Fact: The 'fridge and freezer operate better with power.

Well, absolutely, no brainer really!

Not just power coming into the boat, either from ashore or from the solar panels, but once the power gets into the boat, its got to be able to get thru the breaker/fuse to the fridge or freezer ...and that, is where the cunning plan, fell to pieces.

Mid April and this time , its time to depart, before K'Gari becomes a permanent fixture in Sutera Harbour.
Beautiful as Borneo is, all of Asia, is still waiting, just over the horizon.

Upon returning, it's discovered,that in the  haste of the final few minutes of departure back in January, I threw a wrong switch . The fridge and freezer, which had been left running but comparatively empty, the previous July when I went home the first time and which had functioned perfectly, had in fact been off since , oh, about 0955 on the 27th of January, only 77 days and 3 hours, but who is counting?

Oh dear!
 Let me assure you, the seal is so good on both units, there was absolutely not a hint of the problem, until I opened the freezer or the fridge. Well that is not quite true. The friend who was doing periodic inspections for me , had emailed to say he couldn't see the gauges working for the solar input etc. Alas it was not a simple as merely turning off the gauge breaker , I  had in fact thrown the entire domestic system, with the exception of the four never to be turned off breakers. Dehumidifier,watermaker, solar and bilge pumps.

My crew were  flying in the following day, so  I  emptied and disposed of the liquid in the freezer. The  bacon in the vacuum pack was still recognisable and still didn't smell as it was hermetically sealed! The main offender were the blue lipped mussels, the packaging of which was all that remained floating, in liquid slime in the freezer. I had also stored some pulses, mung beans perhaps, in the freezer to keep the weevils at bay. No sign of the mungies, but about a gazillion weevils, were alive and kicking....

One of the many things that had been purchased in the  bower bird spree in KK, was a vacuum cleaner.

As can be seen by the packaging notation "delivering happiness", is clearly written. It's true.Never more so, trust me, than when it was sucking away all those weevils from behind the freezer chest cavity. I could do no more until help arrived the following the day.  What a welcome back!
What a salutary lesson- never again will K'Gari be left with fridge and freezer running , if I'm away for an extended period of time.

When the cavalry arrived the next day, the freezer cavity space was made more accessible than it had been the previous day, after the secret restraining rope, holding it in the cavity was discovered. The springs had been undone and we  were at a loss as to how the freezer had been installed under the bench, as we could not get it to incline just the extra smidgin we needed, to allow its removal.
Once the secret strap was discovered and undone it was just enough movement, to allow the complete cleaning , without the removal ( thankfully) of the entire freezer chest. The smell lingered for days. All sorts of remedies were adopted for "smell removal".I only wonder now what will happen when K'Gari is once again shut up for 3 months. Will the faint lingering odour of,  'eau de rotten freezer', manifest itself again? Only time will tell.

For the record there is now another breaker  clearly annotated on the electrical circuit breaker panel, as "ALWAYS ON"!
The batteries, were in fact fully charged and my stupidity upon departure, had not caused them any harm. That would have been a mega expensive mistake, if I had ruined the batteries.

Klias River exploration .Looking for Proboscis monkeys.

The excess baggage transporting friends have arrived. One couple the evening of the 30th and a repeat volunteer adventurer, on the 31st of December.

New Year Eve: The water of the marina had been reverberating for days with sound system checks being carried out for the New Year Eve extravaganza that had been planned by Sutera Harbour. A temporary stage had been erected on the foreshore of one of the two 5 star hotels that surround the marina, the Singapore Beatles tribute band was going to be the star attraction, as well as the fireworks at midnight.

So no point in trying to sleep until after midnight, and this was obviously going to be one of the very few New Year's , that I had actually voluntarily been awake for. The fireworks were great,despite my overall mindset, that they are such a waste of money- my marina fees well spent!

With my friends being much more practised at being boaties, than myself, next day  it was off to the shops to stock up with what would be required for four, for a week or so. 'Nibbles' , not one of my strong points, "culinary requirements in  the new world of 'sundowners'", were purchased, and a great selection , so that we had plenty of variation over the next week -and not a mung bean in sight. Yes, it certainly is something I need to practise, Still on that learning curve , obviously, but now have 'the provision of suitable nibbles', ticked off.

We headed off to Tiga Island 30nm away. Best known as being "Survivor Island". Having never watched any of the "Survivor" series, it didn't mean that much to us. The sail down was good, set the MPS when the seabreeze finally kicked in and away we went.

Cold volcanic mud pools, best left to true survivors in m y opinion

Tiga Island is apparently known for its cold 'volcanic' mud pools. Having set off early to avoid the heat, we walked inland for about 10-15mins through the jungle, complete with macaque monkeys jumping around,  to find the mud pools. Nothing in this world, would induce me to get into them, believe me!

