Thursday, April 26, 2012
Back on board
We are back on board China Grove at Sutera Harbour Marina. The plan is (after fixing all problems that have come up and were not on the current list) is to take CG to Kudat, which is on the top of Borneo, and haul out for antifouling.
Saturday, December 17, 2011
update
Ian and I have been back in Melbourne since September enjoying family time. We are returning to China Grove, which is in Sutera Harbour Marina, in April 2012. The plan is to bring China Grove back to Australia departing in August 2012. Merry Christmas to all.
Tuesday, July 19, 2011
Beijing, China
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| Beijing, China |
Ian and I had to leave Malaysia to renew our 90 day visa and so decided on a quick trip to Beijing. We were quite surprised at how modern and vibrant this city is. It seemed as though somehow Beijing has come into the 21st century with one huge jump but is still caught up in the 1950's. The older Chinese treated us with caution but were very friendly once contact was made. On the other hand, the younger generation embrace Westerners and will try their best English on you. The Chinese people are wonderful, but do have three habits which we found offensive compared to our upbringing - spitting, picking their noses and smoking - all while dining in a restaurant! Each to their own! I have included the photographs taken and I think they speak for themselves. We got back to China Grove only to find the freezer and fridge went on the blink --- the smell is indescribable. All fixed now and we thank God it didn't happen half way back to Oz. Had our friend Doug and Paul on board for four days and it was good to catch up with them. We were able to get 18 holes of golf in - not to mention the Proboscis monkeys on Klias River. Nicole, Mel and Peattie arrive on the 12th of Aug for 2 weeks. We are really looking forward to their arrival. We then wind down as we fly home on the 15th of Sept for six months.
Tuesday, April 5, 2011
Back on board
After a wonderful six months at home with family and friends, we are back on board China Grove. We will keep her in this area for one more year and then possibly sail back to Australia in August 2012. That's the present plan. So, other than venturing out of the marina to a few of the surrounding islands when friends and family come to visit, we have no plan to go any further - ie Philippines. We have rented an extremely small car for six months. It is slightly bigger than a scooter - but has the best airconditioning and will certainly get us around to where we want to go.
We are kept busy doing chores on board and then plan to sail down to Labuan (duty free island) to replenish our refreshments!! We have a Philippina helping us clean the boat. Her name is Vicki and she is great.
There is also this wonderful Chinese restaurant called King Hu which we frequent for the Peking duck and great fried Bejing dumplings!!
We are kept busy doing chores on board and then plan to sail down to Labuan (duty free island) to replenish our refreshments!! We have a Philippina helping us clean the boat. Her name is Vicki and she is great.
There is also this wonderful Chinese restaurant called King Hu which we frequent for the Peking duck and great fried Bejing dumplings!!
Wednesday, September 29, 2010
Home for Christmas 2010
We love Kota Kinabalu and really enjoyed a visit from our friends Teryle and Steve and Philip and Robin. It is an easy place for people to fly into from anywhere in the world and the resort has great accommodation.
We have now left China Grove in the Sutera Harbour Marina to spend family time in Melbourne and plan to return in March next year.
Sunday, August 15, 2010
Kuantan to Kota Kinabalu
Gosh where has the time gone? It has been a while since updating the blog.
Now, where were we………Ah, yes, Kuantan. You can be assured, we won’t be hurrying back too soon. Great city but the world’s worst anchorage just off the Hyatt resort. Apparently you can anchor up the river but have to be careful with all the fishing boats coming and going through the night.
Our next rally destination was Trengganu where we had a fabulous reception and stayed in a marina. We also had a reception at the resort on Pulau Kapas. Our favourite island – great snorkeling in crystal clear water and lots of turtles. It is a tiny island frequented by backpackers.
We sailed up to Pulau Redang (famous for diving) for a few days and again enjoyed clear water and then headed back to Pulau Kapas prior to our departure on the 3rd of July to cross the South China Sea to Borneo. Our initial plans were changed somewhat because of increased incidents of piracy around the Indonesian Anambas Islands.
So we headed back down to Pulau Tioman and then across the Tioman shipping channel (where our AIS showed that we had at least 25 ships on our plotter at times and of course it was midnight on a moonless night!) keeping well south of the Anambas Islands.
No pirates but just on leaving this area we hit a log. We were in company with “Three Ships” who stood by us while we tried to remove this 16 foot railway sleeper that had lodged between the keel and beyond the rudder – held tight by the propeller!!
