Turning Corners

We have covered almost another 200 nautical miles since our last update. We caught up with friends Chris and Daun on More magic in Port Dickson where we spent three nights in Admiral Marina, refuelling, getting the laundry done, reprovisioning and having a couple of nice dinners out. We then continued on down the Malacca Strait where instead of worrying about pirates our biggest concern was the weather. One day was fine and sunny with hardly any wind and the next low cloud, thunderstorms, rain, etc. We made anchoring stops at Pulau Besar in the Water Islands and Pulau Pisang and by Saturday we had turned the corner and entered the Singapore Straits, the busiest shipping lanes in the world.

Raffles Lighthouse, Singapore

We found a safe anchorage at Lazarus Island, just south of Sentosa Island, where we had a rolly night with wash entering the bay from passing ships and ferries. An evening thunderstorm dissipated before it reached us and we were able to enjoy an evening aboard Tweed with friends Chris and Daun from More Magic, sharing Daun's home made pizzas. For our last night in the Singapore Straits we chose to anchor in Teluk Ramunia, 01 21.395N, 104 14.857E, off the southern end of the state of Johore, Malaysia. It was the best of several not very good choices as there was some swell running and to continue on around to the eastern seaboard of the Malaysian peninsula was just not an option. The anchorage was quite shallow and the tides were springs which meant come daybreak we would have about 50cm beneath the keel. However, all was well and as soon as it was light enough we set off for Pulau Sibu, about 60 nautical miles to the north, 02 11.999N, 104 03.573E. We had now left the Singapore Straits and turned another corner to take us up the east coast.

Local Fishermen off Johore, Malaysia

A feature of Sibu is the four fishing Kelongs along the SW approach to the island. They are built in about 10-15 metres of water and have been converted from fish farms to fishing and scuba diving destinations for local Malaysians and Singaporeans.