There is no way to remove the mud until you get back to the beach, by which time, in the prevailing heat, it would probably leave you feeling a little similar to a living, walking , "human en croute",  I  imagine. However to each their own, in the way of amusement.
We had a snorkel over the nearest reef after the exploration to the mud pools

Next morning it was on to Labuan, a small Malaysian island territory sitting just off the coast, very close to the border of Brunei, and an easy 35nm from Tiga. There are a few dive wrecks listed here, as well as another War Grave Cemetery. A well known attraction called 'the chimney'- which nobody has any idea why it exists, but it certainly is there, on the NE of the island.
For yachties, the main claim to fame for Labuan is that it, like Langkawi, has duty free status. There are also real marine supplies available here, as it is a major port for laid up oil rig tenders and ocean going towing  tugs.

Any one need a rig tender- might be able to find one here?

Things like liferafts can be serviced here and there are businesses here offering  good service, if you need marine grade quality awnings etc made.

Some of the rig tenders at anchor off Labuan Marina 

We stayed a day and a half before heading off to "explore" the nearby Klias River.

Navigating through the anchored rig tenders as we depart Labuan

I had three sets of waypoints for getting into the Klias, so split the difference and used 'mark one eyeball' , when we weren't entirely sure.The beauty of a catamaran is the shallow draft. The downside is that is fiberglass, so only during the dry season is this trip worth attempting, as the logs that can be encountered in the river systems would probably  preclude such a safe transit in the floods of the wet season.
We anchored about 22 miles up the Klias from the entrance at Menumbok, with about an hour of daylight left. From there we took to the dinghy and zipped another 5 to 6 nm up the river looking for the fairly elusive proboscis monkeys.

Anchor position.We went on  further in the dinghy

On the way up the river, whilst still  on K'Gari,  two fairly large mature ones sitting close to the water, on an over hanging branch had been spotted. By the time we turned K'Gari and went back, they decided to scarper.They were actually the closest two that we saw. The few other ones that we managed to spot, were too high up in the trees, along with the ubiquitous macaques.
We returned at a more sedate pace in the dinghy, in the hope of seeing some more monkeys, but still wanting to be back on board before dark. Being the only boat within earshot, ( or 20 odd miles) we decided that evening to entertain the proboscis monkeys with some quality music. They are undoubtedly, probably still wondering, what it was all about! A quiet and sedate evening on board K'Gari.

Monkeys to the left, monkeys to the right , we just couldn't see them. I doubt they had any trouble hearing us  though.

Exiting the Klias system the next afternoon we motored to Tiga , as the wind was on the nose when it finally picked up in the afternoon.  Made our way back to KK the following morning.
A very pleasant 207nm round trip, with excellent  company.

Near the entrance just beyond Menumbok

about 5 miles in

About 15 miles in

Just beyond these trees are acres of  palm oil plantations, not visible from the river , but they stretch for miles

Hooray, and up she rises.

It's now time to haul K'Gari out, for the couple of things that need to be done out of the water.

As mentioned before, both tasks can be done by simply finding a suitable beach or sandbank and waiting for the tide to drop, doing the jobs and wait for the incoming tide.

Not being overly familiar with suitable local beaches, as well as the fact that both the tasks to be done, are virgin ground in my skill repertoire , the decision has been taken to haul out.
A vision, not so splendid, of having managed to lose the all important oil drain plug, or its associated teeny tiny "o"ring, leaving the saildrives unplugged, with an incoming tide, bring to mind "boy/finger /dyke  stories, so  let's be sensible first time round and do the unfamiliar tasks, in the safest possible environment, where there will be no real time constraints.

Almost on the straps.

 K'Gari is manoeuvred into the entrance for the hoist and engines shut down. She is then walked into the hoist, using the the lines which had just gone ashore, from each bow and stern.
She is hauled in  by the yard staff and positioned with the straps underneath her.
The positions for the lifting straps, emailed in advance, were perfectly aligned with the marks we had made on the hull with tape.
A diver went down and checked the positioning before the hoist started, to ensure all was clear.

Taking the weight

Out she comes , as smoothly as possible.
Yes, I was nervous.That's my boat hanging there.

Up ,up and away

The  yard at Kuala Penyu couldn't have taken more care. Thank you.

https://youtu.be/F1fBsdkbaR8

                             The actual work took three hours from beginning to end.

oil drain plug at bottom of saildrive leg

Change the oil in the sail drive- simply undo the plug, catch it and the o ring, drain the oil, (opening the dipstick up on board, on the dry end of the saildrive, first to prevent a vacuum), replace plug, checking 'o'ring is in place, refill with oil. No problem, no pressure of a rising tide!

The anodes were a bit more interesting, and equally trouble free. Each saildrive has three anodes, below the water. At the front end two half rings, then another set of half rings just forward of the prop and a tiny triangular anode located at the aft end , between the folding blades. All are fitted or removed using a simple allen key.

Off with the old.

On with the new.

All three  anodes renewed

and ..yes the blades still fold. Yes, the rubbish was removed!

K'Gari was refloated with equal care. A few more skills to add to the ever growing list. Hopefully I will never need to fill out another CV in my life , but as they say, when you stop learning , its probably all over.

Before K'Gari can go anywhere....

The propellers need to be de bagged.

