Floating Between Manila and Indonesia

Neil on a Skype video call to the team in Manila.

It didn't take long for us settle into work mode again....the boat became the home / office for Neil when he was not on site at Tandang Sora in Quezon City, Manila.

Crystal Blues is snuggly moored in Nongsa Point Marina on Batam Island, where she is under the watchful eye of our friend Acok. During the past few months we managed to remove the sails and most of the working lines and decommission the onboard systems.

Ley and Sam

In mid November Ley returned to Australia to spend time with her mother, Edie Worrall, who was recuperating from a hospital stay.  Ley's sister Sandra, who has been a rock of support to mum, was able to have a well earned break from being the primary carer.  Neil flew in to Melbourne in time to celebrate Edie's 90th birthday and spend time with our two grandchildren, Harrison and newly born Sam.

World Heritage Terraced Rice Padi At Banaue, Luzon Island.

Christmas and New Year were celebrated back in the Philippines, the first time we have been away from the boat in 15 years.

During the holiday break we loaded up the car with duvet, pillows, a freshly baked loaf of bread and a well stocked cooler box. We went on a road trip taking in Mt Pinatubo, Angeles City, and the Cordilleras region, covering just under 1000kms. Our last two nights were in Baguio, a hill station nestled in the mountainous pine forests, snuggled under the duvet as temperatures dropped down to 12 degrees each night.

This past week we've spent a couple of days in Singapore, and are now back aboard Crystal Blues in Batam for a short "vacation" - cleaning, hull scrubbing, running engines and generators etc.  All is well onboard. Wishing you all a peaceful and healthy 2014.

Singapore Straits - Sailing From Malaysia to Indonesia

The Brightly Colored "Lego Barge" Came Over The Horizon This Afternoon - At 2 Knots

We departed Puteri Harbour in Johor, Malaysia at 11.00am this morning, and arrived at Nongsa Point in Batam, Indonesia, at 6.00pm this evening.   Its only 47 nautical miles by sea, but a world apart in many ways.  Our AIS target identification system was kind of busy - over 2000 targets (vessels) tracked in a single day must be some kind of record.  

Our Track Is The Black Line, With Destination Nongsa Point At Lower Right

You can get a very sore neck trying to keep track of all those ships from the cockpit.

Right now, from our berth in the marina we can identify over 420 discrete vessels in the Singapore Straits, all individually identified and tracked on the plotting system.  

The straits are very busy, and we find the AIS system essential for safe navigation here (see our AIS technology primers Part1, Part2 and Part3 for background).

Puteri Harbour had very few visitors, and lacks any useful services except fuel supply, though it is safe, clean and inexpensive.  But I've never been in a marina that was so ....... soul less.

When the wind came up we managed to sail for just two hours today, roughly a quarter of the 8 hour voyage, which is about average for this part of the world.  But the sailing was a delight, a reminder of why we chose this life style.

Here at Nongsa Point the welcome and atmosphere are completely different to Puteri Harbour.  Staff are more competent and confident, and there are active sailors and cruisers on many of the boats here.  The place has a nice buzz about it, with sail training yachts and dive charters moving about the harbour.  The attached resort provides a pool, bar and meals, and the local ferry terminal has regular services to Singapore.  We're impressed.  We'll be here for a few weeks whilst we prepare for the next phase of our cruising life.