USMV Alchemy

It chronicles our adventure in Iraq and at the American University of Iraq – Sulaimani.  I hope you enjoy reading and looking at the pictures of our latest adventure. If you have problems opening it please send me an email at gordon.anderson@ausi.org

I have posted some photos taken on July 26, 2007 of our beloved Alchemy being unloaded at the port of Long Beach.

July 17, 2007

As I indicated in my last posting to this blog; we were all set with our arrangements to ship Alchemy to the states.  Unfortunately all of that changed shortly after wrote the posting.

As you know, Alchemy was scheduled to be shipped on a vessel owned by a company named Dockwise.  The vessel was new and due to undergo sea trials about the time I signed the contract.

A few days after we arrive in Hong Kong we got an email from Dockwise telling us that they were cancelling the contract with no explanation.  After doing a little investigating we found that they had also cancelled the contracts of 35 other yacht owners who were shipping their boats on the same vessel.  We’ve heard two stories as to why they cancelled.

The first one was that they discovered problems during the trials.  Needing time to fix the problems would mean that they would have to delay the departure date.  Their vessel was scheduled to stop in Hong Kong, Brisbane. Auckland, Ensenada, Port Everglades, FL and Monaco where she was going to be shown off at the Monaco Boat Show.  Feeling that making the show was more important than fulfilling their contracts, they are now going to sail her directly to Monaco via the Suez Canal.

The second reason is similar to the first, but with this one they did not feel they would make enough revenue from their planned passage so they decided to go directly to Monaco.

Either way, they clearly are not concerned about customer relations or the possibility of repeat business.

As soon as we got the email we and the owners of three other boats started contacting other agents and shipping lines.  We found an agent who made arrangements aboard a container vessel (MSC Texas) to ship Alchemy to Long Beach.  The other three yachts were going to Florida so they are being shipped on a different vessel.

The Texas arrived in Hong Kong last Wednesday, Alchemy was loaded aboard and she is scheduled to arrive in Long Beach on the 23^rd.  I am flying to LAX on the 19^th to meet Alchemy and take possession of her.

When Alchemy is unloaded I will sail her to San Diego for a day or two so that brokers can see her while I interview them.  I’ve been in contact with several and want to find one and give her or him an exclusive listing.  From there I will sail her to Ensenada and put her in a marina.

Yu-ching has decided to stay in Taiwan and won’t be joining me until I arrive in Mexico.

All of this has been very stressful, time consuming and has taken its toll on us.  With Dockwise we didn’t need to have a cradle built, worry about cargo insurance, find an agent to clear Alchemy through customs (or even deal with US Customs - the Dockwise vessel was schedule to unload in Ensenada), make arrangement to have an $8,500 cradle disposed of or sail her to Ensenada.

Now you know the details and we hope you understand why we have not been in touch.

I promise to write more when I arrive in Ensenada and to keep everyone up to date with more timely postings.

I’ve posted some more pictures.  Blog 27 is of sights around Hong Kong, Blog 28 are the friends we spent time with while we were there and Blog 29 are of Alchemy being loaded on the MSC Texas.

I originally tried to post this on the 15^th of June but for some reason it got lost in cyberspace.  I guess I should read my own blog more often.

June 15, 2007

As I indicated in the April 18^th Blog posting, we have decided to end our journey and list Alchemy with a broker.  She is not the kind of vessel that is popular in this part of the world (over here they prefer fast cruisers that look more like a Nike shoe than a vessel built for ocean passages) so we decided to take her to Hong Kong, put her on a freighter to Ensenada, MX and list her with a San Diego broker (more about that later).

The typhoon season in the South China Sea begins in May so we felt, after we confirmed our booking on the freighter, that we should begin the trip to Hong Kong as soon as possible.  My brother, Keith, flew from Nashville to KK to help with the passage.  I don’t know what we would have done without him.  He was a big help taking a regular watch and keeping Alchemy running.

I plotted two courses on the charts.  One was a straight run from Kota Kinabalu to HK and the other included a stop in Subic Bay, Philippines.  In both cases we had to cross two straights that can be rough.  The first is the Balabac Straights between Borneo and Balabac Island, P.I. and the second is the Luzon Straights between Luzon Island, P.I. and HK.  In checking the weather the night before we left it appeared that we had a good weather window for about 3 and a half days, so we opted to head for Subic and stay there until we had another good window.

We, Keith, Geronimo and myself, left KK on May 4^th and arrived in SB on the 7^th.  This first leg of our trip was very smooth and we completed it a little more than 72 hours.  During our stay in Subic we spent our time catching up with old friends, cleaning the boat, restocking the galley at the duty free stores and watching the weather.

By the 11^th of May it looked like the weather was clearing so we made preparations to leave the next morning.  Everything was fine until we cleared the northern tip of Luzon.  Although the skies were clear, the seas were choppy.  We had about 30 hours of seas with waves of 8 to 10 feet hitting us on our beam.  Alchemy was built to cross oceans so she had no problems handling the waves, but her crew had an uncomfortable ride.

We reached the outer islands of HK at about 1:00 AM in May 14th.  My brother, who made the trip with us, had never been to HK so we spent the next 5 hours cruising around HK Island and Kowloon, so he could see the city at night.  During the day these waters are filled with freighters and ferry boats so you have to keep at eye on them at all times.  The normal rules of the road do not apply as the freights take a long time to change course and the ferries just don’t give a damn about who has the right of way.  It is much easier when the traffic is less and the captain can enjoy the view as well.

HK at night is spectacular.  It is a 24 hour city so all of the buildings were lit up.  We had a great time; it was a nice way to end the trip and made us forget all about the passage.

At 6:00 AM we set a course for the Gold Coast Yacht Club where we found an open berth to tie up.  When the marina office opened up we checked in and made arrangements to clear our arrival with the customs and immigration offices.

We are now spending our time exploring parts of HK that we had never visited and getting Alchemy ready for her boat ride to Australia, New Zealand and Mexico.  The vessel that will be carrying her is new and she just finished her sea trials.  Originally she was schedule to arrive in HK on June 27^th.  Unfortunately, during the trials a few small problems were found so her arrival in HK has been delayed for about two weeks until the early part of July.  When she reaches HK and has Alchemy and the other yachts loaded aboard her she will head to Brisbane and Auckland to pick up other yachts before she heads to Ensenada.  The anticipated date of arrive in Ensenada is now on or about the 20^th of August.

I will be making the passage with her, but Yu-ching has opted to stay in HK for a while visiting with friends and then go to Taiwan to see her family before joining me in Ensenada, MX.

As I said above, the boat that will carry Alchemy is a new vessel.  She was designed and built to transport yachts of all sizes.  There are ballast tanks on her that can be filled so that she sinks in the water allowing the yachts to be driven on and off of her as opposed to being lifted by a crane and set on the deck.  She has quarters for the owners of boats being transported and a swimming pool and weight room for their use.  Because of her planned far flung ports of call it will be a long trip but it should be an interesting one.  Lots of time to do some minor work on Alchemy, catch up on my reading, working out in the gym and relaxing by the pool.

We are in the process of selecting a yacht broker in San Diego who will sell her for us.  When she is sold we will return to Nashville where I will probably have my knee operation.  At this point we are not sure about what we will do next.  While we love Nashville and the loft we purchased, it is not large enough for us to live in full time.  We have been talking about purchasing a car and driving around the US to look for a place to settle down.  Yu-ching has seen parts of the US but there are lots of nice places she has not visited.  Since we are talking about a permanent place to settle down we want to make sure we consider all of the options.

