Watusi Woman - Saluting Sailor

Pangkor to Langkawi

We said our goodbyes to our mates at the marina and set off on our next little adventure. Hopefully under sail, not the iron sail, but there wasn't much wind in the forecast for the next few days . We motored out into the channel between Marina Island and Pangkor Island and straight away received a radio call from a military ship. Friendly call, in case you were wondering. They kindly gave us a military escort through the channel to send us on our way. Or maybe they were just overtaking us to get to the navy base just up on the right.

We scored some wind and were able to remind ourselves how to sail again after so long in the marina. It was just a short run to Pulau Talang to find our sea legs and ensure all was well with the boat. We tucked into a little cove and enjoyed our first night on anchor since the end of November.

We planned for a 6am start the next morning, but Captain Hubby told me to go back to bed. No complaints from me. I'm not known as an early riser. We were surrounded by boats, nets and flashing lights so we needed to wait for daybreak before zigzagging our way through them.
But wait... the alternator was squealing, so Hubby had to sort that out. That involved pulling the dining table apart to get to the engine. Got going at 7.45am, with a light ESE wind, and motorsailed along at an acceptable pace.

Just 2 hours in and engine alarm went off. Overheated! Table and sides off for the second time. The fan belt was shredded. Never fear, the Captain was here. 30 mins later we're on our way again only to find the wind was now coming from the North. That put the wind right on the nose. Of course.

The day dragged on with plenty of detouring around nets, catching some wind in the headsail every now and then, fighting the current, and taking nearly 12 hours to reach our night anchorage, Pulau Rimau. This quaint little island sits off the southern end of Penang and gave us a fabulous view of the lights of the city and the amazing bridge that spans the ocean to the mainland.

Penang city

sundowners at Pulau Rimau

The next morning was a nice lazy start to the day and a calm sea motorsail around to the north west of Penang to Sunset Bay. It's as beautiful as it sounds too. Sadly, the waters were full of jellyfish. The kind with long tendrils that look poisonous so we chose to not put that theory to the test. We did take the dinghy to shore to find a turtle conservation centre and evidence of many large turtle nests.

There was also a lake here. A very special lake, known as a Meromictic lake, that is a mix of fresh water from the hills and salt water from the sea. The water is layered due to the different densities of fresh and salt water. In this case, being the dry season, an almost empty lake.
On the plus side, we did have a nice bushwalk around it. We came across a monkey that guarded his path well, a huge Monitor Lizard that would hold his own against a Komodo Dragon, a lovely suspension bridge and a fabulous camp ground for those wishing to stay a night or two.

suspension bridge

Turtle beach

sunset bbq

The bay is surrounded by lush green hills, with little white beaches nestled along the waterfront between piles of boulders. We found the perfect little cove for a beach BBQ and beers at sunset. It came with its own hammock, swinging from a shady tree right over the sand. And no jellyfish close to the water's edge thanks to the current pushing them passed. Time for a bath 😁.

We took a dinghy ride around the headland to Monkey Beach. It lived up to its name. A gorgeous beach with some warungs, a couple of beach bars and plenty of monkeys. This beach was very cool, with several interesting characters who were up for a chat. We kicked back in hammocks with plates of nasi goreng and a chilled beer each and enjoyed the view. And the entertaining antics of the monkeys.

We set off before sunrise the next morning for our last stop in Malaysia, Langkawi. The wind was up, the swell was too, and it looked like a promising sail day. While we motored out of the bay and away from the headland I ducked into the cabin only to find water spraying everywhere from the engine. The bilge was already half full of water and the floor was soaking wet. A shout out to Hubby, engine off, and an assessment of what was wrong this time.

Turns out a water cooling hose from the gearbox had blown. Repairs under sail. With 2 cargo ships bearing down on us, one from each side, Hubby made short work of replacing the hose and clamps while I radioed the ships to give them the heads up that they would both need to adjust their courses to go around us. Phew! Mad bit of franticness. Disaster averted, hose issues fixed, so that just left a clean up job for yours truly. I must have cursed myself in my previous post when I said there'd be no more pumping the bilge out by hand. 4 buckets full later and I'd earnt my coffee break.

pre-dawn splendour

Onward into some 2 metre swell, up to 23knots of wind and an island off Langkawi as our destination.

Until next time, Watusi Woman - still the bilge pumping extraordinaire, out.