Our very early departure meant for an early arrival at Pangkor where we would spend the first few days anchored before moving to a marina for the actual rally events. One of our disappointments has been our lack of sailing time. The winds so far have been light less than 10 knots so it has been mostly motoring with an assist from the sails.
I've written of the huge amount of shipping traffic here in the Malacca straits, well there is even more fishing boats about. The fishing fleet here is HUGE! At any one time as you scan the horizon you can count perhaps 50 or more. There method is either nets drug behind to scoop up and scour the bottom or drifting ones for the fish to swim into. In watching them retrieve the nets we see only small fish in the 8 to 10 inch range. We don't even bother to drag a lure anymore. But today we made a catch. While motor sailing along we came to a sudden stop.
We had managed to catch the remnants of a discarded net. First stopping the engine then lowering the sails it was time for Jerry to go for a short swim. Knife in hand we were soon free. The debris was loaded aboard disposal once we reached Pangkor.
Our anchorage was in a large protected bay surrounded by white sandy beaches. There were several resorts and a small town. We launched the dinghy, my last patching job was holding nicely, and went to shore joining several others for a nice dinner out.
After a restful night at Kukup we took our time getting ready for departure.
The early morning had a low tide so we need to wait for a bit of the flood. Meantime I got a chance to bottle the current batch of home brew.Once underway it was short 25 mile or so trip to Pulau, meaning island, Pisang. We anchored in the lee of the island with 4 other boats joining us. It had been another day of motor sailing with the wind from the northwest which was our direction of travel.
As the weather report showed a wind direction change for Thursday we spent another restful day catching up on reading at Pulau Pisang.
We departed Pulau Pisang in the early hours of Thursday the 11th. No the wind had not made it's favorable change so it was more of the same main sail and genoa providing some help to Miss Perky our faithful engine.
Our next stop was another island close to the coast, this Pulau Besar near the port town of Melaka.
Melaka was to be the first of our rally stops, though it presented some problems. Anchoring at Besar then required a ferry trip in to the city. There was an unprotected roadstead anchorage off the town or a marina that was in disrepair and we had been advised not to go in to. Our decision was just to stay in the island anchorage and skip the rally stop.
We made our way past Singapore and up to the Danga Bay marina. This would be the first marina stop since last April and having traveled approximately 4500 miles. Kathy was really looking forward to having the use of a hose to wash everything. A real benefit to the marin was it's low cost FREE ! The marina has been in existence for a couple of years but as it is not finished there is no charge for slips.
The check-in proceedures to a new country were easily carried out and we were ready to get busy cleaning and fixing all that we could. As we don't spend lots of time marina bound when we in one we look at it as work time.
For three weeks we kept busy. The decks were scrubbed, stainless polished, canvas re-sowen dinghy repaired, inquires were made regarding repair of the water maker, cushions cleaned, fuel taken on etc. etc. Prior to leaving I even managed to jump in the water that more resembled weak tea to clean the barnacles from the propeller.
We had joined a rally, "Sail Malaysia" for the passage up the west side of the Malay peninsula to Langkawi. The rally included three stops in between, so to keep to a somewhat schedule we made our departure from Danga marina on 8 Nov. The best part was having to pay only 13 ringet, about $4 US for electricity used.
Skipping forward to the present day 22 Nov.2010, now 10 years from the beginning. Perhaps at sometime I will figure out or get help in how to insert the old adventures as we made our way from North Carolina to here in Malaysia. For those of you who have just stumbled upon this site it has been a long and wonderful adventure so far, so stay tuned as we pick up from our arrival here in Malaysia.
We exited Indonesia and headed across the Singapore Straits on 14 Oct.2010. We felt as a slow moving pedestrian crossing a busy road as we watched for a break in the shipping traffic moving to and fro.
It took several months to be successful in the sale of Po'oino. That accomplished we began an earnest search for a replacement that would fit our wishes, needs and budget. Kathy had spent time while we were in Mexico looking at other boats, her boat survey as she termed it though no decisions had been made. Through yacht brokers we looked at many different designs but after seeing one we were drawn to the Peterson 44. We finally had something definite to look for.
