Merry Christmas & Happy New Year from Holger, Liping & Aurora Ulani on DHARMA BUM III

Dear Friends!                                                                 22 December 2010

 

We wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!  May the future bring mostly happiness and fulfilment!

 

Last Christmas we celebrated in Batam (Indonesia) right across from Singapore.  Now we have spent more than a year with DHARMA BUM III in Asia.  It is quite a different experience from living on land or visiting these places as a tourist or traveller.  Of course we knew that beforehand, but it is still much more noticeable when one experiences it for a while. 

 

Singapore reminded us very much of Taiwan and we made a lot of friends there.  We had no unpleasant experiences, were not bothered at all by the supposedly draconian rules and regulations and we often think of our time there.  An additional highlight was the short TV programme, in which our life was presented.  A very special souvenir, indeed!

 

Malaysia, where we are now, is also very pleasant.  We spent pretty much all the time in Langkawi, but didn't do any heavy duty work on the boat.  That was reserved for Phuket and we quickly got to understand that Phuket is not really Thailand.  It is a tourist enclave and many of the tourists have permanently settled down there.  This is made quite easy these days, especially for those who are over 50 years  old. 

 

We hauled out at Asian Phuket Marine and Dockyard and in the beginning things seemed to go quite well.  We made friends with the manager Jeab, who was absolutely fascinated by our daughter.  Although the yard was quite a bit more  expensive than Norsand Boatyard in New Zealand, the labourers were inexpensive.  Our engines and saildrives were removed on the second day by Virat Hlanden and his crew and soon our boat was prepared for spray-painting by Khun Oz and his boys.  I had intended to do this job last, but unfortunately I let myself be persuaded that it would not matter.  It sure did. 

 

Another crew went to work on the new headliner, new cushions, new curtains and so on.  While I have to say that DHARMA BUM III looks very beautiful now, both inside and out, the more than five months on the hard were one of the most frustrating and annoying experiences we've had in recent years.  After a while everything slowed down to a crawl and this while we were permanently living on the boat and around all the time.  Also, nobody, with the notable exception of our carpenter Sutin Pensawat, had any competence in his supposed field whatsoever.  The winner was the complete engine and saildrive overhaul.  Although we had tested the engines on the hard, the had problems as soon as we were in the water. 

 

We couldn't get either engine started and had to ask the mechanic for help.  On the way to the anchorage one of the engines overheated while the other one didn't produce electricity.  The so-called electrician cum mechanic Virat Hlanden had not installed the ground cable correctly, which destroyed both the new alternator which I had fitted in New Zealand as well as the very expensive Xantrex alternator regulator (XAR).  You can imagine, how happy I was.  On top of that, there were oil-leaks all over the place, both for the engines and the saildrives.  At least there wasn't any water in the latter... 

 

The next thing I noticed was that the outboard wouldn't start.  When I removed the hood, I noticed a huge crack in the engine block, just below the lower cylinder.  The boys in the yard must have dropped it.  Of course they didn't mention it to us.  Not repairable.  I had to buy a very expensive new outboard engine.  By then I was so angry that I was well on the way to doing something really stupid.  Fortunately reason prevailed. 

 

Another very sad thing was that except for Sutin, we didn't make any local friends.  Everybody who knows us well, also knows that these friends are one  of the main reasons why we live this arduous, uncomfortable and often dangerous lifestyle.  In that respect  Phuket was a total waste of time.  Really too bad.  Fortunately our foreign friends made up for all that.  Thank you, guys! 

 

What was really nice, were all the little islands between Langkawi and Phuket.  Those are the places one dreams of.  Plenty to see under water, beautiful to look at on land, secluded, quiet and peaceful.  Before taking off from this  area altogether, we hope to visit these wonderful islands one more time. 

 

Both on the way up and on the way down we spent a considerable amount of time on these.  On the way down, we were often together with Swiss-Germans Martin, Theres and Ann of the STYRR.  Normally we prefer to be alone and go our own way at our own speed, so it was quite a change in our rhythm.  We all got along fabulously.  Ann and Aurora Ulani were playing happily together and their parents enjoyed each other's company just as much.  I still can't quite get over the fact that Martin often sails this gigantic ancient square rigger by himself.  And how he deals with the trusty old Rolls Royce engines is a mystery to me.  I sure as hell take my hat off! 

