Sunday 24 November 2013

Fwd: The end of a sad chapter - Sail Indonesia 2013.

----- Original Message -----
To: "Hamish & Sara" <bluedogstainless@xtra.co.nz>
Subject: Fwd: The end of a sad chapter - Sail Indonesia 2013.
Date: 24 Nov 2013 15:26:13 -0000
From: zmq5985

----- Original Message -----
To: KF6YDZ@winlink.org
Subject: The end of a sad chapter - Sail Indonesia 2013.
Date: 24 Nov 2013 15:12:51 -0000
From: zmq5985

We must apologise for inflicting the following upon you but we feel an overwhelming urge to put matters straight. This will be our last public word concerning anything to do with Sail Indonesia 2013.
On November 22nd. we filed a Police report of the incident involving the owner of "Tintin" where he assaulted and spat at Jim on the marina at Danga Bay. He then compounded this by screaming at us "if you ever sail into an anchorage in future where I am anchored, WATCH YOUR BACK!". Our initial inclination had been not to involve the Police but Sail Malaysia requested that we do so. The Johor Police are notifying Police in other states as well as the maritime Police. A further part of this report referred to the placing of a computer generated note on our foredeck a couple of days later saying "REMEMBER THE RAINBOW WARRIOR". This of course is very sinister because the French Secret Service attached limpet mines to the hull of the "Rainbow Warrior" when she was berthed in Auckland Harbour in the mid 1980's and not only sank the ship, but caused the death of a crew member. However, the two key differences between then and now is that the persons involved in placing the note on our boat were absolutely anonymous and gutless, whereas at least the French had the courage of their convictions, however wrong, and the "Rainbow Warrior" was steel which made attaching limpet mines relatively easy whereas we are a timber hull and limpet mines would fall off!!
But all humour aside, the assault and subsequent placing of the written threat were unpleasant to say the least and amply illustrate the types of individuals capable of such acts.
As a further aside, we understand that the owner of "Tintin" approached Sail Malaysia as soon as he arrived in Port Dickson to say that he had not threatened or assaulted Jim. He is demonstrably an out and out liar and his tirade here at Danga was witnessed by several persons. The assault itself was witnessed by Peter Holland of "Kitanni" and frankly we are not in the habit of making false statements to the police in NZ, let alone in foreign countries. We rest our case.
The origins of all this appear, from what we have been able to deduce, to relate to the incident at Kupang where we sailed in without our engine and were met by Kevin of "Tintin" who apparently had offered and was therefore ostensibly supposed to assist us with sail handling. Instead his attitude was uncalled for as he attempted to take over the boat. We were supposed to have been met by some dinghies from other boats to act as tugs and guide us to our anchoring spot. However, in the conditions we were unable to see them and so Jim asked Kevin where we should anchor. His reply was "here, here" and so we dropped the anchor in 35 metres just behind the Australian boat "Kealba" which proved to have been a fateful decision. Kevin seems to have carried a grudge about this ever since as he denies that he ever told us where to anchor. What is the matter with this guy to have taken such a small issue so seriously? He also objected to another boat voicing concerns over the dangerous anchorages organised by Sail Indonesia - an entirely justifiable and seamanlike concern which we have expressed also, particularly in respect of Kupang. As a result he and his wife confronted Wendy of "Juliana II" here on the dock at Danga and launched a tirade at her while she was alone. This was a couple of days before his assault on us.
Then of course there is the unfinished business with "Kealba". In spite of dragging their anchor on to us and causing us damage which they are attempting to trivialise, they refuse to acknowledge any liability. In spite of many attempts on our part to have a reasonable discussion they ignore us and so after 4 months we have been backed into a corner and have placed a legal lien on their boat. This will not generate any payment any time soon but when they try to sell the boat the lien will take precedence over any other debts on the boat as well as the sale proceeds which will be held in escrow until our debt is satisfied. This debt will take into account the work that Simon did for us in temporarily fixing our engine problem. We regret having to take this step but have had no choice to protect our interests in a situation not of our making.
Anyway, ever since Kupang 4 months ago we have been increasingly aware of a cold shoulder treatment directed at us by mainly Australian and some U.K. boats - some of whom we had known since Cairns. Frankly they should have known better but they appear to have been captivated by the insidious and straight out nasty campaign which has been directed at us. We were never happier than when we were on our own or with other boats who took no notice of the gossip and standouts there for us were when we arrived at Rinja and Komodo direct from Kupang and met "Pedoja" and then later when we spent 2 weeks at Medana Bay, Lombok on our own (before the rally boats arrived) in the delightful company of Peter Cranfield, his wife Ace and Wulan and their staff. We also spent many pleasant times with Dennis and Marylee of "Lardo" and Neil, Julie and Bailey of "Galatea" while at Medana and also at Gili Air with "Galatea".
There were two specific incidents that we became aware of a while later. Firstly "Kularoo" with whom we had sailed across the top of the Northern Territory totally and inexplicably misunderstood a blog of ours in which we referred to a "scruffy" boat at Port Essington. This was NOT "Kularoo". They evidently bottled this up and finally placed a comment on our blogsite. We explained their error and all they did was withdraw the comment without a word of an apology. Secondly another strange scenario at Lovina Beach, Bali involving "Swara II". It was brought to Jean's attention by Jackie of "Tintin" that we were supposed to have dragged our anchor onto "Swara II". We have never dragged with our Rocna to date. We arrived back on our boat and the wind had swung putting us within a boat's length of "Swara II". We had a lot of chain out but as we had anchored after them we simply pulled our anchor up and re anchored. As we came past them before dropping the anchor again the woman on "Swara II" hysterically screamed at Jim "keep away from our boat"!! There was no reason for this display and it simply in a comical way demonstrates yet again the unreasonable attitude to us on the part of some boats.
These two incidents together with the childish back turning attitude shown to us generally have only gradually made sense since the "Tintin" incident here at Danga Bay. We have to say that in spite of all this nonsense, we have always enjoyed a great relationship with many of the European and north American boats we have met and in this regard must mention "Sternchen", "Micromegas II", "Libertad", "Reflections", "Lardo" and "Galatea". We have also enjoyed the company of "Settlement", "2XS" and "Pedoja" as well whenever our paths have crossed. There are many other boats as well and we cannot mention all of them here but hopefully they will know who they are.
There are two things that this sad business has taught us and they are that we certainly know who our friends are and that we will never consider another rally - ever. We will do our own thing in our own time and choose our own company. Many of the boats we have met in Sail Indonesia will not be part of that scenario in the future.
With very best wishes and fair winds to all our friends,
Jim and Jean
s.v. Tiare Taporo III
----- End of Original Message -----
----- End of Original Message -----

