Showing posts with label Langkawi. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Langkawi. Show all posts

Saturday, February 20, 2010

Hashing with LBHHH

19th Feb Hashing with Langkawi Beach Hash House Harriers

Having arrived to Langkawi it naturally reached the hashing community and we were asked to join the LBHHH for their next run and so we did. From the crew we went me. Saini, Dubey, Richard and Asen. The run was close to the hindu temple towards the golf course. As hares acted Brendan & Co and as usual he had laid an easy trail.
Hashers on the trail

After the headcount and briefing circle the run was off. It went trailing into the brush and soon we found us crawling up a steep hill that had been cut out by tree fellers. At one time I passed a tree stump that was abt 1.2m in diameter and later on Brendan told me he had spotted abt 7-8 of them. After the grueling uphill always comes downhill and we found us running in green jungle that was littered with stinking garbage at intervals.

Richard, Asen & Dubey

I saw some of the boxes and bags stamped with the name of "Westin", I bet the GM of the said resort would not be very happy knowing his trash lies in the jungles of Langkawi instead of disposed properly. Once passing the garbage dumps and arriving to the main road again it was straight back to the laager. When I finished the run I could see Saini and Dubey there already, they had beaten all the hashers once again.

Carolyn

Vanessa having a shy moment

The Executioner

While waiting for the stragglers to get in we enjoyed a well earned beer and chit-chat. Soon enough the end briefing circle was called and the proceedings began. Executioners were appointed and the hares were called in for judgement. Eventually Richard and Dubey, having done 3 runs or more, was named Tigerwilly and Muffdiver respectively.



Other happenings worth mentioning was the hasher that always liked to be front running bastard but knew Saini was going to participate skipped the run and came tot he cicle with a sick note from his mom. Naturalyy the GM did not take kind eye on such blatant offence and he was down-downed in rapid succession. As darkness was falling we packed up the circle and went to Lobster village restaurant for dinner.

Monday, February 15, 2010

Voyage Phuket - Langkawi

So, our time was again up in the Kingdom of Smiles and we were leaving for Langkawi once more. This time it could be for a longer time as there has been some talks that we might end up in Dubai.

My contractors and dayworkers had been paid off and jobs wrapped up for this period. Saini was getting the last supplies in preparation for his next maintenance round. I got a new stewardess onboard, Ms. Imtisenla Amur a.k.a. Asen, also from Nagaland in India.

Asen with her new curls


Kalpu making curls night before departure

On the 12th I went to Ao Chalong one-stop-shop and checked out the ship without any hassles and on 13th around 1pm we let go and started for Langkawi.

Since it was Lunar New Year and many of the boats with Thai, ethnic Chinese, Owners had been making offerings and attracting the Gods with fire crackers all morning I decided not be any worse and rigged a length of crackers from my bowsprit. Once we had our lines cast off we lighted the line and let it rip, every yacht in the marina that did not see us, at least heard us departing.



Weather was terrific, a bit of NE monsoon was blowing. As the weather was fine we decided to dive at Ko Ma. Ko Ma is a small Island with a crescent shaped reef on it's northern side. We planned to dive at the southern side where the Island apparently does a steep drop to 20 meters. Once in the water with Saini (we jumped off the aft deck) we started to descend and the water got very murky, at abt 15m it got also cold. Somekind of undercurrent pushed very cold water from somewhere.

I did some photography but it was not much use as I did not have my flash yet and the lighting was too low to get any decent pics. The bottom was bare with some odd coral growth and a multitude of crab holes, one could see them lurking for prey with their one claw out of the hole. After some 19minutes my air was gone and it was time to ascend. All in all a disappointing experience but in hindsight we could have gone a bit closer to the Island but as prudent navigators it is better to be safe than sorry.

Some sea creatures...eggs?

Once back onboard Kalizma the sun was setting and we continued our voyage to Langkawi. The waves were getting a bit higher and we developed a permanent starboard list from the monsoon wind that was blowing. Asen was saying she is getting seasick and she was going our for fresh air frequently.

Kalizma in front of Ko Ma

On the morning 14th we entered the channel to Kuah and winds were blowing there quite freshly. Once arrived to the marina we made fast to the N-S pier, the marina is protected from the wind so I did not have any problems going alongside.

I was met by our agent Mr. John Orr and after changing latest gossip and news we walked to the immigration office at the ferry terminal. Check in was a breeze here too and soon enough I was back onboard with stamped passports...

Saturday, January 16, 2010

Voyage Phuket - Langkawi - Phuket

Departed Phuket on monday afternoon. The day before I did the immigration, Customs and Harbor Master clearance at Ao Chalong. It is an hours drive by car and maybe another hour to jump through all the hoops in the one stop shop. All and all the officials were very friendly and gave good advice of how to go about moving in the Kingdom and about their rules. For Rajaram that was signing off to go and attend to a death in the family I had to process at the Phuket town Immigration Bureau a so called "bonding out" of crew. It has to be followed or the crew in question can be barred entry from Thailand in the future. The Officer will type out a form that is stapled to the passport and at the airport must be presented on exit to the immigration officer and then signed in his presence.

One of Yacht Havens charter boats in the Channel

Weather was fine again when we departed on the 11th and we steamed onwards to Langkawi where we arrived 12th Jan in the morning. Marina wanted me again to moor stern to as the N-S jetty was occupied. So, I did but the anchors came down very poorly due to some twists in the chain and I did not manage to get enough length out. We heaved up the sb anchor and re-lowered it while pulling w/ the tender boat. The result was barely satisfactory and we let it be.

