Vignettes
1 Overheard from a cruiser clearing into Bandar Seri Begawan, Brunei
Arriving in the anchorage off the Brunei Yacht Club a sailing couple proceeded to search out the right officials to complete the required paperwork to legally be in Brunei after entering from Malaysia.
In European countries and North America there is usually a special dock provided for commercial and pleasure boats to clear in with the proper authorities. However, sailing into many countries of the world is very different from arriving by plane, bus or train. It is incumbent on the owners of boats to search out the proper authorities. This may involve finding as many as four different offices that may be located miles from each other. Offices required to legally clear in usually include the port authorities, immigration, customs and quarantine.
In Brunei they have conveniently located all of the required offices in the Serasa ferry terminal. All one needs to do is anchor your boat at the yacht club then take your dinghy over to the ferry terminal. However, that may sound simple but first how does one know this on first arrival and secondly where is the ferry terminal (not easily identifiable).
So, our innocent and recently arrived sailing folk proceed to where they think it is most likely the proper authorities are located. Somehow they miss the mark by a mile and end up in an office where english is only occasionally heard on a radio advertisement and even more rarely spoken. In trying to make their needs understood they are overheard by someone else in the office who speaks excellent english. He comes over and asks them to wait a minute while he finds the right person for them to talk to.
Enter a man so heavily weighed down with gold braid that he can hardly stand up straight. Don’t forget that Brunei has a lot of liquid gold i.e. oil. Friendly, helpful and obviously well-connected they feel they have found the right person to help them. In conversation they finally learn he is the head of immigration for Brunei.
Asking the sailors where they are from and learning that the sailors are from the United States he proceeds to tell them “Ah, the U. S. has everything.” And without the slightest hint of sarcasm he adds “and here in Brunei we have the money to buy everything!”
Brunei to Miri
We could have waited endlessly for the wind to arrive in Brunei. When it did come it usually brought lightening, thunder and rain. So, instead of waiting for the next deluge we decide to take our chances and clear out of Brunei and head southwest along Borneo’s coast and back into Malaysia.
We were very casual about departure but eventually got going at 1100hrs and under police escort headed out of the bay and the breakwater and into light westerlies. At least enough to sail in and being from forward of the beam provided a nice cooling breeze allowing us to make fair way over the ground.
By 1700hrs the skies were getting black, the sea a little grayer and our nerves getting to us. Luckily the sultan’s brother had built a huge private marina in Jerudong located behind an incredibly large man made breakwater for his mega yacht called Tit (on an aside his yacht has two tenders of which one is called Nipple 1 and the other Nipple 2). Moving on…
Seeing as this marina is currently unused we availed ourselves of it, entered the breakwater, turned to starboard, dropped the anchor and went down below to escape the impending deluge which lasted about 15 minutes. We thanked the Sultan’s brother, had dinner and went to bed.
Next morning at 0500hrs, up to make tea, check the engine, turn on the lights, start the engine, pull up the anchor and head out to sea and hope we can make Miri by nightfall.
It quickly becomes evident that making it to Miri by nightfall will be an impossibility. There is no wind and we plod on under power until 12 noon when a breeze lights up from the west. It does not allow us to head directly to Miri but at least we are sailing. Our real concern is to try to weave through the myriad oil fields before dark. The chart shot below shows our progress through the oil fields just as the sun is setting. We are moving from right to left across the chart following the yellow line which is Sage’s actual route.
After clearing the oil fields we slow down realizing we are not going to get to Miri by nightfall. We have just come through a maze of what I would call an engineers wet dream. To me the oil rigs look more like ginormous mecano sets floating on the water. Some of them are lit, some are spewing out flames burning off the excess gases while others remain unlit and I assume unused. “What, unlit you say?”. Yes, unlit which almost needless to say is hazardous to the health and well-being of sailors.
With Connie on watch from 0200 – 0400hrs and me down below snoozing I am suddenly awakened by Connie shouting out the order for all hands on deck. What’s happening? I stumble out into the inky blackness (clear skies but no moon) to find looming in front of us a 100 metre high unlit vent pipe. All our sailing experience comes to the for and we know what needs to be done. Despite the darkness we know where everything is and are able to immediately move to a corrected course to keep us away from ramming a vent tube. Once again fortune is on our side and we escape for another day.