I will try to post one more update before I leave HK and post some messages along the way to Mexico if I can get internet access.

April 30, 2007

Last Friday Yu-ching’s close friend from high school and college roommate, Eko Chiu, her husband David Lin and their sons Tom & Tony came for a four day visit.  The boys spent their time swimming in the pool and playing video games in the hotel recreation room.  Yu-ching, Eko and David spent their time catching up, discussing Taiwanese politics and going shopping.

On Sunday morning we set sail for Tiga Island, about 30 miles from KK, were planned to spend the day and evening and return today in time for their flight back to Taiwan.  Before we got 5 miles from KK we had several of our guests hanging over the rails so we turned around and anchored at one of the islands just offshore from KK.  Our sick guests got better as soon as we were settled and everyone went ashore to swim and snorkel.  That evening we barbequed chicken and corn on Alchemy’s grill.  Yu-ching did her magic with a marinate for the chicken and it turned out great.

We have posted pictures of their visit under Blog Photos 26.

April 23, 2007

On countless occasions people have asked me why I wanted to go sailing around the world.  I have never been able to come up with an answer that satisfied them or me for that matter.

I tried to explain that boats have been part of my life since childhood. My brother and I had a row boat that we used to explore Lake George in Hobart, IN when we were in grade school.  My family owned a series of boats that started off with a ski boat but quickly progressed to a series of cabin cruisers.  We kept them at a yacht club on Lake Michigan.  On weekends we would go cruising to other yacht clubs along the lake shore or just take them out for a ride.

When I built my first home it was on a lake in Fort Fairfield, ME.  Shortly after the home was completed I purchased a Hobe Cat that I sailed from the time the ice melted until the lake froze again.  I was teaching at the University of Maine Presque Isle and I talked my department chairman into allowing me to teach a summer course in sailing.

When I moved to Portland, OR, I purchased the first Alchemy, a 34 foot Hunter.  I lived aboard her and sailed almost everyday.  She made trips up the Columbia River to Lewiston, ID and out over the bar at Astoria to the Pacific Ocean.  Later on I moved her to Marina del Ray, CA and lived on her for three more years.

When my career took me overseas I sold her and was without a boat until I purchased the current Alchemy, a boat I had hoped would fulfill my life long love of the sea and a chance to see my dream of sailing around the world come true.

As I said above, I have never found an answer to the question of why someone would want to spend their life on a boat sailing around the world.  Until now that is.  The other day I began reading “The Cruise of the Snark” by Jack London.  It was first published in 1911 and is about a vessel he and two friends built to sail around the world.  In Chapter 1 he gives his answer to the question and it expresses my reasons remarkably well.

“Our friends cannot understand why we make this voyage.  They shudder, and moan, and raise their hands.  No amount of explanation can make them comprehend that we are moving along the line of least resistance; that it is easier for us to go down to the sea in a small ship than to remain on dry land, just as it is easier for them to remain on dry land than to go down to the sea on a small ship.  This state of mind comes of an undue prominence of the ego.  They cannot come out of themselves long enough to see that their line of least resistance is not necessarily everybody else’s line of least resistance.  They make of their bundle of desires, likes, and dislikes a yardstick wherewith to measure the desires, likes, and dislikes of all creatures.  We are all prone to think there is something wrong with the mental process of the man who disagrees with us.

But to return to the Snark, and why I for one, want to journey in her around the world.  The things I like constitute my set of values.  The thing I like most of all is personal achievement – not achievement for the world’s applause, but achievement for my own delight.  It is the old “I did it! I did it I did it!  With my own hands I did it!”  But personal achievement, with me, must be concrete.  I’d rather win a water-fight in the swimming pool, or remain astride a horse that is trying to get out from under me, than write the great American novel.  Each man to his liking.

The more difficult the feat, the greater the satisfaction at its accomplishment.  Thus it is with the man who leaps forward from the springboard, out over the swimming pool, and with a backwards half-revolution of the body, enters the water head first.  Once he left the springboard his environment became immediately savage, and savage the penalty it would have exacted had he failed and struck the water flat.  Of course, the man did not have to run the risk of the penalty.  He could have remained on the bank in a sweet and placid environment of summer air, sunshine, and stability.  Only he was not made that way.  In that swift mid-air moment he lived as he could never lived on the bank.

As for myself, I’d rather be that man than the fellow who sat on the bank and watched him.  That is why I am building the Snark.  I am so made.

The trip around the world means big moments of living,”

Recognizing this about me makes the decision we have made even more difficult.  Those of you who have been reading our Blog regularly will remember that my right knee gave out when we were in the Philippines.  In a follow-up visit with the surgeon who operated on me, I was told that it was just a matter of time before I had to have knee replacement surgery.  Despite following a rehabilitation program religiously, that time has come.  I will have to return to the states for the surgery and the rehab will take 6 months or more.  With this in mind, we have made the decision to list Alchemy with a broker.  We don’t want to leave her unattended for a year or more and thinking realistically, she is probably more boat that I could handle with an artificial knee.

While I regret the way this has all turned out, I do not regret making the decision to have her built.  We have had a wonderful year sailing her on the South China Sea.  I did not set on the shore wondering what it would be like.  We didn’t make it all the way to the states, but we certainly got a feel for what it would have been like had we completed the trip.

Our traveling days upon the sea are, in all likelihood, over but that does not mean that we are done exploring the world.  Nor does it mean that we will never own a yacht again.

April 4, 2007

This past weekend Yu-ching returned from Taiwan.  She was accompanied by her Aunt, Uncle, sister Yu-Fong and her friend Jane.  Yu-fong and Jane had spent some time with us in Hong Kong, but it was the first time her Aunt and Uncle were aboard Alchemy.  For all of them, it was their first visit to KK.

On our visits to Taiwan they have always shown us such a great time so we wanted to make this trip a memorable one for them.  To make is special, we reserved two suits in the Sutera Harbour Magellan so they could enjoy the opulence of the hotel.

They could only stay for the weekend so we didn’t have much time together.  We went out one morning for a harbor cruise, Yu-ching took them shopping and they spent the rest of the time enjoying the hotel and marina amenities.

As I said, the visit was short but I believe everyone had a good time.  We look forward their next visit and hope that they all can stay longer.

I have posted pictures of their visit under Blog Photos 25

March 27, 2007

A few days ago my old friend, and former student, Sarjit Singh came to KK on a business trip.  He is the Executive Director of the Malaysian Association of Hotels and was here to attend a meeting of the General Managers of the hotels in Sabah.

I invited him and his friends - Mohd Ilyas, the President of the association, his family, Dr. Jerry Chong, Adeline Choo and Anna Aik - to spend a day cruising KK’’s harbor.  It was a sunny day and everyone had a great time especially Fareez Ilyas who manned the helm of Alchemy for most of the time we were out on the water.

For the last few weeks our friends from Subic Bay, Sarah Hebblewhite and Clement Martinez aboard Kuro-Shio, have been tied up along side of us.  Long time readers of this blog will remember that they sailed with us from Subic to Apo Reef.  Today they are departing on a trip that will take them along the northern coast of Borneo and up the east coast of Thailand.  From there they will sail around the coasts of Cambodia, Vietnam, China and then across the straights to Taiwan and eventually up to Japan.

