Welcome back Eleanor!

Coaxing Eleanor out of the shell and onto Bayshore Storage

We took a break from hectic moving schedule to welcome Eleanor back to the US!

Improvised ramp and guide. Making do with what we got

10 years ago, Nov 2004, Eleanor was packed into a container at Svenson’s in Almeada, CA, bound Singapore… and Apr 2014, she’s back in a container, bound Port Townsend, WA.

I am happy that she made it here safe, just like Calliste did.

Finally touching US soil.

In case anybody else is thinking about shipping their little boats in containers, this is roughly what it cost. I purchased the 20ft container at S$2400, primarily because I needed to store Eleanor in a container yard in Singapore. Anyway, we always have use for secure storage space in the US too. Trucking the container to port was about S$150. Freight was handled by Jacobson Global Logistics (s) at S$2850, port to port. US$750 was paid to Sound brokerage for US customs clearance. US$950 was paid to United Motor Freight for weekend trucking of container from Port of Tacoma to Bayshore. Finally, paid Bayshore US$150 travel lift charge for lifting off the truck.

Eleanor being pushed around in her new surroundings.

I have big plans for her around here… but 1st, we gotta get her looking all pretty again. So far, we focused on Calliste Tsunami repairs and oil spill recovery… and not done anything on Eleanor… poor girl…

Thats me backing Eleanor into her spot! 🙂

But soon, we’ll launch Calliste … and go late summer cruising .. and when we get back, we should devote the whole of late fall to restoring Eleanor to her former beauty.

Me thinks me do well handling boats and trailers!

God willing, next sailing season, Eleanor will grace the waters of Puget Sound. … and she may be the 1st Singapore registered yacht to do so 🙂

Me thinks Doug is impressed with me driving too.

And I will do my best to make her stand out amongst the many beautiful vintage boats that are gathered here at Port Townsend. This is truly the place to be for classy boats, little ones and big ones.

Eleanor is getting ready to go!

Leaving the farm.

There is just too much to do around here, work and reno. Port regulations and marina cost makes it difficult to sail a little boat like Eleanor and really… where is there to go?

At the logistics yard

Since I am not getting any time and dun have any motivation to use her over here, I think Eleanor best go back to the states … and we be moving there ourselves… maybe a year or 2 later.

Shes not gonna make it. Trust me guys, take down the dinghy!

There she goes, away from the farm that shes been stored on trailer, down the highway and onto a container packing yard. BTW, I purchased the 20ft container because I expect to store her in it, at the logistics yard for some time and later ship her over to Port Townsend, via Seattle.. yes thats where we expect to land and stay for awhile.

Finally! After 3hrs of dust, sweat and struggle.

Its quite a tight fit really. 18.5ft boat on trailer in a 19.5ft inside of container… the crew had quite a hard time stuffing her in. I am of course right there to give suggestions on how it can be done… the foreman translates my suggestions into actions… and viola! there she goes, snug as a bug in a rug… after about 3hrs struggle that is.

And so shes ready, we are not… we still have Eleanor sails and outboard and stuff in the house… she’s going nowhere without all her parts 🙂

Where is Eleanor…?

Well, she is hanging out at a farmhouse.. waiting her turn for further repairs on her oil stained hull. ..

Good dry spot for a little boat.

I think we may have to wait for quite a while for the oil to be totally cleared from water around SAFYC, so leaving her dry for a while is probably a good idea for now.

Tuck tuck... Can you tell that Eleanors under it?

Covering up totally.. I think we did a pretty good job of it.. 🙂 We dont want to have water pooling around the deck and breeding mosquitoes… Theres a heavy penalty if that happens around here.

No worries, he is vegetarian!

While we were there, might as well check out the farm. Its fascinating! Really! Check out this big daddy! In 1 week, he will be a big butterfly… span bigger than my 2 hands, I would think.

Camo cactus! Thats what I call it.

This camo cactus is looking good! Interesting nature. Love the colors.

Great looking Frangipanis by the farmhouse

And this pinky frangipani is flowering and looking fabulous!

Close up on the Frangipani

I personally feel that these pictures of the flowers and plant could have been better… in the morning daylight, rather than in the shadow of the house in the late afternoon.

Edible fruit of some sort... I dunno the name of this one..

Nobody could go visit a farm and not leave with some fruits of the soil… here we go… fruit of some sort… we dunno what it is, but the farmer says its very sweet and definately edible.. there is another fruit that look just like this that is totally poisonous, so dont try any unknown fruit unless the “sons of the soil” says its ok. .. We left them out on the kitchen counter for 5 days and cut open one. Its like a peach inside… not our preferred fruit, but definately sweet and tasty. .. I lived to tell the tale, didnt I?

kids onboard S/V Eleanor to Punggol

This will be my 1st time taking 2 kids onboard and handling the boat and kids myself on Eleanor… will it be my last…?

