Let the ties go?

We dropped the ties to the dock of Danga Bay Marina (Malaysia) at 13:30. We had to make sure the tide was high as the inlet just outside of the Marina gets very shallow at low tide. We motored down the west channel that separates Singapore Island from Malaysia mainland where we were under constant surveillance by vigilance of the small Singapore border patrol boats.

After a couple of hours, we had to go under a bridge. Even though we were following Sea Turtle's inbound GPS track, it was still nerve wracking for me as I was at the helm. Is the bridge high enough for our mast? Is the water deep enough for our keel? I haven't been at the helm since we anchored at Mentok (Indonesia) back in mid-January. But I guess it's like riding a bicycle...it's something you never forget.

Half an hour later, where the channel widened, we dropped anchor (N01°19.200' E103°37.410') close to a very small Malaysian island. Did you know it is illegal to anchor anywhere in Singapore waters?

So this small Malaysian island is a good spot, just outside the busy freighter area and it provides for an early start in the morning to make it all the way around Singapore Island before once again being able to anchor in Malaysian territory. Then just before sunset, 3 catamarans and 1 sailboat pulled up and anchored.

During our transit down the channel, the auto-pilot refused to work properly. Jordan checked and tried various things but to no avail. We had internet connection from cell phone towers so after Skyping the manufacturer, it was determined that damage was done when the wires were cross connected during re-installation.

Our only wise option was to return the next morning to Danga Bay Marina and send it back to the USA manufacturer for repair. Double darn...this will now delay our distant explorations.

Oh well, what can one do but go with the flow, so we settled in with a relaxing sundowner in the cockpit. It was a pleasant change to be at a quiet anchorage for the night with no loud bar music...what a treat!