“Sloop, there it is” (Sailing to Langkawi)
June 9, 2009
Ok, sorry for the long delay in writing… but, we’ve had a significant lack of internet for a while. Sailing is over, thank god. It was fun, but miserable at the same time. We originally signed on to sail for about 2 weeks… but the captain wanted a month long commitment. We went back and forth a few times, and we settled on somewhere in the middle. In my mind, I planned to get off at the next stop. In his mind, he wanted us to stay on as long as possible. I think he really only takes people on board to help him with his finances and to buy upgrades for his boat. (he was excited to talk about getting solar panels… so I imagine that is where our “rent” was headed). Anyway, less than 10 days into the trip, both Jenn and I were ready to get off! Sadly, we couldn’t escape until we went through customs in Malaysia… and the wind wasn’t helping us get there any quicker!
It was quite ironic actually… the day would be still and hot, with virtually no wind… so we’d end up sailing along around 3 knots. Then, we’d finally get to a place to anchor in the evening, at which point the wind would start up, and then blow all night long, rocking the boat this way and that, making it impossible to sleep. When it came time to pick destinations, I kept encouraging us to go further, so we’d get to Malaysia faster! 15 days after our start, we arrived in Langkawi, which fortunately had immigrations and customs. It went flawlessly, and about an hour later we were looking for a taxi somewhere to find a hotel/guesthouse and get us a much needed shower.
A postcard shot of the islands along our trip!
Jenn enjoying the sunset
Koh Rok Nok? Not sure of the spelling, but the scenery was unbeatable.
The island was alive with hermit crabs, thousands of them all over the beach!
Aren’t they cute?
My favorite shell, he’s like a warrior with a spiked club.
Lucas, relaxing after pulling down the sails and anchoring the boat.
Jenn relaxing as she watches Lucas work 
Somewhere Between Thailand and Malaysia
June 1, 2009
Actually, I know right where we are, but I liked the drama implied! Lucas and I boarded The Fuli with Captain John and “Skipper” Anna almost six days ago in Phuket, Thailand. During that time we’ve overnighted in Ao Chalong Bay in Phuket, Koh Mai Thorn, Koh Racha Yai, Koh Phi Phi Don, Mosquito Island (Ko Yung) and tonight we’re back to Koh Phi Phi before heading on to Malaysia. The boat is small and a quaint, and a bit crowded at times. There isn’t a lot of privacy, but we knew that going in…However, it builds up after a bit, and little things start to annoy the hell out of us. We originally thought we’d sail around 14 days or so, south to Malaysia. However, the captain wanted us to book for 20 days, since he thought it would take that long to get to the next port/customs/immigration place. Secretly, both Jenn and I hope it doesn’t take that long, as we miss exploring stuff on land. However, it’s not all bad. We’ve has some seriously amazing snorkeling. The last two days we’ve stopped at some pretty remote beaches, and gotten the opportunity to snorkel around on places that rarely see tourists.
This morning, I woke up to try my hand a spear fishing. I loaded the spear gun and took off for the reef… I had my doubts about the gun, but wanted to give it a shot anyway. After a long swim from the boat to the reef, I looked around for something tasty. I found what I thought was a grouper hiding under a rock, so I took a breath, swam down, aimed, and pulled the trigger. The spear barely made it out the end of the gun before it stopped, then sank to the ground. I used the string to pull the spear back up, slid it back into the gun, and tried to pull the catch back up to the next level, which should be a bit more powerful… but, the elastic gave, and broke away, ending my first spear fishing expedition. So sad… so far on the trip I’ve got a broken fishing rod (I didn’t break it, thankfully) snorkel fins that don’t fit, a leaky mask, a snorkel that doesn’t work well, and now a broken spear gun. So, the three things I was looking forward to (fishing, spear fishing, and snorkeling) seem to be less than optimal. But, it’s beautiful here, and we are both getting quite a bit of sun, and are burning through the pages in our books.
Speaking of books, both of us have just finished the Harry Potter series. I must say I quite enjoyed them. The last book was by far the best… I think I read it cover to cover in 2 days. I’m a little sad that it’s over though, as Harry’s been such excellent company, I don’t think the other books I have lined up will compare. If you haven’t read them, I suggest giving it a shot. The first one is pretty short, only a couple hundred pages, I bet you’ll want to read the rest of them. If anyone has any recommendations for another good series, please let us know… we’ve been reading a lot!
Moving forward, Jenn and I are looking forward to meeting up with Joey near the end of June. We are going to be scuba diving with him somewhere in Indonesia. Not sure where yet, but it should be great fun. That should put us into early July, at which point we thought we might pick a place and rent an apartment for a month and use it as a base to explore for a while. We both have a few ideas that we’d like to chew on which requires some internet and computer time. If all goes well, maybe we can earn some income while we travel. Hopefully our 4 hour workweek strategies come through for us!
