Windguru - A good weather forecast for Boating

I love calm seas and gentle breezes. Little waves lapping against the boat's hull is okay. As much as I am able to, I avoid going out to sea when the winds blow greater then 15 knots and waves higher than 0.7m, I'd rather cruise around the sheltered waters off our local waters. Over the years, I have found one website that I totally rely on to make sure I don't get caught off guard. That website is www.windguru.com It is a free to use site and describes accurately the wind and waves in many regions that our local boaters frequent. This is an example of the forecast off Desaru Malaysia. I use this forecast whenever I fish off Horsburgh Lighthouse and up to 60 nautical miles North of the lighthouse. It has served me well all these years.  

  

Malaysia - Desaru  (wave: NWW3 50 km 27.4. 2014 00 UTC) [Options]

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GFS 50 km 27.04.2014 00 UTC Su 27. Su 27. Su 27. Su 27. Su 27. Mo 28. Mo 28. Mo 28. Mo 28. Mo 28. Mo 28. Tu 29. Tu 29. Tu 29. Tu 29. Tu 29. Tu 29. We 30. We 30. We 30. We 30. We 30. We 30. Th 01. 08h 11h 14h 17h 20h 05h 08h 11h 14h 17h 20h 05h 08h 11h 14h 17h 20h 05h 08h 11h 14h 17h 20h 05h Wind speed (knots) 1 3 6 6 5 2 1 1 4 1 3 2 1 3 4 3 5 3 3 3 2 4 5 3 Wind gusts (knots) 2 3 6 6 5 2 2 1 4 2 3 3 2 3 5 3 5 3 3 3 3 3 6 4 Wind direction Wave (m)                                                 Wave period (s)                                                 Wave direction                                                 *Temperature (°C) 28 31 30 30 28 27 28 31 30 30 29 27 28 31 31 31 29 28 28 30 31 31 29 28 Cloud cover (%) high / mid / low - -   87     72   16 56   55 57     91   41 91   45 87   17 90   34 96   16 97     97   37 96   20 92     89   23 75     70     93     94   12 92   33 91   45 87   5 81     98   6 *Precip. (mm/3h) -   0.6 4.3 0.5 2.3 1.7 1.8 3.6 3.9   2.7 2.4   1.2 1.1     0.9 1.6 6.4 0.4     Windguru rating

Modifying the Tiger-Cat's Trailer

The RSYC (Republic of Singapore Yacht Club) finally decided to retire their tractor on the 1st April 2014. That means no more towing of trailers for launching & recovery. All boats had to use the Marina Bulls (giant fork-lift) for this operation. That meant either I got a new trailer for the Tiger-Cat or make modifications to the existing one to accommodate the Marina Bull. We decided to make the necessary modifications. The first thing that had to go were the 6 wheels & rusting axle. We had a bit of fun working on this task. It had been sometime since my fishing buddy Ah Boon & I worked on a project like this. It was fun.The pictures describe everything.

Testing the existing trailer with the Marina Bull to see how it fits together. Surprisingly, it was a perfect fit and the more we looked at the trailer, the easier the project became. 

How nice, a perfect fit even without modification to the frame of the trailer. By deciding to allow the forks to lift the trailer from the inside, we saved having to fit additional cross bars and used the existing ladder frame instead.    

However the wheel & axle certainly had to go as they would be in the way. In any case, the wheels were already giving way and would not be of any use in another couple of weeks.

Ah Boon, grinding the bolts & bracket to hold the heavy duty I-stands. He's probably the best field mechanic I know especially for cars & boat mechanics.

Almost done. Just need to remove the front section, the bow stem, ladder & winch to allow the boat to slide into the trailer stern-in instead of the usual bow-in protocol.

The finished product, all ready for launching and recovery. Perfectly balanced on 4 heavy duty I-stands

Fishing with Jiang onboard MV Sports Fishing Explorer off Horsburgh

 On 4th April at 2pm, some 18 anglers set off onboard MV Sport Fishing with Jiang at the helm. Jiang is probably the best local sport fishing charter captain in Singapore. His new boat is a 80 foot purposeful built sport fisherman that caters to bottom fishing and jigging. The highlight of the boat as night falls is squid fishing using a very clever contraption at the stern that has once hauled up a bounty harvest of 1,000 squid in a single haul. Each night the boys would easily haul up on average about 200 - 300 squid. Sufficient for all night of bottom fishing.    

MV Sports Fishing Explorer at Marina Country Club. 80 foot of pure mean lean fishing machine. Everything you'll need to catch fish is already fitted onboard. 

The boys setting up the amazingly innovative squid net. Without live squid, catching good quality fish would be a lot more difficult for night fishing. 

Left to Right: Jeffrey the organiser, Tony & Ernie my regular fishing kakis for these types of trips. 

Ramesh & David in the for ground with some new fishing kakis we met onboard the boat. The initial trip to the fishing grounds the first day always holds much excitement and positive anticipation of a fun fish filled trip.

