Just Cruizin On Bluemoon

Log 76

Sitting here, watching a seagull swooping down into the water, trying to catch our repala makes me smile at such persistence!

It is very hot and humid, which makes us all feel really mellow , with such an amazing mist all around the horizon showing just a peek of a shaded mountain... above the mist is the only thing that reminds us that we are not doing a crossing....yet all are so content and feel so fulfilled being out on the ocean.... this IS the way to be living!!

Fresh air, total freedom, inner healing and such deep fulfillment that there are never enough words to fully describe...my John babes always reminds me that EVERY TIME we go sailing I seem to keep repeating this... and yes! I do!!! I just cannot help myself because it is as if I experience this all for the very 1st time, every time! How I wish each and every one of you could also experience this!! Let us know if you want to come sailing with us and revive your spirits xx just email and let us know....

While motor sailing we saw a huge, long bamboo stick with something really big underneath so switched off the motors and drifted while casting in - what absolute fun!! Being sunburnt or close to it in such a short time meant we had to put the girls on the helm while taking a break from school and they are playing back gammom while John is helping Jono with his science ... how blessed our kids are having John teach and guide them with math, science and English. He really is brilliant and so we have some bright sparks aboard!!

Have had some yogurt, fruit, coffee, juice, more coffee, salad sammies, more coffee lol

Sailing makes you really hungry!!! Oh and some droe wors!!! Wow!! we have don and Jeanne from Katrine who wrote for the sailing mag for over five years which we kept up to date with on their sailing adventure and they have started a business making droe wors, pies and boeries!! Without the pork of course xxx Yet it is still absolutely delish!! Such a treat after not having for so long!! You get to appreciate ALL the things you so took for granted!!

Justine is just a  laugh at the moment as she cannot believe why she has no tan left! It has completely gone and she is now really scary "white" ... we even started talking in a different accent to make her feel more comfortable! LOL!! We found the mystery reason... it is because in most of the creams, soaps, etc, they have an extra ingredient which is 'whitening'  which really does work!! Now she is trying to tan a bit and keeps checking if there is a change lol!!

As the code goes in sailing "Never sail on a Friday"  yet for us, we ALWAYS seem to sail off on a Friday as it is today and it is also the first day in two weeks that I feel no pain x Those antibiotics and all the other pill popping I have done seems to be doing the job, so now hopefully tomorrow we can discuss procedures and, and, and....so feeling rather anxious and excited at the same time xx

Life is too short to be  wasting on meaning less and trivial things that seem to take root in our lives and get all our attention or rather just demand it...

No fish!!! Not even a tease!!! But all excitement grows .... sticking out of the mist is the high rises of Penang - a place we so enjoyed!!! Started making or family project there... our dingy. There is just something wonderful about this place that we have not yet discovered....

While I was at the helm, coming through the long marked channel, I hear on the radio two people talking... in Malay about one boat coming down the channel and is it ok??? They gave the ok which I found very strange as there was a helicopter flying around checking us out  along with four boats in a group... one was a big speed boat and the other three from the police and customs... It looked really suspicious... so by now we are all cruising slowing past wondering what was going on - with those binocs working full time!!!  The minute we got the ok the speed boat put full guns and got a head start with a huge chase on the go!!!!! The helicopter was coming in low to try and steer the boat off as it was clear he was heading for international waters, but the customs guys cut him off and he was forced to change direction... heading directly towards us!! Now you cannot go out the buoys as it is way to shallow so now we gunned our motors ahead, then they changed course again!! The speed boat pulling a jig and heading out again and the police on their tails!!!! They even tried to knock the speed boat!!! We were planning on joining the chase and helping out... counting all the flares we had.... then the speed boat was on our tail - My gosh!!! What action and excitement!!!! John put throttle and again the boat was cut off with black smoke following him while heading out to sea again.... the helicopter coming in really low and so the chase continued!!!! We were taking pics from the water camera which cannot get clarity from that distance so the frustration not knowing what we should do, but were reminded in a hurry that we had timed our entrance due to the current that rips through the marina so with the boats being really far out now we decided to go into the marina.... The binocs were glued to our faces not wanting to miss a thing!!! lol!! So when the excitement died down somewhat with the helicopter doing low sweeps on the speed boats and they were quite far off we headed for the marina.... had help mooring on from a few of the yachties and were rather relieved to be moored up with the sun almost setting.... Our last jetty finger from our last stay had broken off during bad weather so were happy to be where we were xxx

Not too long after us mooring up and putting the side flaps down with the kettle ready to be poured... the customs guys moored up right opposite us!!!! Of course we had to ask what happened and were the perpetrators caught... were the smuggling etc to which the customs guys laughed and said they were shooting a movie!!!! Wahahahahah!!!! Thank goodness we never let our flares off being helpful Samaritans like we are!! We all had a very relieved smile on our faces xx

I went off to the dentist to sort out the problem I had which was very painful yet was sorted - the following day I could hardly talk!!! I had another abscess come up which made my face swell three times it's size on one side!! So I was put back on antibiotics and so it has gone.... I am happy to say that now it is almost sorted - yet naughty girl that I am... I ate a poppadom while out at an Indian restaurant we went to and shoved a piece in my sore mouth... then managed to rip the stitches out!!! At least it saved the dentist the trouble when he looked for the stitches... lol!! Jono, Justine, John and I are all almost done with the dentist, then comes the dermatologist.... mmmmmm.... have not had much time to do much as it has all been such a blur for me these past few weeks so hopefully I will be back on track in a twinkle and can get back and feel back to normal....

We have been planning to go to Bangkok in the next few weeks when the kids have finished with their targets so are all looking forward to it.

Went and bought new cushion inners for the cockpit which got John and I walking the town again lol!! It is just stunning!! You have a Chinese section, and Indian section and Malay section all in the space of 10 streets (more of course) So one minute you listening to Indian music and feel like you are back in India, then in another breadth you are in China and so it goes xx We just love it!!!! So we have been getting small things sorted out. It has been great catching the bus to the dentist as one leaves every 10 minutes and they are right on the other side of the island which lets you get to see more of the place!! The architecture in this place is simply stunning!! Feels like mini New York with all the hi rises here!! Really a  busting, friendly, busy and lively place!!! Which John and I love!

Anyway, hope you are all well and keeping strong! Drop us a line and keep us posted x

Miss you all xx

John Jenny Justine Jessica and Jonathan x

Log 75

Hello to you all from Langkawi!Hoping that your year is going well and all is working out for youall.... so far it has been a great start to the year and already weneed a holiday LOL

We just got back from Hat Yaiwhich was quite a place! We decided to go to Hat Yai which many peoplehave spoken about which is in Southern Thailand, to experience theplace, renew our visa's and do some dental work ....

TheWednesday morning, early, Justine flew down the stairs into the galleytripping over herself and spraining her foot real bad.... shame!

Wechecked it out and no break - just a bad sprain so were hoping shewould be able to limp on it before Sunday as that was our day forleaving for Hat Yai... unfortunately she could not even put her footdown it was so painful, so we organized a pair of crutches to sort outthe problem... little did we know how big a problem the crutches wouldbe!!!!

We were up before the sun rose, cleaned and sortedBluemoon for our little trip away, got our back-packs ready and headedfor the jetty just a short way from the marina... Justine on thecrutches for the 1st time... first they seemed a little high, and shewas not using them as crutches but as an extra leg and was hopping onher other leg!!!! She was dripping wet by the time we arrived at thejetty point to go through customs and immigration .... and she hadroasted her skin under her arm right off! She was bleeding, bruised andswelling! I wanted to just give her a piggy back which I can assure youwould have been very dangerous for the both of us!!! hehehe Yet we feltso sorry for her!! She really looked like she was pulled through thebushes backwards and her foot was swollen really bad.... she stumbled afew times on the crutches which brought many laughs from us and manydisgusted stares from the onlookers!!! Clearly they did not understandour sense of humour!! And we all thought we should have got a pair ofcrutches for all of us!!! Boy did we feel bad about that! Yet wemanaged to get her down the gang plate with everyone trying to help,onto the ferry. Then she was given the best seat on the ferry!!! Andeveryone was sent to different seats, soI of course I sat right next toher while John, Jess and Jono went downstairs to their seats, yetthankfully John was able to join us as the one seat next to me wasavailable ... then on comes the t.v  with the most violent movie evershowing!!! I was ooohing and aahing in absolute shock at the airing ofan unrestricted movie!!!! There were lots of kids aboard and wereSOOOOOO happy to reach Satun in Thailand when the ferry stopped... mystomach felt so weak... John even felt a little shaky!!

Wegot off the ferry with everyone trying to help Justine, yet Justine waswhisked away with a sharp hand signal and a Thai command that we staywhere we are!!!!!! OH BOY!!!! The kindness and compassion they showedto Justine was really touching!! They shoo'd every one away from herand put her first in the long que! Speaking so kindly in broken Englishto her! Then got her to sit down and wait for us... who were right atthe back of the que!!! All went well and lots of laughter was had whiletaking all our photos for the immigration and customs people.

Now came the bargaining again as to how much, to get to Hat Yai from Satun!! Our introduction was no surprise as to the barrage of taxi drivers which you find all over in Asia.

Satun is the last province of the Western Andaman Coastline before reachingthe Malaysian Border. It is at the tip of Thailand’s Southern Regionwhich has the area adjoining Trang and Songkhla with the north and theeast of the high plateau having Sankharakhiri Mountain Range as theboundary between Thailand and Malaysia.

Satun is asmallish town which services the boating industry.... they have a drydock where you can take your boat out to work on....  a rather dustyand dirty place....

Hat Yai, is in effect the south'smajor city, its commercial, shopping and 'entertainment' center.Located in Songkhla province,  Hat Yai is also the region'scommunication hub and is well served by road, rail and air access. Bestknown as a fun city! Bull fighting is also a big thing here!! It is atraditional southern entertainment in which two beasts lock horns in atrial of strength. We have watched a few of these animals lock hornsand is not a gory or blood thirsting sport at all!

Shopping is another big attraction - as well as a large varietyof wonderfully presented  preserved Thai fruits, dried seafood andother culinary delicacies.The variety of fruit is astounding! And really beautiful!

Being somewhat of a cultural crossroads, Hat Yai affords ampleopportunity for dining on a variety of cuisine. In additions to spicyThai cooking and seafood for which the South is famed, Chinese andMuslim specialties are to be enjoyed at a number of excellentrestaurants. We ate a few times at the Chinese Washington Restaurantwhich was quite an experience in itself which was also a karaoke bar!Hat Yai has an excellent nightlife in the form of its numerousnightclubs.

On September 16, 2006 a series of bomb attackskilled four people andinjured over 70. Although no-one claimed responsibility for theattacks, local separatists are suspected. Thankfully there is so muchsecurity and police everywhere which made us feel alot safer! It seems prominent Chinese... 

For anyone interested, the co-ordinates are : 7.017°N 100.467°E

With a population of 157,359 (2008) in the core city and about 800,000in the Greater Hat Yai. Hat Yai is the biggest city of SongkhlaProvince and the largest metropolitan area in Southern Thailand, and isthus often mistaken as being the capital of the province. HoweverSongkhlais the capital and the center of administration and culturewhile HatYai is the business center. The two cities are considered astwin cities due to the close connection, accordingly, Hat Yai andSongkhlaform the Greater Hatyai-Songkhla Metropolitan Area.

Thename "Hat Yai" is a short version of "Ma Hat Yai", meaning big Ma Hat(Thai: มะหาด) tree, a relative of jackfruits in genus Artocarpus.

Wikipedia is a brilliant reference for finding information about Hat Yai or any place you want....

HatYai has a busy feel that is quite captivating with such a wide choiceof restaurants. However,the preponderance of massage parlors anddubious karaoke places lends the city a certain seedy feel. Because ofits proximity to Malaysia,many Malaysian men make the trip over forThailand's liberal 'entertainment' laws!.

You can feel a bit claustrophobic in the city, especially at rush-hour traffic!!!!

Do not put your elbows out the side!!!! lol

Weeventually managed to catch a tuk tuk to the taxi circle, then caught amini van to Hat Yai which was about a two hour drive... which put mostof the people to sleep! We had met in the tuk tuk these European girlsthat were part of a big group doing a years trip around the world!!Veryinteresting to hear their stories and places they have been!

We arrived at the fountains in Hat Yai, went straight toseven eleven for a good cuppa coffee with hazelnut! Caught another tuktuk to Kings Hotel which was rather old fashioned in a way... yet veryfriendly and ever so helpful in carrying our back packs up to our room!

We hired two rooms, where the kids got the three beds roomwith air con, a fridge and TV with satellite! We were down the hall andaround the bend which was really quiet! lol

We enjoyed the coffee they had an so drank lots of cups!

Nowthe funny thing, shortly after arriving, we all took a shower tofreshen up, yet with our air con set on 15 I think, it was freezing!!!Loved that feeling of being cold as we have not felt that feeling foryears now!!!!!! So we never changed it! I then jumped into the showerand had a really hot shower which was a mistake actually as when I cameinto the room, from the hot shower, my arm muscle on the inside of myelbow went into an unbelievable cramp!!!! It was terrible! I have notexperienced such pain with my veins sticking out and a feeling likesomething running up my arm, so John getting very worried help me dresswithin one minute flat, had me dragged out the room and off in a tuktuk to the Bangkok Hat Yai Hospital thinking it could be a blood clot!We were so surprised at the efficiency and was seen to not even fiveminutes from arriving! The doctor was quite sure it was not a clotwhich made John relax for the first time since the start of thecramp... I was given strong anti inflammatory's  and a aerosol ofanesthetic! It was incredible stuff!! The muscles spasmodic manneralmost pulled itself off the bone!!!!!

Yet no worries....all is good and my arm is healing well x Also used it on Jusines footwhich was quite nice to see when the pain eased!

The place itself was really quite bigwith lots of amazing sites! The third largest reclining Buddha image ofthe world reposes at WatHat Yai Nai on Phetkhasem Road near Ou-Tapao Bridge. The statue, namedPhra Buddha hatmongkhol, is 35 meters long, 15 meters high and 10meters wide. This is considered one of the most revered statues in theregion. What a sight!! Incredible! It is just so huge and has aninteresting face, giving different expressions depending on the angleyou look from! Also the most amazing thing from out the city is a huge20 or so meter Buddha, standing hundreds of meters above the parkthere.

Manylocals make their way up by motorbike but it's an energetic andrewarding hour long climb up. The views over Hat Yai and thesurrounding hills are magical - and across to the sea in thedistance.There are many attractive hills around the city, although,aside from the 'Buddha', we didn't make it up the hill.

John spoke to our tuk tuk guy who seemed to own us while we werethere lol and asked for a twenty minute tour ride for Justine mainly tosee the place as she did not go out of the room except to eat as herarm was raw and really sore, so off we went, landing up in places wenever expected to go and seeing things we never expected to see! It waslike a three hour tour and so all had a wonderful time and were veryimpressed with the little money he asked for to which John doubled!

Wegot lost a few times, ran out of fright at chasing dogs which areeverywhere!!! You cannot believe how many dogs run freely and fightcontinuously in these places!!!! They have about twenty hairdressingshops all in one road next to each other... really quite amazing tosee! The woman seem to have a certain respect for men that they don;thave for woman.... yet we all had a wonderful time, enjoyed our stayand the things we learned!

We decided to finely pack our back packs and head for home, Bluemoon x

Wewere picked up outside our hotel by our very own tuk tuk driver lol whotook us to the taxi van terminal outside of town, then crowded into amini van and headed for Satun, and finely the port to catch our ferryback to Langkawi.

We received a very kind hand of help forJustine yet again and were welcomed back into Langkawi by the amazingMalaysians we have come to know.....

We were so happy to behome just as the sun set, had a great few cuppa's, chatted, had chinesenoodles which we have come to love! The kids headed for bed while Johnand I watched a great movie before heading for bed....

Todaywas filled with such wonderful visitors coming in to say hello and findout how everything went! So wonderful to know such amazing people inour lives!! We are truly blessed!!!

Justine'sfoot is healing! She can now put it down and put a little pressure sois thrilled about not using the crutches as the sores under her armseems more painful than the foot now!! Yet she will get through thisand be much more careful where here foot goes lol  Jono seems to havecracked his finger so it is in a splint now... whew!!!!

Wehope to hear from all of you! Just a note even letting us know you areall well and healthy! We think of you all often and love to hear wordfrom you ALL x

God Bless, and keep on living life to the fullest

John Jenny Justine Jessica and Jonathan x x x

Log 74

Where to start... where tostart...there has been so many things going on in our lives since thestart of this new year... Great things that is...

The8th Royal Langkawi Regatta was quite a race!! LOL We all registered,and had to have our sails measured - which proved to be a real test ofcharacter for me especially as we rated the highest handicap out of ourseries! That meant we had to win outright to actually win! Now let meput you in the picture here.... we took off the washing machine, thegenerator, sewing machine and LOTS of books and magazines as well asswoping the anchors.... so we came out the water a touch, but we neveremptied the boat which would have been a nightmare with all the stuffwe have on board!! Two years school work for each kid, and, and, and.... our boat was H-E-A-V-Y!! (So our handicap WAS our handicap) Weshould rightfully have been placed in the Premier Cruising series andNOT in the RACING series.... which really tested each ones metal as wehad to work our butts off hehehehe (which was really fun andfrustrating in the same breath!) The one boat which is made of carbonfiber and weighs almost as much as me I am sure wins EVERY regatta andrace as they can point much better than we can even dream of and are solight!! Vertical time who were really fantastic have a Knysna, oursister, which was fabulous!! We resolved to just have fun, give ourbest and not break the boat!!! John helmed, Justine and I worked thehead-sail sheets while Jono and I handled the spinnaker while Justineworked the sock.... Jess was our beverage and food organizer who helpedpull in the sheets when the winds were strong - so we all worked verywell as a team!

Every day was two races, then we had the around the Islandrace, then another two races and our last race was only one for thelast day.... so the very first race was in Bass Harbour with NO wind!!It was so light that we surprisingly even drifted over the startline!!! We had a good laugh and worked every muscle winching thesheets, trimming and hauling out the spinnaker!! We came second in thefirst race, then by a change in Neptune the winds picked up a touch andso we were half way in a tack back to the start line when the sirenwent off for the start of our SECOND race!!! My gosh - trying tobinocular the flags to see when ours went up, then the siren for thestart of a minute then four minutes then GO was a little confusing forall of us, yet we got through the start a little late, waving to thestart boat and all on it to have a rather exciting race... we camesecond for the second race.....

Our neighbor, Richard Blair the journalist, was reportingthis years regatta by writing a newsletter for each day of the tworaces, and to our surprise we read this caption of the newsletter forthe day that really made us laugh..... "....others maneuvered then thefive sports boats and it was a stronger start for the Multihulls exceptthat Bluemoon was caught doodling far to the west of the line and tooka long time to get into the race..." We were really thrilled with ourabilities, yet realized that cruising and racing are NOT the samething!! There is just sooooooooooooo much more to racing! So Johnhopped onto the internet and started to read up about the sails andpointing and, and, and.... we had been flying our monster spinnakercommakazi style which worked wonderfully for us, but we had used it thecorrect way like a big front sail on either tack and were surprised athow easy it went except she only flies in over 6 knots! So I washanging off the bow trying to keep her out the water so we did not rideover her!

Yet all in all it went well and we were ratherpleased finishing off second... Vertical time came 1st and we wereready to take on the hobi-cat instructor here as VT had Gorge who is ahobi-cat instructor and was good! We realized how little we knew!! Sowe had to learn as we went....