As usual I was met on the jetty by John Orr, our agent, and I gave him our arrival documents for processing as I was a bit busy with the anchor. After getting port clearance done I headed for Penang with Jira and arrived back 2 days later.

Once onboard again I checked what was pending and seeing all was more or less done I asked John to clear us out so we could get back to Phuket and get on with our pending jobs.

Before leaving I tied again alongside bunker barge Tuba VI and bunkered up fuel. I managed to have a chat with John and once all set we dropped John off at the jetty and set our heading for Phuket. The weather was bad due to a low pressure in the Gulf of Thailand so we were hugging the coast in order to get some sleep. Next morning we arrived outside Phuket town where I tried to anchor, and I did, but the seas were just too rough to stay there.

I landed ashore at the Rassada fishing port and picked up my hire car from the B2M guys and headed for the Ao Chalong one stop immigration shop with Jira. Meanwhile Saini heaved up anchor and started towards Yacht Haven. We did not have a berth available there so I decided to anchor there for the couple of days until the berth was supposed to be free. Luckily Zara called me and told that I could come alongside next morning so I was happy not needing to sit at anchor for the 3 days that she had told me earlier.

Once at the immigration he wanted to se us all but I explained that the boat was sailing for Yacht Haven so I could only bring everybody here next morning, that was ok. Then in turn was the Custom clearance and while I was sitting in front of him his mobile phone rang and I could hear that Jo-Jo from APS Phuket was asking him not to clear us in. The Officer replied to her that "Jo-Jo, Captain has all papers in order, I can't do what you ask for". Well, so much for mafia antics in Phuket as we managed to clear in with no pain at all. All the praise for the officials refusing to act corrupt and advancing the Thai tourism industry.

Next day we made a beeline to Ao Chalong again and did our face checks in 5minutes and were done. In the afternoon we hoisted anchor and moved alongside A-dock as usual. All is well onboard.

Tuesday, December 01, 2009

Captain's Blog November 2009

November was a hectic month with some disappointments to boot.

We arrived Langkawi the 1st Nov for some guarantee works on our freezer as well as some repairs to galley equipment.

On the 3rd Vivek signed off to renew his CoC and to use up his remaining vacation days.

On the 4th afternoon we got some strong mistral wind down the mountains and they made our anchors drag (we had to moore stern to as per marina's orders). I had dropped both anchors doing a Mediterranean mooring but the bottom is too soft to give any good holding.

I ordered ME's started and land line disconnected so I have maneuvarability. Since Amnesia (that had been occupying the N-S pier) had left I heaved up the sb anchor and slacked port anchor and moved alongside the N-S pier. M/y Taipan beside us had similar problems and as I understood from her Captain, she had dropped her anchor next to the ferry terminal and still he was dragging. Anyway, all ended well, we did not get any damage and was safely alongside.

5th we discovered from where water has been leaking into radio room. It was a poorly insulated air duct that was letting water through from Captain's cabin to the radio room. We removed said duct and planned to plug the hole permanently upon arrival Yacht Haven in Thailand.

Same day I also go and meet the Thai honorary consul in Kuah Town in regards of issuing me and crew visas. The information we got from him was pretty disappointing, Two weeks upon arrival, no possibility of getting tourist visas. Also no viable explanation why we had been getting visas earlier.

6th I went hashing with Langkawi Beach Hash House Harriers, many crew joined me there too. The hash trail was pretty good and surprisingly I finished 2nd. The dinner was held at Fat Mama's restaurant at Pantai Cenang.

7th I was invited for a BBQ at Nick Coombes pad, it was huge and BBQ was delicious. I brought some Ferrari for his enjoyment.

8th we went outing with our crew and headed first for the "Hole-in-the-Wall" at NE end of Langkawi Island, the vistas opening up after each bend was stunning watching the "Geopark" formations. After this we visited the "Pregnant Maiden's Lake" on Pulau Dayang Bunting, legend says that drinking this water would help female fertility. I did not drink the water but cooled my feet in it while being tickled by catfish.


Left: airpicture of lake, center: geological view, right: view from the sea

9th Monday John Orr headed to Penang to get our visas sorted out. Same evening he telephoned me that he had not been successful and had been advised to go to Kota Baru border station where he could get the visas made out (!?).

11th I receive technician, Mr. Lee, from Lumut for repairing our Omron system, replacing a broken monitor.

Same day John telephones me that he has not been successful with our visas and has not been advised of what is the problem. Nick tells me he has a yacht in Singapore trying to get a Thai visa for his Indian crew and Indian visa for his Thai crew, also unsuccessfully. Maybe we are subject to political machinations, very frustrating as I have a lot of jobs scheduled for Thailand. Oh well, life must go on so I have to enter the Kingdom with VOA's.

12th was spent winding up business in Langkawi and so we departed on friday the 13th for Patong Beach and from there to explore the Surin Islands.

15th We dive at Ko Bon

16th We dive at Richelieu Rock that had more people in the water than Bangla road gals on a saturday night. Very overrated spot.

17th we arrive Yacht Haven and start maintenance works.

Until end of the month I service our CCTV system, radars, echosounder, Bose system, Sat TV system, start renewing teak dk on bridge deck, sanding & varnishing & teak oiling, the list goes on and on...

23rd I leave with Saini for Bangkok as we need visas, me Indian visa and Saini Malaysian visa. We decide to drive as the fuel consumption will be 1000THB less than VIP bus tickets. We started in the morning and arrived late evening, spent a couple of hours driving along the small soi's near the Indian Embassy trying to locate a cheap hotel and finally we found one called "999".

24th I go to the Indian embassy and Saini to the Malaysian. I get told off straight away that I can;t get a business visa unless I have resided in Thailand for more than 2 yrs. If I would be a business man on the roll and needed to change my itinerary to go to India, what could I do? I applied for a tourist visa instead....