Hauling in squid; there's definitely no better bait for night fishing. The boys worked very efficiently and before we knew it, all the live-bait wells were filled with squid to full capacity.

Can you see the squid? Just the right size for the targeted fish. the prize as always.... Golden & Red Snapper

All eyes on the net. Can you faintly see the squid at the back edge of the net.

David with a beautiful 2kg Golden Snapper. David says that's the biggest fish he ever caught. And what a beauty too. Nothing better than a Golden.

Live squid swimming in the live bait well waiting to serve as bait

The incredible hydraulic drum winch. Fully automated and easily controlled from the enclosed bridge. Every good fishing boat should have one of these. The common capstan looks good but it cannot beat the efficiency of a drum winch. 

Indonesian Fishing Charter Boat anchored too close for comfort. We eventually re-anchored some place else. Somehow their presence seems to have driven the fish away.

Yours truly waiting for the big one to bite. Using a 15 year old G Loomis rod and a Salttiga Z30 multiplier reel. 

A pretty decent haul. In all the boys lifted the net about 20 times

Balling your Anchor - Retrieval System if you don't have a winch

I usually fish onboard a 26 Footer Grady White Catamaran. It's a lovely boat for local waters and I enjoy the dry soft ride of this Cat. The space is perfect for 4 fishermen with a comfortable forward berth to catch a few winks and a nice little head for toilet emergencies. Everything about that boat is specially designed for fishing. The only setback is probably the anchor winch. It doesn't have one. So you have to haul up the 10kg anchor manually. That used to be no problem before, but age has finally caught up with me and it was time for a little innovation to make anchoring easier without the need for big muscles. So nowadays I use a round fender and the engine to bring up the anchor. This old school method is call balling your anchor. Here's a nice video that demonstrates balling perfectly. Enjoy.

  

Monaco - Heaven on Earth

If there is such a place to be bestowed the honor of being Heaven on Earth, it has to be Monaco. The little country that was made famous when the crown prince married the glamorous actress Grace Kelly. Mention Monaco and it conjures images of Super Yachts, Grand Casinos and the Rich & Famous. So why did I decide to write about Monaco? I know I will probably never reside there. Visit perhaps, but I probably won;t be at home in Monaco. It's also a very expensive place to live in today. Prices of houses for example are even more expensive than in Singapore. And already almost everyone is complaining about the high cost of living in Singapore. In fact a recent article in a prominent magazine, placed Singapore as the most expensive city to live in this year. Shocking but all too true. However in reality, Singapore pales when compared to the wealth that's openly exposed in Monaco. There are 50 Billionaires & ten of thousands of millionaires living in that tiny country bordering France. Here's a video on Monaco hosted by Piers Morgan that says plenty about that heavenly city.

  

The Marlow 57E

If there's a Yacht that I'm really delighted to have, it has to be the Marlow 57E. I've always liked Trawlers and I'm definitely no longer thrilled by speed. I actually prefer to cruise along at 12 knots and enjoy the journey. The slower the speed of advance, the less the damage to machinery and the more comfortable the ride. If I were to cruise to Tioman for Instance, I would plan to spend the whole of the first day to get there and do nothing else. There will be no more rushing and bashing waves for me. Once at the destination, I would prefer to stay no less than a week and just explore that one Island. I may be tempted to visit Pu Pemanggil and Pu Aur on the way back which is okay as they are along the journey back to Singapore. One factor, I will monitor closely now would be the weather. If the winds are blowing and the seas over 1meter, I would delay journeying back till the weather calms down. I've more time on my hands now and see no need to rush. As a consequence, I no longer have a passion for fast yachts and will no longer want to make long passages on small boats. Slamming waves head-on has to be a thing of the past for me.
Here's a video I've kept and still love watching from time to time.

The 2014 Singapore Yacht Show

The Singapore Yacht Show scheduled 10-13 Apr 2014, is very unlike the Annual Boat Show that Singapore boaters are used to. The Yacht Show (SYS) is luxury yachting at its best and brings one closer to the realm of Super Yachts and Mega Yachts. This truly is a lifestyle show and one where you'd be a lot more comfortable with, if you had a few million dollars to spare. The cost of a Super Yacht is upwards from about S$20 million and the yearly maintenance is generally about 10% of the cost of the yacht, ie. about $2 million a year to pay the crew, maintain the yacht, berthing and for fuel. Take a look at this video that showcases the essence of owning a yacht and the people who are already in this aristocratic elite circle.

I for one will not be able to afford this lifestyle but that doesn't stop me from dreaming about it or participating in the Yacht show. I can be happy fishing and diving off a 26 footer and making the occasional trip to Tioman or Nongsa over a long weekend. However I'm always happy and ready to be invited to cruise onboard these super yachts, every one a work of art.    

ICON Yachts - Discovery Channel - Super Yachts