Far more simple than the bagging process.
Enter the water armed with sharp knife, hold breath, submerge , find the tie , cut, remove and keep a grip on the bag, so it doesn't sink or drift off to join the acres of plastic bags found in the oceans.

https://youtu.be/QR0ZJkc9X78

Intriguingly upon my return, I had noticed the bags appeared to have fostered some marine growth whilst in situ for a couple of months.

I wasn't going to take them off before I was likely to actually want to use the engines, so a quick shot with the go pro, on the good ole selfie stick, (my intrepid adventurer crewman in Vietnam had finally bought one in desperation, once he realised I wouldn't be seen dead with such a device)- so publicly now, yes, I admit it was a brilliant idea- thank you! This is what was revealed via go pro.

https://youtu.be/RvLlC706o1E

And this is what it actually looks like when the bags are off and out of the water. Several kilos of marine growth had moved into the new "des res" afforded by the black plastic bags.

The bags themselves had done the trick, no barnacles or other growth on the props or saildrives.
The only thing to  do now, was remove the build up of what I can only assume is decaying zinc anodes, that had covered the shiny brass props. with a coat of grey.
Many breaths later and with use of trusty scraper and wire brush, the propellers resembled once again the shiny clean objects that had been bagged months before.

Mental note - again, this time remember to  make a written note, to get a hooka or a bottle for underwater work.

Back on board. November 2015

November 2015

Returning to K'Gari , in early November , revealed that internally, other than the toilets , the bowls of which hadn't been filled with quite enough fresh water, to hold off the evaporative effects of the heat and dehumidifier, all was well.

The two  most obvious issues ,which had arisen , both externally were,  firstly that the sail ties which were "temporarily" being used to secure the mainsail bag, had completely rotted under the intense UV. They had every appearance of still being in tact , but at a touch, they crumbled into dust. They shouldn't have been used at all, but the zipper for the sail bag had been lost overboard, before the handover had been completed ,during or first practise sail ,back in Nha Trang, as it apparently wasn't secured in any way to the sailbag. The replacement had not turned up before I went home, so the sail ties had been the only option available to close off the sail bag, to protect the mainsail.

The second issue was discovered a day or two later, when in moving K'Gari back down the wharf less than half a metre,by the simple expedience of physically pushing her backwards, some of  the fender buoy lines parted, under the tiniest pressure. They too had succumbed to the UV after only 5 months of use. I suspect that genuine marine quality rope, should not  succumb that quickly, to the elements! Well at least it was only the rope on the originally supplied fenders, not the additional ones, which had been bought in KK!
After the fender lines crumbled into dust, I checked  the dinghy painter line which  also  looked suspiciously  to be made from the same line- beautifully spliced as it was , it also was in the early stages of decay  and was replaced immediately!

If that is the worst that happens in my absences, I will be very pleased.

The next few weeks were occupied with the simple pleasure of pottering about in the marina and getting to know the long term expats, who also had their boats there.Half a dozen or so, on the finger I was on. Friendly and obliging and inclusive, at any 'social events' that were organised. Really my first taste of marina living, could not have been better ,than with these wonderful inclusive people.

 25th November,  first visitor "for the season" arrived. A ten day stopover, enroute to Australia from the UK. Very pleasant interlude with  the great company of  a very dear friend, David, whom I have known for 37 years.

Over the next week or so , day sails around the islands interspersed, with tinkering with the outboard, not me, another obliging gentleman from a boat further up the same finger, adjusting the carby as it was running way to rich. The initial mix of fuel according to the book is twice as rich with oil as the consequential mixes. Having left the original fuel mix in whilst away, it was now blowing smoke.

After the adjustment, a good old "burn up" out the front  of the marina, gave us a chance to get a closeup look at a ship which has been anchored  a mile or so off Sutera for a number of years.

Cleaning out the carby. Orient Explorer and Mt Kinabalu clearly in background

She was built as a Patrol Cruise Escort vessel in the US in 1943 and the transferred to the Royal Navy  and was supposedly used in the DDay landings. Somebody has bought her and is maintaining her. Now called the Orient Explorer. Her anchorage position happens to work well as waypoint to steer for, to enter Sutera Harbour!

The  fortuitous opportunity arose to have a look at another yard to the SW of Kota Kinabalu , where K'Gari might be accommodated , as she needs to be lifted out for the saildrive oil change and the first anode change. A run down the coast on another boat, and the chance to watch and learn exactly how K'Gari would be lifted out. More than happy with what was observed, the yards professionalism and care,arrangements were made to book K'Gari in for a haulout.

December 2015
Was pretty much spent enjoying the new lifestyle as a yachtie in a marina. Its great! Pottering about , still getting things organised.
Another 30m of anchor chain, has been deemed as a very prudent acquisition for cruising in SE Asian waters. Often it appears that you can either anchor in 20m of water, or the depth shelves up instantly and you are over coral in 3-5m of water. Given those choices, I prefer the 20m . However the original length of chain doesn't give enough scope. (Scope, being the amount of chain laid out. A rule of thumb, would be a minimum ratio of 5-6 times the depth of water , to ensure a peaceful, worry free night). One of the weather events that does occur in these waters, are the sudden and very powerful winds known as sumatras, that build up and blow through very quickly. Shortly after the arrival in KK in June, we had one blow through at 50 kts , in this, the land below the wind!

