The leaving of SE Asia

We have mixed feelings about leaving an area where we have been for the last 4 years. We have cruised on the yacht between Langkawi (Malaysia) and Thailand several times and have also been to Singapore and Viet Nam. We first arrived from Australia and Indonesia at Danga Bay, Johor in southern Malaysia in November 2013. We visited Singapore a few times while there and also spent time back in NZ, and then sailed north via Port Dixon, Port Klang, Pangkor, Penang, Langkawi - and finally Krabi where we hauled out in May 2014

We've had variable experiences in SE Asia in hauling out - to put it mildly! - but overall with the people we've met and places we've seen, the SE Asia venture has been definitely worthwhile.

But now sadly it has come time to leave. Due to advancing years (71 at last count!), we decided to try to sell our faithful old girl, but alas in SE Asia there is zero interest in wooden boats - even old classics like ours in good condition. So, we made the fateful decision to ship her to the Mediterranean. We were influenced in this decision by the fact that shipping costs generally have reduced lately and the thought of taking on the pirates in the Gulf of Aden is not appealing. The other alternative to go around the bottom of Africa has no attraction for us as again we think of our age with the attendant lack of stamina for such a demanding voyage. The old girl would be more than capable, but us - not so sure. It's a long and hard passage.

On 21/03 after discussion with the shipping company, we decided to leave Yacht Haven and proceed to the loading area. The heat up here is now becoming stifling and we were glad to finally be underway and get a breeze across the decks - which we have been religiously soaking in salt water which does wonders for the teak. We've kept our bedsit as we will come back there once the yacht is loaded on the "Annegret". Had a quick trip down the channel from Yacht Haven with the ebbing tide giving us a good push! Soon the "Annegret" came into view about a mile further south and we dropped anchor in the lee of Koh Naka Noi. "Persephone" (a monohull) and a very large (82') ugly catamaran were already there. Not sure of the loading sequence, except that we are no.10 out of a total of 11. It appeared that there were already 5 - 6 boats loaded. We'd obtained 2 pizzas from Phen when we had lunch there before we left and they were delicious. In fact we cheated and had a couple of slices on the way down! Not to mention a bracing whisky each since it was already past 5 - the drinking hour! Missing the lack of aircon, but at least there's a cooling breeze. We can't sleep forrard on the V-berth because it's covered in boat detritus which normally lives elsewhere.  So, we're having to sleep on the narrow saloon settees but they're habitable if you remove the backing cushion. Then there's just enough width! Freezer's been off for a couple of days so there's no ice for the whisky! Have to drink it neat!   

22/03 - woke early then went back to sleep to only be woken again to Chris (the 7Star rep) calling out "good morning!!" from his dinghy (RIB) alongside. He'd gone by the time we roused ourselves but no matter. We do have phone contact. The large ugly cat departed the anchorage early on and proceeded to be loaded, but by midday still had not been lifted. Big problems - these big cats and of course they delay the whole process for everyone else. But we can't complain too much as it's a great opportunity for another experience and the cost isn't excessive. Chris came back later with some coffee, ice and Singha beer, so it's not all bad. But it now looks like tomorrow as there's another large cat to be loaded and they're much more problem than monohulls. We haven't any ability to keep ice since the freezer is turned off, so we had to have a couple of whiskies around midday so as not to let the ice go to waste.

However, the heat is becoming unbearable and to add salt in the wound the large cat. returned to the anchorage, having taken the whole day when other boats could have been loaded only for the ship to say they couldn't do it. Apparently there is a scheme to modify something or another and they will try again tomorrow. However, in the meantime we cool our heels and baking in easily 35C. We have now told 7star that we will be returning to the marina (either Ao Po or Yacht Haven) tomorrow and will await their next call. The current situation is ridiculous and we have a nice air conditioned bedsit which we're paying 800 Baht per day for awaiting. YH is an hour and a half away but that's OK. And the weather is expected to blow up over the next few days so that would only add to our woes. We could easily be swinging around a very hot anchorage for the next 4 days, but that's not going to happen. Incidentally the owner of the large ugly cat. is a Frenchman - 'nuff said!!

