Baringo's Blog

We left One 15 Marina early on saturday 4th December hoping for a 4 day trip to Phuket. But  almost as soon as we had received our documents by the fishing net from the immigration authorities a big storm started so the voyage started as it was to continue   all the way to Ao Po marina in Phuket .This was definitely not  champagne sailing rather stewing in some witches brew. Squalls never ceased, the NE monsoon never came , there was only  a NW wind to hinder our passage.

squall ahead

We were trying to sail non stop afer the delay in Singapore but afer an unpleasant first night with ..yes a very wet and windy squall we anchored off the Port Klang estuary for a rest the following  night  5th December. Refreshed after a good nights sleep we sailed on ,occasionally having a pleasant 2 or 3 hours sailing and by dawn on Tuesday morning 7th December we had reached the Sembilan Islands near Pilau Pangkor after another night of relatively successful squall dodging.

fine sailing interlude

It is a wonderful feeling of anticipation when dawn arrives but this  dawn brought with it  a fierce NW gale creating a big sea quite quickly and making onward progress to the NW impossible.We had no choice but to seek shelter  behind Pilau Rumbia along with many of the local fishing fleet and had to stay there until the following morning.

amongst the fishing boats

dramatic sunset after the gale

We set off  on Wednesday morning towards Pinang  and conditions were calmer but still a NW wind . We discovered that the new alternator we had got in Singapore was now no longer charging the batteries but luckily the generator was still functioning so we could continue .That night off the west coat of Pinang was black with squalls and dark eerie cloud formations so all quite exhausting and stressful until dawn which arrived with a total blanket of grey .We did a mixture of sailing and motoring towards Langkawi dealing with the adverse weather as best we could but really decided we had had enough of night sailing and soakings in the current weather conditions . We stopped for the next three nights anchoring off islands on the way to Phuket.

islands on the way to Phuket

sunset on Koh Phetra

In good weather they would have been beauty spots but not for us this time .On what finally proved to be our last day which was already 2 days behind our schedule we started early hoping we would make it to Phuket and after 5 squalls on the way we were alongside in the Ao Po marina by 17.30 having had to wait outside for a gap in the weather to enter. All day the squalls had been  appearing from the NW and in fact had dogged our journey all the way from start to finish . We now have to try and solve the charging problems we have had with the engine ,we both suspect the new ‘green’ wind charger we had installed before we left is interfering somehow .Our fuel ,water and provisions lasted for a journey which turned out to be double the expected length of time ,but it was rather closer than desirable for the fuel. Our calculation of an average speed of 6 knots per hour proved optimistic faced with a strong NW wind and many adverse tides .One (of many) lessons learnt always over provide for everything, and assume nothing . 

Anyway we have made it and are still afloat !

We are still in Singapore enjoying the delights of one15 marina! There is an excellent gym and swimming pool and an enormous shopping plaza just a free bus ride away. We had a cultural day today visiting the National Musem of Singapore which made a pleasant change from working on the boat. We are hoping to leave on saturday morning for Phuket as long as the engineers come tomorrow as promised and all goes according to plan .

One 15 marina in sentosa

We departed on Tuesday morning 16^th November from Shelter Cove with Ah Kau to help us slip the mooring lines. We passed our mooring buoy for the last time and we were on our way .The wind was fair and we sailed towards the Leema islands in perfect weather. We began to feel the strength of the NE monsoon by the early hours of Wednesday morning and had to reef the sails with the increasing wind strength .By the afternoon we were sailing on a furled foresail alone and making over 6 knots .The sea had built and the waves caused a lot of rolling which made moving around difficult and galley work tricky .At one point we were making 7 knots under bare poles but at least we were going in the right direction and Poppy (our auto helm ) did sterling work .These conditions prevailed until Saturday afternoon ,rather longer than expected or forecast but the wind speed gradually reduced and the sea calmed eventually .By Sunday morning sailing had become very sloppy with not enough wind to fill the sails but still a heavy swell so we started the motor and with this the trouble began . The batteries were not being charged, luckily we still had the generator so not too serious for the moment .We had a great day sailing with the cruising chute on Monday, calm sea and no traffic but by the evening the wind had died and we had to motor again in a beautiful calm moonlit evening until at 04.30 on Tuesday morning the peace was shattered by the screech of the temperature alarm on the engine and we discovered that the fan belt pulley bolts had sheared off! John set to work searching for replacement bolts while I honed my light air sailing skills .The first set of bolts sheared again immediately after starting the engine so another set of bolts was fitted and seemed to work, but as the wind had picked up slightly we sailed again with the cruising chute and made good progress without the motor.  By nightfall we dropped the chute but luckily managed to continue sailing, we were not keen to try the motor unless absolutely necessary. The next mishap was one of the main sail battens parting company with the sail via the leech so we had to remove it and nearly lost the starboard lazy jack in the process but it caught on the back stay so we could retrieve it with the boat hook.

