Roy’s list of To Dos included troubleshooting the gremlin affecting our port engine; an intermittent starting problem that first raised its ugly head the morning we were leaving Koh Phetra. Fortunately we can bypass the starter switch, but we need a new relay nonetheless. Next up was finding the leak in our helmstation roof which was causing a nasty coca-cola coloured water to splash out from under the rubber trim as we rolled around in confused seas. Turns out the sealant in one of the holes Roy had sealed when we redid the solar panels shrunk, enough to create a small problem; easily solvable, but who would have thought the sealant could shrink to that degree! The rest of the tasks were primarily in preparation for going into quarantine, like running the watermaker to fill both tanks as we’re not altogether sure of the water quality at the quarantine anchorage, wiping certain areas of the ceilings with vinegar where the usual mildew accumulates from time to time, giving the interior a quick cleaning, returning the cockpit to a more presentable state, since the medical team require a clean, dry, outside area to conduct the medical examinations and COVID-19 tests and completing the last of the documentation for the officialdom process tomorrow.
In between all this activity Elaine also reviewed the cruising guide for the Phang Nga Bay area to give us some idea of a cruising itinerary after our quarantine period, but was in desperate need of a nap by then. Fortunately she felt a little more human afterwards, awakening to our freshly baked “we got here treats”; choc-chip chocolate muffins for Elaine and raisin and orange zest hot buns for Roy. Yummy!
The evening showers and thunderstorms arrived like clockwork, giving Paw Paw a lovely fresh water rinse. We’ve even managed to collect a few buckets of water to clean the heads (aka bathrooms).
Our day ended with a family Zoom meeting, but, unfortunately, since we’re on data roaming via the Malaysian cell phone provider, our data is limited and, therefore, curtailed our participation. Regardless, it was lovely to see everyone.
Guess we had a day of rest from sailing, but little else!
Fortunately, although we had extremely confused seas with a horrible swell on the beam, the wind picked up around 0730, allowing us to motor-sail the rest of the day at speeds of anything from 6 to 7 Kts. It was close to 1100 by the time we reached Koh Phi Phi, made famous by “The Beach”, starring Leonardo DiCaprio, and our intended anchorage for tonight. However, we decided to press on instead and, by 1530, we were anchored off Koh Nakha Yai, a stones throw from the quarantine anchorage, where we have to report at 0700 on Monday morning. Shaving a day off our sail allows us to enjoy a well deserved rest day tomorrow and get Paw Paw ready for any inspections, etc. We were surprised, however, to find other yachts and “gin palaces” in the anchorage, given that we’ve been the only yacht in every anchorage thus far and the only yacht we’ve seen out and about since entering Thai waters.
As our sail progressed northwards, though, not only did the seas start to settle, but the scenery became increasingly beautiful with the most striking monoliths, jungle-clad limestone islets and tropical paradise islands, surrounded in turquoise waters, but, best of all, the temperatures cooled, making life a little more comfortable onboard.
We did, however, have to maintain a constant lookout and navigate between the numerous fishing pods, which were extremely difficult to see at times, given the colours of some of the flags which were camouflaged against the colour of the water.
Regardless, it was another wonderful day of doing what we love!
Due to the light wind and having to work our way through the usual fishing nets and pods, we motored initially, but by 0730 we were able to hoist the main and unfurl the headsail, which allowed us to motor-sail on a reefed main, due to the numerous squalls in the distance, and a reefed headsail, so we had an unobstructed view ahead to manoeuvre around the fishing nets and traps.
The further north we sailed the more numerous the limestone monoliths became, making for some stunning scenery. Add the flocks of birds we saw everywhere and the absence of garbage strewn across the beautiful deep blue waters and we knew we’d entered a completely different environment to that which we’d experienced since leaving Australia in July 2019.
The sight for the day, however, was the blooms of pink jellyfish we saw floating passed us as we headed to our next anchorage for the night, Koh Lanta, apparently a normal occurrence for this time of the year. However, we understand from some research that the experts at the Department of Marine and Coastal Resources (DMCR) are not exactly sure what species of jellyfish, within the Pelagiidae family, they are, but information indicates they are considered venomous and are best avoided, especially considering their tentacles. If stung, the suggestion is to pour vinegar on the wound, which helps relieve the pain and then seek medical help. The local name for these jellyfish, actually translates to “red jellyfish”.
