee shore" i.e. the winds would have blown us on the beach if the anchor dragged. With no radar or GPS for ranging our distance off the beach it was a nervous night. We ran the generator 24/7 on the way up to insure we had power if the batteries completely failed. Oh, I forgot to mention, somewhere along the way up from Penang, we picked up a fishing net on the starboard prop. While we didn't find this out 'til Joey dove on it in Phuket, it created all sorts of problems maneuvering the boat at the Langkawi fuel dock and at Ao Po. Surprisingly, it didn't affect us motoring much, but we knew something wasn't right. We arrived in Thailand on Dec. 19th, checked in the following Monday. Pleasantly, the marina has added a bar/restaurant. While it has a long way to go service wise, the prices and the food are great. We also got a car from our old friend Mr. Morn as Ao Po is in the middle of nowhere. We had hoped to depart by the 7th of Jan., but it was not in the cards with all the work that needed to be done. Joey moved on board at the end of the year when his lease at Boat Lagoon was up and has been doing odds jobs like buffing the hull, changing light bulbs, fixing minor problems generally. Congratulations to him on completing his RYA Yachtmaster on January 2nd. He's picked up a delivery to Singapore that leaves this week which may develop into a permanent job and has a prospect with another boat here. If nothing pans out, he'll head back to Fort Lauderdale for the season there. At least in the states, he doesn't have to worry about work permits, etc. and can flip burgers if nothing else. He's in love--AGAIN--but this one seems normal. Unfortunately she lives in Sydney. He's managed to wreck 2 scooters and roll a car while here, seriously depleting his funds. One of the scooters wasn't his fault. He claims none of them were his fault.
Our holidays were mixed results. Christmas was great. We opened presents and took a leisurely drive down to Royal Phuket Marina to meet Freebird at about noon. After a drink or two on board, we segued to Les Anges, one of the restaurants there, for a really good Christmas dinner with eggnog, a bottle of wine and turkey with all the trimmings. We didn't finish 'til 4:30!!! New Year's was a different story. We decided to go over to Patong Beach for the festivities and were meeting up with Scot Free II and Shirena. Being New Year's eve and it's a long way, we hired a car and driver for the night. The other guys were over there in their boats. Unfortunately, against my better judgment we agreed to meet those guys to see the Simon Cabaret. Now I think there is a conspiracy. Several cruisers have told us what a great show it is, but I believe it's "misery loves company". The captain does not like Las Vegas style revues nor is he fond of lady boy shows. Well this was even worse than I thought. The dancers couldn't dance; half the show was screeching Chinese stuff and it was all lipsinked. They got a zero for six vote from our party--nobody liked it. Post show we walked over to the actual beach and had a pretty good dinner. Only time for one drink. Then to the beach to light these really cool hot air balloon lanterns--there were thousands sent up. By this time it was eleven and the old fart cheapskate cruisers we were with decided to go home. So Rose and I said screw it, called our driver and hoped to be back at the marina for their midnight festivities. It was not to be. We spent midnight in a traffic jam and it took 3 hours for the 45 minute trip back to Ao Po. We did get to see the extensive fireworks out the back window of the cab. I had one drink all night!!!
Or last couple of weeks have been pretty tame. We met a nice English couple at the Marina bar who are in a nearby condo and have gone out with them a few times. They found a killer Italian/Thai place with great food and even better prices. I had a full beef tenderloin dinner--cooked properly rare-- for 90 baht, less than $3. Um, I think I'll be missing Asia when we hit the Med. Freebird took off right after New Year's but Scot Free II is staying another season so we've met up with them a few times. We've loaded up the boat with provisions, especially pork products and Rose has done every possible superstitious thing she could to assure a safe journey--Buddha statues, Monk blessings, etc. Just covering all the bases.
So, Happy New Year to you all; wish us smooth sailing. You'll next hear from us in India or the Maldives, then it's on to Oman, Yemen and the dreaded pirate alley. Our take on that is if we are hijacked, we'll lose a lot of weight which is good and get a seven figure book deal which is even better!!
Cheers
Tim & Rose
Wednesday, December 9, 2009
Malaysia Fall Dec 9 2009
Hello all.