Time was also still being consumed on the on going issue of the watermaker being unservicable and a mystery drip of coolant that was appearing on the port engine.

The watermaker issue was eventually resolved in a matter of days, once I simply bypassed the people I had hoped would deal with it, and contact was made directly with the nearest agent for the watermaker, who was located a couple of hundred kilometers away. As luck would have it, he was due to come to KK at the end of the week and on a very hot Sunday afternoon, spent what was for me a very productive few hours, dis assembling half the installation and then installing the replacement cartridge bowl lugged up from Australia, and reassembling and testing the unit.
 A thousand times, thank you , to David from Marine Supplies Asia.

The coolant is clearly dripping from the thermostat- still to be fixed under warranty....don't imagine that will take long!


Christmas Day: A combined festive feast on board one of the boats.

Entree

yes! The turkey is hot- just out of the oven.

Dessert

 Seven of us for lunch, with contributions from all. I'm amazed by  what can be turned out. Other  marina dwellers dropping in throughout the day as their social lives allowed. A great day, celebrating with my "marina family."

Christmas is very much celebrated in Sabah. The shops have been playing Christmas carols ad infinitum, all month. Personally if I never hear another rendition of  some of them again , it will be too soon. No, last Christmas you didn't give me your heart. Yes, I do know its Christmas after all  and as nice as a dreaming of a white Christmas would be, it's highly unlikely in this equatorial region. Non religious as these selections are , it is certainly a tolerant and inclusive attitude which prevails here in Sabah. One which should probably be replicated both at home and abroad, if the intermittent world news I tune into, is anything to judge by.

Marina Club decorations

Marina Club 

This is REAL gingerbread on a real 6'high wall in the foyer of Magellan Hotel, which is part of Sutera Harbour complex

Main foyer Magellan Hotel 

Meanwhile, back at the "coal face."

August to November 2015

The extensive list of things 'to do' continues.

One of the biggest selling points of this rather beautiful boat, is the vision afforded, from the complete comfort of the main deck cabin, either, from inside or from the cockpit.
It has massive windows.

The downside is, that now I totally understand why tomatoes and other plants, grown in green houses ripen,  and why northern hemisphere dwellers build glass sunroom extensions. It gets bloody hot under all that glass.

lowering the tone of the neighbour hood with cheap tacky temporary tarps

Although K'Gari has both tinted windows and some shade cloth exterior panels over the glass it is totally insufficient for equatorial sun. The need  to keep the sun off the windows and indeed the cabin roof as much as possible, is paramount. For a quick fix, whilst deciding the long term solution , some cheap tarpaulins (blue one side and orange the other) had been purchased and rigged . They helped!
In deference to the fact that the marina was almost on the flight path of KK International Airport, these were rigged blue side up,  on the assumption  that the airline pilots would get heartily sick of seeing the orange side.Orange is an internationally recognised sign of maritime distress, albeit with a black V usually, but orange alone will also work.!

I had found a business in KK, that was happy to manufacture what ever design was decided upon. During our conversation, it came to light, that it would be far more cost effective, if  the chosen product came from  Australia, when next I returned.
So now back in Australia the decision was between two materials. In the end I went with shade cloth. Not waterproof, but effective against the sun. 90% UV protective and allowed as much air as possible to circulate.

Simple and incredibly effective-easy to rig!

 I freely admit to using the design that had been used by my fellow Seawind owners, who had been the font of knowledge for the lay up procedure. Simple but incredibly effective.

The next mission was to find some effective insulation material for the inside of the cabin windows. there are blinds in all the cabins but something was needed to reflect the heat away.  Eventually it was found, available in the small quantity required, at only one hardware store, in the 500km between Brisbane and Gladstone, at Gympie. All the other chain stores were happy to sell 30m rolls, but I only needed 2m, off a roll.

The return trip baggage is starting to look quite a lot already. A roll of shade cloth 3.6m x 12m literally took up one duffel bag and the window  insulation material, rolled as effectively as possible, was going to take a big proportion of another. Add to that the few kilos of replacement anodes that had just been ordered, other useful bits n pieces like a toaster, electric kettle (which believe it or not, are considerably cheaper than buying in Malaysia, with the added bonus that there is no need to change plugs for the Australian outlets which K'Gari came with. Phew, wont electrocute myself there then!). The all important, but not light, nutri bullet,-hadn't seen one of them anywhere in Malaysia! Assorted other useful tools, the replacement cartridge bowl, for an issue that was on going with the installation of the watermaker, and in no time 30kgs of baggage, has been assembled on the lounge room floor.

Friends will be flying up in December , so they too are burdened with more "essentials", 20-25kgs of manuals and books and other kit, are distributed amongst them.

And so to bed, or, how to lay up a boat near the Equator.

July 2015

Unfortunately needs must , and a return to work is required.

