A Rocky Start and Change of Plan

This picture looks like it might be Thailand doesn't it? It's not. It's northern Langkawi, Malaysia, which is where we ended up for a week, at Telaga Harbour Marina, doing boat repairs rather than going on our planned shakedown cruise to Phuket, Thailand.

But, back to the beginning. We were excited to leave Rebak Island Marina and for the first night out headed to an anchorage just a few short miles away. It was idyllic. We sat on our sugar scoop stern and dangled our feet in the warm water. There was a light breeze blowing, picturesque fishing boats were anchored in the bay and we looked forward to our first night at anchor on our new boat.

It wasn't to be. We had three 'sumatras' blow through in the night. These are sudden, short squalls usually lasting no more than an hour, but, they can pack fierce winds, up to 50 knots. The first blew through around 8 p.m. and we watched the deluge with mild interest. Around two a.m., when the wind generator started whining like an aircraft's jet engine, we knew this squall was going to be a little different. The wind only went to about 35 knots, but, it was enough to whip up a good swell and we started to drag. If it had gone to 50 knots, we probably would have dragged right across the bay. As it was, we went about .3 of a mile. Luckily, we had the sea room. Replacing our ground tackle is near the top of our list for a number of reasons, but, this just confirmed it should be done sooner rather than later. The current primary anchor is a stainless steel CQR which must have cost a fortune, but, stainless steel or not, from past experience, the CQR design just isn't efficient. It's shaped like a plough and even though we'd set the anchor well and backed it down, when the wind picks up, a CQR just acts like the plough that it is and makes a nice furrow as it travels along the bottom.

In the morning we did our usual boat checks before leaving. Part of this was checking our DC isolation switch. To our horror, instead of two pretty little red lights glowing, one was flashing on and off each time the boat rolled in the swell. This was not good. An aluminium boat, if wired properly, has a floating ground which means nothing is grounded to the hull. Two red lights are good, meaning there is a continuous circuit. One light means that something, somewhere, is shorting to the hull. Stray current corrosion like this can cause the hull to corrode very quickly with results no aluminium boat owner wants to think about.

We opened the panel to see if maybe it was just a loose wire and to our even greater horror, four wires came loose and just dropped out of their slot, number 102. We tried to put them back where we thought they came from, two wires touched and there was an arc. The first obvious result was that the battery monitor had gone dead. Then, after trying a few things, we realized that all our 12V devices did not seem to be getting the correct voltage. We traced this to our 24V-12V DC/DC converter, but, it wasn't obvious what was wrong with it. After all, it had been working fine the day before. At this point, we weren't sure what the issue was and decided, rather than risk further damage, to proceed the old-fashioned way, without electrics, until we could get to the bottom of it. Out came the paper chart and hand-bearing compass and we limped our way into Kuah Harbour. We anchored there while we tried to find a qualified marine electrician which seemed impossible in a place like this. However, we got a line on one at Telaga Harbour marina, about twelve miles to the north and we set off the next morning. We arrived Friday, they were so busy they couldn't even come to look until Tuesday. We settled in for a quiet weekend and tried not to worry. Anyway, to make a long story short, Manu and Wolfgang, from Blue Shelter - Langkawi Yacht Multi Services, very quickly got to the bottom of it. Both the 24V-12V converter and isolation switch had been wired incorrectly at some point in the past. They were able to rewire them both and check that all the voltages were ok etc. The battery monitor and converter weren't 'fried' and they both came back to life.

Then, the bad news, there really was a short to the hull and they didn't have time to find it as it could take days, so, we were left to find it ourselves. We were extremely lucky and found it right away. The start battery for the new engine had been loosely installed and with the boat rolling the connection must have come loose causing the intermittent fault.

We were thrilled when we got our two lights back!

So, it all turned out for the best even though it didn't feel like it at the time. We got a much better understanding of our electrical system which is what a shakedown cruise should be all about, this one was just a little shorter than planned.

Further research on Phuket sounded like it wasn't really our kind of place anyway. One of the popular beaches needs to have a beach traffic controller, for all the day boats disgorging tourists onto it and they were charging a landing fee for each body landed. The cruising guide descriptions for all the scenic locations mentioned lots of rolling, boat noise and wakes. We decided we'd rather spend any extra time we had in Indonesia, rather than Thailand. So, we're heading south immediately.

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Some Favourite Apps

I first started programming computers, in high school, in 1968. We started with Fortran, on an IBM 1130, in math class and moved on to COBOL (common, business-oriented, programming language, I can't believe I remember that mnemonic, it's amazing the stupid things that stick in your memory) from there. It's been a love/hate relationship with machines ever since. To be honest, it was mostly a hate relationship, but, a long business career in IT (information technology) paid the bills along the way, led to an early retirement and this cruising life.