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Thursday 14 November 2013

Ill considered and ignorant comments

We are continually amazed at the purely ignorant comments that this unfortunate business has engendered.
The facts are very simple and speak for themselves.
We were directed to anchor in what turned out to be the wrong place. There was a convoy of dinghies deployed waiting for us at the correct spot but we didn't see them. There was a misunderstanding and when asked, the person who had ostensibly come aboard to assist us with sail handling told us to drop the anchor "now"! So we did. Maybe we should have checked the depth but instead relied on what we assumed would be local knowledge gained from having been there for a while.
The conditions when we anchored were difficult to say the least. There was a 25+ knot wind blowing, a 1 metre sea running and a 35 metre depth of water and we had no engine. In spite of all that our anchor held and WE DID NOT DRAG AT ANY STAGE!!
We are being villified right left and centre when we were not at fault in any way and in fact we are the victim because another boat "Kealba" dragged down onto us. In spite of some claims to the contrary, they told us they were not insured.
All we want is recompense for the damage sustained. We acknowledge that the owner of "Kealba" did some work on our engine and we are prepared to take that into consideration but until we know the cost of our repairs we cannot come to any finality.
We haven't had it assessed because we haven't been anywhere until now where it has been possible to do this. We have contacted a marine assessor here in Johor but he cannot see the boat until mid December and we will be back in New Zealand by then. So, the earliest date for assessment will be mid February 2014. That's just the way it is and not through any delays caused by us.
Finally we must comment that we have frequently heard incorrect comments made and when we try to correct this the answer is invariably "I don't want to talk about that!!" How you can have a reasoned discussion when faced with that attitude is beyond us.
At this stage the damage is that the pulpit is bent out of true and will probably have to be removed from the boat to be straightened. Not a small job. Then there are 2 bent stanchions and rails and possibly the starboard solar panel has been damaged. We say that because there is a strange reading coming up on the display.
Quite simply we just want an acknowledgement of how the damage occurred and confirmation that they will pay our reasonable costs of repairs. Easy so you would think..........

