Kinabatangan River and Sandakan, Sabah

Our return to Sabah was always with the intention of re-launching Stolen Kiss (she had been on the hard at Kudat for 5 months) and going up the mighty Kinabatangan River, the largest in Sabah. Near its mouth the Kinabatangan meanders across the large flood plain it has created, resulting in many oxbow lakes. The upper reaches can be in flood with no effect on the lower parts of the river. Good to know in case of some huge rains!

Peter arrived back a week or so before me, antifouling the bottom and doing a few other jobs. He met me in Kota Kinabalu where we stayed in Fiona’s (our dentist) condo and enjoyed some fantastic meals with her parents. They are a Chinese family; her father having been a highly respected Minister of Parliament, holding two degrees and speaking 6 languages. There are 6 children in the family and they have more degrees than a thermometer! A wonderful, warm, fun family. We hosted them on Stolen Kiss at a later date. They are intrigued by our lifestyle and what we do all day in such a small space!


Yusoff was the ‘yachtie’ contact as a driver between Kudat and KK as he had a reputation for being a safe driver. Of course, this is not so during Ramadan! As the afternoon progressed on our journey to Kudat, his driving became progressively worse. Peter told him off for passing a car on a blind corner and we were wishing the time to hurry up for 6 minutes past 6pm – when he could stop and drink and have something to eat! He explained to Peter that his eyes and his judgment were not as good during Ramadan as he needed to eat! As he liked to turn and face you when he is talking to you, we decided to keep quiet as we figured what eye sight he had; it was best focused on the road. Peter (skipper of Australian Cat, Zosha, whom we met) and his crew, Stuart, had noted similar behaviour in Kashmir and Morocco in their travels. Now they tell us!

We had the track of another yacht that had gone up the river a year or so ago, so we knew the best place to cross the bar and where to make the turns in the river system. The main entrance to the Kinabatangan is 45 miles around the coast, but Lifeline (a converted Tassie fishing boat) had followed some barges out of another river, joining the Kinabatangan, which has its mouth just north of Sandakan. A shorter route to follow!

The Kinabatangan is a major river, which for us is navigable for 30 miles as there are now power lines at the town of Sakau. Although there is not a lot of jungle left due to illegal logging, what is left is beautiful, stunning forest alive with wildlife. The river twists and turns and flows gently when not in flood. In some places it is very deep and others only a few metres, affording good anchorages anywhere. We found out later (the hard way) that the silt is not good for water pumps!

Trees fetch up to 2000RM each, which is excellent money and the reason for the extensive logging. We read in the local paper of replanting of mangroves by locals and the plan to replant 2 million trees a year in order to start sustainable logging. We only hope this is successful. Locals have no land tenure, so anyone can come and start a tourist resort with permission of a local minister with a little ‘incentive’. Tour guidesappear to show very little responsibility for the environment from which they make a handsome living.

Zainal (a local) works with international scientists and other interest groups, greets yachties and offers a personalized tour. We pay him what we think is a very good price. We get a more accurate picture of what happens along the Kinabatangan. Sometimes Zainal is a lone voice trying to get people to take responsibility for their actions that harm the delicate ecosystem. Wildlife and the river are also threatened by the barges which come to take the palm oil away.

Zainal invited us ashore to meet his wonderful extended family, who prepared a meal for us. He bought all of the 18 children out to Stolen Kiss. We had cold watermelon, which was well received. They were keen to take photos of our family photos!

Orangutans live a life of solitude and can be heard saying something which sounds like ‘0h no’ when they are stressed. Every night they make a new nest in the top of a tree. We saw many nests and heard them – just did not see one. Zainal took us out one morning to see if we could see an orangutan feeding on nipper palm roots. We didn’t see any as we suspect we were too noisy as Peter (Zosha) could not stop talking! (Zosha Peter had met a backpacker at Memorial Park in Sandakan, who accompanied him up the river – a young guy from Perth, who actually went to school with one of the young guys I taught with at St Hildas!)

Elephants often swim across the river – the females surrounding the baby elephants to help them swim. There are over 100 elephants that are divided into three groups, but unfortunately something had disturbed them when we were there as they had been moving at a faster pace. They are pygmy elephants, only found in Borneo. Even so, they are still large and the males have tusks. Sometimes the tour guides drive the boats too close if the elephants are swimming and some have been found drowned. The locals know how to approach the animals, but the tour guides are from the cities and appear to be more interested in keeping the customers happy.

Proboscis monkeys are also only native to Borneo. They live in groups – either with one male and several females/babies - a ‘harem’ or with one alpha and several lesser males and many females/babies. The males are distinguished by their larger size, larger nose and of course, their very large bright red penis! They spend the days inland sheltering in the trees and nights in trees by the river, so as to provide more protection from their predators – ‘cats’ and pythons. We anchored next to a troupe one night and sat for hours watching their behaviour. They are amazing jumpers and just hang in the trees without falling out! The larger ones would sit and stare back at us. We anchored as close to the bank as we dared, hoping to be out of reach of the wildlife! We spent hours in our cockpit watching their antics.

At this anchorage were also millions of fire flies that glow in the dark. The males attract females via their glowing. The trees looked like they had Xmas lights on as the twinkled when the flies moved! We did have inside knowledge about this spot!

There are also many macaques, which also live in troupes. They feed on fruit and river prawns (which are larger than tiger prawns!). Up and down the river there are many sticks just out from the bank, with prawn traps attached. These are checked on a daily basis. The fishermen have to hide the strings due to the macaques emptying their traps. We watched one male doing this. He was strong enough to hold on to the stick with one hand and pull the trap up by the string in the other. He managed to open the top then dived in to get the prawns. We thought he would disappear in the trap and drown has he went head first into the trap and into the water. However, he was successful and kept repeating the process until he thought he was done.

Using our river knowledge we anchored every night just down from the inside bend going up river where we are safe from river traffic. This proved fortuitous as an illegal log barge passed us one night. Two tugs towing a very long line of logs. Not sure how the logs were contained, but the tow was about 500m long. Somehow they got around the bends! We heard them coming quite a distance away and saw their flashlights. We turned on our floods, nav lights and flashing blue light just to make sure they saw us!

The small river boats are just big enough for a 15 year old boy to sit in. They have a small inboard motor and are steered by leaning to one side. They only have stop and go speeds, so can be quite dangerous. Despite this the young boys race them around. We were up the river during Hari Raya and the boys from Abai Village had gone up to Sakau to race, returning home triumphant with a large trophy they quickly showed off passing us at great speed.

There are many oxbow lakes as the old river wends its way across the floodplain. Zainal took us one evening up a very narrow channel which opened up into a huge oxbow lake. He had a house there and is going to build another one around the corner. It is full of wildlife – birds, crocodiles, fireflies, orangs and elephants! We sat in here at dusk to listen to all and sundry. We heard them all and sat in front of a mass of trees that came alive with fireflies after sunset. In our excitement we forgot a torch which made getting home a little bit of an adventure.

Lifeline has left excellent information re passage into the Kinabatangan at the Sandakan Yacht Club.

Lankayan Island is one of many islands which form a marine sanctuary where you can watch the baby turtles hatch and be released in the ocean at night. Green and Hawksbill turtles have their breeding grounds here and fisheries personnel collect turtle eggs and place them in a hatchery so that they cannot be stolen. Fishermen are prosecuted for bombing the coral or using cyanide. After bombing a reef, fishermen use a small hose to collect the fish off the bottom. No compressor, no mask. Many have died in the process. Through a large part of Indonesia and Malaysia, many reefs have been destroyed from such activities. We suspect the same will be in some parts of the Philippines.