Photo By Martin Skøtt - Flickr: IBM 1130, CC BY-SA 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=16327576

Working mostly for very large, global corporations, on enterprise-wide systems meant that there certainly wasn't ever much 'fun' in the software we worked on and definitely not much personal utility either. All the early promise and hype about personal computing seemed rather hollow. Now, however, I'm starting to see some of that early promise being realized with apps that are not only 'fun', but, really useful as well. Although I'm very late to the party and still resist some aspects of social media (I'm not on Facebook or Twitter) I have taken baby steps into the iPad app market. Here are a few of the apps I'm using. They are all either free, or, are very reasonably priced. Maybe you'll find some of them useful as well. Most of them require that you have a GPS-enabled iPad.

1. Navionics Boating App - this app, along with downloaded Navionics charts and the iPad's GPS allow you to use your iPad as a mini chartplotter. It works really well and provides a great backup to your main chartplotter system. The charts are very reasonably priced compared to charts meant for purpose-built plotters. It's also fun to use on ferries and/or cruise ships to follow along the route you're travelling.

2. SkyGuide - this app shows you a map of the night sky at your current location (or a location you choose). You can line it up with what you're looking at in the sky over your head and it will identify the stars and constellations etc.

3. maps.me - this app has proved invaluable on many occasions. Before leaving on a trip, just download the maps for areas and towns/cities you'll be visiting. Then, without needing internet access, you can use them when you arrive to find your way around. It also identifies local points of interest and shops/restaurants etc.  In all the places we've used it, even remote ones, it has been incredibly accurate and useful. Using the GPS in your iPad, you can even set it up to act like a voice navigation system, for walking, or, vehicle use. We have a primary TomTom satnav system for vehicle use, but, have found that maps.me often seems to have better low-level details on street names etc. and we find ourselves switching to use it quite often.

4. MarineTraffic - this app shows the locations of all AIS (automatic identification system)-equipped vessels worldwide. This includes large cargo ships and even sailboats like us. It will show where the boat last transmitted from and a past track. You can see the same thing on www.marinetraffic.com. Sometimes it's a little out of date, but, still fascinating. Try entering 'GJOA' and you will see our current location. It's already picked us up in Malaysia. I am still ambivalent about whether I like being tracked, but, there's no option. A lot of countries now are requiring AIS use, like Thailand, Singapore and Indonesia, with more probably to follow and I suppose it may be useful in a search and rescue scenario. On the other side, some countries have been known to levy fines on yachts, using their AIS track as evidence, when they might happen to wander back and forth across a border accidentally. People around the world are snapping and uploading photos of boats and these also get displayed. We were really surprised to see a picture of Black Sheep II, our first cruising boat, taken by somebody without our knowledge, in Gotland, Sweden, on the web site.

5. SWBC Sked - this app displays a schedule for Shortwave Broadcasts. It also shows which channels are broadcasting right now, so, you can tune in your shortwave receiver. Have just started using this and still need to figure out the channel numbering, but, it will be really useful.

6. Google Translate - this is a free download. We're heading for rural Indonesia and I don't think many people will speak English there. We downloaded the Indonesian dictionary so we could use it offline. It even has voice activation, you speak into it and it translates. This led to quite a few laughs with some of the results. Haven't tried it yet, but, you're also supposed to be able to point your iPad camera at a street sign, it will recognize it and translate it for you. Amazing....

7. Rankers Camping NZ  - This app was invaluable during our recent three month campervan tour of New Zealand. It shows all the camping options, including free ones, around your current location.

8. Camps Australia - This app wasn't quite as user-friendly as Rankers Camping NZ, but, served the same purpose and also proved invaluable for a campervan tour.

9. WikiCamps - This is also a camping app for Australia. It sometimes had different options than shown on Camps Australia, so, best to have both really.

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And we're off (again!)

Thankfully, the discovery phase on Gjoa is done. The last two months here at Rebak Island Marina in Langkawi, Malaysia have passed in a blur. We still have a huge to-do list, this is a boat after all, but, we're through the 'must-do before leaving' items and ready to be on our way. It feels good!

We finally had some time to check out the island's resort, Vivanta. I tried to take some pictures of the resort, but, the light never seemed right. Here are a few from the resort's website to give you an idea.

Our birthdays are within three weeks of each other, so, we used this as an excuse to treat ourselves to dinner at the resort restaurant, Senari. The food was excellent, definitely the best meal we've had in Malaysia so far.

If we'd really wanted to splurge, we could have hired the Moon Deck for a private dinner for two.

The resort clientele seems to vary from week-to-week, but, is mostly between large, well-to-do, Indian families escaping their even warmer climate (we overheard somebody saying it was 50C at home in India), Chinese families and younger couples from traditional Muslim countries.

One week when it was mostly Indian families, there was a sumptuous wedding that went on for three days. Everybody was walking around dressed in their finest, women in richly coloured, beautiful saris, the men in finely tailored silk 'suits' and silk shoes with turned up toes. By comparison. all of us yachties schlepping around in shorts, t-shirts and flip-flops looked like a bunch of slobs.