The opening dinner and partywas very nice! They had traditional fire dancers, and traditionaldancers which we joined and danced along with them... the food wasdelish and receiving our trophy's were a proud moment!!! John went upfor the first race then Justine for the second....

Thefollowing morning we were up at the crack of dawn ready to take on theworld lol! We had firm winds with faster runs and loads more fun andexcitement!!!! We had a rectangular course with a windward-leewardrepeat..... now the newsletter for that race caption went.... "... thecats pussy-footed across in a ragtag line ..." while he continued towrite about two yachts hitting into each other... no damage thoughthank goodness!! We were racing over white caps and beating our assesoff!!! On our second race we were rounding the buoy with intensiveconcentration as the gate seemed to small to go through when we heardsomeone 'singing' on the VHF racing channel 'Blue moon.... I saw you standing alone!!! "whahahahaha!! we were so taken back with our intense concentration thatwe could not reply lol and when we came through the gate we had missedthe moment!!! The wind was up to 30 and we were doing just over 11knots over the water... we had the spinnaker out and had to bring herin just as we passed the buoy and there the line had gone under thekeel over the prop and while holding onto the line which was useless inthose winds... pulled me down with a thump where I twisted the lowerpart of my back.... John had to cut the guy line off the spinnaker sothat Jono and I could pull here through.... we were battling with thewaves splashing over the bows drenching us and making our footingextremely slippery if we stood on the spinnaker while pulling her in...whew!! It was there that I just passed out! Must have been the heat andbeing covered in the spinnaker, but there was Jono screaming at me!!!!!John left the helm and all of us crew were checking me out while wewent off course!!!  Yet we gave it our all and entered the finish line3rd! Not bad going considering.... yet I was okay and needed alot ofbeverages to cool me down!!!

We had 28 boats/yachts racing in different series... 215participants....so we had a few moments of very close situations wherewe had to bear off almost continuously for about three minutes... wecould easily have held hands with the crew on that boat that slicedinto our starboard bow! The waves and swells were up so it was actuallyquite a nail biting few minutes, yet lost some precious time fightingnot to touch each other!!! Hair raising moments I tell you!! We had barely come in from the race when we tacked and were back intothe second race for the day!! Boy were we ready to keep going!! hehe

Here is a caption from the newsletter for the fourthrace...."Bluemoon led the Multis with Da Vinci starting tactfullylate." Tactfully late?lol!!! Not quite... we just were in the rightplace unknowingly at the right moment!! lol  Our radio went funny asone of the officials were sitting on their radio which buzzed of allthe goings on on their boat LOL!!! So we missed the news about theMultis coming around for the next race... Vertical Time alerted us asthe starting!! So we made it!!! hehehe

The 20 mile Around the Island race was the most excitingyet frustrating of all!! We were allowed to clock the start timeanywhere between 8am and 09:15am....so we were up before dawn or thesunrise and headed out for the start line just as the light startedcoming in... we were the first yacht heading for the start line whichwas off the south coast  of Pulau Tuba. We radioed in to the start boatto check if that was the starting position as they had not yet put thebuoy down to form the starting gate!!! The wind was really pumping andwe were rearing to go having the current in our favour, yet the delaywas a trial on it's own!!! Tacking and jibing by the start line tilleverything was ready to go... Jono and I were hanging off the bow to doa starboard spinnaker tack when just as we were about to let her loose,John was yelling above the whistling wind to abort!!!! They were tryingto move a fishing boat right in our path - lifting their nets!!!!! Sothe frustration levels and yelling on Bluemoon was a great stressreliever!! Tensions were rising when we saw all our competitors sailingto the start line!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! We had lost almost half an hour!!!We clocked in at 08:29:15 and let the spinnaker loose which was such athrilling moment in 17 knots of wind!!!! We all had our nerves runninghigh in such high winds with such a huge spinnaker (170 square meters)when we had to tack her all the way downwind. We had a good run goingout to sea while other yachts stuck close to the coast. We went throughthe first gate at the southern tip of Pulau Dayang Bunting doing verywell - Vertical time on our heels!!! They passed us on the second gateand we stuck close to her wake ....Unfortunately gate 2 was in a coveon Pulau Singha Besar which fed our frustration as there was NO wind!!!We all bobbed around angling for the puffs of wind - da Vinci followingus... and both of us trying to out maneuver each other for the wind....Vertical Time fell back and it seemed we had the leeway out, but thatproved to be just a puff which Da Vinci caught and were on theirway.... then Vertical time... and a few others then finely us.... wetacked all the way up the channel... 14 tacks!!!!!!!! Beatingupwind!!!! My gosh were we all sunburned, windswept, crashing into thewaves!! One yacht had de-masted and were tying the mast on with theirmotors rearing to get to shore.... a young female crew on Koull babywas taken ashore for medical treatment as she got caught in the sheetsand ended up with a sprained arm... another crew jumped for the dock tomoor on but missed the dock hitting and maybe breaking a rib or twothen hitting his head and falling back into the water unconscious!! (Hedid break a rib but is back on the road to recovery) We made our timecoming through a group of little Optimists - the last tack whilecrossing the buoy and the finishing line.... 3rd! 6 HOURSlater!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!What a day! Stomped toes, blisters, burnt hand andlegs and feet - wind swept - EXHAUSTED!!!!! We moored up with somedifficulty with the wind still blowing... slept dead to the world whenwe finely went to sleep!! Not even a bomb would have roused any ofus!!!!

Then it was up early -totally disorganized....having a strong cuppa while sailing out to the start line...  the windwas yet again pumping and the winds were up!!! What an exciting day!!!!We were up to 9.4 knots and had already reefed in the main! We wereflying!! We came about on a very fast jibe and the lazy line fouled onthe mast winch... what an ordeal to sort it out!!! We were allscreaming as we saw the pink flag go up and siren go off!!! We allthought it was the start so coming in last, just behind Da Vinci, werealized the boats had passed the line before the time so we slackedthe Genoa, and bumped just behind the line!!!! The others had to do a360 around the buoy for default while we thundered through at thecorrect start time!!!! What a feeling!!! 1st!!! Vertical time on ourheels!!!  When we tried to sea wing the sail, the main was stuck andwould not release completely open!!!! The sheet had pulled through therunner and would have torn right off from the broken wheel so we had toput a preventer which lost us alot of time using the priest to hammerher out!!!! Boy what a defeating moment!!!!! Yet we raced on under theconditions and again it happened so we decided after the radar bowlcame crashing down that we had to take it easy, so we reefed in andkept at a steady pace beating da Vinci for a good run! Vertical timepointed higher and so missed doing a few tacks which gained them bigtime!! We were cheering them on just as we eased passed da vinciwithout us colliding!!!! Boy was it close!!!!! John and I were hangingonto the Genoa almost off the boat with our curtain out the back just10 seconds after Da Vinci who used a tiny spinnaker.... the wind wasway up in the 30's so could not consider it..... We came yet againthird while the other boats cruised through the finish line afterus.....

We had an awesome finishing cocktail dinner andparty! The kids danced the night away while everyone was throwing eachother into the pool!! John and I danced, ate, and enjoyed chatting withall our competitors... the camaraderie was incredible and the feelingof doing something totally unknown to us, succeeding and coming thirdwas a great moment for all on Bluemoon!!! We all went up for our trophyand photograph dressed in our Bluemoon shirts!! It was now over....what an achievement for us!!

We partied till midnight where we celebrated the 16th - my 43rd Birthday!

I was awoken to coffee and a gourmet cake and my gift!!!!

Aftera shower and getting ready we headed for the Cinema complex where thekids were up to something while John and I went for coffee... my firstsip and my cup slipped and spilled all over me!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Musthave been the swollen raw fingers!!!! hehehehe

i was thentreated at a stunning spa, a facial, and reflexology - back, face, legsand feet!! It was just stunning!! With sore muscles and raw body partsit was such a treat!!

We then went to the movies andwatched Jackie Chans latest movie... then it was off to Amanda's togive her, her gift as it was also her birthday!!!! We bought the taxidriver a coffee too while we had coffee with Amanda and Fakhrees, towish her. Then it was back to the club for a wonderful dinner atCharlies.... we ended it with coffee and a longing for bed!!!!!

Wokeup with a touch of a cold this morning!! But fighting it with 1000 VitC!! Then Ben popped over in-between getting our stuff back ontobluemoon!! Gosh, packing again all the books and, and, and... what aday! Then Gina and her parents arrived - and had a great visit.... thekids getting ready for the start of school tomorrow while I catch up onthe log and stat planning our next adventure in a few weeks which Iwill share with you all later!

Till more news, keep on living life to the fullest!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Love always, John Jenny Justine Jessica and Jonathan x

Log 73

Happy New Year to you all!!!! Hoping this year is going to be an amazing year for each and every one of you!! Wow!! 2010 already!! I still cannot believe it!

Well... we have been real busy ourside... we finely managed to lift our legs off the ground at the marina and head out for Telaga which was just awesome!!

It was incredible to be 'sailing' again... YES! Sailing!!! We all got totally roasted by the time we arrived and dropped anchor ... only problem was we were dragging really badly LOL so Jono and I set up the double anchor which works every time!!!

We set to finishing up the props so we could beach on time but the weather changed... I swear the moment it saw us head for Telaga as there is not once that it has not rained when we arrived!!

Anyways, we found we never had the primer paint we thought we had, then the nozzel broke on the can we were using splattering black paint EVERYWHERE!! Johns hands and the dingy and the cockpit was sprinkled black .... anyway, the following morning it was pouring down, and John managed to get a bike through Willie, so we could get to town to get the stuff we needed.... so now the next day was the day!! We HAD to beach or miss the time period!!! So we checked the area for stones or big shells (Yea right! hehe) then got the stuff out we would need to clean bluemoon and do the props...

The following day was beautiful!! Well ... till it was time to beach her!!!! Those big black clouds were gathering fast and so we went ahead regardless and beached.....

We found to our delight, Bluemoon was not bad at all!! There was only one barnacle!! Imagine that!!! Henry, Fakhrace, Amanda and Muiz came onto bluemoon before we beached and so jumped into the water with the rest of us to clean and wipe bluemoon down... Amanda was already flue-ee and Henry was moaning at her as they had sailed the following day with Henry from Kuah also to Telaga.

We changed the props and noticed the scraping from the Sumatra!! Where the chain had hooked!! We are still amazed we got out of that situation without real damage!!

By early evening the storm had arrived!!! Lightening, Thunder... the works!!! Boy oh boy had we just finished in time!!! The kids went to get take-aways and we all were only  too happy to have a full tummy as we were exhausted, cold and hungry!!

We got off at about 11pm that night and did some nice zigzagging till we dropped anchor in a calm sea..... the props felt fantastic!!! We could move and have control which was just so exciting!!!

The following day we headed back for Kuah where we anchored and spent the night, then headed for the marina the following day...

Took quite a while sorting out the kids paperwork which we had to send off.... then we packed our backpacks and headed for the airport... Everything went just so smoothly!!! We arrived at our hotel - signed in, then headed for the main drag and went sightseeing and Christmas Shopping!!

It was just to wonderful for words!!! Langkawi being Muslim, you never got to hear Christmas songs, or carols, but in KL, where it is multicultured, they were playing all the carols we are used to and have missed for three whole years!!! It was such and awesome feeling!!!

These shopping malls are SO huge!!!!! We almost felt like we were in America with all the Christmas Decorations!!! it was such a treat!!!! Wow!!! We really walked everywhere, even got lost!!!! So with our feet burning, our hands full we stopped off at our Paradise resurant and orderd takeaways.... Briyani - yet we were already so full from all the snacking we had done.... we felt like real spoilt kids!!!

Got back real late, ate while we watched TV!!!!!!!!! heheheheheh It was kinda familiar, yet so strange!! When you have not watched TV for a few years, you will know what I mean LOL

We went to the High commission and did what we had to do... we then walked to the bus terminal, caught a bus which is an hour and a half to the airport... had more coffee than we could count... and just relaxed till it was our flight... (the waiting was because the flight was delayed by over an hour)

The weather was not so good as it was VERY windy and the rain had started... so we had a rather bumpy ride, yet no worries

We arrived back in Langkawi to lovely weather!!

Shopping was on the agenda for the following day - 24th Dec.... and so bought bacon, chops and steaks which we have not had in over a year!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! You guys have no idea how lucky you actually are with all the choices of meat!!!! hehehe

We were going to leave the marina, but with the wind howling we decided to stay right here and had a wonderful time!! Christmas eve was just such fun! We had seafood, and a roast chicken!! With most of the toppings!!! Christmas day we braaid and had just as much fun!!! Opening our gifts surprised us all!!! We all went the full 100 yards and were all very pleased!!

With our niece's travel dates postponed, we were going to head for Thailand, yet were asked very kindly to join the International regatta..... so we decided to join.... and take part of this race...  so we have all been busy checking the rigging, greasing up the steering, sorting out the sheets, sails etc, etc.... all excited to give our best!!!!

Sitting here after a very busy day, showered, watching the rain disappear, reflecting on the last year... with a good cuppa RICOFFY makes me realize what a full and busy year we had !!!! I am almost finished with a movie project of putting all the months events onto and wow..... I cannot believe how active we have been!!

So many things we have done!! This year was an all rounder... good, bad, funny, sad.... and I am only too happy to be facing a clean slate with so much out there that still needs to be done!!!!

So many want to do's that need to be put into action.... so many fun projects John and I have lined up.... wow.... cannot wait to start all these things at once and also squeeze in a few good books!!! lol

Hoping to hear from EACH and everyone of you guys reading this log!!!! We think of you all often and cannot wait to hear all your news!!!!! i also am expectant to hear what you all plan to do this year that is something you have never done before!!!!

Till more news on how we are doing with the regatta..... keep your chins up and live life to the fullest!!!!!

Love always John Jenny Justine Jessica and Jonathan

Log 72

....sitting here watching another stunning sunset, brings a smile to my face, remembering us all having a good laugh today at Jono at a memory which we will never let him live down...  he went to buy a spare which was less than a five minute walk from the marina while still in Panang, and we were all concerned wondering if we should send our a search party as it was way past an hour.... only to find when he did come back, red from sun burn and really exhausted, that he had missed the shop on the way there as a bus had stopped right in front of the shop to which he thought was still further ahead.....

...and so all the funny,hysterical, embarrassing, sad and ugly memories all came back during our breaks of me un picking the bottom of the settee ready for recovering and John doing school with the kids... one of the more serious memories which was funny thinking back related to a  lesson of obeying which of course Jono did not follow through on and so... Jono who had stood on an urchin never cleaned it with peroxide, and so his foot got real infected to which he had a temperature of almost 40, an obeying away from anything called land - I realized I had to cut it open!So I had him lying there, having a total tantrum, while I took the scalpel trying to cut it open gently using 'Freeze;  which acts like an anesthetic or rather just numbs the area.... which of course was put to the test and was not as good as we thought it would be - according to Jono who really had a real rough time with that, so John stepped in to which I shoved a wooden spoon in his mouth spraying like mad the freeze while John dug in..... I think I was the only one crying my eyes out!!LOL!

So many memories.... so many amazing moments we have shared together as a family - to which we laugh often about and over.... what a blessing this really is for me, as a mother, and a wife! We serve a Mighty God and He has blessed me more than I ever thought was possible!!

.... well the week of me being sick was really not such a good one, I thought I was going to die!! The meds made me really sick and when I went in with John to see the doc, he was not so impressed with the results, but I told him I was NOT taking anymore meds, no matter what!!! He said there was only a slight improvement, which to me is still improvement and I know I will get better each day.... but on those meds, my heart rate was racing which worried the nurse taking all the results and so the doc had to explain it was from the meds to her, and not to worry, so that just confirmed that I was now finished with all this....he said I should take things slow and monitor my reactions and well I got the go ahead to be off the meds.....

and well, I was so happy  I was painting the cabins,polishing, washing, cleaning you name it!!! So am feeling much stronger, doing breathing exercise and, and,  and... then we celebrated Jessica's 17th Birthday which was a really great and wonderful day!!That night Jess opted for takeout  to which I had a small amount as I was not so hungry and felt sick for the rest of the night while watching a dvd... the following day Jess made sandwiches with the leftover chicken and well I never ate, but John did, and mine that was made and got so sick!!!!! His temperature was up to 40!! He was really fighting me and yelling at me not to take the blanket off of him!!! I told him he was delirious, and so pulled with all my might while he continued to complain about being freezing and how nasty I was to make him suffer like this by taking the blanket away!!! We laugh now, but it was scary as it went up to almost 41!!!!! Managed to sponge him down,and get his temp down, but it was a yo-yo the whole night, up down, up down, shame!!! He really was sick that the next day I dragged him to the doctors with a wet towel around his neck!! Looked like he had been for a swim with his clothes on lol!!! So when the doc looked very worried after telling me his temp was high, I checked it and said oh no!! That is not too bad - better than what it was, he was worried and pulled out an injection which would bring his temp down within 10minutes  to which it did, but still it was almost two weeks of John having a real bad stomach and high temp..... but PRAISE the LORD it is all now past tense and we are all in good health!!!!!!!!!!! The season has changed yet again!

We were invited by Zaid to his brothers wedding which was quite an honour for us! It was wonderful seeing a few yachties there too - Amanda and Fakhrees know how to make us all have a good time!! Love them to bits and was great to see Zaid again!!!

John and I had taken a taxi and gone from one end of Langkawi to the other stopping at each and every dry cleaners they have and NONE did the real dry cleaning we know as dry cleaning!!!!! The one and only place that did dry cleaning only with clothes said the material is really good and will get ruined if not done properly and so we just stopped at the carpet place, chose material, offloaded our settee which we had been driving around with and dropped it off with them to recover....John collected the settee today which looks fab!!! I chose an almost white leather and wow - it goes so well with the wood and makes the place look so cool and so much bigger!!!! Also easy to clean!! But ooops, we have to do the bottom of the settee ourselves as it is built in and cannot be removed, yet the staple gun will not work through the glass fiber!!!!! Now to drill holes to keep it in..... anyway, another challenge we will sort out

Been catching up on all the maintenance we never did yet as we were not well- now we are enjoying seeing the list going down!! Jess pulled one of the reefing lines out while using it as a washing line!!! heheheh Now that had been pulled through and is almost done....

John was helping a bit with Trigger's mast to straighten it a bit... so was happy to be doing something exciting!!!!

Now I have been polishing the boat, and putting up all my chimes!!!!!!heheheh  Just love the sound and all the bright colours!! John my babes... he just ducks when they are too low and is quite diplomatic suggesting different places they should go so not to upset me

Justine,Jess and Jonathan have been working their butts of finishing up for the holidays - as we will be setting the mooring lines loose sometime this week to head for Telaga to beach Bluemoon to change her props! Finely!

Then we will head back to the marina here as we catch our flight to KL on Tuesday where we will fit some Christmas shopping in before going to the consulate for the passports which will take 3 - 4 months from SA!!!!! French passports take three weeks!!!!!

We have been doing alot of Christmas stocking shopping which John bought back packs as the socks so we can fit quite a few goodies in!! We even put up some decorations which makes the place just so much more festive and exciting!!!

We got such a nice surprise the other day!!!! TY Armor - Bebert and Laurence sent a parcel up with some friends who delivered it to our boat while the kids were here, and when we got home they made us a good cuppa, as usual,  to share with us the surprise that had arrived, but with the first sip...I knew it was RICOFFEE!!!!!! Laurence sent us a tin of Ricoffee and another gift for us! What a blessing!! What a wonderful treat!!

I swapped a tin of ricoffee for some pop corn a year ago LOL  We just could not believe how much we missed such a good cup!!!!!! 