 

Back here in Langkawi we immediately renewed our friendship with the Chinese family which runs Sin Hwa Cold Storage.  Aurora Ulani was especially happy to play again with  Junxuan and Ningning.  Abraham/Ibrahim, our friend with the big banana farm, was out fishing, but after a few days we got together as well.  And then we had to start rectifying all the mistakes the guys in Phuket had made, but I won't bore you with all the technical details.  Suffice it to say that I am now the proud owner of a brand-new 15 horse Yamaha outboard and this afternoon I have to pick up my alternator. 

 

Soon, the STYRR should be back here and today I got my anchoring permit for the Chagos archipelago.  Next on the agenda are the visas for Mauritius, Madagascar and South Africa.  Once we have these, we'll set out to cross the Indian Ocean - making sure to stay well away from those areas  frequented by pirates.  And soon (30 December) Aurora Ulani will celebrate her seventh birthday.  So far she has managed to celebrate every single year in a different country!  Her schooling is going well.  I have to say that it is a bit hard on her parents, though.  I finish the German part around 10:00 am and then Liping does the Chinese part as well as Calvert School until lunch - and often late into the afternoon as well.  Aurora Ulani is fully trilingual; listening, speaking, reading and writing.  Her best spoken language is her mother tongue, Mandarin.  Her best written langue is English.  Her German reading is fine, but when she is speaking she often runs aground on the reefs of German grammar.  Writing German is her weakest part, which is the reason why I have added yet another hour of that to the programme. 

 

One thing that amazed me was the response I got from Liping a while back, when I asked her what we should do if we were unable to sell our boat in the Caribbean.  Her answer was:  "Then we just sail one more time across the Pacific.  Why not?"  Why not indeed?!?  Liping pointed out to me that high-school in Taiwan starts at the age of twelve, which would give us another five years of time for this amazing lifestyle.  If the choice falls on Germany, though, we have only three years left.  We'll see.  I am sure that life will continue to be interesting!

 

Hope that you are well and happy and that we'll hear from you soon!

 

Greetings, best wishes and all that from Holger, Liping & Aurora Ulani on the catamaran DHARMA BUM III, currently in Kuah, Langkawi, Malaysia

 

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Phone: +60175767958 

06°19.15'N 099°50.52'E

Pictures

http://picasaweb.google.com/krautholg/KoRokNokButangAdangKoLipe# 

Salvatore's big brother - a Komodo dragon (Varanus komodoensis) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Komodo_dragon

DHARMA BUM III getting a new coat

In Langkawi



Abraham/Ibrahim, Holg & Nick Mayo on Abraham's new banana plantation

By now our movie is available including subtitles


Doubleclick, if you want to see it bigger or fullscreen

   

Part 1 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kzCjUs-1z5M
Part 2 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=agz_9gVpf3Y
Part 3 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mJJ5HitL85U
Part 4 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nGEFqMLwESs

If you prefer to download it, instead of watching it online, you can use this fabulous little site:

http://keepvid.com/

Just put the URLs in the empty line on the top, let it convert and download it a little while later. Often better than watching streaming video. Also:: http://reviews.cnet.com/4520-11327_7-6555399-1.html

http://www.youtube.com/KrautHolg

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Phone: +66831768614 +66800383726 +60175767958

07°53.05'N 098°24.94'E

Langkawi to Phuket -- 15 June 2010

Here we are now sitting on the hard in the Asian-Phuket dockyard right inside the Phuket Town fishing harbor.  We had left Kuah on the last-but-one day visa-wise.  If we had waited just one more day, we would have been able to pick up the DVD with our documentary including the English subtitles.  We found out because "Auntie" from Sin Hwa Cold Storage phoned us while we were sailing.  The whole trip we were reachable and it even works here in Thailand, albeit with roaming charges. 

 

This was going to be a very different trip from before.  Liping and I really like long peaceful ocean passages and as a rule we never use our two diesels except for going in and out of harbor.  However, since Singapore this was not an option anymore.  Simply too many ships, fishing boats, long tails, ferries and all kinds of other traffic.  I had planned the route, so that we only had little hops of 25 to 35 miles to do each day.  There was no wind at all, but there were an untold number of nets in our way.  Almost every 100 meters we had to avoid one.  You better have your eyes peeled for such an exercise and after a few hours things get pretty tiring.  But all went well and on this trip we didn't even get done once. 