In November of 2000 when our thoughts were south of the boarder in warm and sunny Mexico we found the listing for what would be our future home. The boat was on the east coast in North Carolina, an offer for purchase was accepted based on our inspection. Off we went! The boat had started her life in a Caribbean charter fleet, then been owned and cruised by two different couples. At present she had spent the last year and a half, neglected, and for sale in a storage yard on the intercoastal waterway.
Needless to say this boat was a project but it was also a fit to our needs and wishes. A deal was struck and we were now the proud owners of Po'oino Roa. Roa is Tahitian for more or bigger so we were definitely crazy, which I believe one must be to own a boat as they truly are holes in the water that we throw money into.
As Po'oino Roa was in need of lots of repair and tender loving care where were we going to undertake this project? Newport Beach on the other side of the country was our answer. So how to get there? They built a perfectly good canal across the isthmus of Panama back in the early 1900's, so our answer was a delivery trip through the Caribbean, Panama canal and up the west coast of Central America and Mexico to our home in Newport Beach.
For the next six weeks we worked 12 hour days to ready the boat for the upcoming trip. Think about how many people work for years on their boats before taking off on a cruise, we only spent 6 weeks readying everything from initially just cleaning to some necessary new rigging, electrical systems, refrigeration, leaking portlights, navigation systems etc.etc.
All was somewhat accomplished and due to the fact it was cold in North Carolina in January off we went on what turned out to be a wonderful one and a half year delivery trip. This was especially true as we learned lots about the boat and the necessary upgrades and changes we needed to make before setting off again and enjoying the cruising lifestyle.
From this beginning we will fast forward to November of 2010, ten years since our purchase of Po'oino Roa and thousands of miles traveled. Today we are at anchor at Palau Basar off the west coast of Malaysia. After wind and rain overnight it has calmed and the sun is shining , Kathy is watching a movie and I am learning to create this blog. For whomevers enjoyment I will continue on with our current adventures and over time try to fill in the past
ones.
This adventure begins back in the olden times of the last century. Jerry has purchased a 32 foot sailboat and retired from his job as a Harbor Patrolman on the waters of Newport Harbor in Southern California. Captain Kathy who has the sailing experience has found someone to run her business for the time being. Together they have decided to take an open ended sailing adventure south to Mexico. The boat, Po'oino meaning not quite right in the head, an Ericson 32 has been upgraded with almost new everything and is ready to go.
Together Kathy and Jerry spent nine fun filled months cruising as far as Puerto Vallarta and up into the Sea of Cortez. There seemed to be only one problem, we loved the lifestyle and wanted it to continue but Po'oino was a bit SMALL. The decision was made return to Southern California to sell this boat and find a more suitable boat to both live on and continue the adventure of traveling across oceans.
The approach to the marina was straight forward though as normal it seems here over rather shallow water, Marina staff met us in a small launch and guided us into a berth. This is another of a number of newly developed marinas along this coast of Malaysia. The docks are finished and have water and power but no real surrounding infrastructure, such as restrooms, showers, laundry or restaurants etc.. Not a problem as a rally stop we were entitled to 3 days of free dockage. Once we were secured we were told that there was an afternoon tour to a local shipyard and then a stop at the supermarket on the return to the marina. Kathy was quickly ready to go as when we had been anchored out she had only been able to buy a few fresh things. I decided to stay and put the boat away and start on some other necessary chores. 
Off the group went and for a change from our experience in Indonesia in a modern air conditioned bus. Reports came back as the shipyard was OK but the supermarket definitely worthwhile. A buses luggage compartment can have many uses. Yes that's our stack with the "trader joe's" bag and slabs of Carlsberg beer.
Wednesday the 24 th was to be a rest day for rally events. Though since we were secure in the marina it was a perfect time to get things done. For Kathy the never ending job of laundry, done by hand in a 5 gallon bucket. For me it was time to do an oil change on the faithful Miss Perky.
Thanksgiving evening there was no turkey to be found but we enjoyed the final rally event in Pangkor, a big feed with everything from local noodle and curry dishes to pasta or peanut satay. Also included was all the beer we could drink. It was an enjoyable yachtie gathering.