Well, since our arrival in Langkawi, there really hasn't been anything to report. The
marina is quite full and some other friends have arrived back. I'm not
quite sure what they'll do when another 60 boats or so arrive on the Sail
Malaysia Rally at the end of the month. Incidentally, the Sail Indonesia
Rally was free this year after the debacle checking in for the group last
year so something like 130 boats signed up. Most of them go on to the
Malaysia rally to get up the Malacca straits. While our friends on Scot
Free II have decided to stay another year, there must be at least 40 or 50
boats heading off to the Red Sea starting at the end of the year when the
Monsoon (trade winds) are right. The usual suspects are already organizing Radio nets and convoys for Pirate Alley.
Our plan and the conventional wisdom is to make landfall in Oman and then
sail down the coast of Yemen to enter the Red Sea. I expect there will be
several "flotillas" arranged for further security, but we understand this is
not a problem close to shore. Almost everyone is starting from Phuket and
some are going directly to the Maldives, just southeast of India. We are
planning to go to the Andaman Islands on the way and then call in at Cochin
on the SE coast of India, before making the further 200 mile passage down to
the Maldives. I'm pretty sure we'll go in tandem with at least one other
cat, Freebird, and their friends, The Southern Cross, may also come along.
One of the veterans here tipped us off to locally manufactured cigarettes
(you need ciggies and coke and whisky for bribes) so we picked up 5 cartons
for 13 ringgit apiece--that's about $3.00 for a carton of ten packs. That's
like 1960's pricing.
So, even if you're not interested, because I have nothing much to report, I
thought I would chronicle a typical day here. Keep in mind this is not just
a marina, but mainly a 4 star, maybe 5, resort. The captain rises early and
does email and things like this letter awaiting Rose, the admiral, to get up
around 8. Coffee and breakfast follows, but Rose has sworn off coffee and
eats a couple of pieces of rye toast spread with banana with her tea. Yuk, but it's
supposed to help her affliction. If we're not going into town, I'll do some
boat work. Most recently we've refinished the cockpit table and fixed a
slightly warped leaf. A bit of reading, lunch, then Rose goes to the beach.
They also have a pool, all this for $300/month (I'm going to hate to leave).
Sometimes I go too, and I also just chill out and read or sometimes, rarely,
do some more work. Hey, it gets hot here in the afternoon. I usually find
time for a nap.
Okay, so I wrote the foregoing a month ago and haven't sent it. I was going to bore you some more with stories about the Halloween party, the new wood grating for the cockpit well, repairing the coffee pot, movies on the hard drive, Mr. Din, the car man's problems, massages, etc., etc., etc. However, now I have something interesting to report. On the way from Langkawi to Penang last week where we were going to haul the boat, add a coat of bottom paint and get some general service in preparation for our departure to the Red Sea, we managed to encounter a near miss with a lightning bolt. I know it was a near miss as I was hit once before. The static charge seems to have blown only circuit board type stuff, like the regulators, radar--which I had just replaced on the mast, autopilot brain, etc. etc. No human damage. However, this is requiring a refit of the whole boat including batteries which were getting a bit old anyway and inverter and autopilot course computer and I still don't know what else. Yesterday the 12 volt refrigeration went. A guy might come to look today. Tomorrow is some kind of holiday. And just try to get a serviceman here. I've alerted all the guys in Phuket who are saving time for me, but we need to get basically sorted out here before we can leave. Complicating matters is we're trying to get all the replacements into Langkawi which is duty, and hassle, free whereas Thailand in a nightmare for imports. Also the battery guy here who has AGMs at a reasonable price doesn't have them in yet--next week; yeah, right. Checking with contacts in Thailand to see if I can source them there at an acceptable cost. This, alone, is about two grand!!!! Insurance would cover this, but I'm on the cusp of the combination of deductible and the 20% no-claim discount so I'm eating all the expense. On the brighter side, I'll basically have all new electronics, and every other Ray Marine instrument had already failed so it is likely I'd be replacing the "brain" soon anyway. The batteries were already 4 years old and one had failed so I had a jury rigged system anyway as you can't get 6 volt gel cells anywhere in SE Asia.
So the boat is a pit; we're limping along on electrics and are heading to Phuket ASAP for the holidays. Oh, we really loved hand steering from Penang up here. Haven't done that since the autopilot crapped out in 1999 on the way from St Martin to Tortola. Fortunately, seas were calm and the wind right yesterday. Rose almost mutinied but found out it wasn't too bad. Hah, that's what he thinks !Rose.