Now Justine rash ens the coffee out between the four of us - as Jess only drinks tea... so we get to have only one cup of ricoffee a day!! heheh

There is something about the ocean that cannot be put into words... and there is such an awesome feeling of freedom that also cannot be put into words.... looking up every night out of the open hatches above our bed,I see a galaxy that is too awesome for words... something we rarely noticed while being on land... what a true blessing laying under the stars!!  Every night of my life ...

I have so much to be thankful for!!  Having three amazing, wonderful kids whom have become incredible young adults while on this trip that I am so proud of!! A husband that is truly still my best friend in all respects!

The laughter that is shared... the joy and the experiences from each one of us...knowing each other so intimately....daring to be ourselves completely!

I give all the Glory to my Father in Heaven! He has blessed this family more than we will ever deserve!!! 

We will be arriving back on the 23rd from KL - so will be staying at a little island around the corner for Christmas - then will head out for Thailand for the new year... or maybe Panang... not sure yet as to the plans ... as we are waiting for our niece Christina to arrive, which we are all so excited about!!!!

So we, John Jenny Justine Jessica and Jonathan wish each and everyone of you a Wonderful.Blessed Christmas with gifts of happiness, joy, unity,laughter, good health and peace!

Remembering the true reason for the season...

Jesus is Better than Santa as Santa lives at the North Pole and JESUS is everywhere.

Santa rides in a sleigh while JESUS rides on the wind and walks on the water.

Santa comes but once a year -  JESUS is an ever present help

Santa fills your stockings with goodies - JESUS supplies all your needs.

Santa comes down your chimney uninvited - JESUS stands at your door and knocks.. and then enters your heart.

You have to stand in line to see Santa -  JESUS is as close as the mention of His name.

Santa lets you sit on his lap  -  JESUS lets you rest in His arms.

Santa doesn't know your name, all he can say is "Hi little boy or girl, What's your name?"

JESUS knew our name before we did. Not only does He know our name, Heknows our address too. He knows our history and future and He evenknows how many hairs are on our heads.

Santa has a belly like a bowl full of jelly -  JESUS has a heart full of love.

All Santa can offer is HO HO HO  -  JESUS offers health, help and hope.

Santa says "You better not cry" - JESUS says "Cast all your cares on me for I care for you.

Santa's little helpers make toys -  JESUS makes new life, mends wounded hearts, repairs broken homes and builds mansions.

Santa may make you chuckle but JESUS gives you joy that is your strength.

While Santa puts gifts under your tree JESUS became our gift and died on the tree.

It's obvious there is really no comparison.

We need to remember WHO Christmas is all about.

We need to put Christ back in Christmas.

Jesus is still the reason for the season.

May the Lord Bless and Watch over you and your loved ones this Christmas 2009

and may He prosper and bless the work of your hands in the New Year!

Love always 

John Jenny Justine Jessica and Jonathan xxxxx     

Log 71

Wow, so much has been happening our side.... where to start... the chest flu I had turned out to be bronchitis bordering on phenomena from chemicals.... the chemicals burned my lungs and have left scarring though how bad, we do not know yet.... but, no worries, have been up to my ears on strong meds... actually, I feel sick on the meds and just peachy off them... so for 10 whole days I did nothing... John saw to that  He made sure I did not ex hurt myself in away - except got me to play Farm Town! LOL Okay, the race was on and we both working the keyboard to a standstill.... yet, I got to the level way before him.

Have had such an interesting time, in between the lackadaisical leisure time, we have really been blessed to meet some amazing people!!

The guy next to us, Rick Blair,  popped over for a sun downer and brought his guitar where he went on to sing  "Bluemoon' to us!! It was wonderful!!!! He has been an international journalist for many years... then moved to Singapore and has been a foreign correspondent for the remainder of years... what an interesting guy with such amazing stories to tell!!! What a great evening!!! 

I since got to 'meet'  Maaike, from Kingfisher sky!!! Wow!!! They released an album  which was a hit and they are now working on their second album!! I happened to plow here fields in farm town lol!!! What fun meeting these incredible people!!

Then to top off my celebrity week - we have met these young American guys whom the kids have been hanging out with, and Evan's father Gene is a composer of music and he has written many songs for all the famous country musicians!!! It was absolutely wonderful listening to him play his music for us and sing the songs he composed!!! Wow!!! I felt so honored and so spoilt!!! Really amazing!!!!

Been fantastic meeting people with such full interesting lives!!! We have been blessed!

We postponed the beaching to change the props as everyone was not well, and so decided to get better first.

Jono went for his padi course which he was thrilled about - and is so chuffed to have finished it. He loved the open water dives in Paula Payer! Had such alot of fun!

Then on his actual birthday he finished with two dives at PP which was the cherry on top for him at Shark Point, then when he got back, we had a little surprise party for him where we had invited just a few yachti friends, and had made a light supper with snacks and a birthday cake which turned out to be a really stunning evening!

Lovely company! Fakhrees, Amanda, Muizz, Dows, Chris, Desiree from Tigger, Gene, Evan and Baxter from Emelia.

The following morning early we headed off to Koh Lipe, and boy oh boy... the gas alarm goes off!! Then to find the problem... we had the props full of barnacles which made us go so slow, so Justine and Jono hopped in to clean then off... the the Port motor gave a problem and we thought another impellor had popped - yet after cleaning the filter, all was good as new again and we had a great time beating all the way to Koh Lipe... John and I roasted from the glare!! It was wonderful to drop anchor in 21 metres as the place was buzzing with holiday makers and boats everywhere!

Slept in the cockpit as it was so cool there! Cleaned the hulls early the next morning, then signed out and headed back to Langkawi where John and I were off duty and read and just messed around ... drinking lots of coffee and eating non stop

We managed to sign in the following morning, get all the plans and times sorted, get Jono packed and ready for his early departure Tuesday morning which was really great to see them all off!! They had a great sail all day then had rain all evening till they arrived in Port Clang 10 am the following morning ....

Justine is finely on the road to recovery after two years of agony!!! Now maybe she will listen closer to what we have to say LOL!!

I unfortunately was told there was no improvement!!!!!!!!! And am on another weeks supply of meds till Mon next week.... the hospital here is not just a little ride across town ... so, hopefully I will have made a great improvement by then... PRAY! Please!!!

Now, I am back to taking things easy again and am enjoying it Sorted and cleaned everything - washing.... etc, etc, so I can sit back and read and enjoy 

Hope you all are well, as we have not had any mail from a few of you lately .... hello?? anyone out there??

Till more news, keep well , keep safe and keep living life to the full!!

John, Jenny, Justine, Jessica and Jonathan xxx

I

Log 70

Cannot believe how time flies when you having fun   

John and I decided to just take some time out without demands, or have to's... we try to stay away from those LOL

We have the kids on a rigid school routine which is going very well! while Justine, Jono and John have been getting over the flu.  I also have a bit of a chest cold, yet nothing to complain about... far to much beauty around me to not feel sick!

( It is because of the bruised coccyx that I am taking it easy )

And with the new bike that John surprised us with has almost fallen to pieces in just a few days LOL - the pedal fell right off, handle bars turn around doing its own thing - the list is almost as long as our maintenance sheet LOL  it is just too funny to see the added amount of work happily done on this NEW bike!!

The reason no one has taken it back to replace is it is just too far to ride!!  So.... I get to watch everyone ride up to the showers and back, and smile all the way, which walking had been the only real form of exercise, which  is now lost! No one is complaining!

We have a few more things we have to sort out, then we will head to Telaga to beach Bluemoon so as to change the props and put the new ones on, which will be fantastic! Don't be surprised if you see us doing donuts in the bay!!!! Out of sheer joy for getting them done!!!

Well guys, we would love to hear from you and all your news... so get that mail rolling 

Till more news, keep living life to the fullest

Love John, Jenny, Justine, Jessica and Jonathan x

Log 69

These last few weeks have been absolutely hectic!! Kids spent time helping or just being around Amanda and Fakhrece while they were getting the coffee shop ready.. Then sadly Zaid left for Kuala Lumpur as he started a new job and that was very sad - saying good-bye, so a goodbye night was held where we all went to Amanda Coffee and Tea shop and drank coffee till our eyes looked like spiral lollipops!! LOL .The coffee is delicious!! Such a treat to us!! Then it was the testing night, tasting all the different coffee?s on the menu!! I was in coffee Heaven for sure!!!!! Some really great tasting coffee?s unlike we have ever had before!! Such an awesome time was had at the opening night for the coffee shop which we all know is going to be a wonderful success!! Then came the real hard work... also went to moor up at the marina, while the kids worked their bums off completing the work they were behind on!! I was making coffee at 01:30am for the kids!! Also we were planning this surprise trip for Justine?s 18th... and doing all the paperwork for the school, so we postponed our trip to Bangkok, Cambodia and Vietnam... to give Justine her own day which was such a success!

We were so jam packed busy that we never had time to do anything else or concentrate on anything other than what we were busy with getting it all done by D-day!!

We certainly needed a break after that!!! Unfortunately, the so called plans we had made, turned belly flop on us as when we phoned for confirmation, we were told that everything was fully booked.... and we were not Malaysians who get discount packages... long story! Anyway, now we had to start all over two days before we were bound to leave!!!!!! Hotels, busses, ferries, planes, etc... etc... travelling with five people is not so easy without your own transport... and not talking the same language can also be a problem... misunderstandings... as we got to experience, also we had to get 18 gifts!!! Yet none of that stopped us or got us down!!!

We decided to give Justine a ?Surprise 18th Birthday trip? which also included 18 things to do and 18 gifts!!

It was real exciting not saying anything or giving anything away though we did mess with the kids, like which train we would take, or did we pack the snorkelling goods etc which of course had nothing to do with our trip!! So Justine thought we would take a Chalet at Rebak marina and Jonathan thought we were catching a train to Singapore! Jess had no idea about where we were headed....we had only told the kids what they should pack and that was all... they had no clue as to what was really going to happen.....

So... after re-arranging our trip because it was Hari Raya and the school holidays and the planes, trains, and hotel?s were fully booked ....  our day arrived.... when we were all dressed and packed we gave Justine her 1st gift (which was gift 1A), tickets for the ferry to the mainland, Alor Star, Kuala Kedah.

She was thrilled and so were we all... we lifted our backpacks and bags and headed for the ferry which is a two minute walk... right next to the marina. We boarded the ferry, took our seats and were so happy to see other people handling the mooring lines LOL

It was a smooth, two hour trip..... arriving at 4:30pm... taxi drivers wait like hawks outside the terminal arrival hall LOL though was quite an adventure finding our way around... where to catch the buses from etc.. ...though thanks to a visitor who told us which local bus to catch to take us to Pekan Rabu Market. It was a great ride passing through smaller villages and endless green paddies....We arrived at "Pekan Rabu" which literally means Wednesday Market which is located in the middle of Alor Setar

The complex is a five story building which has 274 stalls, while the second part of the building which is also a  five story building has 73 stalls. It?s an open Bazaar, similar to a flea market concept, and has collections of small stalls selling a variety of stuff.... from jewellery, textiles, food, books, crockery, medicines, tailors you name it... it is crammed with shoppers and is very colourful!!

We walked around investigating, had a coffee then headed off in search for something to eat..as we did not feel like vendor food.... we had some time to kill and so looked around while we walked looking for a place to eat... KFC it was and we thoroughly enjoyed our meals while the sun went down.... Justine got gift 1B which were tickets for the Coach bus to KL. We were catching the 10pm bus from across the road from Pekan Rabu, and so were all spread out relaxing after walking back to the market..... next minute someone threw a big cracker... right next to us!! I fell to the ground and was totally deaf in my right ear!! John and Jono both got a big fright too! The culprits thought it was so funny!! The girls too were shaken up... Jono went up the stairs to ask them to please stop! He was very upset about this!!!

So while I am sitting on the ledge of the stairs still with a loud ringing in my ears... I am sure I hear a squealing sound...then thought it was just the ringing in my ears... next thing I feel something boring into my side of my leg!!!! It was a huge rat!!!!!

That bus was the highlight of my evening when I saw it arriving!! Another half hour and we were at the terminal to catch our bus, the Durian Burung Express.

Now this is a sight to see... this place was busy, busy, busy!!! Buses coming and going... people all around waiting for their no to come in.. we still had to wait awhile so went into Marry Brown where we had a good cuppa coffee, sitting on swings which are in the coffee shop!! Justine was playing the juke-box which was real funny because the manager and staff were all putting the juke-box on with a variety of music after her ... so we swang while sipping coffee and listening to good music1

Finally it was time to go.. Our coach had arrived. We would arrive in Kuala Lumpur in about five hours, so had to try and sleep as much as we could as we had a full day planned for Friday!!! We managed to doze and woke just before the bus stopped just over five hours later without stopping.... we got our luggage and were so excited at how big and beautiful KL was!!! All in the dark!! The place was lit up by all the lights!! The buildings were stunning! The twin towers amazing!! AAAAhhhh just wonderful!! We were at Mc Donald?s having a full breakfast at 6am!! Then came the misunderstanding.... the hotel we had booked into was full and we could only book in later that afternoon!! We needed to freshen up so we managed to hire a room across the road for two hours to shower and change which was so refreshing!! We were allowed to store our luggage in the room downstairs at the hotel we had booked into.. That was a relief!!

Then we headed for the bus terminal which was also right across the road through a walk bridge...what a site to see!!! We bought our tickets to the....... GENTING HIGHlANDS!!!

Genting Highlands is a major entertainment Theme park,  2,000 metres above sea level  which is in the mist-shrouded mountains. It?s located about an hours drive from Kuala Lumpur and the Genting bus does quiet a few trips a day!

The trip up was quite a surprise! So green and much cooler than the city!! And so pretty!!!

There were many stunning things to see .... we arrived and had to walk up to the Genting Skyway. Now this was incredible!!

There was a very long queue due to the holiday season, though the queue went rather fast as you are allowed up to 8 passengers per gondola which went quite quickly also, the speed of the gondola  moves at a maximum speed of 21.6km per hour above tree tops of tropical jungle with fantastic views of breathtaking mountain scenery. Along the way are animatronics (animations of sculptured animals and 'orang asli'). It's supposed to be a relaxing and fun experience that sharpens your senses. Though it is incredible that your surrounding is  covered by mist and ?pure? air and has a mystical fog that hangs over the surrounding hills!

The Skyway cable car is the fastest cable car ride by speed in Southeast Asia, and one of the longest in this region. And quite nerve wrecking at times.... especially when you are in the mist and can see nothing in front or behind you!! Though a wonderful ride up the steep mountain!! This place is huge with so many people!! So we kinda got lost looking for the Indoor park!! LOL

Genting has everything to offer including natural cool mountain air and 24 hours of non-stop entertainment catering for the many diverse cultures and visitors from all over the world.

It features six hotels with 9,000 hotel rooms, over 90 food outlets, a shopping paradise of over 80 stores, indoor and outdoor theme parks with more than 60 fun rides, and over 10 leisure and entertainment venues. There is a super-exciting video arcade games amidst a futuristic atmosphere. The only legal casino in all Malaysia, offers all the usual games plus a selection of Chinese favourites. It is open 24 hours, but you must be 21 yrs and not a Muslim.

There are so many rides to enjoy at the Outdoor Theme park.

The thrill Rides - What a blast!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! - Pirate Ship /Flying Coaster / Spinner / Super Toboggan / Cyclone / Bumper Boats /  Flying Dragon / Rolling Thunder / Mine Train / Sungei Rejang Flume Ride / Corkscrew / Grand Prix Fun Kart / Space Shot (Terrifying!!!) LOL

Family Rides - Monorail / Astro Fighter / Tea Cup / Pirate Train / Flying Jumbo / Mini Train / Boating / Space Adventure / Antique Car / Matahari / Dinosaur land / Double Deck Carousel

My what choices we had!!!! Then you got the Indoor Theme Park!!!

It is a fantasy land full of fun and adventure!

You also got a Game Arcade - Vision City Game Park with Kiddie Rides

So.... with so much to do and so little time we headed for ?Snow World? which has the temperature at minus 5 degrees Celsius, we were kitted with mittens and heavy jackets and had such a thrill tobogganing down a steep slope slide!!! What fun!!! We just kept going up to go for another thrill!! We had such a laugh! We indulged in a snow fight which was really funny and we all enjoyed the falling snowdrops on our faces!! It was like being in the middle of winter on open slopes in Canada!! We ended the snow fun at the New Freezing Bar with an ice-cold ice-cream!!

Then we were off to the Genting Sky Adventure which is a state of the art skydiving wind tunnel that gives ordinary people like us the chance to feel the thrill and sensation of jumping out of an aeroplane and free-falling through the sky just like a skydiver!!!! Justine and Jono went on the skydiving simulator and got a certificate for flying in winds up to 196 km/hr!!

They had a 10 minute lesson by an experienced and friendly body fly instructor who are there to safely guide you through. What a laugh watching Justine trying to balance and not speed down or up!! And Jono bouncing off the walls!! LOL It was brilliant!! We were not allowed to take any pics and so purchased a video and pictures of their skydiving experience!! Now this was an experience in a million!!!.

We walked around and were thrilled to see so many bright and wonderful things!!! We saw the Eiffel Tower,  the statue of liberty riding a motorbike!! . In the middle of the arcade is a larger-than-life Oscars statue, Ripley's Believe It or Not! Museum, and so much more!! You also have the Haunted Adventure which is a ride that is not for the faint hearted. LOL You must prepare to test your faith as this ten minute ride might just change your perspective on the life of the after world ...LOL  Also, so exciting!!! They have a Motion Master Theatre - Malaysia's first-ever 4D movie experience!! And it is an experience! You have the X-pedition Wall - where the kids tested their skills on some rock climbing. It's been real fun watching these kids climb with ease and flexibility!!!

Everyone tried their hand at the Archery!!! And boy did we have some bulls eye!! We walked through the Arena of Stars which is a walkway with a venue hosting some famous celebrities

that have performed at Genting, like Richard Clayderman, Air Supply, Michael Jackson, etc... we then headed for the Cineplex to watch G-Force. Also we went on the Venice Gondola!! Which was really quite nice! LoL    John and I like two lovebirds heheheh (It felt real enough)

We managed to eat something light then head off back down the Skyway to catch our bus back to KL where we managed to pick up our luggage and head for our two, ajoining rooms - 601 and 602... We all had a very hot shower and were exhausted though we hit the midnight hour and wished Justine then watched as she had to read on each gift a clue as to what was in the gift!! It was such a laugh a minute! We gave her many gifts, but some were just more special than others... we got her a special handmade photo-album with photo?s from birth right up to her 18th year and all the pics we take now will be added (some). We wanted to give her a special charm bracelet, which she already has, but we wanted to buy at certain times different charms representing different things in her life... but that never happened... she also got a netbook computer which she was thrilled about!! So we managed to give her 18 gifts which included the Genting Theme Park as one... her tickets to different places was gift one a, b, c, d, etc... which included the flight back to Langkawi - an hours trip which was fully booked going to KL!!!!! Anyways, we all crashed the minute we hit that pillow!!!! Revived somewhat, we got up very early and were at breakfast by seven.. we managed a quick bite and a coffee then headed off across the bridge to the station and caught a bus back to Genting Highlands for day two... well this was quite a day!! It was freezing cold and going up the skyway was just stunning!! With lots of mist, yet that did not get us down!! We were dressed in shorts and long sleeve shirts ready for the water adventure rides in the out-doors park and got stuck for a while playing a few games where we all won some soft teddies!! Jessica won a big blue dolphin which she gave to Justine, and Justine won a little dolphin which she gave to Jess.. Jono also gave his teddy to Justine... There was no way I was giving my cute medium sized teddy to anyone!!! heheheh And I was also keeping my gorgeous dolphin which John won for me!!! heheheh The heated pool is covered.... you have a rainforest splash pool, a wave pool, action river, big bucket, tornado slide and many more!

