Panang, Malaysia

We took of early for Panang island and found some of the fishing boats we had encountered the previous night. This time we could see their lines and weave between them.

Penang is huge, 20km in length with an impressive skyline. At the southern approach they are building a long bridge from the main land. Amazing to see the workings, must be a huge contract. This will be the second bridge as there is a suspension bridge already.

We went into the Tanjong City Marina which is in the old part of town. Had a local diner for R120.00 for the 5 of us. Diesel here is R4,50 per L!

We wondered around the street stalls and took in the wonderful spice aromas.

While leaving the boat we were approached by a photographer who wanted to take photos of a bridal couple on our boat. We agreed and they were so happy, interesting the photos were done before the wedding ceremony.

We were amazed to see PAC Deneb loading in the port, this was the boat that took Sea Wolff across from USA to Singapore.

The Mallaca straits, very eventfull!

We left Singapore and had a nice calm drive for a few hours. We had to watch out for all the ships as this is a very busy shipping route. Then we had to cope with the fishing boats that have long lines out behind them. We slowed down to see where their fishing lines went and then passed by. That involved checking for floating buoys with binoculars and good eyes. Having all the big ships passing by was quite interesting, especially when they come from behind and are going faster than us.

The next night was fine until 2am when a storm literally hit us. From no wind to heavy pouring rain and strong wind. Rob could see the storm on the radar and while we all kept dry inside he and Harold turned the boat whichever way needed to miss the middle of it. After about 30min we were out of it and the drenched and tired men appeared.

Harold and I took over the watch and Rob retired to bed.....not long after we had to call him.

We were driving into a fleet of about 50 fishing boats. All had bright lights on and flashing red lights. Everywhere we turned there were boats and lines in the water. Some were running nets between them too. We tried to call on channel 16 but no one replied. It was like a bad dream!

We eventually turned back on our track and drove 3 hours back to Pangor Lamut. The sun was rising, what a welcome sight, and we anchored in a bay and all passed out till lunch time!!

Everyone did so well and no one was sea sick.

Once awake we went to the beach for a swim in the 30C water. It was a pretty bay with tall mountains covered in lush greenery.

Super was good comfort food, Spaghetti!

No more night driving.

Stocking up

Today we went to the local 'wet market', to buy fresh meat, fish, fruit and veg. Paid a very reasonable R70 for a kg of Beef fillet. Haven't had good beef for ages so the braai is out and lunch will by fillet and salad. Harold and Kirsten found apples in the market that were from South Africa!

Customs and immigration are coming onto our boat at 2pm to clear us out of Singapore and so after lunch we will start out trip to Langkawi, Malaysia. Should take about 48hours.

Look forward to seeing clear blue water and white beaches again.

Family arrive

Roberts brother Harold, and his children, Kirsten and Alan have arrived. We spent yesterday at Sentosa island and then China town. Sentosa is an entertainment park. The best was the ride there from Singapore island, via cable car. Great views of this very busy port.

The lion is the symbol for Singapore and there was a huge one in the park. Kirten had fun posing with the 'Prada' shop statues. A fun day but very tiring in this heat. Thank heavens for the pool!

Republic of Singapore Yacht Club

Sitting in this Marina has been pleasant especially because of the huge swimming pool they have. It is a very bumpy spot though, as right next to the marina is a busy boat taxi base. The waves from them roll through the marina and every boat bobs up and down.

Opposite us is the Greenpeace boat, 'Rainbow Warrior'. She is no longer in operation and there is a team of folk on board who are preparing her for the new owners. She must have many interesting stories to tell!?

Sea Wolff arrives in Singapore

Well at last the ship is here and we were called to come and off load on Sat afternoon, a day early!

Walking on the ship you see how close all the boats are, literally inches between them. Rob took the opportunity to replace the anodes on the props.

Once the boats are off loaded you can see all all the blocks that were used to support the hulls and the yellow straps that tied them down. SeaWolff was covered in a layer of salt which is easy to wash off. The worst were rust marks on the fibreglass caused by tiny iron fillings falling off the crane when loading. Nothing damaged at all.

And then it was our turn, we had to get off our boat and watch. As they lowered her we were able to climb on again and as soon as she was in the water we were off to the marina.

Yacht Path, the company that did the transporting, were very good and all went as planned.

We now await the arrival of Roberts brother and his children who will join us on the cruise to Phuket.

Republic of Singapore Yacht Club

Today we visited the RSYC to reserve a berth for Sunday night. This YC club is over 100 years old and used to be called the Royal Singapore YC. It has a huge swimming pool and nice restaurant, so will be a good place to clean and restock SeaWolff before our trip North.

Its situated in the very busy East Jurong channel, South of Singapore.

It poured with rain this morning, rather gloomy day, but pleasantly warm.

Getting ready to unload

Well at last the day is nearing that the PAC Deneb bulk carrier will arrive in Singapore. She is expected on Saturday 23rd and we have been told to be at the ship to unload our boat at 18h00 on Sunday.

After trying to do all the paperwork ourselves we were redirected to the ships agent as we 'cannot do the paperwork ourselves' So we are all set and just need to get a pass to enter this busy port by taxi. Very exciting!

So the next few days will be spent sightseeing in Singapore. We found this interesting place to eat dinner. The tables were real car wheels covered with glass. Behind Rob are the 10 most expensive cars in the world. Rob was happy.