01/09/12 After a good nights rest, I was up at 4am and checking the engine oil and water levels. By 5am, we had coffee and slipped the mooring to motor out into the now calmer waters. Our progress wasn't as quick as we would have liked and we suspected that debris had become entangled in the prop. However, the winds were favourable for the morning and under full sail we were able to maintain 7 knots towards Labuan where we anchored sometime around 4pm. We went ashore for booze (medicinal you understand) and a meal in Murphy's, where we ran into Alistair and Loren. Chatting over events of the last two weeks.....the wind picked up and the rains came, so the decision was made to stay at anchor for the night and resume our travelling tomorrow. Four more beers please!
02/09/12 Weighed anchor about 0900 and hoisted the mainsail before setting course for Brunei. After a simple and relaxing sail, we picked up Fourth Dimension's mooring buoy just after 1100. Barry came out to the boat and asked about our return trip from Palawan. I slept for the rest of the day! Back to reality now, away from the relative luxury of a Beneteau Oceanis 46 and back onboard little Rhumb Do.
06/09/12 I now need to attend to all the problems on my boat. The day I was leaving on Barry's boat, my water tank split and poured it's contents into the bilge! I have to investigate that and possibly have a new one delivered from the UK. My Aries wind vane is still ashore being overhauled and I may have a further problem with the bearings on my headsail furling gear which will have to be investigated. After that, it's a good clean of the bottom of the boat and I can go again!
07/09/12 One year - 365 days - since we last moored alongside! A whole year at sea and anchor!
14/09/12 Anniversary of leaving Gillingham Marina - six years ago!
15/09/12 Three years since my Mum died.
19/09/12 A glitch in passport management has made it unrealistic for me to return to the Philippines as planned. My current passport expires in July of next year (just as well because I have no pages left!) I had intended to go north and cruise the islands, returning here about April time, but I have to have six months remaining on my passport when entering Brunei, which means I will have to renew it now. That will take at least four weeks to send it to Hong Kong, back to UK and then back to here, which means it will be too late to go with the Southwest monsoon. Bit of a nuisance but nothing I can do about it! Roger and Astrid will be leaving in about a weeks' time to head back up to Palawan and beyond.
29/09/12 Happy Birthday Angie!
30/09/12 So what's happened in the last days of September?? I've had my water tank out and remedied the leak but I think that will only be temporary and I really should try to get a complete new one made and shipped from the UK. The present one was only put in as a stop-gap measure when I was in Corfu........4 years ago! My buoy mooring lines (well, Paul's actually) have both broken and I've made up new ones and fitted them. The weather has been very changeable - always hot but sometimes sunny and sometimes rain, with many thunderstorms and lightning displays. I spent days chasing forms for renewing my passport that involved several trips into Bandar to the British Consulate as I was unable to download them from the internet, and I have now sent them off via DHL courier to Hong Kong......let's see how long that takes to process. I've missed out on three Friday trips to Labuan for various reasons, too busy, too tired etc., but I'll no doubt have a few more opportunities yet. Storm Dodger is still here because of some mechanical problems but should be leaving shortly.
Did you enjoy your visit onboard? Please sign my Guestbook
For previous logs, click Here