Then it was off to the Flying Coaster which is a unique hang-gliding roller coaster.. we twisted, swooped and zoomed around all the turns and drops!!!  Screaming because we could!!

Then we headed to the Space shot where we braved to buy four tickets... No way Jess was going on this and we did not blame her!!!!!!OOOoooh this ride is a rapid vertical ascent and descent amusement ride. It is really intense and not for the faint-hearted .that I promise you!! It lifts12 people into the air, three per side, giving an exciting G-force on the way up and a feeling of weightlessness on the way down - the most speechless moment of my life!! You get to take in the scenery around you on the way up, as this ride is an open-air ride. We are strapped onto seats, three to a side of the tower. Justine and I along with a Malaysian sat on one side, the front side facing the park!! While Jono was on my right on that side of the tower and John was at the back... while we were on the way up... and going higher and higher, Justine was saying ?I can?t do this!!? over and over... and the Malay girl was saying ?I want to cry!!? Now you cannot get off until the ride is over.... hehehe so the Malay girl snapped out of her mood and was joining in with me telling Justine to just take in the view........look... it was quite scary this feeling being so high off the ground!! 55 metres!! Then you get to look at the scenery around you for like 3 seconds and next thing you drop at about 67 km/hour!!! You lift off your seat and free fall!!! There is no pretending when you scream!! That I promise you!! Yet we were all glad we did it, though had a good laugh as the Malay girl balled her eyes out when she got off and I could barely walk as I was shaking so much! And Justine was as white as a sheet!! Jono also got a fright which is kinda unusual for his dare-devil nature!! John too felt a little shaken and Jess had a good laugh at all of us!! Heheh It was fun actually!!! Though if we had known how the ride would have gone, I am sure we would have headed the opposite way LOL We dared to go on the spinner which was very fast!! I managed to grab Jono?s foot and hold on which made him go much faster when I let go!! LoL that was fun!!!

We have been on so many rides in these last two days, that it has actually exhausted us!!! Though we will definitely go to Genting Highlands again given the chance as there is so much to do and you get to have so much fun...we never went to the casino and don?t care much about gambling... but the amount of things to do is endless!!

We finished off with pizza for lunch, Justine?s choice, headed back down the skyway and caught the bus back to our hotel. We showered and freshened up then hit the town of KL after 10pm walking to the main road that has all the nightlife!! We checked out every restaurant there was and Justine decided on ?Paradise? which was an Indian, Pakistani restaurant which had the best Breyani and mutton curry ever!! We had ?nan? which is kinda the same as roti?s... it was really a nice treat!! We all overate silly!! Then when we finally did walk home found that it was such an effort!!! heheheh - Now John and I bought the 3-in-1 nescafe? sachet?s as they do not have coffee in the rooms, though you can get hot water, so we were topped up with our coffee while we all sat and shared the few days adventure mixed with laughter and just enjoyed till it was way past the early hours of the morning, so we all showered crashed falling asleep almost instantly!!!!

We went down for breakfast at 9am and ate like kings!!!! (not even thinking about all the more kilo?s to love!! Lol) then dressed for the day, packed our bags and gave them back in to be stored till 6pm that night... we gave Justine the last surprise of gift one with the air tickets back to Langkawi that night at 10:15. Then we hit the road and went to explore Kuala Lumpur or "KL" as it is commonly known, which is bustling with people and action!!

 The city's busy streets, its shining, modern office towers, are a site to be seen!! Like a mini Nw York!! There are travellers from all over the world!!!!

The Petronas Towers are quite something to see in real life than in pictures!! The Petronas Twin Towers are currently the world's tallest two free-standing towers, the 88-story Twin Towers soars to a dizzying height of 452m above the city skyline. (1,453 feet)

This gleaming architectural delight inspired by the Five Pillars of Islam is the centerpiece of the ultra-modern Kuala Lumpur City Centre. Situated within the towers is the Petronas Philharmonic Hall, home of the Malaysian Philharmonic Orchestra and the Petronas Performing Arts Group. Unfortunately we could not get tickets to go to the top!! Yet enjoyed ourselves in the breathtakingly expensive shopping mall inside the towers!! Also the tower was quite spectacular too, this imposing 421m concrete tower is reputed to be the highest in Asia and the fourth highest in the world. You can enjoy a bird's eye view of the Kuala Lumpur/Klang Valley from the dizzying height of its observation deck or the revolving restaurant and the tower is also a transmission station for telecommunications networks, radio and television. Quite stunning!

We headed for a huge KFC and had lunch which was yet again too much for all of us!!! We then headed back after seeing so many things which I cannot even remember!! We collected our luggage then headed for the bus station to catch our bus to the airport which is actually quite funny... the trip to the airport is about an hour and a half, yet the flight to Langkawi is an hour!!! We were quite happy to get to the airport after the long scenic trip. We booked in the bought coffee and chocolate then boarded the plane. The flight was real quick and quite enjoyable!! The taxi driver stopped at the shop so we could buy milk and sugar for our coffee when we got back to Bluemoon which was truly enjoyable!! Everyone had a wonderful time in the short time we had, and enjoyed the surprises as we went along.... though we would have liked to spend more time at Genting as there were still so many rides we never tried... Maybe next time.... now it is back to settling into the school routine and getting back into the sailing life....

Till the next log... keep the mail rolling guys!!!

We love to hear from ALL of you!!!!

Will keep you posted as to our plans .....

...

Love always, John, Jenny, Justine, Jessica and Jonathan

Log 68

We had gone into Yacht Haven with the help from their crew thankfully asthe current rips through there, and berthed on the outer wall on the?windward? side.... guess we should just have anchored out!!! Thestress was worse and so were given two fenders which were about thesize of Bluemoon and so felt a lot more relieved and were sooverworked as with the wind and the current we were glued to thatwall and would not have budged off it!!!

We went ashore a little but with the weather it was a shame! Had Jenaincome over which was real nice seeing them again. Also checked outthe gypsy and chain and gave his opinion which was much appreciatedas we had no real clue...

Wedecided we were in the middle of no where only because we needed togo ashore and get to the chandeliers which were a distance from wherewe were so decided to go to Phuket Marina where Derrick was workingand being close to all the chandlers and town ? it was a betterchoice. We got ready to leave yet had the marina staff tell us it wasnot possible as the wind was way to strong and the current and so towait a while and try again, which we did three times!!! We tried thedifficult task of walking Bluemoon back so we could have enough spaceto manoeuvre easier.. yet what a difficult task pulling her with thatwind and rip!! The whole day and we managed to move her only half aboat space!! LOL The whole day we could not get off the outer walland so landed up spending another rough night!!

The following morning, just after the crack of dawn we managed to get offthe wall, to our absolute delight!! Only to go through a rough squalljust a few moments later, which we were all happy about, enjoying areally good sail through some strong winds instead of being stuck onthe wall which we would have been if we never left when we did. Wephoned the marina to let them know we had left. The wind is the normthis time of the year which goes against the ads of 'sail all yearround ' LOL

We anchored on the east side of Rang Yai which was so much calmer!Shortly after anchoring Ilya anchored some distance off and came overfor some drinks which turned out to be a very nice regardless of thewind. The following morning John and I were going to dingy the fourmiles to Royal Phuket down the 'shallow' channel only to get not evenhalf a mile and totally drenched!! Just like we took a quick dipclothes and all!! heheh Facing those choppy seas and strong wind,there was no way we would arrive looking decent or dry so we wentback to Bluemoon and later realized we could not go around the islandto have lunch as planned!! John and I did kayak over to Ilya for somedrinks and also never arrived dry!!! They later lifted anchor andheaded off to Yacht Haven while we spent another 2 days anchored instrong winds. We had had enough and headed for RPM which was quitestressful not having stern in such a strong current and with strongwinds and with having other yachts coming down the channel andpassing so closely yet we arrived into this gorgeous, protectedlittle marina!! Wow!! There were maybe five crew members there tocleat and moor us on which was such a nice treat!! We were each givena very cold, jasmine smelling facecloth which was just so refreshingin the humidity and stickiness of the day!! We were just gonna lightup a smoke over a great cuppa while reading the info we were givenwith all the rules and my gosh we were just gobsmaked.... NO Smoking,no washing to be hung anywhere on the boat and, and and... well, thesmoking we clearly understood as the previous month some guys workingon the ferries were smoking as usual next to full petrol tanks andtwo men dies in a big explosion because of that so.... after lookingat the showers we felt like we were in a five star hotel!! Werealized that the rules are pretty normal but because we have so muchfreedom, it just seemed worse than what it was! We were like spoiltlittle brats I'd say!!! LOL

Wehired a car and headed for the chandeliers sorting out all our issueswith the gypsy and windlass and to our surprise we found a brand newgypsy which we compared and measured with ours and to our absolutedelight found our gypsy was just as good as new and that it was thechain that did not fit... it was stretched and so was slipping... We ordered our 60 meters of chain which we checked fitted perfectly andhad to wait for about 10 days for the new batch to arrive so weheaded off to Big C to buy lots of Pork which is real tasty and aboutthe only meat we get to eat besides chicken and NZ mince. We spenttwo days solid from very early till very late driving around and exploring, shopping and just having some fun!! We decided to go toPatong which you cannot anchor at this time of year ? being in thewrong season... HUGE breaking waves washing onto shore! So it wasquite different driving in from the other side and what abreathtaking view of the bay!! Sadly 34 tourists have drowned in thelast few weeks here!!! They have a system where if you see a red flagflying ? Do NOT swim! For these unlucky people they think it is notreally a threat.... and then find they are in trouble ? now some ofthe people have been rescued by the life guards, yet the most absurdand pathetic thing we have ever heard is that they die because thelife guards have absolutely no training!!!! No first aid ?nothing!! So they get you out the water and then do not know what todo with you so just wait till the ambulance arrives which by then youhave no chance.... The news and paper has stated that they arelooking at training the life guards... when no-body knows yet... itis in discussion. Hopefully they will get a move on with it!!!

We had been given details from Ilya about the salami which you get athalf the price in Patong... and so walked up and down streets,through side walks, up and down in and out yet could not find theplace... drove around and around then walked again and again and soit went till the girls decided to wait in the car, exhausted, whileJohn, Jono and I were gonna walk another block up just to be sure....so while walking an Indian guy on a scooter stopped and asked us ifwe speak english to which opened a very frustrating events thatfollowed..... he gave us a card each to scratch to which John and Jono had won a t-shirt, and me... I won a cam corder, laptop, or aholiday at a 5 star resort... STOP LAUGHING!!! We all know the drillhere....the catch ?.you had to go back to the club and watch a 90minute video of property etc., etc... I wanted my gift and so John reluctantly thought OK and got the guy to wait till we all piled intoour rental and followed him right around town on his bike till wearrived at the office... to cut a very looooooooooooooooooo ng storyshort.... we landed up with this Italian guy, Alberto who was such acolourful character, just like a rainbow and could he talk!!!! Thingsyou never ever tell a stranger... we got to hear all about it and hewas very expressive which to my surprise was strange seeing someoneelse so dramatic for a change!! hehehe He was telling the kidseverything a good mother would stomp out!!! John was so amazed tofind someone who way passed me on talking so much, and non stop!!!LOL We never did sit for 90 mins, it was definitely more and we hadgot no closer to even start the seminar so we kindly excusedourselves and left.... without even the t-shirts! We never let thatdampen our day and soon caught up with getting back into the swing of Phuket.

The following morning we pulled the mooring lines in and headed out thechannel at high tide which still seemed so shallow... We anchored outat another really calm and cute anchorage where we made a bonfire onthe beach and had sundowners with Christian and Vivian and their twosons, Adrian and Aaron, from Ilya who had anchored yet again, shortlyafter us. It was a real cute place and had a nice time till we had toclear out as it was mozzie parade!!! We left early and had abrilliant sail to Ao Chalong, where we dropped anchor and headed forshore to look around. Cannot believe how calm and peaceful theanchorage was for a few days!!!! Bright stars, some wind but nothingto complain about.... just perfect! Saw Giovanni from Mescalito whowas heading out for a few days with some friends... so will catch upwhen we meet up.

Being in Thailand again, we had time to just relax now and explore while wewere waiting for our chain, and our props, which we still werewaiting to reach Durban... then we could organise them up toMalaysia. ? and what we have found is that for us Thailand does notcompare to Malaysia ? or rather Langkawi which has become ourpearl... it is just so different... the people, the way of life, justthe attitude...

Tomorrow,John and I are heading off for an all round thorough medical check upwhich they do at the Phuket International hospital... ( having hadcancer and bilharzia before and not feeling so great) then we willwait for the chain to arrive then head off back to Langkawi, yetwith Sanyati coming across we will spend the next season here and sohead back to Thailand around December, January, which we are soexcited about spending with them.

We gave Justine the option of deciding where she wanted to spend her18th Birthday in September and so wants to spend itbackpacking through Vietnam.... so we are busy making plans... and sowill catch a train up to Bangkok spending time there, then catch a bus to Cambodia, explore then head off to Vietnam.....so anotheradventure to look forward to in-between the one we are alreadydoing!! Travelling is just such an awesome way to spend your timealong with your family.

Wehave also spent a lot of time dreaming... planning and just lookingat ideas....as the kids will also be finishing school some or othertime and would be starting their own lives... so have been thinkingabout where in the world we could go to next ?.backpacking throughEurope... or a road trip through USA or Canada... or evenAustralia.... So many things to do....

Well,as most of you already know, John and I bought an Ice-cream Kombie,which we rigged out, fully carpeted, with stove, fridge, bed,cupboards, the works...resigned from our jobs, sold everything we hadand just hit the road... We travelled all over South Africa ? downand up the Cape coast, In lands a bit, the to Durban and up the southcoast and north coast as far as we could and would just stop when wewanted to ? made coffee, cooked, swam in the ocean whenever wewanted... spent a few months cruising and exploring with our twoMaltese dogs, Bubbles and Cheeky ?. it was such an awesomeexperience... and that was in the days we had no cell phones!! So wehave also looked at doing that here in these parts... yet you knowhow quick things can change and still having time we will continue tosee what we will eventually land up doing.... Yet it is alwayswonderful to dream ?. as one of the things we have learned is ?If you can dream it you can reach it.. and have learned to follow ourdreams... they are not for everybody else... so that is how we havealways lived our life... or rather have tried by giving it all wehave, knowing that we only have one short life to live.... and don't want to spend it regretting all the things we never did! And so wehave made a list of the 'Thousands of things to do before you die' LOL!

We have been going down memory lane looking at all the places orcountries we have been to and all our experiences we have hadincluding the sailing... USA, California, where John and I went withour kids for the international karate competition ( Jonathan was theyoungest to ever receive a medal) Egypt (brilliant!) India... andjust so many other places.... yet so many we still have not beento!!! And may never get to! So though this is quite a small world, itis also just as big!! Clearly I am just rambling here...

AsI am sure most of you may already know, since the catastrophictsunami in Dec 2004, the Thai authorities installed a sophisticatedwarning system to alert the public of possible incoming tsunami's towhich the USA had paid for the 1st battery which has sincegone flat... and has not been replaced!! It is only because we had asmall tsunami in the Andaman sea where the warning was cancelled,which was all over the news and in the papers that we found out aboutall of this.. including the tsunami!!!! It is amazing that no one hasbothered to travel the distance to the device to change the batterywhich actually costs very little! It is the trouble of taking a boatthree days to get there that is the problem for them!!!! There aresigns all over the place showing a warning sign of tsunami ? run tothe hills... go to higher grounds.. yet sadly if one does come likethat one but of much bigger proportions then those sign posts meansquat without the signal!!!

I am hoping that you all take time out to just stop and look atnature..... really look.... at the fallen leaves or flowers; or theway sunlight places a burst of colour hear and there... you will beso amazed at what nature puts together for your daily inspiration. Itis also surprisingly beautiful! And strangely, nature tends to have ahumbling effect on us... seems like time just stands still... andsometimes I wish it did......

Funny how worry gives a small thing a big shadow!! Having had cancer beforeand being totally healed from it - Praise God! - sometimes leavesspace for a threat to rear its ugly head... and the bilharzia puttingme in hospital every two years for years and causing endless problemsalso makes one a bit nervous ? yet Praise God I am totally clear ofcancer and bilharzia! Both John and I have had the all clear so weare very happy! The verse that just pops out for me... ?Trust inthe Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding;in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your pathsstraight? Proverbs 1:5-6

Sitting here in Ao Chalong with calm waters and barely a breeze, we have allenjoyed the few days relishing in relaxation and just spending timechatting and sharing and planning our trip to Vietnam.

I did get to eventually ball my eyes out with the total relief from agrip of anxiety I never knew held so tightly..... now I am justenjoying the wonderful lightening display in the bright pink cloudsthinking of how blessed we, I, have been ...to have such an awesomefamily and such wonderful and faithful friends!!! We serve a Mighty,Awesome Father whom I give all the Glory!!!

We look so forward to mail in our in box when we manage to get onto thenet... with both our inverters not working now.... so we cannot usea lot of the power just yet... though no worries...

We managed to find a really nice and very expensive shopping centre justa little out of Ao Chalong, walking distance... where John spoilt mewith lots of essential oils which I have a glorious collection forall the projects I'm busy with and John and the kids gets some reallynice massages. Justine has got us into a nice habit of putting alittle warm water into a nice bowl (low bucket bought just for this!)with a touch of essential oils for one of us (whomever decides to dothe blessing) to soak our feet... of course we have an incense stickburning to which we also have a wonderful and colourful collection!What more can one ask for heheheh ..living life to the full withfamily... toad ally content!! Travelling in the company of those welove is home in motion!!

The Thai laws gave John and I a really good laugh!!! If you have anaccident with a legal and valid drives licence from your own country,regardless if you are right or wrong - you are Guilty and liablefor all costs. Even if you are right, you are still wrong!!

As wonderful and breathtaking as some places and views are, I do nothave a passion for this place.. and hopefully going to Bangkok,things will change our point of view... yet still I find I justcannot write with true passion about this place... the things thatare viewed as fun, easy, sizzling, or there hot night life, is justnot our cup of tea... it is quite the opposite in opinion... maybeour morals are different, maybe our rights and wrongs justdisagree... so many cultural blends and differences .. as the sayinggoes.. travellers always get experience which no book can give.....

Our chain had arrived so we headed off to hire a car and had just missedthe guy so we all sat on the side of the pavement chatting andwaiting... killing an hour, the guy showed up then we headed off toBoat Lagoon... the fit was perfect!! Boy was it heavy! That poor little car had its boot dragging down the road!! LOL

The rain came down in buckets with dark clouds hanging low yet with adouble anchor it was just 'Hakuna Matata ? for us!! No worries...we happily went into Tesco to stock up on our Pork supply!!

We got back just as the sun was going down... rain stopped! We managedto offload the chain and shopping on the baeach while john and jonogot the duck and brought her to the beach where the girls and I wereloading supplies... Jono went to drop the girls and provisions offwhile John went to take the car back and I happily sat watching the tide come in with the chain.. all went well.