 

The first night we had planned to anchor off Ko Lipe, where RARE EARTH-Henry's friends Tom & Emily have a little hippy beach resort.  It was too deep to anchor and so we picked up one of the two yellow moorings there and went overboard.  The water was very clear and the coral was spectacular.  From light blue over turquoise green, orange and yellow there was a whole range of colors.  Just beautiful.  We decided to take it real easy and spend another day there.  That was to be our modus operandi for the rest of the trip as well.  The next day we visited Henry's friends while Henry tried to clear in.  That didn't work out as the immigration official wasn't there and when Henry did another trip after lunchtime, he was told that he wouldn't be back for several days.  The tourist season was clearly over and the place was more or less deserted.  We enjoyed it very much and were surprised to hear from other sailors that they considered it one of the worst islands.  I almost imagine that they got the names mixed up. 

 

On we went to Ko Bulon, which was very nice as well.  Here we anchored at the very tip of the island and were soon joined by a whole fleet of Thai fishing boats, who seemed to be gathering for a celebration or party.  Most of them were rafted together, the music started playing, and we could hear a lot of laughter and excited talking while wafts of delicious cooking smells occasionally made our mouths water.  I have to say, that Thailand is probably the best place for the yachtie as far as food is concerned.  Not that I suddenly dislike the Chinese cuisine, but it is rather difficult to sail to Taiwan and comparatively easy to sail to Thailand.  Aurora Ulani doesn't share our enthusiasm, though.  The food is invariably spicy and sometimes it is so hot that tears roll out of my eyes like crazy.  But very, very tasty!

 

Again we spent another day at the island and enjoyed the beach, especially Ulani.  I had already cleaned the bottom and on the very first day I found out that the engine-repair which Henry had done in Kuah had not been successful.  In seven hours the engine lost about 3 liters of oil.  Just about as bad as before.  When I told Henry, he was of the opinion that the aluminum-weld of the timing cover must have failed, because it was clearly too much oil for a regular leak.  All that work, money, dirt and so on for nothing...  Strangely enough, this didn't really bother me.  I guess the surroundings counteracted and compensated the negative stuff. 

 

The passage from Ko Bulon to Ko Rok Nok was the winner as far as fishing nets are concerned.  Maybe it is not such a wise idea to zigzag between the outer and inner islands.  We did that because with only one engine operational we didn't make much speed and we wanted to be anchored or moored in daytime.  Next time, I will probably take the outer route exclusively.  After anchoring I went over the side, as the coral were just as beautiful as in Ko Lipe.  When I noticed that I could touch the coral heads with my flippers while swimming on the surface, I decided that DHARMA BUM III might get into trouble at low tide.  So the anchor, nicely buried in sand, came up again.  As we were unable to find a nice anchoring spot, we decided to look for a mooring at the neighboring island of Ko Rok Nai.  Very nice again, a beautiful sandy beach just perfect for Aurora Ulani, peace and quiet, no tourists, fishing boats or anything else. 

 

After dark I noticed another yacht coming in with very dim lights and only under outboard engine.  She did a few circles and soon I found out that Tristan was a single-handed sailor from Glasgow without any electrical power and therefore no main engine.  I put our dinghy back in the water to help him, but he had already managed by himself.  He took off his battery-powered navigation lights and soon enough he sat on our boat drinking a very cold 1°C Coopers Stout homebrew.  Tristan was impressed, both with the brew and with the temperature.  <grin>  (For emergencies like Tristan's I carry one red and one green blinking LED sea-light, which the fishermen use to mark their traps and nets.  They are very visible and the two D-size batteries last for several months.)

 

The next day we spent mostly at the beach, of course only after Aurora's homeschooling requirements were satisfied.  Right now she is 6 1/2 years old, has about eight Calvert School lessons to go and then should be ready for second grade.  This has all worked out marvelously well.  In fact, I have the impression that I often don't express myself correctly, because many people seem to think that we are having a bad time with all the work, worry, expenses and repairs.  On the contrary!  The last 4 1/2 years were the most interesting years of our lives and the main reason for that is that we met so many amazing people.  It is true that living on a sailboat can sometimes get pretty frustrating and even downright scary.  But it is far outweighed by all the positive aspects.  It is kind of sad that many people never get over that first hump and give up disillusioned and sell their boat. 

 

Some friends also have a problem with the amount of technical detail and drudgery in my writing.  They'd prefer if I wrote a bit more upbeat and "show" the beautiful and romantic aspects of our lifestyle - just like director/producer Derek Goh did in his documentary about us.  For the fellow sailor the technical and other detail is of vital importance, though.  He doesn't really need to be told about beautiful sunsets or the size and amount of the fish caught.  He knows all this.  He wants to know which officials to avoid and which hardware store is to be recommended.  He wants to know where he can best get potable water, where to hire a cheap motorcycle and how to go about a visa extension.  Difficult to satisfy both kinds of readers, but I will try. 

