2012 Sailing Adventure – SG to Aur to Tioman

Foyer of our flat: Collecting stuff that are going with us.

It seems like we have a pattern that is influenced by the prevailing S. China sea climate. Every year, about end April, we go on a boat and head out to Tioman. We’ve done that in 2009, 2011 and now 2012! .. I almost made it in 2010 in Eleanor.. I took off, but didnt complete it tho.. Well..,  we are probably doing it 2013… pretty sure .. on route to Japan… possibly, cant be 100% sure, but its a good chance that we be doing that.

Kayaks loaded, fuel loaded, ready to go

This year, I am taking time off work between Labour day and Vesak day to make this a 10 day sailing adventure on board S/V Calliste. Didnt feel too good about leaving 2 cats to the care of 2 teenages in my partially renovated flat.. hope they’ll be alright…

27 Apr 2000hrs: We moved onboard with fresh groceries. Put things away and put kayaks in their places, took awnings down…. At about 2359hrs, we were too pooped to continue and nah… we are not leaving at 0400hrs.

28 Apr 1400hrs: We are finally underway. Yeah! While in Singapore waters, we continue to enjoy mobile broadband and that was fun… Hopefully, we get Maxis broadband to work just as well… I had to make arrangements to get the Maxis Sim card ahead of our departure, and sign up for the monthly prepaid broadband for RM68. Thats not bad, but only 3G of data and wonder how good is the transfer rate.

At about 2000hrs, it was just beginning to get really dark, and I thought my eyes were playing tricks on me… there was a strip of very black water ahead of us…. hmm…. seems to be getting bigger… WHOA! Throttle back engine way down, change course 90′ Port! That was just reflex action and good thing too. We were less than 10meters away from running into some really dense fishing stakes that ran a long ways down to somewhere that I cant see the end. Almost a heart attack… anyway, we got around it by going inshore and passed it in 6meters depth. This end was lighted by some very small blinking red light… I was like, WHOA! Damn crazy garbage people put up this unmarked trap! Yeah right! What blinking light! Damn! #$!%#*@. This is, btw, off Tanjong Ayam.

Approaching Aur. Our favorite island in South China Sea

2200hrs, going thru the narrow passage among the rocks off Rumunia. Good timing, we had a slack tide and passed the dangerous North rocks easily. It was very dark and we relied totally on my 7 yr old Garmin GPSMAP76C and 2005 Bluecharts. I have done this route 3 times before, going up to Tioman, so I was pretty sure that if the old guy(GPS) is working, we would be okay.

Here we are. Moored on the Duyong side of the channel.

29 Apr 0100hrs: My watch. Lots of lights out there to our Starboard. Could be anything, fishing skiffs, big ships… looks like something is closing in on us, I am starting to see some bright red, green and white lights… must be some SG power boats going the same way… hearing their engines now… WHOA! Look at that … how many are there…? They look exactly the same… size, height and lights, and seems to be quite large… 60 to 70 ft perhaps… Changing course 20′ to Port, wanting some distance from this convoy… On closer look, they are military vessels and 7 of them. WHOA! And every one of them checked us out with their on board spot light! I think we have our picture taken 7 times tonight… hmm… are these Malaysian Navy? I didnt think they keep their vessels so up and running… everything seem to be in good working condition…

Calliste at Aur mooring

0400hrs, my watch again. Looks like another big vessel is coming up on our starboard. Couldnt tell where he is going, but its coming a little to close for comfort. 20′ to Port, looks like a very black hull passing us about 50meters on starboard… got beamed again.! They definately saw us…. and bully us into giving way altho it would be nice of them, being the big boys to show a little class and alter course to pass behind us. Since they never did alter course, we did… We know not to expect better of them working vessels in Asia already.

We really love the rocks at Aur and Duyong. See, how pretty.

0630hrs, my watch again… we do like 2hrs on and 2hrs off. Seems to work pretty well. I got this sunrise shift, which is exactly what I wanted. Hoping to catch a glimpse of jumping fishes at the instant sunlight touches down on the water. That was a experience that I had last year and it was so natural and left me with a desire to see it again. I decided that when we are out to sea, I reserve all sunrise watches… I bully Doug into it anyway … Well, this time, I am not so lucky. No jumping fishes, but some consolation, the rising sun was really round. Most of the other sunrises or sunsets that I have seen, usually the sun is partially obscured by clouds.

and Aur waters are beautiful! As usual

0930hrs, off the SW corner of Aur. We are looking for anchoring spots and discovering other parts of Aur that we havent seen last year. See, we really like Aur… more than Tioman really, but its too rustic and we cant be very comfy staying around here. We miss A/C and fresh foods… no, we dun fish and we dun put jumping prawns into a pot of boiling water and cover up quick.