Although we had a showery morning, fortunately no squalls passed over us and by midday we were able to sail on and off as the wind picked up. Being able to motor-sail in between certainly helped give us a boast, nonetheless. By 1300 we’d anchored off the southern end of Koh Lanta as yet another rain shower passed to our starboard side, had some lunch and went for a nap; all the early starts and sailing days had clearly caught up with us, to the point that Elaine forgot to take photographs of the very picturesque island.
Feeling a little bit more refreshed, our tasks for the remainder of the day included oiling the furler clutch, lubricating the weather-guard zips and washing under all the floorboards, which we managed to complete just as an evening thunderstorm paid us a visit. We’ll definitely be putting down the cockpit side-shirts far more frequently than we normally do at anchor.
Our route along the channels and passed the “Hole in the Wall” was very picturesque, easing us into the reality of leaving Malaysia and heading to pastures new. After a year of enduring various levels of lockdown and then all the rushing around, uncertainty and upset, it all felt a little surreal. It was just over a year ago that we had our visas for Thailand and we were en route via a quick pitstop in Rebak Island Resort and Marina to drop off Justine and Paul, after they’d spent a few weeks aboard, when all the international borders started to close due to the pandemic and we were marooned on a private tropical island with a few cruising friends, monkeys and monitor lizards for company.
Yesterday, however, with the wind on the nose as forecast, we motored the short 20NM to our first island in Thailand, Koh Tarutoa. By 1500, we’d dropped the hook in a beautiful calm bay after working our way through a myriad of fishing nets and pods, but having dolphins pop over to greet us was simply perfect!
Soaring sea-eagles and the distant putt-putts of the fishing boat engines, as we sat out on our “dog beds” on the trampoline, topped off a fabulous day at sea. We could not remember when last we’d sat up front on our “dog beds”, given the fact that we had to haul them out from the port forepeak cabin.
Today, with the one-hour time difference, the sun was up bright and early and so were we. After breakfast, we weighed anchor around 0700 and prepared ourselves for another day of motoring. With the ominous looking squalls on the horizon, we decided not to motor sail, although this was a possibility for an hour or so as we rounded the northern end of Koh Tarutao. For the rest of the morning we dodged a few squalls and remained surrounded by scattered showers, but reaching our chosen anchorage for the night, Koh Phetra, not only had us in awe of the spectacular limestone cliffs, but we received our first Thai experience.
On our approach we noticed numerous fishing boats anchored off the island, but as we closed in at around 1300, they all weighed anchor and started driving around in rather erratic patterns. It was completely inexplicably until we were amongst them; besides being really friendly and waving to us, we realised they were actually scooping out giant pink jellyfish, as these were flung through the air into the fishing boats. There must have been some or other special environmental condition or a certain time of the day this could occur because the foray didn’t last long and, before we knew it, we were alone in a lovely anchorage, in front of a small white sandy beach, below towering cliffs, similar to all the surrounding seascapes we’d seen on our sail, of scattered, tiny islands and islets of sheer cliff faces, topped with lush green vegetation. It was like nothing we’d ever seen before. Beautiful!
However, we also discovered that Koh Phetra is an important bird’s nest collection point. At first Elaine had misunderstood the information she’d read, but then realised it’s a place that provides the essential ingredient for the “nectar of the gods”, once exclusively consumed in China by monarchs looking for eternal life; Bird’s Nest Soup, considered a dish of royalty that has a reputation that far exceeds its subtle flavour and is, today, one of the most expensive dishes served anywhere in the world.
Research revealed, though, that bird’s nest collectors have been climbing cliff faces and caves for hundreds of years. Barefoot and with a flashlight on their heads, they tie themselves to a rope, then move up and down the rock face to harvest the nests. We think this is a delicacy we’ll definitely just skip, though!
After breakfast, the day started to take an unpleasant turn as Roy’s first attempt at clearing us in from Penang to Langkawi didn’t go well when he was turned away by an obnoxious individual because he was wearing shorts; this has never been an issue, since dress code has always been reserved for the woman, who know to cover their knees and shoulders as a sign of respect, something that was definitely not reciprocated on this occasion. Anyway, that resulted in Roy having to dinghy all the way back to Paw Paw, change and try again. Elaine, on the other hand, was delighted to enjoy her first dinghy ride in 10 months and the views from the patio of the Royal Langkawi Yacht Club in a clean, comfy seat, with a cool breeze to keep the sweat at bay. Afterwards, a short walk secured the most important provisions we still needed, saving the best for last; booze, biltong, boerewors and droerwors, including two bottles of Laphroaig whiskey and a bottle of Jamesons. A second trip secured the wine and champagne, the latter in anticipation of a well deserved celebration. Roy was one happy bunny!
