At 8.00am on 28th June the travel lift picked up
Pelangi, took her off the concrete blocks she’d been sitting on for 69 days and
carefully lowered her back into the water.
When we hauled her out we thought we’d be a few weeks in the
boatyard then on to a safe anchorage while Gareth undertook a few new
assignments and I went back to the UK to visit my family. A quick sand down, slap on a few new
coats of anti foul and she’d be right for another few years. However, close inspection of the hull
revealed blistering that needed serious attention. Plus some rudder repairs were in order. So, armed with some heavy duty grinding
and sanding equipment G set to in 40 degree heat to take her back to bare and
start the repair process.
We left her to “dry out” and G headed to Malaysia’s interior
and Hong Kong while I went on to the UK for some long overdue “family time”. Our Bev and Neil are still running
their fantastic Guest House (Sampson Barton – or Sammy B’s to us) in beautiful
North Devon and Mum lives with them, but is kept clear of the guests as she is
getting a bit absent minded (shall we say) in her old age!. I was really lucky to have great weather
the whole time I was there so was able to take Mum on days out to the beach and
long drives through the rolling countryside and over the moors of Exmouth.
With guests fed and watered for the day we also had the
chance of a few family days out to traditional cobbled stone villages and yummy
pub lunches as the seaside. Laura
managed a week end visit to Sammy B’s and at the end of the trip I was able to
spend 3 days in London with her and meet her fab flat mate Bridget and hunky
new boyfriend Dave. On my last
Sunday Laura, Dave and I caught up with my old Wellie friends Nyki and Mat who
been living in London for a few years now. We met them on Hampstead Heath on a schorcher of a day and
ended it drinking Pimms in a local pub beer garden. Mat assures me that he reads all my blogs, so a
questionnaire will be sent to you Mat in 6 hours on the content of this post!!
It was fantastic to see my wonderful family again and
heartbreaking to leave them, but then it always is!! After a 3 day trip back G was waiting at Kudat airport which
made it a bit easier. Although
Pelangi was still in a grotty boatyard with the same concrete block and step
ladder to negotiate it was great to be back on board. With all prep work done we set about getting the anti foul on
and getting her spruced up for a re launch. I varnished the companionway and stairwell and gave the interior
a few licks of paint to brighten her up and she was ready to go.
We stayed in Kudat a few extra days as there was a Sunset
Music Festival being held on the Tip of Borneo. We’ve actually sailed round here and it’s a fantastic spot
with a gorgeous, long white sand beach just before the headland, then the sea
crashing on the rocks at the actual tip.
A stage had been built on which the KK Philharmonic Orchestra played and
accompanied most of the performers.
The youngest was an 8 year old violinist whose feet couldn’t even touch
the ground – cute! The festival
was great with music ranging from classical to folk to jazz to contemporary and
the setting was perfect. A great
night out and definitely worth hanging back for.
Since then we’ve slowly made our way back down the Borneo
coast. When I checked our log we
made this passage 11 months ago on our way up to the Philippines, so some of
the anchorages were familiar. We
did find a beautiful spot on Gaya Island off Kota Kinabalu which we hadn’t seen
before. A sheltered golden sand
bay with fringing reef and very nice resort ashore. We went over for dinner one night and got spoilt by the
friendly staff and lovely food.
From there we re visited Tiga Island, a remote and deserted place which
is only a few hours from the duty free port of Labuan. We stocked up today so we can leave
tomorrow for the dry state of Brunei with plenty of liquid refreshments on
board, so the sundowners can continue!
We also have a few friends there who we’re looking forward to meeting up
with again.
So with our first haul out experience under our belt and
Pelangi gliding swiftly through the water with her new bottom we look forward
to new and good times on the water.
For those of you interested, or who might be visiting the UK
any time soon Sammy B’s link is always on the bottom of this blog. You’d be made very welcome and would
definitely put on a few pounds after all that country fayre!
Cheers then
Captns J and G XXX