1 happy kayaker among rocks at Aur

1130hrs, everywhere around Aur are pretty rocks or sandy beaches. We pick up a mooring on the Duyong side this time, as it seems to be a busy weekend for the dive operators on the Aur side.

Now time to cook a little something for brunch, and then time to relax and catch up on sleep… Yes, the midday heat almost killed us.

1 laid back kayaker in the cool shade among rocks at Aur

1600hrs, time to crawl out of the cabin and go for a little exploration. Things are starting to cool down around here and there’s even a little sailing breeze if we are going anywhere.

We found this little inlet among the rocks at Duyong. This is so serene.

1800hrs, done with rock grocking. Very pleased with ourselves for having done that. Its like 1 thing off our list. On the paddle back to Calliste, I went around to the other 2 sailboats moored off the resort. Socializing… sun down happy hour. Everyone’s bound for Tioman in a day or two.

30Apr 0330hrs, we left the mooring. Nobody came up to collect for our mooring… guess we were lucky once again. One of the sailboats paid RM20.

It was a very dark night. The moon had set and other than a few little lights for the various boats in the channel, we could see nothing… and then there were some flashes in the sky and we could make out the edges of the islands. We relied on my trusty old GPS and our tracks to help us get out of the channel.

Reosrts at Tioman… yawn… havent we seen that before…

0400hrs, we are out of the lee of Duyong and I wondered if we should turn back. Seems to be heavy weather brewing out there. Doug thinks it wont be too severe and nothing that Calliste couldnt handle. Ya, I know, but… ok… prepare for a boisterous ride over to Tioman. Here we go… Choppy 2 -3 meters wave coming in from starboard. Wind against current… so we got a good boost from the current and even tho we are bashing into the waves, we make good speed. Overall 3+ knots, sometimes 4… until we crash into a biggie wave, then we drop down to 1+ knots and slowly build back up.

Leaving Doug to helm the most boisterous bit with his stronger stomach, I went down to get the 1st snooze… Lying flat in the cabin while Calliste is being knocked around… wasnt too bad for me. Nah, I wasnt feeling queasy at all… but standing up and bracing in the cabin for a few minutes, I start feeling my stomach turned upside down…

0600hrs, my watch now. Doug was so nice, he got me up when we entered the lee of Permangol island. We have shelter from the island for about 1hr as we travel north. Well, its my favorite sunrise watch again, but it probably would be dissapointing because of the weather… kinda sleep drunk and a little drudging it… but got to be fair eh…

Yep, here we are. Snug as a bug in a rug at Tioman marina

0800hrs, Tioman insight and the seas are a little less boisterous now. Looks like the storm blew itself out and we didnt get any rain that we thot we might… yes, I was right about the disappointing sunrise… off watch, head straight for the bunk.

1000hrs, finally up again… and now have some energy. Now we can gawk at Tioman and resorts as we pass them. The seas are not quite settled yet, residue from the storm.. but I am surprise, we still have the current going with us… interesting…

1300hrs, we arrived and tied up temporarily inside the marina. Now to take care of the paperwork and be formally cleared into Malaysia. 1600hrs, we moved into a more permanent slip. 1800hrs, off to a cold beer with the gang at Captain Kerks. Yes! We have arrived!

Passing by the beautiful Pulau Aur

We departed Tioman 0015hrs for a cool overnight passage back to Singapore via P.Aur. We didnt actually plan to visit Aur in this trip, but it was highly recommended that we do so… we hear such raving reports on how beautiful Aur is, we just have to see it for ourselves.

It was a very windless night, the seas were very calm… We couldnt sail in this condition, but we did have a current in our favor. Motoring at 1800rpm, we made an easy 4-5kns, we got there in just 8hrs.

Entering the slot between Aur(right) and Dayong(left)

0700hrs, daybreak on the S China sea, we are about 5nm to Aur. At the moment when the sun broke thru the clouds and horizon, there were a flurry of jumping fish activity all around us. These are big mackeral like fishes jumping all around on our port side. I did wonder if they were dolphins, but nah, we could see the shapes of the jumping fishes very clearly.. .. then I wondered if they do this morning exercise daily..? The feeling of being there amongst them and watching them is quite undescribeable.. it was AWESOME!

Fishes swimming by our boat...