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Tiare Taporro/Kelaba incident

I fully support Jim Donald's position on uninsured boats not participating in organized rallies such as Sail Indonesia. A large numbers of boats in any one location always carries the risk of collision, especially in open roadstead anchorages as used at many of the Sail Indonesia designated stops. Rally organisers should require evidence of adequate 3rd party liability insurance from any boat seeking entrance to the rally. In my opinion, marinas should do likewise before permitting a boat to enter its waters, for similar concerns. I am not advocating the crazy A$10million levels of insurance required by most Australian marinas, but rather, something more reasonable.

It's one thing for a boater to not carry insurance for his particular vessel - that's his choice, but it is completely irresponsible to not carry 3rd party liability insurance. The reasoning one might adopt at the time of forgoing liability insurance, like "it won't happen to me", or, "if it does, I will do the right thing", is only good at the time of deciding whether to carry insurance or not.

Unfortunately, the reality is that when mishaps happen, as they will, things often end up in the situation being faced by Tiare Tapporo in its dealings with the owners of Kealba who appear to have forgotten their responsibility.

Neil Scott
S/V Galatea

Wednesday 13 November 2013

Nasty nasty business but many new friends and acquaintances

We've had a bit to say earlier today as regards the scurrilous campaign to discredit us in anonymous blogs. There are one or two further points we wish to make in respect of that.
If we hadn't been on our boat at Kupang when "Kealba" dragged onto us, she would have been lost - absolutely no doubt. In view of the fact that they were uninsured they owe us a huge debt which they are absolutely unwilling to acknowledge. We again remind "Kealba" that they promised to give us a letter acknowledging the incident but have since reneged on their word. This has forced us into taking the actions that we have subsequently taken.
There appears to be an organised cabal of exclusively Australian boats in this nasty whispering behind hands campaign. Absolutely no-one has directly fronted up to us.
We have also become aware that one of these heroes confronted the female partner on another boat because they also had had the temerity to question the competence of Sail Indonesia in directing boats to unsafe anchorages. This was done while her partner was away overseas and is to us the ultimate in cowardly behaviour.
They have questioned Jim's seamanship in anchoring in 35 metres at Kupang. In fact this same landlubberly hero was on board our boat as we approached the anchorage under sail only and we naturally asked him where we should be anchoring as we knew that things had been organised in advance on our behalf. He said "here, here" and so, Jim who was on the foredeck dropped the anchor. Had we been aware of the depth, we would in all probability not have anchored right there and would have sought a more secure spot.
So the seamanship question should be leveled at our so-called anchoring guide and also to the skipper of "Kealba" who dragged his anchor whilst unattended. By comparison our anchor held throughout the whole debacle in spite of only having a 2 to 1 anchor rode. Thank goodness for the Rocna.
Finally, we have been threatened with being sued for slander! This is laughable as slander only exists if the statements in question are untrue. In this case everything we have said is the absolute unvarnished truth.
Anyway, to forestall any further suggestions that we are simply being negative we felt we should mention all the great people we met on our travels through Indonesia:
Peter, Ace, Wulan, Sas and Sam and their staff at Medana Bay. We won't forget their help with procuring a new dinghy and all their other help and hospitality rendered during our stay at their beautiful beachfront property.
Matthew, the diesel mechanic at Kupang who solved our problem with the engine in a most resourceful manner. Jim won't forget his expertise and the rides through through Kupang streets on the back of his motorbike.
"2XS" - Peter and Marguerite. We met them originally at Bluewater in Cairns and we apparently were the catalyst for them coming on the rally! Hope they don't hold it against us too much!