We wish them fair seas and good wind.  We have become good friends and hope that our sailing paths cross again soon.

Photos of Sarjit, his friends, Sarah, Clement and Kuro-Shio are posted under Blog Photos 24.

March 12, 2007

We have returned from our trip to Lebuan Island, Malaysia and the Sultanate of Brunei; officially know as Negara Brunei Darussalam, commonly known as Brunei.

The trip had three purposes; 1. To stock up on duty free items – Lebuan is a duty free island and thing are incredibly inexpensive, 2. To renew our Malaysian visas, and 3. To fill up Alchemy’s fuel tanks.

When you leave a country on a vessel like Alchemy, you have to officially clear out with the marine authorities; this is not a big problem, it just requires some paperwork.  Next you have to visit with the customs people to let them know you are not taking large sums of the local currency with you and fill out more paperwork.  And finally the immigration office to get your passport stamped.  You have you go through the same process when you arrive in a new country.  The marine officers want to see that you have officially cleared out of the last country you visited and you must register with them.  The customs officers just what to know what you are bringing into the country and immigration needs to stamp your passports.  And you thought going through this at the airport was a hassle!

We cleared out of Malaysia in Lebuan primarily because all three offices are within a block of each other.  In KK they are in different parts of the city and it takes hours to get everything done.  Checking in at Brunei is also very easy because all of the offices are in the same building.  When we began our journey home we had to go through the same process in each of the countries.

The seas on the trip over were as calm as could be.  The trip to Lebuan took a little over 10 hours.  We spent the night at anchor there after we checked in.  In the morning we made the trip to Brunei in about 3 hours.

We anchored at the Royal Brunei Yacht Club.  The folks there were really nice.  One of them took us to the port offices in his speed boat so we could check in and he picked us up when we were finished.  The club is modest, to say the least, when compared to others we have visited, but very nice.  The food in the restaurant is enough to make a stop there worth while.

Brunei is a very interesting place to visit.  It has an absolute monarch, the Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah Mu’izzaddin.  The 29^th ruler in a dynasty that is over 600 years old.  It has been reported that he is the riches man in the world.  Brunei has one of the highest per capita incomes in the world – 18,000 USD a year.  Its land mass is only 2,228 sq. miles   The place is incredibly clean, well maintained and the city is beautiful.

I mentioned that one of the purposes of the trip was to fill up Alchemy’s fuel tanks.  The price of diesel in Brunei is 0.79 USD per gallon and gas is just as inexpensive.  Eat your heart out.

The trip home was another story.  We got up early and headed for the fuel depot.  When we arrived we were told that the authorities were limiting non-Brunei vessels to $150 USD worth of fuel.  We needed twice that amount but no matter how much I pleaded with the owner he would not budge.  He did, however, tell me that there was another depot about 5 miles away.  To make a long story short we purchased our limit of fuel at both places, but by the time we finished checking out with the Brunei officials and reached Lebuan to check in, all of the offices were closed.  We had to wait until the next day and they did not open until 10:00 AM because it was Sunday.  By the time we were finished checking in and had pulling up the anchor it was noon.  We knew we would be going into the wind and the seas would be rough, but it was worse than the weather web sites reported.  In all it took us 12 hours of battling 10 foot waves on our forward port bow.  We were exhausted by the time we arrived.

Despite the rough trip home I would do it again.

I’ve posted some pictures from the trip under Blog Photos 23

March 7, 2007

To those of you who log on to our site regularly, I apologize for long time between updates.  No excuses, just having too much fun enjoying the sunny weather.  It is difficult to set indoors at the computer when the sun is shinning and the cool waters of the South China Sea are calling.

As I wrote in an earlier posting, Yu-ching flew to Taiwan on the 7^th of February.  I joined her on the 15^th so we could celebrate the Chinese New Year with her family and friends.  If you have never been in Asia for a New Year’s celebration you have missed something that is truly wonderful.  The celebration lasts 5 or more days with a specific event (mainly eating) scheduled for each day.  On one day the eldest son hosts a dinner, on another the Mother and Father act as host, Yu-ching and I also hosted one.  Between the great food and meeting relatives and friends, some old and some new, we were busy 24 hours a day.  It was a great time and I looked forward to many more.

One non-New Years related activity was to visit the Botanical Gardens in Tai-chung with Dr. Chin and his family.  They had a special show of Tulips from all over the world that was beautiful to see.

I have posted some pictures we took during our stay in Blog Photos 22.

I flew back to KK on February 27^th.  Yu-ching stayed in Taiwan to spend some additional time with her parents; she will fly to KK on March 23^rd along with her two sisters, mother and a friend (Joan).  I look forward to her return.  Alchemy is just not the same without her.

When I returned I found that our old friends from Subic Bay, Sarah Hebblewhite and Clement Martinez were in the slip next to Alchemy.  As you may remember, we left Subic together and traveled as far as Apo Reef.  They stayed at the reef for a while scuba diving before returning to Subic for some repair work on their sailboat Kuro-Shio.  It was sure nice to see them again.  Yu-ching and I have missed them - they have become such good friends.  It’s amazing how often this happens.  There are three other yachts in Sutera with people we have met before in other anchorages.  Small world.

A few days ago we took another crack at fishing with Steve, Clement & Sarah, this time we went out at night in the hopes that we would have better luck with both the weather and catching fish.  The swells were as high, if not higher, than our last trip and the catch was not much better.  We managed to hook 5 small sharks on one reef and on the others we tried  not a thing despite the fact that the fish finder was showing lots of schools passing underneath the boat.  I guess they didn’t like the bait we were using.

Tomorrow, Thursday, March 8^th, we are going to take Alchemy to Brunei for the weekend.  Steve and Geraline Salter and their son, Giles, will be going with Geronimo and I.  I promise to write an update about our trip as soon as I return.

February 7, 2007

Last Wednesday Yu-ching and I flew to Kuala Lumpur to see some old friends and to renew my passport.  We took in all of the sites of the city and had dinner with old friends.  (See Blog Photos 20).  Sarjit and KC were students in a class I taught in KL a number of years ago.  At that time both worked in the Ministry of Sport (I think that is the correct name).

Sarjit is now the Executive Director of the Malaysian Association of Hotels.  He arranged to have us put up in a suite in one of the best hotels in town.  The Admiral was very happy to spend the night on land and in a first class hotel.

KC has retired and was recently awarded the title of “Dato”.  It is the equivalent of being knighted.  A very great honor and one that he richly deserved for all that he has done for his country.

Today Yu-ching flew to Honk Kong to visit with her friends Cary, Wendy & Moon.  On Friday she will fly to Taiwan.  I will fly to KL next Wednesday to pick-up my new passport and on Thursday join her in Taiwan.  We will stay there for about two weeks visiting with her family during the Chinese New Year.

Earlier I posted an article from Fragrant Harbor magazine that featured Alchemy.  (See Blog Photos 4).  A few minutes ago I had a group of people from Korea stop by the boat to see if they could hire her for a day to shoot a commercial for a credit card.  They will be coming back on the 11^th with their cameras, lights and models for the shoot.  They have promised to send me a copy of the commercial as well as all of the footage they shoot of the boat once the commercial is finished.  When I receive everything I will post them on this site.