Fortunately Craig, off Il Sogno, saved Elaine a dinghy ride to drop Roy ashore, after Craig collected Roy instead and they both headed off to the local hardware shop for a few last minute bits and pieces, providing Elaine with some breathing space to tidy up Paw Paw and have a wee nap in the cool breeze of the cockpit.
Our day ended with a few cold beverages enjoyed in the company of Craig, who came aboard for a quick visit, followed by “boerewors on the braai” and topped off with some stargazing on the trampoline. Falling asleep while watching the stars through our hatches, was the confirmation that our sailing lifestyle was back at last!
On Monday we were up before dawn to get ready and head to the immigration office to request a visa extension on medical grounds, given that Elaine still had three outstanding appointments back in Penang and letters from both the doctor and the Irish Embassy explaining her conditions, the need for monitoring and her exposure risk to COVID-19 being immunocompromised. After some deliberation with the immigration officer and consultation with the Senior officers, this request was flatly denied with an explanation that: “You need to get your medical treatment in your own country”. There was absolutely no compassion for the danger Elaine would be placed in having to take a flight anywhere, but the appalling aspect was that they gave us a 30 day special pass for yacht repairs to be undertaken when Paw Paw would be hauled, the second justification we had given for our request. While we hadn’t expected to receive any extension or the 30 day special pass, in light of the prevailing attitude towards foreigners, the upsetting aspect was the fact that an extension was awarded for a yacht, rather than for the well-being, health and safety of a person. Elaine had never felt so devalued as a human being by a collection of individuals who would claim to be decent human beings. Afterwards, when the officer inquired as to whether or not we would be flying out of Malaysia and the reply was: “No”, she then asked: “Where will we go?” at which time Elaine looked her straight in the eyes and calmly shrugged her shoulders nonchalantly; there was no way in hell that Elaine was going to let them off with facing the reality of their decision, although we’d already made prior arrangements to enter Thailand, the shock written all over her face! With that, we paid for our special pass so as not to incur any penalties on departing Malaysia on an expired visa and left!
Not only was it an upsetting day for us, it was difficult to see people in tears or distraught with anxiety when they didn’t even receive the special pass, but had to leave Malaysia by no later than today or face various consequences, which ranged from fines to imprisonment to being blacklisted. It all seemed so unnecessary and unfathomable after being so gracious in their hospitality up until a week or so ago.
We had small blessings to concentrate on regardless, though; our watermaker was working, the agent in Thailand had all the documentation needed to apply for our COE (Certification of Entry) and we had a confirmation date and time of arrival to be in the quarantine anchorage on 26th April 2021 at 0700.
Yesterday was another hive of activity as the approved documentation for our COVID-19 medical insurance arrived, together with the detailed cost breakdown, which was €1000.00 cheaper than previously quoted, since other yachts would be processed on arrival at the same time as ourselves, as well as all the information we needed for the quarantine. Craig also happened to be passing by in his dinghy at the perfect time to give Roy another ride to shore to purchase a new lifering and take another trip to the hardware store. After Elaine collected Roy, we made one last trip to the grocery store; this time for all our fresh produce. A light dinner was enjoyed ashore later, followed by a phone call to Elaine’s sister in Ireland. Then, just before bedtime, we received the final document we needed from Thailand; our COE which was definitely worthy of a “victory” dance around the saloon. Our circumnavigation was back on course and we were heading to pastures new!
After clearing out at the Harbour Master, Customs and Immigration first thing this morning, this time covered from head to toe in clothing, as we’d been informed by other cruising friends that they’d been thrown out for wearing sandals, it was goodbye Malaysia. Receiving a “speech” from one immigration officer who was informing us that it still ok to clear out today as this was the mandated date for all foreigners on an expired visa to leave, created confusion and surprise when we informed him we had a special pass. The look of surprise and disbelief on his face was evident when he replied: “So you’re leaving today?”, followed by: “You have permission to enter Thailand?”, was priceless! In fact three different officers asked us the same questions; don’t think they could quite believe there ears. We were leaving without using our special pass!
After a fabulous time in Malaysia, excluding the various levels of lockdown, it was such a shame that we were forced to leave Malaysia under these circumstances, but who are we to question why!
While Roy washed the decks, thankful for the help from Mother Nature, Elaine completed the last of the items on our pre-sail checklist. With each step, including the removal of the tarps, which had been covering the saloon windows, Paw Paw came to life. What we suddenly realised is that we’d been living in a cave of sorts to keep the baking heat out. It was wonderful to have all the light back in our home and even better to have our full galley countertop back once the portable air-conditioner was removed. A top up of the water tanks, a top up of our fresh produce and settling the bill at the marina office completed the To Dos. By 1230 we had cast off the dock on the rising tide and we were heading north.
