Safety at Sea Fire & Breach in the Vessel

This video is a good example of responsible boating. The experienced crew of the Sailing Vessel Delos, briefing the new crew on emergency procedures onboard. This time the topic is Fire and Hull breach. You never want to have a fire onboard any vessel. Its dangerous and will certainly sink the boat if not attended to immediately. Any small fire must be extinguished immediately and the alarm raised. Watch the video:

Singapore Yacht Show 2016

I make it a point to always visit the annual Boat/Yacht Show. I didn't go this year. I cruised to Tioman, Aur and Pulau Yu instead. The seas were calm after a 3 & a half month North East Monsoon that usually starts in late November. Waves maxed at 0.3m (1 foot) making a very comfortable ride onboard a Meridian 341 (36 footer) Flybridge Cabin Cruiser. Crusing on an average 20 knots, we made the journey to Tioman in about 6hrs not including stops along he way. Although the fuel capacity of 960 Litres is sufficient to make the 125 nm journey from RSYC (Republic of Singapore Yacht Club) to Tioman Marina at Tekek, we decided to stop at the SAF Yacht Club at Changi to top up about 160 Litres of diesel fuel before moving on again through the Lima Channel passage.

     We stayed at Tioman on Friday night after clearing Customs & Immigration. I would always advice boaters to use a clearing Agent. I usually use the services of Pak Darus (Hp: +60139333033) The total cost of clearing 5 Passports and 1 night berthing at Tioman Marina was RM410. We were happy to pay as it saved us the hassle of wasting time and headaches of having to anchor outside Tekek Bay had Pak Darus not been able to get us a berth at the packed Marina. I was told the original Marina was supposed to be four times larger but the developers had to scale it down to its present size after receiving overwhelming protests from Green Movements. That's a real shame, because the present Marina is way too small to accommodate visiting boats. Most of the berths are already taken up by small dive and fishing charter boats, large Mersing Ferries and Customs and police boats. Even the local fishing vessels make it a routine to dock there probably to pick up supplies or rest between trips.

Albert Khoo and enthusiastic boater attended my Coaster Skipper Course 20 yrs ago joined us to Tioma

Chui Lee, a new boater owns the Meridian 341. She captained the Yacht throughout the cruise

Refuelling from a friendly Yacht on the way back to Singapore

Pulau Pemanggil. Still desolate and Prestine

Richard, great company to have onboard these extended trips. Many hands make light work

   To check the weather before going there, I use use the information publish at windguru.cz
http://www.windguru.cz/int/index.php?sc=6344 and select under Desaru - Malaysia. The aps is easy to use and so far, pretty accurate.

The Meridian 341 was a comfortable ride to Tioman in these seas at 20 knots.. It was smooth sailing all the way with the generators and air-conditioning running 3 days non stop. Anchoring her was a breeze.  

 Perhaps the next trip we will explore the waters off Riau or make a slow passage to Phuket at an average speed of 8 knots. The options with a reliable Cabin Cruiser are plenty.

The Adventures of Sailing Vessel Delos

This is one of my most favorite videos on You Tube. The amazing voyage of the free spirited crew onboard the Sailing Vessel Delos. They started from the US to South America, Australia and New Zealand to Indonesia, Singapore, Thailand and now a video of their next destination; Port Blair (India). I should be heading that way again in November, so this feature has immediate relevance for me in 2016.

How to remove Fish Hooks from your flesh

This angler has an unbelievably high tolerance to pain. I certainly wouldn't do this demo for $10K. Anyway watch the video and learn if you ever get punctured by a fish hook.

How Yamaha Marine makes Propellors

Here's an interesting video showing how Yamaha Marine manufactures their props.

The Boat Builders of Myanmar

Singapore and Malaysia may have advanced to fibreglass boats as the norm the last 35 years but luckily we still have neighbours who have stayed with wood for boat building. My first boat was a wooden sampan that cost me S$188. It was a 16 footer fitted with a borrowed Evinrude 4Hp Outboard. 4Hp is very fast compared to rowing. I loved that sampan. I spent many hours on the water each weekend exploring the East Coast of Singapore and visited the many kelongs located off Changi. Those kelongs are all gone now. Take a look at the traditional art of boat building from wood.

  

A Video on Kuala Rompin Accomodations & Sailfish Fishing

Kuala Rompin, West Malaysia

There has been a lot reported about the fascinating Sail fish activity at Kuala Rompin, a stretch of sea just north of Mersing and West of Pulau Tioman. Some say the sail-fishing there during the peak season in June, July & Aug can match that of Phuket anytime. We'll I'll be heading to Rompin on the 15th April to doing some light jigging for pelagics. Its too early for Sailfish, but the North East Monsoon has almost passed and it time to get the gears out into the sunshine again.

We decided to drive there from JB and enjoy the scenic route along the way up.

More report and pictures when I get back.....