K'Gari. Voyage of adventure , to the horizon and beyond........: 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.