Finally Miri. We stop at 0400hrs a few miles offshore waiting for the morning light and motor into Miri marina. Yes, another marina but no swimming pool, no towel service and a four kilometre hike into town. More to explore and perhaps another crocodile; or, so they tell me here cobras and pythons on the dock. Do I believe them?
Brunei
So, we have now been here for over a week and are getting close to the end of our 14 day visa. We seem to spend our time sitting at the clubhouse, on the beach at the Royal Brunei Yacht Club, watching for where the crocodile will next come ashore,
accessing the internet, swimming in the pool
or heading to the mosque for some event or another
Life cannot be all that bad, can it?
Did I forget to mention that there is very little wind in this area of the world? It is a fact and we are kind of reluctant to stick our noses out again as our next passage to Miri involves passing through a minefield of oil wells. Shell oil has the coastline peppered with offshore oil rigs, some lighted some not.
Brunei is an interesting mix of arabic, malay and chinese culture with an overlay of strong ties to the cultures of the middle east. These cultaral ties to the middle east go back a long ways and this is our first muslim country where the arabic script is evident on street signs, on buildings and in mseums.
A recent edict of the national government to close all businesses between 1200 and 1400 on Fridays shows the strength and influence of the mullahs/imams. Not everyone is muslim and churches abound. Life is civil albeit to the point of boredom. It is very quiet at night other than people out walking. This is all in contrast to the more than evdent wealth of the country demonstrated by the free education, free health car and an average of 2.7 cars per person.
This country has a population the same as the city of Victoria i.e. Approx 300,000. Yet the road building and infrastructure would be the envy of anyone who sits in the Colwood crawl to commute to work in Victoria. There is a massive network of divided highways. One can drive from one end of the country to the other in a couple of hours on a 4 lane highway.
Goverment buildings are going up a dime a dozen. These are not small either. We are talking 40 story buildings for the Ministry of Finance, sprawling complexes for the ministry of sport and Development, and massively imposing monuments for the prime ministers office ( stephen harper take note). But the the Sultan is the prime minister and the Minister of Finance!
And talk about the sultan. His home is reputed to be the largest residential palace and the single largest private residence in the world.
So where are we off to next? It is back to Malaysia and a town to the west of Brunei called Miri.
Just in case you do not how to use a toilet
Seen at yacht club in Labuan, Malaysia.
And on a similar note here we are in exotic Brunei and what are we having to work on? Yes, the head (toilet for landlubber). Yes it is plugged and all the hosing has to be removed and a trip overboard in the anchorage where there are crocodiles lurking! Not my favourite job.
Kota Kinabalu
A seasonal monsoon pattern currently holds us in port. There is a chance that we will soon get a weather window that will allow us to venture out of this dreamlike and luxurious marina called Sutera Harbour and Marina.http://www.suteraharbour.com/v4/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=82&Itemid=97.
The weather pattern starts in the early hours of morning when around 0300hrs the temperature drops to around 24 or 25 centigrade which is deliciously cool compared to the daytime. Then the fans down below can be turned off and depending on the humidity one can get a few good hours of sleep before the sun comes up and the temperature starts to rise.
Once daylight arrives then all the extra shade tools are put in place to limit direct sunshine from hitting the deck. We begin to look like a gypsy caravan as the array of sheets, covers, tablecloths etc are employed, like everything else, for a second purpose. Trying to stay out of the sun yet get work done is the main mornings ritual. Hopefully by noon chores are completed and then one can take a break until later in the afternoon when the sun goes down.
Often enough the afternoons see clouds thickening, darkness descends in the distance and the sun disappears and humidity rises. Slowly the clouds roll across the sky, the humidity rises even higher and the first raindrops start to fall. Within thirty minutes the sky feels like it is falling as the streaks of gray are torn from the clouds above and descend on everything trying to scrub the earth clean. Temporary shade cloths are gathered in, hatches closed and fans put on high down below to try to dispel the humidity and give some relief to the stuffiness as a result of closing everything up.
Eventually the rain stops, it is time for a stroll in the early hours of the evening as temperatures drop and then time for a late dinner and the re-opening of all the hatches to let the cooler evening are in down below. Then it is the cycle all over again.
At least we can be thankful of the mountains of Borneo which allow cooler air in the evening to descend down to the coast.