I don’t know if this is big news in the US, but last week a Malaysian company signed a contract with an Iranian company to build a pipeline in Iran.  This upset several members of the Senate and they called for an end to the free trade talks currently going on between the US and Malaysia.  These talks are taking place at Sutera Harbour, the place where we are staying.  Why is it that we always seem to be in places that are in the news?

January 24, 2007

Over the last several days I have gotten emails from friends asking how we spend our time in a port like KK.  My answer is in the form of a question to them.  How do you spend your time at a 5 star beach resort?  We do much of the same things – going to the pool, shopping in town, visiting the local sites, reading, and just relaxing.  The only difference is that we are not limited to a one or two week vacation.  We can stay at a place like Sutera Harbor Marina as long as we want.

My typical day begins around 5:30 AM.  After brewing and drinking a cup of coffee I head for the gym.  I work out (riding a stationary bike and lifting weights) and then spend some time in the whirlpool.  When I’m finished it’s around 9:00 AM and Yu-ching is just waking up.  I fix breakfast and we talk about what we would like to do for the rest of the day.

Two or three time a week we go to town to pick up groceries and anything else we might need.  Yu-ching likes to window shop so some days she goes alone and visits one of the malls.  Most of the other days are spend by one of the three pools.  I also spend an hour or so everyday answering emails and doing other work on my computer.

In the evening we either prepare dinner on the boat or go out to one of the restaurants at the resort or in town.  Although KK is not very big it is a vacation destination and therefore has a number of good restaurants.  One that we especially like specializes in seafood.  In front of the restaurant there are 50 or more tanks filled with every kind of live fish, lobster, shrimp you can imagine and some sea creatures that you have never seen before.  You make your selections and tell the waitress how you want them prepared.  You can’t get fresher seafood than that.

The weather over the last couple of weeks has not been conducive to sailing so we have stayed in port.  It has been sunny and warm, but the seas have had large choppy waves.  Actually when you are cruising and spending some time in at a marine you don’t take the boat out that much.  Once you have seen the local shore line and visited the offshore islands there’s not much else to see or do.  Cruisers don’t go out for the sake of going out.  There are a couple of boats near ours that have been here for three or more months.  In talking to the owners they told me that they only go our when they have visitors.

We are planning how and where we will spend our time during the upcoming Chinese New Year holidays.  It looks as though Yu-ching’s sisters will pay us a visit just before the New Year and then we will all go the Taiwan to spend the rest of the holiday with her parents.

Not much else is new so I will close for now and go to the pool to work on my tan.

January 8, 2007

Keith, Kelley and Gigi began their 3 day trip home (they had overnight layovers in Taiwan and LA) to Nashville last Thursday.  We received a phone call from them last night to tells us they arrived save and sound.  Life aboard is certainly quiet without Gigi.  Everyone at the Club and around the docks keep asking about her.  We miss her and her parents very much. 

Yesterday we were invited to a Malay wedding. The reception was held at the home of the Groom’s family about an hour from KK.  It was truly a family affair.  Preparation began several days before the big event with family members erecting tents, preparing the food, making rice wine, etc. The party got underway at noon and lasted until midnight.  During the day they had a traditional Malay band and in the evening a DJ played music for dancing.  We had a great time meeting everyone and the food was beyond description.

Shortly after the first meal was served we noticed that the men began drifting away.  We followed them and discovered that they were all moving to an area behind the house where a number of tables were set up for card playing and games of chance.

Today we are spending a quiet day on the boat recovering from the wedding festivities.

We have posted some photos under “Blog Photos 18” of the wedding, Keith, Kelley and Gigi and our neighbors.

Thursday, December 30, 2006

To those of you who log on to our Blog regularly, I apologize for not posting anything lately.  We have been having too much fun with our guests and visiting various places around Borneo.  Yesterday we flew to an Orangutan rescue center.  The center has a feeding station out in the jungle for the Orangutans who have been retuned to the wild but still need some assistance.  About a half a dozen apes came to the station while we were there including several young ones and one very large older male.  It was a wonderful experience seeing these magnificent animals in there natural environment.

Today we are off to welcome in the New Year at Mount Kinabalu – the highest mountain in Asia.  We will spend three days there.

I have asked Kelley, my brother’s wife to write a piece for the Blog so you will have some idea of what it is like from another perspective.

I will post some more photos when we return, I have to run now because it is time to leave and everyone is waiting for me.

Guest Blog from the Visiting Tennesseans;

We’ve been here in Borneo for a week now and loving the sun, the water, the clouds, the Malay people and our Aussie and Kiwi neighbors. Who knew?  Apparently, the Aussies knew because there a lot of them around.  We have yet to see any other Americans, which makes it that much more exotic!  For the most part, we’ve settled into the Boat – which is fabulous and very comfortable.  Keith, Gigi and I have sharing the Master Quarters and Geronimo has the guest room and Gordon and Yu-Ching are sprawled upstairs wherever they can get cool and have enough room.  Gordon mentioned Yu-Ching sleeping on the floor last night!  What wonderful hosts we have!  And, Geronimo is even doing some babysitting for us while we’re here.  They have a great little playroom where they go and play.  Gordon has prepared several wonderful breakfasts and we had a delicious turkey for Christmas, made on the boat.  One afternoon we did take the boat out to explore several islands, but the weather didn’t cooperate and we came back in a bit of a squall.  But, we loved the experience of the boat, the navigation, the dingy and all!!   We had expected to travel to Brunei for a few days, but again, the weather forecast was for 8 foot waves and needless to say, none of us where up for trying that.  So, we stayed put so far, but that’s not suffering much.  This is a wonderful resort, with several very cool pools, Italian, Indian and Malayan restaurants and even a spa, which Keith and I have already used for a Traditional Balinese massage.  We sipped ginger tea and gazed out at the South China Sea. 

Gigi has become a bit of a celebrity around the Marina so when we go walking around, we get a lot of “Hi GiGi” and smiles.  She’s made fast friends with Fizzy, the food and beverage manager who supplies her with cookies and M&Ms.  Her favorite waitress is Serina, or Rina as she calls her.   The locals are trying to figure out where she’s from.  She does share some characteristics with them, certainly hair, eyes and skin color.  But, not quite.  But as you all know, her personality makes everyone love her. 

Here in the marina, there are probably about 40 or so boats berthed here and most occupants seem to be resting and waiting for boat parts so they can be on their way, but God knows, no one seems to be in the slightest hurry.  It’s really interesting to get a glimpse into the boating life.  I still can’t fathom getting along with Keith well enough to spend 24/7 together, not to mention agreeing on how to sail, where to sail and what to do!   Yesterday; we went into the Rainforest, about 2 hours south of here.  We saw the Proboscis Monkey, a Monkey that lives only here in Borneo (and maybe Sumatra) in the mangrove trees.  They are noted for their huge noses; although we didn’t get close enough to really see the noses…We climbed into a little boat and went down the river until we saw a few monkeys.  After the sightings, we had a delicious dinner under a thatched roof on shrimp, crab, curry pork and rice.  I admit, I was a bit worried about mosquitoes.  Many others on the tour were covered from head to toe and we had our shorts on, so we were slathered with OFF.  Still, I was worried so we skipped the Firefly tour that followed dinner.  No, you didn’t misread it; it was a tour of Fireflies in the Rainforest.  We came home instead, figuring that we’d all seen our share of fireflies.   