The latest Rose report from seeing the specialist in Penang: The doc wanted a limited MRI of some of her joints because the pain hasn't been matching the arthritis, and the blood tests have shown good improvement in the rheumatism. Sure enough, there is only minor damage from arthritis, although they found a bone spur in her shoulder. SO--Rose is on different stuff now. She has one set of pills for the rheumatoid arthritis and another for what they call Fibromyalgia which goes with the other and causes undo sensitivity to pain. Of course, the benefits don't kick in for 3 weeks so we're just hoping this finally does it. Rose will fly back to Penang Jan. 2nd for a final visit and checkup with the doc before our departure.
Ok. That's it. I'm having a fit of depression as I hate when things break and now everything has broken and I can't get the parts or the people to fix it for at least over the weekend. The one bright spot is the electric freezer still works so we have ice!!!!
Cheers and happy holidays from both of us.
Tim & Rose
Well, since our arrival in Langkawi, there really hasn't been anything to report. The
marina is quite full and some other friends have arrived back. I'm not
quite sure what they'll do when another 60 boats or so arrive on the Sail
Malaysia Rally at the end of the month. Incidentally, the Sail Indonesia
Rally was free this year after the debacle checking in for the group last
year so something like 130 boats signed up. Most of them go on to the
Malaysia rally to get up the Malacca straits. While our friends on Scot
Free II have decided to stay another year, there must be at least 40 or 50
boats heading off to the Red Sea starting at the end of the year when the
Monsoon (trade winds) are right. The usual suspects are already organizing Radio nets and convoys for Pirate Alley.
Our plan and the conventional wisdom is to make landfall in Oman and then
sail down the coast of Yemen to enter the Red Sea. I expect there will be
several "flotillas" arranged for further security, but we understand this is
not a problem close to shore. Almost everyone is starting from Phuket and
some are going directly to the Maldives, just southeast of India. We are
planning to go to the Andaman Islands on the way and then call in at Cochin
on the SE coast of India, before making the further 200 mile passage down to
the Maldives. I'm pretty sure we'll go in tandem with at least one other
cat, Freebird, and their friends, The Southern Cross, may also come along.
One of the veterans here tipped us off to locally manufactured cigarettes
(you need ciggies and coke and whisky for bribes) so we picked up 5 cartons
for 13 ringgit apiece--that's about $3.00 for a carton of ten packs. That's
like 1960's pricing.
So, even if you're not interested, because I have nothing much to report, I
thought I would chronicle a typical day here. Keep in mind this is not just
a marina, but mainly a 4 star, maybe 5, resort. The captain rises early and
does email and things like this letter awaiting Rose, the admiral, to get up
around 8. Coffee and breakfast follows, but Rose has sworn off coffee and
eats a couple of pieces of rye toast spread with banana with her tea. Yuk, but it's
supposed to help her affliction. If we're not going into town, I'll do some
boat work. Most recently we've refinished the cockpit table and fixed a
slightly warped leaf. A bit of reading, lunch, then Rose goes to the beach.
They also have a pool, all this for $300/month (I'm going to hate to leave).
Sometimes I go too, and I also just chill out and read or sometimes, rarely,
do some more work. Hey, it gets hot here in the afternoon. I usually find
time for a nap.
Okay, so I wrote the foregoing a month ago and haven't sent it. I was going to bore you some more with stories about the Halloween party, the new wood grating for the cockpit well, repairing the coffee pot, movies on the hard drive, Mr. Din, the car man's problems, massages, etc., etc., etc. However, now I have something interesting to report. On the way from Langkawi to Penang last week where we were going to haul the boat, add a coat of bottom paint and get some general service in preparation for our departure to the Red Sea, we managed to encounter a near miss with a lightning bolt. I know it was a near miss as I was hit once before. The static charge seems to have blown only circuit board type stuff, like the regulators, radar--which I had just replaced on the mast, autopilot brain, etc. etc. No human damage. However, this is requiring a refit of the whole boat including batteries which were getting a bit old anyway and inverter and autopilot course computer and I still don't know what else. Yesterday the 12 volt refrigeration went. A guy might come to look today. Tomorrow is some kind of holiday. And just try to get a serviceman here. I've alerted all the guys in Phuket who are saving time for me, but we need to get basically sorted out here before we can leave. Complicating matters is we're trying to get all the replacements into Langkawi which is duty, and hassle, free whereas Thailand in a nightmare for imports. Also the battery guy here who has AGMs at a reasonable price doesn't have them in yet--next week; yeah, right. Checking with contacts in Thailand to see if I can source them there at an acceptable cost. This, alone, is about two grand!!!! Insurance would cover this, but I'm on the cusp of the combination of deductible and the 20% no-claim discount so I'm eating all the expense. On the brighter side, I'll basically have all new electronics, and every other Ray Marine instrument had already failed so it is likely I'd be replacing the "brain" soon anyway. The batteries were already 4 years old and one had failed so I had a jury rigged system anyway as you can't get 6 volt gel cells anywhere in SE Asia.