0830hrs, entering the gap between Dayong and Lang and then Aur. The rocks on Dayong and Aur are really quite spectacular.. and the waters are unbelieveably clear! We start seeing the bottom very clearly at 20ft.

Limited charting of Aur.

The top island is Dayong, the big island is Aur and the little one left of Aur is Lang… There are 3 resorts in the gap between Dayong and Aur. Resort 1 is nearest tot the jetty, where ferries brings holiday makers from the mainland to Aur. Resort 2 is on P. Dayong, directly opposite Resort 1. Resort 3 is further into the gap. It doesnt show on the map, but depth in the middle of the gap is 25meters at least. It shallows quite rapidly nearer to shore, so we do really have to keep an eye on the depth sounder.

Sunset on Calliste at Aur

We dont have good charts of this area.. using our very basic Bluecharts, depth sounder and common sense, we manage to find a small patch of sand to anchor in among coral heads.. not a ideal situation for anchoring… really should have pickuped a mooring.. but lets wait and see how it goes.

Another pretty picture of Calliste at Aur

1000hrs, Doug needs a rest.. and I need to stretch my paddling arms.. am too excited in this beautiful anchorage to get any sleep. Launched Yakuni and out to play on my own… only a short 3 mins paddle to the shallow waters near the beach around the 3rd resort, next flow with the current down towards the 1st resort and gawk at all those beautiful rocks, marine life, beaches and coconut trees.

Oh wow, that was so fun. Now, whats over at the 2nd resort? Crossed the gap in just 10 mins, paddled up and then back down towards Calliste.. check out the restaurant and chalets… looks like quite a resort, but its Friday noon and nobody is around… all so quiet in all 3 resorts, a skeleton crew goes about preparing for the busy weekend.

Tiny snails on a rock

Looks like there are plenty of moorings around and available for us.. Can see the huge blocks and chains at the bottom, a reassuring sight.. yes, we really should move to a mooring. … saw a beige colored mooring ball with a haysack color thingy attached to .. just about 10meters from it… the mooring moved… ! and slowly glided away and into the water! What was that!!! ?? Was it a Dugong? … Oh WOW! That was so cool!!

Shallow waters near to the resorts on Aur

1300hrs, back to Calliste. Sun is getting too hot now, time for lunch anyway. We were just hanging out in back and having lunch.. a nice breezy day, feels alot less hot and stuffy than in Tioman.. I really do have many reasons to like Aur better.. really!

Sea cucumbers hanging out in the shallows of Aur..

.. something large is moving in the water .. about 20 meters on our starboard.. I point out to Doug… its like a dark shadow just under the water surface.. we watch and watch and… out pops a head! Its a TURTLE!! Then it dive away… no time for a pix… DRATS!! At least, this time, its a positive identification and we both saw it.. but I think the beigy thing that I saw earlier is different…

Looking out at resort 3 on Aur

 

1600hrs, we are pointing in a rather usual position… a sign that our anchor chain is fouled around some coral heads… time to shop around for a better anchoring spot.. Doug prefer anchoring to picking up a mooring… After 2hrs of moving up and down, left and right between the 3 resorts… no luck. So back to the same old place and this time, we are picking up a mooring. Always better to ask the locals for which is available for us… if you dont want to upset anybody. We were pointed to the new blue mooring near to the dive tank refill platform… we saw them putting it in earlier in the day… well, it’ll be fine. We are not expecting any bad blow in the next 24hrs… fingers crossed.

Postcard perfect picture!

Day 2 0830hrs, launched both kayaks. I kept talking about my solo expedition whole of the night, and I bugged Doug all night to go paddle with me the next day… .. I am sure he’ll enjoy it too.. 1st stop, short paddle to the rocks near the 3rd resort. Thats where the sea cumbers hangout.. and snails too.

Early morning daylight is great for postcard pictures! Look at the gentle blue sky, lush green palm trees, weathered grey rocks and shades of teal green waters.

Rocks on the left and rocks on the right...

Next stop, to the passage thru the rocks! I could hang out here all day!!

Currents run quite strongly between these islands, that makes the hydraulic actions very interesting among these rocks. Its undescribeable interesting to sit in a kayak and wait to see where the waters will bring you.

Thats Calliste! Shes so small among the rocks!

We had so much fun around the rocks! Seeing Calliste thru a pair of small rocks… and in 10secs of waiting… viola! A different view of Calliste … and the dive platform appears out of nowhere…. ! Optical illusions!

The crab are almost as big as Calliste!