Local authorities are now working with fishing communities to educate them about the long term effects and develop other industries like tourism to help provide them with an alternative source of income. Of course, this is a long term prospect and their need to feed their families, short term. In the local markets here, you still find small baby turtles, coral and precious shells for sale!

All the recommended anchorages along the north coast provide shelter from NE but not from SW squalls. This was to be interesting as we were nearing the end of the SW monsoon and this would be the most likely direction of any adverse weather. We spent the best part of one night (it was only actually two hours but I sat waiting for the squall to hit us as we could see it forming and moving ever so slowly in our direction) in our first squall, which was only 20 knots, anchored on a lee shore. Other nights we decided to up anchor to wander to a new home protected from the SW. A bit like wandering around with your pillow looking for a place to sleep! This was probably not the best decision, but one which was made easier with electronic charts that are accurate.

As the pilot book stated, the first sight of Sandakan Harbour is the very conspicuous cliffs of Berhala Island at the entrance. This is where some of the POW's were interned and was also a leper colony. Getting there from our last anchorage at Gullisaan Island (a mere 20 nm) proved to be a bit of an obstacle course, albeit interesting as we had to wend our way through bamboo fish traps, of a type we had not seen before. There were a few fishermen attending to the traps. As some had Malay flags and some Philippine flags we were not sure in which country we were in. We knew we were very close to the border, not that it mattered.

We did have a few pucker factor moments, like having to up anchor in Sandakan Harbour anchorage (at 10pm) with concrete walls behind us that became a lee shore. As we were pulling up the anchor in mid squall, the bow (and Peter!) were buried in a short, steep chop kicked up by the squall. We had to use a lot of engine revs to make any forward motion away from the sea wall. Being happy that we had moved anchor earlier to make some room between ourselves and Zosha, we once again in the middle of a black night, wandered across to the other side of the bay, (with Zosha close behind) which offered protected from the SE, dropped anchor, enjoyed the calm and finally, a sleep. The storm lasted 6 hours, going round in circles, seemingly trapped between the hills. Zosha had called Yela (in Sutra Harbour, KK) who said they had a storm as well which had 50 knots of breeze. I guess we got the tail end as we only had up to 30 knots. Sandakan was an interesting town to visit and had the best market we have seen in Sabah. Perhaps its because it is all new!

We visited Memorial Park and sat down where the Australian POW camp was trying to fathom all that had happened during Japanese occupation and the death march. Agnes Keith, an American woman who was interned in Sandakan with her baby son, has written two excellet books 'Three Came Home' and 'Land below the Wind', which are recognised as having a tremendous historical contribution in the account of the life in Sandakan pre and post World War 2. During the settled weather, the Yacht Club pool did provided a welcome relief from the heat of the day. Wifi and cheap beer was aslo welcomed! As there were storms around, we decided to leave Sandakan prematurely, sailing once again through the unusual fish farms.

On the return journey, we decided on the inland route and managed to find some fantastic anchorages behind reef and in a natural harbour. The anchorage at Banggi Island was the gem that we found and in particular, Mitford Harbour, which would make a great typhoon/bad weather anchorage if we need one on the way to the Philippines.

You can actually day sail from KK to Subic Bay in the north of the Philippines, then a few overnight sails and you are in Japan! Since reading the pilot for the area, we have discovered the write up on the entrances to Mitford Harbour anchorage. It is surrounded by beautiful hills – some grassy slopes and others covered in jungle. The harbour is between the very large main island and a series of other islands with protection from the elements by a series of reef systems. There are some small villages dotted along the shores as some boats passed us at anchor. The main town is small and has some local restaurants that sell basic Malay food along the pier. Peter had discovered a glitch in the water maker which translated into having a small water shortage on board! We had not thought to fill our tanks from the squalls. There were many showers around Banggi, but unfortunately not over the boat! Wanting a long shower, armed with shampoo, we went off in the dinghy to sit in the rain. Alas, by the time we got there the shower had stopped! The wind finally changed, allowing us to go the final 25 miles back to Kudat, where we stayed for another week.

It took us two attempts to get around the tip of Borneo (like all great capes that seem to attract a lot of wind!) as the wind was still SW and a rather large swell. The other shackle on the centre board had broken, so our wait did allow Peter to go over the side and replace it. Just a small obstacle to over come first as the board had slammed down and jammed. The 100 miles back to KK provided a little challenge, spending 6 hours motoring through a 2-3 m SW swell, (the course we needed was 210!) with winds from 10 to 25 knots. The seas were walls of water, one boat length apart with no backs, hence allowing us to go up one wave only for our bow to be greeted by another, which rolled over us. Our speed was reduced for a great part, to 2 knots. As we always say, warm and wet is much more acceptable than cold and wet! We had met up with a large tow at the tip of Borneo, and we kept crossing him and sometimes the reverse. He kept a slow and steady pace whilst we were tacking in and out. Our intended anchorage was Usukan Bay, a deep protected bay. We wandered in at 2330, found a nice little patch between the tugs and local fishing boats, had dinner and fell into our bunks.

We will be in Sutera Harbour Marina, KK for 3 months during the wet and not so pleasant start of the NE monsoon, after which we will make our way to the Philippines. Peter is working his way through the boat re-painting the white surfaces and we are off to Laos in December with Laura and Randy from Pollen Path. There are no complaints as we are in between two 5 star resorts, have great neighbours with a sense of humour, 7 pools to choose from, a movie theatre, laundry service at 70 cents/kilo and a courtesy bus to town every hour. Oh, yes, and the gym, which we visit every day. Peter is aiming for his young buffed self (inspired by Barns!).

Off to Borneo, Febuary 2007.

Destination: Sutera Harbour, Kota Kinabalu

After waiting at Sebana Cove for the NE Monsoon to break, we finally had a good weather window and departed on February 4th at 0900 hours. Our departure time was set to cross the shipping lanes at Horsborough Light at slack water, so at least we would have the ebb to start with. Although our timing of departure was questioned by many (why go in the NE monsoon when you can go in the SW monsoon and have the wind behind you?) it was the necessity of leaving Stolen Kiss on the hard somewhere by April when we have to return to Perth. Barnaby had also decided that he would come and visit us in Kota Kinabalu (KK), so we had a schedule to keep!!

As the ITCZ is at its southern most position in February; February and March are the driest months with the least amount of thunderstorms, this sounded good to us! Our forecast was for northerly winds 10 – 15 knots with a 1 meter swell. What more could one ask for? The latter had been up to 4 metres in the South China Sea due to adverse weather. A chopper had been lost to the sea off Bintulu trying to get to the rigs. So waiting for our weather window was not an issue.




The swell mostly under a metre, but the occasional wall of water would hit us and almost stop the boat. The windward deck was continually awash, but the cockpit remained dry, with only the spray over the dodger. However, some of the windward windows leaked and the old leaks – well they are still there! Surely the leaks cannot be through the new toe rail with the amount of sikaflex we put on! There is nothing like a passage to highlight your next boat project! (We are happy to report the leaks were soon gone!) All was not lost. Starry nights, fair weather, wind at 60 degrees off our bow and an almost full moon– how could we complain?



