Straits, Singapore and Scares

Current Date: 23rd November 2025

Current Location: Pankor Marina, Malaysia

Beautiful Tamil script.

Well. Have we got some stories for you this time!

In summary we've departed Indonesia, crossed the Singapore Straits and motored well up the Straits of Malacca.

So first we had to leave Indonesia. Nongsa Marina treated us well with Roy the manager plying us (Gill, together with Michael & Annike from SV Matilda) with G&Ts. A bit sad really as he was Singaporean but had to leave his family back home and only return occasionally. He seemed lonely but we learned a lot that night both about Singapore and Roy's view of Indonesia.

We left next morning slightly apprehensive. We were due to cross the busy Singapore Straits and check into Malaysia. Bad start. We misjudged the wind and current and ended up hitting the stern of the next door boat, scaping Mehalah along the dock and almost lost the dinghy off the back of the boat as it tangled with who knows what. Gill was furious with herself but when we subsequently messaged Roy and thanked his dockmen for helping us retrieve the situation he just said "no problem, these things happen".

Matilda ahead of us in the "central reservation".

Matilda had waited for us so we motored up to our agreed crossing point. It's like crossing a busy dual carriageway. Ships travelling west to east first, then wait in the central reservation for a gap to cross the east to west lane. It's busy! Gill called up the Singapore Straits VTMS (Vessel Traffic Management System) on Channel 14 (channel for our crossing sector) and they quickly allocated a gap for us to nip through. The idea is you aim for the back of one ship and hope to cross before the next one gets to you. They are all travelling at around 10 knots (12 mph) and the gap is not very big. And though you aim for the back of the ship it's well past by the time you cross it's track. Anyway all good. But it was busier east to west so VTMS held us in the middle for 30 minutes before allowing us to cross. They gave us the ship name to go behind but our AIS system didn't show those names until they were very close so it was a bit stressful determining the crossover gap. We made it though and then began the long run along the south side of Singapore island and up the channel to the west of the island. On the way we had to go under the main Malaysia to Singapore bridge. Only 25m of clearance (our mast is just over 20m) and confusion over which span we should cross under made for another exciting event. We arrived safely in Pinetree Marina with a perfect docking procedure this time and were efficiently checked into Malaysia by the marina staff.

That evening it was the Malaysian Rally welcome dinner. Although we hadn't joined this group we knew several of the participants from earlier in the year and consequently got invited anyhow. The food was delicious Malaysian fare and it was great to catch up with fellow sailors and hear their stories of the long passage north from Australia.

Next morning we were up early to assess the damage from the previous day's departure. The starboard string that holds the dinghy up on the back of the boat had snapped. The back of the dinghy was only held up by its supporting strap now. This problem was resolved by the judicious use of a long piece of green wire and a short loop of rope. Together they allowed us to grab the end of the string, now disappeared inside the supporting davit and then loop it over its little wheel. Result!

We had decided the scrape along the hull was not something we could deal with at present so the second task was to straighten out one of the supports for the guard rail that had got bent in the previous day's excitement. This meant that the starboard guard rail was loose and it would be easy to fall over and into the water. We needed to apply a lot force in the right direction to the bent post to straighten it so we decided to use a block and tackle to do the job. It worked! You can see the approach we took in the pictures. I have to say I was very proud of this solution even though it will need a bit of rewelding to complete the job. The guard rail is now safe.

Initial safety repair.

Ready for the big pull.

Rope from gate to block to winch. Heave
.

Yes, its straight again!