Arriving at Punggol, kids on foredeck

………I had to bring Eleanor for cleaning at Keico Yacht services at Punggol … due to the oil spill damage … Anyway, kids are out from school and I thought this might be a good chance for Ray to go out to sea with me onboard Eleanor… and his friend Justin happen to be hanging out with him and wants to go too… 1 kid too many, Doug begged out… 🙂

Its raining quite heavily!

Alright alright, only a short journey. Expect 3hrs only, have tide going with me 80% of the trip. Think I can handle it… pysching myself up for the task.

Expected time of departure, 930am. Actual departure, 1010am. Reason.. kids… Plus its raining! Hard to keep up the good spirits when it rains just a little too much.

1 seasick crew...

Fortunately no wind, but still waters outside of the SAFYC Changi are choppy. SE monsoon, its like that they say…  

Still I have 1 seasick crew… and 1 who loved the excitement and view on the fore deck. … my most favorite spot on Eleanor really… when the going is calm and nice and dry… holding Justin back until we get into calmer conditions.

Chops immediately drop off 2 notches as soon as I turn round the corner at Angler bouy. Allowing the boys to go forward now, glad they did move slowly and carefully holding onto the dodger for support. No MOB drills! Phew! Day went well… phew! Kids returned. Phew! A little bit stressful…. but its okay, I can manage… 🙂

An adventure, not quite complete

I asked God to give me a sign, that I should go on this trip… and he did! So I went ahead, got myself ready, Eleanor ready and went…. Despite not being in the best of condition(health wise), despite Eleanor not looking her best and despite being delayed on departure date and time.

Eleanor sitting in a pool of crude

27 May 1100hrs, Lang is not yet ready to go. Decided to delay departure to 0500hrs next morning.

Its all around inside the breakwater walls

28 May 0600hrs, arrived at SAFYC Changi and found Eleanor sitting in crude mud pool! Yucks! Not a good sign for departure…

Passing thru the walls of SAFYC

0730hrs, current movements inside the marina opened up a path around Eleanor.. just enough clear water for me to start the engine going without sucking up too much oil into my trusty Suzuki. Eleanor left her berth at SAFYC Changi. This is 10hrs later than originally planned… recognized immediately that I will be fighting current all the way up to Telok Rumunia, but I will get slack tide around North Rocks which should make my passage thru it comfortable.. and if I got my tides right, I should get a current boost going up to Jason Bay.

Out into clear water.. just motoring.

0900hrs, Eleanor cleared out Singapore immigration at South Angler and head out East into some rather choppy waters around the point of Pengelih. This is where the inflow of current was the strongest… I try to stay dry and only making 3kns cutting thru some short choppy peaky waters. For those of you who are wondering how does short choppy peaky waters look like, I am sorry that you have to rely on your imagination, because I refuse to take out my non-waterproof camera in these conditions.

Look at how smooth this water is ..

1000hrs, we pass Pengerang… the chops flattened out into silky smooth waters. A very light breeze, now making 4 -4.5kns with mainsail and motor at low trottle only, motor-sailing at 15′ off the wind. This is Eleanor’s normal speed going against current. Very comfortable ride to Telok Rumunia… albeit slow…

1100hrs, was puzzled by the puddles of crude that we had to circumvent, all the way up to just off Sg Rengit… Hey! Isnt that the tanker with the gaping hole!! It was anchored off Sg Rengit! No wonder! All the broadcasted reports of containment are just rubbish!

Tanker with 10m wide hole anchored of Sg Rengit.

12oohrs, passing the point of Telok Rumunia. SE wind picked up to 5kns. Raise jib. Motor-sailing at 40′ to the wind, slack tide, making 5kns. Small chops, quite comfy really.. tho slow and passing this point later than I had hope. Will have to catch up later…

A little more breeze, a little more chops. Islands off Telok Rumunia

1300hrs, passing the North Rocks. E wind picked up to 15kns, 1m waves coming from South.. large chops and mild peaks with some white caps. Cut motor, just sailing. Making a decent 4.5 to 5kns… was surprised that tide was not with me…? Couldnt make the 6kns that I was hoping for to make up for the lost 2hrs. … but it was a really comfy ride on Eleanor in this condition. Yahoo! This is Eleanor making it out to the S. China sea for the 1st time! And she is doing so well!