Still exhausted from the mayhem we were, nonetheless, delighted to be out of the marina and sailing again, although it was hard to believe 10 months had passed since our last sail. Our hope, however, is that this is the first leg in restarting our circumnavigation and that we can get back on course; we’ll know more by the start of next week. In the interim all we can do is enjoy each day until the final cards fall and yesterday that included a nice donder up the west coast of Peninsular Malaysia to our anchorage for the night off the idyllic Bidan Island.
It was, of course, idyllic until a fleet of squid fishing boats arrived and started their generators to power their bright green lights. Then, at midnight, diving out of bed with a howling 33.5 Kts of wind screaming through the anchorage, as squall after squall passed over us. It was 0230 before we crawled back to our beds, but we’d barely got settled when we turned side-to and the boom started clonking around. With a huff and a puff Roy got back up to secure it, coming back to bed muttering: “2:30 in the morning teething problems”.
Amongst these teething problems have been remembering how to use certain functionality on our instrumentation, like how to reset the cross-track error, resetting up all our alarms for high wind alert, shallow water alert, etc, and remembering what a great core workout sailing gives you. All things considered, though, we haven’t done too badly; it was just a case of getting back into old habits.
However, by this morning, it was starting to feel like a “baptism by fire”, sailing into the wind, fortunately a light wind, but in very uncomfortable lumpy seas, which had us bouncing over a horrible ground swell. Fortunately, by 1000 the wind had come around a little bit, so up went the mainsail. Feeling brave, we then unfurled our new, larger head sail to see how that faired reefed in a beat, all of which, at least, allowed us to motor-sail. We also knew we were in deeper water when the Andaman Sea changed from shades of jade to a deep navy blue, under sunny skies.
By 1530 we were anchored off Kuah on Langkawi Island. In the months we’d been away the beautiful new mosque on the waterfront had been completed and we had the pleasure of seeing a friendly face we knew; the South African, Chris, off Trigger, whom we first met in American Samoa in 2016. After a quick dinghy ride over to Trigger, Roy was able to glean a bit more information on the appeals process at the Langkawi Immigration Head Office, which was very helpful. For now, we’re happy to enjoy a quiet evening on board, at anchor, in the fresh air, topped off with a stunning sunset, our first in 10 months, but five minutes with a fellow South African and Roy’s drinking a “rum and coke”!
This, after we’d just tried on Sunday to reschedule our appointment to a later date, but ended up having to cancel it, not only because no other slots were available, but because we’d received a notice sent out to all cruisers to remain calm and that the Malaysian cruising sponsors were preparing documentation of all yachts stranded in Malaysia and would be meeting with immigration on Tuesday, as well as receiving advise from one of the sponsors that without an official announcement and attending an appointment without an agent “would be a waste of time”. This advise turned out to be very wise and accurate based on the experience of other individuals who had attempted to seek clarification at various immigration offices.
With that, more hectic days unfolded as we scrambled to get our ducks in a row, but trying to work in the baking heat and humidity was absolutely brutal. Although we were both up early on Sunday morning, when temperatures were somewhat cooler, to get a start on all our preparation activities planned for the day, by noon we were exhausted, not to mention, completely drenched in our own sweat. Afterwards all we could muster was a nice cold shower and a nap in the coolness of our air-conditioned saloon.
The day started with Roy scrubbing the decks, while Elaine cooked breakfast, following which we finished cleaning the cockpit and transom areas together. Next tasks were to run both engines and ensure the gears engaged as expected, test all the instrumentation and then haul our new headsail around to the trampoline, from where it had sat in the cockpit since last September, but now needed to be installed. First, however, the new furler drum had to be fitted, along with the new furler line. Getting the sail up was the bit that nearly killed us both off and emphasised the fact that all this sitting around in marinas for more than a year has resulted in our cardio fitness levels being basically nonexistent. It took us forever to get it up, given the number of breaks we both needed, as Roy winched and Elaine fed the boltrope into the furler track. Our efforts were well worth it, though, as we had our seating area in the cockpit back and we had completed a number of tasks needed before any departure could take place, but when Elaine hauled out the cruising guides, we definitely knew a departure was eminent. Roy, however, still mustered up the energy in the afternoon to bake Elaine muffins, which definitely went down like a treat!