Jobs done it was off to the Thai restaurant to celebrate with Michael and Annike. We all agreed to go into Singapore for a night the following day. But next day the hot Thai curry was playing havoc with my insides so we had to defer our own departure by a few hours whilst things settled internally! Singapore is tricky to get to by public transport. By luck we met an Australian guy and his Singaporean wife who were going the same way. It's a border crossing so it was bus to check out of Malaysia, bus across the bridge we had previously been under to check into Singapore, bus to the highly efficient and cheap MRT (mass rail transit) and finally train to Raffles Square where our hotel was situated. In total two and a half hours. Like Hong Kong Singapore doesn't have a lot of land so they have tended to build 'up' to accommodate more people. Singapore is clean, Singapore is efficient and Singapore is expensive. Gill wanted a cafe for coffee. True every other shop is a coffee shop in the centre of town but it's all grab and go. In the end we just grabbed a drink and snack and sat in the park to eat them. We'd been recommended the indoor tropical gardens so it was back on the MRT. What a great system. No expense spared much of it runs either underground or on stilts high above the bustle of the city below.

The massive glass dome that houses the gardens was just stunning. I'm not sure the Jurassic Park dinosaurs added a great deal though?

Indoor rain forest.

Impressive overhead walkway.

Back to the hotel we met up with Michael and Annike before heading to Raffles for one of their famous gin slings. Well, when in Singapore one must do it, yes? The grumpy Grab (read Uber) guy obviously had another fare lined up so took us to the wrong place. Now we're stuck, no wifi, no SIM, no way to get another taxi so we start walking the 2k to Raffles. A kindly regular taxi stops for us then we're there. Magnificent colonial building covering an entire block. After a quick peek inside the main entrance it's off to The Long Bar. Bags of peanuts to crack with the husks littering the floor, the old green machine for mixing the cocktails that looks like it's been there since the industrial revolution and an atmosphere like a cross between a Lord's Cricket club, a traditional English pub and a tourist attraction. We had our Singapore Slings which were very tasty and left before we were tempted by a second round. At £124 UK for four drinks a second round felt a bit of an overindulgence.

Welcome to Raffles.

Raffles entrance lounge.

Ye famous olde Sling shaker.

Ye famous olde recipe.

Nuts and Slings.

The skywalk.

Singapore skyline from the skywalk.

That's a lot of ships at anchor!

Yes, we liked Singapore a lot.

Fantastic sculpture.

Thence began the 450 mile slog up the Malaysian coast, the notorious Malacca Strait. In the past it's been pirates to watch for. Now it's those pesky fishing nets so we agreed to only travel by day. That makes things tricky. In 24 hours of sailing you can cover around 130 miles a day. When day sailing and looking for suitable anchorages it's more like 35 miles a day. So off we went.

For us the Straits of Malacca are a long north/south channel lying between Indonesia to the west and Malaysia, full of large ships travelling between the western world and the east. However 60 years ago it was the site of a bitter conflict as our friend Dave who was in Singapore at the time recounted....

It reminded me that in 1964 the communist Indonesians sent fast terrorist armed boats across the Malacca Straits to raid Malaysia and try to destabilise the country and turn it into a communist country. The British reaction was to send about 20 navy ships to Singapore (I saw them arrive) and they in turn patrolled the Malacca Straits and fired on everything that passed across the Straits especially at night and together with special forces in Borneo protected Malaysia from Communist insurgency and thus they (Malaysia) remained a democratic country.

More early starts, more dodgy anchorages and lots and lots of motoring. The currents in the straits turn with the tide so one minute you're cracking on at seven knots, the next you're struggling to make two.