 

I got up even earlier than usual the next day and we were underway just after 6:00 am.  The goal was Ko Phiphi and we didn't expect much, as it is an overdeveloped tourist destination.  We had not bargained for the harbor being that crowded though, and were were glad that we got in so early.  I could not imagine that the unoccupied moorings didn't belong to anyone and so didn't even try to pick one up anchored instead.  Although I was not happy with the situation, it proved to be the right way to go as we saw several boats (almost all bareboat charter boats) get chased away from their moorings.  Also, this was the only day where there was any wind, up to 30 knots exactly on the nose. 

 

Ko Phiphi was the one island we were actually glad to leave.  I let my two girls sleep as long as they wanted while I started the engine and picked up the anchor as soon as I could see what I was doing.  The wind had died down over night, there weren't too many nets and the next stop would be our final one.  We reached Chalong Bay just before lunchtime and pretty soon I put the dinghy in the water to get our bearings.  Aurora & I visited two boats and later we got a Thai SIM-card, a few vegetables and the like.  Clearing in had been no problem at all, no difficulties, no bribes and while we only got 60 days with a possible extension of another 30 days the boat got six months.  Not too bad. 

 

The next few days we were mostly dealing with various boatyards and slipways and the happy mood of the last ten days or so was threatening to evaporate.  The costs were even higher than in New Zealand which we found pretty hard to swallow.  There was a lot of bargaining to do, all by phone or eMail, back and forth again and again.  Other yachties and friends gave us conflicting advice, just as everybody's requirements and monetary situation is different.  One guy may think nothing of spending US$ 60,000 on the hard whereas another gets by with US$ 3,000 for the whole year.  One boat is regularly waxed and polished, shining clean and all tidies up like ready for a boat show whereas another one is showing signs of hard use all over the place.  And every boat reflects the character of the owner.  Finally we settled on the yard that David Kopec from MEANDER  had recommended to us.  With 30+ years experience as a single-hander under his belt and pretty much on the same wavelength as Liping & me, we gave his thoughts a bit more weight. 

 

Apart from the price the determining factor was Asian-Phuket's attitude.  Ozzy picked us up in his car at Ao Chalong, drove us over there to show us the yard and was helpful all around.  They promptly answered eMails and kept phoning us to see if they could come to an agreement with us.  The yard is a commercial yard, all concrete and tracks, big fishing boats squeezed in tight with just a few yachts in the front.  I had my reservations about that part, especially with a little girl on my hands. 

 

As soon as we were out on the hard, we were given a key for the staff-washroom and Ozzy showed up with the first guys to make estimates.  They were right on the ball and started to work right away.  Although we only got hauled out four days ago and there was a weekend in between, the engines and sail-drives are being removed as I type this, the upholsterer and vinyl-man has taken his measurements, the fiberglass works are more or less finished and I am considering to have the whole boat repainted here.  Sunday there was a barbecue in Ozzy's honor, organized by departing yachties and we were invited.  One of them, Dirk Mayer, had invited us out on our very first day, and to a first class Thai restaurant, too.  Last night Ozzy and his co-workers suddenly sent up Ulani with a cold beer for me in her hand, so what could I do but join the gang under our boat?  So far, hauling out in this commercial yard (Asian Phuket Marine & Dockyard) has been a pretty good experience.  We might even have a chance to make it until the end of the year, so that we can cross the Indian Ocean this coming year.  Chagos, Mauritius, Madagascar and South Africa is our tentative route.  I wanted to celebrate my half-hundredth birthday in Madagascar on 18 June, but now it looks as if it will be right here.  I wonder who will show up for the party...

 

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Phone: +66831768614  +66800383726 +60175767958 

07°49.01'N 098°21.66'E

Greetings from Holger, Liping & Aurora Ulani on the DHARMA BUM III

Easter Monday 2010

 

We have now been in Langkawi, Malaysia for six weeks and will probably stay in the Malaysia/Thailand region for a year or two.  However long it takes to make our boat look presentable again.  While the prices here are reasonable, progress is excruciatingly slow.  Nobody ever shows up when they have agreed to and most of the time is spent waiting.  Fortunately for us - other yachties are slowly going insane - we are certainly not in a hurry and we have plenty of other things to do.  Of course, most of the time is spent teaching & playing with our daughter.  At this moment she is taking a big test for the Calvert School.  We already got the materials for the next 2 1/2 years. 