First task of the day on Monday was to reschedule Elaine’s appointment on 28th April to a much earlier date. Thankfully an appointment was available for yesterday. Then while Elaine took stock of all her medications we had onboard and prepared for her final rheumatologist appointment, Roy prepared the dinghy and took it for a drive around the harbour area. Afterwards we both got stuck into clearing out the starboard cabins, which had basically become “dumping grounds” over the months and stowed everything back in its original place, including packing away all the tools, returning all the cushions to cockpit, putting the flagpole back up, clearing and sorting out our cupboard that stores all our domestic cleaning products and toiletries, etc.
Once that was all done, provisioning started in earnest and continued all week, including sterilising everything before stowing and getting the butcher at Sam’s Groceria to deepfreeze our meat purchases.
As confusion and conflicting messages came out from the various embassies, we kept plodding along; dive tanks were dropped off to be filled, all the initial paperwork required for entry into Thailand was completed and submitted and our spare jerry cans were delivered.
By Monday night, the official announcement eventually arrived providing us with a week’s notice to depart the country. This was certainly not the way we thought we’d be leaving Malaysia, but we can’t help pointing the finger at the embassies either, who were clearly asleep at the wheel.
By Tuesday morning our plan of action was in full swing, including early morning emails to the agent in Thailand to bring our entry date forward, scheduling appointments at the immigration office in Langkawi as an attempt to obtain some extra time in Malaysia and preparing all the additional documentation required for that, getting dinghy fuel and obtaining police permission to move Paw Paw to the Langkawi archipelago, the latter a fiasco, although we attempted to ensure we had all the documentation requested and copies thereof. Guess you know what comes next; yep, the one document we didn’t have a hardcopy of, was the one they wanted and refused, not only to accept the electronic confirmation, but to print the document for us, resulting in Roy having to come all the way back to the marina office, get it printed and return to the police station. Fortunately the housing for fuel filters required for the redesigned fuel polishing system arrived, along with the spare battery water.
Yesterday started out the same way; early morning start for Roy to get more dinghy fuel, complete the last of our provisioning and start getting the running rigging in order, while Elaine headed to the hospital for her back-to-back appointments and collected her supply of medications. To take a break from the mayhem, lunch was enjoyed at the Nomiya Japanese restaurant before Elaine completed the last of the paperwork required for our appointment with immigration in Langkawi, printed out all the additional documentation received from the agent in Thailand and installed all our safety equipment on deck, while Roy filled the water tanks and spare jerry cans, stowed the dive tanks, replaced our windlass controller, which decided to develop a last minute issue for some obscure reason and checked all our navigation lights and anchor light. Elaine’s return Grab ride from the hospital, though, was definitely not an experience she needed; with Ramadan started, her driver actually fell asleep at the wheel. Needless to say, Elaine was not amused and insisted he turn up the fan on the air-conditioning temperature as well as continued to chat to him until she was back safely in Straits Quay.
Spooked by the experience, Roy then accompanied Elaine today to her final appointment at the Gleneagles Hospital, from where we headed to the mall for some last minute shopping and purchased a gift for ourselves, as a reward for all our hard work over this past year. We, however, first enjoyed lunch at our favourite Dim Sum restaurant before returning to Paw Paw to complete our final preparations. These, of course, included yet another fiasco of trying to clear out. While we had managed to have lunch, complete all our shopping and get back to Paw Paw before 1400 after leaving the hospital just after noon, by 1500 we were still messing around with inadequate computer systems to get our clearance from the harbour master and we hadn’t set foot in customs or immigration yet. Fortunately the marina office was able to assist us and by 1520 we were at immigration, but, if neither of us end up with COVID-19 after that visit, it will be a miracle; there were cargo ship crew members everywhere. Next stop was customs and by then we were truly over all the officialdom and mountains of paperwork, but we still had another mountain of it waiting for us; the next pile of documentation from the agent in Thailand. All we kept imagining were the number of trees that were being sacrificed for this bureaucracy. Our day ended as it started; busy. Once we’d cleared out of Penang and back on Paw Paw, Elaine got the laundry done, but using the marina’s facility, as it was just easier by this stage, before having a nice hot shower and settling down to complete the additional documentation for Thailand, while Roy remarked our chain, since our new windlass controller doesn’t have a chain counter. It was well past midnight before we both flopped into bed, exhausted, but delighted we’d got everything done.
While this week has been extremely stressful and not what either of us wanted or needed, not to mention, how exhausted we both are right now, the bright side is that we get to go sailing again, even if it’s only as far as Langkawi initially and seeing the entrance to Straits Quay mall, as well as the Gurney mall, beautifully decorated for Ramadan, was a lovely surprise!