Crossing the shipping lanes at Horsborough Light was an easy task given our fair conditions. Others who had done this passage indicated to us that once across the straits you are clear of shipping! No idea how anyone could come to that conclusion!! We were in the shipping lanes until around 2300 hours! Although the traffic was not too heavy, it was consistent. We ended up cruising along in the east bound lane and put out an ‘All Ships’ bulletin on VHF Ch 16 to say who we were, our course and speed. Ships responded well to this and steered around us, as I guess you would when you indicate to a ship you are on their bow 2 miles ahead! Once out of the shipping lanes, we saw only a few fishing boats until we were further north along the Borneo coast.



We passed close to an Indonesian Island that was indeed chartered incorrectly; located only 0.7 miles from its chartered position! After 3 days we sighted Tg. Datu in the distance, however with the wind bending more NE, we struggled for a day to pass the cape. Given the wind direction and our need to arrive in KK in time to meet Barnaby, we decided to give Kuching a miss for the time being, although the thought of bearing away and running down the bay was appealing.

We headed across the bay to enter the Paloh River. There was the occasional ship coming out of the river and one going in – so on a flood tide, our timing was perfect. We had good notes from another yacht and found that the channel was actually marked. As it was getting on dusk we were anxious to get the pick down and have a break from night watches. Due to the extensive river systems around here and the general terrain, the bar was quite extensive, being relatively shallow (7 meters at HW) for 5 miles. We finally anchored at 2100 hours, surrounded by jungle, had diner and fell into a deep sleep.


We were actually circumnavigating Bruit Island which saved us rounding yet another cape on a NE wind. The island being a nature reserve had of course been subject to some logging! Large floating logs (and small islands with palm trees) are indeed numerous; both in the rivers and out to sea. Like the burgy bits in waters somewhat further from the equator, logs go away at night as by some stroke of luck, we never hit one.







Although river traffic was quite prolific, we only saw a few villages over the two days we were in the river system. The river was well marked with poles and leads indicating where to cross. This made the confluence of the Muara Lassa River easy and we were able to negotiate our way around the mud banks with ease. We tried to anchor out of the main tidal flow which meant that the little island floating towards us at day break did not actually land on our bow! Our northerly course exiting the Muara Lassa River was a little challenging as we had 4 meters of water for 7 miles with wind and swell against us. We left on a flood tide but as it took us more than 6 hours to actually complete the 20 miles needed clear the mouth, the tide finally turned just before we made it to deeper water! We did this with 10 knots of breeze and less than a 1 meter swell – maximum conditions for this exit!


Although the forecast was for rain for our night passage to Bintulu, (those black lines on the grib files again!) it was more important for our exit from the Muara Lassa River to have light winds, so our choice was limited. Sleeping was definitely out of the question as we had a busy night with heavy rain, large fishing boats that were well lit, smaller ones that were impossible to see, oil rigs and Indonesian junk boats at anchor! In the end we had our huge spotlight and kept lighting the sails when we saw a boat in the hope at least they could see us somehow.



The maximum wind gust was only 20 knots for a while and warm and wet is still preferable to cold and wet! We were thundering along! Away from the capes the wind is more north/north west, which made for some good sailing.

Our early morning arrival in the very busy Bintulu Port was welcomed, as was the Police Boat coming out to meet us and escort us to ‘yachtie corner’. Our instructions from the police were very precise – drop your anchor on THIS spot and take a warp to the wharf and one to the trees! It is a tight squeeze, but luckily there was no-one else to share it with. If the weather was not settled, we would not have stayed. Peter cut up one of our round plastic lids to use as a rat deterrent on the bow line. Container ships were just forward of us and we had the loading and unloading of these ships to entertain us 24/7.

A small town near Bintulu, Medan, provided us with some good supermarket items whilst the fresh food market at the former was the way to go. We had one day of rest whilst the showers passed us by and a day to re-provision. Having a good expat population is a dead cert for finding cheese and other western ‘must haves’. During our short stay, there was a large bang in the middle of the night. I woke Peter up to investigate, who assured me it was the wake from one of the tugs! Hmm! Not totally convinced. On departure, the said noise revealed itself to be the centerboard strop responsible for its raising and lowering. So now we draw 3m!

Our night sail to Miri was uneventful with a star studded sky and very few fishing boats. We slowed down to arrive outside Miri Marina at first light, as there had been significant land reclamation which was not shown on the chart. Our instructions said to look for the giant seahorse outside the marina entrance – and yes, there it was! We anchored outside the marina wall to wait for the tide and had time to reflect on what to do with the centerboard, not knowing the depth inside the marina. The water had a high tannin content (well, that is what we told ourselves), low visibility and generally not looking good! The big decision was to run a rope under the boat to pull the centre board up a little. Definitely a job for the master, rather than the owner – so Peter very bravely and quite blindly got in the dark brown water! Mission accomplished and off we went into the marina. We had 5 other yachties greet us and take our lines! What a welcome!




Miri, also having a significant expat population was a great place for restaurants and supermarkets. This is also the place to shop for whatever you desire! The down side was that the car hire was twice as expensive as what we were used to. Our week stopover was very busy with visits to national parks and sorting out the necessities, the very important social contact and swapping of information. Niah Caves were a worth while visit, despite the slippery boardwalk, as was the waterfall at Lambir Hills. Feeling a little tired from the 4 hour walk the previous day, the walk in Lambir Hills was, according to Peter, only a short 15 minutes. Not so. We were sent off on an hour plus hike up the mountain, on a very picturesque jungle walk, albeit, very, very steep. The waterfall proved to be popular with the locals, who seemed to carry all but the kitchen sink! The amount of food and possessions that people were struggling with was a constant source of amusement for us. The whole, plucked chicken Malaysian style (very dead but still with head and feet attached), 20L water container (full) and the ghetto blaster gave us a good laugh. At least we were on the way down whilst this mass of humanity were still struggling to get there!

Although there was some confusion as to where we had to go to check out of Miri, (Customs had moved into town from the Port the same week as the Harbour Master had moved out to the Port!) immigration and customs were very kind to us and smoothed the way, giving us our port clearance so we did not have the very expensive drive out to the port.

Departing Miri, with only day sailing ahead of us, we felt more like we were in cruising mode. Kuala Belait, Brunei was our next port of call, a mere 36 miles away. We needed to round a point/cape which had a major river running out from its centre. Due to extensive logging inland, there is significant silt being washed out to sea. As we rounded the cape, there was a distinctive line of blue/green sea water against the brown river water. Kuala Belait is another very busy 'port' which services the oil rigs. Huge rig tenders and tugs are constantly on the move.


As we were not planning a stay here, we anchored in the river for the night and departed at first light for Juradong. The latter is an interesting anchorage created by a huge breakwater with an artificial island inside the entrance to keep out the swell. It would have covered the same cumulative area as FSC, the Fishing Boat Harbour and the RPYC Annexe! Anchoring off a small white sandy beach (as per our information) with 360 degree protection from the elements, we were in absolute awe at what this place could be! The Sultan’s younger brother had it built for his ‘yacht’, but the plans for a super marina were abandoned when younger brother Jeffrey was caught pilfering the State purse to the tune of 30 million USD! (Young Jeffrey fled to the UK but was pursued through the courts and most of the money has been recovered!)