 

I have successfully and all by myself fixed the roller furling, something that amazes me quite a bit and saved me many thousands of dollars.  Even our daughter (6) can easily reef the genoa.  We now have extremely bright single LED bulbs in all our navigation and anchor lights, a new wind direction indicator at the top of the mast and I have already ordered a new set of batteries as the old ones were dying as long ago as New Zealand.  There still remains an impressive list of things to do.  Water in the saildrive, one engine needs a new crankshaft seal, both engines could actually do with a complete overhaul, the headliner needs to be replaced, so do all our cushions, wood exposed to the sun needs varnishing, new antifouling and and and. 

 

We have made many new friends, especially Abraham, who used to work in the merchant navy once and is now a grandfather (scarcely older than me) who owns and runs a banana plantation with 40,000 trees as well as pumpkin and corn fields.  Then there is "auntie" and her family of Sin Hwa Cold Storage.  Their children like to play with Ulani and everybody is happy because the are forced to practice their Mandarin Chinese. 

 

Tomorrow Liping and Ulani will fly to Kuala Lumpur and the day after on to Taiwan.  Liping has last seen her family on 20 November 2005, so it is about time for a visit.  It's not all visiting friends and family, though.  Aurora needs to check on her Kawasaki Syndrome and a lot of paperwork needs to be done.  In fact, I think Liping will be quite busy for the 30 days she has on the island.  I will try to use their absence to have the messiest job (new headliner) done.  The previous owner did it by himself and it took him six weeks to do it.  I hope to have the help of professional Chinese/Malay craftsmen.  It seems that they consider the job rather difficult, as there are plenty of rounded or curved surfaces around and lots of the work has to be done on the boat itself.  Let's hope I can convince them to help me anyway, because otherwise that particular job has to wait until we are in Thailand. 

 

Once we leave this area, we'll go to the Chagos archipelago, then on to Mauritius, Madagascar and South Africa.  With our mega-slow speed it might take us many years to get there. <grin>  

 

Greetings from Holger, Liping & Aurora Ulani on the DHARMA BUM III 

 

http://www.cruisersforum.com/forums/f80/yachties-cruisers-boaters-sailors-38820.html

From Singapore to Langkawi

Dear Friends,                                                                                           Langkawi Island, Malaysia

                                                                                                                06°18.63'N 099°50.58'E

 

At first daylight Henry brought his brother-in-law, producer/director Derek Goh and his cameraman in a little boat, so that they could film our last-minute preparations, another interview and our departure from Changi Sailing Club.  Actually, that didn't really suit us very well, as departures are usually a bit hectic and this time we had to go all around Singapore where the traffic is extreme by any standards.  The original plan was to only sail at daytime and the first place where we could anchor was far away. 

 

Soon we were gone and had fun immediately as tug-boats pulling heavy barges were overtaking us on both sides.  They had difficulty understanding how slow we were and on top of everything, fishers had put their nets right in the shipping lanes.  Hard to believe, but true. 

 

Once we were truly out of the harbour, things got a bit easier.  Our progress was extremely slow, as the tide was against us.  However, manager Edward had advised us to disregard the tide on this occasion and start as early as possible.  It was 10:00 pm before we reached the first place outside of Singaporean waters where we could drop the hook.  The next morning we saw that we had anchored very close to a fish farm, that had lights only on its main structure.  We decided to take a day off, as our Chinese friends had hosted a good-bye party on a fish-farm which lasted until 1:00 am, so it was at least 2:00 am before we got to bed - only to get up about three hours later.  We watched the fireworks for the Chinese Lunar New Year and had a pleasant evening in the cockpit. 

 

The next morning we rubbed our  eyes and realized that a driftnet was coming towards us  --  and not all that slowly.  We just had time to start our engines, put  them in reverse gear and pick up the anchor before we got entangled in the net.   Close call!  The next night we anchored as well, as almost all our friends in Singapore recommended to sail only in daylight.  Otherwise the chance to pick up a net would be around 50%.  And dealing with a net in the dark, surrounded by shipping, strong currents and diving at night to disentangle the boat; that was about the worst thing I could imagine at that moment. 

 

When some fishers put their net in our vicinity, I invited them on board for a coffee.  Daud and Hassan accepted the offer gratefully and told me that I wouldn't have to worry about their net, as the tide was carrying it the other way.  And if we had any problems at all in the area, we should just mention their names as all the fisherman knew each other quite well and they had many friends here.  When they went back to work, I soon crept into my bunk as well. 