23/03 - WE ARE NOT HAPPY!. The French cat. proceeded again to the ship and they took an age to even lift her clear of the water. At that stage after numerous discussions with 7star we upanchored  and moved into Ao Po Marina which is close at hand. This was at the insistence of 7star who wanted us close at hand. They told us that another cat. ("Billaroo") would be loaded after lunch and that we would be no. 2 on the 24th. In fact the cat. was not loaded, so we feel we are getting a runaround. We wanted to go back to Yacht Haven which is only 45 minutes further away and well within any notice period to get back to the anchorage but 7star (Chris) was insistent and so we made the ill-fated decision to go into Ao Po which is THE PITS. Overpriced to hell, poor internet (even when we use our own device), and substandard and grossly overpriced food in the restaurant. And to cap it all off, after we had had a very pleasant hour having happy hour drinks with Sue and Andrew off "Settlement" and another Aussie couple from Broome, WA, when we were walking back to the boat the power went off. We came into Ao Po specifically to make sure that our batteries remained topped up but now we face the prospect of losing 25% overnight and having to run the engine again from 0600 tomorrow to make sure that the batteries are as topped up as they can be before shipment. We'll say it again - Ao Po is THE PITS - over NZD60 for one night's berthage. Yacht Haven at over NZD40 was bad enough but this place takes the cake. We have wrapped up our solar panels in preparation for shipping.so they are not functioning. To cap all that off, the weather forecast for tomorrow is terrible and if it all comes to pass, we won't be loaded then. Then what do we do? Go back to YH which is definitely within adequate notice of shipping, despite protestations to the contrary? 

If it hadn't been for the French cat., we would have been loaded by now as well as all the other smaller boats and "Annegret" would have been underway instead of incurring somewhere between USD15,000 and USD30,000 per day swinging around her anchor. You do have to wonder sometimes.

A highlight of today was the Happy Hour spent with Andrew and Sue and their 21 yr old son, Ben. Apparently Ben turned 21 yesterday - CONGRATULATIONS!!. Reminicsent of Jim's 6 months in the Cook Islands in 1968 when he was 21!! 'Nuff said. Andrew and Sue and Ben are planning to take "Settlement" back to Airlie Beach in the Whitsundays and will be leaving in a few weeks. We wish them all the very best for the voyage.

24/03 - the day dawned overcast which at least keeps the sun away. But if we felt yesterday was  a disaster there was more to come. We were persuaded to go again to the ship and they came out in a RIB to pre-sling us about 200 metres from the ship. Then it was a matter of motoring back to the ship with the slings rigged around the hull. Unbelievable how much it slowed us down, but when we came alongside the sea state was such that we nearly contacted the ship's side with our starboard spreader and the diver who was in charge of operations on board, made the call to abandon the attempt to sling her aboard. We agreed wholeheartedly and motored away some distance while the slings were detached. Then back to the anchorage feeling most disgruntled because the call to load us should never have been made. The weather was supposed to moderate somewhat and we were called back to the ship again. It's only about a mile from the anchorage off Koh Naka Nai and it's a stretch of water we have come to know very well!!!  

But when we got there the last catamaran was still in the slings and it appeared that the slings were too long to get her fully up onto the deck. So, she was lowered back into the water to take the weight off so that they could be shortened. A chapter of errors all around and in the meantime we just cool our heels. So, we left again and went into Ao Po for another overpriced night. The weather was expected to blow up again overnight and sure enough it did. In spite of Chris's (7star) assurances to the contrary!!

25/03 - we were up around 0400 looking at the wind speed and noted that it was increasing. Only up to 15 - 16 knots, but that's more than enough to kick up enough of a sea to make loading dangerous and untenable. Chris was not to be persuaded by us, but when he came alongside in the marina he had the Loadmaster and the diver with him and they wholeheartedly agreed with us. So, it was agreed that we'd wait in the berth and see what happened with the wind. It was forecast to die down later in the afternoon. In the meantime we had a swim in the pool which is Ao Po's best asset by far! It's a large black tiled infinity pool and surrounded by attractive vegetation with an outlook over the marina. There are random white tiles which give a shimmering effect. Very clever.

