Captain’s Log: Pangkor, Port Dickson, Puteri Harbor in Malacca Straits

June 25-July 8

Hi All,

It’s been a while since I’ve written a blog…….this one could be a little long so go get your favorite beverage and sit back and enjoy!! Well…..we’ve been busy……on passages, boat issues and well, jocularity with friends….really like that last part:))))

I’m writing this on Saturday, July 8th at Puteri Harbor marina, right across from Singapore…..and well….good riddance Malacca Strait…..it’s been fun……NOT!!!!!! We did indeed leave Penang and Straits Quay marina on day 11 after my hernia surgery, Wednesday June 28……did a 15nm run to the south part of Penang and anchored overnight……then did 60nm the next day to Pangkor. Spent 3 days there then did 2, 70+nm runs to Port Dickson anchoring one night. Spent 3 nights there and then did 2, 70+ runs anchoring one night to Puteri Harbor Marina.

OK…..if anyone knows a decent, well for that matter an indecent one will also work, gremlin exorcism ritual please perform one for Mystic…..we very much could use it for sure:)))))

They say the 3rd times the charm and count them…..not one, not two, but three pieces of crapola attached themselves to Mystic this time…….arghhhhhh. Counting the one time last year that makes FOUR nets/ropes….3 in the starboard stabilizer and 1 in our main prop…..all in the Malacca Strait. All four causing me to don scuba gear and go untangle/cut the crap off……enough already!!!! YES, there is a lot of crap/trash in the Straits……cut nets, ropes, garbage of all kinds, lots of logs, many trees et al!!!

As we tell cruisers in the area the tales, some of them say wow, that’s never happened to us……you must not be paying attention or just bad luck, we always do night passage…etc….arghhhhhh!!!! But, one wise veteran of the Malacca Straits said no worries John, it’s like going aground, there are those that have been aground and those that will go aground…..same here….there are those who have been snagged and those that will be snagged….those that smugly say differently either don’t leave the dock, are liars or have just not been caught yet….well. there you go!!

This last incident happened after we had left Port Dickson for the 2 day trip to Puteri. Day 1 as I was writing an email to a friend we are trying to hook up with (Kathy was on watch and did not see anything) we hear this thunk and the rpms rapidly decrease….oh crap……I immediately throttle down and go into neutral…..we don’t see anything off the stern so we go in gear and throttle up….1000 rpm, ok, 1200 rpm, crap, vibration, 1400 rpm, big vibration so we shut it all down…….time to get wet. Now we are in the dirty, polluted Malacca Strait with about a 1kt current and 10 kts of wind and 1-2′ chop……not too bad but not calm either…..but not in the shipping lane TG and we see no other boats near us. Say John…yes……don’t swallow any water….yeah right. So, I don snorkel gear, safety line and jump in….immediately I see a huge wad of netting wrapped on the main prop…….gulp….go back up and say this will need scuba air……so don all that gear and with my dive knife in my teeth…ok, for all you safety nazi’s not really….but I like the visual:))) It takes me maybe 10 minutes and 8-10 cuts with my dive knife…..yep, it’s a good one…..and the net is free……yeah….happy dance all around……I go and get us started…..no vibrations…..oh what a relief……and Kathy gets stuck cleaning everything……like an hour later she is done…..yuck!!!!

OBTW…….that is the FIRST time in 13 years of cruising that we have caught something on the prop…..we have a full keel and rudder skeg so the prop is well protected. We think this ball of netting must have scraped the side of the keel and the sides got caught by the prop….ugh!!!

The other incident was on the run into Port Dickson…..I was on watch and it was fairly choppy that day…..about 50 yards out I see a 1.5-2″ rope, maybe 10 yards long strung out across our bow……I throttle down, go into neutral and breathe a sigh of relief when nothing happens……we look all around the boat and see nothing and thought we had dodged a bullet….hmmm…..get into the marina and look at the strbd side and yep, there is our rope….caught on the stabby…..arghhhhhh……fortunately when I dove on it the next day it was not wrapped just caught between the hull and stabby fin and I was able to pull it all out!!!