Waiting for the morning showers to clear with the local fishing boats, we finally departed for our main destination in Brunei. It always makes you feel warm and fuzzy when your time of departure coincides with the locals – a good guess that the weather is clearing.









The anchorage off Royal Brunei Yacht Club, Muara offers good protection and good holding in sticky mud. They yacht club itself is a haven for the expats with free WIFI, a swimming pool and great food! Always a good draw card for the yachties! How times have changed!

Interestingly, one cannot purchase a drop of alcohol in Brunei – even in the hotels after it was banned in 1996. Fortunately for the yachties, that the duty free port of Labuan, Sabah, Malaysia is only 20 miles away!

The Sultan of Brunei has a cattle station just south of Darwin and often liked to fly direct from Brunei to his station. Australian Customs finally caught him out, took offence at his actions and now make him check in and out of Darwin. So, as a result, Australian passport holders can only stay for 2 weeks in Brunei for the cost of $30 pp. Everyone else gets a month for free! Bugger! So we paid out money, hired a car, re-fueled for 25 cents/l (AUD!! – there had to be an up side!!), visited an amazing mosque and a few other sights and departed for Labuan.


Our visit to Labuan was primarily to check into Sabah and to do a booze stock. To our delight they had a much improved selection of wine (chateau cardboard) than Langkawi. We also visited the War Memorial Park, which is partially maintained by the War Graves Commission in Australia. The park is immaculate and a local woman spends every day polishing the placques. They are the graves from the men who died on the Sandakan Death March.

From Labuan we had only one more anchorage before Kota Kinabalu. Palau Tiga – ‘Survivor Island’! This was an absolute gem – we dropped anchor in clear water and sand, with a back drop of virgin rainforest right down to the white sandy beach! A small eco friendly resort had the odd punter staying. The coral along the NW reef was sensational, with many different corals we had not seen in the Indian Ocean. Walk trails circumnavigate the island through the pristine jungle and the wildlife is very noisy!


The island was formed from volcanic mud pools, which was still happening today. Knowing that people pay a fortune for mud baths, we took Barnaby back there so the three of us could immerse ourselves in the rejuvenating mud! It was very squishy, with clumpy bits from leaves and small twigs. A challenge for me!! The density of the mud made it easy to half sit/lie down in the mud. Barnaby somehow kept one hand clean to mark the occasion with suitable photos! (or not!!)

So on to KK and the amazing Sutera Harbour Marina, set between 2, 5 star resorts. For the same price as other Malaysian Marinas (around $400 a month) we have a choice of 5 swimming pools, (including an Olympic pool) free movie theatre, gym, 10 pin bowling, discounted food, cheap laundry and an hourly free shuttle into town! We really feel like we are on holiday!

We of course had to climb Mt Kinabalu, (because it was there!) with the summit, Lowe’s Peak, at 4100m. Barnaby practically ran all the way up and down! Peter and I took 5 hours to climb the 6km to base camp at Laban Rata with a gradient of 2:1. Arriving there at lunch time, we spent a glorious afternoon lazing around on the granite boulders at an altitude of 3200m, in a cool 10 degrees C, watching the clouds swirling around the summit. As we had to carry all that we required for the two days, we packed the bare minimum. Although we had thermals, gloves, beanies and jackets, a few more layers would not have gone astray. It was strange being so cold knowing that in the afternoon you would be hot!




For the final summit, we left at 0200 hours, in a cool 2 degrees C. The climb was very steep and arduous.
Most of it requires the climbers to pull themselves up along a rope. Peter exerted himself keeping up with the young son and they reached the summit 1 hour before sunrise. So, huddled in the freezing cold, we waited for sunrise, took the necessary photos and made it back to base camp at 0730 hours. I have never seen Peter so exhausted! He had the famous grey waterproof poncho we purchased in Lombok a few years earlier. Huddled under his poncho, someone sat on Peter as they thought he was a rock! I wonder who got the biggest fright!!




The clouds swirling in the air currents at the top were always amazing.

A quick breakfast saw us ready for our descent at 0830 hours. We had purchased a walking stick for me to use on the way up and for Peter on the way down!! A young Indian man we passed on our descent found Peter to be an inspiration – ‘if an old man can do it I can!’ The ½ km pegs were a welcomed sight as we counted down our 6km. We could not believe that the previous day we had even made it up the mountain!

At the end of t he month, Barnaby returns to Perth and we take Stolen Kiss another 100 miles north to Kudat for haul out, where she will stay whilst we return to Perth for a few months. More yachts have arrived here over the past few days, so on with the continual sharing of information and endless stories to be told and the big decision for the day is which pool shall we visit?

Meeting Barnaby at Sutera Harbour was a bonus in many ways, least of all being the gym. A very special time for us all to spend together. It was here that Barns met ‘Fiona’ a dentist, who had been schooled in Perth and had completed her degree at Cambridge University no less. Barnaby was a little in awe as he discovered her other achievements over the next few days – a dive instructor, elite athlete who can actually run up and down THE Mountain in three hours! We felt a little in awe of this beautiful young lady as well! As we had a dentist visit on our plan, we all went and sought her professionalism! Fiona very kindly came to Sutera to pick us up and dropped us off. (Barnaby organized this as he thought we would get lost!) We had a few moments to enjoy Fiona’s company and appreciated her kindness. As Barnaby had a friend, we did not feel too bad about sending him off early on a Sunday morning (0900 hours) to spend some time with Fiona so we could leave for Kudat.

Our first bay was 36 miles north, but with very little wind, we felt it could take some time. (Are we justifying our actions??) Usukan Bay, our first anchorage was a well protected bay with a great view of 'The Mountain' and one that is being developed to accommodate the supply tugs for the offshore rigs. More time permitting would have allowed us to explore this bay. However, our haul out was now foremost in our minds. We decided to push on past Agal Bay and see if we could make an anchorage further north, just under another ‘Great Cape’; the north western tip of Borneo where the South China Sea meets the Sulu Sea. This would enable us to round the cape early next morning before the breeze picks up around noon.

Although it did not look too encouraging for a while, the wind did in fact move more from the north to the east so that we became under the lee of the land. We were actually on a look out for the bay that had been advertised as the next tourist resort in the area. As always, the brochures looked stunning with a beautiful beach; a small island with a sandy bar adjoining the land. Looking for the most likely location of said bay on chart, we made our way towards Palau Kalambok, deciding to hang out in the same bay as the local fishing boats (local knowledge is always an advantage!). A beautiful, peaceful bay; not quite like the brochure, but a worthwhile anchorage and worthy of a more lengthy stay. Low tide in the morning revealed the sand bar and a very sheltered anchorage on the other side of the island.

With only 17 miles to go to Kudat ship yard, we were off early, anxious to get there and organize our lift that was to be happening in two days time. The anchorage outside the Golf Course ‘Marina’ was Med-moore fashion as the jetties have yet to be installed. We had heard that the holding was not good due to the plastic bags on the bottom. By the number of said bags that came up on our anchor, we think that this is probably the case. The ship yard is owned and operated by a Chinese family. Very busy with fishing boats and ship building. A 50 ton travel lift (that was in Penang) with double slings and an experienced operator gave us a lot of confidence. Stolen Kiss was hauled out very professionally and chocked with huge cement blocks (used for building protective breakwaters). Whilst facilities are basic, there is a guy who does an excellent job straightening props (we had a small ding in ours from hitting a log), we can get our anchor and chain re-galvanized, yachties have their own individual washroom, laundry service and they yard being a short walk from town, easy access to cheap meals and internet.