Saini had same problems, they did not want to accept his application to arrive by sea and he showed them the last visa issued to him so they relented and said they'd take advice from Kuala Lumpur (sic!).

Having afternoon nothing else to do we walked around shopping haunts and in the evening ended up to RCA for dinner.

25th Saini did not get any news on his passport until late afternoon, they'll issue a visa next afternoon. We roam around Bangkok the rest of the day and end up having dinner in Hard Rock Cafe and then walking back to our hotel along Sukhumvit road. While passing trough Soi Cowboy we are being polled by some Christian missionaries thinking we are one of the pundits there.

26th we check out of the hotel and head to the Malaysian embassy on Sathorn road. After a couple of hours of waiting he finally gets a 2 weeks visa (sic!) after being told that for one month they need 7 days to process the application. I remember the days in 1998 when I applied visas and after filing in the morning one could get it in the evening...

Finally on the road back south we stop in Nakhon Pathom for an hour and I get to say "hi" to my kids that are busy making their homework.

We drive all day and half the night to arrive early morning for work...

Rest of the month same relentless maintenance is ongoing in preparation for the Owner's visit in December...

Monday, November 09, 2009

Outing to Hole-in-the-Wall and Pulau Dayang Bunting

On the 8th we went outing with our crew and headed first for the "Hole-in-the-Wall" at NE end of Langkawi Island, the vistas opening up after each bend was stunning watching the "Geopark" formations. When arriving the hole which was literally carved in the mountain wall it opened into a long fiord that was lined by mangroves, visiting sailing yachts and floating restaurants.

Entrance to "hole-in-the-wall"

We passed all this and followed a river through the mangroves and ended up to a mountain that had a tunnel through and while passing this we realized we were heading back the same way we came so it was a dead end when we had thought it would go through the mangroves to the North of Langkawi Island. Once seen this we headed back south and passed E of Pulau Tuba and SE of Pulau Dayang Bunting where we made landing to go see the "Pregnant Maiden's Lake". Legend has it that drinking the water would help female fertility.

This fresh water Lake is separated from the sea only by a narrow ledge and you can stand on it looking at both sides at the same time. We dropped Saini off here to see if there is a path going to the actual landing area. He shouted "yes" after awhile and disappeared so I took off and headed for the landing. This is at the other end of the lake and one has to trek a short distance from shore to reach the lake. At the lake is the usual tourist stalls selling their stuff on floating pontoons as well as one can rent paddle boats to go around the lake. At the pontoons are many catfish and if you are courageous enough you can stick your feet in water and the fish will come and tickle them. This is not like the skin eating fish that are sometimes offered at various spa's nowadays. The fish is just curious and looking for bread crumbs, but boy are there a lot of them.




About reachng the lake we met Saini who had been trekking on land to reach us from the ledge. He told us the wood walkway was in a poor condition and actually closed for tourists. Me and Richard decided to brave the warnings and headed off the walkway. At times we had to get off it as it was collapsed and just climb over rocks, nothing to bad. When we reached the final 50meter to the ledge which was on a floating pontoon we saw the bridge connecting the pontoon to land had collapsed and the jump was a bit too much for us ordinary John's.

I decided to climb the cliff and Richard said he'd wait there. Little did I know where I was going as the cliff started going straight up and di not show any signs f leveling off. The outcrops were loose stones and very sharp edges. It woud have been impossible to climb barefeet, so sharp were the edges. At one stage I dropped one of my slippers as they got stuck on a sharp edge and at same time a bramble whipped off my cap. Luckily I managed to get my slipper back as it had snagged on another outcrop a bit lower down and on I went upwards. Finally I reached the top and started to descend towards the ledge. It was almost more dangerous going down than upwards.

After a short while I reached the coveted ledge and too a few snapshots while catching my breath, I was not interested in going back the same way I came and was able to jump onto the pontoon as the gap was only abt a meter wide from shore and started walking along it to go back to the others. Once I reached the end I found that the cliff had some very small outcrops where one could hang onto and climb to shore instead of risking a jump over the collapsed bridge. I felt rather stupid having taken all the effort and risk climbing over the cliff when I could have gone so much easier. Oh well, at least it was done and I headed back to the tourist area.

Once there we all gathered and headed back for the tender boat as it was getting late. We headed off towards Kuah town in the channel between main Island and Pulau Dayang Bunting with the sun's last rays warming our backs...

Monday, November 02, 2009

Voyage Phuket - Langkawi

Our time in the Kingdom of Smiles was up again and it was time to exit the country. Once again we were on the way to Langkawi as we also had some unfinished business to take care of.

Ko Ha Yai

On the way we had marvelous weather, hardly any wind nor swell. While passing the Ko Ha group we stopped and did a quick dive with Saini. Only later did I learn that the Island which in front we were diving was hollow and was accessible underwater. Otherwise the diving itself was not bad, lot of stone columns and nooks and crannies to explore, fish was there but quite small. At least I have an excuse to come back and do another dive inside the hollow Island. The Islands themselves look like they are put together by a bricklayer on LSD.

Kalizma at sunset

Next day we arrived early morning and I was met by Nick Coombes on the docks (having been alerted by John peering out of his crows nest) and I made stern to next to m/y Tai-Pan and m/y Amnesia. After usual procedures we settled down and started looking up contractors.

Kalpana

Friday, August 07, 2009

Voyage Phuket - Langkawi - Phuket

As agreed I interrupted my vacation to take Kalizma to Langkawi and back. The purpose was to get some movement on the engines and pick up stuff that I had been shipping to John over a few months time. The main issue was to get our aft emergency exit hatch so we could install it here in Phuket before we would leave for our drydocking in Lumut.