1400hrs… we are somewhere near Point Penawar… E wind 10kns, current picked up pace against me. Now making only 3kns sailing. Time to make a decision. My options. 1) To continue North, non-stop to Tioman. A trip of 28hrs, then turn around for another 28hrs back. 2) To continue North and hope to anchor in Jason Bay for the night and then turn back next morning? 3) To turn back now and ride the current back home, but beating against the wind and waves.

This is how I spent 14hrs 01min on the 28th May!

… well, I choose 3. My biggest realization is that Eleanor would have made it, if the captain had more time…

1410hrs, down sails completely and head South. Wind and waves makes heading SE uncomfy and wet. Strategy, head S and turn E whenever there is a chance.

1600hrs, passing the point of Telok Rumunia again. Back into calmer conditions, and time for catnaps. Motor at low speed and we are making 5kns. Foot on tiller as I winked away. Found that I get about 30′ off course every 5mins… ;P

1700hrs, passing Sg Rengit again, and now in silky smooth waters again. Felt like reading… passing smoothly and reading till sundown…

1830hrs, lights on. Getting into the chops at Pengelih again.

1930hrs, at South Angler… called ICA on channel 74. Dark, dont see them… was told to look for blinking yellow light … Arhhh! They are 1.5nm off they usual location!

2030hrs, cleared SG immigration again… starting to drizzle.. warm air. interesting combo… 2100hrs, pushing against large peaky chops off Naval Base. 2130hrs, finally made it back to SAFYC. Tied up to fuel dock for the night, as berth is boomed off.

So happy to see Doug again… 14hrs 01mins after leaving in the morning….

In short, I went sailing in the right season, but the worst of time. … and so, I never made it… but hey, I went with the attitude that as long as I tried and made it on my own around the rocky bend into the S. China sea, I would celebrate and praise God for helping me make it that far.

delay = more prepping

To depart as planned..? Yeah right!

My intended departure is pushed 1 week. .. many reasons. Weather wasnt that favorable.. been raining all 3 days this week.

There are some pluses for this delay tho. I get to look over the anchoring system and the “depth sounder” over this weekend, to put things away neatly.. in a organized manner… Plus I will get to sail in the night with a full moon, hopefully better weather…   The tides may be a bit of a problem tho. .. fast moving and maybe rough around some of the points .. we’ll see…

Preparing for my adventure of the year

I have been so involved in our moving away from our last berthing … and almost had to let go of my plans to sail this year to Tioman. .. I think I am not so ready to go, but hey, I have to try… maybe I can get myself ready in the next 10 days or so…

Taking the motor apart, getting to the gear shift knob

1st off, make a list of must do actions, then a list of must haves on this trip…. then actually going out and work on those actions.

bad corrosion on the aluminium shift rod, not too bad elsewhere.

This is the time of the season that wind may be slight… I be counting on my motor to get me there, maybe a slight breeze in the afternoon but usually windless nights.

I had been struggling with the frozen gear shift lever for my last 2 trips, this will be the 1st item to fix. For this trip in this season, no motor means no going!

Gearshift knob is being pushed out from the inside.

We worked all morning on the gearshift.. until we were so pooped! The knob that wont shift, wont come out either! We had to engineer a way to make it come out, using a system of bolts and nuts, pushing it thread by thread! Finally! And the conclusion is…. O-ring failure causing corrosion on the aluminium that was holding the knob in place, resulting in the expansion of the aluminium surface that gripped onto the black plastic material that is between the 2 O-rings.

Chipped O-ring! Thats why!

Well, we clean up the aluminium with a mini wire brush run on a Dremel and apply plenty of that “Never seize” compound. Seems to work for now…

Even I am hoping not to anchor… I better be prepared with my anchors. Old ropes deteriorated much by the UV, needs replacing. Am bringing 3 anchors… a bruce, a danforth and a little fold up one (my little good luck anchor 🙂 )

Okay, whats next? Sails (checked), motor(checked), anchors(checked), life jackets(checked), flares(expired but hope 1 out of 6 works).. .. hmm… oh yes! The gadgets! Charge batteries for my little VHF, GPS and nav light. And yes, am going to buy some of those chemical reaction light sticks… emergency use 🙂 and maybe decorative use…

The essential shopping trip! Provisioning is a major subject in going cruising.. 🙂 Always overstock on water, then food, then snacks.

… hmm… ok, am I ready to go..? I guess so…

Moving away

we move very strange objects around all the time

We are leaving Sebana! YES! After almost 4yrs of being there every weekend, I am tired of the driving at odd hours … but I will miss the flat waters, clean air, quiet environment and the good food in Sg Rengit…    

loading up our vessels

Rearranging our cargo: foam blocks to go on truck to Singapore.  Thats me paddling “ice bergs” over to the truck loading area at the container.  

