Season 5: Cruising is just boat maintenance in exotic locations

We’re back!

We left Pegasos in Port Dickson in December 2019 and had planned to be back in Malaysia in May 2020. But then Covid happened and the world changed and all our plans went belly-up. Malaysian borders seemed to take the longest to reopen and when finally it was announced that borders would open on 1 April 2022, we booked a flight from Cape Town for 1 April. It seems the April fool joke was on us as the flight was cancelled for technical problem after a 14 hour wait at Cape Town airport. The next day’s flight was full and we had to wait another 2 days.

Eventually we flew via Singapore to Kuala Lumpur and en route we were so excited to see Admiral Marina below us and to catch a distant glimpse of Pegasos. Yes still floating!

KL was very hot and humid as usual and thankfully the taxi had aircon for the hour’s drive to Admiral Marina in Port Dickson where we stepped out into another blast of hot, sticky air. After check in to the hotel we went to look at Pegasos which seemed fine from a distance.

But once we got closer, the horrors began.

The plastic cover we had left over the dinghy had deteriorated into tiny fragments and the dinghy had acquired a few new holes

 

The marina’s attempts at repairing the jetty had left steel rods sticking out of the jetty, dangerously close to the boat

The boat had been moved and re-tied to the jetty and the ropes left dangling in the water – now trashed with sea growth.

We opened up the boat and stepped in. Mould everywhere! On the floors, ceilings, sides, every surface, every nook and cranny. We had left several containers of moisture absorbing chemical which works for a couple of months, not a couple of years in tⁱhis climate.

There was rainwater partly filling the engine compartment and in all the bilges

Metal fittings were corroded

 

 and signs of wood rot in a few places

 

 

 The wood under the mainsail traveller track was soft and broke up on touch

The sails had been stored away in the side hulls and all the sails have big rusty water stains.

The gas bottles were corroded.

 

 

Thick sea growth under the hulls was to be expected

Some items had simply melted in the closed up interior heat like this sticky tape roll

 

Over the next few days Robert would come across so much more that needed replacing or repair, including pumps, watermaker parts, engine parts, 3 outboard motors and the generator had corroded, a water tank leaked, the fridge no longer worked, most electrics were corroded, the gearbox leaked oil, the anchor chain was rusted, etc.

All the battieries had died -  a good time to get a new DIY lithium battery pack, adding four more solar panels and a bunch of chargers and controllers

Once again we learned that things that seem too good to be true usually are. A water pump impeller from China was extraordinarily cheap and advertised as identical to the Yanmar original. One should always have a few spare. Robert ordered three from the same supplier. They weren't even identical to each other.

We sourced parts from hole-in-the wall local hardware stores and ordered parts from all over Malaysia and imported parts from China, America, Australia and even Trinidad (!) 

There is no chandlery anywhere in Port Dickson so most items have to be ordered online and some orders were cancelled as suppliers unable to supply (especially those from China which was so frustrating as they say they can deliver, take the payment and then cancel about 10 days later and refund). Each evening Robert had a list of more items to order and eventually the parts started trickling in slowly.

We began scrubbing and Robert got stuck into repairs to everything, replacing parts, washing and mending sails, patching the dinghy, opening up wood rot, fibre-glassing, fixing the engine and so much more. Opening up any feature was opening a can of worms. It was very slow progress in the hot humid environment with slow delivery of parts.

 A small crack in the deck ........

 ...... turned out to be so rotten underneath and Robert ended up cutting away a large hole to repair......

 

We had arrived at the start of Ramadan so there wasn't much activity during the day. After sunset the marina restaurant got busy with patrons breaking their fast. Lavish Ramadan buffets were on offer but we looked too scruffy after a day working on the boat.

Admiral Marina has a fabulous big pool and we mostly had it all to ourselves during Ramadan. After the first week we rented an apartment next to the marina which also has a fabulous big pool to ourselves – the best way to cool off

 

Then there’s the aptly named marina pub: 

 

We got Grab to deliver groceries and occasionally took a Grab taxi to a nearby shopping area for fresh produce and hardware items.

 

Delicious rambutans sold on their stalks looking like a bunch of flowers

So far it's been 2 months of fixing the boat and we anticipate another month or so. In a few days time we plan to do our visa run to Vietnam to coincide with Robert's birthday - can't be all work and no play for the captain.

A yacht in a tropical marina is not all swanning about in sarongs while sipping cocktails (I wish just once), it’s hot and sweaty while working away in tight corners. We’re getting there and soon we’ll hoist the sail (actually no - lack of wind here means crank up the engine) and get going again on real adventures.