The last leg for 2019 – see you next year Pegasos

We left Malacca knowing that we will spend more time when we next visit the lovely city and moved on to Port Dickson with enough wind for some sailing early in the morning. The wind died off after a few hours and we motored through a busy big ships’ anchorage near an oil refinery loading dock.

Shortly after lunch we reached Port Dickson and dropped anchor close to Admiral Marina near the beach. It was a lovely calm spot.

Most of the boats had booked berths in the marina and when we dinghied in we saw they were crowded together in hot pens without much breeze. Thank goodness for the shady big pool at Admiral Marina and we lost no time in cooling off.

Many boats stayed on at Admiral Marina to go on a tour to Kuala Lumpur but Robert had made contact with an agent for the faulty radar and we wanted to get closer to Kuala Lumpur to deliver it. Port Klang has a marina and easy access to Kuala Lumpur so it seemed a good plan.

We set off early in the morning and initially the current was with us but it soon turned and we had current against us the rest of the way. As soon as we got closer to Port Klang the area became very busy with big ships. It is the main port of Malaysia and the 11^th largest port in the world. Non-stop action with loading and unloading 24/7 at 3 different ports within the muddy delta.

We crossed the busy Port Klang shipping lane and anchored in a calm mangrove lined channel just off the shipping lane. There was a very strong current through the channel but it was peaceful and if not for the big ships passing in the distance it would have seemed remote.

Robert had worked out tides and currents and the next morning we left at what we thought was the optimum time to our advantage. But the current seemed to be a bit against us so we slowly trundled past the long South Port and its line of ships and cranes, grateful that we had a gap without a big ship heading our way.

We motored further up the wide river and eventually found Royal Selangor Yacht Club. We had considered leaving Pegasos at RSYC for about 5 months until our return next year but we immediately noticed the vast amount of rubbish moving downstream. Much of the rubbish collects between the boats and the jetties resulting in smelly piles of refuse jammed between the boats and the jetties.

In addition to the endless stream of rubbish moving back and forth with the tides, RSYC has a channel between its mooring jetties which is used by big trawlers, smaller fishing boats, power boats and just about every other speeding craft which sends big wakes crashing against the boats tied to the jetties. We quickly decided this wasn’t a good place to leave Pegasos.

The advantage of RSYC is their big swimming pool and even bigger restaurant with an extensive menu.

Robert made further contact with the agent for the faulty radar and much to our surprise one of their guys came to collect it from us at the marina saving us a trip into Kuala Lumpur. Their technician is away for a couple of weeks so we wait and see what transpires – repair or replace as it is still under warranty.

We were keen to get out of Port Klang as quickly as possible but the complex tidal system in the delta meant that we could only leave in the afternoon. And so we set off under a black cloud – which is often the case in the afternoons as it rains daily. We hadn’t got far when the thunderstorm broke and it started raining heavily, probably the heaviest rain we’ve had so far. Visibility was very poor and we’re in a busy shipping channel. We kept the spray dodger down to see better but we got horribly drenched in the cockpit. We got as far as the North Port loading docks and decided we had enough so we moved over to the edge of the channel where it is too shallow for any big ships and dropped the anchor next to mangroves. Robert closed up the tent covers and I had a warm shower and it turned out to be a peaceful anchorage although it rained for hours.

We caught the morning tide early and set off with the current, motoring along at over 7 knots for the first few hours. We passed a bizarre sight of hundreds of people standing in the ocean – what it turned out to be is a sandbank in the strait which dries out at certain high tides and lots of little boats ferrying people from the shore to the sandbank to experience the phenomenon of “standing on the sea” with boats passing around.

The whole area is very busy with trawlers and smaller fishing boats. Some of the trawlers had AIS but many did not and so it was a constant look out, especially for nets strung out from the smaller fishing boats. The trawlers move under 3 knots when they drag their nets but can move exceptionally fast when heading out to sea. We saw a trawler coming closer from slightly behind our starboard side heading towards us. We kept an eye on it and got worried when it didn’t change direction and was moving much faster than us. Through binoculars I could see no one above deck! In the end we did a full 360 deg turn to avoid being hit by the trawler. At the last moment a few heads popped up on it looking surprised. They clearly hadn’t seen us. One of the other rally boats was not so lucky in the same area and got hit by a trawler in the front with enough damage to its crossbeam and its mast fell over.

We also received several SART alerts on our AIS which is a signal from a Search and Rescue Transponder intended for emergency use at sea and is used to locate a vessel in distress. Normally closest boats would respond to save lives. However these alerts were originating from close to the shoreline and we had read that the local fishermen in this area use these transponders to locate their fishing nets! Insane behaviour. It’s a wonder that the Malaysian authorities don’t do anything to stop it.

By lunchtime we no longer had the current with us and the wind was in the front so the afternoon was a bumpy and swelly ride. Very tedious 11 hours to cover 62 miles. Entering the river mouth of Sungai Bernam is a bit tricky as it is extremely shallow in places. We crept along watching the depth and two trawlers overtook us, clearly following their waypoints. Good enough for us so we sat behind one of the trawlers following it. We moved off to the side of the wide mouth and anchored in only 1 metre! We had heard lots of stories about fishing boats crashing into anchored yachts in this area so we put on all the nav lights, dangled a flashing light and kept an inside light on.