I came onboard on the 31st and had a short recap with Avnish, confirmed we were all stocked up, sent passports for clearance and so on. On the morning of 1st Aug we left in sunny weather conditions. As we got out of the channel and sailed down Ko Yao Yai the sea got more rough, not bad but it shattered all our hopes to be able to stop for a dive during the passage. We slowed down and pottered on for 7kts and reached Royal Langkawi Yacht Club early morning.

In Langkawi I was met by our usual agent, John Orr, and the morning went swapping gossip and sorting out the business at hand. Tickets for Richard and Martula had been arranged so they could leave for their annual vacation. Later on John delivered shipments and I could see that I was missing one packet. It was again off to go sending emails to the shipper. In the evening I was invited out to Pantai Cenang for a private party.

The venue was at TJ's pizza restaurant where I had had earlier I think the best pizza I ever had in Far East. I met also previous acquaintances like Brendan and Lyn and several other familiar faces whose names I can't recall (apologies).

The Hotel at Kuah waterfront, looks like a piece from Disneyland


Monday morning on 3rd our freezer contractor started work on our freezer that had been long pending. Richard and Martula was whisked off to the airport. I got reply from shipper re: our missing parcel that it should be on the Island already. I relayed the info to John who discovered it should have flew the day before but it hadn't, then after much wrangling and knocking on doors it was finally located in the Customs warehouse. Our freezer contractor hit a few snags in his installation program that we had to postpone not only for him but also for the missing shipment of our anti marine growth system.

Tuesday 4th I woke up to nice sunny weather. Things were going my way for once. the Cathelco package was found and delivered onboard and Michael, our freezer technician started the freezer late in the evening. Only in an hour the freezer went to -15 degrees, a thing that in India was told us to be impossible. In the evening I was invited by John to come to his pad for his wife, Pam's, birthday party.

Wednesday the 5th was a disappointment weather wise, from early morning a strong breeze blew from west causing us to be pinned in the RLYC marina's N-S pier. John came to pick up the passports for clearance so I could depart when I wanted. I was constantly watching the wind meter but it refused to budge, on the contrary it went up to 40kts at times. The weather forecast was not much better, it promised better weather after 2 days. Finally, in the evening when the sunb started setting the wind came down a tad so that I deemed it safe to maneuver. I chased my crew to disconnect shore power and start engines whilst also letting John know that we were leaving.

Departure went well although I had some flies in my belly. I left my forward spring at the corner of the pier and slowly eased her over the corner and turned my stern against the wind and out of the port. Once I could see that I was good to go astern I started going slowly. Guys on the pier helped the going with fenders and I used the bow thruster to keep her off the pier. Having the bow clear of the corner I had to use my bowthruster the other way so my stern would turn more towards the port exit. The current was still flooding probably due to the strong wind that had prevailed the whole day. I cleared the wave breaker and turned around to face west and for Phuket. On the way we celebrated Jyothi's birthday in the exit channel and had some cake and dinner.

Once we entered the open seas at Pantai Cenang I confirmed the weather forecast, waves 4m high was rolling in from Indian Ocean. Luckily my stewardesses and other knew what I meant with bad weather so they had prepared the ship properly for rough seas. After entering open waters part of my crew went senseless from seasickness as usual. Luckily they were not my watchkeeping crew.

Next day was not much better, same weather prevailed and it eased down a bit while going north of Phi Phi Island, then it was easy going towards yacht haven. I missed the high water but was informed that current and wind is not bad so the marina allowed me to berth a bit later. I tied up port side along side at our usual corner without any mishaps. My crew was happy to have a stable deck under their feet again. Anyway, the cleaning started for some minor items that had broken during the passage...

Monday, May 25, 2009

Captain’s blog May

Well, last month ended in our arrival to the beautiful Island of Langkawi and we arrived in good weather, slack water and tied up in an orderly manner just stern stern with m/y Sinbad at the Royal Langkawi yacht club.

Dubey & Kalpu ready for the night

I was met by our agent, John Orr, and got the arrival procedures in progress. This time I was properly prepared and all crew had multiple entry visas to Malaysia, yessirree. In the evening John invited the crew for some welcome drinks at the marina Charlie’s bar. I met a lot of old faces that I’d seen at our last visit although the bar seemed a bit emptier than usual. People said punters were going elsewhere nowadays for entertainment. For dinner we went to the "The Pier" restaurant where one could get a decent Thai fare.

Following day was spent drumming up people who could repair our A/C plant that had given up during the trip here. In fact the plant got temporary repaired twice and we could use half the plant. I got a local contractor called Michael that had done the aircon plants at most hotels and resorts on the Island. In the evening we had a magnificent seafood dinner at Wonderland seafood restaurant.

After the contractors were all gathered and activated I left with Vivek and John for Lumut to check out the Grade No 1 shipyard. We were met by the OPrations Manager Fuad and we started with a walk around the premises. Grad No 1 is a new shipyard that has been operating for abt 2 yrs and so far has lifted 60 boats. The shiplift is a 800ton capacity lift with 12 slings. There are big sheds where paint jobs and aluminium works can be carried out and mechanical and electrical workshops. Great facility. I am planning to do our drydocking here just before the Formula 1 Grand Prix in Singapore.

Once our rendez-vous in Lumut was complete I continued towards Singapore to do my visa for Thailand as well as meet up with Roger Chan and Angie Ng. I checked out some new radar technology, bought some stuff for the ship and had lunch with Angie in Toa Payoh. Once I had my visa I was heading back for Langkawi, I took the bus to Alor Star and from there the ferry to Langkawi.