Part of the deal about working part time, is that it does actually mean I need to return to work.
Perhaps I should have scrutinized the fine print a little more!
Seriously , it had  to happen and K'Gari will be left at the beautiful and secure Sutera Harbour Marina until November.

All that stands between then and now, is learning experience number? Goodness knows what number its up to now, - 'how to lay a boat up for several months', when it's sitting at only 6 degrees from the equator.

One of the initial  reasons that Kota Kinabalu was a favoured destination for K'Gari, is that Sabah is known as the 'land below wind' . This refers to the fact that, although the nearby South China Sea does have typhoons passing through it, the northern hemisphere equivalent of our cyclones, they generally don't find the coast of Sabah an enticing place to play.
More technically cyclones/typhoons, generally can't form up in the latitudes close to the equator, as the spin of the earth, the sea temperatures etc, are really not what they need to get going. Thus as a place to safely leave K'Gari, apart from the actual security afforded at the marina, Sutera rates very highly.

So what's involved in laying her up for a few months?

Not just walking away and locking the door , if you want to be able to walk back on board, in a few months, to as a few issues as possible.
One piece of information continuously given, gratis, by other cruisers in a marina is,  "a boat needs to be used , all your problems start when they sit idle for months"
O goody, as options are limited, let's try to make this as painless as possible.

As luck would have it, the knowledge base in a marina is vast. One merely needs to assess which bits and from whom, one accepts 'the knowledge'.

Falling on my feet again, I had the immense good fortune and  pleasure of meeting a lovely couple , who have had a Seawind for years, and what a repository of useful knowledge they were. Luckily again, not only did he have the knowledge, he was willing to share with me all the tricks he has learnt over the years. Far more in fact  than just  share, but took the time out to come on board and physically show me how to do "that which is required".

So what is on the list?

Lesson One :Fresh water flushing the engines. Makes heaps of sense when thought about.The engines are cooled by salt water, when in use, but why leave saltwater sitting in the pipes when its not going to be used for months?
 Easy when you know how.

Lesson two: Flushing the outboard with fresh water. Yep, seen people doing it at marina ramps or in their backyard , but had never had real cause to consider why it was necessary. Same reason as the main engine.Salt water sitting, is corrosive, so why  not get rid of it.

Lesson 3: Bag the propellers. Much more fun on a hot day, than being in the engine compartments. Literally, as it sounds.Hop in the water, submerge yourself with a handy black garbage bag and casually place and secure this over the propeller and saildrive leg, whilst holding your breath and dealing with buoyancy issues.... twice in my case, as there are two props!
Mental note- get a weight belt, and either a hooka set or dive bottle, all of which will be useful for clearing stuff from under hull, round the props, or even a fouled anchor etc, at anytime.
The reason for bagging the props, is to prevent growth on the prop blades and saildrive leg. Works a treat!

They were the main tricks that  my wonderfully helpful, and magnificently generous natured  tutors, who took time out of their own lives, to show me exactly how to do, what needed to be done.

The rest I could deal with myself , with the exception of removing the jib from the forestay. It could be done solo under normal circumstances , but circumstances were of course, not completely normal this first time round.

There had been  discovered on deck , luckily, some tiny wee screws, 3 in total, appearing on different occasions, when day sailing around KK. Being exceptionally quick on the uptake , it was assumed they were coming from somewhere above and were probably of some use and importance.

Grub screws-in unfamiliar surrounds!

So after family had departed ,  the question was asked of the builder, via email and with an attached photograph, as to what the mystery screws were likely to be.
Quick and easy answer and solution.
"Grub screws. Just go aloft and put them back in and apply a little loctite".

Ah well... immediate problem. How to go aloft, up the forestay, when 'home alone', as I'm not spiderwoman ? Simple solution , add to the 'to be done next time' list of things, when  not, home alone.

However the jib still needed to come down, as there is no point in leaving it exposed to UV for months unnecessarily, despite it being uv protected to an extent,  when furled.
Preparing to remove  the jib for the next few months, a quick inspection revealed a further issue. A wee grub screw, which was protruding just enough to prevent  being able to lower the halyard swivel mechanism , without it possibly ( probably ,with the existence of Murphy and his law) becoming jammed after only 2m of lowering.

Beautifully folded ready to be stowed.

Resolution: ask my handily nearby marina neighbour if he would assist. So early one morning , I found myself, armed with allen keys , camera and a natural trepidation, being hoisted aloft up the forestay, by a relative stranger.
At each set of grub screws, the regal process of going aloft paused for long enough for them to be checked and tightened if necessary. The previous escapee grub screws were returned to their rightful homes and the offending protruding  grubscrew likewise re-seated. "Ok I called out, lower away"," are you sure?"comes from the deck. Well although I'm sitting in a 'secure' bosuns chair about 17m up in the air, enjoying a perfect view of the glassy South China Sea, and the marina from above, yep, I'm pretty sure its time to get back on the deck. Once back on the deck, it dawns I never took any photos- completely slipped my mind, in the thrill of "hanging about",taking in the view.
Once the grub screw is re-seated , the rest is a doddle,simply lower the jib halyard , disconnect the jib , fold and stow.
Another job done.
,
Now the rest of the list is really purely domestic, cleaning down every internal surface, I'm going with the dilute oil of cloves trick. Stowing inside anything that is easily removable , like the cockpit seat cushions, lifebuoys. Securing everything outside, removing the shade tarps from the boom. Disconnecting the electronic navigation  equipment in case of lightning strikes. Double checking the moorings and fenders.
Fuel tanks topped up to prevent condensation and greeblies from growing. Watermaker flushed through again and power ON, water tank not refilled excessively, just enough for what I need, until I go.
Dehumidifier set to operate a couple of hours a day to beat the mould, which everyone fears so much, from getting a grip.
All secure. Up, up and away, to another life.