Two nights out our worst nightmare occurred. Anchored in an open roadstead all was fine until dusk. Our drag alarm started to beep and we seemed to be moving consistently over the ground at one knot. All GPSs agreed. What the hell was happening? Yes, there was a bit of wind and a fair chop but nothing to make us move like this. Time to investigate the anchor. Hmm, hard to bring it up. What's this? Oh shit. It's a massive fishing net stretching out to port and to starboard and as it floats on the current it is pushing us towards the shallows. What to do? My first thought was to cut it free but Gill used our big torch to summon one local fishing boat. Whether it was his net or not we'll never know but he mimed "cut, cut". So I did making sure I did not get caught in the last few very taught strands. Ping, and we watched the port side of the net drift away down the hull as the fisherman 100m away started to retrieve it. But the port half of the net was nowhere to be seen and Mehalah seemed to be sitting around an odd angle. Was it caught round the rudder or propellor! I donned my lifejacket and we launched the dinghy. It's now pitch black and it's being tossed around. I can see nothing. We retrieve the dinghy. Gill turns the wheel to see if it might be stuck on the netting. It seems OK but then the alarm goes off again and we drift another 30m closer to the shallows. For the first time in our journey I am properly scared. I don't know what to do except let out a bit more chain. It's dark, we can't start the engine for fear of catching the net even worse and we can't see what the problem is now. We wait. We stop dragging. We sat up most of the night waiting for the alarm to go off again but it doesn't. Dawn breaks in a nasty grey morning. Visibility in the water is basically nil so we agreed to start the engine and try to motor forwards Engine on - good. Motor forward - good. Anchor up - even better. And we're off none the worse for the experience. No pictures in afraid. There never is when things get stressful.

Another day completed. Another anchorage.

So north we went keeping between the busy main shipping lane and the Malaysian coast. Winds were light and we made steady progress past old Malacca Town and the port of Klang. We found a nice anchorage just away from the docks where snub nosed porpoises, possibly the rare Irrawaddy porpoises, played around the boat. The next morning we set off again leaving the 6th biggest port in the world to starboard.

The container part of the docks at Klang.

Malaysian Porpoise.

And now we've just arrived in Pankor Marina. Just 160 miles to go now to Langkawi. Yesterday we planned a long passage. It's 64 miles from the relatively sheltered lighthouse anchorage just north of Klang to Palau Rumbia island. The only interim stop possible is open to the weather and prone to drifting fishing nets. The previous day we'd had great currents pushing us along and the forecast was for the same again. We did get some help and were on schedule for a reasonably early arrival when the engine coughed, almost stopped and then laboriously continued. Our 7.3k dropped to 6.3k. We suspect we picked up a rope or piece of net but this meant a 6pm arrival rather than a 4pm one. It's dark here by 7.15pm. As we approached Rumbia with the engine still struggling the wind got up from the southwest blowing into our anchorage. After a quick review we both agreed to push on for the next 'sheltered' anchorage ten miles further. There followed a bucking bronco ride through big swells, dodging boats and rocky outcrops as we dashed to anchor before nightfall. We just managed it but it was not so protected, surrounded by rocks and as the wind changed we were on a lee shore. Not ideal! The night was bouncy with squalls but the anchor held. We had contacted the marina to get a diver to look at our propellor and they had a berth for us but the approach is too shallow to cross on a low tide. Low water was 11.45am so we aimed to make the last five miles for a 2pm entrance. Meanwhile the wind strengthened to the mid 20s, the swells increased so much that our protective snubber broke and it was generally horrid. We started the engine (it worked!) at 12.45 and headed for the marina. It was now blowing 30k with big quartering seas. It seems we were in the middle of a mini cyclone. Anyway we turned into the main channel and looked for the entrance sticks to the marina fairway. By now it's blowing hard, pissing with rain and visibility is around 30m Gill turned to starboard but the 'channel' was less than a metre below the keel. We called the marina who said we should be OK if we turned to starboard after the big green buoy. This we did hoping the depth didn't fall any further. "Come in as soon as you can, it's going to get worse" the marina told us. Finally after half a mile of motoring blind we saw the marina ahead. "Come in on the right, make a 180° turn and come alongside the jetty with lines and fenders to port. Pull in just forward of the red tug". Guess what? A perfect approach and the guys from the marina were all here to take our lines. A massive feeling of satisfaction, a hot shower and a release of adrenaline. We made it. Now we are sitting in the marina safely tied up whilst Mehalah and the pontoon are being tossed around in 35k with waves breaking in the basin. Are we glad to be here? You bet.

Next day.....