Check out how big the crabs look! Oh wow!

Looks like Calliste is sitting unprotected from the NE… but for the time that we were there, it was not really too uncomfortable.. it surprised us.. really.

Alright, just 1 more picture of the beautiful waters of Aur…

Crystal clear emerald waters of Aur!

1600hrs, we left the mooring. We exited thru the narrow part of the gap, going for a circumnavigation of Dayong.. We see dive boats do that all the time, so we think we be fine… do as the locals… but follow the big boats, not the sampans…

Once out to the open, we started picking up a little wind, 2-10kns. Made it around Dayong to Lang in just 1hr. Alright, now for the long haul down to Singapore! Its gonna be a long night…

Day 3 and 4 around Tekek, Tioman

Day 3 0900, opps the day kinda started late and its almost too warm to start walking… it took abit more energy to get us started on the walking thing, but I am glad we did go.

Flight into Tioman

We are walking North towards the marine park, checking out the villages along the way. We were walking along the airstrip when the Berjaya flight into Tioman was coming in. Got this pretty good picture of the plane.. and then my trusty Nikon L20 died… sigh… we’ll count on Dougs’ L21 from now.

Map of tioman

Newly constructed waterfront walkway.. a sign of the village getting more touristy. Modern homes were being constructed and lots of sewerage systems and piping were laying around… not so rustic anymore eh..

Lots of trees line the waterfront. We try to walk under shade where we can. .. So we got to the marine park and its free entry and free to swim. Life jacket and snorkels are for rent but hanging out with the fishes is free. Okay we are coming back tomoro with our own gear.

Gina preparing for party on Supercat

Back to Calliste for lunch and nap. Its too hot for anything else. Snooze up and be ready for the next party at Supercat.

Day 3 1900hrs, we are on board supercat and were introduced to the 14 very fun Filipino employees of Berjaya Resort. The party has began! Once again, Phil and Gina, spoiling us with great food, drinks and entertainment. This was a Filipino themed Easter Monday night. The Berjaya crew had to work on Sunday, so party had to be on Monday… but hey, this is island life! Anyday can be party day!

Dawn at the marine park..

We retire to Calliste at about midnight… the party is still on, the band is still singing and the girls are still dancing… but we were pooped!

Day 4 0720hrs, we are out and on our way to the Marine park. This time, Doug is going snorkeling and I will be snacking and lazing around. Its only a 2km walk, which should take only 24mins at normal walking pace.

Snorkel and fins on

We were there at 0800. Its dawn at the marine park, the sun is behind the mountains and its nice and cool. The fishes are just waking up to welcome us. We like it that we have the whole place to ourselves.

That strange big fish in the aquarium

I am not a water person… really.. I try not to get wet… I am sure Doug will enjoy swimming in the aquarium… and I will enjoy watching the strange “big fish”..

Crabbie

So while I was there… check out the other creatures around here. A good looking crab with pinches still intact.

Oyster wall art

A wall of oysters! Look at the purple lip. .. its only at the edges of the shell.

After 1hr of soaking, I got Doug out.. before he gets too pruny… and yes yes, I had a earful of whats going on down below..

The day was still cool, so we walked over to Air Batang.. just over the hill from the Marine park. A short 10 min trail and viola, we’re there. A nice little resort and restaurant. Just looking around. A little more rustic than Tekek, a little more relaxed around here.

Sunsets are usually quite nice after warm days

1200hrs, we’re back on Calliste. Another flak out hot afternoon, save for some cooking for our small dinner party tonight.

17o0hrs, time for a little stroll around town. Visit captain Kirk and his table of beer downing friends. Ordered our booze. To be delivered on Thurs.. our last day in Tioman. ..

1900hrs, time for our private little dinner party on board Calliste. Our long time friends from Sebana, now here at Tioman. A simple Chinese home fare kinda meal. We have so much to catch up on. .. and so we yakyakyak.

<… continue… again later..>

6 solid days in Tioman

Day 1: Tying up to docks, asking around about moving into a better berth if possible, clearing in at the customs, immigrations and harbourmaster office. Getting a worthless dinner at one of the Chinese restaurants… There went a day.

Kayaking is fun amongst rocks!

Day 2 AM: Am determined to have a day of fun.. 1st thing this beautiful morning, we are going kayaking! .. and I am looking for clams … brought my tiny little plastic shovel, but alas no clams to be found on the 2 beaches north of the marina..