In our absence the yard had organized our chain and anchor to be re-galvanized for a very small fee and had all the antifouling paint we had ordered waiting for us on our return. Had to be happy with that! Once again, we have met many yachties who have come from all corners of the globe, with 10 yachts hauled out in total. Some people from the Philippines who say once you are there you are nowhere else! Interesting concept for us who seem to be unable to stay in one place for any length of time! One American gentleman spends 3 months every year in Antarctica, where he has been doing a yearly krill count over the past 20 years.

As usual, there is the never ending swapping of information and stories. The young crew of a Japanese yacht wanted to adopt Peter as his brother and sail with us. He said his captain was very mean and Stolen Kiss was like a home, not like his yacht which was just an uncomfortable boat. He was a diesel mechanic and did not like the ocean, but liked the places they visited. He was a very energetic and excitable young man who would go off and get involved with life around town. We hear the wildlife is a bit challenging and have various anti-rat devices in place. It is hot and dry and have never been so grateful for having an air conditioner on board!! (As it turned out, the worst Stolen Kiss experienced in our absence was dirt. A small price to pay.)

Our short stay on Mt Kinabalu before the final ascent.

Kudat Haul Out, April 2006

Penuwasa is the name of the boat yard.

Entrance to the pond is approx 5-6 m. Keep to the middle of the entrance.

Pond 06 53.449N 116 51.495E

email: penuwasa@hotmail.com (Robin Chung)

Ph +60 (0) 88 612 328
+60 (0) 88 614 327

They are good at answering emails. We left our anchor and chain to be galvanised in our absence and they ordered the antifouling paint for us, which was there when we arrived back to the boat.

It is a good idea to be well stocked on materials you may need for any work being done. (brushes/rollers, sandpaper etc) There is not a lot available in Kudat.

You can employ people to do the work for you if you so desire.

The travel lift in Kudat is 180 tonne (?) with double slings. Our LOA is 45 feet and we do not nee dto take our forestay off to be lifted. Excellent service with very careful, professional driver. The boats are well chocked with concrete blocks and wood.

Although the hardstand is unpaved and can get a bit muddy in the rain, there is excellent security and the possibilty of having the boat looked after in your absence.

Washing is done by the family who live in the yard for 2.50Rm per kilo.

Every yacht has their own shower/toilet. There are taps behind each boat but th ewater pressure is not adequate to be able to have a hose up on deck.

Rat problem is diminishing as they have a few dogs around. We had no problem with rats.

The resort adjacent to the yard allows yachties to use their pool and wifi for free. They also have a secure dinghy dock fo rthose who are anchored. Purchasing a drink and/or meal on occasion goes along way to supporting this relationship.

There is a small anchorage in the 'pond' outside the yard for anchoring. Generally good holding, however the anchor ofen drags up the odd plastic bag. Rubbish floating around can be a problem at times.

The local library (by the clock tower) is airconditioned and a great place to go and read the newspapers and the excellent selection of current magazines.

Completing the Big Circumnavigation of the Malaccan Straits

Discovery (in hindsight) is a good thing. The NE Monsoon is the best time for the Straits – why on earth did we rush up to Phuket in 2003?

After catching up with old friends from Pollen Path, Kay Sira and the Blue Bananas, it was time to head south to Singapore in time to make our way over to north Borneo. We were on a time limit – something which should never be done! Barns arrives in KK in early March, so we best be there!

Our first anchorage on the west coast of Penang gave us an excellent start to Lumut, some 75 miles away. As it was still dark (first light is 0700 hours!) it was not long before we had a fisherman wave to us with his tilly lamp. We kept changing course until he stopped waving the lamp. We were both happy we did not run over his net!

The prevailing wind that was only during the daylight hours was NW through to SW, which gave us some good breezes to motor sail as well. The ocean was a little sloppy which meant that any road stead anchorages would be a little rolly. The roll was livable but the clanging in the mast from the loose conduit was not!

Our arrival in the Dinding River, Lumut, was in the dark, managing to get through trawler city without incident. The radar screen looked like one of those sticky cards full of flies!! Coming in the channel, we thought that the big red mark might not be there as we could not see the light. Moseying along as we do, Peter asked what this white tower was in front of us that we were leaving to stb!! Depth ok - and yes, there was the red light, with little red flashing lights surrounding the bottom of it - that would be the fishermen tied up to it!! We stopped the boat and did a double check - one of the little fishermen kindly yelled out and asked us if we were ok!! How very kind and polite of him. We stayed a few days in Lumut - only now to find out it is where a most deadly form of sea snake breeds. Our prime concern was that of a rat or snake crawling up the anchor chain as many yachts have had this! Could you imagine it -----dying from a snake bite at sea!! Pangkor Island has a nice white sandy beach and is covered with forest. We hired a bike and rode around the island and spent our last night anchored there.

Sailing with the current all the way to Klang meant for a fast passage; Lumut to Klang - 98 miles in 15 hours!! Managing to motor through the debris of logs - big logs, just before sunset, we took it in turn to have one of us on the bow giving directions and the other at the helm. We anchored in the main channel in Klang - the cesspit of Malaysia, and fortunately we did not see the colour of the water. As we were in amongst the designated anchorage, we had lots of little ships for company along with a tall ship. Got a bit of a fright when we heard the unmistakable dropping of the chain next to us - but the little ship was not too close. Anyway, muddy bottom, so we were not going anywhere. Decided to depart one hour before O dark 30 to go the remainder 8 miles through the harbour (harbour is 10 miles long!!). Der! There was a rush of ships coming in to unload/load at first light. We were doing well, just moseying along on the edge of the channel, when a ship came up behind us followed by two huge tugs (with an even bigger wake!) She was right over on the wrong side of the channel as the tugs needed to turn her. Another ship coming in - we were looking like the meat in the sandwich so we did a u turn and aimed for the stern of the ship behind us. Good move! Of course this was the narrowest part of the channel!

Well, we were thinking we were very cleaver, only to find a 1.5 adverse current getting from Klang to Port Dickson and it took us all day to do 50 miles! Current only changed mid afternoon. A big thunderstorm cell formed over the land but was held there by the westerly wind! We hit the pool at 6pm. We met a couple in the pool who are sailing north. Lots of info swapping today.

Escape, with Bob and Sandy were heading to Raffles Marina. We both departed the same day and shared anchorages in the Water and Pisang Islands. Very strange people as they did not want to socialize or talk on the VHF. The weather remained calm with a thunderstorm forming over the land near Pisang Island, and moving off behind us. Our destination was Johore Straits – Danga Bay.

The trip up the Johore Straits, past Raffles marina was a surprise. We expected many settlements, but instead found a lot of jungle and only a few villages on the Malay coast. The Singapore coast along here is actually the firing range and it was very strange to hear gunfire and see a camouflaged tank moving across a hill! The Singapore shore was fenced and had patrol boats that were in sight of each other. They sounded a warning siren at some locals who were water skiing along the fence!

Danga Bay anchorage had a small jetty with security, providing a place to leave our dinghy. A short bus ride into town and access to more shopping! Not a lot on offer. Other yachts have chosen to moor here and cross into Singapore, rather than stay in Sebana Cove. The forecast of strong winds, rain and the thought of swimming rats taking a liking to our boat made us move on to the sanctuary of Sebana Cove.