With absolutely no apologies to Mr Denver, whilst sitting at Kota Kinabalu airport this was my post:
My props are bagged
The jib is stowed
Engines flushed through,
the outboard to.
Every surface wiped down clean,dehumidifier set to go...
Oh I really hope that will fight the mould...

I'm leavin' on a jet plane.
But I know exactly when I will be back again.
I really, really, don't want to go.

A  sure sign of how easily this adventure had got under my skin.

Subject matter that might have been handy to know!

June 2015

 Now K'Gari is in Sabah.

Family visit immediately. Unfortunately time is limited due to school holidays still ruling the time table.

The obliging delivery crew, have also had to flee. Life has demands on everyone.

look out "duties"

Whilst family are with me , we do a couple of day sails to the very near by islands that make up the  Abdul  Rahman National Park, which lies just off the coast of Kota Kinabalu.

Hmmm! still looking out at the end of a busy day. Mt Kinabalu in the background.

https://youtu.be/oP7NqCs3_bc

The obligatory tourist escapades to see some baby orphaned Orangutans at Rasa Ria Resort, and  a road trip to Kudat, which is the very NE tip of Borneo. Beyond there, within easy sight is the southern Philippines and unfortunately, real day 'pirates'.

The politics and history of the region , you can look up for yourself, but 'pirates' do still operate and this is a known haunt.
Each year, a sailing rally sails from mainland Malaysia across to Borneo , with many stops in between. For the last two years, the sector between Kudat and Tawau ,the last port in Malaysia, on the East coast of Borneo ,before entering Indonesian waters , has been done under the escort of the Malaysian Navy and Security forces. There is an on going night time curfew. It is a real and ever unfolding situation.
However my reason for travelling to Kudat, is twofold. One reason, to get to the Tip of Borneo,

Yes, self evidently, The Tip of Borneo

and the second is to check out the facilities at a ship yard , as K'Gari will need her first haul out of the water soon.

Reminds me a lot of Noosa B.D. (before developers)

A visit (return for me, having been there several year ago with my dedicated mono friends, when I had come to visit them in KK) was made to the far less well known, but very worthwhile visiting, Kundasang War Memorial.

 This memorial has a fascinating history. It exists to honour and commemorate those Australians and  British and (unofficial) New Zealand soldiers, (as well as the local Borneo people who also suffered in helping those that they could) ,who died enduring those terrible, terrible death marches from Sandakan (on the east coast of Sabah) to Ranau. The memorial is not actually located in Ranau , but close by to the location of the last camp on the way- which so very, very few made it to. Six survived, all Australians, of the almost 1000 POWs forced to march.

It was created in the late 1960s and then fell into disrepair  until a Thai born ,but now residing in Borneo,  pensioner, Mr Sevee Charuruks, took it on as a privately funded retirement project to restore the memorial. It now does have funding from the Australian War Graves Commission.
Immediately upon entering this second time, I couldn't help but notice the change. Cracks in the walls that make up the four commemorative gardens, and the portico which leads to the honour boards , upon which the name of every soldier known to have died is listed.

It was the damage caused by 10 seconds of a substantial earthquake which had struck Ranau , as we were crossing from Vietnam.

The same earthquake allegedly took

 a few metres from the height of the nearby Mt Kinabalu.

So moved was I, that I wrote to the war graves commission to ask for funding to assist in the repairs. They replied that they were indeed soon to send someone to inspect the damage.
I hope they did and I hope that some of my tax dollars were spent on this moving and worthwhile tribute to  such a truly hideous chapter of our history.


Back on board, after tourist activities are finished, there is still much to do, useful gear that hadn't made the cut in the  90kgs taken initially  to Nha Trang, needs to be sourced.

The "unobtainable" oil vacuum pump
has arrived! Hmm looks interesting!

My sister brings with her from Australia, that all important and totally, (apparently), unobtainable in Vietnam, oil vacuum pump.
That was never on the list! Didn't even know such things existed , nor that it was a pre-requisite, that apparently doesn't come with new engines!

Not only is it necessary evil, but before my crew go home, I'm given a lesson, in how to give a Yanmar diesel, an enema!

More technically, this is known as an oil change!

There are many, many things, of which I was happily oblivious, before setting out, on this course  of my life.