"Asia" - Paul and Debbie who run their gorgeous 100' steel yacht in the high end charter market. The story of how they purchased the bare hull in NZ and fitted it out in NZ, Brisbane and Thailand to a very high standard is fascinating. The design is by John Brooke of NZ. She has a magnificent 8 cylinder Gardner which was taken from a NZ fishing boat and totally rebuilt. We first met them at Gilli Air, Lombok.
"Capricorn Dancer" - Rob and Carolyn who had problems with their steering at Kupang. Matthew hopefully sorted their problem as well and sailed with them as they resumed their journey.
"Camomile" - Sue and her husband. They organised the reception for us at Kupang when we arrived without an engine but sadly through a misunderstanding we were told to anchor in the wrong place with the result already well documented.
"Footloose" - Jon and Irena who we saw quite a bit of at Medana. They were moored close to us there just off the jetty.
"Forty-two" - Carsten und Mercedes. We caught up with them as we approached the top end of Queensland and have seen them off and on since then. A very friendly and pleasant German couple.
"Galatea" - Julie, Neil, Bailey & Teague. A delightful family originally from S Africa and now living in California. We saw quite a lot of them along the way and Bailey gave an excellent speech (some in Bahasa Indonesia) at the welcome dinner at Medana Bay. We first met them at Tipperary in Darwin and sadly they have now returned home to allow the other partner in the boat to take her north to Thailand from Singapore. We hope that we see them again soon either at Langkawi or in Thailand.
"Even Bet" - Ian and Janelle. We met them at Bluewater in Cairns and sailed with them for part of the way up the Queensland coast before they stopped for some serious fishing! They were going to completely explore the Gulf of Carpentaria before going on to the Kimberleys west of Darwin and then eventually returning to Cairns. We haven't heard for some time how they have fared and we hope everything has gone to plan.
"Blue Musketeer" - John and Val. We knew them very well at Bluewater and hope that they have managed to do some cruising around there during the dry season.
"Niccone" - Peter and Lena. They sail under the Finnish flag and were very helpful to us at Kupang when they lent us a portable generator (and fuel) so that we could keep our batteries charged until we got the engine going again.
"Juliana II" - Wendy and Stefan. They have a very impressive Jeanneau designed yacht. We have seen them off and on during our travels and they are moored close to us here at Danga Bay.
"Lardo" - Dennis & Mary-Lee. An American boat who we got to know at Medana Bay. Jean gave Dennis a massage for pain he was having in his hips but sadly it didn't really improve and they sailed from there non-stop to Singapore where they have left the boat so that Dennis could return to the States for treatment. The diagnosis was not good as it turned out that Dennis had advanced bone cancer. We were shocked to hear that and wish Dennis all the very best with his on-going treatment. We must also mention Jim who was their friend from San Francisco and acting as crew for the voyage through Indonesia.
"Libertad" - Dennis and Virginia. A very pleasant Canadian couple who we have come across several times on our voyaging.
"Lorrigray" - Lorraine & Graham Parkinson. An English couple who we first met at Bundaberg. They were still there during the recent floods and by all accounts had a torrid time of it but survived at least, albeit with some damage. It has been great to catch up with them along the way in various places.
"Micromegas II" - Fredy & Chantelle Haller. A very friendly and pleasant Swiss couple on their catamaran. We will look forward to seeing them again somewhere up north.
"Manta" - Denis from France. Denis ne parle pas beaucoup d'Anglais et Jim a essaye de parler Francais avec lui!!
"Out of the Blue II" - Chris and Lyn. We knew them quite well at Bluewater and they are now moored here at Danga Bay. We hope that Lyn recovers sufficiently so that they can sail with Sail Malaysia later this week. Jean organised an appointment for her to see a specialist at the same hospital where she had her nasal operation.
"Pedoja" - Tanya and Don. We have had many pleasant times with Tanya (from NZ) and Don (Canadian). We met them on the Australian coast and then later at Komodo we spent a few days anchored beside them in a delightful clear water anchorage. As our dinghy had been trashed at Kupang they made their dinghy available to us if we wanted it. We've had meals together and generally had a pleasant time whenever our paths have crossed.