And the rain hasn't abated. It's the longest hardest rain I can ever remember. The boat is damp, our clothes are wet and still it rains. Much of Malaysia is flooded. An Australian who has been here eleven years says it's the worst weather in the whole of that time. The dockmaster's village is flooded and homes have been lost. His house is high up so survived but he has to be wary of scorpions, snakes and millipedes that will climb upwards to avoid the waters! He has told his children to call their mum if they see any creepy crawlies.

And the next day.....

We are still in Pancor Marina asking to stay a few more days as the weather outside is still looking very unpredictable. But the rally boats are catching us up and we might have to move anyhow. Good news though is that the diver says the propellor is clear of any netting or ropes.

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You can, I think, follow our route at https://www.noforeignland.com/boat/mehalah/journey

And all the earlier blog posts should be at https://yachtmehalah.blogspot.com

Goodbye M2. 0°N. Motoring.

Current Date: 1st November 2025

Current Location: Belitung Island, Java Sea

Shaded from the hot sun.

It is HOT. We are only 2° south of the equator. By next week we should be back in the northern hemisphere for the first time since 2022. We've been on the move now for almost two years and we are getting tired. It's time for a break. We're flying home to the UK for Christmas to see friends and family which is a good job as our bodies need a rest. I've lost a big filling and need another, I have jock-itch of the groin and a fungal infection of my right big toe. Meanwhile both Gilly's pairs of night time glasses broke and are now repaired with epoxy and super glue. She's had three fevers over the past few months and a nasty livid fungal infection of her chest (thank you Dr Rose).

Now that's a nasty rash.

The day after Emma and Chris departed we left Labuan Bajo and began the hard 1,700 mile push along the rest of the western Indonesian islands and then north across the Java Sea to Belitung (where we are now). Just 800 of those miles left now until we hopefully arrive in Langkawi on the Thai border up the west coast of Malaysia. Before we get there though we must check out of Indonesia, cross the Straits off Singapore, check into Malaysia and travel up the notorious Malacca Straits.

Timing is key as we are now in the transition period between the favourable SE dry season and the adverse NW wet season. We don't want to be beating up the Malacca Straits against 30 knot NW winds and torrential rain. However the transition period is known for its complete lack of wind. So we've basically had two weeks of continuous motoring. No wind, hot days, lightning in the evening and monotonous flat seas. The odd dolphin, no fishing success, the engine rumbling on and on and the most rubbish we have ever seen at sea. And at every anchorage we are woken by the local muezzin calling the faithful to prayers at 4.30am. Each village broadcasts the call over loud tannoys, some beautiful to hear and some definitely in need of a bit more training.

Motoring on a flat sea.

Unfortunately shortly after leaving Flores the autopilot stopped responding and I can't get it to work again. However advance planning meant we carry a Tiller Pilot we can attach to the wheel as a temporary fix. It doesn't work in cross seas or sailing (there's no wind anyway) unless the sails are well balanced but it's better than nothing.

The makeshift autopilot operating in night mode.

Night passages are tiring.

We made our way west along the top of Sumbaya where we met up with Meraki who were a few days ahead of us. We treated the days apart as a "trial separation" in anticipation of our imminent parting shortly here in Belitung. And so on to Lombok where we stopped for fuel at the pretty little Medana Bay marina.

And thence to Java. We are only in Java because of fuel. With so much motoring we need lots of it and the smaller islands don't have any diesel to spare. Going to Java has added over 100 miles to the journey but the small resort cum jetty at Japara has diesel for sale. We anchor half a mile off land in almost no water and dinghy ashore loaded with jerry cans.

157million (!!) people live on the island of Java with Jakarta the capital of the thousands of islands that make up Indonesia. All those people need lots of fish. So there are lots of fishermen. Mostly they come streaming out as dusk approaches. Hundreds of them, small one man wooden boats each driven by one of those Chinese engines that basically looks like a strimmer installed to one side of the boat. They sound like helicopters approaching. Pretty indeed but with hundreds of them milling around it's hard to thread our way through the myriad of lights at night hoping against hope there are no nets strung between a pair of them. Some don't even have a light until we are about to mow them down.