So the boat is a pit; we're limping along on electrics and are heading to Phuket ASAP for the holidays. Oh, we really loved hand steering from Penang up here. Haven't done that since the autopilot crapped out in 1999 on the way from St Martin to Tortola. Fortunately, seas were calm and the wind right yesterday. Rose almost mutinied but found out it wasn't too bad. Hah, that's what he thinks !Rose.
The latest Rose report from seeing the specialist in Penang: The doc wanted a limited MRI of some of her joints because the pain hasn't been matching the arthritis, and the blood tests have shown good improvement in the rheumatism. Sure enough, there is only minor damage from arthritis, although they found a bone spur in her shoulder. SO--Rose is on different stuff now. She has one set of pills for the rheumatoid arthritis and another for what they call Fibromyalgia which goes with the other and causes undo sensitivity to pain. Of course, the benefits don't kick in for 3 weeks so we're just hoping this finally does it. Rose will fly back to Penang Jan. 2nd for a final visit and checkup with the doc before our departure.
Ok. That's it. I'm having a fit of depression as I hate when things break and now everything has broken and I can't get the parts or the people to fix it for at least over the weekend. The one bright spot is the electric freezer still works so we have ice!!!!
Cheers and happy holidays from both of us.
Tim & Rose
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
Phuket Sept 2009 Oct. 20 2009
Hello to you all. Some of you really do care and have inquired as to our well being since it has been a while since we wrote. Now you may look on this as whynging, but we look at it as wondering if anyone cares!!!
We are now back in Rebak Marina at Langkawi in Malaysia, having spent an entire month in Phuket. Unfortunately, we weren't sure we were going to be that long so we didn't sign up for the cheap monthly massage, etc. deal at the spa at the marina. Still got our share!!!!
Most of the month we spent working on the boat or arranging for others to do so. Remember, Joe was still on board and, until he fell in with a disreputable South African crowd, did a yeoman's job on the boat. Of course, I have now thrown my list out and Alzheimer's is kicking in (maybe it's mad cow like Denny Crane. I just acquired the original Star Trek series and Rose can't believe it's the same guy!!!), but things like buffing the topsides, fixing lights, changing oil (of course the sail drive that was leaking had to be changed again, as well as engine oil, etc. We even did the windlass) etc., etc. A friend here has advised me that we can fix the sail drive problem by drilling a small pressure relief hole in the oil fill cap. Seems like it is common for heat to build up pressure internally in the sail drive which then pushes oil out the seals. That's okay, but then, when it cool off, it creates a vacuum which sucks seawater in through the seals. The small hole stops this from happening--you just have to put a rag over the hole or when the pressure builds up, it will spew oil all over. I've never heard of this and am getting new seals when we haul out in December, but, should it recur, I will definitely do this as it is a pain to change the oil!! Now this is probably more than you want to know about sail drives, but I'm going to tell you anyway. On the old ones, the only way you could thoroughly change the oil was to haul the boat, which is quite expensive, and drain it from the bottom. You are instructed to do this every 150 hours which would mean 2 or 3 haulouts a year. No Way!! Too many gears to get a vacuum pump in there from the top. On the new ones, however, the geniuses have come up with a pressure system whereby you put a nipple at the very top and another where it goes through the hull, connected to hoses, and use a scuba tank to pressurize the drive and blow the oil out into the container of your choice. Joe had become quite proficient at this, but he stayed in Phuket, and it needed to be done on arrival in Langkawi. Don't want to leave salty oil in the drive. What I neglected to know was you pull the bottom plug first and screw in that nipple before opening up the top. This leaves a semi-vacuum in place for minimum spillage. The way I did it, opening the top, then the bottom allows all the oil to run quickly out and makes putting in the bottom nipple with the hose, while this is going on, almost impossible. Took a while to clean the bilge, but next time...