"Pipistrelle" - Bob & Elaine. A very pleasant English couple we have met just recently here at Danga. They have already left for points north and we hope to see them up there again next year.
"Reflections" - Gene & Sheri Seybold. Gene was a great help to us in Kupang. He was one of 4-5 dinghies who used their combined power to force "Kealba" away from us before she could do any more damage. The next morning he returned and acted as a tug to move us closer in to shallower water and a more secure anchorage. Gene has been a great support to us, particularly over this latest development of unsubstantiated nasty stories fabricated and deliberately circulated by anonymous cowards.
"Scorpio" - Kevin & Melody. Bloody Aussies!!! We were moored beside them at Bluewater and then later came across them at Flinders Is. Always trading good natured Kiwi/Aussie jokes and jibes. They are great people - salt of the earth and we have enjoyed our association with them. We have lost their email address so hope all is well.
"Settlement" - Andrew & Sue. We first met them at Lizard Is. off the Queensland coast. We've socialised off and on since then - mostly on their catamaran as we lack the room. Saw them again at Sesia and then at Darwin. They took the northern route to Saumlaki so we didn't see them again until Medana Bay. Andrew's an Aussie but Sue's a Kiwi so that makes up for it!! A very pleasant and hospitable couple who left here 2 days ago to sail north. We will miss them and hope that we catch up next year when we sail north in February.
"Skybird" - Jim & Liz Dabelstein. Jim is an ex police officer from WA and we met them at Bluewater in Cairns. They have a lovely German Shepherd called Ash who reminded Jim of his own much loved and missed German Shepherd, Friedl. They've sailed their catamaran from Bluewater to Darwin and then to the Kimberleys. Last we heard they were back at Sesia waiting for favourable winds to sail back down the Queensland coast to Cairns. Hope those pesky SE winds change soon!!
"Sternchen" - Manuela und Georg. A delightful German couple who we first met at Tipperary in Darwin. Jean had a tearful radio conversation with Manuela at Kupang soon after the incident with "Kealba" - and that's not like Jean. We've seen them along the way since then and they are berthed quite close to us here at Danga. We had dinner with them at the seafood restaurant here at Danga the other night. Lots of laughs at Georg's English although we have to say it's a lot better than our German! Manuela is very competent with her English though and routinely translates for Georg which usually causes more hilarity!
"Beyond" - Stuart MacDonald. Stuart is a Scottish master mariner (with some great stories) who is sailing single handed around the world. We met Stuart at Tipperary and last we heard he was well advanced across the Indian Ocean on his way to the Cape of Good Hope. We have the utmost admiration for courageous mariners like Stuart and trust that he will safely arrive on the Clyde River in Glasgow sometime next northern summer.
"Tuppenny" - Gillie and Ruth. Not sure what has happened to Gillie and Ruth who we originally met in NZ. They had an engine transplant in Darwin and were intending to do sail Indonesia this year but with their delays maybe they've decided it's next year instead. Hope we eventually do catch up somewhere.
"Westwind" - Chris & Gilli Dicker. Chris is an Aussie and Gilli is a German who teaches in Cairns. We knew them at Bluewater and they also have a timber built double ender - about the same size as us. Last summer they sailed to Tasmania for the biennial wooden boat festival. We keep in touch periodically and hope they are getting some sailing in between jobs on boats.
"Back Chat" - Irvin and Jenny. They were also at Bluewater and we have seen them periodically ever since all the way up the Australian coast and through Indonesia. Their catamaran is also berthed here at Danga and they are staying here for sometime while they source new engines as the old ones are apparently past their use by date!! Irvin is a NZ'er who has lived in WA for some time and Jenny is a true blue Aussie!
"Thylacines" - Gerry and Sue. The name is the species name of the probably extinct Tasmanian Tiger.
Well, that's it. Hope we haven't left anyone out but if so our apologies and it's only geriatric forgetfulness!!
Cheers again from us........
Jim and Jean
s.v. Tiare Taporo III
P.S. Joke of the day in the words of the late and unlamented NZ Prime Minister - the Rt. Hon. Robert Muldoon. New Zealand emigration to Australia raises the IQ level in both countries!