Our computer screen, after having black tearing marks around the edges, now has a black blob at the top!! Possibly as a result of salt water damage from the window above the chart table, which leaked over the screen last year!!!???

Departing just before first light, we actually had the current with us until we entered the river going up to Sebana Cove. The new digital charts made navigation easy and now we have a better track, with only one major shipping lane to cross. The increased security risk to Singapore was apparent and we were never out of sight of a police boat or navy patrol ship. The police boats would kindly stand between us and the path of a ship which made it easier for us to know where the ship was headed! We were free to keep to our course. A good NE wind came in, in the afternoon, allowing us to make use of the wind to cross the main shipping anchorage on the south east side of Singapore. We must have given one police boat a bit of concern as they appeared to pick us up, moving slowly in between the ships. They came flying in a top speed towards us, stopping abruptly when they identified their target.

Sebana Cove Marina was just as we had left it in 2003. Very peaceful. The day after we arrived, we had 30 knots of NE wind and a lot of rain. As usual, timing is everything. The days were cool and even a little too cold for the pool! WIFI on board and great bagettes for sale!

Quite eclectic mixes of people were around us. George, the Australian who had been there for two years and who could talk his way out of a paper bag tied at the top, our Australian neighbour and teenage daughter who were doing a refit on his boat and a French couple, Donise and Jean Claude, were good company. We gave them lots of information and Donise cooked us a great meal.

After watching the weather for two weeks, the swell and winds finally died down and we had our first weather window. As you never make up for the one you miss out on, we made our hasty departure for Borneo.

Marine weather Malaysia/Phuket, including Borneo

Sail MailGrib files. Can get swell info as well if you open in maxsea.
Met Area Forecasts-met area X1: Bunguran covers approx Singapore to Bintulu; Reef South covers approx Bintulu to Kudat. Met 11 sg also covers Singapore to Sarawak.

Any Malaysian forecasts tend to over forecast as fishermen access this weather.

Internet
http://www.buoyweather.com/ - free weather information as well as subscription.

Can also access buoyweather info via sailmail. Costs $30 for 100 emails. Good weather for spot forecasts for wind/swell on passage.

http://www.fnmoc.navy.mil/ – navigate to wxmap. Excellent 7 day forecast for wind/swell

http://www.bom.bov.au/ – navigate to Asia and MSL Gradient Wind Analysis and also Indian Ocean. Good for big picture stuff ie location of lows, especially when heading off towards Sri Lanka. (Australian Bureau of Meteorology).

http://www.myforecast.com/ – can find any city. Gives good rain prediction and has user friendly terminology like ‘tons of rain’!

http://www.weatheronline.co.uk/ – good for anywhere and gives 7 day forecast.

http://www.weather.gov.sg/ Navigate to Marine weather. Excellent for this region. Gives synoptic situation, satellite picture as well as wind and waves and radar for Singapore/Johore Baru. In our experience, this site tends to be more accurate than Malaysia forecasts as the latter tend to over forecast swell/wave heights and wind strength.

NB http://www.typhoon2000.com/ is an excellent website for information regarding the NE monsoon, especially the strength of the Mongolian High. Click on the JMA site (Japanese Meteorological Agency)See also notes here on Philippine weather information.

http://www.grib.us/ is another excellent site that shows wind, waves and rain. Files downloaded from the internet can be used with MaxSea.

http://www.goes.noaa.gov/ This is a website which shows Geostationary images.

http://www.stormbanner.com EXCELLENT WORLD SITE. This has it all - wind, rain, sea temperature etc and satelite immagery.

Cruising West Borneo Coast. February 2007

These notes are intended to supplement information from Deusa, Bachchat and Nepenthe.

A February crossing, when the NE winds lightened and swell died down to 1m gave us a good sailing passage with clear skies. Winds actually tended to be Northerly, except for around Tg Datu, where it was NE. Rain has been mainly at night or early morning with maximum gust of 15 knots true. Once north of Kuala Bruit, winds were N to NW in the day and SE in the early morning. Good sailing breezes! Generally clear skies and no electrical storms!


These notes are intended to supplement information from Deusa, Bachchat and Nepenthe.

A February crossing, when the NE winds lightened and swell died down to 1m gave us a good sailing passage with clear skies. Winds actually tended to be Northerly, except for around Tg Datu, where it was NE. Rain has been mainly at night or early morning with maximum gust of 15 knots true. Once north of Kuala Bruit, winds were N to NW in the day and SE in the early morning. Good sailing breezes! Generally clear skies and no electrical storms!

Our waypoints are WGS84. Some of the charts are not.

On approach to Tg Datu, digital charts indicate that P. Muri (Indonesia) at chartered position 01 54.12 N 108 39.06 E is actually 0.7 nm to the SW. P Muri Kecil nearby is a small rock, visible above the surface. Our estimation is that is chartered correctly. Both need to be checked on approach.

Kuala Poloh RiverWe entered here to circumnavigate Palau Bruit. This is also an entry point for Sibu. Large ships enter here and there is a marked channel with two sets of red/green markers.

Used the following two waypoints, which lined up the channel.

1. 02 30.5 N 111 07.22 E
2. 02 28.97 N 111.11.11EWe followed Deusa’s (RRF Publications) mud map, which was excellent.
Entered on a flood tide, about 2 hours before HW and had a minimum depth of 7m. N/NE swell was a little more than 1m and NE wind around 15 knots true. We experienced no cross currents.

Entrance of the river is accurately chartered, but river itself is a little out in places, although the depths that were shown, we found to be accurate. Look for the red and white striped poles on the river banks. Ships use these poles to navigate around the bends. The Muara Lassa river junction has leads to guide you across.

Just before this river junction there is a small village. We were invited ashore. Other yachts have been ashore here as well and have had a wonderful time. Unfortunately we did not stay as we were on a mission to get to KK to meet family.

Muara Lassa River Would not attempt this in a large swell or strong NE winds as it is around 4-5m in depth for a long way! Chart shows a small island at the entrance, Palau Patok as a mud bank with no vegetation. It is actually well vegetated and there is the possibility of a sheltered anchorage between Palau Bruit and Patok if needing to wait for the tide either way. There were two green markers shown on the chart. These were there, and appeared to be in the chartered position.


Approx position of Starboard markers:

1. 02 52.9 N 111 24.3E
2. 02 49 N 111 24.4 E
We followed the mud bank which extends W/NW from Palau Patok to the starboard hand makers as we could see the bank!

Whilst the oil rigs have very bright lights, there are some rigs that have many single towers around them with poorly visible lights. Might be a little hard to see on a dark wet night!

Bintulu Port
Harbour Police came out to welcome us and took us to said corner to tie up. They were happy to take a line to the wharf for us. Watch out for the very thick rope just floating on the surface. We did not see it and dropped the anchor next to it! It is an old mooring line from a tug. Whilst this was an ok anchorage in settled weather, we spoke to some yachts that had been tied up there in a 35 knot squall and said that the surge in the corner was a little daunting! We have spoken to more than one yacht that had ended up on the rocks behind them!

There is a little town called Medan, which has great supermarkets. Bintulu town, just down the road had a great fresh market.