For those of you dying to know how our flight over was with a 2 year old.  Really, not bad.  It was bad for 2 old farts like us who couldn’t get comfortable.  She slept a good 8 hours and of course, met everyone else on the flight.  Thank God we got the bulkhead seats where we had a bit more room.  When we got to the LA airport, we found out that artic winds were forcing us to land in Anchorage, AK to refuel, adding about 4 hours to our trip.  That, on top of a 1 ½ hour delay out of LA!  .  Bottom line, we arrived in Taipei about 2 am and thank God, Yu-Ching and her sister, Kathryn were there to greet us.   By the time we got to the hotel and settled it was 4 am!!!  But, its been so worth it.  We loved our time in both Taipei and Tai Chung, seeing sights and meeting Yu-Ching’s family. 

More later.  We’re off to the Handicraft Village and tomorrow, the Orang utan sanctuary! 

Love to all,

Kelley

If I did not have a current email address for you or in the event it got lost in cyberspace somewhere, I am posting our 2006 Christmas letter.

2006 Christmas Letter

December 13, 2006

Dear Friends and Family:

Those of you who have known us for a while are not surprised when you receive a card and/or Christmas letter from us posted in some far off location.  This year’s letter is no exception.  We are writing this from Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, Malaysia.  Our yacht, Alchemy, is moored at the Sutera Harbour Marina.

This has been a year filled with adventure.  We took possession of Alchemy in May and sailed her from China to Macau and then on to Hong Kong, the Philippines and now Kota Kinabalu on the island of Borneo.  We have not followed any schedule, stopping along the way when we found a place interesting and staying a week or more.  When we started out we had a route planned, but kept changing it when a fellow cruiser told us about a place that was “must see”.  Now when we decide to move on we only plan our next stop, from there who knows. 

We will be spending the holidays with family.  My brother, his wife Kelley and their daughter Gigi will be flying in next week.  They will be here for Christmas and New Years.  When they depart Yu-ching’s family will arrive to spend the Chinese New Years with us.  There should be 8 of them making the trip; her elder sister, Yu-fong and her husband Johnson, her younger sister Catherine and her husband Henry, and her brother Jason, his wife Vivian and their daughters Pepe Pepe and Ting Ting.  We had hopped that her parent could make the trip as well, but health problems are preventing them from coming.

Those of you who have logged on to our Blog: http://usmvalchemy.spaces.live.com/  or web site: http://www.alchemy-trawler.com/ know all about our travels (the Blog has had over 3,000 hits simce we first put it on the internet) so I won’t go into the details here.  If you haven’t logged on, and are even remotely interested, we encourage you to do so.  We don’t update it everyday because we don’t always have an internet connection but try to post things whenever we have something that might be of interest. 

We will close now with a wish that all of you are well and have a happy and joyous hioliday season.

Gordon & Yu-ching

http://www.mesasoftware.com/merrychristmas.htm

December 4, 2006

We have been docked at the Sutera Harbour Marina for a little over a week.  This is beyond a doubt the best marina/yacht club I have ever visited.  It surpasses, it terms of facilities and amenities, anything found in Hong Kong or the states for that matter.  With three swimming pools, a well equipped weight room, dock side water, a reliable electrical supply, a wide variety of restaurants, golf courses and a knowledgeable maintenance crew that takes pride in being helpful and keeping the place in 1^st rate condition; there isn’t much more a cruiser could ask for.  The docking fees are reasonable and they offer a substantial discount on food and beverage to visiting yachters.  I have posted a few pictures of the marina under “Blog Photos 16” to give you some idea of how tough it is being here.

Other than being a good place to restock your stores, KK itself is not much to write home about.  There are a few interesting things to see and do, but nothing like Hong Kong, Taipei or other big cities in Asia.  However, the rest of Borneo offers a number of attractions close to KK that are worth seeing.  I would not recommend KK to a first time visitor to Asia who wanted to get a feel for the region, but it certainly is a nice place to visit if you want to just lay back and catch your breath after seeing some of the other places.

We have been spending our days relaxing, going to the pool, reading, doing routine boat maintenance and going into town to pick up a few things we needed.  I have been visiting the weight room every morning to continue the rehab of my knee and trying to burn off a few calories.

Yu-ching flew to Taipei on Saturday to visit her family and make preparation for the arrival of my brother Keith, his wife Kelley and their little girl Gigi.  They will arrive in Taiwan on Saturday, December 16^th,spend a few days meeting our Taiwanese family and seeing some of the sites around the island, before flying to KK.

That is all for now, more later!

November 21, 2006

We left Puerto Princesa at first light as planned.  Cissy must have seen us pulling up our anchor because as we started to motor out to the channel she came roaring out in her speedboat to say goodbye and escort us out of the bay.

The sail to Rasa Island on Mantaquin Bay (09º 13'.888N - 118º 25'.713E) was very pleasant.  The wind, what there was of it, was to our back as were the waves.  We reach the island in the late afternoon and found a local fisherman to escort us through the reefs and shallow spots to a quiet anchorage.  Rasa Island is not much more than a mangrove swamp, but there was enough cover to provide a quiet anchorage.  The wind blew throughout the night but did not rock the boat.

November 22, 2006

We again left at first light for the short sail to Brook's Point on Ipolote Bay (08º 46'.199N - 117º 49'.661E).  The weather and seas were much the same as yesterday; the wind was blowing at about 10 knots and seas were running 2 to 3 feet. 

As we entered the bay we were hailed by the port captain of the commercial pier.  He told us that we could tie up at the pier and even had a large cargo ship move forward to make room for us.  Things like this just don’t happen in most ports and at first were very grateful.  As it turned out the cargo ship was taking on a load of charcoal.  By the time she was fully loaded Alchemy was covered with a coat of black dust.

Piers are one of two types, floating and fixed.  When you tie up to a floating pier you can make your dock lines tight.  As the tide comes and goes the pier rises and falls with it.  With fixed piers you have to adjust your lines as the tide comes in and goes out.  Last evening the high tide occurred at 10:30 PM and then dropped almost 6 feet over the next few hours.  I had to set my alarm and wake up every hour to adjust our dock line.  On top of all of this the current caused by the tide made the boat rock to an uncomfortable point all night long.  No one got a good nights sleep.

November 23, 2006 – Thanksgiving Day

As I said in the last post we are delaying our Thanksgiving Day dinner until we reach Kota Kinabalu.  We are spending the day making the passage from Brooke’s Point to the Calandorang Bay on Balabac Island (07º 59'.925N - 117º 03'.858E).  Our last stop in the Philippines before we head across the Balabac Straits on our way to Sabah, Malaysia.

The weather held and we had a quiet passage.  Little wind and the waves were on our stern.  Everything was going as planned until we reached the bay.  This had to be the worst anchorage we have experienced.  The bay is wide open to the seas and wind.  There were no little coves we could duck behind to find protection, the wind howled all night long and the waves kept the boat rocking.  We took turns staying up on anchor watch.  Not the way you want to spend the night before making a passage that could prove challenging.

The only bright spot was the dinner the Admiral prepared; steak on the grill.  Not quite the same as a Turkey dinner, but a good substitute considering the conditions.

November 24, 2006

We obtain our weather information from a number of different sources.  Satellite weather faxes, web sites and talking to others who have just made the passage we are about to make.  We have found that most of the information is good for about three days and for the most part is very accurate.  One web site we rely on is buoyweather.com.  It provides a map with virtual buoys located at strategic points.  When you click on one of them it gives you information on the intensity and direction of the wind and predicted wave heights.  For our passage through the often hazardous Balabac Straits it said the wind would be blowing from the east at 10 knots and the wave heights would be 2 to 4 feet with occasional 10 foot swells.  This was spot on.