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Saturday 9 November 2013

Fwd: Australian registered s.v. "Kealba" Reg. no. 860711

----- Original Message -----
To: "Alastair Whitelaw" <awhitelaw@xtra.co.nz>
Subject: Fwd: Australian registered s.v. "Kealba" Reg. no. 860711
Date: 09 Nov 2013 13:46:33 -0000
From: zmq5985

Hi to all,
It is with great relief that we can report that Jean has come through an hour and a half of surgery to remove polyps growth from her nasal passages with flying colours. We have nothing but the highest praise for the treatment she has received at the KPJ Specialist Hospital here in Johor. She has had a private ensuite room and the surgeon, "Ravi" and the entire medical staff have been exemplary. Ravi trained for his FRCS in Edinburgh and his wife is an eye surgeon. She will still need treatment for her hips and thighs but all scans (X-Ray, CT, MRI & bone density) indicate that there is no structural problem but rather that the problem is with ligaments and some suitable treatment for that (such as Emmett Therapy) will be necessary. We will be working on that during our remaining time here before returning to NZ in early December and then carrying on with it in NZ.
Jean will be back on board Tiare tomorrow and, while it has been peaceful in her absence (!), it will be great to have her back. She will be her old self plus some no doubt!!!
She will need some time to recover from the surgery so we have decided for the boat to remain here at Danga until mid February when we will sail north to Pangkor where we will haul out for some much needed maintenance.
On a more sober note we attach some email correspondence which has emanated from the unfortunate incident we were involved with at Kupang when we arrived in Indonesia. "Kealba" is currently in the Danga Bay Marina and thankfully is moored nowhere near us. We think there is a real concern with having uninsured boats in close quarters with other boats in a marina situation and our purpose in pointing this out is to try and ensure that it is not allowed to occur in future.
Having no insurance is a form of freeloading potentially at other boats' expense. It may once (maybe) have been acceptable pre the marina era but nowadays it's a no-no, absolutely. How they live with their consciences in refusing to acknowledge any liability to us, much less offering any form of financial recompense is beyond us but they no doubt have some form of spurious reasoning.
Our insurance company will no doubt pursue them but all of this would be unnecessary if they acted honourably and acknowledged their responsibilty.
More to come no doubt.......
Lotsaluv
Jim and Jean
s.v. Tiare Taporo III
----- Original Message -----
To: "Danga Bay Marina - Malaysia" <marina@dangabay.com>
Cc: marina@oceanmarinayachtclub.com, info@yacht-haven-phuket.com, webmaster@royalphuketmarina.com, marina@phuketboatlagoon.com, info@telagaharbour.com, office@langkawiyachtclub.com, marina@rebakmarina.com, "Sail Malaysia" <mail@sailmalaysia.net>, "Sail Indonesia" <mail@sailindonesia.net>, "Pangkor Marina" <pangkormarina@icloud.com>, "Puteri Harbour Marina Malaysia" <puteriharbour@uemsunrise.uemnet.com>, "Admiral Marina - Port Dickson" <prakashreddy@admiralmarina.com.my>
Subject: Australian registered s.v. "Kealba" Reg. no. 860711
Date: 08 Nov 2013 13:49:00 -0000
From: zmq5985

Hi,
It is with regret that we feel that we must pass on our concerns regarding the Australian registered s.v. "Kealba". They were part of Sail Indonesia 2013 (as we were also) and as far as we know they have registered for Sail Malaysia.
They were in collision with us at Kupang, W. Timor, Indonesia on July 31st. 2013 when they dragged their anchor while unattended and collided several times with our bow and starboard side. Hopefully the damage is not great but we won't know the extent until we can have it properly quantified when we are at Pangkor.
The main point we wish to make is that "Kealba" is NOT insured, or at least wasn't when the incident occurred. This is we believe the reason that they will not sign a statement stating what happened and neither will they meet our costs of repairs, in spite of the fact that they are clearly liable and responsible. We have made a claim on our insurance company but we will have to pay the excess unless they admit their liability.
We consider that it is totally unethical to join a rally and especially to expect to enter marinas with no insurance - to say nothing of the way they have dismissed our claim against them. Fortunately we have a written witness statement and we have also been in touch with the Australian Registrar of Ships who will provide their address in Australia. All of these details will be passed on to our insurance company.
Incidentally we were recently told that we could have reported the incident to the Port Captain at Kupang with the result that "Kealba" would not have been allowed to leave Indonesia until the matter had been resolved to our satisfaction. However, unfortunately we did not know this and so the matter remained officially unreported - apart from the insurance claim.
We are drawing your attention to the foregoing because we believe that there is a real issue of concern with vessels which are uninsured from the point of view of any marina they may enter, and also from the point of view of the organisers of any rally they may be part of because there could be substantial legal ramifications arising out of any accident causing not only damage to other vessels, but also to the marina, to say nothing of the possibility of negligence claims against the marina itself. This latter situation could arise out of the marina not having used due diligence in making sure that ALL vessels in the marina have adequate insurance.
We hope that our unfortunate experience provides a wake-up call to all concerned to ensure that all vessels meet their legal and ethical responsibility in having adequate insurance for their own protection as well as protection for any owner of other property that could be damaged.
We trust that in respect of any uninsured vessels you will in future refuse admission to your marina and registration for any rally you may be part of to ensure that all parties and stakeholders are adequately protected
Regards,
Jim Donald
s.v. Tiare Taporo III
Danga Bay Marina
Johor Bahru
Malaysia
----- Original Message -----
To: "Kealba - Simon, Kym & Jolan" <spurdell66@gmail.com>
Subject: (no subject)
Date: 30 Oct 2013 13:28:01 -0000
From: zmq5985

