ANCHORAGES ON THE MALAYSIAN EAST COAST

ENCOUNTER WITH A F.A.D. October 2008

Terengganu to Kapas to Kemmerman day sails south. Uneventful which is how we like it. 

Given that the weather was lovely and the sailing great, the decision was made that we would overnight straight to Tioman to clear out of Malaysia and start heading back to Singapore and up the west coast.

BAD idea. That's when the big bright moon decided to go hide behind the building thunder heads and the wind totally died and we forgot that we'd promised each other that if the wind died we would just "bob about" till it returned, or until daylight returned. So without any proper discussion or thought we started the motor. 

Now I should tell the newbies that this coast and almost every part of Asia we have visited by boat has been littered with FAD's. That's Fish Attracting Devices. They range from whole houses with many families to the huge free floating, or moored, bamboo rafts, through to poles jammed into the sea floor. We had seen many of the latter, in the distance, on our trip north in blessed daylight, and, yes you can guess what happened in the dead of the black night. Kris was perched watchfull and peering into the inky blackness with only an occasional flash of lightening to see by when there is was a streak of white rope racing towards her down the port side. No time to reach across to the throttle to throw the Volvo out of gear.

Too late we are dead stopped, engine stalled, and going no where. The good bit was that the revs were very low so the likely damage from such an encounter was minimised. Scanning about and there were 3 poles sticking out of the water within 3 meters of us in 25 meters of water!. The sea was calm and only a slight bobbing movement of Taipan on the one and a half inch mooring line we had picked up with our prop. We now know that the fishermen tie to these lines and fish over the side around the sticks. Our rope cutter was out of its depth here with the size of this line!



We were also out of our depth and there was no "drawing of straws" to see who goes over the side to cut us free! David goes!. Its his prop!. I don't "do" overboard in the dark!. And it turns out neither does David!! 

Two hours to dawn so we wait. In the murky gloom of a very overcast morning it was revealed that with a little ingenuity we could cut the main line, from the dingy, and let Taipan drift with the current, away from the FAD's... You never know what fish are actually being attracted down there! This manoeuvre was successfully accomplished by the good Capt'n and then once we were a suitable distance away David dived on it using our trusty Powerdive hookah. I might mention that this is a top piece of equipment for boat maintenance and worth every one of the expensive cents we spent on it!

The removal of 5 x 20lt plastic containers acting as floats and about 10m of rope loosely wound and looped around shaft, prop and skeg took only a couple of minutes, remembering that the FAD was not that far away! Those 3 poles and that mooring were the only things on the whole horizon!

Roll on Tioman Island. In before lunch and very pleased too! We must buy an underwater dive torch!!

SNORKLING SNIFFING AND SINGING. September 2008

Taipan left Tioman Marina on the 9th of September for the 72NM run to Kuantan. To late and wrong tide for entry so we anchored on the coast. Bonused a nice dolphin fish for the next few dinners.

The 35nm to Kemerman was a delightful kite run. The entry is wide and quite deep enough for our 2.2M draft however if a big south - easterly sea was running it might be touch and go at low tide right at the entrance. OH!.. Allah! Kemerman has the noisiest Mosque we have ever heard. Must be like Wembley Stadium at the Soccer finals!. We didn't go ashore, because the tide was too low to access the very high wall on the river bank alongside the city. There were fire crackers all around and these went off all night! Must have been something on?? Ramadan! The quieter anchorage is opposite the police dock not far inside the river. The town anchorage would provide very easy access to supplies and services. However a higher tide would make it easier to get ashore.

Next stop Tenggol. A very pretty island with a deep anchorage and a number of buoys. We picked up a mooring buoy for 2 nights and enjoyed lovely weather and good snorkeling. Not stunning but quite clear and apart from the junk quite entertaining.There are no facilities here although there are 4 very low key resorts which don’t cater to outside visitors.


Kapas Isl 36nm, is just 10nm south of Terengganu. It is a really busy tourist spot. Water not so clear when we were there and there were plenty of "jellies" so we didn't swim here. Stayed two nights in a very comfortable anchorage on the north west of the larger island. 