The following morning we signed out of Thailand and were about to liftanchor when katrine came in to anchor, so John went to chat with themand let us know PFM had been right behind them coming to drop anchorthough have been in the squall that was now very visible with flashesof lightening! It was wicked!! PFM finally managed to get past thestorm and anchor just in time before it hit!! Heavy rain, wind andlightening.... then it was over ...just as we lifted anchor PFM cameover for a short while which was really nice seeing them before weheaded off! It was only an 8 mile run to Koh Mai Thon (HoneymoonIsland just around the corner) It was already past noon so we wouldanchor then head down to Langkawi slowly yet our utter surprise, thewhole 10 meter line was buoyed up so we would have to drop anchor inmuch deeper water and were not too happy with that as if a wind camethrough, we had not changed the chain, and could not go further in tobe protected and so felt unsure... so it was either go back to AoChalong or do an overnighter... as the other anchorages were out ofreach before dark, we decided to just carry on... we put up a sailand chugged along at 4-5 knots which was just wonderful... watchingthe sun set was just such a highlight which reminded us of the manysunsets and sunrises we have seen... we were all excited about beingon calm seas, watching the sun go down while sailing without themotors on.. the only problem we saw was all the rubbish and nets inthe water which we would not see in the dark, with no moon... yetwithout the motors on we would be fine!

Whata sepectacular sight.... lights, lots and lots of lights lining thewhole horizon!! Fishing boats everywhere!! We counted up to 70 at onetime! Dodged a few but no worries as everything looked like dusk withall those lights!! John headed off for a nap at 2:30 am while Imanaged till 6 am. Justine and Jono slept for 4 hours earlier in theevening ? so they were wide awake and fresh to go. After jibinglike 6 or 7 times I decided to hand the job over... We had like only2 knots of wind and it was right on the stern, little to Port thenlittle to SB and so it went, so instead of putting the motors on (byKoh Nok) and disturbing our calm bobbing around we just gave it awide birth and just jibed and jibed and jibed.... John was up at6:30 and me 7am and so Jono headed off back to bed while Justinestayed on till 10. Jess slept right through... Now since getting ourresults back from the hospital, Justine has decided to keep thefamily healthy by stretching every morning... and she drills us allLOL So we are up early and stretch doing different excersises for anhour then we get to eat little snacks of cucumber, chopped carrot anda fruit or olives... just depends on what we have at the time...anyways, here we all were spread out on the deck, excersising whileJohn was making witty remarks and chirps endlessly making everyoneroar with laughter adding to fun we were already having.....

Another very hot and humid day with no wind by noon...we put the motors onand furled in, what a day! Felt like we were doing a crossing! Bylate afternoon I was not doing to good... I had a temperature, feltlike I was dying... I had such a migrane ? no tab worked.... nextthing I was getting sick, was so faint and weak... I just could notkeep myself up! I had to put my sun glasses on as the glare was justSoooo bright!! The more water I drank, the worse I got!! And so I waspopping tabs left right and centre desperately!! John would not letme move! He propped me up keeping a close eye while a big squall hitand how refreshing that was! The sun's glare gone! There were twowater spouts which was stunning!!! Justine was washing me down tobring my temp down while I was shivering! And so it went for the last10 miles into Malaysia. (Telaga, Langkawi) I just could not hold downthe electolytes Justine was feeding me. The kids dropped anchor whileI just could not move and if I did I had John to contend with ?John went ashore just as we had anchored and bought 6 bottles of 100plus which is kinda like electrolytes.. I felt a touch better, had alight meal, showered and went straight to bed! Just what I needed!It rained all night... Got up feeling very weak! Managed slowly todo the excersises... to which John sat me down, gave me a book and my100 plus and told me to just relax to which I did, but as most of youknow that just cannot last too long for me!!! After getting andfeeling stronger, I headed to S/B and cleaned up while John waswashing, with the machine of course!! LOL Thinking I went to restdownstairs, he made sure the kids did not come down to disturb me LOL When he came down to check on me he saw what I was doing!! Boy canhe moan!!!! LOL ... love him to bits!!!

Spen the next few hours having John full me up with 100 plus and lots ofcoffee!! Lots of it!! I had heat stroke! John checked it out!Relaxed, read, caught up with writing the log up in my journal, hadanother squall with lots of rain! Just wonderful and we all feel sohappy to be back 'home'! Know as you may well know, when you traveland start to feel at home, it is time to leave!!! Hehe!

We have to be here though for Fakreese and Amanda's opening of their newcoffee shop!! Early September, but are trying to push it as Zaid isleaving to start his new job in KL!! Everyone is so happy for him butso sad to see him going! Then after that we will start to book theferry to the mainland, then the train to Bangkok... You do not bookyour accomodation ahead of time so that you sort out as you go along.We generally know where we are going, just need to fill in a fewthings then take it as it comes. We will all travel light... yearight! LOL

There is also a fantastic train ride from Singapore to the north which isbrilliant! So John has that one pegged for when we get there. Bigplans were made for us to braai on the beach here, with our wonderfulsosaties which John and Jono made yet with bursts of rain we won'tchance it as the squall comes so quick there is no time to run forcover! The sosaties were great either way done in the galley by Jono!The wind was up and the rain forceful! At 2am John and I were up yetagain having been up periodically with the wind alarm going off at 25knots. I jumped back into bed as I still was not feeling right yet!John called me to take a look at the building clouds and make a callof what we were going to do..... there was a very dark line of cloudswhich were building very fast which really unsettled us as we had notchanged the chain yet!!! John had a gut feel and so we woke the kidsup, lifted anchor and headed for the water dock, just to be sure...then the clouds seemed to dissipate to which John and I just laughtedat our hastiness over a good cuppa... talking about gut feelings...believing there is always a good reason for that feeling even if youcould not see the reason and to act on it ? (as we had) as younever know the reason and sometimes never will.... Well blow usdown... just as we were heading off to bed finally around 2:45am a 25 knotter came through! And we were protected, so who knows how hard itwas blowing in the bay outside! Then to our absolute horror, thefollowing morning early when we were changing the chain, we saw thelast link that holds onto the anchor was as thin as a ring!!! Wewould never have held in a strong blow if we were anchored out!! Sowe are keeping this piece as a reminder to always go on our gutfeelings!! S-C-A-R-Y!!

Wewere very happy with having the new chain on and John spliced thewarp onto the anchor chain, so all done, ready to go!! Just rainedreal hard so did washing, cleaned up, and read for a while till therain seemed to clear then decided to leave and head for Kuah, towhich somehow everyone was watching us... not just our imagination...and were kinda unsure about this... till we got to the mouth and sawa humungous black dark and heavy squall the size of Thailand (LOL)heading our way!

We had the sail up as there were good winds!! lol a little strong butno worries, as we also put the motors on and went a lot faster hopingto outrun the squall, yet not fast enough!! We were hit by a mallpart of the squall and were drenched , then when we cleared it we sawwe had not yet met with our big one, and so really started pushingit... the squalls come down this huge channel like a sprint and wewere just infront of it! Lightening flashing, and so we tried yetagain to outrun the squall again which was really fun as we knew wewould never out run it in that channel as there was no where else togo.. just as fun was guessing what the wind speed on the water was! Iwon!!! Then we would start again, and Jono is good!!! The squallfinally caught up to us after a good run and we had to slow rightdown as over visibility went down to 20 meters all round and we hadboats infront of us which we could not see. But we managed to missall of them and drop anchor, double anchor, in kuah totally sopping!!It has been raining quite heaving for 3 days now so have not got offthe boat yet! The wind whips the waves up till we were slamming!!Some boats really danced around!

We took a video of one of the long ferries coming to drop passengers off.. at our little jetty where there are maybe several mono's, a fewfishing boats and dingies...the waves were truly short and verychoppy making it really dangerous docking on.. but they did... oneperson got out at a time with the help of the crew and some werecrawling on hands and knees!!! We were very worried as the jetty wasmaking a wave action and the boats looked like wild untamed horsesthat were rearing up ready to go!! The one pontoon where the ferrywas docked broke off just as the ferry left to go and anchor out..Another boat came to remove the pontoon and take it to the beachwhere they tied it up! So we are never short of a little excitement!lol

Managed to go ashore late yesterday afternoon to visit fakrees and Amanda attheir new coffee shop which they are busy with.. wow!! theexcitement! They have painted it out in red and black which lookssimply stunning! The new lights, the coffee machines, crocery... theworks!! It is just such a wonderful feeling being part of it somehow!Looks really great and we are all just so excited for them!! Makingtheir dreams come true! Seeing them working for someone, thenresigning and setting off looking for a place, sharing ideas and justwatching them go from dreaming to reality! They have to wait for thewater to be connected which for us is quite odd as they have to redigopen a space from inside the shop to out side to connect it all up ?it is not already done, but the whole building is finished andpainted and that is just how it works here! All in all it is just thrilling! We headed back to the boat and stopped off for some coffeefirst at the resturant right by the jetty we are at....now the onlyproblem we made was John ordering coffee in Malay!! lol Justine isstudyng Malay and is quite good! So she was helping! When our coffeearrived it looked like hot chocolate or even darker than that wherethe teaspoon holds itself up in the middle!!! heheheheh

We have learnt that when you ask for kopi (coffee) you get the localcoffee which is just undrinkable unless you plan on staying up for amonth straight!! Or you get it cold with lots of iceblocks the waythey do their milo ice. So we just asked for nescafe hot which is theonly coffee we can drink here and the best part is they don't alwaysuse sugar, instead use condensed milk which is such a treat everytime! So we stayed for two extra cups chatting, laughing and justhaving a nice time. We were very happy to find after a good few daysnow of solid rain, after our exercise the sun come out in full force!Everything shone and looked so new and so much more colourful! Wewere real excited to be going ashore to get our internet connectedand to get some new books. We have seen so many new boats coming intoanchor which is so exciting seeing new faces. Last night we hadGeorge from Affirmation, a South African boat, come over for drinksand it was wonderful to hear the good old South African accent again!We shared a light supper and lots of stories and adventures... wassuch a nice evening! Every morning around four or five am we all haveto jump up to close hatches yet all of us have our water tanks filledto the brim!! How wonderful!! We have already had so many squallstoday, even now it is pouring down and we are just loving it!! Well,cannot wait to hear from you all ? hope you drop us a line when youget a chance... will keep you posted when I can of our trip toBangkok, Cambodia and Vietnam

Please drop us a line...

Lovealways, John, Jenny, Justine, Jessica and Jonathan

LOG 67

We lifted anchor early on the morning of the 17th July - yet my gosh what a mission it was to get both the anchors out!  Easy more than half an hour!

Yet it was great to be free again and sailing out again heading for Thailand on the east side this time... though the weather was not fantastic, even the water was real bumpy yet we loved the bouncing around seeing the sail driving us on our way.

Shortly after leaving and coming around out the channel - there before us was this really BIG BLACK 'squall' ... or was it a Sumatra again....  LOL we were now not sure as the clounds seemed to look the same - long black and low, very low and heavy! Since the 50 knotter we were always ready just in case something blew in unexpectadly and so everything was lashed down and ready and now this 'squall' was moving real  fast and closer to us and we were now not sure if we should head right back and drop anchor though we would not have enough time for that.... what to do... what to do... we decided to brace ourselves and go right through it! We put our wet gear on then noticed what appeared to be a wall of sea spray which concerned us as to this being a big one.... yet were rather surprised to find it was only a 35 knotter with very hard heavy rain so all were very happy we carried on - also - as the squall passed overhead, we saw a wonderful rainbow anlong with some dolphins in the distance so it was really great! PFM phoned to check if we were okay after it went through Telaga.

We sailed on the east side of Koh Taratoa which is the largest island of the national parks archipelago. Tarutoa is derived from a Malay word for óld', mysterious and primitive which is densely forested and beautiful! Taratoa has lots of beautiful walking trails leading to water-falls, caves, lookouts and isolatd beaches - a truly spectacular place! We anchored at Ao Talo Wao, which has a long pier next to a big rock outcrop - this was also once the site of a prison. It was such a breathtaking site with calm waters which was extra special with dolphins that seemed to live in the bay and swin around. Being totally roasted (sunburned from sitting upfront spotting all the rubbish in the water)  we stayed another day going through some quick squalls which was very refreshing and cool while recuperating! It was such a lovely place to just relax and clear your mind from busyness....

John had scraped his lower back rushing out the cockpit on the key for that Sumatra and now it was very swollen and infected! Thank goodness for fusiden which worked brilliantly over the next few days!

We lifted anchor easily the following day real early keeping  in mind the one hour time difference from Malaysia and Thailand. So it was 6am Thailand time and 7am Malaysian time.... with a huge squall building. We set off with a great and beautiful wind except for it being right on the nose!! So we just enjoyed the motor sailing to the Koh Bulon group which is still part of the Taratoa Marine national park yet the waters are so much clearer and cleaner with some stunning coral gardens. these granite islands are blanketed by rain forest and fringed with white sand beaches - just stunning!!

We relaxed for the rest of the day after anchoring while watching the cloud build up knowing something was coming.... next thing while watching the ocean I see hundreds of fishing boats from all directions heading for our anchorage!!! Got distracted with some dolphins which are always such a delight and surprise.... next thing I look up and we have been surrounded by dozens and dozens of fishing boats, all rafted up in different groups... maybe 5 or 6 boats at a time all the way around us and close!! My gosh what an experience! It was unbelievable having all these people we could not communicate with so close to us! Talk about being a little anxious!

... what  a sleepless nigh jumping up to check how a group had to separate and re anchor as one boat was heading out and they all had to move with these low rumbling powerful motors! So this was an all nighter experience - just shows how vulnerable we were feeling as a few months back, sadly there was an isolated incidence of two fishermen trying to steal a dingy off Mr Bean... they killed the guy and threw him overboard while they tied up the woman.... terrible, anyways this was in Thailand and so without even thinking about it you were aware of it.... as all us yachties were shaken up by that and it is the season to go to Thailand and Malaysia... so we felt exposed though all went well with no worries except strong winds and rough seas.... early the following morning when the sea gypseys were lifting anchor or separating from each other, we too lifted anchor and sailed over to Koh Phetra .... yet when we anchored I was not too happy being so far out from cover and then noticed only later while checking the pilot that John had been reading the wrong anchorage and we could have gone closer in - much closer!! We had anchored off 250m instead of 40/50 meters on the east side which has spectacuar limestone ridges which are incredible to see! There are jungle fringed cliffs with caves and overhangs. This island is one of the main birds nest collection points in the area!

After relaxing - finishing a book I was reading, then showering off the back sugar scoop noticing the clouds building yet again, we had a great quiche Justine made for supper while we had a squall go over us, then back over us and for the third time go over us!! It just kept changing direction,  over and over and over with of course no less than 35 knots!!! Who would have thought that this current is just so strong and so puls Bluemoon into the current while the wind and rain hit us from the side and back!!!! Come on!! Yet more dolphins cheered us all up! Restoring our hope of finding an anchorage that really did protect us alittle more than what we had been having!

Looking at the beautiful limestone cliffs that were infront of us, made a picture perfect set of fishing boats hugging in close! These fishing boats are painted the same as their national flag which is real nice to see!

Well what another blasted night we had! The current ripping and us going over the anchor yet again with the cockpit into the wind!! 35 knots blasting with lots of rain and we were rocking and rolling once again going side to side with the current when the wind took us... It was really not a good night at all! The problem started just a few days ago with the chain missing the gypsey and so it is terrible lifting anchor!!!!. We had very little sleep an so lifted anchor early and headed off to Koh Kraden which was a full days rough sailing which surprisingly we all enjoyed!! Jono and I sit up front navigating past nets and rope and huge tree logs and other stuff.... still shocked at how big those logs are floating in the water... shoes, plastic bags... rope... drums... we just missed like a 150 kg barrel then narrowly missed a loooooooooong line floating freely!

The bows of Bluemoon were raised out of the water then pounding back down giving us such an exciting ride!!!  Like being on a roller coaster!!! It was real great!! Rain, rain and more rain made it very difficult yet we managed to get snug near Koh Kraden and enjoyed a really well deserved good cuppa nest to a snail! (Sea Gypsey)

LOL! Yet again, a few minutes later there must have been more than 50 fishing boats tying up one to the other all over the place! hehehe

Just before dark we see low tide and thank the Lord!!! There were just rock everywhere and the wind was up as always, and getting stronger.... so what a mission to lift anchor and re anchor further out... which was such a good thing with that wind!!!

We seem to be doing things arse about face here as we keep sailing over the anchor with the cockpit into the wind and rain because of this current! Well, it was more wind, rain and lightening to entertain us for the night... the WHOLE night! 38 knots almost consistently!!! And pumping!!!... and so it went.... dawn had barely cracked its eyes open and we were lifting anchor which is really a concern as the chain keeps slipping on the gypsy!! Anyways, had another good day dodging the junk all the way to Koh Lanta where we dropped double anchor and enjoyed yet another great cuppa! We love this little island so much!!! The wind just keeps on and the clouds just keep building though no worries as we are firm on the anchor and that is pretty much our life line if you wanna see it like that.... but fun and games it was for the whole night yet again! we are convinced that we are having mini Sumatras every night!!!! Laying into the wind would be great cause we can be alert yet get some sleep, but going over the anchor and laying in the current with has been extremely strong , rolling side to side rather harshly with whipped up waves that pound into you and winds of 38 knots plus not dropping under 36 knots in the rain is no fun!!!!! Especially when you have other boats anchored around you and this goes on fiercely for 6 hours non stop!! And it is pitch black and you are sitting watch that no one drags into you!.

Someone had there torch out, another blowing a horn and we could see squat!! Thank goodness for a great lentil soup which John made for supper and was perfect for the weather! Just past midnight and things simmered down a little  - which was great taking off our drenched clothes, having a quick shower and trying to catch some sleep. We were up at the crack of dawn which was so lovely to see the sunrise... or rather the new day opening its eyes.... we lifted anchor and headed for Ao Chalong - to a little bay just before the big bay... we left at 6:30am and sailed into rolling seas all the way till we dropped anchor at 3:30pm. We sailed into this cute little bay which is also a fish farm. The last visit to Thailand always took up past this little bay and now we were here. The wind was up though that was quite nornal for us now and who knew what the night would hold, being so exhausted as we were! The wind was 20 knots constant yet so many stars!!! What a treat from all the clouds and blackness we had faced so far on this trip... John and I fell asleep straight after supper in the cockpit which was wonderful as we heard nothing and felt nothing! Great night!!! Whew!! Then to lift the anchor with it slipping.... it was getting far worse! We lifted anchor and went into Ao Chalong when we quickly dropped anchor while John went to sign us all in. That took a litte longer than anticipated so we rushed off to boat lagoont then when arriiving, it is a 45 minute winding lagoon which you follow with stick poles lining the way and we were undecided as it was late in the afternoon shortly before sunset and it was very shallow.... so sadly, with about 5 ski boats behind us and heading for the lagoon, I did an about turn heading straight back for an anchorage on our most loved island. We anchored on the east side on Rang Yai bay.

Had such a calm and wonderful night, or so we thought!! The kids said they woke up to close hatches for a big squall... John and I were dead to the world  - it could have been a biggi and we would not have known!!! heheheh

Having had little sleep for the last few days, always on alert because of the strong current and riding on the anchor with strong winds etc, I think it just all caught up with us! So we woke up totally refreshed and decided to head for yacht haven instead so we can firstly sort out the chain! Have to buy new chain. Then water , do our washing and just get things back in order.

It is a beautiful day with calm seas - just lovely!

We we escorted into yacht haven and pushed onto the dock!!! The current was shockingly strong!!!! Yet thank the Lord we managed to dock as the weather is not looking to good yet again! After a beautiful start.....

We did some washing but decided to just chill and destress then do washing on Monday.... hehehe It has rained and squalled all day!!!!! NO SUN LOL!!!!

Also we have come up with a new family song for when we come to marinas!!!!

' ... we are Bluemoon and no-one can be prouder , and if you cannot hear us, we'll let Jessca out of her cabin..."