Doug loading the tubes… Calliste new mast inside the protective white plastic tubes. We are very careful not to lose those precious extrusions.  

vagabond calliste.. poor girl..

Calliste the vagabond girl, making way towards her new berth at SAFYC Changi   

Tanjung Pengelih immigration office

Daybreak on 19th April 2010, Calliste and Eleanor checked out of Malaysia at the Tanjong Pengelih immigration office. The blue building houses the immigration office, port master office and is a ferry terminal for passengers going between Changi point and Pengelih.    

Singapore immigration at sea

Checking in on the Singapore side, we found the RED color bouy marked “South Angler”, called the ICA on channel 74. Hovered around for 5 mins, and here come our immi guys. This is interesting… my 1st try to clear inward immigration on the waters… just how do you pass the documents over?  

No worries, just put passport and 3 copies of crew list for entering Singapore into a zip lock bag. These guys approached Eleanor(with motor engaged forward in idling speed) slowly, with a crew standing at the bow, who will stretch out a net on a long pole towards you. Dropped my documents bag into the net, the captain goes hard on reverse to pull away. When the officer in the cabin is done with the stamping, the vessel will approach again, this time grab the document bag from the net and thats it. Strange… but okay. .. BTW, its free!    

Our transport company. 1 crane and 2 trucks.

The next phase of moving. We sold our container to the transport company.. it was going to be way expensive to truck the container into SG and then where will we house it? These guys were great! They made the moving possible, in the face of hostility from the crazy old man at Sebana.    

Our stuff loaded on truck going into Singapore

This 20tonne crane was for lifting the container onto the truck.   

This other truck is loaded with our stuff going to Singapore… can you see Eleanor’s trailer sticking out. .. and the “ice bergs”…   

giants at the container yard

Long story… but here we are, at the container yard for Winspec Logistics. I thought this picture is fun… Giant containers, big trucks and horribly mean looking container grabber. … Trio is a brave girl going into the land of giants… A little out of place, isnt she… 🙂  

Our own little truck... 🙂

Trio our little convertible truck… 🙂 Bringing home our 1st load.     

2 shifts, Trio on overtime over the weekend...

2nd loading in process. Doug running a 12V saw powered by Trio! Atta girl!  

We’ll have to collect the trailer later with a tow truck… just a note, it is illegal in Singapore to tow any object without permit and permits are only given to licensed tow operators. … otherwise Trio will once again outdo herself in usefulness! wont she!?

Road trip in search for anchoring spots

Blue chart map of Jasons Bay

My plans for this upcoming Labor day weekend is to sail Eleanor to Tioman. Yes yes… its 1 month later than my planned date… too many surprises got into the way.

Last year, on our trip with Doc’ Peter on Eastwind 2, we anchored off Jasons Bay. A terrible rolly anchorage that I hope to miss, by heading straight over to Pulau Tinggi for the night.

Terry and Ana of S/V SiHai are a great source of information for sailing this region, they have some very interesting recommendations. The best part is, we could all hope into my trusty Trio, drive 1.5hrs to the northeast and reach the village to check out their secret spots. It is certainly not known by most yachties..

Sedili Kechil, a maybe anchorage

Alright, so this is Jasons Bay with the Sedili Kechil village on the south and Sedili Besar on the north. The small red dots are marks where I might anchor. The black X marks on the pictures should roughly correspond to the red dots on the map

It seems like I might just be able to anchor in the little river for mid-high-mid tide, a span of 6hrs will give me just enuf sleep. A quiet little river with no much boat activity, but close to the road where Doug could come in Trio to check on me… nice.. and it looks like I really wont have a problem unless its a really low tide. BTW, Eleanor draws 3ft…

View of Sedili Besar from the pier, many fishing boats in port

The bigger river looks to be a flat water anchorage too, if you dont have a really tall mast. Looks like they will be just enuf headroom for Eleanors 24ft mast ontop of 4ft above water cabin, to pass under the hanging electric lines at the entrance of the river. Once in there, I should have many anchoring spots to choose from… hmm..

How about anchoring somewhere between the fish farms...

Nearer to the pier is nice, but I might be in the way for those large fishing boats getting in or out… and perhaps a little noisier… but Doug would be able to see me from the town square carpark…

Or I could anchor just a little further away, in a quieter spot… hmm.. what would I choose…

But really, this is just great, a road trip to check out the monsoon conditions and pick out the anchoring spots.. oh wow! What a luxury for planning an adventure. We must realize that this is not always possible, but if it is, we should make the best of it!

Counting down: S/V Eleanor trip to Tioman preparation

The time is drawing closer… checking my list.. Oh WOW! I still have much to do! … sorry folks.. no time for blogging this week.