 Jon & Chris raise the mainsail as we sail north into Thailand. |
This gets a bit complicated, as we have visited Malaysia multiple times, first in 2006‑7 and then in 2009‑10 with our trip to Malaysian Borneo. And now it looks like we'll spend much of 2011 there as well...
 Colorful Malaysian fishing boats in Langkawi |
After exploring Singapore upon our return from the USA in late November 2006, we began a series of day sails northwest up the Straits of Malacca. Long known as a pirate's haunt, we felt no threats from the friendly fishermen who surrounded us day and night!
We stopped along the coast of Malaysia in isolated anchorages from which we savored solitude, and then at the Port Dickson marina where we enjoyed the hustle and bustle of the historic city of Melaka (Malacca). With us was Amanda's Aussie friend Rachel who joined us for 10 weeks during her summer break from university.
We returned to SE Asia in October 2009, after having crossed the Indian Ocean both ways -- east to west, and west to east.
The following are our noon positions and statistics as we sailed from Addu Atoll in the Maldives Archipelago to Langkawi Island in Malaysia. The trip was characterized by light winds, since we were very near the end of the SW Monsoon. Wind speeds and directions are apparent - true wind-speeds were somewhat higher and true wind angles were a bit further aft (our forward speed pulls the apparent wind forward):
| October 2009 |
Latitude | East Longitude |
Day's Run |
Miles to go |
Wind Speed |
Wind Direction |
Comments |
| Thurs 1 | 0° 39' S | 73° 19' | (9) | 1391 | 5-12 | ±130° | Pretty calm, gorgeous night |
| Fri 2 | 0° 00' | 75° 26' | 133 | 1258 | 7-12 | ±120° | Crossing the Equator! |
| Sat 3 | 0° 42' N | 77° 41' | 142 | 1116 | 8-13 | 130° | Beautiful light-air sailing |
| Sun 4 | 1° 27' N | 80° 08' | 146 | 970 | 5-10 | ±150° | Huge Squall, start sailing "wing-&-wing" |
| Mon 5 | 2° 13' N | 82° 25' | 155 | 815 | 10-15 | 155° | Beautiful wind, lovely sailing |
| Tues 6 | 2° 53' N | 84° 41' | 143 | 672 | 10-14 | 150-180° | Half Weh! |
| Wed 7 | 3° 28' N | 86° 39' | 123 | 549 | 6-10 | 150-180° | Caught 2 fish! Light winds from almost dead astern |
| Thurs 8 | 4° 03' N | 88° 41' | 128 | 421 | 10-15 | 145° | Greased Fish contest in Ocelot's salon |
| Fri 9 | 4° 42' N | 90° 54' | 138 | 283 | 8-12 | 150-180° | Annoying adverse current but beautiful sailing |
| Sat 10 | 5° 20' N | 93° 07' | 140 | 143 | 4-8 | ±140° | Very light conditions, seeing more ships now |
| Sun 11 | 5° 53' N | 95° 15' | 143 | 0 | 0-14 | ±90° | Pick up mooring off Weh Island, Indonesia |
| Fri 16 | 5° 56' N | 95° 32' | (18) | 250 | <5 | --- | Strong currents, no wind |
| Sat 17 | 6° 07' N | 97° 26' | 114 | 136 | 6-11 | 60-140° | LOTS of ships entering & leaving the Malacca Straits |
| Sun 18 | 6° 22' N | 99° 41' | 136 | 0 | <5 | --- | Arrive in Langkawi, Malaysia! |
Totals for this leg from the Maldives to Langkawi: 1,660nm in 294 sailing hours (12 days 6 hours) for an average speed of 5.6 knots - not bad considering the light conditions. The GPS says we hit 14 knots at some point.
In 2010 we stayed in Malaysia virtually all year (OK, with a 3-month trip to Nepal in the spring and a 3-month trip home in the summer). Much of the last half of 2010 was spent in Malaysian Borneo, exploring that interesting coast. While there we wrote the following newsletters:
| Singapore to Borneo | describes our passage to Borneo and some of our fun in Kuching |
| Heading East | describes our trip NW along the north Borneo coast |
| Mt. Kinabalu | describes our inland trips into Borneo |
| Brunei to Kuching | describes our trip back down the Borneo coast |
| On the South China Sea | describes our trip back to peninsular Malaysia |
Enjoy!
Malaysia Letters:
Related Pages:
Indian Ocean:
Destinations:
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