I charted a course that kept the wind and waves on the port side of our stern.  This kept our rolling motion to a minimum and gave us a little push every time a wave overtook us.  We normally run the engine at about 1,400 rpm which pushes us along at about 7 to 7.5 knots.  With the help of the wind and waves we spent most of the day cruising along at 8.5 knots.  Not a big increase, but enough to make a difference.

At this time of the year, in this location; we have about 12 hours of useable daylight.  At 5:30 AM it is light enough to raise the anchor so we can get under way.  We need about an hour to do this and reach deep water.  I allow the same amount of time at the end of the day to find a good spot and make sure the anchor is set.  This gives us 10 or so hours to make our intended passage.  Using an average cruising speed of 7 knots we plan on doing no more then 70 nautical miles in a day.  The passage on open water through the Straits was 65 miles, so we were cutting it a little close.  As it turned, with the help we got from the wind and waves we pulled into Agal Bay ((06º 49'.137N - 116º 38'.974E) with time to spare.  The bay has a dog leg at the end which gave us shelter and provided us with a much needed good nights sleep.

November 25, 2006

After spending a very quiet night we headed out to make our last passage for a while.  We could not have asked for a better day.  There was virtually no wind to contend with and the small swells (2 to 4 feet) were on our stern.  Alchemy chugged along at 7 knots and we completed the 70 NM trip in a little less than 10 hours.

Spending 10 hours driving a boat is not the same as spending 10 hours behind the wheel of a car.  I charted a course that was far enough offshore so that we did not have to contend with reefs, shallow spots or local fishing boats.  Once on course the boat can be put on autopilot.  At that point you can set back and relax.  We watch DVD’s, read books or enjoy the scenery as we sail down the coast.  There is always someone in the helm seat but that person’s sole responsibilities are to occasionally glance ahead to make sure there is nothing there that would require a course change and to check the engine gages.  Alchemy has a depth sounder that will warn us if the water is getting shallow.  On passages such as this I usually set it at 60 feet so we have plenty of time should we be approaching an uncharted reef.  In addition, she has radar that will track other vessels so that we will know if we are on a collision course.

At about 2:30 PM we made a course change that brought us into Kota Kinabalu’s harbor and towards Sutera Harbor Marina (05º 58'.022N - 116º 03’.380E). The marina is located deep in the harbor on its southwest coast.  After the course change it took us an hour to reach the marina.  Several days ago we sent an email to the harbor master asking for slip reservations so they were expecting us.

The marina complex includes two five star hotels located on each side of the yacht club.  In back of the hotels and club there are two golf courses.  The complex also has an internet café, weight room and a number of bars and restaurants.  Visiting yachts have free access to all of the facilities and receive a 25% discount on food and beverage.  After spending several nights anchored in questionable spots, the Admiral feels like she in now in heaven.

We will be stay here for at least a couple of months.  My brother and his family will arrive on December 20^th to spend the holidays with us.  The Chinese New Year falls on February 18^th this year and Yu-ching’s family are thinking about joining us at that time.  The location couldn’t be better.  The weather at this time of the year is great for sailing and the northern coast of Borneo has lots of places to explore including Brunei, which is only a day sail from here.

Today we are going to take the shuttle bus from the marina and explore the town.  Tomorrow we have to go to the customs and immigration offices to let them know that we are in the country and do the necessary paperwork.

November 26, 2005

I woke up this morning to the sound of call to prayers.  Malaysia is a Moslem country, but very laid back when compared to some place like Saudi.  For example, beer, wine, etc. are available in the stores and restaurants and they observe a western work week.

I have been told by others that they were disappointed by KK and I can understand their feelings.  It is a modern city with its share of high rise buildings and shopping malls.  At first glance it appears to lack the character of places like Hong Kong.  If you come in on a cruise ship or stay at one of the resorts you often don’t have the time or ability to search out sections of the city where the people of KK live and shop.  If you do have time, KK and the surrounding area have much to offer.  There are night markets and the Kota Belud Sunday Market with their food stalls and local handicrafts.  Offshore there are beautiful islands with sandy beaches and coral reefs to explore.  Inland there is Mount Kinabalu., the highest mountain in Asia.  Borneo is the home of Orangutans and Proboscis monkeys and while it is rare to see them in the wild there are wildlife centers where they care for orphans and prepare them for release.  You can take a steam train into the interior of the island and visit the ancestral home of Monsopiad, the infamous warriors (read headhunters) of the Kadazan Dusun tribe.  In addition, when you are on a yacht you can travel along the coast and visit other towns and villages that would be impossible to see in any other way.

We are looking forward to seeing these and other attractions when our families visit over the holidays.  In the mean time we have a number of maintenance projects which will keep us busy.

November 27, 2006

Yesterday we took the shuttle bus to the downtown section of KK to have lunch and look around.  There is nothing too exciting in the main part of town, but it will be a good place to re-provision and pick up some spare parts we need.  We had lunch in a restaurant that served typical Malay dishes, taking a pass on gourmet places such as McDonalds, KFC and Pizza Hut.  Over the years we have visited Malaysia several times and I have always thought that the country had some of the best food I have ever tasted.  The restaurant we ate in and the ones at the yacht club confirmed my feelings.

I will probably take a break from posting daily accounts of our activities for a while.  Yu-ching will be flying to Taiwan in a few days to spend some time with her family and prepare for the arrival of my brother and his family.  Geronimo and I will be working around the boat, changing engine oil, giving her a coat of wax and doing other exciting things, so there will not be much to write about.

I have posted some more pictures under Blog Photos 15.

November 20, 2006

We have spent the last two days filling our water tanks, having our laundry done, restocking the galley, doing routine maintenance on the boat and in general enjoying our rest stop at the yacht club.  As is always the case, we have met a lot of interesting people and have renewed friendships with people we have met in other ports.  With 7,000+ islands, the Philippines provide route options galore.

In addition to the above we have also been talking to other cruisers about anchorages from Puerto Princesa to Kota Kinabalu.  We now have a route planned that will allow us to make day passages all the way to KK.  As a precaution, we have also noted addition spots along the way were we could drop our anchor should the weather turn sour.

The Philippines is not a place were you want to sail overnight unless you go way offshore.  The passages between the islands are littered with fish traps and nets set up by the local fishermen.  There are also “Pearl Farms” to contend with.  When you see one, it looks like you are about to sail into a mine field.  They are laid out in a grid patter with black buoys at each intersection.  The buoys are attached to each other with ropes and hanging from each buoy is a cage filled with oysters that have been seeded so they will produce pearls.  The farms are protected by armed guards in patrol boats.  They are not the friendliest people you will ever meet, but they will escort you around the farm if needed.

Our charts are marked with shipping lanes that are suppose to be open, but the fishermen and pearl farms pay no attention to them.  You have to keep a vigilant watch at all times and if you don’t you will suddenly find yourself in a maze.  On several occasions we have gotten half way through a channel only to find the end blocked.  Our only way out was to retrace our path and find another channel.