As Jono says... if no one knows we are the Danks family on Bluemoon, then everyone will know within minutes of Jess setting foot on shore!!! hehehe

To try and keep the voices down on this boat is worse than facing a Sumatra!!!!

Till more news guys, keep on living life to the fullest!!

Love John, Jenny, Jessic and Jonathan

Log 66

I have broken the log up as it would have been too long... Log 65 is the first log then this one...

What a day!... (12th July) what started out as a glorious and wonderful sun filled day,after a very early morning squall... it suddenly changed into what seemed like a raging storm... a Sumatra.

We had only really heard about the Sumatra's and experienced small 30 - 35 knots gusting in, shaking everyone around then it was over.... yet this time we were to face a major crisis of the worst kind for us, on the 3rd and biggest Sumatra of over 53 knots and of course it was in the early hours and all was pitch black...

We noticed a sudden cloud build up with a very dark lining warning us something was coming. We lashed everything down tightly and cleared everything away just in case. As the build up grew bigger and closer we could see that what was approaching threatened to be a Sumatra, which actually was going to happen. The wind came in with such a force and the rain felt like needles on our skin and eyes, treating us like a pincushion!

Jono and I were 'playing' in the rain which was fun and also sore! LOL Mini moon was lashed down to the side of the boat but was snapping fiercely at the side which posed to be a problem,but we could not move her out of that position in that wind. Then after an hour or more, the wind calmed and we decided to lift her up and secure her on the davits and tie her down as more clouds even bigger and darker were approaching us fast!

We re-secured the the cover and closed the solar panels which was a saving grace!

The wind had died down to about 20 knots and the only thought that came to mind which I voiced was... 'the calm before the storm'... 

When the very dark and fast moving clouds were over head we could see another front (Sumatra) coming at a speed now, and more severe... you could see the wind on the ocean and within not even 10 minutes the ocean had whisked up to a rough sea and we were now rocking quite wildly! The other boats further down the bay were having it no easier!!Over 43 knots came blasting into this little bay.... many of the boats dragged and were not having any fun! The realization hit that we are like little toys in such strong winds.... though thank the Lord for the double anchor as that was what kept us from dragging.... it appeared at first that we were dragging, but realized it was just the 35 meters and the 10 meters on the anchors that were straightening up - keeping in mind we were only anchored in 1.4 meters of water!!!!

It was adrenalin pumping  for all of us!! Things were blowing around, and so for the next few hours we went through a real hard lashing...  the waves were breaking... and you could not see the boat in front of you at 30 meters!!

PFM were dragging along with a few other boats! They had logged 50 knots while we only logged 43... how was that possible? It was just the calibration on the different logs... so it should have been 50 as a few other yachties also clocked 50...

Jono and I were complaining that it was unfair! We also wanted to clock that in a nice bay in daylight and at anchor... and as you all know how the saying goes... be very careful what you wish or ask for as you may just get it and we got alot more than we wished for!!!

After a very full day of heavy winds and rough seas, bobbing around like a ball in the ocean... we were very grateful to be anchored by the second little islet (where we beach bluemoon) with only one BIG boat upfront and port of us, so we did not have to worry about any boats dragging into us... or so we thought!

The Front and Sumatra was coming directly from the west and we had all the other boats downwind of us. It was terrible watching these boats dragging and trying to re anchor in such strong conditions! Also a dingy was whipped up out of the water and flung into the boat midships with such force! Everyone was on high alert! The wind was now cyclonic and hitting us from every direction.  The rain hitting down on us hard made us all feel like pin cushions!

PFM had unbeknows to us checked the weather and along with a few other boats headed for the marina which was already full 100 meters from us! 

Things settled down to a Calm before the Storm....  unbeknowns to us!!!

We all had a shower and thankfully John and I had made a Bryani earlier in the day which was just what we needed! We all watched a DVD then finely went to bed feeling exhausted after such an action packed day! John fell asleep instantly while I had this sickening feeling!! I could hear the rain and wind coming and that sound of a freight train is the best way to explain it to you... then the sound we most dreaded to hear... something was graunching under the hulls!!! In a panic at that sound I woke John and we dashed up on deck - dressed in just a shirtless t-shirt and underware! 

The rain was pumping through the saloon wetting the couch and everything in its grasp! Next thing the port side was being graunchedl... within seconds of realzing the problem, the wind hit with such force we were all thrown off guard!! That wind!!

The waves were crashing next to the boat as we were stuck and could not move into the wind!!! We could not move and so we were broad on!

Taking such a beating!!! It was hard to hold on!! Then the side flap escaped and was flapping wildly and all over the place.... I was almost blown overboard if John had not yanked on the flap while rolling her up!! We all helped as the wind was vicious!  It was absolute chaos! You could not see! If we thought the weather had been harsh earlier in the day we had no clue how violent a 50 knotter plus could be!! The problem we faced was that we had gone over our bridle and anchor....  and being so shallow was bad as the chain was hooked on what we thought was the sail drive... and so could not use the motoron that side and we had no change of moving anything with just one motor in this very strong wind. The we decided we had no choice as we could maybe loose our sail drive or graunch right through the glass!!! What to do!!! What to do!! In the heavy strong rain and wind, John put on his rain jacket and in the rush he managed to mishook the zip and start choking himself!!!  My gosh, at that same moment I yell at John who is batteling that that BIG boat was dragging and coming staight for us!!!!! We were still stuck and could not break free!! Justine grabbed the horn which broke at the mouth piece the minute they tried to use it!!!!! Talk about luck!!! I shouted for the whistle and Jono taped the mouth piece and so we were all hooting and whisteling and shouting at the tops of our voices... which Praise the Lord woke the guy up!! He must have thought we were mad! Dressed in nothing, with the mast light on hanging over the bow to see where the chain was laying, running back relay the info as you could not hear nothing!! The guy on the boat who was watching the circus on our boats then realized that he too had a little crisis as he had dragged with the buoy he was on and was very close to the rocks! Katrine had dragged onto the rocks and a blue monohull was blown right up onto the rocks!! Thank goodness it was a steel boat! Eveyone was dragging and yelling and screaming... Each one concerned with his own crisis!! It was mayhem! 

So with out knowing if the chain was hooked on the sail drive or the keel, we were now in a dangerous position with the force of 50 knots, and the waves crashing violently by the boat!! John used the port motor to force the chain loose which suddenly it did! With having chocked himself he had managed to break the hold, breath deeply and focus on the problem at hand... Bluemoon moved with such speed into the wind we were all thrown! Totally drenched and buzzing as if we were all on a high! Jono and Justine had pulled me more than once before I was blown away!!! I could hardly hang on!!

When the wind abated some, the guy on the BIG boat came over and asked for assistance to get his boat into the marina as he was single handed, as his wife had gone to Thailand. So Jono and Justine went to assist while we were motoring Bluemoon into the wind if she went off with the gusting winds... this lasted till past 5am which was exhausting! The kids eventually went to sleep yet still highly strung... John eventually slept in the cockpit and I was just not sleeping at all!! I was truly on a high and watched the sunrise with my fiftieth cup!!  The morning after showed signs of the surprise attack of wind and rain....  everything looked so much greener and cleaner! There were hardly any boats of the 20 that were anchored yesterday....  that blue monohull was still on the rocks.... every thing was so quiet... I just cannot explain that feeling.....

Thinking about it... we were actually all prepared and worked so well together! As John said thinking about the crisis, we could have used our Genoa to help us turn the boat when we could not use the motors... hopefully there will not be a nexdt time hey!!

The whole day we kept watch and alert... now exhausted with cuts and bruises all over us which for the life of us could not remember getting!! My fingers are sore! Swollen and achy which was definitely from the hanging on for dear life!

I managed to snoozed from 4 that afternoon till 6. John spent most of the day sleeping along with the kids... I woke him up for us all to share a good cuppa at around 9:30pm then we all went to sleep which even if there was another Sumatra we would not have woken!

The following day was glorious and bright!! They had taken the mono at high tide off the rocks and moored her up in the marina... John and I fetched water and said hi to PFM who slept like babies that night and never knew the chaos going on right outside the marina!! LOL Jono and I felt so guilty about our wishes and decided after that experience, we would never again ask for anything near those proportions!!!

We have ordered our two props and are just waiting to see how long it is going to take before heading off for Thailand to renew our visas, as we will not have enough time to head South unless we rush - which is not what we want to do and we have no real reason to rush.. so our fate has lead us yet again in another direction and so we will go with it for now.

Our chimes have been repainted and renewed and are looking just so pretty hanging up all new again... I have been making mobiles and chimes with all the shells and wood and am pleased to hear the sounds of our bamboo chimes which looks so colourful and gives such a lovely sound!! Only problem is I am running out of space! LOL

Today, two days later ...  it is so misty!! Everywhere is like a fog covering the moutain and ocean around us.... no wind... so we just wait and see what the rest of the day has to offer... all still aware of how quick things can happen.

Please drop a note as we have not heard from alot of you guys... and it would be nice to know you are all still okay! We do miss you all!!

Till the next log, keep living life to the fullest!

John, Jenny, Justine, Jessica and Jonathan

Log 65

3.2.1 and we were off! The rain came pouring down which was such a relief from being roasted earlier in the day, while doing the last of the washing and cleaning up? and rain it did!

We loosed the bow lines and headed out of Telaga so excited waving at all on the ferry coming in. We had decided to spend a day or two at Pantae Tepor which is a little island close by? just to catch our breath and chill out a little.. the ocean was up and very bumpy yet all were just so happy to be out and sailing?. Such a refreshing moment! We anchored instead of taking up a buoy ?.remembering the last steel buoy we picked up? and what a great and wonderful day we all had! It was just brilliant! We were all talking loud, shouting, laughing and just messing around as no-one could hear us which was just great and we were all feeling the joy of having that kind of freedom again!! Jess made one hang of a delicious curry which went down so well! (Looks like we are all addicts to hot food since the start of our trip!)

We all headed for bed while John and I decided on sleeping in the cockpit as the seas had picked up and we were now really rocking and rolling and slamming! It was hang on or go flying! Been quite a while since we experienced that?The wind was up to 28 knots peaking 30 but steadily staying on 28. We were starting to drag a little yet weren?t that worried as we had a lot of space around us, yet we keep alert. We got out our cockpit cushion seats and our cockpit pillows which Justine and I made all in one day two days ago, which looks and feels great, then all got snug while John and I chatted over a good cuppa when I looked behind him under the bimini side flap and saw just pitch black coming our way and at a speed? John and I then jumped up throwing everything into the saloon, when we heard a rumbling growing into a mighty roar! OOOooooohhhhh!! The wind! Next thing we looked and felt like we were taking off! The flaps were up like a sail! What a feeling!! Justine and Jono were in the cockpit in a flash? then came the rain and boy did it pour down! We had to check, as it sounded like hail!! It was soooo exciting! That sound the wind makes is like a distant roar which just gets louder and louder! After about half and hour the squall passed and things settled down leaving us with just the rain so John and I slept in the saloon in case our anchor alarm went off, needless to say we were up all night, opening then closing hatches because of the rain stopping and starting? not having solar power as we had a lightening pulse melt the regulator?.so we did not want to switch the cabin fans on, keeping a watch on the power, when we finally caught a few winks it was time to get up again?. Whew!! How blessed we are to have coffee!

After French toast for breakfast, the kids got stuck into school work while John read and I went onto the trampolines to read and suntan.  It was real nice having a quite little spot being on our own for a while without people, or noise or company ? (except ourselves) and we all needed that! Though that did not last long? everyone moseyed onto the trampolines in no time lazing around, chatting, reading and just relaxing?and just enjoying the rocking and rolling. This went on for the whole afternoon, even when we finally went back to the cockpit - only the rocking and rolling became harder and harder! It was either throw out double anchor or leave as the swells were growing and we were directly abeam of them, so we lifted anchor and set off in extremely rough seas that so reminded us of SA.

We put out a sail ? which was wonderful ?swells grew bigger.. we were slamming and surfing like second to none while I was hanging on trying to get some good pics. To our horror, my computer bumped off the table onto the floor along with the extra hard drive! Everyone was flying around trying to catch and steady things from flying around the saloon and galley all the while I was snapping away and was blessed amidst the chaos to see a pod of dolphins swimming near the boat to which everyone came to enjoy!

We were all so happy to see Telaga bay! We prepared out double anchor which is Jono and my job and were only to happy to deploy it knowing that we would all sleep well that night. The rain came down again and the swells still running through the bay but at a better angle, the wind back to a consistent 28 knots. The kids went ashore to get KFC which was such a wonderful change for us all. And so the next few days were high swells, raining and school work, so we could not get much done besides relax, read and drink coffee.

When the weather cleared up some, we found we were being ripped off hiring a bike from here so resorted to hiring a car for 10 R an hour when we needed it? been waiting for the tidal change so we could beach blue moon to take the prop off and see if we could fix her, while trying to find a spare one though in these parts is like looking for a needle in a haystack!

Exchanged our gas bottles, got some supplies and tried to find a machine shop we could take our prop to. Going down South, we will need our solar panels working and have both our props working in astern as the current rips through there! Yet for some reason we have had such a time with things going wrong! LOL Guess it is a yachties life? We had a small Sumatra come through here and were so thankful for our double anchor as we would have had a real big problem re anchoring with only one motor in strong winds?.

Being back on anchor is just so wonderful, we are all just loving the freedom and appreciating the benefits! Even the lugging of jerry can?s for diesel and water. Diving and swimming again in our back yard again is such a blessing!

Another glorious day and so much to do! Also being so hot here, we have become addicts to there local drink ?Milo ice? which is just so refreshing!

We all spent the day after school knee boarding and wake boarding then all went for sundowners on the beach with some great yachties. We met South Africa?s very 1st SA surfer to be recognised in our country, Ron and his wife Wendy. A nice French guy, Kevin from a tri, and Mark, Rachel, Aaron and Nemara from s/v ?Glavar? who were heading off to Indonesia to do some surfing. Had a really great evening!

We had planned to take blue moon on the sandbank, again, to take her s/b prop off so we could sleeve it, but as usual we were so busy we forgot to scope the area out and so spent the day waiting for the tide to go out so we could do the inspection and postpone till the next day.

We met up with PFM, John and Sheila who had just got back from a trip to Vietnam and Cambodia, and he kindly lent us his spare prop which we put on when we went onto the sandbank, which was such a big help and what a difference it made!

Spent the day catching up with all the school paperwork and records! Whew! What a lot of work that was! Kids have really been working real hard especially as they want to have fun! And fun they had when on fathers day, which we had no clue was fathers day, their friends Zaid, Amanda, Fakreece, and Zaool came over to fish, knee and wake board, and boogie boarding, and swimming spending a wonderful day having fun? braai-ing the fish they caught on the beach and just totally chilling?.enjoying their time together yet all were sunburned and very tired at the end of the day. Amanda and Fakreece borrowed us their car which we used to get some spares from Kuah. What a moment of luxury! LoL. So we all had a great and full day, except for the acknowledgement of fathers day!

Yet no worries as we got to celebrate Easter early and so enjoyed two Easter weekends! Next Sunday will be our fathers day where we will have even more time to spoil him rotten!! He soooooo deserves it! And with that everyone just accepted the date had just changed?.

We lifted anchor and had a great sail to Kuah - making it easier to get a bike and find the places needed for all the work that we needed doing.

Frustratingly it seems no-one does milling around here! We have been driving from place to place?seeing if anyone could help, yet it is no official no one can!! We managed to get the solar panels working then POP yet again and so we took days changing everything? framed all four panels, and rewired everything right down to the disconnect switch which works brilliantly!

We were all so thrilled to see the biggest remora yet under our hulls!! These fish suck onto the hull and travel with you!! We fed them as we had two and even managed to catch one yet put her back as they become your pets! So all are just so happy to have some action by the sugar scoops!

So all have been busy with the prop, solar panels and painting of the galley and heads? being blessed with all the thunderstorms we have had lately, early in the morning or early evening halting our work every day? though being a yachties means water is more important and so we spend some time having fun catching as much as we can.

So our plans have been halted yet again going down South? starting to think we have been getting a very big sign here??? Yet no worries? another milo ice gives us something to smile about.

The whole family have gotten into a routine of doing two full hours after school doing chores and maintenance fixing what we can which has been quite enjoyable actually and very helpful as we have been slashing that long list of ours down? though very thirsty work!!

Will be heading back to Telaga in the next few days to put our prop back on and see if the little work we did on it works? if not then we will order the props and wait till we can properly sleeve the faulty one?

What a glorious moment for our family!! Sanyati is going sailing again!!!! We are just so excited that we can hardly wait!!! They will be sailing in around end of Sep/Oct? and we certainly will be here!! Though we will go down South to meet up with our dear friends TY Armor  whom we miss so much and who have flown home to Mauritius and then head back here to meet up with Sanyati, Al, Sue, Ian and Adam and spend one more season here with them going to Thailand then continue heading down South to Singapore, Borneo and onto the islands before reaching Australia and New Zealand? though we want to do an inland trip somewhere in between to Bangkok, Cambodia and Vietnam. Seems like a trip all the yachties do and we have been advised to do it.. So that too has us doing research and staying in high spirits!

The girls and I headed off to do some shoe  window shopping as Justine has been looking for a pair of shoes for her 18th Birthday coming up this year!!

18th!!! Cannot believe it! Yet we are all just so excited for her? and so we had a wonderful time trying on and looking at shoes that cost 400 R! Not when you are sailing? though I have my eye on a pair of stunning boots that are high all the way up to the thigh? mmmm.. John does like them too!    

We landed up buying two pairs of shoes each for only 3R a pair!!!

Had a really great and wonderful time.. Met up with Jono at the skate park and headed back slowly along the narrow pavement when we all got side tracked and were watching the men from mosque washing their feet in a section we had not see before, next thing Justine walks head first into a pole and everyone turns to look as the sound was shocking!!!! She is fine praise the Lord!!! Just a slight blue eye and a nice headache! Though we all laughed all the way back to the boat remembering the scene!

We had provisioned a bit and were ready to lift anchor (double) when Jono went to check the motors and oil before starting up? for some reason we just cannot understand why we seem to be kept here? Jono noticed our alternator housing cracked right off!!!  The pumps just stopped working? and now the S/B water dribbles out?. LOL! What can one say?A good cuppa while we lift anchor and sail off the Telaga yet again to now see if our prop works.. We had a great sail, dropped anchor close to shore, and chilled for the whole afternoon, and the whole of the next day, then took blue moon out onto the sandbank - that is always fun!! We swim, cartwheel and mess around cleaning her hulls till the water goes out - Jono always checking out the island and jumping off the bows? this time he got me to jump off though instead I grab the bridle rope while my foot is in Jono?s hand to steady me when he stumbles and here I go sliding down the rope! LOL Would not have been so funny if it was covered in barnacles? yet a lot of fun was had and finally the prop went back on while John from PFM who borrowed us his spare came to visit which was nice and to give us garlic. I managed to get my John into work mode and we finished the swim ladder and handles which took all afternoon? the sun was going down! Now that was such a relief for all of us! And being Monday night and my cooking day, we all celebrated a wonderful evening with KFC! Came off the sand bank after 10 pm - noted that the prop had a mind of its own and did not work? so dropped anchor (we always use double anchor in this season) had a shower and hit the bed sunburned and exhausted!! Tomorrow was another day?.

Been working on the continually added to list jobs? our disconnect switch on the wall which has such easy access is just wonderful and has been used a good few times since putting it in for the solar panels against lightening!! So that works!! Just need to have some sun so we can see the 34 amps coming in instead of all the clouds!! LoL Just when we finished with the panels and everything was done, in rolled the dark clouds and for 4 days now we have not been able to see the results!! hehehe

Sorted the pumps out and put a float switch in and VOILA they work!! Water seems to flow freely now so have no idea what happened there?. GOSH!! The list has got so small!! Wow!