One thing I won't miss about this marina are these fish around the boat. They may look harmless, but, they are evil. They're usually hovering around, looking for a handout, but, we never feed them. I was leaning over the side, adjusting something, and this little devil spit right in my face! From a metre away, it hit the bullseye, right into my mouth and all down my shirtfront. Needless to say, my reaction was swift, lots of spitting out and jumping around.

There didn't seem to be many species of birds on the island, but, there were quite a few of these large hornbills, probably the most exotic-looking wild birds we've ever seen.

There are some nature trails on the island and on one evening walk, we came upon a large family of monkeys. There were lots of young ones who seemed as curious about us as we were about them. They came very close to us and we contemplated each other for a long time. They were fascinating to see up close in their native habitat. However, as jungle 'newbies' we were probably a little naive. We later heard that monkeys, especially the large males, can be very aggressive and bite. A bite results in an immediate trip to a hospital for a rabies shot. We were advised to carry a stick with us next time.

The current plan is to leave Rebak and head north for a mini shakedown cruise to Phuket, Thailand before turning south, back through Malaysia/Indonesia and then on to Western Australia.

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Road to Departure - a few stumbles

On the road towards departure, there had to be a few "stumbles" and there were. One that almost derailed our departure plans for the end of July was our Aquadrive installation.

An "Aquadrive" is a unit that joins an engine to its driveshaft. It acts sort of like a hip joint and allows movement between the two without them having to be perfectly aligned. A thrust bearing (on the right in the above photo) transfers the thrust from the propeller to a structural support. Then, two constant velocity (CV) joints, full of bearings and grease, transfer movement to the engine's gearbox.

A casual conversation, here at the marina, with the mechanic that installed the new engine and gearbox on the boat led to the question: "have you done your CV joints yet"? What? This vastly experienced mechanic warned us not to leave on any long trips without replacing them. After some further research, we learned that these units only have a lifespan of about 3,000 hours. The old engine in this boat had done almost 5,000, so, they were well past their lifespan and needed to be replaced.

That realization led us to a multi-continental, five country, two week search for replacement CV joints. I learned more than I ever wanted to know about makes and models of Aquadrive. Our unit turned out to be a 6070008, an obscure, short-shaft model that was only in production for a short time. Most dealers had never even heard of it. We were offered all kinds of "maybe" solutions to the problem, but, nobody had any parts in stock anyway. It seemed hopeless. Then, I contacted Halyard, the UK Aquadrive distributor. After listening to our problem (refreshing in itself), they referred me to a dealer that they said had a stock of old parts. Well, it seemed most unlikely, but, after contacting Steve at TW Marine, in the most unlikely place for a marine store, the Peaks District in the UK, it only took him five minutes to confirm that he had one, actually more than one, in stock! He said we were the first people to buy one in the 15-20 years they'd been sitting on his shelf. The price was very reasonable and we received the unit in less than a week. It was an easy replacement install, just three hours of installation time and we were done, just a few days before we planned to leave. We heaved a huge sigh of relief.

While waiting for the Aquadrive to get fixed we continued with other items, like checking out the SSB (single sideband radio). Powering it up brought more bad news. The Pactor modem wouldn't self-initialize and we confirmed with a dealer that it is dead and not worth repairing. A new one is at least C$2,000. Maybe we can pick up a used one. We'll leave the decision until later. We're using our Iridium satphone anyway to receive email and weather information at sea.

Next, we started route planning for our upcoming cruise to Australia. Charts, or, rather lack of charts, quickly became another big issue. On the boat, we found very few paper charts, all copies, so old and illegible that we had to throw them out. Luckily, a boat neighbour here in the marina is giving up sailing and sold us about 250 paper charts covering the area of our upcoming cruise. Then, we looked at the electronic charts. I had thought that the chip in the plotter had AU and the Pacific on it as there was an invoice onboard for one. Closer inspection revealed it didn't. There was absolutely nothing for Australia. As our departure date was getting close, this led to a mad rush to try and get electronic charts. Navionics for Australia seemed to be only sold on a regional basis and would be around A$2-3,000 to buy complete, so, we weren't going there. CMAP (whose charts I prefer anyway) had a Continental chip for all of AU/NZ for around A$320. Sounded great, however, we were unable to download the charts online due to residency, billing and payment issues (I should write a post (rant) sometime about how hard international shopping has become), so, had to get a physical chip delivered. In addition, for backup, I still wanted to update our iPad Boating App with the cheaper version of Navionics charts, but, was blocked again due to shopping restrictions. Still don't have a workaround for that obstacle.

Today, as I write this, everything has almost come together. We are only waiting for that final chart chip to be delivered and then we will be off on the next adventure.

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