I am still alive even if weather and age begs to differ at times. Hope life in the real world is still wonderful for everyone.
Did a lot of work on the boat up in Kudat. My three month Malaysian VISA is up and time to head for Brunei to reset.
Did get my Starlink installed, loving it, what a difference to NOT be held hostage to the corrupt cellular crooks. I still keep one sim-card active for when I am traveling ashore.
Lots of boat work. Fixing stuff as usual, ice machine, inductive cooker, cellphone USB replacement, bunch of dingy battery work, got dive compressor going again, RO water system working again. AND too many other little chores to mention. I still like fixing things.
Rewired the boat a couple of times, still trying to fit in charging systems to bring my ship & motor batteries back up. Love the electric boat but tough here in Borneo with iffy sun, lousy wind and lot of motoring. Charging back up is a long, slow, noisy process. Designed the upgrade so I could have motor for leaving, entering anchorages. Hoped to sail mostly. Did not expect to have to motor most of a day. If there are any winds here they are generally very fickle. Don’t know how those old sailors put up with it. Bet they had plenty of down days in the ole south China sea.
Finally departed Kudat on October 3. Tough going, if any wind its usually on the nose, lots of motor sailing or just motoring. Usually find a safe place & spend an extra day just recharging batteries with 2KW & 1KW generators. Geesh! so noisy. 1KW Honda fuel shutoff broke. Was able to cobble a fix for now.
I am in Brunei – Muara Port at RBYC (Royal Brunei Yacht Club) again. Like the food, water, laundry, HOT SHOWERS! Starlink is working here in Brunei, great since cells won’t unless I add very expensive roaming. More boat work, carrying water, & petrol to the boat. Nice little food store 3KM away to bike to and re-provision. Had bent my Danfoth anchor again in major storm on Keraman island. Nasty night out in cockpit, nude, shivering in driving rain, motoring into the wind for hours after anchor broke free heading MissKiss towards the shore. What a night. No anchor available here, will try for new one in Miri, Malaysia. Did straighten the anchor again and reset it with two anchors holding now. Heavy tide change along with the usual nasty thunderstorms in the evening sure makes this anchorage lively. I have dragged here before.
Most places along the way are pretty muddy or have jellies in them, so not much for snorkeling or diving. I just jump in to cool off a bit and try to avoid the jellies. Helps some but not much change in air & water temperatures. Welcome to Borneo, motoring capital of the world with many muddy rivers to enjoy. Looking forward to sailing to Thailand in search of clear waters to swim, snorkel, dive in once more.
Short note to let you know I am still alive. Haven’t broke any body parts yet. Pulling anchors and sails by hand & just moving MissKiss is healthy for me. Working on the boat while satisfying is not very healthy and hard on this old back.