Bad Fuel bought (800 gal) in Langkawi……used 400 gallons diesel so far, 450 nm since, bought about a month ago…….so far we have pulled out 125 ounces of water…..that’s almost a gallon…….117 oz from the port tank and 8 oz from the strbd tank……yikes!!! We have fuel polished 1000-1250 gallons every day (except for the 3 days around the surgery), about 26,000 gallons total, about 208 hours which equals about 22 passes of bad fuel through the ESI fuel polisher. We are now getting practically nothing from the strbd tank….the good boy……but yesterday after the 10-15kt, 1-3′ headseas, (the tank got stirred up) we got 7 ounces out of the port tank…..the bad boy!!!! But today, being in the marina we are getting nothing out of either tank. I think most of the water has settled to the bottom of the tank and when the tanks are stirred up it helps move the water to the ESI pick up tube. Who knows how long this will go on……ugh, ugh, ugh!!!!

We have also been through 5 filters…..4, 2-micron and 1,10-micron. We ran out of 2-micron but Stedem on Atlantis found some for us in Singapore so we will get restocked soon……we are on our last 2-micron!!!

A cruiser told me at Pangkor as he was next to us on the dock cleaning his fuel tanks from bad fuel also purchased in Langkawi but at a different location, Telaga Harbour…..well son….wow, it’s been a while since I’ve been called that…..I’ve been out for 40 years and got bad fuel twice…….once in 13 years is not that bad so chin up there boy!!!!! Since he was a sailboater, I imagine I’ve bought more fuel in 13 years than he has in 40 years so maybe our experience is not too bad either….but, it still sucks!!!!

The fuel plan: Well, we were going to get fuel at the fuel barge in Sebana Cove…..about 50nm from here and still in Malaysia…..many cruisers this year have bought fuel there with no issues. But, I called the barge and the Captain confirmed it is indeed biodiesel……he was not sure of the blend….maybe 3-5% but we have read many articles that say Malaysia is converting from 7 to 10% so who really knows. All attempts to communicate with Shell have failed……ugh!!! So, not wanting to take the chance of a high percentage of palm oil we have decided to go back to Nongsa Indonesia….just across the channel from Singapore….about 55nm from Puteri. We were there last October and bought clean, clear, brown colored diesel and we still trust the marina manager who we have been in constant contact with over the last few weeks…..he swears it is pure diesel!!!! This is costing us a few extra days plus we have to check out of Malaysia (that’s why we are here in Puteri), then check into and out of Indonesia at Nongsa as out next port after that will be Tioman which is back in Malaysia…..got all that:))))) Poor Kathy, she’s had to fill out all the various forms…ugh!!!!

But, what price do you put on piece of mind. Even if we got 7% biodiesel in Langkawi (worst case…..again the Captain shore it was pure diesel but the color is yellow-green which is the color of diesel with palm oil) adding another 400 gallons of pure diesel will bring our % palm oil down to maybe 3-4% which our diesel experts tell us our Cummins should …..that is a qualified should…be able to handle!!!

Update: We have successfully checked out of Malaysia today……yea!!! The marina manager here for $15 does most of the work so it was easy peasy!!!!

Autopilot: We maybe figured it out as the last 2.5 days of running it has worked great!!!! The day we left Pangkor was the worst…..worked ok the first 2 hours but then the next 6 hours it could not hold a course……wild S swings on Auto or Nav mode……arghhhhhh!!!! I handsteered for a good part of that time….but then the last 2 hours it was back working…..go figure. That night over our passage beers we said let’s go back to basics. We had both checked the 3rd stateroom for anything that could be metallic or magnetic that could effect the compass….it is installed in the ceiling of the 3rd stateroom……we both had found nothing. But, this time, Kathy said she would tear up the stateroom and guess what……yep, she found the culprit…..it was a cell phone booster antenna hidden down in between some cushions…..we bought the antenna in Australia…..it had a large magnet base that you placed on something metallic or in our case a cookie sheet….AND, we think it was Australia where all this intermittent issue started…..go figure!!!!

So, the next day we had high hopes…..but, the AP did not hold course for the first 2 hours…ugh!!! But, TG, it started to work as we entered the Port Klang Channel…..now this is a very impressive shipping port. Maybe 50-60 shipping container docks plus 10-12 dry goods unloading…….maybe 300-400 cranes…..we saw one boat being unloaded using 5 cranes….wow!!! This channel is about 20nm long and narrow…..last year you can see on our tracks where we made 7-8, 90* turns to avoid various tugs, ships, barges et al. This time all was quiet until the end……with the AP working it was very enjoyable to watch all the loading/unloading……very, very impressive!!!