Same Friday we went running with the Hash House Harriers, almost all crew participated with 30 RM a head, it was beers and food included. We started the run along a small creek and ended up in a rubber plantation running through some fields and finally ending up circling in our old path and getting back along the same creek. All crew finished the run and we were welcomed by the hash circle that ensued in the aftermath of the run. Once the circle completed we had dinner at Silversands in Kuah town until late.

Next Saturday we decided to scout out the diving haunts near Langkawi. We put down
our tenderboat in the morning, loaded her up and off we went to Pulau Payar that is abt 10’ SE of Langkawi. Langkawi in itself don’t make good diving due to all the limestone so the seas are all murky. We made good speed in following seas and arrived P. Payar in abt 30minutes. The Island is a group of 3 islets and the biggest one has a resort on it (surprising considering it is a nature reserve). The Islets are covered in lush green forest inviting you to go native. We consulted our diving book and scouted around until we decided to dive S of the Island at a smaller islet. We geared up, me, Saini and Dubey went down while Rajaram and Kalpana were looking after the boat.

The visibility was fine around 10 meters and we saw some coral heads, a turtle, a Moray Eel, a reef shark, some parrotfish and numerous other fish. It was not really spectacular considering it is a marine preserve, but it was better than nothing at all.

The second dive we found a breaking reef near the S Is of P. Payar and down we went again. We must have hit some convergence zone for the Strait currents as suddenly the visibility went down to just a couple of meters and I stopped to admire clown fish at a sea anemone and I realized I lost my diving buddies. I waited the requisite minutes and I surfaced as the guys could not get back to find me. Once the other guys surfaced we started back to Langkawi.

By this time at late afternoon we had a stiff NW wind blowing and the waves were getting to 1,5m height. Needless to say we could not make 20+ knots in these conditions so we took 2hrs to get back to Langkawi and by that time I had nice sunburn that turned me into having a “boiled crab” look for the next 2 days.

Same evening we were invited for “pork night” at Ying Loong Makanan Laut (Seafood) restaurant. We were present in full numbers except standby crew (Sunil who don’t eat pork) and evening started with suckling pig, followed by roasted duck and wild boar curry. Very delicious food in good company, everybody went home not hungry at all.

Another evening I attended a quiznight at Pantai Cenang, very demanding questions and contest was won by the expat teacher team (not surprising). We managed as the Force India team, we held the tail…

Then I had to send Martula home for family reasons, she came back after a week at home. Rajaram and Sunil left for their annual leave as too, both will return to Phuket before July.

One night I arranged a BBQ on the jetty for 8 invited expats and the crew. The guests brought the beef, we supplied the braai, salads and beverages. Same time we took opportunity to sample out the new Four Seasons and Bohemia wines from UB Group that we received in Mumbai. The rose’ and white wines received very positive appraisals. Hope the word gets around.

21st I had dinner at Oasis, I had very delicious tex-mex food (chicken fajitas) and the hamburgers were massive and also the Indian dishes looked very delicious. A very recommendable eating experience with nice ambience.

22nd and 24th was again run with Langkawi Beach Hash House Harriers and the F1 GP in Monaco. The post hash dinner was in Thailand restaurant. The crew especially enjoyed the run but the F1 was skipped as everybody followed the IPL cricket as the Bangalore team was in the finals.

25th it was time to bid farewell to our agent John. We bunkered up and pottered into Thai waters. What happened then I will tell you next.

Wednesday, April 29, 2009

Mumbai - Cochin - Langkawi

So, we left Mumbai finally and were underway to Langkawi via Cochin. The reason for stopping in Cochin was to take cheaper fuel from there as in Mumbai nobody was selling tax free fuel.

Once at sea we got the waves from our stern and a strong NW'ly breeze. Everything was hunky-dory. Our Naga girls got sea-sick of course and for the 1st couple of days resembled zombies as we were trying to get them cheered up. Finally I resorted to giving them motion sickness pills so that fixed that problem.

Kalpu prepared for the worst

We arrived Cochin early morning on the 19th April. We tied up at Mattancheri Island and I met Augustine from Goa and Mr. Judy, our agent. I had prepared a record amount of paper that the agent specified me to have at hand. Indian bureaucrats really support the paper industry. Once all was done, the mandatory bottle gifts were asked for. I complied happily to get them off the ship.

In the afternoon I managed to sign on Richard that had arrived from Mumbai via land as he had to be left behind for some paper work. Then I went ashore. I saw the Dutch Fort and the Jew town. That is really the only attractions that can be mentioned about Cochin. The Jew town is mostly full of shops catering for the tourists, selling brass statues, perfumes, fragrant oils, textiles and whatnot. I even slipped for once and spent my last rupees on brass figurines of Shiva, Parvati, Ganesh and another one half Shiva half Parvati. Then I got some fragrant oils, I settled for Jasmine and Kerala flowers, wonder who I will give them to. Toddy was also sold at many bars in Cochin, I sampled one bottle with Richard and must say it was much tastier than the toddy I had in Burma.

In the evening after our shopping spree we went with Richard to a hindu temple where the deity was the son of Shiva. We paid to do pooja and I asked for favorable weather for our remaining voyage. It turned out Richard did the same.

In Cochin the men wore mostly lungi's (sarongs) and in the heat they were lifting the hems all the time for better "ventilation".

After wards we went out with whole crew for dinner. Our first restaurant was not really that good so we just had some drinks and then headed out for another restaurant called the Tandoori. I and Saini had to leave earlier as a heavy rain shower came and we got some leaks onboard so had to go and help the standby crew.