Nothing hit us during the night and the next morning we set off for our most northerly anchorage in this leg – Pangkor Marina. It was a pleasant motor sail dodging a few trawlers along the way. The marina was fully booked with rally boats so we joined a few anchored on the outside of the marina. Luckily we have a shallow draft so we anchored as close as possible and ended up just outside the entrance within paddling distance of the bar – convenient! A catamaran tried the same area but it was too shallow for them and they backed off. As Robert later told them it’s a trimaran puddle.

The marina arranged a tour to Pangkor Island for the rally participants. We all crossed the gap by ferry and piled into pink taxis.

We visited the ruins of a Dutch fort build in 1670.

As well as Fu Lin Kong Temple, a decorative Taoist temple built over a 100 years ago with lovely gardens and ponds with terrapins.

Less appealing was a visit to a factory outlet that makes the fishy smelling dry snacks so beloved by Malaysians.

Lunch was the highlight in an exquisite beach setting in Nipah Bay. Tables and chairs were set up under large shady trees and a great lunch was served by Nipah Deli. We swam after lunch in the very warm calm water. We could have stayed there for days and earmarked the bay as an anchorage for next year.
Lots of beers were provided for the thirsty crowd.

The next day we had to clear in at Immigration, Port Authority and Customs – as usual all 3 are not in the same street, not even in the same district and we had to hire a scooter and buzz around from one to the other filling in forms and having bits of papers stamped. Although we checked into Malaysia at Puteri Harbour, all ports in Malaysia have check in/check out requirements for boats – a pain in the rear but at least the paperwork is processed with far less hassle than in Indonesia and the various offices made their own photocopies.

We found Aeon shopping centre, the big attraction as always being the aircon. We stocked up on a few provisions but mainly enjoyed the aircon and food court. On one of our scooter outings, we found a buddhist temple - Tua Pek Kong Temple in the nearby Manjung district. It started off about 100 years ago but has seen much more recent construction and now covers a wide area. The statues are absolutely enormous!

Giant size statues compared to me standing in the foreground.

We treated ourselves to a 3 day tour of the Cameron Highlands staying at a 4 star hotel. The luxury bus, accommodation and guide was arranged by the Sail Malaysia organisors, the cost for ourselves. A bit pricey but an opportunity that we probably wouldn’t do again and a nice way to end off this leg of our furthermost north sail to date. 22 of us set off on a long windy road heading inland and upwards.

The Cameron Highlands is a high mountainous area first surveyed by the British geologist William Cameron in 1885. It was further developed in the 1930’s as people saw the opportunity to escape from the heat as the Cameron Highlands is high enough for a cool climate. In fact for the first time in many months we wore long sleeves and coats! The area is famous for its tea estates and farmlands and very scenic countryside.

Our guide took us on tours of tea estates, strawberry farms, flower gardens, butterfly park, “honey farm” (yes it’s really just hives) and a waterfall.

The scenery was spectacular, beautiful cultivated hillsides and mist swirling around mountain tops in the morning.

It’s also crowded with tourists and some of the attractions felt rather contrived. In some places the ratio of vendors to product was overwhelming, everyone selling the same tourist tat (made in China). The fresh fruit and vegetable markets were of excellent quality and we came back with bags of fresh produce.

Big Rajah Brooke butterflies

What to do with your old wellies

Blue orchids

Slipper orchids

All in all the Cameron Highlands was a great experience, interesting and fun with our fellow travellers.

On our return to Pangkor we were happy to see Pegasos hadn't moved in our 3 day absence. We had decided to leave Pegasos at Admiral Marina in Port Dickson while we go home to SA so we needed to go back south again taking a few days to get there.

When we got to Port Klang and contacted the radar agent, we learned that the Australian B&G agent would send a replacement at our cost for freight and duties! And not only that, we have to pay the freight return costs for the faulty radar too! What a cheek to pay international freight costs for something which will be discarded anyway. This is actually the second faulty radar from B&G the first one was faulty on arrival and we paid the return costs at the time. Not a satisfactory outcome for a radar that worked for only a few days but B&G have us by the short and curlies.

We carried on back south until we reached Port Dickson and anchored off the beach near the town. We had to do the usual clearing in at Immigration, Customs and Port Authority. A young man was the only official at Port Authority and at the end of our form filling and stamping session he said the cost is MYR50. For what we asked. He hedged and mumbled something about port charges. We dug our heels in. He got irritated at our refusal to pay unless the reason was clearly stated and waved us off with some comments. He's not good with extortion.

The next day we motored into Admiral Marina and tied up. This will be Pegasos' home for the next 5 months while we fly back to SA for summer.

We've come a long way on this trip: 1600 Nautical Miles from Lombok, Indonesia to Port Dickson, Malaysia.

It's been a jam-packed busy trip - the highlight was definitely the orangutan tour in Borneo but there were many other great times especially with the rally crowd. Next year we hope to sail the east coast of Malaysia at our own pace with Pegasos. Have a good rest Pegasos, see you in May 2020.