Meeting the Legendary Capt Mike Hatcher

Mike Hatcher preparing to dive during the Java sea wreck salvage

I recently spent av bit of time with the legendary Captain Michael Hatcher. He is probably still the most successful wreck salvor in South East Asia. Hatcher has raised a total of 50 wrecks in his 40 years as the king of salvage. The most famous ones were the Geldermalsen an East Indiaman that sailed from Nanking with 239,000 pieces of Chinese porcelain and 45kg of gold ingots. The most recent success was the salvage of the Tek Sing which sank in the Java sea in 1822. Hatcher earned about USD 25 million from that salvage alone. It has been a hell of a journey for the now 73 year old, who says he has his eyes set on the greatest salvage operation of all time, that will make the sum total of his past successes seem tiny. His next mammoth project is the raising of the Flor Da La Mar, a Spanish merchant vessel that sank off the coast of Sumatra in the 1512. She carries with her a stash of Gold dust stored in clay jars that will amount to USD 2 billion based on today's prices. Well for now that is in the pipeline. Hatcher will have to raise about 20 million from  investors to fund the entire operation. That would be the mother of all salvages and I eagerly look forward to that faithful day when he successfully raises the Flor. What a story that would be.....

Hatcher with Blue Ming porcelain, fetches the highest prices    

  

Hatcher's ship Norma, the perfect salvage vessel

 

Dreaming about the Aleutian 76

The 76 Aleutian is undoubtedly the grandest GB built to date. She's the perfect size for cruising the coastal waters from S'pore to the Riau Archipelago, Tioman and Phuket and she's all you need to keep you and the family comfortable regardless of sea conditions and weather. There's nothing quite like the versatility a trawler for all purposes on the water. I no longer have the need to rush from one marina to another chomping over waves and trying to keep balance. Boating must be savored and very moment enjoyed void of anxiousness and hurry. If the distance is long, the time allowance has to be longer. When you finally get to your destination, there should be no hurry to move on again until after you've truly immersed yourself into the history and culture of that destination. Boating is for living not leaving...     

     

Dreaming about buying a Grand Banks Europa 42. The perfect boat for S'pore waters and short trips to Tioman & Pulau Aur. I just love the teak interiors & traditional design. The slower speeds suits me fine.

Today's Catch

Caught off the reefs fringing Jurong Island using Apollo Rigs & live prawns 

I've been fishing weekly the past month. Mostly jigging off Pulau Salu and Jurong Island. The catch has been below average for Singapore waters. I would have been glad to just catch the harvest shown in the picture. Alas that picture came from a fishing kaki of mine. Pretty good for a day's fishing off Jurong Island. Well, as they say, a bad day's fishing is far better than a good day at the office.
I hope to post news of my fishing adventures again soon. The month of May would be a better season and I'm booked to fish North of Horsburgh in the South China Sea. Till then, here's wishing you fair winds and following seas.

Wow, It's already February 2013

Wow, time really does fly. I hadn't realised that it's already February, nearing the end of the Chinese New Year celebrations. I have not seen my blog since coming back from the Himalayas in November. That's a long time. December has always been my favorite season followed by January or February to celebrate the Lunar New Year.
Well I guess it's time to move on and start "working" again. Time to get back on the tread mill, take the bull by it's horns and build an eventful 2013. Time to update my life again on the blog.

Day 1: S'pore - Ipoh (Road Trip to Tibet)

Day 1: 560km on a tankful of diesel





WF infront of Impiana Hotel, Ipoh

 Roslyn & I woke up early this morning and headed for Tampoi, JB where we park our Malaysian registered Land Cruiser. Crispin my second son stayed the night before and fetched us to JB. Understandably, we were both happy and excited about the next 36 days. I had spent a good 5 months preparing the Cruiser for Tibet and finally the day arrived.



Kelvin Yeo's Toyota Prado

 In all there were 16 cars. 14 participants and 2 official cars from AA Singapore. The Team Leader, Kelvin Yeo has led many such expeditions. This trip was especially a thrilling one, as he was driving his pride & joy, a new Toyota Prado which he bought 4 months back to replace his old Toyota Rav4. Certainly a Prado is a lot more comfortable, of higher performance & reliability and definitely Bigger is always better for long haul trips such as this one.




Some of the other cars in the convoy

 In all, there were two Prados, four Rav4s, an Audi Q5, a Honda CRV, a Volvo XC90, two Kia Sportage, A Lexus RX300 and a BMW X3, a VW Tiguan, a Nissan Murano  and my 20 year old Land Cruiser. What a vast range of different models.

The journey from JB to Ipoh was quite uneventful, except for a speeding ticket issued to the oldest gentleman in our convoy, Mr Seet who is 75 yrs young. As usual, he will be driving all the way to Tibet and back whilst his lovely wife, who's also in her 70s accompanies him on probably his 20th Auto-Venture to date.
Well it's off to dinner now. Tomorrow we'll head straight to the Thai border and stay the night at Hat Yai.

Enroute to Thailand from West Malaysia

JB Hotel Hat Yai

Pit Stop for a quick rest 

Waiting for the Ferry to cross the river from Chiang Rai to Myanmar

Escaping the sun on the barge ferry crossing to Myanmar

The White Buddist Temple in Thailand - This Golden building is the toilet

Arrival at Meiji Mountains - Tibet

Tibet here I come - 10 days to D1

I'm feeling very excited as the days to the departure draws nearer. Next week would be the last week spent in Singapore. My Land cruiser KZJ78G with a 1KJ-TE engine is all set up and ready for the 40 day expedition to Mount Everest Base camp.
The final accessory I fitted was a snorkel. It will enable the engine to breathe cooler dust-free air. So far so good. The air filter appears to be super clean and the looks enhanced to a more rugged 4X4. As for increased performance, I could not feel any visible increase in power.
I am especially happy that the engine temperature remains within the manufacturer's specs when going uphill. This is a direct result of topping up the silicone oil in the viscous hub of the fan hub assembly. Most Landcruisers will keep to normal engine temperatures with the standard clutch fan. No need to change to a 4 layer radiator or a larger fan. Just top up the silicone oil and all will be okay.
I tested the tyre pressures on the Highway yesterday. I found that 30psi when cold, which is about 32psi when hot suits just fine. Anything lower feels slugish and anything higher feels too hard on the bumps.
I will probably start packing today. Don't want to miss any items. Next week, I'll send the LC to Panjang's workshop for a complete servicing. This time I'm determined to have a 100% mechanical fault free drive there & back.