Next day we received bunkers and filled our fuel tanks up to the brim, well, only 98% as per good seamanship standards. Then one of our gensets malfunctioned and we tried to find spares to no avail. Meanwhile I went out with Richard for last provisioning. We also got for crew lunch boxes of biriyani made at the famous Kayees restaurant, the walls inside were plastered with news clippings.

Pilot was booked for evening as we could not delay or wait for spares for the genset, so I decided to depart as the weather forecast also looked good.

Once again away we left Cochin with last rays of the sun and headed south along the coast, when passing the Guld of Mannar the wind got a bit stronger and a day later while rounding Sri Lanka the wind was still persisting at force 4. After that the close we got to Malaysia the wind was getting weaker and weaker.

Two days enroute our freezer broke down, Richard was boiling meat by the kilo in order to preserve it somehow.

Three days enroute our A/C packed in. Needless to say the ship turned into a furnace, not only was the sun heating up her but also the engines. Crew slept out on open deck. Bridge was the only place where you could stay inside reasonably cool as we had both doors open and a cross draft was cooling us down.

On the 26th we entered the Straits of Malacca and as we were passing north of Sumatra we could see the mountains in the horizon and Rondo Island just N of Sumatra. It looked round as the name suggests. Beside the Island were jagged stone pinnacles sticking out of the sea that looked almost like the Stonehenge from a distance. All meat was finished so we were on vegetarian fare from this day onwards.

The last night crew was forced to seek shelter inside as we had rain showers coming down. I resorted to sleeping inside the tenderboat, the cover held rain just fine.

The last day we were not so much scorched by sun as the skies were overcast, the humidity was in the 98% region. We sighted Langkawi Island on the 27th around noon, after that it took us about 2 hours to get up the channel into Kuah and finally alongside Royal Langkawi yacht club.

I was met by a familiar face, John Orr our agent and after the initial chit-chat he went to clear us into the country. In the evening John invited all crew for some drinks at the RLYC bar and later on we headed out for "The Pier" restaurant and had some delicious Thai food. Captain Graham of Queen of Andaman joined us there too and we swapped stories of latest gossip in the region.

Of course the 1st thing in order of our list was to get our A/C fixed. I'll let you know what happened to that in my next instalment. Until then.

Sunday, October 19, 2008

Captain's Blog - Langkawi - Singapore - Langkawi - Phuket

As in previous blog it ended when we arrived to the drydock in Langkawi, which lasted 14th Aug to 18th Sept and was a very tiring affair for the whole crew.

Kalizma got a fresh coat of paint on the bottom, new zinc anodes, overhauled overboard valves, some new shell plating, additional echosounder and a muffler on the centre engine. Now when we’re idling one can barely hear the engines any more, I need to look at the rpm meters to verify I have propulsion. It is so silent.

Well, for crew matters we received a new Stewardess from the Niladri household, Ms. Martula Walling, her profile is posted in the crew section. Richard came back full of energy after his long odyssey into the Indian bureaucracy and Jessica went for a well deserved vacation.

Finally on the 18th we we’re on the way to Singapore and major washing up took place to remove all the drydock dust and dirt. We arrived 1deg15’ marina on the 20th Sept and was met by ships agent Angie Ng. After clearance was done it was time to coordinate all efforts for Bosses visit. Flowers had to be ordered, carpets cleaned, food ordered, dayworkers arranged etc., we had 5 days on us.

Finally the weekend arrived and the F1 qualifications took place, on Saturday the time races and finally on Sunday the actual F1 race. The race was in fact very exciting with Force India team briefly at 3rd place but unfortunately was dropped down due to safety car was brought out. Then Sutil crashed his car avoiding another car and Fisichella finished 2nd to last, I suspect due to filling fuel too much.

When the weekend was over it was time again to pack everything away and feast on leftovers.

Next two weeks was spent repairing our radars that suddenly gave up on our arrival Singapore. During this time we had a Beer Festival at Fort Canning, delicious Pepper crabs up in People’s Park, Teochew dinner in Mong Hin restaurant, Mediterranean cuisine at Esmirada on Orchard, Kilkenny’s beer in Muddy Murphy’s and of course shopping at Funan, Sim Lim Square and Orchard Towers.

Eventually we left on 14th Oct for Langkawi and arrived there on the 16th, weather was excellent.

In Langkawi we picked up some chemicals and re-fuelled, our agent John took great care of us once again.

Vivek & Juergen Zimmerer

Crew went for a jungle canopy excursion. The operation was run by a German, Mr. Juergen Zimmerer, who had been on the Island for 16yrs. We started with easy rope walking and principles of abseiling as well as we “trollied” over a short expanse on a wire until we got to the highlight of the trek: A wire ~100m long suspended up to a rainforest tree 60m tall. The ride up there was adrenaline inducing and when all was up in the tree we got to abseil down to the ground 30m. The whole trek gave a very good insight of what mountain climbing is about.

In the evening agent John treated undersigned for dinner at Teo’s where we had squid, steamed snapper and wild boar washed down with Tiger.

On the 17th we bid Langkawi goodbye and headed for Thailand, in the afternoon we did a dive at the Butang’s at Hin Takon Chet, hopping in straight from the swimming ladder. We found 2 big shell’s that we ate for dinner the same evening. For the night we anchored at Phi Phi Island and next morning at 9am we continued towards Yacht haven where we arrived at 3pm.