Our boat status was improved, but not completed in Phuket. Seems the mother board was blown on the radar, but they do not make them anymore. As a major win, the radar guy actually found an old one in the shop. Yes!!! (we believe the coincidence of the board blowing so soon after he worked on it and the fact that he charged us nothing for the diagnostics nor the board, indicate he knew he was at fault) Unfortunately, the mother board took another board with it which, again, they don't make for ancient systems like ours. Finally, we have tracked down the a replacement for about $350 which will allow us to avoid replacing the entire radar dome for $2,000. Some places, namely Ray Marine, say we can't even get a new scanner for our model while others here in Asia say complete replacements are available for the two grand. Nonetheless, as backup, we found a shorter range used system on line, including a display (another thing you can't get parts for) for cheap. Keeping it in reserve, and we'll let you know if our repairs work once we get the board.
Also, the genset wasn't pumping water. We tried everything, like changing the hoses in case there was a pinhole leak, but no dice. One of the great guys we have used there, took off the pump and basically rebuilt it for us for next to nothing. He also custom made aluminum alloy sea water strainer screens for the genset and freezer water intakes to improve flow. We poured acid down the freezer to clean all the crud out so it was working great. Unfortunately, on departure, it all came apart. The genset stopped pumping again, and the freezer pump (brand new) started leaking. Turns out the impeller was bad on the genset--an easy fix, but why? Had another pump for the freezer and not sure why that leaked, but all is well now. Had both the genset guy and the electrician on the hunt for some new batteries but so far, we're having no luck in either Thailand or Langkawi. Fortunately, we're on shore power and only need one 6 volt and one starter battery, according to the electrician, but we need to find them somewhere. That's really good news as we have 10 batteries and they are about $300 each. I was worried we needed a full complement!!
Other boat stuff--got the rigging replaced; reconditioned the jib; did canvas repairs; organized the haulout for Dec. 2, tried to fix a new water maker leak--again not critical as we're on the dock--but I can't find it. The element on one of the the hot water heaters is bad, but we can't find a replacement (110 volt) in Asia. Fortunately, I found a spare on board but haven't hooked it up yet awaiting some info, as an OEM part is $114 for a normally $10 element!!?? Organized a bunch of stuff in waterproof boxes; cleaned, resealed leaky hatches, etc. etc. etc. Also need to get a new dinghy prop and found that the spare from the old dinghy, which was supposed to fit the new engine, didn't. Researching that and hoping for some kind of adapter. Also discovered the almost new BBQ was rusting through. The old one lasted 10 plus years!!! Trying to see what "they" will do about that. Oh, also installed the new brighter LEDs we've had for some time. Awesome. Very bright and they use almost no power. I'm sure there's more, but I'm equally sure you are about asleep if not already!!!
Our social lives were pretty good in Royal Phuket Marina. We got a car for the time we were there from the faithful Mr. Morn. Same as last time. Joey rented and promptly wrecked a scooter which cost him $300 or $400. He, by the way, is in Bangkok finishing the RYA Captain's paper work (seems the guy in Oz was not RYA certified so we're duplicating here, folks) Congrats that he's passing his tests, but brickbats for leaving stuff in his room at the backpacker place. He's now short one IPod and 7,000 baht ($200). We finally went to the Big Buddha, a 40 meter statue on top of one of the hills in Phuket. We found a most excellent western style grocery, got massages, shopped, etc. All in all a good time and productive. A few days after our arrival, a sister ship pulled in from the Maldives with a permanent skipper, Dieter and two crew, all South African. This was unfortunate as we all know what these guys are like--Dieter knew the Voyage crowd--so Joe's work ethic went out the window. There will have to be some major adjustments when he finally gets employed. The plan is for him to return to Phuket and rent a place while job hunting. Wish him luck!!!