The next time we used the motor very cautiously all went well for several hours but curiously when we turned it off this must have coincided with the bolts shearing again so we spent that afternoon shortening more bolts with a hacksaw to fix the problem for the third time. The generator was our main source of power as the demands of the fridge, Poppy the autohelm and the instruments far exceeded the wind generator so we could only hope it lasted the course which it did otherwise this tale might have had a different ending ! The new bolts seemed to work and we loosened the fan belt to reduce the stress on them but the decision on whether to use the motor or save it for Singapore was a difficult one .The traffic inevitably increased on the final stretch south off the east coast of Malaysia on Thursday so needing the security of a functioning motor became more imperative. Of course we had the inevitable squall before dawn on Friday morning but at least it blew us in the right direction.

We reached Horsburgh light about 8.00am Friday 26^th our 11^th day at sea and we needed to get across the southern part of Johor and Singapore before the tide changed at midday. Of course this was impossible but we carried on anyway rather than anchor and wait for the following day just hoping the engine would last as we were using it at low revs. The route to the immigration and quarantine area took us through large numbers of anchored vessels and after the tide turned on cue at mid day our speed dropped rather alarmingly and tidal rips appeared but there was no going back now. We reached the immigration area and called the authorities who appeared in a launch and we handed our precious documents over to them in a fishing net! They retreated to examine them and as each moment passed the tide became stronger making entry to the marina ever more perilous. After a rather long half hour our papers were returned in the fishing net and we could go to the One degree 15 marina on the south of Sentosa island .By this time the tide was really strong around 5 knots pushing us eastward down the Burin channel so entering the narrow entrance to the Marina was going to be difficult. John masterminded a brilliant and exciting ferry glide in, it seemed we were heading directly for the retaining wall but of course we were being swept very fast downstream so we just clipped the up stream  corner of the marina entrance and suddenly we were in calm waters inside, with great relief. By 5.30pm we were tied up with shore power attached feeling quite exhausted as the adrenaline of the last few days faded away. We had seriously wondered whether we would make it at times and might not have done so if the generator had given up leaving us without power and therefore without Poppy who definitely got the helming prize for the journey.

A gin and tonic that evening never tasted so good!  

Sunday 28^th November

We are enjoying the comfortable facilities of ‘One degree 15’ marina, restaurants, gym, Wi Fi and the excellent company of Chris Bance and his family who welcomed us to Singapore .If we did not manage a send off party because of our delayed departure this was compensated for by the arrival welcome! We enjoyed an excellent luncheon at the Singapore cricket club while watching the Ashes match in style and comfort. Tomorrow the work starts again on the boat as we need to get the engine repaired and the batten back into the main sail and all the usual other jobs that always need to be done on boats.

baringo's old buoy (and a good pic of Mischief!)

Sky scape at sea

Squall approaching

This should have been the departure day but it was impossible as we had been unable to process our immigration from Hong Kong on sunday as the Marine department  was closed .But  as the weather forecast was quite rough for monday night perhaps this was a lucky escape ! By monday evening everything was as ready as it could be which as all sailors know is far from really ready ,this seems to be an unatainable goal ! Thankyou to all our friends who have helped, supported  and entertained us over the last few weeks and for all the delicious provisions. Here’s hoping we will be sailing away tomorrow with a good enough wind and calmer seas.

Our preparations for departure on monday 15th November are well underway now but despite having decided the departure date on the phases of the moon some time ago there still seem to be myriads of tiny tasks that remain undone.  Over-staying is risky and the weather window will not stay open for ever, so barring catastrophe we are hoping to leave on schedule. Our first port of call should be Singapore we hope .