Shootin Through

We finally made it. Hello Malaysia. Now time to crack a beer and clear customs.

One more stop and then we cross the Malaka Strait and up to Pinetrees Marina, Malaysia. We will check in and once cleared it will be time for some exploring. Legoland, Singapore Zoo and everything else we stumble across. It will definitely be a well earned break.

Another long journey but we made. Left in near perfect conditions which had us very optimistic. Only to have it all go to poop in a matter of hours. The sea state was the roughest we can remember and for no apparent reason as we had zero wind. It finally calmed down for the last 24 hours, which was a welcomed relief. We have stopped for the day/night but are off again early to get to the jump point across to Singapore. So close now.

Wind finally but on the nose and that brought with it some uncomfortable swell. The coast line along Billiton is hectic, rocks and shallow patches everywhere with none on Navionics Charts. Don’t was a fairly stressful little jaunt. Anchorage is surrounded by reef so finding a safe patch was a slow process but very protected and calm. Off to get fuel and some supplies while we have driver and then maybe we will go for a swim and a few cocktails to celebrate passing my Uni exams in some extreme circumstances as well as plot the next big jump to Malaysia. Leaving sun up tomorrow…

No wind so another day of motoring but we are getting closer and closer. Tomorrow will be another day trip to the top of Billiton and then we will refuel and prepare for another big jump to get us right up into the thick of things.

After a very long 4 day sail we have reached some sort of land mass. So it is anchors down in surprisingly shallow water and take a night to rest up before we begin the next leg of this journey. It was rather uneventful, which is a nice change for us. No real wind to speak of but that kept the seas calm. Captain unhappy about the motor sailing, but the crew were ok with it.

Beautiful calm night and woke to a total glass off. Unfortunately we had to get moving. We had a minor storm and a bit of current against us so it was motor sailing most of the day. We have now arrived at a place they call “Oxygen Island” We may stay an extra day in the hopes of some wind blowing up, as our next leg will be several days blobbing around in the Java Sea.

After a few days in the hot springs recovering from a cold we headed off again and finally managed to sail, even without our wind instruments. Hopefully this weather keeps up for a few weeks to get us to Malaysia. Yes I know I am being very optimistic, haha. Our code 0 is still hanging on by a thread, but we will be looking at a few upgrades and general maintenance once we get to Malaysia. Time to rest and get ready for another big day tomorrow.

We are on the move, slowly but surely. All suffering from a bit of a cold but the journey must continue. We have arrived at this lovely little anchorage, which has the most boats I have seen in one spot since arriving at Indonesia. There are hot springs, resorts, snorkeling and a bunch of others things to do here. So we will probably hang for a day or so and plan the next, possibly long journey ahead.

Back to Lovina after another rolly night. Slowly making our way to Malaysia. It is the day of Silence here on Bali Island, so nobody is allowed outside, no lights, no noise, no shops, just a day of quiet reflection.