We are all excited that we don?t have too much to do, yet remember it is not as easy as you knowing where all the shops you need are? you have to hunt them out!! And they work a little differently here too.. which we still don?t always get right!!

Fridays are like their Sundays and yet a lot of shops are open, except the ones we want open? and Sundays most shops are open except some?

We have to fix the alternator? have it tig welded before we go and today is already the 8th. We have to be out in 20 days to get our visa?s renewed, and so have decided that we will order our props, fix the alternator, then head off to Phuket, Thailand for a while, then head back, get our props, take blue moon out again, fit the new ones, then head down to Singapore for a month or more then head back here to meet up with Sanyati and stay around Thailand and here again for one more season before continuing down South to Borneo and the islands around there onto Australia and then New Zealand? yet with the way things happens, who knows how the outcome will be? though we will keep you posted!

Will be heading back to Kuah within a day or two to stock up on supplies and get ready to head to Thailand?. Then we will be needing a nice holiday!.... and that too depends on more surprises...

Till the next log ... John, Jenny, Justine, Jessica and Jonathan

Log 64

06º17.6'N 99º41.7'E.

Sitting here with a great cuppa...watching the sunset while it sheds it's glorious array of colours onto a glass mirror image of ocean.... is definitely a picture-postcard shot - we just got back from a very busy day to the mainland...

It has been about four weeks now that we have not gone for supplies... we did try but missed the ferry as Jessica was too busy dressing up for the occassion and so...every evening has been quite a lucky packet to each one cooking as to what they are going to make.. eventually we were down to beans on toast or egg on toast and so.... we needed to go shopping!

Jono had a test so he was staying behind to finish that (by choice) while John, the girls and I headed off on the ferry which has two 200hp motors, to Langasuka!! You get there with your hair truely styled which we love!!

We hired a little car and zipped off to PL SOON where we bought some supplies including our 3kgs of popcorn which you cannot find ANYWHERE else!!!!

Then zipped back an hour later, put the girls on the ferry with all the packets and watched them head back to Rebak while John and I headed for Kuah... we needed a good cuppa while we checked our list of errands. 

We got a few things we needed then headed off to buy two regulators for the solar panels which did not work out and so had to order them... now we continue to wait...

We had quite a run around looking for the right wood or stainless to make a frame to re-organise the solar panels as we have bought an extra two panels.... and so it goes. Here in Langkawi things are very slow and very laid back which we love... yet when it comes to work... things change dramatically!!!!

Trying to buy spares or just trying to find where to buy them is like looking for a needle in a haystack! And the frustration levels rise!!!

Yet we drove this little island around in circles looking for the things we needed without any luck and so headed back to the ferry (the last one for the evening) with one hang of a headache and a rather unproductive day. 

To have things flown up from anywhere costs almost as much flying there yourself, buying it and flying back... you pay about the same just ordering it!!!

But... that is how it goes.... so the list never gets completed fully except for the important things such as the solar panels, the bilge or grey water pumps....etc, etc, etc.... now these things seem to be made to give you endless issues...yet when we get to a city that will be a thing of the past because you can find and buy what you need!!!

With us ready to head out and do some sailing.... Jono reported the rigging and stantions all in order with no problems or surprises...

Yet.... a little surprise for all you landers...one of the unpublicized truths about the sailing and cruising life is just how much hard work  and attention you actually give to your boat....

Now with Bluemoon being relatively new... along with the equipment  the list of maintenance and repairs and chores is literally never-ending.Though we don't have half as much as the sailor who has an older boat as his list will be even longer and the funny thing is we have seen some travel to these breath taking places and spend most of their time fixing their boat!!!

Yet.... these trials certainly do try our patience.... like walking 20 kilometers to find some steel!!!!!  And even though our cruising life is wonderful, exciting, fun, stimulating and just everything we dreamed of and more..... it is still life which as you all know, life includes challenges and problems......  so to landers who think when we set sail with the idea that wea're leaving all our troubles behind is to blow a bubble that is destined to burst.....

Yet, we continue to see the good in everything especially after a good cuppa... and a few headache pills.... LOL

We will be leaving Rebak on Sunday and heading for Kuah where we will do a good stock up and collect the prop, and spares needed ... then we will start heading off down South...

All are well on board, healthy and happy and in a routine which has made our everyday life rather easier and far more exciting!

We are hoping all you guys are well and that life is treating you well.... some mail would be nice guys....  

Love always, John, Jenny, Justine, Jessica andJonathan

LOG 63

What a long haul it has been! As we decided that instead of buying a new dingy, our third one, we were gonna make one and so we set to designing it... planning and laughing about it till we made a commitment and John cut the old dingy up! Taking off at least 30 kgs of inside!!! Then we bought all the foam... which was  jammed up on Justines bunk!! Our saloon, cabins and cockpit have been barely functioning as a livable area!!

John constructed and shaped the foam pieces while Jono gave him a hand at sanding, and cutting... then we left Panang, and headed for Rebak, as in Thailand we were supposed to continue and finish our dingy, I bumped my head and so John took the time for us to relax and enjoy till we got to Rebak.... then the real work started as we had to glue the formed pieced together with glass then join it to the base of our boat, and so it went... itchy, itchy, itchy!!!

Yet what a wonderful feeling working so hard after not working for about four years now!! This was more work than we anticipated though that is becoming a pattern for John and I!

Take on projects that really bend you and pull you around through the bushes backwards yet we hang on, not wanting to stop as the challenge is just too great until the task is finished!!

And so our days continued, getting up early... off to the shed, somedays with the kids others without the kids while they did school... and working, cutting glass,. squeeging the glass on, painting, and, and, and..... the relief to see our flask being used full time so we could drink coffee almost permanently was such a blessing!!

We took off work on Thursday for Johns birthday and spoilt him! Made a cake and cupcakes and had more sweets than we have had in like three years!!! All in all it was a wonderful day!

The kids have worked just as hard, and were always willing to get their hands dirty which was most of the time!! Justine made the mixes, more than she can count! Jono helped with the glassing, holding, getting what else was needed, I cut the glass,. John glassed and Jess made coffee!! Then with all the practice Justine became an expert at mixing epoxy!!! And of course I with the painting though I did get more in my hair than on the boat!

Unfortunately, the heat from the mixes putting the glass on softenend the foam and so we have a patchy looking wrinkled gorgious looking miniture Bluemoon!!

We finished her and launched her yesterday... the 25th of May.

For some reason I have had a problem uploading pics on the site and so will continue to try and upload our amazing looking dingy!! Any orders???? heheh

Now we still have the swim ladder to sort out, our solar panel inverter fried from a bolt of lightening!!! And so the list goes on and on and on.....!!

Yet we are all back on track today with school, relaxing, getting our strength back so we can continue with the tasks ahead....

All have been concerned about dengue fever spreading as there was an outbreak and we saw them spraying the Marina surrounds as this place is a breeding cove for mosquitoes!! And like I said before, they ARE the size ofr flies!!!!!

Well guys....  John and I and the kids look forward to your comments in the guestbook and the emails to keep us up to date on the news....

Till the next lot of news, God Bless, and keep those chins up!! Living life to the full!!

Love John, Jenny, Justine, Jessica and Jonathan

LOG 62

Things have been moving along nicely with our family project! Never expected it to be just sooooooooooo much work!!!

Yet we are all loving it!! Will fill you all in when John allows

We caught a ferry out to the mainland which was quick thrilling at the speed they go, got into our hired car and set off with a long list. We managed to do all that we planned, even going to the doctor who sent us to the hospital. They gave me an exray and no broken bones, yet just a bad concussion... so no worries .... back to work it is...

Comng back on the ferry we were shocked at the huge swells!!!! Could not believe the change in just a few hours! Also, we got a fine!!!!! LOL  As usual my wonderful husband takes alot of good advise from me, especially where to park... and so John could only laugh when he saw we had a parking fine, though no worries, we have to find the fine now after all the packing so we can pay the thirty R!!!

The heat is just unbearable at night especially with ALL the mosquitoes! I kd you not when I tell you they are the size of flies!!!

Being the rainy season, our washing machine has been working overtime and the washing dries in no time even with all the rain.

The marina held a function for all the yachties which was just so nice!!! Also there was a wedding which just contributed to the fun we were all having.

They also had a cake decorating for mothers day which was such fun! Quite a laugh actually at all the quicks the chefs were making about the cakes....

Everyone is chilling while we give our project a day or two to settle.... then it is all hands on again.

Not much else happening at the moment... so please send some mail and stop being slackers!!!!  Even one line okay???

(Sanyati - we wait patiently for you!!! 

As always, John, Jenny, Justine, Jessica and Jonathan

Log 61

Thought I would update so you all know what we have been up to and where we are... with all this piracy, yachties have been hit hard accross the Indian Ocean!! Terrible, TERRIBLE!!!! We were exploring Penang which is a wonderful adventurous little place... or rather quite big! And having alot of fun along the way. We got so used to the free hop on buses and took great advantage of it. They have a set route they travel, so you can stop or jump on at various points. Most days we headed off to Komtar to get some daily provisions and also just to get out. Walking around here has also been very nice! Except as most yachties know, walking can be just as exhausting with so much of it, especially in this humidity and heat! We had collected most of our materials in Kuah and then got our chemicals and other goodies here in Panang for this family project which we have been so busy with! And boy has it been quite tough, no physical but more mental, and we are doing it in the COCKPIT!! We have all been going to bed around 1 and 2am just working on this project which has been rather fun too. Though it is slow going, it has slowly been taking it's toll on all of us as getting up early, sleeping late.... and the mess.... well that is another story all together!! Yet it is great! Justine and I hoofed it up to the canvas lady to sew us a canopy cover for our Bimini as the paint has worked extremely well except for the zips which you cannot paint and where the water is coming in... now almost every night you have rain, hard rain, which we are all getting accustomed to except for always being wet!! So we placed our order and gave our specs and then went for coffee which is real good in these parts!! I cannot believe how much I have learned about coffee from Amanda!!! The aroma, the taste OOOOooooohhhhhh I LOVE IT!!!!!!! The one and only thing about the marina we do not like is the filthy water!! It is thick with muck! Really! It is green and just terrible!! It was also quite scary some of the things you found coming into the heads!!! So we closed our sea-cocks inlet off and used fresh water to do the job seeing as we had so much of it, easing all our minds! That way the scale build up was stopped immediately! Now when we came it we were instructed to come in bows first which isn't really a problem except for the little fact that we could not get onto the jetty!!!! We all have been jumping off the bows which is making us all a little flexible! lol Jess has been watching lots of DVD's in the airconed - big screened tv room! Justine and I have been trotting off to Komtar on a regular basis.... and this place you can get lost in! Now the one place we found that we absolutely love is the bakery!!!! It is a real, proper bakery with lots of wonderful, different things we recognize or know!! And as my family know too, I am totally addicted to Panang's Coffee buns!!!! Delish! So you know what we have been snacking on every time we off to Komtar!! heheheh John and Jono love the coffee buns, except for Jess.... she never drinks coffee, never has - only tea and will not have a coffee bun under any circumstance! We went to fetch our covers after a day or two, and happily put them on. Yet, the sides somehow were just 100m too short!! lol Like give us a BREAK!!!! So now we have still been getting wet as the rain comes in now through the back!!! At anchor you tend to point into the wind....... We have thoroughly enjoyed Panang - the people have been wonderful! Friendly and very helpful! Like when the girls and I went shopping at Komtar for provisions, we landed up with like 10 bags each to carry and it was pretty ridiculous at how our legs were wobbling all the way across to the bus stop - then we boarded the bus and had no-where to sit, so we just stood upfront with our packages except for Jess who used two seats - one for her and one for the packages, and so the bus driver kind of felt sorry for us falling all over the place trying to balance around corners! So he slowed down and would not allow anyone to get onto the bus from the normal front section - they were all redirected to go through the middle doors!!! LOL It was so funny! Then he even wanted to stop at the no stopping near the marina for us, but would have been the same distance as from the actual bus stop we were heading - then he even offered to help carry some of our packets... which of course we told him we were fine, only to see our fingers blue from no blood flow! Then I had a packed break open and our butter roll in front of oncoming traffic into the jetty!!!! These people are truly serious! No-one smiles or acknowledges you in those embarrassing situations ever! We were roaring with laughter trying to get our butter off the road!!! Man were we happy to head down the entrance ramp when the floods opened up!!! We all love Malaysia!! It is just an amazing and awesome place and the people definitely make your stay so much better! We will be coming back - for sure! We checked our visas and realized we were cutting our timing very fine! So we signed out the next day - did some shopping for a few extra provisions, then left the Marina the following day which was very stressful!!! The current rips through that marina at a speed, and not having starboard motors going astern....you have to be wide awake with fenders ready to fend off!! So we fed the mooring lines while steadying us, John working the port motor at a speed to get us moving safely away from the mooring fingers then thundered at a speed out the marina! Boy can we take a corner!!!! Exhilarating!!!!! So we packed the fenders away after not having to use them! We planned to leave rather early and head straight for Palau Payar .. but we only woke up after 9 and left Panang Marina at 11:15am!!!! As usual we had the wind on the nose! Though for a change the current was with us! As always we love the sailing! Getting out and moving over the water is always so refreshing and so welcoming! We enjoyed the sailing so much that, that when we reached P.P at 5:15pm we decided to continue onto Kuah which was another four hours sail... also banking on the time of twilight after sunset we realized we had the wrong setting on!!! Anyhow we dodged a few fishing boats then dropped anchor for the second time at 9:15pm!! The wind was up and the waters rather bumpy and rough as it had been blowing and raining solidly the last few days which of course whipped the sea up into some rough swells! The following morning we sailed onto Telaga to re-sign in and boy what a sail! 30 knots almost continuous! Short choppy seas with some big swell ... hadn't been so long since we sailed in some unpleasant waters.... and as usual the rain saw us coming, changed direction and yet again we were soaked anchoring in Telaga! Spent the rest of the day and well into the night trying to get the 5hp motor running! The dingy is hanging onto the last threads of glue... so we pumped her up, put the 5hp on and found her going better than before! We all had a rather early night. The following morning of the 23rd April, Bob and Deidre from s/v 'Plane Sailing' (SA) came to visit. It was great catching up again except for the once off piracy attack where they killed the husband and threw him overboard (From s/v Mr Bean) here in the Butang Islands (where we were headed) and they helped the wife with the funeral arrangements etc... Absolutely terrible!! We then got a short visit from Peter and Katherine from s/v 'The Southern Cross' (Aussie) who are also on a St Francis! Such wonderful amazing yachts!!! hehehehe We then headed off to Port Control, Immigration and customs, which went as usual, well. Then it was off to s/v 'PFM' (SA) to visit John and Sheila. Then to s/v 'Jenain' to see Bill and Marlize. It was wonderful to catch up and see all the familiar faces of everyone again!!! Of course the rain came down! We hired a car and headed off to PL SOON to provision for our trip the following morning of the 24th. So after a full day we headed back to Bluemoon, topped up on the diesel, petrol and filled the water tanks, packed supplies then headed off to the Indian Cafe around the corner. Their curries are the best!!! And though you do not get served in the same way you would in SA - (Bigger helpings) the way you eat your curries by dunking and with the fingers is quite an experience on it's own! Jono and I don't really like to get our hands as messy as they do get!! Though in all restaurants or take-away places, you will always find a basin and soap to wash your hands before and after you eat!! Quite a nice idea hey SA!!! Then with full bellies we headed back to B.Moon where we enjoyed Peter and Kathrine's company for awhile which was really lovely!! Great people! That night, John and I could not sleep so we headed onto deck and layed there for a while making all sorts of plans, reliving dreams and just making anything out of the clouds which were in abundance floating through the skies... it was just sooooo nice! John and I are really blessed to have such a good, open and close 'relationship and friendship' We were up early the following day, planning on leaving early so as to get some distance to Thailand before the weather really changed... and so we lifted anchor and headed out the bay.... the winds were already up to 25 knots pushing 30!! The ocean was ready for us with the wind right on the nose and the current against us and FRED not wanting to play the game!! So John and I helmed with Jono taking over, which was actually quite a nice change. . We hobby horsed for quite a long time over some big swells! Then John took over again and next minute Jono and I were screaming above the roaring wind to switch motors off as we went over a net and got some rope around the port motor! So after some time we managed to get it off before having to jump into the water! Thank the Lord for that! Jono was at the helm, Jess had the music on full ball, so everyone was listening to S. O Connor, John was relaxing, Justine sleeping and I was trying to catch up on the logs as not to forget anything, although I already have, but no worries, cannot put every minute of every day into these logs, though I certainly do try!!!!! We had the bungi out the whole time though caught nothing! The splashes were coming into the cockpit! Really rough! We all had our protective gear on.... yet it was enjoyable! We were only doing four knots yet were pounding into these waves man! That island just never seemed to get any closer to us!!! What should have taken like four hours was going close to eight!!!!! The swells were growing by the minute and we all thought about Meme when we went roller coasting down some rather big swells that came in a pattern! [] After a tiresome yet enjoyable day we picked up a mooring boy at 2:30 pm, very happy to be out the wind and swells. This place is awesome!! So pretty! White beaches.... reef!!! Man are we gonna explore! What a rapid change in events.... we all wake early to another glorious day, being shielded by the bay (the swells were still rough out there) had a great cuppa and decided on a quick clean up then some snorkelling... so I rush downstairs to brush my teeth out of the escape hatch as one water tank was low while watching beautiful schools of zebra fish swimming under the boat, then balance onto the knee bath and jump back into the heads onto the floor by the basin, but with a bulkhead in the way, I smacked my head so hard, I felt it move backwards, which then flew me into the bath backwards... leaving me dazed and disorientated. Like I have a vice grip around my head. I knew I had done something really wrong as I could not get myself together... so I manage to stumble up to the cockpit, where everyone is now looking at me holding my head which is starting to pain worse than a migraine and swell! My left arm from the shoulder down went dead. I could not move it! John was convinced I had cracked my skull because of the swelling and pressure especially on my right side of the brain, and under my right eye which was very painful! Also because I had entered stage two of the unconscious symptoms! I had a wispy pulse, could not make out a sentence or make one myself! I could hardly understand what everyone was asking me - it was terrible!!!!!!!!! All I wanted to do was sleep which was a no-no with the family. The whole day was a total blur! [] There was no hospitals around here, except for a clinic, and we had been using the kayak as the reef would have popped the duck so now to get me off the boat, and into the clinic... on the kayak... no one moved me... just monitored me after John gave me a good dose of anti inflammatories . It felt like my jaw and cheek bone had been detached!! It was really a very deflating and worrisome day! Needless to say the whole family spent the day in prayer!!! And we do serve a Mighty God!! He has done some incredible and wonderful things in our life, so we all just trusted and held onto Him for me to gain some consciousness of getting one step out of danger..... Everyone was worried. I could hardly see through my right eye without crying at the brightness and the pressure made it unbearable..... [] So with the best possible treatment anyone could have under the circumstances, I am slowly back on the road to recovery still with a massive headache.... I will go to the hospital when we get back to Langkawi, but John was told we could not sign out as the official went to the mainland, so we had to weight two more days!!!!. My arm is back to normal after two days of pins and needles. Yet no worries..... as God put me on earth to accomplish a certain number of things and right now I am sooooooooo far behind I will never die!! LOL We all went to the beach where the family body boarded except me.!! They had a blast! We took a sail to another island nearby which was really nice! Then a storm (which we thought looked like a Sumatra) rolled in and I swear it had eyes cause it was following us! When we changed course, it changed course, twice! The swells have been really large yet comfortable! So we rushed off back to our mooring which thankfully was still there! When the storm passed, Jono and John went snorkelling under the boat and of course there I was too with the camera! John was furious with me as the pressure..... anyways now he watches me like a hawk! Does not take his eyes off of everything I do! [] He says I am the naughtiest person he has ever met!!! Yea right!!! Like he's not! Lol While we were moored up, we noticed a charter boat anchored right on the shallow reef! So we all sit on the sugar scoop googling in shock how they land themselves on the rocks that pop out of the water at low tide! OOooohhhh!! That sound of crunching! We felt so helpless as our dingy was up and flat. Shame it was terrible! Jono was getting the kayak down to go and help as their anchor was stuck in the coral. Eventually out of the 8 young adults on board they managed to get out of the trouble and anchor right in front of us! Young Canadians. The kids spent the next hour pumping the dingy up and getting all the snorkelling gear ready. I continued to live on painkillers as the pain was constant. So Justine and Jono tied the kayak to the dingy and paddled us over to the reef where they were going to snorkel. They threw anchor and I went snorkelling too!!!!!! It was so unexpected... the reefs full with some amazing colourful fish!! We had to be careful though because of the long-tails! They were zigzagging with people to and from the beach from a ferry that arrived with a lot of tourists. It was great! Almost like Palau Payar except for the drop off. John and Jono did some fishing and caught a few snappers ... Fresh fish again! Now this is a marine park and one would think you could not fish here... but you can! Today school is back in session. John is reading a book while I am catching up on the log... no internet in these parts.... We have weather developing and TY Armor just let us know that they were hit by a Sumatra with 50 knots!!! It is the season, so we all keep alert at the change and developments of the clouds! We are anchored in Koh Lipe which is truly pretty with white beaches, lined with lots of refreshment bars, resorts and curio shops, all in traditional shack style. Too many dogs on one stretch of beach! They fight all the time and the sounds are really just too awful to hear all the time! Some of the dogs look like they have been pulled through the bush backwards with lots of scars, bite marks and rough looking though they are pretty nice looking dogs, all in good proportion. The shallow coral allows for a truly spectacular and magnificent snorkel! There are a few islands all cluttered around with experiences of their own. 8 mile rock has soft corals with alot of fish, cod and mantes. Also Whale and Leopard sharks!! Between Koh Adang and Koh Kawi there is excellent diving and snorkeling. Between the two islands where the mountains come down to the sea there are huge underwater boulders which is home to many fish and coral. Spectacular! On the easy side of Koh Rawi, the park has set up guide ropes along the reef for snorkelers to pull themselves along with. On the western end of Koh Lipe there is a sunken ship wreck about 40 meters below which is covered ion marine life! Though the only problem is the current!! It is really strong! Hin Talvern Dukong is located right in the middle of the marine park and it just about has every species of fish imaginable. Granite stones shaped like huge building blocks rise up from the seabed into a structure with a series of tall points. There is at least 6 types of eel and about several types of lion fish and stone fish!!! You will see quite alot of sailfish and predators hunting squid and cuttlefish, hiding among the large stones just like in Palau Payer!!!! OOOOooohhh!!!! Luckily we were able to sign out and head back to Langkawi. Yet unfortunately it was Friday where everything shuts down!! So no hospital yet.... We went to Telaga for the night then headed for Rebak Marina for about a month to finish off on our projects and maintenance!! Our solar panel regulator popped! The starboard water tank switched off.....and, and and!! hehe Jono kayaked over to Rebak while we followed slowly behind. I helmed at about 2 to three knots to give him a chance.... He did great! Kayaked through a pop of dolphins!!!! Wow!! Now we are moored safely in Rebak! It is raining, very dark, with more t-storms expected. So the minute we wake to a great dry day, we will catch the ferry to the mainland, and go for a checkup .... Everyone is lazing around just enjoying the rainy, cool day!! Dirkie and Megan we will be thinking of you on the 9th!!! Soooooo sorry we cannot be at your wedding!! But we will be in heart! Please send a note everyone in our guest book so we know you are all well!!