We have now been sitting in this marina for two weeks but have not been idle. Despite the heat the list of items to accomplish gets a little smaller. Sage begins to come to life and feels like setting off to sea once again and we talk about moving westwards. The marina is enticing with its seven swimming pools, the very reasonable laundry service, the towel service in the sports centre and the air-conditioned bus service to downtown. However, the pull of the sea is stronger and the desire to move westward stronger.
Moving westward from here means stops in Tiga Island for the mud baths, then the duty-free zone of Labuan and on to Brunei for fuel prices at nine cents per litre and a visit to the country with one of the highest per capita GDPs in the world. From there it will be back to Malaysia, on to Miri and Kuching.
Kudat and Kota Kinabalu
We are now back on Sage. We returned to Sage on October 20th. Kudat was a mad dash to reurrect Sage and prepare her for sailing in the south China Sea. The boatyard, Penuwassa, in Kudat was more than satisfactory being exceptionally careful in putting Sage back in the water and offering assistance wherever they could and providing a safe and secure place to leave Sage for 5 months that is well out of the typhoon belt.
It took us a week to put things right before we could launch her. Then it was fill the water tanks, buy a few supplies and head south-west towards Kota Kinabalu.
Our first anchorage was about 15 miles north of Kudat at what is known as the Tip of Borneo i.e. the most northerly spot on the island of Borneo.
We were so excited to once again be at anchor, feel a bit of an ocean breeze and have the chance to swim in clear and clean water. Nausicca also joined us in the anchorage having pretty much been on the same schedule as ourselves. It was deja vu all over to have an anchorage to share again with Marcello sharing each of our European experiences.
The next day saw us moving further west towards KK on our own but not without confused weather and threatening conditions. Mt. Kinabalu dominates the landscape.
But with clouds like the ones below
Moving along without getting wet and lit up by lightning was a real challenge.
Our destination was KK and a marina we had heard of for at least 18 months before arriving. It has to be the most luxurious marina we have been in. But then this was the first marina we had been in for 2 years. So, now when we get up in the morning we can do as the picture details. Morning papers and coffee by the pool!
And this was our route
Back in the water
View from the non functional Kudat Yacht Club (KYC)
We are now back in the water after 6 days of work cleaning up Sage, renewing the anti-fouling and a zillion other odd jobs to try to make Sage habitable and functional as an ocean sailing vessel.
We are in a boat basin recently built but not officially open (many reasons for this from docks that cannot stay flat to pilings that are leaning over at 30 degrees ) and hence tying up to the dock is free which always puts a smile on sailors faces. The yacht club building is fantastic but it has no water and no electricity as the contractor and owner have not signed off due to lack of completion. How long will that take is anyones guess.
Here, we share the anchorage with the following boat people:
1 Italian, 1 Italian German, 2 Brits, 6 Australians, 3 French, 4 Americans, 6 Malaysian (fish and cargo boats) and the Malaysian military.
It makes for quite the collection and was a great combination for Halloween antics and a party at the local resort.
OK Just One More Drink In Singapore
LIVING LA VIDA LOCA
OK just buy me one more drink. It is only $5800 Singapore dollars!
OK I did buy her that one last drink at the top of the Marina Bay Sands
Marina Bay Sands after they kicked us out of the bar at the top for being improperly dressed! I guess shorts are not appropriate at higher levels. What am I going to do when I get to heaven?
Back in Asia
Where else does one spend time in Singapore?
Yes, you are correct. Raffles hotel to spend the last of our money!
But there are also other things to see
Singapore by night is also interesting
In The Interim – The End of Cycling
Budapest – the city of lights
And then there are all the soldiers from Willy Wonka’s Chocolate Factory looking for work
A visit to the ‘House of Terror’. Used by both the Nazis and the communist regimes as a place for interrogation and confinement. Now turned into a museum.
Meeting with Dave and Leslie for an evening out in Budapest
Headed south out of Budapest by train but then the train hit a car!
Yes, it is a bike path sign. Poor signage, poor surfacing and lots of road sharing challenged our route south to Baja, Hungary ( not Baja, Mexico)
Wild animals on the road
And incredible door handles
Breakfast out on the patio next to the swimming pool. Life is cheap and good in southern Hungary
Great soups
Lots of peppers to make paprika
But still a long way to the Black Sea
It is time to call an end to the trip. Baja is a great place to turn back and save the rest for later…
Goodbye bikes and
Good bye Sierd – what an amazing friend and a wonderful travelling companion. Thanks for making this trip a very special memory in so many ways.
Sage on sail 