Although  fully aware that K'Gari was a sailing catamaran, which came with engines, (yes, plural, which hopefully should mean there will be at least one working, is perhaps one way of looking at it, from a non technical aspect), I was very much aware that one of the subjects,I should have paid far more attention to, some 36 summers ago, was possibly, marine engineering. At the time, it was just  a subject  I needed to pass and there would be at least three or four, if not more, real engineers on board anything I was on. Not only that, real electricians as well! And so it was, for all my working life. Now however, I was wishing that perhaps a little more of the basic stuff had sunk in.
Understanding my considerable limitations , the precaution had been taken of enrolling in a basic diesel course, but that had not yet come to pass, as course dates and my work commitments had so far clashed.

Amongst the multitude of  things I could easily have listed in the " haven't got a clue" category, before we sailed from Vietnam were:
 The inner mysteries of a diesel engine. Until now my experience was that , it either works, or you call someone who knows how to make it work.
A diesel engine only needs a few things to make it work. It  needs air , a cooling system and fuel. If it doesn't work, these are likely places to start looking. Apparently though, there are many sub texts and other potential problem parts ,hidden within those simple elements. Filters, pumps, drive belts ,heat exchangers, impellers to name but a few mystery parts. Throw into that mix, the little bit shaky knowledge area of  batteries, luckily these are sealed units  and no hygrometer readings required weekly, and the total area of  the  black magic of electricity  and what you ask, could possibly go wrong?

Ahem!  Might have forgotten to mention, that attached to the engine, is the propeller. Another necessary evil. It can either be shaft driven, eg a long shaft that runs through the hull from the engine to outside the boat , or as in  K'Gari's case,  saildrives. Best way to describe these, is they look like an outboard motor leg, which is permanently afixed to the hull, under the water.
So what secrets do saildrives hold. Well apparently they have oil in them, 2.2litres to be precise, which needs changing every 100 hours. Simple, well not quite. To change the oil, the boat needs to be high and dry. This is either achieved  by beaching deliberately, somewhat of an anathema to me , or hauling out at a marina, which is costly.

The manual which comes with the saildrive, is slightly confusing as it talks about two different models, one you can do in the water and the other, (K'Gari's), you can't .This is not entirely clear until you commence the operation and then realise the very 'clear' page that pertains to the SD20, is the single page that says  - "do it out of the water", and the other 8 pages, showing you the nifty pumps that can be used and the methods required, are for the other model altogether.!! What a learning curve this is turning out to be.

Sail drive leg showing prop almost folded .The "crusty" rings are the anodes doing their thing

Not to be forgotten are the sacrificial anodes, that a  boat, floating in water, needs to prevent valuable useful parts, like the saildrive and propellers, from  being consumed by galvanic action.
"galvanic action results when two dissimilar metals are submerged in a conductive solution, such as saltwater" . Excellent! Something else to worry about!
 Additionally, "boats connected to shore power ( ie when in a marina) require additional protection to prevent destructive low voltage galvanic currents from passing through the shore power ground wire".

Goodness, this boating is a lark, isn't it?

So with a completely non existent engineering and electrical skill set at my disposal ,now is as good a time as any, for the first oil change.

https://youtu.be/67tztk4VtaU

Well that was a breeze, literally. I was positioned in the draught,  videoing the procedure for future reference, whilst my tutor is cramped in the rather warmish  engine space.
 "Yep, got that, all done and dusted"!

"Pardon? - You think ......I should probably do the other engine, just to make sure I understood it all"

Whoopsie spoke to soon!

Mission accomplished!

Conquest of the South China Sea 12th-17th June 2015

Nha Trang to Kota Kinabalu.

Weather forecast checked and seems suitable. We have waited a day to let a bit of a blow pass through, no point in venturing out for the first time into something unpleasant that we could easily avoid.

The voyage however, still took a bit longer than anticipated.

An untested brand new boat, with three or four day sails around Nha Trang harbour to our tally. That at least allowed us to make some educated guesses at estimating likely voyage speed for the expected prevailing wind , and probable fuel consumption, if we used the motor(s).

The voyage plan was based on the premise of  the SW'ly trade wind for the first day or two, therefore a nice easy reach across the breeze, then  probably not too much wind once we got over half way and then neared the coast of Borneo.

 The 600 odd mile journey I had planned, would take us not directly across to Kota Kinabalu (KK), which had been the original plan some months before, but a slightly wider track edging around the SW corner of what was quickly becoming "a bit of hotspot".

track of K'Gari across the South China Sea

The Spratly Island group, an infinitesimal speck on my childhood atlas, had been emerging (in the western news world) , as a bit of a contentious issue over the preceding months. In reality for those countries involved, its been ongoing for years. The islands, or sand cays and coral atolls, are actually claimed by each of the following countries, Vietnam, China, Philippines,  Brunei, Malaysia and Taiwan, for the usual chest beating economic reasons. As we were crossing, the Chinese are busy dredging up new additions to the islands they occupy and bunging on airstrips- obviously a new tourist destination is being created!
Various countries , my own included, are demonstrating their rights to send their vessels anywhere in international waters and  navigate through the oceans of the world, with the snappily named, 'freedom of navigation exercises'.