 

A little while later, I heard a creaking sound but couldn't figure out where it came from.  Liping wasn't successful either although she has two functioning ears and can usually tell at least the direction where the sound is coming from.  Not this time.  Soon after a little fishing boat arrived and when I went to the foredeck, I saw immediately what the problem was.  Their driftnet was caught in our anchor chain and the strong current caused the noise.  A few seconds later our anchor alarm went off.  I called out to the fishermen, their heavy wooden boat crashed into our port bow and two of the guys came on board. 

 

By now the tide was so strong, that one of them could stand on the net like an acrobat doing a high-wire act.  No chance to save the drift-net, so out came a very sharp machete and the net was cut.  They set off to save the rest of the net and promised to be back around midnight.   

 

Meanwhile we found out that there were numerous scratches, dents and other damage on our gelcoat.  Our mood plummeted, because we knew that these poor fishermen simply didn't have the cash to pay for these repairs.  Pointless to even ask them.  When the father ("I am a pensioner!") and his two sons showed up a few hours later, we first made some more coffee and then we had a discussion.  They needed a new net-segment, which cost 40 Ringgit (US$ 12) and told us that it was a very bad idea indeed to anchor in these parts.  The nets were simply everywhere as all these guys needed to feed their families.  This kind of stuff would be happening again and again if we insisted to anchor overnight.  We'd be much better off if we stayed just inside the shipping lanes.  In the daytime we could also sail outside as we would have to hit one of the white buoys straight on before we would really get into trouble. 

 

So this is what we did after that eventful night.  No problem all the way to Langkawi Island, but when we were almost there, on the very last night, in excellent visibility and with all our  lights on, we were almost run down again by a small freighter.  It was my watch and I could see it coming  --  but I couldn't determine exactly which way I should steer as the ship was heading straight for me.  I started the engine.  Red, green, the two white lights perfectly lined up.  As we are extremely slow under engine (there was no wind at all), it would  be fatal if I were to motor in the wrong direction.   

 

So I had to wait quite a while until I was sure and when the freighter passed very close and right behind us,  I started to shake quite badly and my heart was beating very fast.  Even hours later I could still feel the after-effects of the adrenaline.  Maybe radar and AIS aren't a bad idea after all, since nobody looks out the window any more.   

 

We had to take down all sail, as we don't like to enter unknown places in the dark.  Also the roller-reefing didn't want to turn any more, so we had to brute-force it and damaged our headsail in the process.  In daylight we continued to Kuah where we cleared in.  Liping got permission to stay for 14 days, although she had obtained a visa in Singapore. 

 

The first thing we noticed was the heat.  Not quite as hot as Darwin, but with 37°C still considerable - especially if heavy physical work is required or (even worse) one has to work in the engine room.  Of course, these things were first on the agenda.  First I had to get around 160 litres of water to fill up our tanks again, we needed to do our provisioning and then we had to replace at least two of our extremely heavy batteries which had gone belly-up.   The latter took a whole day and after that ordeal I was unapproachable, very dirty & covered with scratches and bruises.  On top of that I had somehow damaged my right wrist.  That evening I just sat in the cockpit with several gin & tonics as well as a good book. 

 

Fortunately, boat life isn't like that every day,  although sometimes I have my doubts about that.  We got to know Rene and Nadine on HALLIE from South Africa and spent many pleasant hours together.  We also met Abraham,  a Malaysian originally from Pinang, who had worked many years in the merchant navy.  He is a grandfather, looks like one, but is just a few years older than me.  We got along immediately and Abraham drove us all over the island.  Soon, we were fast friends.  If it weren't for all these people, we would have long since given up on this lifestyle.  As it is, they convince us again and again to continue. 

 

Kuah doesn't seem a very healthy place for foreigners to settle down, though.  Life is dirt-cheap (the three of us could live in comparative comfort for about US$ 200/month here), there's the beaches, the palm trees, the water and the weather - everything you know from the brochures at the travel agent - but life completely without work, without goals and future plans doesn't seem to agree with most people.  It seems to lead mostly to indolence, lethargy and especially to excessive drinking.  Ted & Adrienne from MOMENTUM, which we had first met in Darwin and who have two children on board, even spoke of "Death Row".  Most of these guys here plan to stay for good, because everything is so inexpensive and so many of them would never be forced to work again.  The can't imagine life back in Europe, Australia or North America and even if they live in real poverty, even if they lose their teeth or maybe a leg, even if they live the life of a homeless person, it is still not enough to convince them that there might be better alternatives.  Even when loneliness slowly drives them insane.  We haven't met a single one, not here nor in Indonesia, who even admits the problem to him- or herself and considers to maybe try life again back in the old country (or somewhere else for that matter). 