We plan to leave PP tomorrow morning and sail southwest along the coast of Palawan, stopping at Rasa Island on Mantaquin Bay (09º 13N - 118º 25E) the first night.  On the second day we will sail to Brooke’s Point on Ipolote Bay (08º 46N - 117º 49E).  From there we will leave Palawan and sail to Busuanga Island, the last major island in this part of the Philippines.  The island has three major bays along its eastern coast and we will stop in one of them.  We would like to sail as far south as possible, but this will be a long day, so darkness will make the decision for us.

From Busuanga we will say a fond farewell to the Philippines.  Our next port will be Agal Bay (06º 49N - 116º 37E) in Sarawak, Malaysia on the island of Borneo.  In making this passage we will have to spend about a half a day crossing the Busuanga Straits.  Because these waters can be torturous at times, we may have to delay our passage until the wind and waves are in our favor.  Right now the weather looks favorable, but we won’t be there until Thursday evening, November 23^rd, so conditions may change by then.

When we were in Subic Bay we purchased two Butterball turkeys, one for Thanksgiving and one for Christmas.  It looks like we may have to delay our Thanksgiving feast until we reach KK as roasting a turkey while sailing is not the easiest thing to do.

From Agal Bay we will only have to make one stop before we reach KK.  That stop will be at Teluk Usukan Bay (06º 21N - 116º 20E).

If things go as planned it will take 6 days to reach KK, assuming the weather continues to be in our favor.  As I have said before, we only sail when the conditions are next to perfect and since we have a lot of time before Yu-ching needs to fly to Taiwan to meet my brother and his family there is no reason to take chances.

When I post messages and photos to our Blog I also have the opportunity to see how many hits have been made.  When I checked yesterday the number was almost 2,000.  When I log on it counts as a hit, but I have not logged on that many times so it means that there are other people out their visiting the Blog.  WHO ARE YOU?  Below each entry there is a “comment” link you can click and leave a message.  So far only two people have done this.  If you have time, please leave a short message telling us who you are.

This will probably be our last posting for a while as access to the internet will be limited from here to KK.  I will try to write something each day and post them when I can log on.

We hope you and yours have a great Thanksgiving.  Please think of us as you eat your turkey.

More later!

November 13, 2006

In our last posting we said we were going to spend some more time in Coron City because of the weather and that our next port of call was going to be Halsey Harbor.  How quickly things change.

A few words about Coron before I write more about our travels.  If you ever have a chance to visit Coron City make sure you stop by Sea Dive and their restaurant.  Not only is the food good, the sailing information you can receive from “American Jim” (the owner) is invaluable.

While we were enjoying a second cup of coffee after our breakfast we had a conversation with Jim.   He told us of 6 new places to anchor on our way to KK as well as making a suggestion on a different route to follow.

As we talked we were also watching the sea and clouds.  The weather outlook was improving, so much so that at about 1:00 PM we decided to put a few nautical miles behind us.

At present we are anchored off of the northeast coast of Bulalacao Island (11º 46’.129N - 120º 07’.908E).in a small cove that Jim suggested.  It is a very quite anchorage with little wind and no waves – the Admiral is very happy.

Tomorrow we will move further south and may, if the weather holds, reach Palawan Island.

November 13, 2006

As I write this Geronimo is in the engine room cleaning up pieces of an alternator belt that broke just as we were approaching Bulalacao Island.  Fortunately we have spares for just such occasions, but we will need to purchase more when we reach KK.  The one that broke and the two spares we had were made in China and are poor quality.  In trying to figure out why it broke, I noticed that the pulleys on the alternator and engine are not aligned properly.  We will need to inspect the belt carefully each time we do an engine room check.

I hesitate to write about where we will be anchored next as our destinations keep changing.  I do know that the next spot where we will spend a few days is Puerto Princesa as that is the last city of any size between here and KK.  It is also the last place where we can do the paperwork required to officially check out of the Philippines.

We would like to make it to Dumaran Island (10º 30’.098N - 119º 55’.250) tomorrow evening but it is about 80 NM from our current anchorage.  We like to cruise at around 7 knots so it would take us 11+ hours to get there.  If we are underway by 6:00 am we would not reach the island until 5:00 pm.  By that time it is beginning to get dark and I don’t like going into a new bay or cove at twilight – it is very hard to see reefs and other shallow spots when the sun is on the horizon.  Unless the wind and weather are right, allowing us to go a little faster, we may have to find another anchorage.  Fortunately, I have found a couple of places along the way where we could spend the night.

November 14, 2006

Neptune did not smile on us today.  The wind and waves made the passage very rough so reaching Dumaran Island was out of the question.

Dumaran Island is south and a little east of Bulalacao over seas that are unprotected by islands.  The wind and waves were coming from the southeast and hitting us on the port side just aft of the bow.  At one point we took a rouge wave that came over the bow flooding the forward deck and flying bridge.

It became very clear to us that we would be taking more waves like that one if we continued on that course so we promptly turned west and headed for Linapacan Island (11º 28’.001N - 119º 46’.687E).  Jim had told us about a small bay that would provide protected anchorage and he was correct.  We spend a quite evening while the wind and waves pounded the other side of the island.

November 15, 2006

More unsettled weather; not as bad as yesterday but enough to make us look for a passage that would put islands between us and the open sea.  Instead of heading offshore for Dumaran we sailed south to the east coast of Palawan Island, keeping behind the small islands that lie just off its shores.

The charts indicated that there was a safe anchorage deep in Calauag Bay (10º 40’.767N - 119º 34’.876E).  When I have time I need to write to the makers if the charts with updated information about this anchorage.  The cove they indicated was too shallow to enter so we spent an hour or more cruising very slowly around the bay looking for a quite place.  We found one that protected us from the waves, but not from the prevailing winds.  I slept in the Pilot House because I was afraid that the wind would cause the anchor to drag.  As it turned out the anchor did not drag but the strong winds whipping the boat back and forth kept me awake most of the night.

November 16, 2005

What a glorious day, little wind and no waves.  Blue skies and turquoise seas.  Today was the kind of day that makes you forget about the ones I wrote about above.  As we sailed south along the coast of Palawan we zig zaged around a host of interesting small islands and reefs.  Some of the islands were nothing more than a small sandy beach with a few coconut palms.  Others were not much more than a mangrove swamp.  The charts show that Johnson Island is about 5 miles long and 2 miles wide, but the actual land mass above water is only about ½ mile long and ¼ mile wide; the rest is mangrove trees that grow is shallow salt water.

We are spending the night in Green Island Bay.  North Verde Island (10º 06’.534N - 119º 13’.765E) is in the bay and we are anchored in the passage between it and Palawan.

While the charts we are using are the latest ones available, we have found that we cannot always rely on them for information about the depth of the water in places like this.  We have learned the hard way that it saves a lot of time and bottom paint to have a local fisherman guide us around the reefs and other shallow spots when we anchor.

It’s almost 5:30 am as I write this posting and the sun is just coming up. It rained during the night but has stopped now and it looks like it is going to be another beautiful day.  We are only about 40 miles from Puerto Princesa (09º 44’.943N - 118º 43’.515E) so there is no great rush to get underway.  I have arranged for a local fishing boat to guide us out of the bay.  Our course today will take us in a southeasterly direction which should put the wind and seas on our back making for a pleasant sail.  We plan to spend several days in PP re-provisioning and going through the formal checking out procedures for the Philippines.

November 18, 2006

We are anchored in front of the Abenica Yacht Club in Puerto Princesa harbor at (09º 45'.973N - 118º 43'.754E).