Next day Monday was full with activities meeting old acquaintances, getting technicians onboard to sort out some electronic problems still pending, hiring storage space and making up shopping lists for provisions and interior stores. As of writing this we have settled in Phuket again for the next 3mths or more waiting for the Boss or guests…



Thursday, September 25, 2008

Captain's Blog - Langkawi Drydocking

As told before we arrived at the Wavemaster floating pontoon on the 14th Aug for our drydocking. Once alongside our agent, Nick Coombes, set immigration procedures in motion. I met with the yard Operations Manager Barry Eades and later in the afternoon we had an opening meeting for our scope of works which had been tentatively agreed upon in advance. We also meet our Project Manager, Mr. Irwan.

Kalizma on the travelift

The scheduled haul up date was set to 18th Aug and there already we met with the 1st setback. Yard was waiting for new lifting straps which arrived on the 20th. When waiting for the straps to arrive yard made preparation works in the ER to dismantle our overboard valves as well as project managers surveyed areas of work. Our agent matters are now handled by John Orr.

On the travelift

On the 20th at 1330hrs we cast off and left the pontoon and made a swing towards the lifting piers where the mobile crane was waiting. Because of our masts and hull structure the yard requested me to back in Kalizma. Luckily the wind was not too strong so I managed a little too well backing her up on the windside, the windage did not set her off at all and our tiny bowthruster was steering well. Once entering between the lifting piers and gliding over the lifting straps, one strap got caught between the hull and wing propeller.

On the hard

No damage was done but it took the yard 1h to move the crane and pull out the strap. Several hours was spent setting the straps in their correct places and it was not made easier of our wing shafts and stabilizer fins, but eventually all was set and the straps tightened, the crane engine was howling and its tires were getting flatter and flatter as it was taking the weight of Kalizma. When almost all hull was out of water, then Kalizma was moved close to the pier and all crew was evacuated onto land. Then again the crane engine started it’s growling and wires and straps were put to the test as Kalizma was hoisted level with the dock.

On the hard, 2 pic collage

Unfortunately our sb bilge keel was buckled by the strap as the protective block was rotten and crumbled under the weight. Once over the dock the crane started slowly moving Kalizma to it’s hard stand. The crane gauges showed Kalizma’s weight at 310 tonnes. She was well drydocked by 2030hrs and we all (except the night watch) could leave for our rented apartment for dinner. Yard personnel started hull scraping and rigging hull stanchions. The hull was covered in thousands of barnacles and oysters, Kalizma was full of life even on the outside.

Drydocking video


Next morning 21st at the yard again the yard removed the lifting straps and continued hull cleaning. Overboard valves were being dismantled and fabrication people took measurements for installing the centre engine silencer. At the same time I had arranged ultrasound [US] measurement team to come and measure hull thicknesses as per class requirements.

Paint works

Later in the afternoon we met with the Class inspector from Rina, Mr. David Htwe, and the 5yr class inspection was under way. Fuel and water tanks were inspected, hull on the inside and outside by the US team, overboard valves, paint specs and other certifications were checked. The bad nes was that our collision bulkhead had corroded under the allowed level and had to be renewed so shipyard was alerted to alter the priorities. The hunt for certified plate started and frantic re-calculations of timetables to complete works on time.

On the 22nd the class surveyor continued the survey and eventually only having the machinery inspection left which can only be done when the ship as afloat, the surveyor left for another assignment with the promise that “I’ll be back”. We had our note books cluttered with remarks and started working on them as well as monitoring the shipyard. Anchor’s were lowered and chains ranged out on the ground for calibration. Paint locker was emptied in way of the collision bulkhead. The US team finished their survey and left for Singapore to issue their final report.

On the hard

On 23rd and 24th yard did little work as they are off during weekends and not too keen on overtime. Some propeller polishing and ob valve works took place.

25th was Monday again and the week was kicked off and yard started removing zinc anodes as well as shipside polishing. The anodes look like they had been welded on last week although our certificate states that they are 99,9% pure Zn, samples are collected for analysis. Later in the afternoon hotworks started and shipside was cut at the collision bulkhead and also in ER the silencer bracket fitting started. Overboard valves were removed to workshop for overhaul and service. On port wing propeller we discovered a small rope tightly wound around the shaft and when removing it a slight leak started. Yard is working late and we are standby in addition to fire guards.

26th Shipyard continuing works as on 25th, propeller guards and sea chest strainers are being cleaned. We are checking for availability of port propeller packing gland. Hotworks continue and dismantling of machinery aft of collision bulkhead starts.

27th – 29th Works progressed as per schedule.

30th – 31st Bottom was painted with antifouling.

SEPTEMBER
1st – 2nd Start of Ramadan. 1st 3 yard workers turned up but did barely anything.

2nd nobody worked.

3rd Big meeting with yard representative due to very slow progress and I voiced my dissatisfaction of how things are managed. I sent Chief Engineer to Kuah town to buy materials for work shop people so they could overhaul our valves. C/E confirmed they did not even possess the rudimentary materials for a workshop and they handed a list with 20 items that they would require to proceed (bolts & nuts, lapping paste etc).

I asked Operations Manager why we have to do their procurement and he summoned the Project Manager that tried to say WE had asked for the list and then we went on to see Purchasing Manager, he had the workshop PR in his unprocessed pile for abt 2 weeks already and said that these items are not available on the Island.

Stern view

By this time I said to hold on and I whipped out my mobile and called C/E Vivek and asked how many of the items had he managed to collect? Reply was “all items except the aluminium sheet”. “Thank you very much, you just got caught lying in my face” I told the yard people and walked off.

4th Work was carried out between 8am to 5pm only.

5th Work has progressed very slowly due to Ramadan, no OT was done. In PM collision bulkhead was tag welded into position and BT motor lifted back onboard.

6th Weekend again, yard workers showed up late.

7th onwards, works are progressing at snails pace, I could write same entry for every day but it is sad reading. Yard was every morning promising this and that would be finished and more of a rule than an exception that promises are always broken.