Hi Simon,
It is indeed disappointing that you have so far seen fit to refuse to sign the report of the dragging incident that damaged our boat at Kupang, Indonesia. It is after all just a confirmation of what did actually occur.
We will be proceeding with our insurance claim and it is fortunate that we have independent witnesses who will verify what happened - even if you won't. We have also been in touch with the Australian Registrar of Ships who will provide your contact details which we will pass on to our insurance company.
We hope that you will reconsider your position and again point out that had we not been on board our boat that day, it is our opinion that your boat would have drifted into deep water and therefore stood an excellent chance of being lost. In view of the fact that you have no insurance we consider that you owe us a debt of gratitude for that at least.
Finally, we ask where is the justice in our having to stand the insurance excess for something that was caused by you? The damage we are sure isn't great but this needs to be quantified. As the responsible party you need to front up to your responsibilities.
We hope to hear from you in the near future.
Regards,
Jim Donald
s.v. Tiare Taporo III
Danga Bay Marina
Johor Bahru
Malaysia.
----- End of Original Message -----
----- End of Original Message -----
----- End of Original Message -----

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Friday 8 November 2013

Australian registered s.v. "Kealba" Reg. no. 860711

Hi,
It is with regret that we feel that we must pass on our concerns regarding the Australian registered s.v. "Kealba". They were part of Sail Indonesia 2013 (as we were also) and as far as we know they have registered for Sail Malaysia.
They were in collision with us at Kupang, W. Timor, Indonesia on July 31st. 2013 when they dragged their anchor while unattended and collided several times with our bow and starboard side. Hopefully the damage is not great but we won't know the extent until we can have it properly quantified when we are at Pangkor.
The main point we wish to make is that "Kealba" is NOT insured, or at least wasn't when the incident occurred. This is we believe the reason that they will not sign a statement stating what happened and neither will they meet our costs of repairs, in spite of the fact that they are clearly liable and responsible. We have made a claim on our insurance company but we will have to pay the excess unless they admit their liability.
We consider that it is totally unethical to join a rally and especially to expect to enter marinas with no insurance - to say nothing of the way they have dismissed our claim against them. Fortunately we have a written witness statement and we have also been in touch with the Australian Registrar of Ships who will provide their address in Australia. All of these details will be passed on to our insurance company.
Incidentally we were recently told that we could have reported the incident to the Port Captain at Kupang with the result that "Kealba" would not have been allowed to leave Indonesia until the matter had been resolved to our satisfaction. However, unfortunately we did not know this and so the matter remained officially unreported - apart from the insurance claim.
We are drawing your attention to the foregoing because we believe that there is a real issue of concern with vessels which are uninsured from the point of view of any marina they may enter, and also from the point of view of the organisers of any rally they may be part of because there could be substantial legal ramifications arising out of any accident causing not only damage to other vessels, but also to the marina, to say nothing of the possibility of negligence claims against the marina itself. This latter situation could arise out of the marina not having used due diligence in making sure that ALL vessels in the marina have adequate insurance.
We hope that our unfortunate experience provides a wake-up call to all concerned to ensure that all vessels meet their legal and ethical responsibility in having adequate insurance for their own protection as well as protection for any owner of other property that could be damaged.
We trust that in respect of any uninsured vessels you will in future refuse admission to your marina and registration for any rally you may be part of to ensure that all parties and stakeholders are adequately protected
Regards,
Jim Donald
s.v. Tiare Taporo III
Danga Bay Marina
Johor Bahru
Malaysia
----- Original Message -----
To: "Kealba - Simon, Kym & Jolan" <spurdell66@gmail.com>
Subject: (no subject)
Date: 30 Oct 2013 13:28:01 -0000
From: zmq5985