After spending a quiet night at anchor we set sail for PP at around 7:00 AM.  The sky was overcast, the wind was blowing at about 15 knots and the swells were 5 to 10 feet.  The wind and waves were, for the most part, at our back so we have a reasonably smooth ride across the Sulu Sea.

We arrived in PP’s harbor at 1:15 PM and put down a temporary anchor just off the main part of town.  While Geronimo and Yu-ching took care of the routine things one must do after making a short passage I set off in the dingy to find the yacht club.  I knew its approximate location, but the charts indicated that the path we would need to follow was littered with reefs and shallow spots.  When I docked at the club I was greeted by John and Cissy, the owners, handed a beer and made to feel welcome.  John volunteered to take his dingy out to the place where we were anchored and guide us to the club.  I was very grateful for this as I’m sure I would not have reached the club without scraping bottom several times.

To give you some idea of the kind of people you meet as you cruise - as we sat enjoying after dinner drinks and conversation, John & Cissy said that they were going to retire for the evening but we were welcome to stay as long as we wanted, help ourselves to anything we wanted from the bar and could settle the bill tomorrow.  When was the last time you had an offer like that from people you had known for only a few hours.

When we anchored in Green Island Bay I noticed that a sailboat (Stylopara) was also at anchor about a half a mile down from us.  Normally we would put the dingy in the water and go over to say hello, but we just didn’t’ have the energy.  As we sailed to PP we passed the same boat at about the half way point.  We finally met the couple, Tony and Valarie McDonald, last evening while we were having dinner at the club.  They are from Australia and have been cruising for the last 18 months in the South Seas.  Their next major port of call will be KK.

We will be doing our usual maintenance things today along with going into the town to restock our supplies.  Tomorrow will be a rest day and on Monday we will take care of the clearance procedures.  If everything goes as planned we will sail at first light on Tuesday morning.

Cissy and John have been sailing in these waters for a number of years so we will set down with them, planed the route we will take and noted the good places to drop the anchor for the night.

KK is about 280 miles south southeast of PP.  I think we can sail this distance in 5 days without killing ourselves.  As things look now we will have two days when we will need to log 70 miles or so, but this is doable if we get an early start.  Time will tell.

I have posted some more pictures under Blog Photos 14.

November 13, 2006

A typhoon passed through Manila yesterday and then broke up, which was good news.  The bad news is that it brought unsettled weather (winds and rain) to a wide area including the route we intended to follow today.  We woke up early to find strong winds rocking the boat and lightening on the horizon.  As a result we have decided to delay our departure until the weather improves.

Our next anchorage, Halsey Harbor on Culion Island, is only about 23 miles as the crow flies, but because we have to sail around a number of islands and reefs the actual sailing distance is more than double that distance.  We still have almost a month before we have to be in Kota Kinabalu so a delay of a day or two here or there will not make much of a difference.  We have promised ourselves that unless we can be assured of a safe smooth passage we will not pull up the anchor.

There is a hill overlooking Coron City and its bay.  The city/church has placed a cross on top of the hill that is lit up at night.  Last evening Geronimo climbed the hill and took some very nice pictures that I have posted under Blog Photos 13.

November 5, 2005

On November 2^nd at 6:13 am we sailed out of Puerto Galera to begin the next legs of our journey.  PG is located on the northern side of Mindoro Island.  The channel between that island and Luzon Island can be wild, especially when the current is flowing in one direction and the wind from the other.  Such was the case on the day we left.

We had picked out three possible anchorages for the evening.  The first was on the south side of Golo Island (13, 27.231N – 120, 25.219E), but as we reached the point to turn and head for Golo, it was oblivious that with the present wind and sea conditions the anchorage would not be comfortable.  The next possibility was a shallow bay on Pantocomi Point (13, 22.764N – 120, 23.619E).  Here again we felt that we would spend the night rocking and rolling at anchor so we moved on to our next option Paluan Bay (13, 24.524N – 120, 23.474E).  We found a quiet spot on the northeast corner of the bay and spent a quite evening.  Several small boats from the village located on the bay came out to try to sell us things.  We purchased some bananas and coconuts and had hoped to get some fresh fish for dinner but they did not have any.

Early the next morning we pulled up the anchor headed due south for North Pandan Island (12, 51.373N – 120, 45.299E).  We had been told that there was a good place to anchor in front of a nice resort located in this small island.  Both the anchorage and resort were a big disappointment.

The anchorage was between North and South Pandan and we spent a wild night swinging on our anchor.  Despite the fact that we felt Kuro-Shio and Alchemy were anchored far enough apart we managed to make contact at about 3:00 am.  Normally boats will swing together with changes in the wind and current/tide.  But at this anchorage we found that because of the big difference between the amount of area exposed to the wind that we have, as opposed to Kuro-Shio, the two boats were sometime pointed in different directions.  Neither boat suffered any damage so no harm was done, but the rest of the night was spent on anchor watch.  In the future we will increase the distance between the boats.

The “nice” resort was anything but that.  The huts used to house their guests have windows but no screens.  They use outhouses for bathrooms and the showers are saltwater.  Needless to say we moved on at first light.

Earlier we had considered spending a night anchored at Apo Reef (12, 40.611N – 120, 28.443E), reportedly one of the best dive and snorkeling spots in Asia.  From conversations I had with other sailors I found that a boat as large ours would have problems finding a good spot to drop its anchor without damaging the coral, so we decided to sail by the reef, but not spend the night, and go to Maricaban Bay on the island of Busuanga (12, 11.426N – 120, 05.985E) home of the El Rio Resort.

Maricaban Bay is the nicest place we have visited so far.  This small bay is protected from the sea and wind on three sides by high hills so the water is very calm.  The resort is upscale with a nice bar and restaurant.  The Admiral likes this place very much so we will probably spend several days here.

Close by (about 3 miles) is another resort called Club Paradise (12, 13.783N – 120, 05.089E).  It is located on a small island called Dimaquiat or Dimakya (depending on the chart you are using).  Because the island is small there are no protected places to anchor so we will visit this resort using the boat shuttle they run between the resorts.

We met a fellow known locally as “Tequila Mike” in the PG Yacht Club bar during the regatta.  Mike is a sailor and a real friend of cruisers passing through these waters.  He is the PR/Marketing manager for El Rio and Club Paradise.  Most upscale resorts welcome cruisers but do not offer any special accommodations.  Mike welcomes cruisers at both resorts and they are given free access to the swimming pools, showers and can refill their water tanks.  In addition he offers substantial discounts on meals and drinks.

When we last talked to Mike he told us to tell the staff at the resorts that we were friends of his so that they would roll out the red carpet for us.  We did, but I don’t think it was necessary.  We’ve been told by other cruisers that the red carpet is rolled out for everyone who anchors here.

When we arrived in Maricaban Bay we were surprised to find Ed Gebele, aboard his sailboat,  Alma’s Gift, was also at anchor there.  We met Ed in Subic Bay.  We are finding out that it is a small world as we keep running into cruisers we have met in other places.

Another nearby attraction is on Calauit Island (12, 15.881N – 119, 53.503E).  Hundreds of animals were bought to the island from Kenya a number of years ago so that the Marcos family could create a sanctuary/game park.  We will make this our next stop when we continue our trip.

I have posted some more pictures (see Blog Photos 10) of islands we saw along the way, places we visited, etc.

More later.