Our Singapore Family

Shaun, Sarah, Harrison, Sam & Ley

Seems like we can't keep away from Singapore.

Now, our eldest son Shaun, wife Sarah and two grandchildren have relocated there. 

So we recently sailed Crystal Blues from her berth in Indonesia, across the Singapore Straits to the marina at Keppel Bay.  It has been a busy few weeks, helping the family with unpacking and house setup and enjoying the time with grandchildren - a luxury for two old sea gypsies!

The Job List

H helping Nana Ley

Our new Karcher pressure washer arrived, so with help from Harrison we gave the dinghy cover a good scrub.  Singapore is a great place for boat jobs, as parts and materials are so readily available.

First on the list was to repair the air-conditioning, which stopped working a few hours after we arrived in Singapore (of course).  

With some email support from Stephane of Siam Cooling, Neil was able to locate and repair the problem.  Stephane was spot-on with his advice - we found a burnt AC connection wire, under a cover on top of the rotary compressor housing - probably caused by the low supply voltages on the dock in Indonesia.  Lower voltage equals higher current - not good for the wiring, specially at the crimped terminations.  We replaced the crimp connection and  cool air was pumping around the boat very quickly - a collective sigh all round!

Second on the list was the completion of the Ultrasonic Antifoul system that we purchased a few months back.  We had initially set up a temporary install, but now all cables are loomed in neatly and the system is clicking away, hopefully keeping all critters from attaching to our hull.  We plan to report on the progress of this unit in the future.

Finally, soon after departure from Nongsa Point in Indonesia, our Comar AIS stopped working.  It had been operating faultlessly for 6 years. Robin Kidd from OceanTalk replaced the motherboard and all is up and running again.  Sailing visitors to Singapore should note that local regulations now require that onboard AIS beacons should operate 24x7 for the duration of the visit, even while berthed in the marina.  We have had to re-wire the switchboard supply to achieve this.

Three jobs down, plenty more to follow!

Marina At Keppel Bay

Crystal Blues has been snugly moored here for three weeks.  The staff are exceptionally friendly, and with many live-aboard cruisers around there is always a party somewhere. We think we are going to enjoy our time here.

Boating Therapy

We have visited quite a few boat shows over the past 20 years and on March 22 we added another one to the list. 

Sea-Ex Manila 2014 was held on the very muddy shores of pungent Manila Bay. There were 4 "big" boats in the water plus locally made large RIBs and an interesting array of canoes on the dock.

Once inside the exhibition space we meandered around and found a few stalls that held our interest.  We took a serious look at the new Sony HDR-AS15 and the GoPro Hero, but kept our money in our wallets.

We also spent time valuable time on the BLA stand. Luckily for us we met one of Mastervolt reps from New Zealand who helped solve a few questions that Neil had about their new smart engine alternator regulators. 
 
Retail Therapy

Our one and only purchase was a waterproof back pack.  Dinghy beach landings in surf, with electronics and wallets onboard are not a good mix, so hopefully our new Beyond Water will keep it all dry.

The Pinoy PT Team

In 2005 , as we were planning to leave Australia, Neil had surgery to repair a torn tendon below his right elbow.  He was warned that his left arm tendon would probably cause him problems in the future. It looks like the future is now!

So for the past month Neil has been in the hands of the very excellent Physical Therapy Team at De Los Santos Hospital here in Manila. With Ultrasonic treatment, massage and exercise, the pain has reduced and hopefully with time and rest, the tendon will heal.  If not he'll be visiting a surgeon again.......de ja vue!