MALAYSIA
For
the photo album go to: www.cometosea.us/albums/albums/Circumnavigation%20Slideshow
August 7,
2006
With
the previous report I left off just before my May 6th departure from Nhatrang, Vietnam to the Malaysian part of Borneo.
I
sailed straight for Kudat, on the North Eastern
corner of Sabah, where I arrived on early
Saturday May 13. I crossed the Spratleys , a large area with shallows and reefs in the South China Sea. At least 4 countries claim territorial
rights to it. The advantage was that it is avoided by fishing boats
and commercial traffic. The last two days I caught strong S.W. winds that were
being sucked to the depression over the Philippines from, the very early,
first typhoon of the season.
This
same weather system also spoiled part of the fun of that Saturday evening's
outdoor concert near Kudat, at the "Tip of Borneo".
This
annual event is timed for a nearly simultaneous sun set and full moon rise. But
all we saw was dark clouds and a white capped ocean. The concert was,
nevertheless, a real treat.
My
impressions of Malaysia
are somewhat of an anti-climax after the exciting experience of my Vietnam visit.
Compared to former French colonies like Polynesia
and Vietnam
I find the marks left by the British in Malaysia, PNG and the Solomons are rather unexciting and bland, in the
architecture, food and entertainment. Wheat bread and decent coffee are
unavailable in those countries. As a small city Kudat
has little going for it. The majority of the Malays are Muslims and the large
Chinese population is mostly Christian or Buddhist. In the Muslim eating
establishments, no alcoholic beverages are served; and many of the Chinese
restaurants serve no pork. The main dialect spoken by the Chinese here is Hakkah. Hakkah is spoken in the
rural areas close to Canton
and Hong Kong. But all the Chinese also learn
Mandarin in their state and private schools. Some Malays attend these schools
as well, because they usually have a higher standard than the Malay state
schools. Hakkah was also the dialect spoken by the
Chinese in Tahiti.
The
second day that I rode my new Vietnam
bicycle to town, it was stolen.
Kudat has one of the best boat haul out
facilities in the South West Pacific. The Penuwasa
Shipyard, P.O.Box
448, 89058 Kudat, Sabah, Malaysia phone 60-088-671-326 ( or 325 thru 328) fax -614-273.
They have a 25 ton travel lift Rates currently
are 1000 Rimini
for haul out and in and water blasting. Daily rate 25
Rm. Or storage on a monthly basis of 600 RM if more
than 3 months. The Rimini
is worth roughly US. 30 cents.
They
have a full fledged machine shop and welding facilities. And a basic supply of
marine hardware, mostly for the commercial trade. This is outside of the
typhoon area and quite a few people leave their boat here while making a trip
home. I found the service excellent. The one draw back is that It is a very hot place, so close to the equator. They have
bathroom and shower facilities. I spent less than $ 400 for 10 days in the
yard, after my $ 2500 Cebu haul out rip
off. Coming into Puerto Galera in the Philippines, I hit a reef and it
turned out that beside damage to the keel I also had a good scratch in the
bottom plywood.
I also was not happy with the refinish of the clear finished mahogany
plywood hull job that I had done in Cebu, in
the water at the Cebu Y.C.
So,
I did a thorough sanding and epoxy job and managed to find a good substitute
for Awlgrip in a two part Linear Polyurethane clear.
The
yard is located inside the basin in front of the Kudat
Marina and Golf Resort. This is a man made harbor with a great protected anchorage. The entrance is at
06.53.47 N 116.51.78 E. There is no charge for the anchorage. It is a 2 Rimini bus ride to town.
Across
from the Marina Hotel is the Kudat
Golf Club where we met the other yachties frequently
for an inexpensive excellent dinner or a cold
beer. A beautiful setting overlooking the Pine shaded golf course. I was not
aware of the good anchorage and first anchored off the city at 6.53 N 116.51 E
with good holding ground and protection from that typhoon generated Westerly.
I
took a day trip from Kudat to see the Rungus long houses, near Kudat,
with a local school teacher, I met at the quay.
Kota
Kinabalu is the capital of Sabah
and a good size city. Some of you might better remember it as Jesselton, the name prior to the 1963 independence from Britain. I took
a weekend trip there and rode a bus to the park entrance of Mount Kinabalu.
There are very large attractive mansions in the hills above K.K. but he city itself is not very attractive. Along the attractive
bay front there are a number of world class hotels and a good size marina is
adjacent to one of the hotels. One
striking building is the city Mosque, on the water front and all surrounded by
water.
We
had one late afternoon of excitement in Kudat when a water spout rose over the bay. This is quite
unusual here. See photo album.
