When There Are No Shops

Remote Salamon Atoll, Chagos, Crystal Blues In The Foreground.  Photo / Mark, SV Merkava                         

If we had a mission statement for our cruising life it would be shaped by what we truly enjoy - that is travel by boat, to experience new cultures, cuisines and music.  The past few months have offered a smorgasbord of this mix.  But none of this could have happened without a lot of planning. Before leaving Langkawi, Malaysia, all boat systems were checked, upgraded where necessary, the spares list re-checked and every empty space on the boat was filled with food and more than a little bit of wine, before we began sailing through the Indian Ocean.

We provisioned extensively in Phuket, stocking up on bread flour, pork, bacon, sausages and ham. Then we continued in Langkawi, stocking up on tinned and dry food, steak, salmon, toiletries, tinned butter, and duty free wine.  Over the previous months Ley had taken careful note of our consumption per month of all these items. Then we multiplied all this by six, hoping that our supplies would last around six months.

With those stores on board, the real provisioning challenge was fresh food - principally fruits and vegetables. What we can buy in Sri Lanka or the Maldives ? Will it last us for the 6-7 weeks after we depart Gan Atoll for Chagos and then Rodrigues ?

Fortunately the cruising community share information quite freely and efficiently, so we already knew that it was wiser to purchase fresh eggs, pumpkins and fruit in Sri Lanka, as nearly all produce in the Maldives is imported from there (plus India and Pakistan).

The Maldive Islands have very little fertile soil, with most of the new villages being built on reclaimed land.  Very little produce is grown locally.  It is not a great provisioning place.....

So the challenge was buying ten to twelve weeks of fresh provisions and doing our best to keep this produce fresh and edible in the tropical heat.

The Wine List

Photo by Jan Pitt

After a busy few weeks we are almost ready for our departure to Sri Lanka and beyond.

Friends Ray and Jan Pitt signed off the boat in Thailand, leaving us spoiled, relaxed and ready for the future.

Four weeks ago we sailed south (overnight) from Koh Phayam, spending four days in Phuket, provisioning and making ready.

Then another overnight passage, again hard on the wind, brought us into Kuah Harbour in Langkawi, our final provisioning stop before departure for destinations west.

Its here that we finally created "The Wine List"....

We've spent over two weeks now provisioning and finishing off various systems and "boat jobs".  We've had every power tool in use and every conceivable combination of electrical, electronic and mechanical work underway.  Even the paint pots came out again.

We're now down to a list that is manageable, in fact its entirely forgettable, as we're stocked up and anxious to go sailing.  But those lists can create there own problems .....

Cruisehiemers

Crystal Blues has been lifted out of the water and is on the hard stand at Rebak Island Marina, in Langkawi, Malaysia.

Ley (optimistically) booked for just a week, thinking we only had to do a quick anti-foul paint job and replace some plumbing - one week, should be easy.  

So now, almost three weeks later, no paint tins have even been opened, though the end is in sight.

In The Beginning

Removing the toxic underwater paint with normal electric sanding machines is not recommended.  

We now use an air powered random orbital sander that allows us to sand the hull wet, without too much effort. We keep the water running over the work area and the old paint is flushed away.  There is no dangerous dust, though it is still a very dirty and messy job. 

Once this was done I finished polishing the topsides, a job we started back in Singapore. Then followed all the stainless bright work.

So Far So Good

Next Ley tackled the brass-ware - aka cleaning the propeller ready for the new paint system.  

All was moving along quite smoothly until our neighbour Eddie said - "gee, you've got a bit of movement in that P-strut bearing".  Sure enough that bearing was badly worn - 10 years and almost 3000 hours of motoring will do that.  We ordered a new bearing from Australia, started to disassemble the drive train and the real fun began (click the link below).

Ugly Raw Water Blockages - A Fouling Story

We're spending quite a bit of time in marinas these last few months, as I'm doing some contract work and Admiral Ley needs a safe home while I'm away from the boat.  

This means that our sea water cooled refrigeration and airconditioning systems are running frequently in estuarine waters with a very high fouling capability.

Coming from a relatively cold water background (Melbourne, Australia) I'm still amazed at how quickly an anchor, or chain, or in this case a raw water inlet, can become completely fouled by marine growth in these warm water areas.  The image at right shows the problem - the hose tail at left is almost closed with barnacles, and the hose tail at right has a decent oyster growing - just what we don't want.  

 
When we look at the hose, the situation is obviously worse. Large clusters of barnacles and yet another oyster are almost completely blocking the inlet hose.  Note this is 1.5" (40mm) hose, that feeds a manifold with multiple outlets for refrigeration, air conditioning, deck wash, genset etc.

To counter the problem we now place a chlorine tablet in our raw water strainer every other day, when we're in a marina.  We use standard swimming pool chlorine tablets, that dissolve in just a few minutes after placement.  These do a great job of stopping the growth from the strainer basket onwards.

Special Note :  You MUST NOT use chlorine tablets on a seawater inlet that feeds your R.O. water maker - it will destroy the membrane(s) !