Hi Simon,
It is indeed disappointing that you have so far seen fit to refuse to sign the report of the dragging incident that damaged our boat at Kupang, Indonesia. It is after all just a confirmation of what did actually occur.
We will be proceeding with our insurance claim and it is fortunate that we have independent witnesses who will verify what happened - even if you won't. We have also been in touch with the Australian Registrar of Ships who will provide your contact details which we will pass on to our insurance company.
We hope that you will reconsider your position and again point out that had we not been on board our boat that day, it is our opinion that your boat would have drifted into deep water and therefore stood an excellent chance of being lost. In view of the fact that you have no insurance we consider that you owe us a debt of gratitude for that at least.
Finally, we ask where is the justice in our having to stand the insurance excess for something that was caused by you? The damage we are sure isn't great but this needs to be quantified. As the responsible party you need to front up to your responsibilities.
We hope to hear from you in the near future.
Regards,
Jim Donald
s.v. Tiare Taporo III
Danga Bay Marina
Johor Bahru
Malaysia.
----- End of Original Message -----

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Monday 4 November 2013

Fwd: Good health news

----- Original Message -----
To: "Alastair Whitelaw" <awhitelaw@xtra.co.nz>
Subject: Good health news
Date: 04 Nov 2013 13:18:38 -0000
From: zmq5985

We have been mightily relieved today to find that Jean's hip problems (which remain very painful and debilitating) are not associated with her hip joints. After a visit today to an Orthopaedic Surgeon at the KPJ Specialist Hospital here in Johor this was the finding and she also had a bone density scan as well as a CT scan and chest X-Ray. All clear except that she needs to find someone (Emmet Therapy or good Osteopath) who can straighten out her twisted ligaments.
The other issue was her breathing difficulty which turns out to have been caused by the growth of many polyps in her nasal passages including those behind and above her eyes. One lung is almost totally non functional due to the blockages caused by the polyps. It now seems apparent that this condition has been getting worse since leaving NZ in 2011 (in spite of having seen a chest/ENT specialist before leaving NZ) and it is a testament to her fortitude that she has coped with often very trying conditions for many weeks and 7,500 miles since the Bay of Islands 28 months ago. In the middle of all that of course she returned to NZ for 6 weeks to nurse her sick sister in 2012. She is a trooper absolutely without question and hopefully will be her old self once the necessary nasal surgery is completed.
So, today we had 3 specialist visits (ENT & Orthopaedic) as well as the tests described above and she is scheduled for surgery on Thursday the 7th. November to remove the said polyps. The system here is so efficient and blows the NZ system out of the water. We have had 4 specialist visits since last Friday, all tests with results notified immediately and organised surgery for Thursday all during today. All within 2 floors of the same hospital - KPJ Specialist Private Hospital. And the costs -
visits to specialists (ENT & Orthopaedic) including all scans and tests as above - 1100 Ringgits
2 nights in a private room - 500 Ringgits
Surgery estimated at - 6700 Ringgits
Total - 8300 Ringgits = NZD3,200
The standard of the hospital would equal the best private (Southern Cross) hospitals in NZ and would be well in excess of our public hospitals in terms of efficiency, caring and cleanliness.
This would simply not happen in NZ or Australia and is totally mind blowing. It puts our countries to shame and is why so many health refugees from Aust and NZ are travelling to SE Asia for various treatments. Here in Malaysia it is referred to as "health tourism".
Malaysia is certainly NOT 3rd. World - by comparison NZ is, or is bordering on it.
We are not sure now whether to continue north on the boat once Jean has recovered (about the 15th.) or to leave the boat here until we return from NZ towards the end of January and then head north. We'll make this decision in the next few days and will let you know.
In the meantime we'll continue to prepare the boat for an extensive 2 month lay-over, whether here or in Pangkor.
Keep watching this space.............
Lotsaluv from us,
Jim and Jean
www.tiaretaporo3.blogspot.com
----- End of Original Message -----

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