 

All of this is quite scary, especially for me.  What if I get caught in the same trap one of these days?  I am  not at all enamoured with the idea of setting up a new company somewhere and go to work every day, but still I'd rather work until the end of my life then live as miserably as many westerners here seem to be doing.   Even now I am rather annoyed by the fact that my friends are getting less and less over the years.  In New Zealand there were old friends like Roy on SEA LONE (we met in Kourou, French Guyana, in 1989 when I was there on my first catamaran DHARMA BUM) or new friends like Schelmi & Isabelle (who had just finished building their beautiful Wharram Tiki 46 WAKATAITEA when we met) and a few other people who were really on our wave-length.  Now, however, we are right back amongst the "Second Lifers" (as Holger on PYTHEAS IV calls them).  It takes some adjusting, just like we experienced reverse culture shock when coming back to Asia from the wide open seas of the Pacific.  We don't really have all that much in common with these "cruisers". 

 

It does not really help when some men are staring rudely at Liping and make offensive remarks like "Pussy-power doesn't work around here!"   Or when complete novices tell us how to do even the most simple things.  Often I am reminded of the words of Bill Gross, whose monthly articles I have read for many, many years.  Here is the link:  http://tinyurl.com/yfejbkt 

 

A few days ago, we rented a car and went to see immigration, which is on the other side of the island.  Unfortunately, Liping only got another one-time-only extension of 30 days, so that she'll have to leave the country every 6 weeks at least.  Bummer!  Soon she and Aurora Ulani will fly to Taipei to visit the family and I will stay here, attempting to do some work on the boat.  The headsail has been repaired, the stack-pack is being worked on, the dinghy-cover and bimini are next.  The ProFurl N52 roller reefing is apart and I am trying to repair it myself.  The rigger has been here, so have the mechanic and the sailmaker.  As usual, progress is excruciatingly slow, but at least there is some.  We'll seen how long we stay here.  If it gets too crazy, well move the boat to Phuket/Thailand and continue over there.  One of these days Abraham and his Thai wife are going to come by and Aurora Ulani has already made new friends with Chinese children over here.  Life's good and I hope that's true for you too!

 

Ciao for now!

 

Aurora Ulani, Liping & Holger

 

Position:  http://www.pangolin.co.nz/yotreps/tracker.php?ident=WDC7641

 

Tel: +60175767958 

Greetings from Singapore

Just before entering Singapore Straights, Liping woke me up as she couldn't really tell whether a ship was on a collision course or not.  I was wide awake immediately, as just a couple of nights before I had asked a passing ship if they had me on the radar.  The answer was positive.  He told us that he saw us quite clearly on his starboard side  --  when we were actually on his port side.  Very bad news.  We had our lights on, but apparently nobody ever looks outside any more. 

 

So this time I raced out and saw that we were, indeed, on a collision course and threw the wheel hard to starboard.  The ship passed *very* close to us and Liping got so scared that she was shaking uncontrollably. 

 

When it was daylight, we saw that ships lined up all the way to the horizon.  The approach to the Panama Canal looks like a deserted backwater in comparison.  The good news is that ships in the Straights at least stay in the shipping lanes, whereas they seem to make a point to stay out of them in Indonesian waters.  Once we had figured that out, things were comparatively easy. 

 

We anchored outside Nongsa Point Marina, put the dinghy down and checked the place out.  For a hundred bucks, we'd be allowed to stay for two weeks, which is unbelievably inexpensive for a 4-star resort/marina.  Not only that, the people were always smiling and helpful.  Quite a different story to the marina in Bali, which was very expensive indeed.  (We anchored way back in the harbour of Benoa.)  So we cleaned our water tanks and did all kinds of other work before clearing out for Singapore. 

 

The run across was very easy and when we got close to Angler Point, we called immigration on the VHF, who showed up in a small launch and ordered us to drift while they cleared us in.  Later on we called the MPA (harbourmasters office) and were told in no uncertain terms, that we were not allowed to anchor, but that we could put up sail, so that we would reach our destination in daylight. 

 

When we got to Changi Sailing Club, we picked up a mooring and were immediately charmed by the place.  After a short walk uphill, you are greeted by tropical vegetation reminding one of a park.  Cockatoos, parakeets and myna birds fly all over the place.  While skyscraper-city is but a bus-ride away, here one is reminded of rural tranquillity. 

 

"Wait!" I thought.  First impressions can often be deceiving, just like tourists all over the world are deceived by the facades that are custom-built just for them.  And how can they possibly tell, as they are never really leaving those confines?  We met sailors who had spent years in a place without being aware of the most common social problems. 