I
left Kudat on June 22nd for Sandakan, to the south.
I
anchored each night on the way down. The second night at Pulau Tigaba at 6.53 N 117.29 E.
The last night at Pulau Laukayan at 6.29.800N 117.55.300 E. A patrol
boat came along side and told me that I was in forbidden territory. The
"reef guards" told me that this was part of a protected area called
"S.I.M.C.A." for Sugud Islands Marine
Conservation Area. This includes the Billean Islands,
Tegaipil
Islands, Chambers Reef
and Lankayan
Island. Their main
concern is the protection of the turtles and the coral reefs. Anchoring is Tabu. Turtle
Islands is just to the
south of it.
I
had visited Sandakan
in 1963, when I was 24 year old. My boss at the lumber importing company in Santa Barbara, paid for
the flight from Saigon, so that I could visit
several of our sawn lumber suppliers in Sabah
and Sarawak. I had just been discharged from
active duty in Saigon, the end of January,
1963.
I
found the hotel where I had stayed but was difficult to recognize with all the
changes and expansions in these 43 years.
The
Sandakan Yach Club was a great place to anchor. 5.50.430 N 118.07.420 E. They charged RM 10 per day for the
use of the facilities. It was one of those grand colonial places with an
enormous veranda and high ceilings and a swimming pool on the beach side.
It
has a few, dry stored runabouts and a relatively active junior sailing program
in Optimists, Lasers and Hobies. But the majority of
the members are there for the social aspects. It serves excellent food and has
a well stocked bar.
"Fleetwood"
was the lone visitor. A visit to the Orang Utang preservation center was very worth while. A
commendable effort is made here, mostly from private contributions,
to rehabilitate young monkeys that become separated from their mothers and to
remove Orang Utangs from
people encroached forests to the center and then to larger protected forests.
Clearing
out was a bit of a challenge to find the right places. And for the benefit of
those sailing to Sandakan,
emigration (imigrasie) is at the new port, west of
town, in the passenger ferry arrival terminal. And to get your port clearance
you need to go to the Harbor Authority in old Sandakan port, next to the fish and general
market. The name of the authority is : Ibu Pejabat Laut,
Jabatan Laut Sabah.
I
departed Sandakan
on June 30, direction Sulawesi in Indonesia. I
had heard about a side trip into the Kinabatangan
River, just south of Sandakan. I had
imagined sailing into a tropical jungle and I had hoped to get a glimpse of the
Monyet Blanda ( literally Dutch Monkey, so called because of it's orange
hide) or Proboscis Monkey. They have an unusual long hooked yellow
nose.
But the directions were vague and the river had a number
of tributaries that were difficult to distinguish and I never made it into a
hardwood forest. All that I saw was a lot of Nipah
palm covered river bank. In the mouth of the river there were some settlements,
Sea Eagles and Ibis colonies and a few fishing boats dragging for bottom fish.
And lots of drifting logs and floating patches of river bank,
complete with their Nipah palms. I anchored for the
night in a narrow tributary and so far away from civilization it was eerily
quiet.
The
next and last stop in Sabah was at Pulau (island) Tambisan,
anchoring at 5.27 N 119.08.725 E. on the mainland side across
from Tambisan Island; right at a fishing
village. Next to it was the site of an abandoned sawmill. A Filipino fisherman
invited me at his stilt supported house for tea and coconut milk.
The
next evening I stopped at one of the most southernmost Philippine islands of Tawi-Tawi and it's adjacent
island, Bongao.
Technically
I would have needed another visa and entry clearance for the Philippines.
But I was not questioned. Tawi Tawi
was a small paradise of simplicity, beauty and harmony. It had a beautiful tree
lined university campus, a branch of the University of Mindanaho.
The
city on Bongao reminded me much of Surigao on Northern Mindanaho. A very busy port
with fishing boats, small commercial vessels and inter-island ferries. I
did some re-supplying, including the $1.00 a fifth
excellent Tandui rum. In the Muslim country of Malaysia it is
hard to find any rum at all. A young man insisted on being my guide. He sat
next to me while I got my haircut and, over a cup of coffee, when I asked him
for his name, he pulled out his membership card of the NLF National Liberation
Front. The ones that are fighting the Filipino army in Zamboanga and ransom the occasional American. He
wore a typical Arab head gear and a long kaftan. He
sure gave me the creeps.
I
have started the Indonesian report above. I will finish it off before I leave Bali in the next ten days. You will see a marked
difference in the photo albums. There is just so much more beauty and well
preserved civilization to record here in Indonesia.