Then another order to return to the ship which we received with some scepticism but we left again with full water tanks and batteries. Dawdled down there to give the wind maximum time to reduce (which it was doing) and for the sea state to reduce. By the time we reached the ship at 3 knots things had settled down. The slow trip down gave us enough time to once again remove biminis and generally get the old girl into correct trim for the voyage. We went straight alongside and were secured against large ship's fenders while the slings were once again fitted and preparations for the lift began. We had time to run fresh water through the old Ford and generally organize ourselves without rushing around too much. Then it came time to say goodbye to the old girl and wish her a good voyage. We got off into Chris's RIB and watched the lifting process. We'd been used to seeing her lifted on travelifts but this was slightly different inasmuch as it was much higher and they use a single crane spreader system, rather than the twin lift system of a travelift. They kept the spreader above mast height so we didn't in the end need to remove the back stay. We had removed the boom topping lift, but of course that wasn't necessary either. Still, not too difficult to put back - just time and what else would we be doing in any case?!! Finally the old girl was swung into place and they were to put 3 supports under the hull both sides plus numerous strap tiedowns fastened through our mooring Panama leads. So, all the boats are secured the same way so they should be secure. The ship travels at 18 - 20 knots so there should be a constant cooling breeze. We wished her well - she's probably relieved to just sit there and for once let everyone else do the work of getting from A to B.

Though we were pleased and relieved that TT3 was finally loaded and with a minimum of fuss and stress when it eventually happened, we feel that we were not treated well through the whole process. We made 3 visits to the "Annegret" - one of which nearly resulted in a serious accident and which with proper knowledge and forethought should never have been initiated in the conditions. And we also had to wait while aborted efforts were made in respect of 2 other boats - catamarans. This meant that the ship took 4 days to complete loading, whereas all should have been completed in 2 days. Delays involving other boats meant that by the time we were due to load the weather became a vexing problem. The ironical fact is that, although there were delays with other boats, by the time it came to our turn, all went without a hitch and we were loaded in record time. The one good thing to come out of this is that TT3 has spent almost no time sitting on a hot steel deck in the blazing sun. Once the ship began moving, there would be cooling breeze over the deck. And the total voyage time is only 14 days.  We must also though make mention of Chris and his wife who were tireless in providing gourmet sandwiches and cold beer and water- all at no cost while we were at anchor.

Chris brought us back into Ao Po where we had a couple of Mango Lassis and a plate of French Fries as we were ravenous. Two cold Singhas courtesy of 7star on the way back in from loading. Collected our Thai clearance documents for the boat from the office - they had been organized by 7star through a local Customs agent. Very efficient. Then a taxi back to our bedsit near Yacht Haven feeling totally drained and exhausted after all the stop/starts of the last 4 days. Dinner at Phen's - far nicer than anything at Ao Po and a fraction of the cost. Jean went to sleep at the table.  Then to bed and instantly asleep!

26/03 - checked the position of "Annegret" - she's well out into the Andaman Sea on her way to the bottom of India. Hope TT3's enjoying the ride. In the meantime last night we booked flights to Istanbul via KL. And accommodation in Istanbul for 2 nights. Then we will fly to Fethiye (Dalaman Airport) to suss out the marina and also hopefully any suitable boatyards. Hope there's some English spoken because our Turkish isn't up to much, but maybe we'll improve!

Hired a car this morning to go and pay the final bill at Andaman Electrical and had lunch at MK Restaurant - always a faithful standby. We feel quite surreal here right now knowing that tomorrow (the 27th.) we fly out of Asia for good. Malindo Air to KL and then Turkish Airlines to Istanbul. Dinner at Phen's again tonight and for Jim the last of the prawncakes! Very sad to say goodbye to Phen for the final time.

Just a few minutes ago (1500 local time) Jean received an upsetting message from her nephew to say that Keith (her brother - the 74 yr old sheep shearer from Wellsford) has had a serious heart attack and has been taken by helicopter to Auckland Hospital where he has had stents inserted, but remains in a critical condition. Keith is a lovely person and Jean's closest sibling ( Keith always referred to Jean and himself as "the last of the Mohicans") and has always been most hospitable to both of us. It causes even more of a helpless feeling being so far away but we can only hope for the best.

Attached photos - the first photo is of the gang at RLYC Langkawi when we were leaving and the second is of Sue and Andrew of "Settlement". We sailed with them off and on through Indonesia in 2013 and they are now hauled out at G & T Boatyard at Ao Po pending a return to Australia in about 2 weeks along with their 21 yr old son Ben - who is there "to supply the muscle"!! All the other photos are of the  lifting operation and towards the end Chris and his wife from 7star who brought us back ashore and who had supplied all the necessaries while we were vexingly swinging around the anchor.

More to come after we arrive in Turkey............

With lotsaluv from us,

Jim and Jean

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