Island cruising

With me still back in Canada, Jordan and his visiting friend and author Rik continued their activities. As well as Langkawi Malaysia, they spent 3 days in the Thailand archipelago of the Butang Group, just a 7-hour sail away to the northwest out in the Andaman Sea.

There, the crystalline waters displayed an abundance of marine life making it an excellent diving destination. Jordan and Rik wanted to snorkel but unfortunately Rik had developed a condition with a symptom that gave him anxiety attacks when he attempted to snorkel. He succumbed to his fears but relaxed on board while Jordan took in the wonderment of the aqua environment...

2 corals dancing in the current

Shades of blue

As well as colourful coral (which isn't always around), fish were in abundance. An attention grabber was the lionfish with its display of feathery fins. It can live for 16 years and the male mates with several females whose eggs hatch in only 2 days. Those beautiful fins, though nice to look at, need respect as they are spiked with deadly poison so can't get too close for photos!

Sneaking up on the lionfish...

Quickly leaving the lionfish...

Of course, the cutest fish must be the clown fish aka Nemo from the movie! These 3 are swimming above their habitat of the sea anemone. Curiously, they are immune to the stings of the anemone.

Clowning around

At the quaint little beach village on Koh Lipe with its white sand beach as fine as flour, sea of sapphire, and pedestrian paths and alleys instead of roads, Jordan and Rik ambled from cafe to bar to massage spa.

After Rik's departure of the 19th, Jordan was once again alone with Sea Turtle, waiting for my return.

Visitor aboard

During my absence while I was back home in Canada, the 6-month time limit to have the boat in Thailand was due so Jordan sailed Sea Turtle from Phuket Thailand to Langkawi Malaysia. It took him 3 easy days in which he had winds to sail most of that. Each night he was able to rest at island anchorages along the way.

Jordan enjoyed the cornucopia of the green hued water below while sailing through Thailand before reaching Malaysia.

Bright blue fish

Did you know that moray eels can live for 10 to 30 years! This fish (not reptile) eats meat and likes to hide in crevices, but here he is peeking out at Jordan.

Secretive moray eel

These giant clams, once they fasten to a spot on a reef, are there for the rest of their lives. They come in such a variety of bright or mundane colours and patterns. They are male for a year and then possess both male and female reproductive organs, but they do not fertilize themselves!

A pair of giant clams

Once in Malaysia, his time was occupied with boat jobs, daily workouts, and regular routines all at the easy pace of the cruisers' clock.

During my time away, Jordan's friend and author, Rik, flew down from China for a 10-day sojourn to experience cruising life, wile away the hours in philosophic palaver, and catch up on old times. They hadn't seen each other for about 13 years.

Most of their time was spent around Pulau Langkawi where Jordan showed Rik the typical interesting sites including the SkyBridge perched high up on a peak, accessed by a cable car lift. (Last year when Jordan and I visited the SkyBridge, it was having maintenance work performed so unfortunately we could not access it - see our blog posting of July 18, 2014 titled Scooting around Langkawi.)

Spectacular SkyBridge

This sunset silhouetting Sea Turtle and 2 longtail boats is an example of the ending to many of the days for Jordan and Rik.

Sea Turtle at sunset