 

But the feeling never changed.  While Singapore undoubtedly has social problems just like any other place in the world, the positive aspect far outweighed anything else.  I had had a similar experience when I first moved to  Taiwan in 1982.  Those days Taiwan had very bad press and I had not looked forward to go there.  Instead, I fell in love with the island. 

 

Also, Liping and I noticed many similarities to Taiwan, albeit with a more tropical und multi-cultural flavour.  The first thing was that we were kind of adopted by the Chinese members of the club.  The manager, Edward, and his good friend Kit were going out of their way to make us feel welcome on the very first day we met and soon introduced us to the rest of the gang.  While some are admittedly very well off and don't really represent society as a whole, others are very much in the mainstream and a sizable portion are true blue collar workers.  And every one of them tried very hard to include us in everything and be helpful. 

 

Thank you, Changi Sailing Club!

 

Again,  we found out that through pure luck we have ended up at exactly the right place.  Most of the members are more into racing and dinghy sailing and we haven't seen a single overseas yachtie here.  They mostly pass Singapore by ("Absolutely everything is forbidden in Singapore."  --  What media nonsense!) or stay in marinas that cater to the truly rich.  As a result the people here are much more curious about our lifestyle than they would otherwise be ("familiarity breeds contempt"). 

 

One of the members, Henry, told us that his brother in law was a producer for a local television and asked if it was OK to give him our phone number.  Of course it was!  So Derek Goh called us a couple of days later and we met with him and Henry to get acquainted.  It worked marvellously well and again a few days later the filming for a 30-minute documentary started.  Although we had exposure to this kind of stuff before, we had not expected the team to be quite that professional and dedicated. 

 

Later we found out that Derek Goh is one of these rare people who have so much passion for their work, that it has become pretty much their whole life.  He'd won prizes and (in his own words) "had moved past the regard for ratings and the like".  His aim is to produce GOOD documentaries and later he gave us a few web-links , so that we could watch some of them.  They were excellent and both Liping and I were moved to tears.  Liping had a very long talk with Derek during one of those barbecue nights, where Derek himself had this amazing tell-tale shimmer in his eyes.  That's just how he is and we feel very lucky and are very appreciative to have met him.  I take my hat off!

 

Unfortunately, there is always an end to such things.  While we got a 30-day extension to our 14-day landing pass, I was told that I would not get another extension.  Very sad, especially as Liping only got a 14-day visa for Malaysia as well.  And we had planned on a major refit in Langkawi!  Maybe we can get a longer extension there or we will have to try our luck in Phuket.  The positive aspect is that things should get less expensive again after Singapore, (especially since there is no bar just a few meters from our mooring ;-). 

 

The documentary will show on the "Tuesday Report" sometime at the end of April 2010 on the all-Mandarin Channel 8 of Mediacorp and I will try to post some links here to Youtube or some such.  We'll see.  The trip up north will be quite different from our previous trips, as two of the bolts of our port chainplate sheared off and somehow the chainplate got bent outwards.  I replaced the bolts, added 4 washers on each and put epoxy and micro-balloons between the hull and the chainplates.  We will have to sail extremely carefully until we can effect permanent repairs.  Also, because of all the floating drift-nets, we have been advised to keep a sharp lookout and never sail at night.  Then there are the strong tidal currents, that make it advisable to anchor when the tide is against you.  Boy-oh!

 

As a result, I bought two more 25-litre jerry cans, so that we now have 520 litres of diesel on board, which means we could run one engine continuously at low revs for about two weeks.  But don't fear!  We won't turn into "diesel sailors" because of this!  As usual, we will be the slowest boat around and we fully expect to enjoy our next stop.  As Karl & Libu once said:  "We like it everywhere!"

 

Phone:  +6583019317

New Addresses for Blogs / Neue Blog-Adressen -- Greetings from Singapore (Changi Sailing Club)

Since Blogger.com will stop support for FTP publishing, I had to find a new home for our blogs.  The links are down below.

 

http://DharmaBumIIIReise.blogspot.com/ (German/Deutsch)

http://DharmaBumIIIVoyage.blogspot.com/ (English/Englisch)

http://CaptainHolg.blogspot.com/ (English/Englisch/Backup)

 

http://YehLiping.blogspot.com/ (Chinese/Chinesisch)

 

Da Blogger.com demnächst kein FTP mehr unterstützt, war ich gezwungen ein neues Zuhause für meine Blogs zu finden. 

To be continued at http://DharmaBumIIIVoyage.blogspot.com/