After much panic and getting all the diving equipment out, we managed to remove the log by tying a couple of ropes and winching it with the electric winches. Positives were – minimal damage to the propeller and it was a calm sunny day!! We arrived at Pulau Talang Talang Besar
about midnight on the 6th of July having spent four days and three nights at sea. We then moved on to the Santubong River at Kuching where nephew Andrew and his mate Tony joined us for three days.
We took in the Rainforest Music festival while there – an interesting experience and the Orangutan Sanctuary.
After a week, we headed for Mirri which took us four days passing through countless oil rigs and dodging massive floating logs!
Mirri was the start of the Borneo International Yachting Challenge.
We admit the first race around the bouys we got totally wrong and had to pull out – a DNF. We then had quick tuition on race courses. You would think that having had kids sailing sabots throughout their childhood would have put us in good stead. Different story, however, when we had two more races around the bouys in Kota Kinabalu – fourth, no less!!! From Mirri we had an overnight race to Pulau Labuan – we motored most of the way. Pulau Labuan is a duty free island and so we were able to replenish some of our refreshments. There would be no other reason for stopping at that island. We had another overnight race to our final destination – Sutera Harbour Marina at Kota Kinabalu.
Guess what? After traveling 2100 nautical miles from Rebak Marina, we think China Grove will be here for some time:o)
Now, where were we………Ah, yes, Kuantan. You can be assured, we won’t be hurrying back too soon. Great city but the world’s worst anchorage just off the Hyatt resort. Apparently you can anchor up the river but have to be careful with all the fishing boats coming and going through the night.
Our next rally destination was Trengganu where we had a fabulous reception and stayed in a marina. We also had a reception at the resort on Pulau Kapas. Our favourite island – great snorkeling in crystal clear water and lots of turtles. It is a tiny island frequented by backpackers.
We sailed up to Pulau Redang (famous for diving) for a few days and again enjoyed clear water and then headed back to Pulau Kapas prior to our departure on the 3rd of July to cross the South China Sea to Borneo. Our initial plans were changed somewhat because of increased incidents of piracy around the Indonesian Anambas Islands.
So we headed back down to Pulau Tioman and then across the Tioman shipping channel (where our AIS showed that we had at least 25 ships on our plotter at times and of course it was midnight on a moonless night!) keeping well south of the Anambas Islands.No pirates but just on leaving this area we hit a log. We were in company with “Three Ships” who stood by us while we tried to remove this 16 foot railway sleeper that had lodged between the keel and beyond the rudder – held tight by the propeller!!
After much panic and getting all the diving equipment out, we managed to remove the log by tying a couple of ropes and winching it with the electric winches. Positives were – minimal damage to the propeller and it was a calm sunny day!! We arrived at Pulau Talang Talang Besar
about midnight on the 6th of July having spent four days and three nights at sea. We then moved on to the Santubong River at Kuching where nephew Andrew and his mate Tony joined us for three days.
We took in the Rainforest Music festival while there – an interesting experience and the Orangutan Sanctuary.
After a week, we headed for Mirri which took us four days passing through countless oil rigs and dodging massive floating logs!
Mirri was the start of the Borneo International Yachting Challenge.
We admit the first race around the bouys we got totally wrong and had to pull out – a DNF. We then had quick tuition on race courses. You would think that having had kids sailing sabots throughout their childhood would have put us in good stead. Different story, however, when we had two more races around the bouys in Kota Kinabalu – fourth, no less!!! From Mirri we had an overnight race to Pulau Labuan – we motored most of the way. Pulau Labuan is a duty free island and so we were able to replenish some of our refreshments. There would be no other reason for stopping at that island. We had another overnight race to our final destination – Sutera Harbour Marina at Kota Kinabalu.
Guess what? After traveling 2100 nautical miles from Rebak Marina, we think China Grove will be here for some time:o)
Tuesday, June 15, 2010
Tioman to Kuantan
From Tioman we spent a night between two islands called Sembilang and Seiri Buat and had the most wonderful time snorkelling. The fish were not that abundant but the coral was just brilliant from purples, pinks, blues, yellows and white. The next night was spent anchored off the beach at Rompin where we attended a local festival. We have been anchored off the beach in front of the Hyatt Resort at Kuantan for four days. It is a very rolly anchorage and so have had to use both of our "flopper stoppers" - they work a treat. We have a rally "high tea" here tonight and will head out to the islands in the morning.
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