Sitting back, coasting along on a kayak

Oh well, just relax and enjoy the beatiful aquarium. .. I mean, sitting so low on the water that is so clear that the bottom can be seen, and the fishes that are just going about their business, this really feels like I am kayaking on a aquarium. I feel so connected to the sea and marine life. Of course, the next step is to join them with dive or snorkel gear… but count me out on that.. I really do prefer seeing from the top.

Lots of fishes in this aquarium

Kayaking around the pier at the marine park. Look at all these fishes. They just swim up to you.

Danger! Patch of sea urchins

And this black patch is ….. urchins! A whole colony of them. There are many patches around, so swimmers beware. I thought they must be worth a bunch… wonder why nobody harvest them..?

Urchins. Look at the dots!

I am surprised to see that they have iridescent white, blue and orange spots.. and they crawl! They clean (eat) the algae along the path, so you can even see their tracks.

Waters of Tioman

This is the water around Tetek. Its definately clean and clear. The bottom is whitish rock and sand, with good amount of daylight that penetrates the clear water, the result is a abstract beigey tint picture of the rocky bottom. There are 2 surfaces that are visual here, the water surface and the rocky bottom. I am fascinated by reflection and refraction effects of the water medium, which makes looking at the rocky bottom similar to looking thru a kelaidoscope.

Day 2 PM: Quite a number of Singapore Easter rally boats left… as usual. They are so predictable. This Good Friday – Easter rally kinda an yearly event that is organized by somebody at One15. Participants are always powerboats. They zoom over in like 10hrs on Friday, and then zoom back on Sunday.

Gathering of cruising boaters at Nona's

So anyway, they made it before us, so they took up all the places in the marina. Now that they are gone…. hee hee, we get to pick the spots. Its very tight manuvering in there, almost impossible to turn around without hitting somebody. Good old boy Doug did it and we got ourselves a berth..

We were then overcome by heat and fatique, simply collapsed into our warm bunks and snoozed. It was really terribly warm! We should have brought the aircon! We will! Next time!

Good thing it cools down quite abit as soon as the sun sets. Now we are ready for the partying! 1st stop, gathering at Nona’s. On the pontoon, there is just enuf space to set up a picnic table and bring your own stools. Finger food contribution welcomed, definately BYOB!

2nd party stop, the doctors’ birthday party on Eastwind II finger. It was late night pizzas, lots of cold beer and plenty of drinks. A real party!!! The doctor is in a most generous mood….

<… to be continued..>

Oil Spill Cleaning – Part 2 – Calliste

Doug decided that Calliste is not going to Punggol… after our poor Eleanor suffered at the hands of very helpful and over eager staff at Keico Yacht Services. Look, they probably know how to handle good size boats… but Eleanor is too small for their equipment and much too delicate for their rough hands… Calliste would have been okay, me thinks… but hey, we dont want no risk! And the alkaline degreaser is definately not the right stuff for Callistes’ AWLgrip.

Callistes been playing in the mud

And since Marina Yacht Services is not available to take on the job for the next 2 months, that leaves us to do the cleaning ourselves.

Working on H/P Yakuni, cleaning S/V Calliste...

We found information by Awlgrip, to use T0016 thinner for cleaning off the oil. This stuff is expensive! S$38/quart! We bought 4 quarts. Plus, 4 dozen “Good morning” rags, box of surgical gloves, 4l jug of Simple Green.

Doug showing some sticky tar scrappings from the waterline

Here we go. Thats me, cleaning the most inconspicious spot on the hull 1st. We have to check if there be any damage to the 5yr Awlgrip paint and stop immediately if there is… okay, clear.

Its a tough job!

Its tough working on the water, especially at SAFYC Changi. Its so rolly and I got seasick after a while… still have to do it… bluh… and taking in fumes from the solvent… blurrhhh! … This could go on for hours! and it did…

Oh yes, we found that its better to work small areas at a time. 1st wipe the blackish oil with T0016, then clean it off with Simple Green before moving to another area.

Left- before, right - after.

But some stains remains after the cleaning. Calliste look much better though.. just dont look too closely… I suppose in this condition we will pass the inspection for Marina @ Keppel Bay, which is our next stop. Look, we have to clean her up somewhat to be presentable amongst those pretty new boats over at Keppel, otherwise we be thrown out… me thinks..

Just 2 days after cleaning... sheen at waterline

Only 2 days after cleaning, Calliste got the “sheen” again… but its the day of departure… well… definately not as bad as it was before… I think we’ll pass.. time will tell… 

I suppose you know this, but anyway, click on the pictures for bigger, clearer view.