As we exited the channel we still have a 0.3-0.5 kt current, 10 kts wind and 1-2′ chop….not ideal calm conditions we have been waiting on but heck…..let’s do it….so we did a “seatrial”…..set zero rudder, compass calibration and autotune…..and voila Mr Compass and MR AP are back in the game……welcome back boys, you’ve been missed!!!!! Yes, we both had many cocktails that night:)))))

AC-12 power Converter: Good news, the workaround we did in Penang is still working!!!! Bad news we can not seem to source the cooling fans we need in Malaysia. I thought I had located a store in George Town….but they were closed for the 4 day Ramadan holiday. So, I called on that Wednesday we left…..hi sir, yes we can order those fans….no, wait, I am leaving and want to come to your store and pick them up……uh sir, you do not understand, we do not have a store, we are an ONLINE store…..we actually order those fans from USA…….arghhhhhh!!!! So, many hours spent on Google and no joy. So we will use one of these Malaysian online stores and order to be delivered in Kota Kinabalu for when we arrive late September!!!! We are not sure how many marinas we will be in for the next 2-3 months…..maybe 1 or 2 after Nongsa so the AC-12 will not be used that much!!!

Dual Racor filter leak: The morning we anchored after we left Pangkor we wake up to diesel smell. A quick dash to the engine room and we see diesel in the bilge….I eventually trace the leak to the port racor filter…..it has sprung a leak on the inlet connection……oh crap….the first thing that comes to mind is biodiesel eats seals and o-rings….gulp. So, I drain the diesel from the filter and we start to use the strbd filter. We clean the mess up and start the days run to Port Dickson. The next day we are in Port Dickson and I tackle the leak. I have convinced myself the inlet connection is loose and it looks like a bad o-ring. Well, this dual racor filter unit has been installed in between the fuel tank site glass and there is no easy way to get the whole unit out w/o taking the site glass unit off first which involves some heavy duty fuel hoses…..arghhhhhh…..what looked to be an hour job just turned into a full day job…….ugh, ugh, ugh……and no way we have time. So I tired many different ways…..and I did eventually take off 6 bolts from the dual racor mounting board and was able to tilt the port racor housing out enough to get the inlet connection off. Hmmmm…..it was loose…..had to be from installation as it was connected to the inlet pipe so no way for it to back out. And the o-ring looks good……well, great but oweeeee……..in hindsight I could have just tightened the inlet locking nut and it would have done the job……..lesson learned….another 5 hours of hot yoga I could have avoided.

But wait, it gets better……as I tighten the racor bowl back on the filter…..I had to take it off to access several bolts on the mounting board…..one of the four bolts is stripped and will not tighten…..actually it is the threads on the female part that stripped not the bolt itself…….Really…….NOW…..wow, is some Mystic gremlin having fun or what….so, I’m out of time and patience and need a break after 5 hours of hot yoga…..plus I need to still dive the boat to get the rope off. So, we leave this issue until today……another 2 hours in MR Hot Yoga Engine Room and success……had to use a longer bolt with some spacers and got it all tighten with no leaks…..so make that 7 hours in hot yoga where I could have done it in 5 minutes (maybe)…….whaaaaaa!!!!!

Power: why o why…….if you are going to go into a marina the expectation is to use shorepower….especially for the Air Con…..good grief…..in both Pangkor and Port Dickson the first nights were horrible….power going on/off and basically worthless…..so, in order to get some sleep we just ran the Gen….arghhhhhh!!!! In Pangkor after many hours that night and morning I was convinced it was a bad cord from the marina…..they had run a 100 yard cord to our boat…..but, the electrician was convinced our cord or even our boat had an issue…..we almost came to blows when the marina showed back up with a new cord…..we plugged it in….wow, Mr Electrician see there is now power on the voltmeter from the new cord….and no power on the bad cord….hmmm……the power ran great after that.

In Port Dickson it turned out to be a bad shorepower breaker…..again after several hours we were convinced it was the breaker but again the Electrician said it was our boat…..finally the marina guy says just use the shorepower box across the dock….that slip is free for many weeks……we did that and the power ran great for the next 2 days….but really…..probably 8 hours total and 2 restless nights working the issue……arghhhhhh!!!!!

