Wednesday, April 18, 2012

Enjoying the next 6 months transforming the Landcruiser

They say, there's no such thing as an old Landcruiser, only old Landcruiser drivers.
I am amazed at the abundance of aftermarket parts & accessories, one can get for a Landcruiser. The more I read about it on the web, the more I reliaze just how little I actually know. Well, the next couple of months will be fun for sure, transforming the 20 year old Cruiser to an expedition ready machine.






  
On Thursday 26 April, I will leave for Kota Kinabalu to fish onboard the Seven Stars Fishing Charter Boat. It will be my first real taste of fishing in KK. The organiser Jeffrey Chan, tells me KK is home to the famous Ruby Red Snappers. I've never seen one before let alone caught one on my line. Well, the seas are flat calm again this time of the year, during the transition from the NE to the SW Monsoon. I look forward to tight lines & screaming reels once again.

A photo I took off a website - Fishing at KK

Fishing North of Horsburgh Lighthouse

I went fishing again on Good Friday. Should have been in church, but found it too hard to pass up on a fishing trip to the wrecks north of Horsburgh. Checked windguru.com and was relieved that the weather would be flat calm. I had enough of rough seas during my youth. I much prefer soft breezes and flat water nowadays.
We set sail onboard a friend's 36 foot Grady at 9am. Although fully loaded, with 1,400 ltres of fuel, water and provisions for 3 days, we still managed to get the Grady to cruise at a decent 28 knots, burning 186 ltres of fuel an hour. In a short two hours, we were past Horsburgh. Then followed 3 glorious days of exciting fishing. The fish we targeted were not big, but they came fast & furious. The main bait was NTUC sotong. It's a popular belief that only kelong sotong works. Well apparently the fish at our spot don't mind the NTUC packaged ones either. The first night's highlight, 2 large Cobias, about 10 kg each.  

In all we caught over 100 fish, mostly small table sized for eating
Thelargest fish caughtm a 12 kg Cobia

Overland drive from Singapore to Bangkok and back - 21 May to 2 Jun 2023

Every once in a while, I feel the need to break out of my mandane routine and drive up north. Short trips are usually to Genting Highlands o...