Because of the tides, we had to leave Phuket around noon meaning we could only get as far as Phi Phi, about 25 miles out. So the next day we either had to start on two short legs back the 100 miles to Langkawi, or really go for it. Would have left before sunup if we had radar but managed to get off at morning twilight. Fortunately, there was a bit of wind and we made the anchorage at Telaga (where you check in) just after dark. Checked in the next day, although we're still trying to get to the harbour master who seems to make his own hours, and took off for Rebak only about 5 miles away. Pissed rain but we got a break and made it to the slip. Same spot as last time, but they aren't sure we can stay after month end due to another reservation. I really don't want to anchor out with the water maker leaking and battery problem, but Telaga looked pretty full. Will call them next week to see if they can accommodate us. Quite the usual suspects here. Freebird arrived back from the states the day after we got in and Scot Free II from Canada just got back yesterday, but they won't get to Rebak until the end of the week.
Now I know most of you are only interested in the Rose report so I purposely left it until last so you had to read the rest of my drivel. Rose actually flew down to Penang from Phuket to see the doc (one of the reasons we stayed a full month was we couldn't get everything done in time to leave for Malaysia in time to make her appointment). The news is mixed. The doc keeps telling Rose her blood tests are showing improvement but the pain just keeps on. Fortunately, the next appointment is when we will be in Penang for the haulout, and we're hoping that things will improve by that point. Shortly after that appointment we'll leave for Phuket, and points west so we need to get the situation sorted!!!
Cheers from us both
Tim & Rose
We are now back in Rebak Marina at Langkawi in Malaysia, having spent an entire month in Phuket. Unfortunately, we weren't sure we were going to be that long so we didn't sign up for the cheap monthly massage, etc. deal at the spa at the marina. Still got our share!!!!
Most of the month we spent working on the boat or arranging for others to do so. Remember, Joe was still on board and, until he fell in with a disreputable South African crowd, did a yeoman's job on the boat. Of course, I have now thrown my list out and Alzheimer's is kicking in (maybe it's mad cow like Denny Crane. I just acquired the original Star Trek series and Rose can't believe it's the same guy!!!), but things like buffing the topsides, fixing lights, changing oil (of course the sail drive that was leaking had to be changed again, as well as engine oil, etc. We even did the windlass) etc., etc. A friend here has advised me that we can fix the sail drive problem by drilling a small pressure relief hole in the oil fill cap. Seems like it is common for heat to build up pressure internally in the sail drive which then pushes oil out the seals. That's okay, but then, when it cool off, it creates a vacuum which sucks seawater in through the seals. The small hole stops this from happening--you just have to put a rag over the hole or when the pressure builds up, it will spew oil all over. I've never heard of this and am getting new seals when we haul out in December, but, should it recur, I will definitely do this as it is a pain to change the oil!! Now this is probably more than you want to know about sail drives, but I'm going to tell you anyway. On the old ones, the only way you could thoroughly change the oil was to haul the boat, which is quite expensive, and drain it from the bottom. You are instructed to do this every 150 hours which would mean 2 or 3 haulouts a year. No Way!! Too many gears to get a vacuum pump in there from the top. On the new ones, however, the geniuses have come up with a pressure system whereby you put a nipple at the very top and another where it goes through the hull, connected to hoses, and use a scuba tank to pressurize the drive and blow the oil out into the container of your choice. Joe had become quite proficient at this, but he stayed in Phuket, and it needed to be done on arrival in Langkawi. Don't want to leave salty oil in the drive. What I neglected to know was you pull the bottom plug first and screw in that nipple before opening up the top. This leaves a semi-vacuum in place for minimum spillage. The way I did it, opening the top, then the bottom allows all the oil to run quickly out and makes putting in the bottom nipple with the hose, while this is going on, almost impossible. Took a while to clean the bilge, but next time...
Our boat status was improved, but not completed in Phuket. Seems the mother board was blown on the radar, but they do not make them anymore. As a major win, the radar guy actually found an old one in the shop. Yes!!! (we believe the coincidence of the board blowing so soon after he worked on it and the fact that he charged us nothing for the diagnostics nor the board, indicate he knew he was at fault) Unfortunately, the mother board took another board with it which, again, they don't make for ancient systems like ours. Finally, we have tracked down the a replacement for about $350 which will allow us to avoid replacing the entire radar dome for $2,000. Some places, namely Ray Marine, say we can't even get a new scanner for our model while others here in Asia say complete replacements are available for the two grand. Nonetheless, as backup, we found a shorter range used system on line, including a display (another thing you can't get parts for) for cheap. Keeping it in reserve, and we'll let you know if our repairs work once we get the board.