Hernia Surgery: today is 3 weeks and I’m doing much better….still having pain when I walk more than a mile or so or sit for long periods of time. The doc and Admiral keep saying patience so I’ll wait the full 6 weeks before I declare success or not. Obviously I’ve been way more active on boat issues than planned…..not so much the lifting but a lot of bending and twisting…ok, I did 1/3 of the BLT:)))))

Pangkor: wow, did they have fun or what!!! Pangkor reminds us a lot of Shelter Bay in the Caribbean side of Panama……inexpensive, a decent boatyard, a huge cruiser hangout, not too many technical skills or parts available so you do it yourself and ship in the parts!!! Our good friends on sv Spruce spent a year or so there doing over 100 boat projects and really enjoyed the place. Now, our friends Brett and Stacey on sv Bella Vita are there doing all sorts of boat projects!!! We had a long happy hour one night, a long cruiser hang-out-at-a-buffet restaurant one night (great Aussie beef and fresh prawns) and Stacey had us for dinner one night……fun, fun, fun!!!!! We even met up with Jan and Rich on sv Slip Away….we met them in San Blas in Panama in 2009….they were leaving to go though the Canal and cross the Pacific and we were leaving to start our 3 year loop around the Caribbean!!! We had a delightful evening and one afternoon catching up with them!!!!

Port Dickson: well, we spent one full day on the racor leak and diving the boat. The next day we went back to Melaka……if you recall we had gone there last November and loved it and ran out of time there.

“Back in the 15th century, Melaka was one of Southeast Asia’s greatest trading ports. Over time it lost favour to Singapore, but this slowdown in trade protected much of the ancient architecture of the state capital, Melaka City, from falling foul of development. The historic centre was crowned a Unesco World Heritage Site in 2008”. Melaka was first colonized by the Portuguese in 1511, the Dutch in 1641-1798, and the British 1826-1946.

We mainly wanted to go back to the Cheng Ho Museum. Remember this was the Chinese Admiral who is credited with discovering the Americas, New Zealand and Austraila well before Columbus, Cook et al: “Zheng He (1371-1435), or Cheng Ho, is China’s most famous navigator. He built a total of 1622 ships and made at least seven major excursions between 1405 AD and 1430 AD. He traveled more than 50,000km and visited over 30 countries, reaching Somalia and probably Europe (France, Holland and Portugal). Zheng He constructed many wooden ships, some of which are the largest in the history, in Nanjing. Three of the shipyards still exist today. In each trip, he led a troop of 27,800 people on more than 300 ships. In each trip, 62 major ships of this fleet were employed, each over 400 ft long and 193 ft wide, holding 1000 people per ship, dwarfing Columbus’ Santa Maria (75 ft x 25 ft) more than six-fold.”

We did get the book, 1421 by Gavin Menzies and it is next on the books to read. Both of us are still finishing rereading the 8 book Outlander series that we started in Thailand!!!!

The museum was outstanding…we spent many hours there and then went to the maritime museum which was enjoyable with a good display of the various histories!! An outstanding Chinese food lunch, a walk around old town and all the shops in Jonker street and that was the day!!!

Puteri: we did nothing but check in/out of Malaysia and walk around the various shops and watched some of a cultural show for the end of Raya….the celebration at the end of Ramadan. Oh……I did buy some Zetia….my cholesterol medication…..you can buy it otc here for $1/pill……only get 90 day supply in USA for $4/pill with a prescription….really!!!!

Malacca Strait: ok……it has been bad but one good thing……we saw the USS Nimitz…..yep, a quick Google search has confirmed it……she had 4 destroyers as escort and had all it’s planes on deck…wow, what a sight and very, very impressive. I was able to identify it by the large 68 painted on it’s hull and then a Google search. It left the Seattle area in June for deployment to Middle East!!!!

OK…that is it…..told you to go get a drink:))))) We will leave first thing in the am for the 55nm run through the Singapore Straits to Nongsa Marina on Batam in Indonesia…..you know, where there will be 100-150 BFB’s who have the tonnage right-of-way!!!! And, it will be jocularity again as we meet up with a few more cruisers……hopefully Mystic will cooperate and I can go back to the R&R I require:)))))

Hope all is well!!

Cheers,

John
Mystic Moon
Puteri Harbor Johor Bahru Malaysia