Back To The Start

Arrived back in Kota Kinabalu yesterday, Australia Day, just before 5.30 p.m. after some great downwind sailing. Now in the process of replacing our 1800W pure sine wave inverter which we will probably have to have sent in. Also need to check with Immigration what our visa status is as we had already checked out. Never a dull moment!

Twice Around The Top in Two Days!

After a nice evening in Teluk Lung, nicely protected from the prevailing winds we had an interrupted night when a freshwater hose came free in the back of the boat and drenched our 1800 Watt inverter!! Jon spent some time removing the beast and trying to dry it out but on testing it in the morning it just went snap, crackle and pop plus a bit of smoke. The inverter is necessary to run out 240 volt refrigeration so we had a big problem - a fridge full of meat, cheeses and other goodies to last us for our first month or two in the Philippines. Our friends on Ambrosia offered us the use of a 240 volt generator but it did not have the capacity to run our fridge so we decided to turn tail and head back to Kota Kinabalu.
This was a downwind run after four days of hard on the wind sailing in pretty good conditions. The leg back across the top of Borneo was fast and boisterous as the wind was stronger than yesterday and the waves built as we got further out into open water but we made good time. We didn't leave until after 12:00 so time was against us to reach our previous anchorage at Tambuluran before dark. After rounding the Top sea conditions improved and we had a much more comfortable sail. We arrived just before 7.30 p.m. well after sunset but with a moon to give us a bit of light as we came into the darkened bay.

Within Reach of the Top

The wind blew quite strongly from the east during the evening and night and dropped off during the early hours of the morning. It was calm when we left at 0600 for the leg to a bay just south of Tambuluran. The wind picked up early on and we had good sailing although the wind tended to die at times. Rain showers over the land appeared to increase the speed for us. We managed to almost make our destination without putting in any tacks - just one at the end when we motored into the bay and dropped the anchor at 06 deg 49.637 N, 116 deg 39.409 E where we have very flat water despite gusty winds from the east. A few fishermen are active in their long skinny fishing boats although there is no village to be seen, just a few huts. There are some beautiful looking long white beaches but we won't have time to explore them this visit. Tomorrow should see us pass the tip of Borneo on our way to Balambangan Island.

Off to the Top

The way to the top went well this morning. A nice 15-20 knots off the land and low swell made for a comfortable sail to the tip of Borneo. Once we reached it though conditions changed - the current was across our course and the wind was a bit stronger. The swell was about the same. Consequently to try and make our mark at the SE corner of Balambang Island we would have to put in a few tacks. This didn't work very well as the current was doing its best to push us 20-30 degrees off. So after some effort we decided to start the engine and motor sail just off the wind. This worked well and we made our way into Teluk Lung (Lung Bay) on Balambang Island just before 3.30 p.m, 07 deg 16.427 N, 117 deg 00.442 E. The bay has a few reefs and bommies inside so arriving earlier meant we had a better chance to see them in the intermittent sunshine.

Usukan Bay

A good anchorage at Sapangar but we won't be going there again. We were anchored of a new navy facility and our charts weren't marked that it was a restricted area! Consequently we were visited by five Royal Malaysian Navy personnel at about 8:30 p.m. They arrived in a black inflatable and were dressed in black. However, they had visited our friends on Ambrosia first so we were expecting them. The officer in charge was very polite and after informing us that we would be allowed to stay for the night but would have to leave first thing in the morning he inspected our passports and ship's papers, took our picture and left.

Today we have sailed 33 nautical miles further north to Usukan Bay, 06 deg 22.141 N, 116 deg 20.461 E. We have had blue skies, blue water, a visit from a pod of dolphins and good winds but being from the NE we had to tack several times to make our destination. The port tacks were great - across the swell instead of into it - and we were doing high 6s to over 7 knots. Mt Kinabalu dominated the eastern skyline, towering over everything even though more than 50 kilometres away.

Mt Kinabalu was visible for a long way up the coast

On The Way

After a few days delay waiting for the weather to quieten down, we departed Sutera Harbour Marina at Kota Kinabalu just before 10:00 this morning. We motored the short distance of 13.5 nautical miles to anchor in a small bay protected from the swell near Sapangar Bay, 06 deg 05.085N, 116 deg 06.016E. The water here is relatively clean compared to a couple of sections we crossed inside Sapangar Island where there was a lot of floating rubbish, seaweed and spilt diesel... yeuk. When the engine gave a bit of a surge we suspected the worst and after anchoring Jon dived on the prop and removed a long piece of 4cm rope! At least it hadn't jammed the prop or caused any damage.

New Horizons

Christmas has gone, the New Year has been seen in and now we are preparing for our cruise to the Philippines. We have had a great time with our family during the celebrations with many memories to share: Christmas at Pulau Tiga with an unforgettably rough ride the 30 nautical miles back to KK; four days on the road visiting Mt Kinabalu, Poring Hot Springs and another giant Rafflesia flower, Sepilok Orang Utan Rehabilition Centre and dinner at the English Tea House in Sandakan to name a few of the highlights. Now we look to new horizons. It will be our first time in the Philippines so we are thinking scarce marinas, isolated, quiet anchorages, eating pork, swimming with the whale sharks, plus a whole new culture where over 90% of the population is Christian. Happy people, very poor people; pollution, corruption... the list goes on so over the next few months we hope to report on some of our activities while cruising Palawan Island and beyond.