It’s been quite a while since we last posted anything, the end of February in fact. We’d just arrived on Tioman Island with the plan to stay a month then head north. We left Tioman Marina 5 months later!
Some of that time was wasted – trying to find boat parts, then trying to find ways to either pay for said parts, or even get them sent to us.
Some of that time was well spent – once we’d got the parts we set about fitting them and carried out other general maintenance and cleaning duties.
Some of that time was even better spent – partying on Paul’s lovely Lagoon 44 catamaran (the perfect party boat and host!!), partying on Phil’s 70ft Supercat (complete with Philippino band and copious amounts of alcohol!), partying on the deck with Mark’s BBQ doing a superb job of cooking the pork chops (not actually allowed in a Muslim country, but hey!), partying on the.,,, well, you get the picture – we were on a duty free island after all where beer and gin is cheaper than soft drinks!
Most of this time, we were also waiting for the winds to change. We needed the South West monsoon to kick in before we could leave, and this was the perfect place to wait. - the sun shines just about every day and the beaches, snorkeling and company are great.
Just days before we were due to finally set sail we received heartbreaking news. Gareth’s father, Alan, had suffered a massive heart attack. He passed away the next day. We rushed back to NZ and stayed for a month. After a very moving and most fitting farewell to Alan we spent time with Gareth’s Mum, Bev, and managed to catch up with family and friends which was great; to those friends we didn’t manage to see, sorry, it was just the wrong time.
We flew back via Singapore and helped our friend, Ed, sail his yacht to Tioman. It was an easy overnight passage and lovely to be back on the water. Once back at the marina we set about preparing to leave once more and finally set sail on August 2nd.
We said our goodbyes to more new- found friends who have been so generous in their support and friendship, as well as being damned fine people to be around – we miss you already!! With tears in my eyes we motored out of the marina. It was time to head north and cruise the Borneo coast in search of new adventures.
We got a taste of action on our first night of the passage courtesy of the Singapore Navy. They decided to do naval exercises, at about 10pm in the same waters we were. Well, yes, technically, it is THEIR waters, but still… At first we ignored their commands to “alter course to 006 degrees for the next 7 nautical miles“ due to the fact that it pushed us too far north and would put hours onto our journey. But, after being circled several times as they yelled down a load hailer at us, plus the fact that there were more of them than us (we were surrounded by this point!), and they had much bigger boats than us, and were using live ammunition, we surrendered, altered course as requested and left them to it.
Our first anchorage on the tip of Borneo at Tanjung Datu was perfect; no winds or strong tides to push us around, with a beautiful uninhabited beach fringing native bush for our early morning view.
A few hours sail to the next island and we were invited ashore to visit a turtle sanctuary. By day the eggs heat up and at night they hatch while the turtles come ashore, dig huge holes in the sand and lay more. We released about 70 baby turtles, less than a few hours old, into the ocean that night. Smaller than the palm of your hand, eyes not quite open and fins flapping like a wind-up toy they followed the light of the moon and sensed the water, then ran madly towards it before disappearing into the blue – absolutely magic! Our hope is that not all of those we released have become fish food and some actually make it, one day coming back to that same beach to lay their own eggs.
Rather that stop at places we’ve been to previously, we then completed another 3 day/night, non-stop sail to Miri in Sarawak. On this passage we had very special guests indeed – a pod of small black dolphins, which visited us at dawn and dusk each day. They played alongside the bow of the boat for about 20 minutes each time, darting in front of Pelangi while we watched in awe and excitement at such a sailors treat! After hours of little wind and the engine on, within half an hour of our visitors leaving the winds arrived and we had beautiful sailing every night.
In Miri marina we found Ian, a single-handed sailor we’d met in Tioman. He was waiting for parts to be delivered (a familiar story!!) and by the time we’d rested up and enjoyed the sights and hospitality of this small and friendly town Ian was ready to leave too. So, we sailed in convoy to Brunei. On the 2nd day of our journey the wind rapidly built to over 35 knots (v. strong!) and waves of about 2 meters were building behind us. Pelangi surfed the waves at almost 8 knots with just the reefed main sail up and as we turned into the entrance to our anchorage for that night we saw Ian’s boat almost disappear between the waves! We lurched in behind him and once inside a breakwater everything calmed and we anchored in the rain. Next day, all was calm and sunny again as we set sail to our next anchorage just outside the Royal Brunei Yacht Club where we enjoyed a delicious lunch of sirloin steak and chips – a treat we haven’t had in years!
After exploring this interesting city of old and new, and fueled up with cheap (tax free) diesel we headed for Labuan, which has expensive fuel, but tax free booze and chocolate!. Our boat is now perfectly stocked!!
We left Ian in Labuan working on his boat and are now cruising some beautiful islands on the way to Kota Kinabalu where we hope to meet up with Ian later. It was good to sail with company.
It’s just over a year since we bought Pelangi. She’s given us hours of absolute and indescribable pleasure and adventure as well as frustrations and challenges. We’ve learned to adjust to a whole new way of life where we’ve marveled at mother-nature and just how little you actually need to survive. We’ve coped with everything that has been thrown at us including nasty squalls, strong winds and a stowaway. We’ve argued and fought while learning how to live together in a confined space 24/7, work as a team and trust each other in a whole new way, and we’ve made more genuine and generous friends than in the last 20 odd years put together.
Here are a few choice words and phrases that sum up our life on Pelangi so far:-
“Wow, isn’t this amazing, You’re doing it wrong!, The other left, Who put you in charge anyway?, Another day in paradise, Another bloody hangover, I have got to get out of this marina for the sake of my health!, Wow, This place is just beautiful, How much?, You’ve got to be kidding, What the hell have we done, Pelangi speaks to me, I’ll never get the hang of this, How do I get into the dinghy from here?, Why won’t it start?, Where’s the dinghy, it was here a minute ago!, Another drink? OK then, What a sunset, What a sunrise, Wow, When’s Captains Locker open?, What do those lights mean?, What did we just hit?, More shit floating in the ocean, Get another round in before happy hour becomes sour hour (one of John M’s sayings!), Can you stop this boat from rocking for just one second, I love sailors, I love sailing, Where’s the wind?, Engine on – again!, Why is it blowing in the wrong direction?, They didn’t teach us this in Sailing School, We’ll have to do another anchor watch tonight, We’re getting quite good at this, Look at all those stars!, What a perfect anchorage, I love my boat!, There’s always something needs fixing, Wow, we’re the only ones here, Do we have to leave this place?, Was that a turtle?, dolphins, dolphins, dolphins!, This is amazing, Thanks guys for all your help!”
The sudden and very sad loss of Alan is a reminder to us all that life is short and, just as he did, we should grasp our opportunities and live life to the full with the support of good friends and loving families. He didn’t really “get” the sailing thing, he was a true landlubber, but I’m sure he would be proud of what we’ve achieved so far (as he was with all his children) and happy that we’re learning as we go and embracing new experiences.
Who knows what the next 12 months will hold for us but we’re sure that both our dad’s spirits are with us and will keep us safe on the sea.
In ever-loving memory of Alan Williams and Joe Bebb
Captains J and G XXX