We got a lift into town and were told of the bus back, but no-one in town knew of a bus that went past the port! I guess we did not ask the right question!

Miri

NB Deusa’s notes (RRF Publications) are outdated here as coastline has been altered with the new marina and land fill.
We entered the marina on a 0.8m tide, which gave us a minimum depth just inside the entrance of 2.6m.
It appears that Finn is the person to contact, except he was not there and is no longer the ‘Marina Manager’.
Power and water – no charges for this, however each boat has a 35RM charge per week, in addition to marina fees, if you are staying on board. Good security and a cheap place to stay.

Walk out to the road and turn right. Marina office is in the second row of shops. The Park City Everley Hotel just passed the marina office (the lower of the white multi story buildings you can see from the marina) has a beautiful foyer with free WIFI! They are happy for you to sit in there and use it for no charge! Good music in the evenings.

Near these shops is a bus stop for busses in and out of town. Taxi into town is not cheap at 12RM!

In town, there is a good supermarket under the Imperial Hotel building. Look for the ‘Sugar Bun’. The entrance is in the basement near there. Over the road from the Sugar Bun is a wine shop which sells cartons of beer for 47RM. On the way to the Imperial is a restaurant called ‘Mings’. It is excellent!

Tourist information is near the short distance bus station.

Hired a car and visited some of the National Parks. Nice walking. Boardwalk at Niah Caves has been renewed (should be finished by April). It is now half the distance and not slippery!

Clearance in/out is a little confusing. Jabutan Laut (on the way into town) will no longer give you harbour clearance. They tell you that you now need to go for a half hour taxi ride to the port. (Taxi is 70 RM there and same back!) Alternatively, you can catch the 1A bus from outside the Tourist Information Office.) However, the Customs people in town were very understanding and gave us our Port Clearance as well. Immigration even came out to the marina to clear us out! It appears that the yachts do not have to follow the same regulations as the ships. Phew!

Kuala Belait, Brunei (KB)Entrance is lit and strait forward between the breakwaters. Port Hand marker approx 04 36.2 N 114 10.3E. It was not lit and the top had been bent over. We did notice some nice new marks ready to be deployed at Jabutan Laut! No problem with depth entering the river. We anchored in the river overnight almost opposite the boat club and did not go ashore. The river shallows quickly. No problems. This is a very busy port which services the rigs.

Juradong, Brunei

Although the entrance is not lit, it is marked by sets of poles (just imagine the red and green!) It would be a safe haven in a heavy swell as the entrance is deep and straight forward and so well protected! We came in on a 3.8m tide and had a minimum depth of 6.8m. Lots of fishermen come in as well and very kindly did not have their nets across the channel! Nets they were using were small and deep. This is an all round protected anchorage.


Muara, Brunei

Entrance as per Nepenthe (second green marker) worked for us. Red marks are huge and easier to see.) Channel is clearly visible and lit. No problem with depth. Made our way to the Royal Brunei Yacht Club (Serasa, Muara) and anchored as close as we could to get out of the tide. Anchored 05 03.71 N 115 06.43E in mud. Excellent holding.

All in one check in at the Ferry Terminal; a short dinghy ride from the anchorage. Australian Passport holders are not the flavour of the month here, but no problems. We were more concerned with yet another whole page taken up in our passports! Australian Customs took offence to the Sultan flying direct from Brunei to his cattle station in the NT!! So, on entry we are the only ones who have to pay for a visa on arrival. Australian passport holders get two weeks and pay 5 – 20 Brunei dollars, depending on how much of the two weeks you wish to stay. If you only want fuel and a quick look around, $5 gets you 72 hours. British passport holders get 4 weeks, no charges. Not sure about others. Labuan not far away for a visa run!

Apparently if you are Australian Passport holders and check in at KB, there is no charge!

Singapore Dollar and Brunei Dollar are interchangeable here.

Customs did get a little antsy with us as one is supposed to check in/out at the nearest port on arrival/departure in Brunei waters. ie KB or Muara. We pleaded ignorance!

Enjoy the excellent facilities at RBYC. Of course the bargain is the diesel at under 0.30 AUD!!!!!!!

We decided to hire a car as we had a lot of fuel to get and did not want to go further up river with the yacht to the fuel barge. However, there are buses that run into BSB from outside the YC. Muara town is a short bus ride. Banks, bakery and a good supermarket here. John, at the YC will assist yachties.

If you have any questions email Allan Riches who runs Brunei Bay Radio for us sailmailers. radio@bruneibay.net He is very helpful and also involved in the tourist industry so has lots of suggestions of the best places to go!

Labuan

Although a busy port, we anchored in said position opposite the ferry terminal. No problems, no hassles. There are a few moorings there for local boats. Water Taxi ashore is fast and easy and still only 1 RM pp. Cleared into Malaysia/Sabah here as it is easier then KK. Jabutan Laut is the second building to the east of the ferry terminal. Marine Department, first floor. Immigration and customs in the ferry terminal building. They are so incredibly welcoming and helpful. We were advised by the Marine Department that it was not necessary to clear into KK. Good advice as the Harbour Master is a 50Rm taxi ride in KK!

Another yacht was anchored outside the Waterfront Hotel, where the old marina used to be. They took their dinghy and tied up inside the ‘marina’. Apparently you could take your yacht in there, but it is shallow. Further from town and 5Rm for water taxi.

Palau Tiga

What a gem! The bay on the south side has excellent protection from E through to NE, E and W wind and swell. Sand and clear water!!!!!!! Anchored inside the NW reef which curves around the point, and to the west of the two piers, at 05 43.214 N 115 38.840 E, in 6m, sand just short of high tide. There is a house reef between the piers, close to the beach. It was clear around our anchorage – no bommies. HOWEVER there is a significant wooden stake that is exposed at low tide to the NW of where we anchored, closer to the reef and shore.

Such a beautiful place to hang out. Eco friendly resort ashore. Fabulous jungle walk around the island; huge old trees with amazing buttress roots. Mud pool on the eastern side is great!! People pay a lot of money for a mud spa! House reef has beautiful corals, some of which we had not seen in the Indian Ocean and many fish. The NW reef also had some different corals, but not so many fish.

Kota Kinabalu

Although entrance to Sutera Harbour is straightforward, if approach is in heavy seas/winds, (the bay is well protected) perhaps a more northerly/north westerly approach in preference to a westerly approach would assist the sighting of the entrance against the rocks.

Sutera Harbour ph +60 (0)88 252 266

marinaoffice@suteraharbour.com.my

Excellent facilities. Big decision on which pool to hang out in!

Many anchorages around nearby islands, although most are deep.

We will be moving to Kudat at the end of March to Haul Out. This is a local yard with a Travel Lift. We have spoken to many yachts that have hauled out here for work and long term storage. All news is good!

Cruising around Brunei. Notes from Allan Riches, Brunei Bay Radio

Brunei Bay Radio – radio@bruneibay.net


You might also find the information on our website useful - www.bruneibay.net/bbradio especially if you plan to visit Brunei.

If you are heading to the Philippines be sure to look at the Puerto Galera Yacht Club – www.pgyc.com - for cruising information. They are very helpful with e-mail responses to cruising yachts.