Hundreds and hundreds of them.

Traditional Indonesian fishing boat - one of thousands!

At least we make fast progress except when the current turns against us. Well we did until we throttled down miles from nowhere and the engine coughed, stuttered but, thank goodness, kept going.

More motoring on a flat sea.

But later on the island of Belitung set in what is now the South China Sea Gill had a premonition that the engine wouldn't start. She was right! At least we were in a good safe anchorage. I quickly determined the problem as a leaking connection in the fuel line letting air into the system. The problem was the connection was not easily fixed. After some discussion Kevin and I decided the only solution was to take the offending part to an engineering workshop and have the female part re-tapped with a new male thread mating into it. By now we had been ashore to be met by Eddie the local restaurant man and general Mr Fixit. I say he was the restaurant man but it was his wife(?) who really ran the show. In a tiny kitchen they turned out delicious Indonesian meals for the several cruising boats that had now arrived.

Cruisers meetup at Eddie's.

But I digress. Also based out of the restaurant was Ringo with a car. Ringo knew a man. How far away? 20 minutes. OK, let's go. One minute along the road we arrived at Batuk's workshop that was really just a shack. What a mess! But he said he could fix it. We waited in the shed for two other jobs to be completed before he started on ours. Drilling, tapping, welding, searching for a bolt and an hour later there it was, fixed. Our saviour. Now we can set sail again. How much? 500, that's £25 a bargain. Gill started to pay him giving him 100 to start. He stopped her and went to get 50 change. All he wanted for that work was £2.50. We gave him the 100 which is actually 100,000 rupiah and left. Delighted we walked back along the beach to Eddie's where we bought two coconuts for, yes another 50,000 rupiah!

The Workshop.

New thread, plenty of PTFE tape.

Repair and coconuts.

Back at the boat Kevin and I quickly reassembled things. We switched on the engine and after a long session of bleeding the system and injectors it finally fired up. It sounded good but it was still leaking a bit. The thread was too loose. We tried adding O rings, tightening it further and using PTFE sealing tape. The latter proved the best but it still weeped a bit. After a quick internet query, thanks Geem, we decided to set off anyhow but with a few options up our sleeve in case of further failure. So far, so good.

Belitung was also our final refueling stop before our planned checkout at Nongsa Marina. Diesel, or Dex in Indonesia, is the best and preferred version here, but is notoriously hard to source. There are other less pure types available at a pinch. DexLite is passable but Solar made partly from recycled car tyres is probably best avoided and anyhow it's illegal for it to be sold to foreigners. Always go with your jerries to the pump to ensure you get Dex and Dex not cut with Solar.

Fuel station Belitung.

Fuel transfer, Belitung.

Here in Belitung we make our sad goodbyes to Kevin and Shawna on Meraki 2. They came over for a last home cooked pizza, the last bottle of bubbly and many hugs. Who knew that a chance meeting at Shelter Bay Marina in Panama back in 2021 would lead to us forming such a close relationship with these two amazing Canadians. Fair winds my friends as you sail north to  the Philippines, Japan, the Aleutians and home to Vancouver Island. I wonder where we'll meet again?

Goodbye Kevin and Shawna. Goodbye Meraki 2.

See you later guys.

7th November 2025

Mehalah has just crossed the equator and is back in the northern hemisphere for the first time in almost four years. As established shellbacks (previous crossers) we avoided any messy scenes this time but still felt the need to thank Neptune for keeping us safe. So as we did when we crossed close by the Galapagos we partook of a small libation of rum before donating the remainder of the glass to the god of the seas. Thank you Neptune for keeping us safe.

Rum for the sea god. (Note the flat sea).