We believe there is some excellent snorkelling on the reef between the two islands and have since been advised that the jellies here have no sting. There are several large moorings which we saw other yachts pick up but the anchorage is shallow and on good sand so we didn't use one.

Arrived at  on the15th of September. The Heritage Bay Marina is well placed and easy to find straight up the river. All modern facilities including Gym Spa but not use of resort pool. We dingied across the river, tied the dingy on the beach adjacent to the town steps and walked to the shops. There is also a good anchorage just to the east of the marina.

Terengganu is a big centre with several very large and well stocked supermarkets, an excellent morning fresh market just a very short walk from the town steps Chinatown has some great restaurants. We only got a chance to sample one but have it on good authority that there are many more to choose from.

The arrival of Hanly and Bill at Terrenganu on the16th was greeted with great joy. Bill has manufactured a beautiful prop puller. (See photo of Bill explaining its intricacies to the good Capt'n) Every yachities dream and Hanly has an extra 2 bottles of Cointreau. Necessary refreshment for yachties after exhausting swimming and snorkeling in crystal clear water of east coast Malaysia. Couple of days spent in Terrengganu purchasing limes by the lorry load and then with all the provisioning laid in we were off to Redang.


Then things went a bit pear shaped. David and I got the flue!..Nasty....10 days in state of sickness ...no cointreau...very little of anything in fact. The new chums managed to keep busy with swimming snorkelling and dingy rides here and there. Redang is a great island with snow white beaches and good anchorages. We holed up in Berjaya Bay on the north east side. Not much coral to speak of but nice swimming. We finally managed to drag our bones to Perhentian Islands where we stayed low while the guests did lots of eating and drinking and swimming and sleeping and singing. Hanly plans to add the eucalalie to her instrument repertoire so watch this spot for new music from "Doris" http://www.doris.com.au/. Watercolours restaurant was a favourite eating and drinking spot. Hanly slept till 9.00 o'clock one morning!!.

Finally with the flue a little behind us we were able to do some dives and enjoy the really lovely coral and fish in spectacularly clear water. The colour is just remarkable.
28th September and making our way back to Redang. Found some really good snorkeling on the eastern side and would love to go back to explore further.

Palau Bidong was an interesting lunch stop en-route to Terengganu. It was a refugee camp for Vietnamese refugees from the mid 70s to the early 90's. It’s very dilapidated and run down but there are some interesting and moving memorials and plaques. Its a lovely spot and well worth the visit.
Farewell to our special friends and thanks for the visit. Great sailors and great company both.

TIOMAN ISLAND Sep 2008

Tioman Island.

Taipan arrived from Sebana Cove where we cleared in from Singapore on the 13th of July. Had a fabulous sail from Singapore with the kite up for a lot of the time. Best visibility we have had for a very long time.

This new marina although very small, is new, clean and the amenities are in place but not yet open. The power is still free and the water is 10MR per month or any part thereof.

We had time to do a lot of the little non urgent jobs which we have been putting off for ages. New Icom 710 is installed and working fine with two computers now set up to handle it. Computers have had a big clean up and one has been totally reformatted and reloaded. Both outboard engines have had repairs and service. Engine service was due and has been done.

Our trusty old Hoover Twin Tub which has served us well for the past 4 years has jumped ship and is now in semi retirement on the dock at Tioman ready and willing to serve the weary yachtie women..and men if they want.

Lighting is being upgraded with a new light being installed in the fridge...easier to find the beer! The bilge drainage system has been modified and should be a lot more efficient with only 1 pump having the bulk of the load. We have 2 other pumps in reserve. A new tap has been installed in the aft head with a shower head ready for the big bathroom refit in November.

We caught the ferry to Mersing where we purchased a Sierra Wireless Aircard 875u and an internet service connection with Celcom. It has proved very reliable and we have had effective email and internet almost without interruption all the way up the coast.

 
We decided not to go to Borneo this season but to head further north to explore the Islands on the east coast of the Peninsular. So it was a big farewell to Egress ll heading to Miri and then onward to Australia next season and to Synergy still holding the couch down in Tioman!

Taipan off north to pick up friends from Australia arriving in Terengganu on the 16th of August for 3 weeks.