Please use - and tell others about our accommodation booking services for NW Borneo ( www.bruneibay.net/hotelsearch ). We also have tour operations (www.bruneibay.net/intrepidtours ) in Brunei, Sabah and Sarawak, including the best preserved Borneo rainforest at Ulu Temburong National Park, and Proboscus Monkeys beside the Sultan’s Palace in Brunei. In Sabah, budget priced eco/cultural tours & accommodation in Sandakan/Sepilok and the Kinabatangan River. The income helps support Brunei Bay Radio’s services for cruising yachts.


CHART NOTES:

1. Barat Bank light ( 5d 9.3m N 115d 5.4m E), in the entry to Brunei Bay, does not exist - no buoy and no light. A new (December 05) safe water mark has recently appeared at about 5d 7.0m E 115d 6.9m E.

2. One additional set of lateral (port and starboard) marks was added to the entry channel to Muara port a few years agao and is still not updated on a lot of charts. The present charts show three pairs (port and starboard) of lateral marks along the main entry channel. An additional (4th) pair has been added, about 0.5 nm further to sea.

3. It is VERY important to enter the shipping channel from the outer port and starboard marks. A submerged rock training wall extends well out from shore along the line of the starboard hand channel marks; ie southern side of the channel. It is shown on paper and digital charts (if you look at the detailed display) and it has been further extended with the installation of the additional pair of lateral marks. It is very close to the surface; a visiting cat lost a rudder here in 2005 when cutting the corner.

4. The special mark at 5d 0.3m N 115d 03.85 E (near the RBYC anchorage) does not exist since about 1996 - no post and no light. But the broken off legs are below the surface and some yachts have hit these. Keep well clear.

5. Upon entry to Brunei, proceed to the anchorage off Royal Brunei Yacht Club (Serasa) at approx 5d 0.1m N 115d 04.0m E. No need to wait in the Quarantine anchorage. If you arrive in the evening it's OK to report in next morning.

6. The RBYC anchorage is good holding in mostly mud with almost no commercial traffic to upset your sleep. Don't come closer in than the moored yachts, (catamarans excepted) it gets shallow fast.

7. Five minutes from the anchorage in your tender (with outboard) to Serasa ferry terminal (5d 0.9m N 115d 03.8m E) for immigration, customs and port clearance. Or come ashore at the yacht club and catch the bus or get a lift from someone. Ferry terminal open from 0700 to 1700 but officers can be absent for lunch, morning tea etc. Best to go there just before ferries arrive.

8. The special mark on some charts at 10d 1.0m N 115d 10.0m E, on the route from Brunei to Labuan, does not exist - no buoy and no light.

9. Keraman Island (between Brunei and Labuan) is a popular spot for weekend boaters from Brunei. It has a very simple resort facility, cheap beer, showers and meals ashore at the point where the long sand spit meets the land - 5d 13.2m N 115d 8.4m E. Anchor either side of the long sand spit (the dashed line on the chart) - depending on whether it is a NW or SW wind at the time – to get shelter from the waves. This is a Marine Park with restrictions on anchoring but foreign registered yachts are allowed to anchor. The anchorage areas off the “resort” are sandy bottom not coral. The inside anchorage – between Keraman Island and Rusukan Kecill – is shallow and you need to anchor well out from the resort end of the sand spit. This side of the spit is only used for anchorage during the NE Monsoon period (November to March), so most cruisers will use the northern – deeper – side.

10. The NE Monsoon actually blows from the NW in the southern South China Sea (as the wind swings to enter the Jawa Sea between southern Borneo and Sumatera), and along the west coast of Borneo. The west Borneo coastline has been the traditional sailing ship route for this reason. Racing yachts setting out from the Singapore Straits in January – the height of the NE Monsoon - usually take one tack all the way to meet the Borneo coast just south of Miri.



INFORMATION:

1. Diesel can be brought to your boat in containers from nearby vehicle fuel stations. Diesel is still Bn$0.31 per litre. See John at the Royal Brunei Yacht Club for assistance with getting containers to the filling station 3 km away. The club charges a small fee for this. New regulations have recently been introduced (31st Dec 05) to control the sale of fuel (heavily subidised in Brunei) to people from neighbouring Malaysia. This may cause some additional steps in getting fuel for visiting yachts; eg: fuel containers must be proper containers with a manufacturer’s stamp for carrying fuel.

2. The Royal Brunei Yacht Club at Serasa has a pool, extensive dining room menu, open air dining room, washing machine, small workshop/repair area, shower and good shower/toilet facilities. Visiting yachts receive free temporary membership for one month, then pay a small monthly fee. Cheap local bus (air-conditioned) to central shopping area at Bandar Seri Begawan takes about 45 minutes. The yacht club has a great party on News Year's Eve.

3. A second RBYC clubhouse is located at Kota Batu, upstream on the Brunei River. Anchor just off the club house in about 8 metres of water at approx 4d 52.9m N 114d 59.1m E. Keep in close to the club to stay out of the main channel. Use your dinghy to get ashore at the club’s small floating jetty. Showers, toilets, washing machine available free for visiting yachts. Extensive menu with inside (air-cond) or outside dining area. This location is popular with yacht crews wishing to visit the main shopping area as the public bus takes only 10 minutes.

4. Boats and boat parts imported into Brunei are duty free. Quite a few yachts have used Brunei to receive parts and new sails.

5. There are no limits on the time visiting yachts can stay in Brunei. No special permit is required and there is no money to pay. (My Australian registered yacht has been here for 12 years.)

6. Brunei is a very relaxed and friendly Moslem country. The mostly Malay people are generally well off, travel a lot, speak English very well, are well educated and well informed. They like their personal freedoms and convenient lifestyle. Christmas Day (December 25th) is a public holiday and so too is New Year Day (1st January). The government working week is Monday to Friday and Saturday. The Moslem holy day – Friday – and the Christian holy day – Sunday – are non-work days. But all the shops are open for business every day from about 0900 to 2100.

7. There is no income tax and very few duties or sales taxes. Oil and gas revenue provides money for government operations and services. For Bruneians, education is free, seeing a doctor is free, pharmaceuticals are free, hospital operations are free, land and houses are free for low income earners, car loans are cheap etc.

8. Apart from no alcohol being sold (bring your own in your yacht – officially 12 cans of beer and 2 bottles of wine/spirit per person per entry), there are very few other limitations. Conservative clothing (ie: long pants, short sleeved shirts) is in tune with local standards. Point with your thumb; not index finger. Almost everyone speaks good English. Brunei is officially a dual language country, Malay and English. Most school classes are conducted in English from about 9 years of age.

9. Brunei currency notes and Singapore currency notes are legal tender in Brunei and Singapore and have the same value. Buy whatever you get the best rate on. Be sure to have some Brunei or Singapore $ for your arrival formalities. A single entry Visit pass is Bn$20 and a multiple-entry pass is Bn$50. A 72 hour transit (ie: enter from one place, depart to a different place) visa is Bn$5. If you plan to stay a few weeks a multiple-entry visa is worth having so your can go in and out to visit adjacent places in Sarawak. The Immigration staff don’t always have the right change so have the right money and/or small notes.

10. Check my website - www.bruneibay.net for more information. Select Intrepid Tours, then Brunei Darussalam, then Visitor Information.

11. We can be contacted on HF at the standby times shown on the website - www.bruneibay.net/bbradio on the channels/frequencies assigned to Brunei Bay Radio; also shown on the website. We also operate a 24 hour watch for sel-call alerts. If you need details about Sel-Call e-mailed, let me know.

Regards

Allan