Chlorine tablets also clean up the hoses really well,  but they can't help with the hose and fittings that are in the line before the strainer.  So now we replace that hose every twelve months - a half day boat project that keeps the systems running and my back and shoulders in fine trim (its a b**g*r to get at), and my knuckles suitably skinned.  Boat jobs.

Along the west  Malaysian coast, from Singapore to Langkawi and northwards into Thailand, this type of fouling is all to common.  In Kuah Harbour (Langkawi), the long term cruisers know that you must lift your anchor chain by 4 or 5 meters one day, and then lower it back again the next day, in a never ending alternating sequence, to stop the aggressive growth there from fouling the chain that is between the water surface and the muddy bottom.  This really does work, though nothing will stop the change to the chain galvanising caused by the very special mud in Langkawi.  But that's another story.....

Northern Lights - Reliable Onboard Power At Last

If you follow this blog you'll already know that early this year our Onan generator died, with a frustrating control board fault.   We decided to ditch it, as it was probably the most unreliable piece of kit onboard. A month later it had been removed, and sold.  Amazing.
 
We selected a Northern Lights unit to replace the Onan, though pricing in Thailand was steep.   Looking further afield we found we could save 15% by buying in Singapore, or even Australia.  Then we contacted the reseller in Taiwan and received an even better quotation, for delivery into Penang, Malaysia.  

So we sent the money, they shipped the generator.  We arranged for trans-shipping to Langkawi in Malaysia and craned it on board without any duty or tax. Brilliant.  

The Lushlife

Last December, long time friends Ray and Jan Pitt flew from Australia for a ten day break in Phuket.  It was their first visit to the island and they must have liked the place, because they came back again in January.  This time they stayed for a month, exploring Phuket by themselves and then joining us onboard Crystal Blues for a slow sail down to Langkawi.

What Happened to our Guest Cabin?

Over the past 2 years our back cabin has become "the shed", loaded with boat projects.  Four solar panels,  20 metres of fabric for new shade covers, various other parts, Neil's Indonesian drum, his guitar and lots more.  So we moved the goodies off the boat to our Thai girlfriend's house (thank you Kaew and Brian), so that Ray and Jan had a cabin to themselves.  They had a few days to get their "sea-legs" in the comfort of the marina, then we provisioned, Neil arrived, and we cleared out.  Let the fun begin!

The Taxi Driver Told Us ...........!

Crystal Blues departed Langkawi this morning, heading for Penang. Sailing at 6.5 knots with an 11 knot NE breeze, flat seas, blue skies. Lovely!

After several weeks of "boat jobs", we spent our last few hours yesterday in Kuah Town stocking up on duty free wine for the next few months. Towering thunderheads were building all around the bay and our taxi driver suggested that the wet season was coming a month early this year. Loaded with our bounty we stopped at the Asia Restaurant for a final meal there this season (mango squid, baby kailan and broccoli).

It started to rain lightly, so the owner's son kindly offered to drive us to the dinghy dock with our provisions. After unloading at the dock we waited for the light rain to pass over. Then it just got heavier, the thunder and lightning started, and we made a run for it. The cardboard boxes dissolved before our very eyes, the dinghy was filled with loose bottles of wine and beer, and gallons of water. Unfortunately the bailer was buried under a mountain of wine so we used a shoe to empty out the dinghy, as we motored out to the boat.

Yep, the taxi driver was right, the wet season is coming earlier this year.....

We'll be in Penang until April 11, when we fly home to Melbourne for Peter & Maria's wedding.
Crystal Blues will be left at Tanjong City Marina whilst we're in Australia. When we return at the end of April we'll set sail for Singapore and then Borneo.

Boat Jobs In Paradise

Right through March we've worked hard on boat maintenance. Ley repaired the small wear/tear in the genoa’s grey sacrificial cloth. Then it was her turn to go up the mast and sew four new leather (pigskin) boots on the spreader tips.

We hauled the boat out of the water and antifouled Crystal Blues bottom, at Rebak Island Marina. Last time we applied paint it was Jotun Sea Guardian, at Yamba in January 2005. Exactly 2 years later the antifoul just stopped working. There weren’t too many surprises on the hull. Yes, paint had been damaged here and there, but we had been in flood on the Clarence River in northern NSW and up and down the Rajang River and its tributaries in Borneo. The battle scars from logs, trees and general rubbish were evident. These were all dealt with after the hull was wet sanded by Ley. Neil cleaned up the hull, shaft and the prop and soon we were ready for the painting. This time we applied Jotun Sea Force 90.

In between coats of paint we dismantled the aft raw water inlet manifold, cleaned out the barnacle growth and rebuilt the manifold. New hose was obtained and installed, and every thru-hull checked for growth. This effectively ended our pump gremlins. Other works included repairing paint and timber damage on our rear steps, removing and replacing damaged insulation in the base of our refrigerator, replacing all anodes and servicing the PSS Shaft Seal.