Also, the genset wasn't pumping water. We tried everything, like changing the hoses in case there was a pinhole leak, but no dice. One of the great guys we have used there, took off the pump and basically rebuilt it for us for next to nothing. He also custom made aluminum alloy sea water strainer screens for the genset and freezer water intakes to improve flow. We poured acid down the freezer to clean all the crud out so it was working great. Unfortunately, on departure, it all came apart. The genset stopped pumping again, and the freezer pump (brand new) started leaking. Turns out the impeller was bad on the genset--an easy fix, but why? Had another pump for the freezer and not sure why that leaked, but all is well now. Had both the genset guy and the electrician on the hunt for some new batteries but so far, we're having no luck in either Thailand or Langkawi. Fortunately, we're on shore power and only need one 6 volt and one starter battery, according to the electrician, but we need to find them somewhere. That's really good news as we have 10 batteries and they are about $300 each. I was worried we needed a full complement!!
Other boat stuff--got the rigging replaced; reconditioned the jib; did canvas repairs; organized the haulout for Dec. 2, tried to fix a new water maker leak--again not critical as we're on the dock--but I can't find it. The element on one of the the hot water heaters is bad, but we can't find a replacement (110 volt) in Asia. Fortunately, I found a spare on board but haven't hooked it up yet awaiting some info, as an OEM part is $114 for a normally $10 element!!?? Organized a bunch of stuff in waterproof boxes; cleaned, resealed leaky hatches, etc. etc. etc. Also need to get a new dinghy prop and found that the spare from the old dinghy, which was supposed to fit the new engine, didn't. Researching that and hoping for some kind of adapter. Also discovered the almost new BBQ was rusting through. The old one lasted 10 plus years!!! Trying to see what "they" will do about that. Oh, also installed the new brighter LEDs we've had for some time. Awesome. Very bright and they use almost no power. I'm sure there's more, but I'm equally sure you are about asleep if not already!!!
Our social lives were pretty good in Royal Phuket Marina. We got a car for the time we were there from the faithful Mr. Morn. Same as last time. Joey rented and promptly wrecked a scooter which cost him $300 or $400. He, by the way, is in Bangkok finishing the RYA Captain's paper work (seems the guy in Oz was not RYA certified so we're duplicating here, folks) Congrats that he's passing his tests, but brickbats for leaving stuff in his room at the backpacker place. He's now short one IPod and 7,000 baht ($200). We finally went to the Big Buddha, a 40 meter statue on top of one of the hills in Phuket. We found a most excellent western style grocery, got massages, shopped, etc. All in all a good time and productive. A few days after our arrival, a sister ship pulled in from the Maldives with a permanent skipper, Dieter and two crew, all South African. This was unfortunate as we all know what these guys are like--Dieter knew the Voyage crowd--so Joe's work ethic went out the window. There will have to be some major adjustments when he finally gets employed. The plan is for him to return to Phuket and rent a place while job hunting. Wish him luck!!!
Because of the tides, we had to leave Phuket around noon meaning we could only get as far as Phi Phi, about 25 miles out. So the next day we either had to start on two short legs back the 100 miles to Langkawi, or really go for it. Would have left before sunup if we had radar but managed to get off at morning twilight. Fortunately, there was a bit of wind and we made the anchorage at Telaga (where you check in) just after dark. Checked in the next day, although we're still trying to get to the harbour master who seems to make his own hours, and took off for Rebak only about 5 miles away. Pissed rain but we got a break and made it to the slip. Same spot as last time, but they aren't sure we can stay after month end due to another reservation. I really don't want to anchor out with the water maker leaking and battery problem, but Telaga looked pretty full. Will call them next week to see if they can accommodate us. Quite the usual suspects here. Freebird arrived back from the states the day after we got in and Scot Free II from Canada just got back yesterday, but they won't get to Rebak until the end of the week.
Now I know most of you are only interested in the Rose report so I purposely left it until last so you had to read the rest of my drivel. Rose actually flew down to Penang from Phuket to see the doc (one of the reasons we stayed a full month was we couldn't get everything done in time to leave for Malaysia in time to make her appointment). The news is mixed. The doc keeps telling Rose her blood tests are showing improvement but the pain just keeps on. Fortunately, the next appointment is when we will be in Penang for the haulout, and we're hoping that things will improve by that point. Shortly after that appointment we'll leave for Phuket, and points west so we need to get the situation sorted!!!
Cheers from us both
Tim & Rose
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)