Saturday, 26 January - Australia Day and the day we left Sutera Harbour bound for Kudat, around the tip of Borneo. We had good conditions for motoring to our first night's anchorage at Usukan, about 35 NM away. Here we anchored in a big bay with good protection in the prevailing NE conditions. We had an early night, planning to get away at daylight but at midnight we were both awake so decided to get moving. A waning moon helped light our way and a nice easterly helped us along as we headed for the tip. Once around the little island off the tip the wind died out and we motored the remaining 12 NM to the 'duckpond' near the golf course. A visit to the boatyard Monday morning had us booked for haulout on Tuesday morning.
The Travelift is capable of lifting 120 tonnes so no worries about being lifted here. The guys did a great job taking our lines and we were on the hardstand and chocked up between large concrete blocks shortly after.
Yes, concrete blocks! No cradles or props here but very secure all the same and no movement at all when aboard. We were fortunate that there was space on the hard section as opposed to the sandy/muddy section of the yard. The bonus is that it comes with its own private en suite. A good sized room with shower, toilet and hand basin that doubles as a wash trough. Mind you, it costs more as well!
Ten days later we were ready to go back in. The bottom had been cleaned, scraped, sealed with Vinygard and anti-fouled with Jotun Seaforce 90 (with the help of a couple of local lads). The prop had been treated with Peller Clean which should inhibit the growth of barnacles, or at least make them easy to remove. The engineering shop had done an excellent job straightening the prop shaft which had a more than 2mm bend in it - Jon and Chris hit a log somewhere off the tip of Borneo in November 2011.
The shaft is 4 metres long so as well as an intermediate bearing it also has a P-bracket to support it. To unbolt the bracket Jon had to remove the generator from behind the companionway steps plus one of the battery boxes to get to the bolts. We hoisted the two-cylinder diesel generator out into the cockpit and then lowered it to a stand on the ground where Jon would be able to service it, clean it up and respray it. Looks like new!
Our refrigeration had failed in Usukan when all the gas leaked from a loose connection. We were very careful and hardly opened either fridge until we could get some ice. After 48 hours there was still some ice on the plates and the 10kg of Australian cheddar was still cold. 5 kg of this was for some friends and the rest should last us a while now that it is vacuum bagged into smaller portions. The leak was found and fixed, and the refrigerant replaced and all is working fine now. Better here than later on in the Philippines.
The topsides were cleaned and given a coat of polish. Pam had tricky time doing this job as there are no proper trestles to use. During a chat she stepped back on to an unsupported section of plank and with thoughts of 'Mmm, this is going to really hurt', she managed to jump sideways, clear the scaffold, land on her feet, and gently roll to break the fall. A bit shaken, but no cuts, bruises, or bumps. Quite amazing and all Jon could say was 'pity I didn't have a camera'!
These two Pacific Reef Egrets were frequent visitors to the haulout area.
Ten days later we were ready to splash down. We were impressed with the Travelift which has multiple straps for supporting the vessel. The operator was excellent with hardly any movement felt while moving along or being lowered into the water. At this yard the crew have to be aboard during the whole procedure. Plus we had many hands to take our lines to make sure we didn't touch anything.
We then tied up at the tiny marina in the duckpond. At the moment it is almost full to capacity with cruising yachts waiting for the right weather to move on... north to the Philippines, west to Miri or KK, Sumatra and South Africa, east through Indonesia to the Solomons, and even Hong Kong. We couldn't understand why the berths were so small here but have heard it was actually built for use by government boats. It is still not finished, with power and water yet to be laid on but we all manage. Unfortunately, it has not been built to a high standard and it is hard to imagine that it is going to last very long.
This wreck in the duckpond is well and truly beyond salvage!
During this time Chinese New Year has been celebrated and the Year of the Snake has commenced. We always seem to miss out on these celebrations but this time were fortunate to see the colourful lion dancing at the nearby golf club resort. Typically noisy and colourful, the bad spirits must surely have disappeared from the resort after such a performance. It was a good sight to see, highlighted by one lion performing on a scaffold about the same height as the one Pam fell from...eek! These guys had such balance though and never any worries that they may fall off.
Then St Valentine's Day and we took the opportunity to enjoy a 'romantic' dinner at the resort with another couple, listening to love songs, eating by candlelight, using cutlery that didn't bend and appreciating the setting of a tablecloth and cloth napkins. A nice change.
We had heard some horror stories of hauling out in Kudat. However, we found that either things had improved or because of the stories it didn't seem as bad, but we thought it was no worse or better than anywhere else we had hauled out. Staff were friendly and helpful. The port is home to many fishing boats and they have preference when it comes to using the haulout facilities. The town itself is the regional centre for the area but quite small. There is a new part and an old part with shops or supermarkets selling most things that you may need. It pays to stock up on some things though prior to arrival, if possible. So far, the only thing we haven't found is paper towel but we still have some left. The markets are good for both fresh produce and fresh pork and chicken. The people are very friendly with ready smiles and some stop to have a talk. The population is predominantly Muslim but there are also Chinese, the ethnic Rungus people and Philipinos from across the Sulu Sea.
This Little Heron is always lurking about the pontoons in Sutera Harbour. It is very shy and usually flies off as soon as you get too close. Here Pam managed to get a shot of it just as it caught a tiny fish for breakfast.
We plan to check out of Malaysia in the next day or two
for the Philippines. This time we will take the eastern seaboard of
Palawan rather than the western seaboard so some new places to see.
