Four years ago today we signed a piece a paper that would
change our lives forever.
We’d completed (and passed) our IYT skippers course, we’d
been out on a sea trial on a lovely 37ft foot yacht called Pelangi, and today,
4 years ago we signed the sales agreement that would make her our own. A lot of water has passed under the
bridge (and under her hull) since that day. Some of it calm, beautiful, clear water, and some of it
stormy and unpredictable, but we’ve come away from these experiences richer in knowledge
and friendships, and with a better understanding of nature and all she throws
at us. Our little boat has been
our home and our adventure capsule; she’s taken us to places that some can only
dream about and dealt admirably with squalls and rough seas. She has welcomed many friends who’ve
come aboard sometimes just for a sundowner, others for an adventure holiday, we
had a pretend pirate outing with The Shenton Family, and even an Indie Disco
when Laura was on board! And
let’s not forget the stowaway who swam to our boat for safety once night while
trying to swim to shore from a fishing boat in stormy weather!!
Pelangi has given us so much more than we can ever give back
to her, but she hasn’t done too badly out of it! To date Pelangi has had a new main sail, all new electronic
equipment including new auto pilot, new windlass, she’s been re wired and has a
new switch panel, bilge pumps, alarm system, all new LED lighting including
cockpit light (so I can actually see what I’m eating at night!), a new set of
batteries, 4 solar panels, made to measure radar arch, spray dodger and frame,
new canvass work and cushions and not forgetting the cuddly toy (for those who
remember The Generation Game!).
Even Dolly Dinghy has got in on the act with a new outboard motor and
new chaps (cover). We’ve also
experienced 2 haul outs where she has had her bottom scraped and anti fouled, a
stern paint job, gel coat repair work and professional polish, plus a galley
facelift!
You’d think with all that work we wouldn’t have had much time
to sail, but those who have followed our story know we have ventured on many
passages across the Gulf of Thailand, Malacca Strait, Balabac Strait, Sulu Sea
and South China Sea. Sailing at night
in quiet waters and under a full moon is a very gratifying experience and when
dolphins appeared on the bow at first light on one occasion even I was left
speechless!.
We have sailed more than 8,660 nautical miles and visited or
anchored off more than 243 islands.
The amount of pollution and rubbish in our waters, the attitude of those
who continue to rape the seas of all she has, and the rainforest that has been
destroyed in the name of commercial gain has saddened us. But mostly we’ve felt
truly blessed by the beauty of what we have seen and overwhelmed at times by
the kindness of fellow sailors and the welcome from total strangers who have so
little compared to us, but seem so happy with their small lot in life – we have
much to be grateful for!
Since our last haul out in Penang in December we have spent
our time cruising the west coast of Malaysia and Thailand. It took us 3 attempts to leave Penang
before reaching Langkawi due to rough seas and strong head winds, but once we
got going there was not stopping us.
We had 15 – 20 knots of wind on the beam most of the way and did some of
our best sailing ever on our passage from Langkawi, Malaysia to Krabi, Thailand
where we picked up Gareth’s mum, Bev, for her second trip with us. It wasn’t without it moments, mainly
involving getting rather wet on our trips back from shore when Dolly proved
just a little too small for the chop and surf that had built unbeknownst to us
while enjoying dinner on the shore or duty free shopping – the whisky came in
handy quite a few times!! But Bev
took all of the challenges in her stride and proved to be very worthy
crew! She was rewarded for her
efforts by days of lovely cruising in light breezes and some stunning
anchorages surrounded by mountains towering either side of the boat sometimes
with only the moon and stars for company.
Bev abandoned ship for the luxury of hot running water and a comfy bed
at a nice beach resort in Langkawi and even got to fly over Pelangi in a
microlite before heading back to
NZ. We then headed back south and
left Pelangi in a marina in Johor Bahru, Malaysia (just across the way from
Singapore) while we flew to Bali to catch up with our dear friends Nat and
Ralph off their lovely yellow boat, Soltutu, and then onto Labuan Bajo, Flores,
Indonesia for some diving and snorkeling.
It was superb! Gareth dived
deep and saw all the “big stuff” and I snorkeled and made friends with four
turtles on my final swim. We also
encountered Komodo dragons, but decided not to make friends with them as human
flesh is a speciality on their menu!!
A few weeks after our return we left Pelangi and Dolly once
more and flew to Sydney where we spent some long overdue time with Gareth’s
wonderfully entertaining Uncle Robert, better known as Doctor Bob. His apartment on Coogee beach, just
down from Bondi is a fantastic place for headland walks, people watching, café
brunches, wood fired pizza and cheap and delicious red wine, which we took full
advantage of! It was also great to
catch up with good friends and fellow sailors Fred and Kat and their new
crewmember; 6 month old Louisa. From
there we flew to NZ and really enjoyed quality family time with brother,
sisters, nephews and nieces who seem to have eaten rather a lot of Jack’s Beans
as they have all grown so much!!
We also caught up with old friends and enjoyed cheap and delicious NZ
white and red wines, macro brewed beer, pies and fish and chips. I think Pelangi’s water line was
reduced when we got back on her!!
And so today sees Pelangi moored in a marina just like she
was the first day we saw her only a bit more “lived in” and with more than a
few tales to tell if she could talk!
And we are all the richer for our friendships and (possibly) a little
wiser for our experiences. We know
that the next 4 years will bring new challenges and are planning an extensive
passage through Indonesia and beyond.
I have just finished a novel and one of the lines reads “I
am limited only by what I can dream and allow myself to risk”. Dream big!!
Cheers then
Captns J and G XXX