K'Gari however, would take a slightly wider berth and not potentially instigate an international incident, by being in a possibly wrong place, at a wrong time.

I  told my fellow adventurers, that we were stocked up for the extra miles, with suitable supplies of mungbeans, that were just itching to be sprouted, thus providing the daily "greens", chickpeas, and other yummies. Crest fallen faces, until it was divulged that "ok guys, no need to mutiny , there are some baked beans and eggs as well, in our well stocked supply cupboard- but if you want to eat that , you are cooking it , not me"

The  first afternoon we were trying to escape current running to north. I was aware of its existence, but not it's intensity. We estimate it was setting north at about 3 kts . Also surprisingly the wind was on the nose, when it should have been a gentle 10 kts from the starboard side, so basically it meant  motor "sailing" (ie sails up and one engine ticking away), for the first afternoon until about 10pm when wind swung and away we went from the coast at a lovely 5 kts.
That quickly gave way on the second morning to the doldrums for the next two days (Sat and Sun), in the area we should have had the wind, so a bit more motor sailing, and trying to work out how much fuel we were consuming.

The second afternoon, whilst having a snooze in dead flat glassy seas and motor "sailing" ,I  suddenly found myself soaking wet- not a hot flush, it turns out......we had encountered three waves , the result of wash from a ship which had crossed our bow about 20 mins before hand.
 He who was "on watch", was reading one of the many many equipment manuals, that we were still wading through, and didn't spot it. I had the hatch over my bunk open (totally in contravention of the very clear sign suggesting that hatches be kept closed at sea at all times) and we just ploughed straight into it, in a very submarine like fashion , apparently.
So boat duly christened-again!!

Passed through fleets of countless squid boats at night, which are a sight to see all lit up.

Took some brilliant underwater footage with go-pro, of the propellers in the most AMAZING blue water- (4000m of it).

https://youtu.be/wlHNTxdxVEE

https://youtu.be/40z2_VBG2pk

Finally the  wind came away from the correct direction and we had a great sail at about 5-6 kts in 8-10 kt breeze.

the first reef goes in the main

Here comes the first of a few fronts, as it turns out.

Did our first reef in the mainsail , as we watched a front approach, which quickly passed over us.

Perhaps I should have paid more attention in those meteorology classes,but it looks as though it could be a bit unpleasant in there.

The three reefing points on K'Gari

A reef for the uninitiated is not of the coral variety in this instance.It is a way of shortening down the sail. K'Gari has three reef points, so we can create as much, or as little, main sail as we want. Each reef point reduces the sail area by about 20%.The first reef point  removes the bottom metre or so of sail and number two a further meter or so and by the time you have put in reef number three the sail is less than half its normal size. Reefing allows you to continue sailing in control of the boat without overpowering the rig.


Day three and finally some wind but  not really at the correct angle but we were managing a steady 4 knots, in grey overcast conditions, a portent of what was coming. We altered from our pre planned course and cut through north of Bombay Shoal, to get a better wind angle and had a lovely morning sailing under increasingly grey skies. Just before sunset we prudently decided to take mainsail down to third reef, as a precaution. This left about 40% the mainsail set. On we tootled, making about 6-7 kts in 15kt winds.
Apparently we encountered a heavy shower during night, I didn't hear a thing.

Day Four: 0630 I was woken up suddenly as we needed to drop everything for a front which was definitely catching us. Seas getting considerably bumpy.
All done and about 10 mins later it caught up with us as we motored on at a steady 6 kts . As the front closed on us and then passed, the speed under our bare poles increased by a couple of knots, and then dropped back to the steady 6kts.

https://youtu.be/P0iwkRyCcvM

About 1100 the wind was suitable to set the jib alone, and having done that we hit 10 kts ( in a 25 kt gust) under jib alone, then it settled back to a lovely 7.5- 8 kts in about 16 kts of wind. Flying!!!!

Saw first birds for days.

That night we  continued much the same, under jib alone, making good speed. The oil rigs in the distance off  Miri and Brunei, a blaze of lights visible for miles.

Day Five;Wed morning 0300. We found ourselves in 35 kts and increasing seas, thankfully from astern.
We were all up. It was pouring with rain and we had about 2ft of jib out, to help with steerage,  the mainsail had been long ago stowed and a motor running and we were surfing down swells up to 4m at ( top speed recorded of 14 knots) it was unbelievable.

https://youtu.be/dohCS6w_Isk

Boat handled it all brilliantly! Crew handled it brilliantly! Autopilot was magnificent.

We arrived at 1300/17 which was 5days 1hr and 15 mins. Covered 634 miles.

Best part about rotten weather is, not a chance of opportune piracy, by bored fisherman!

Home for  K'Gari for the next ten months.

Five  hours after we arrived in KK, looking out to sea,from the very beautiful and friendly Sutera Harbour Marina, the sea was like a millpond again. How quickly and fiercely does mother nature change?

So K'Gari's first challenge was meet with aplomb!!

 The  choice  I made, selecting this particular brand of boat for future adventures, has been absolutely validated by its maiden voyage performance.

More later, have to go see Customs and Quarantine to check in to Malaysia.