As we left Belitung island we spotted another boat a few miles behind us. It was Matilda a Swedish boat we had briefly met on a couple of occasions previously. We called up Michael and Anneke on the radio and discussed the big squall that had just blown through. We agreed to travel to Nongsa Marina together and so started a new friendship. Mostly they travelled just ahead of us as it's easier to hand steer to a fixed object ahead than a compass bearing. It worked well. This section of the journey bought big squalls most mornings and grey, overcast weather.

Batten down the hatches, squall approaching.

We were all a bit nervous of this tricky section of the journey as Garmin in their wisdom had removed access to their Navionics charts of this part of the world. Disgraceful really as these are the electronic charts most cruisers use as their primary navigation tool. New charts had been promised back in Q3 but they never appeared. So we were relying on charts and satellite photos from OpenCPN an open source app, very powerful but a less intuitive app than Navionics. Amazingly when we finally got Starlink working again the new charts reappeared and we were able to use them up to Nongsa.

The seas here are very benign at this time of year so as well as the fishing boats there are also plenty of tugs. Each tug is attached to a tow barge full of something being towed from somewhere to somewhere else at a stately two to three knots.

Tug towing tow.

With the improvised autopilot (wind steering won't work with no wind) and a temperamental engine what else could go wrong? Well the furling drum for the foresail could break and the windlass refuse to operate correctly at the last anchorage before the marina. Poor Mehalah, she needs a rest too. After all we have travelled (mostly motored) pretty much every day since Emma left with several long days and half a dozen overnight passages.

9th November

Nongsa Point Marina, Batam Island 

Well we've made it. We arrived at the marina here around 11.30 this morning. The first marina for over 2,000 miles back in Darwin, Australia. And wow, what a place. No more impoverished, scruffy Indonesian villages. Batam Island lies just across the Straits from Singapore and plenty of Singapore's affluence has crossed the water to Batam.

The approach to the marina is interesting with two parallel channels each marked with their own red and green markers. It's easy to go down the wrong one though and try to cut across when you realise your mistake. Don't! It's too shallow. We managed fine and soon Roy the marina manager was welcoming us. He is Singaporean and looks more Chinese than the Indonesian people we are used to meeting. Anyway he was very organised, efficient and welcoming. Now we can relax for a day before attempting the dreaded crossing of the Singapore Strait, one of the busiest waterways in the world.

Nongsa Point Marina is privately owned and is an adjunct to an upmarket resort the facilities of which are open to arriving cruisers. "Come to our Sunday, all you eat brunch" they said. Great, we could do with a good fry up we thought. But instead we and Michael and Anneke from SV Matilda were led to golf buggies that took us to a sister resort. Packed with Singaporean ex-pats we sat down at our table and stared around. Across the lawns we looked out at the never ending row of ships ploughing along the straits. We couldn't believe the food available. Soups, crepes, Indonesian curries, cakes, pastas, beef wellington, tiny sandwiches, fruit and a free drink each, the list goes on. All delicious, beautifully displayed and cooked to order. We spent three hours testing it wondering what the cost of this sumptuous delight might be. When the bill arrived we were amazed to see it was 730,000 rupiah, barely £15 each.

Yum yum. First course (fish curry) of many.

Michael and Anneke choose the next course.

We finished the day with a swim in the pool and a walk through the resort marvelling at the newly erected Christmas decorations.

A tad over the top maybe but very welcoming.

So now we have just over 500 miles left until we arrive at Rebak Marina on the island of Langkawi close to the border with Thailand. Let's hope the passage up the Malacca Strait is relatively free of thunderstorms and pirates. Yesterday as we approach Nongsa our AIS sent an advisory message to keep a sharp eye out for these pirates in small boats though by all accounts the risk is now very low. Much more likely is we drive into one of the hundreds of ships in the straits.

Navigate with caution indeed.

Red = yesterday's targets to avoid. Yellow = tomorrow's targets!