Wednesday, December 07, 2016

Goodbye Malaysia

With the new Beta 43 engine installed, we left the dock of Langkawi Malaysia under the new power and took Sea Turtle out for a test run on December 1st. All seemed well except for the need of a hose strap to avoid vibration chafe and the need to bleed air from the hydraulic steering system

The only other issue was Chanty's apparent stress (Chanty is our new feline permanent crew member). Even though for most of her short life as a stray she has been hanging out on docks and other boats until we adopted her, she had yet been on a boat that moved, let alone made a menacing growl from that mechanical thing deep in the hull.

She was panting which is a sign of stress. She wandered all over trying to figure out where the dock went and why the ocean was moving past the boat instead of staying in one place. But we knew in time she would become accustomed to the engine, the moving sea, and the motion of the boat.

On December 5th, we cleared from the Harbour Master, Malaysia Customs, and Immigration at 13:00, making our final checkout from this country.

We were heading north up to Phuket Thailand, a 24-hour run. At first, at the consternation of Chanty, we motored for 3 or 4 hours in a confused sea state. But the wind finally filled in and became a constant 15+ knots on the beam, making for a great overnight sail and a nice average of 5.5 knots all the way to our destination. It took Chanty awhile to settle down, this being her first sea voyage, and accept what was going on.

She has decided on 2 favourite spots: the quiet part of the boat which is up front, either under the dingy on the foredeck or inside behind the lee cloth in the forward pullman berth.

Chanty's secure sea berth

On December 6th, we anchored in Chalong Harbour of south Phuket at 13:00 (N07°49.123' E098°21.308').

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