11th Plate in bow welded in place and x-ray team and RINA surveyor brought on site. Team shot 3 x-rays (40cm length each), all seams failed due to bubbles and slag in weld seam. RINA surveyor gave orders to grind down the shot seams and do another x-ray.

13th Bow plate welding seams now re-welded and re-x-rayed, all passed. Phew, what a relief as time is running out…

16th Finally we were coming to the stage to talk about downslip and the yard has the guts to come and ask me for signatures on the basis of “no cash, no splash”. I had a meeting offering my protest of all the delays and no-shows and finally we came up with a 7.5% discount settling the yard invoice at 200.000RM.

17th Eventually they delayed again as the bottom sensor installation was leaking and had to be repaired and this morning it was still leaking so our only option was to weld the hole back shut. Finally we were lifted up over the water and ship was lowered and hoisted and a number of valves had to be dismantled and taken back to workshop for tweaking.

At the same time the RINA surveyor was onboard to inspect the valves and get the last bit of paperwork done. Unfortunately he could not wait for us to be completely waterborne and he had to leave for another assignment. The surveyor handed me the new Class cert and hollered “Call me in Singapore” when he was spirited away on the jetski. While we were hanging there we took the opportunity to load all beverages for the Owner onboard when they moved the ship back to the pier again.

18th In the morning at 0430hrs we were finally waterborne and all valves water tight. We moved along side pontoons and some cleaning jobs took place by the yard. At 1400hrs we started engines and left the yard unceremoniously for Singapore, there was only our agent John to cast off the ropes.

It was the 1st and last time I ever drydocked in that yard. The facility is great but the labor is mediocre with their issues of skills, getting people to come to work and actually do some work etc. In the future I could come with my own team there and do the whole thing by myself but then again you will lose on food and lodging as well as you need to negotiate the fee for external workers (the yard terms states 15% additional fee).

Now it is a standard term here onboard if we get a slow delivery or lazy contractor we say “He probably used to work at Wavemaster in Langkawi…”



Wednesday, June 04, 2008

Captain's blog - voy Phuket - Langkawi - Phuket

Visa voyage

Departure 29/05/2008 at 0600hrs ship left Yacht Haven Marina in good weather. The sea was calm as can be, only some wind ripples could be seen. Upon leaving the channel and reaching open seas we experienced a gentle swell coming in from the Indian Ocean. However as we progressed on our voyage it became apparent that prevailing wind and current from Malacca Strait were against us. We passed Phi Phi Island on the east about 1000hrs and turned more south for a straight course to Langkawi Island. The wind became somewhat stronger and the swell more pronounced, but still the weather was fine, sunshine at times overcast the next, in the afternoon we even got a few showers. At 1800hrs we were already approaching Langkawi but night was setting and we entered the Kuah channel in darkness, at 2200hrs we dropped anchor in the General purpose anchorage outside the Royal Langkawi Yacht Club.

M/y Kalizma @ RLYC

30/05/2008 We woke up to a sunny day and about 0930hrs we heaved up anchor and we shifted alongside to the marina in front of a passing rain shower that made a magnificent rainbow display. In the marina I was met by the ships agent, Mr. John Orr, and we went through the official bureaucracy of clearing the ship. The crew was invited by John for drinks in the yacht club the same evening. At 1730hrs I was in the club meeting local expats, a psychologist, a ret. Hong Kong police inspector, an artist, a ret. business man and so on. The beer was good and cold and we had a few nice pints before I was invited to have dinner at the “small Hat Yai” as they call the local Thai community settlement. I had some lovely Thai food at Doug’s restaurant and after that we went for some more refreshments at the Cakra CafĂ©.

Langkawi archipelago

31/05/2008 After completing daily routines we launched the tender and went exploring the channel between Pulau Tuba and Pulau Dayang Bunting. The sun was shining unobstructed and the vistas were very picturesque with mangroves in front of rippling greenery up the Island slopes. The river between the Island was quite shallow but we had no mishaps, bare limestone cliffs offered a splendid scenery. Once through the channel we explored the Lima Islands nearby and found a big cave where one could hear bats screeching. After seeing what was to be seen we headed back to the marina north of Pulau Tuba. For the evening I had invited the ships agent with a few friends of his onboard to have some Kingfisher beer. We met at 1730hrs and chatted for a few hours while enjoying Kingfisher together with some nibbles served by Chief Stewardess Jyothi. At 2000hrs it was time for dinner again and as a person of habit I went to Doug’s restaurant in little Hat Yai.

M/s Lili Marleen, a local Langkawi based ship

01/06/2008 Was Sunday and the whole crew rested or went sightseeing Kuah town which actually do not offer that much for the tourist, all resorts and venues are mostly found on the west and east coasts.

Pulau Tuba

02/06/2008 We woke up to a rainy morning and at 0930hrs we cast off from the Royal Yacht Marina at 0930hrs. Eventually I experienced some difficulties getting off the pier due to rising tide. Finally ship managed to maneuver free and subsequently anchored at the GP anchorage in order to refuel. When refueling was completed at 1330hrs Kalizma departed Malaysian waters for Phuket accompanied by gentle rain showers. We sailed straight north following the coast and after nightfall at midnight we dropped anchor off Phi Phi Island.

Pulau Tuba


Lime cliff formations

03/06/2008 We woke up to a lovely and dead calm morning, hoisted anchor and steamed for Yacht Haven Marina at 0730hrs in order to arrive at noon high tide. Our approach was uneventful and we tied up in normal fashion. All and all it was an enjoyable trip but it is nice to be back in Phuket again.