Love always till the next log, John, Jenny, Justine, Jessica and Jonathan

Log 60

Everyone on Bluemoon wishes each and every one of you a wonderful and delightful Easter! Keeping in mind this very special occasion!

Enjoy!!

John, Jenny, Justine, Jessica and Jonathan

Log 59

Sitting here watching the traffic lined up for the ferry... is quite relaxing after a few days of running around...

Sadly we said goodbye to our wonderful friends who are heading South.... and spent a quiet day watching the weather roll in...

This lightening, as I know I have mentioned so many times is really unbelievable!! Thunderstorms are an everyday thing now so our timing on our outings had to change to the mornings and shift school to the afternoons ... The other night we had a mighty t-storm while I was sitting in the saloon and Jono and John were sitting in the cockpit when the lightening struck very close by... and Jono got such a fright he dived for the cockpit sending his juice with ice all over the place... I thought he got struck... need I really say more....

John and I spent a whole day walking this humongous town flat!! As John say's "surfing Panang on foot" . It has been incredibly hard finding a small plate of stainless steel!!  So we walked about 20 kilometers round and round finding the one and only place... eventually thanks to a very talkative, friendly and very helpful bakery lady...

We need to lazer profile (which is a word no-one understands let alone ever gets done in these parts) two small plates so we can weld on our swim platform handles....  we got the steel though and John will angle grind the pattern and, and, we will get the job done. This place is very busy! It kinda makes us think of Madagascar in some ways.... with so much potential.... anyways, we will manage to get our spares and parts and list sorted in as long a time is needed..... sometimes the frustrations of realizing how spoilt we were! LOL

The girls and I went the following day on our hop on free bus to Komtar and Gama shopping centre and had a great day buying new clothes though what a shock looking at the sizes of the pants!!! Yet we managed to squeeze on all the outfits the assistants thought we would not fit into LOL We had a ball! Then it was off to Mac Donalds where we splashed out with all our shopping and treated ourselves! We did not forget the guys, so got them take out burgers which are far bigger than in Langkawi! Then after a good few hours headed home and reached the marina yet again when the rain came down in full force!! But a great day was had by us all!

We took the opportunity to head for Panang Hill the following morning... so we caught the right bus and had over an hour to enjoy this very big island! Even though the Hill looks like a mass of granite, it is actually a series of hilltops. The highest peak being 833 meters above sea level. Panang Hill's Malay name, 'Bukit Bendera' is a direct translation of the English moniker, Flagstaff Hill which refers to the lone yet highly visible flagstaff from which the Union Jack fluttered when Penang was one of the crown jewels of the British Empire during the colonial era. The greenery is spectacular and so much cooler than the heat and humidity that bakes the lowlands of the island!! This place was actually the site of Penang's first strawberry farm and its opening in 1789 was the brainchild of Captain Francis Light, the first British Viceroy of Penang.  You ride up the unique funicular railway which allows a close view of the rich flora and fauna on the hill. The rail was built and completed in 1923 which consisted of two wooden cars which were replaced by the current ones in 1977. The wooden ones are beautiful! There are temples, farmsteads and an array of colourful birds with alot of monkeys! You stop at midpoint where you can take pics and read all the info on the history of the hill then switch cabin cars, which go very slowly uphill the rest of the distance to the top. There are souvenir shops and kiosks also we stopped to eat a local dish  'Nasi Ayam goreng'  We went to see the Mosque and the neighboring Hindu temple which is astounding to see! That artwork is incredible and ever so colourful!

The bird life is great! The views are breathtaking! You can see the Panang bridge which is spectacular in size! There are also many trails and pathways that snake through the hills which have many hidden delights! Then came the rain!! Then it stopped then it came and so it went... lol 

Eventually we headed down and had to wait in a queue to board the train... so John says we need to hoof it up when the gates open so we can sit on the way down as the tram is so full!!! We stood all the way coming up on both trams so when the doors open, I jump over the seats and head after the rest of the gang to a seat!! So here is all five of us sitting with a cabin jam packed with standing people!! (The guilt!!) Yet no-one was giving their seat up! Yet somehow there is always a price to pay right... well we jump off the tram at midway and find we are the last to get off the tram for the next leg down on a different tram... but there was no space for us!!! The first cabin which did have space was guarded by a man shaking his hands telling us 'NO", "NO" to which we were trying to say we cannot get in any other as all the others were full to capacity and this one could fit the five of us in, but that was not to be as he was adamant looking at his wife's swollen foot and wanted space around her, so the tram doors shut and here is the five of us alone at this station not quite knowing what to do... but no worries John say's as we will get to sit down on the next tram coming up as the people swapping trams have to walk all the way around and voila we are already there! heheh  So our trip down was great! Sitting was a real perk as it took more than half an hour to get to the top...  It is also a little scary with the steepness of the track!

We went back to the bus stop and got onto our faithful every half hour bus and headed back to the marina where when we stepped off the bus which is right next door to the marina, right by the ferry terminal, it started to rain! We ran to the marina where it really came down! Relaxed and chilled for the rest of the night as it was actually quite a full day!! Then this morning, we headed off to Sunshine square where Jono had told us a great skatepark was so catching another bus and driving for like an hour an a half we get to the square... but no skatepark! So the walk starts..all over the place looking for the skate park, then to the stadium where no one understood us or knew what skating was... then it was back to the square, and a little shopping, then the phone calls to all the tourist places looking for this park and so it went!!

Then off to the shops once again to buy a few baskets and lunch for a picnic! So rolls, butter cheese, mayo, and chicken meat with cooldrinks was in order for our lunch which we would have once arriving at this park, but of course we bought alot more goods, and on walking out the shop I spot a bakery!! So in I go and order some rolls which was a real treat and see they have coffee buns! So I buy one for us to test and it was so fantastic that Jono ran back to buy alot more while we were waiting for the bus, so back onto the bus we go eating our delish coffee buns, all the way to town where we hop onto another paying bus and head for the Botanical gardens where we have to walk a further close to an hour to get there where they have a stunning skatepark!!

It is called the youth centre and this skatepark is not for sissy's!! Man they did not mess around when they made those quarter pipes!! So we had a delish lunch! Jono skated his heart out while we took pics and mom jumping up when he hit the deck! Shame!!!!! Then we went to the fountain which is so pretty and here all the school kids were swimming in so in we climb with Jono swimming in his boxers!! It was lovely! When we had our energy back we headed back down the road to the bus stop to get a bus back to the marina.... Now Jess is cooking up a storm in that galley, Jono is limping around, John is busy on his project making a real big mess LOL while Justine is entertaining us while playing on the keyboard.... all the while the ferry terminal is buzzing with life and tired people.... the clouds and lightening are rolling in .... another storm on it's way in, so to a great day... till more news, keep that mail rolling and .... PLEASE SIGN THE GUESTBOOK SO WE KNOW YOU GUYS HAVE NOT FORGOTTEN US! LOL

Log 58

Today turned out to be such a great day!

When you expect rain ... it just doesn't come! LOL We wanted to test our paint job or at least the part I managrd to paint!  We were anchored at Kuah, and the kids had gone to skate, I had done all the washing yet again on water collected from the previous days rain all the while the clouds were gathering.... gathering real fast!

We had anchored right in front this time, to make all our dingy trips to the little jetty quicker and cheaper... so far we had been getting all our repairs and maintenance in order having hired a bike to make the trips and carrying easier. So we have been really busy..

Still on the list is the matter of the tender!!!!! This is getting to be a really big issue now and the decision of replacing or re tubing is on the table yet again!!!

But no worries, we have been putting it off and pumping much, MUCH more often instead!!

The fact that she has not yet sunk does surprise me the most!! So with the kids gone, a full days work completed, the boat sparkling, washing done, John and I notice a 'massive' storm rolling in, and quite quickly too! So I closed all the hatches and kept telling John that we should put our Bimini cover before the wind comes up (it stops the Bimini leaking)!! It has got to the stage now where we could just as well take the Bimini off as there is NO protection from the rain at all anymore! Yet now with the cover being such a big help, and using it very often .... with the rain just over the mountain, we see the storm coming at a speed and so spring into action... just a little too late!!! Keep in mind that I have a splint on my right hand which I cannot put any pressure on and as I am trying to tie the port side on, the wind blows in and catches that string and whips it right out of my hand and OVER the Bimini!! So here is John on one side, me the other in what feels like 50 knots wind - trying to yell at each other which none of us can hear tying on this now ridiculous cover which is acting like a spinnaker!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Man when I tell you we were sailing on the anchor I meant it!! We were dragging big time!!! The swells had gotten rough and very choppy.... Thunder and lightening in its splendor!! So John yells 'we dragging!' after we managed to finally lash her down, so we both step into the cockpit, looking like we've been pulled through the bush backwards! Totally drenched by the pouring rain!! I notice the boat next to us 'flying past us!' Him watching us with big eyes! So I tell John to look at how 'fast he' was dragging past us!!!...when John looks and then tells me it is us not him!! We jump into action again and put the motors on, though now you can hardly see in front of you it is raining so hard!! The lightening and thunder really doing it's thing!! So we decide to pull off our "spinnaker' cover which stops us dragging as fast! ... yet the wind is howling and we have not re-hooked which means we must re anchor...and with the intensity of the storm, and my finger, John prefers we fetch the kids first.... so already having a problem with the starboard engine... John sais he will fetch the kids while I stay at the helm... the motors are now on, so I sms the kids who are already back at the jetty and undercover, then decide I will fetch the kids as there are now a few yachts dragging, all around our side!!! So I jump into the duck which is now as pap as ever and almost fly off the other side!! Not so funny under the circumstances, though John thought it very funny!! The swells have picked up into waves now!! With my one hand not helping me in this little crisis, so here I am trying very hard to stay balanced as you cannot sit on the pontoon as there ain't no air in them while trying to start the motor! John is in hysterics by now while I am hanging on wobbling all over the place!! So John jumps into the duck, trying to pump her up abit, while the petrol dried out as I had clearly flooded the motor!!! Still laughing!! These two fellow yachties who were now right behind us came up to us, very worried for us as they had dragged too and checked if we needed any help!! Clearly they had noticed the trouble I was having trying to start her while John was rolling in laughter!! Yet that is the one thing that just warms any heart... fellow yachties always watching out for one another no matter how bad the weather!!

Anyways, we now had things in control and off they went back to their dragging boat, John back at the helm to stop us dragging again, now praying that I actually made it to the jetty without being tossed by the waves and wind....pulling me out to sea!!! Drenched, I set off to the jetty! My oh my was it like a bad dream! I was tossed around, surfing the waves man!!! It was really quite a worry yet pushing that motor full throttle I managed to get to shore...while being tossed around by the waves....expecting the kids to come out! They didn't think they needed to come out that shelter!!! So I now had to cleat on, get out the duck, totally drenched from the rain and also now very cold, yelling and hand signaling them to come! Eventually I was having a huge manifestation all the way back to the boat!!!! I was at the driving seat of course!! And we did get back to Bluemoon where the kids themselves were quite surprised considering the waves and wind and rain AND current!!!!!                                                      John cleated us on, while I switched the windlass on and we all went up on deck to lift anchor, problem now was not the starboard motor which wasn't going astern, but the port motor!!!!!!!!!!!!! While battling to lift anchor and relying on the port motor, the alarm goes off which surprised the lot of us as we have never heard it before!!!! So now the motor just stops!!!! And we are also on a lee shore!!!! This was getting to be a little stressful!!! The rain pounding in and the wind not easing off...  Eventually we managed to lift anchor, when the wind abated down to 18 knots.... thankfully, so we managed to pass very close after picking up speed around a buoy and a boat without hitting either!!  If the winds had not abated we would have been in some serious trouble! We decided on anchoring further out near the diesel tank as if we did drag again then we would drift into the channel and not another boat! So just as we getting ready do drop anchor, still pouring with rain, lightening and thunder yet again showing it's wonder, all the yachties on the boats we passed were all waving at us!!! Gee wizz! We were not sure if it was a good thing or a bad thing LOL

We anchored!!!! Then had a very strong cuppa after changing into dry clothes! All frozen to the bone! And did it rain!!!!

The following day we were please to see we had not moved! The sun shining bright and it being a glorious day! We decided to paint the Bimini top as we were now totally in favour of a hard top!! So till we got to actually doing the hard top, we had nothing to lose doing what we wanted with the Bimini... So off John and I go to Kuah town, buying the paint, spares and parts required to fix the motors!!!!! Now we can go no-where! So now without motors, we are a little concerned about the strong squalls coming in...... So.... I painted the Bimini top and ran out of paint....so a few areas were not done! Under the solar panel and the boom walk-way. John spent the day fixing the s/b motor ? another broken impeller!!!!!! Yet for some strange, miraculous reason she still ran and surprised us!!! What we found was the plates had too much play, wear and tear, so John sanded it down by hand taking off his skin on his fingertips!!! John put filters on both the port and s/b motors and was really fantastic to see that both motors ran better than ever before!! Wow!! We were real pleased with the outcome and now hopefully won't have so much problems!!! So the following days we spent working very hard slashing the long list... then a wonderful surprise... TY Armor called to say they'd see us around 7pm!!! We never thought anything of it as the line was cracking and a little bad... then not even an hour later everyone was cheering when they came past us!!! It was really great to have them back again!! We continued with our chores and finally got together to catch up!! What wonderful friends we have made!!

Now to get finished with the list so we can go to 'Hole in the Wall' for a few days to chill then off to Penang for a while and maybe off to Singapore! We are looking forward to the change ?

The weather has really been quite a challenge to us ? as to time our trips on land and gauge the t-storms speed has become quite fun...so with a break on the storm, John and I went to get more paint and also some to re-do the galley ? the hardware store's etc, when we notice we are really cutting the timing short as the t-storm is moving quickly!! So off we speed like kamakazi drivers weaving through the traffic back to the jetty... and are racing with our very pap dingy with the rain close on our heels! It was actually very funny as the kids were laughing as John and I ran from the bike with all our parcels without taking our helmets off and so drove back to the boat with them on... Thank the Lord we tied on and got onto the sugar scoop just as the rain poured down!!! lol Sometimes we are not so lucky and get totally sopping wet! We all love the fun and the excitement of it right now, until the novelty wears off I am sure.

Jono and Zaid have had quite a time 'defending' Langkawi with the skating! Jono is quite good I must say and we are real proud of him as they have a new 'sponsored ' 'profession' skater in town who is really good ? so Jono challenged him and had all the spectators clapping and cheering him and Zaid on! Jono was landing moves like a pro which were really quite a challenge before, yet felt like a pro when the day was done!! The following day Jono and John went to buy Jono his new board and skating shoes and sadly Zaid fell wrong and fractured his elbow!!!! A bad fracture! They had to knock him out for four hours!! It was terrible! And extremely painful for him!! Now everyone keeps joking and offering to give him a hand!! We tried the local food out at Kuah jetty which is a new restaurant, with Zaid, Amanda and Fakrees... earlier that day the kids had gone to visit Zaid at home as he could not skate, so John and I decided to go for a bike ride and meet the kids back at the duck at 8pm as planned.... it turned out to be a really fantastic evening where we drove inland which is so pretty and so much cooler too... we stopped for a snack and drinks then returned to the jetty where the kids and Zaid were waiting for us! Johns finger had a cramp as he had to hold the button down to keep the light on!! Zaid was very naughty!! Driving the kids to the jetty!! So we ended up going for supper where Amanda and Fakrees joined us! It was a great evening, except for the migraine I had been getting.. It was also the evening before our 18th anniversary.. The following morning John and I were woken up with breakfast in bed which was really wonderful and we do not usually eat breakfast! Then Bebert and Laurence came over for a visit which was very nice! Then Jono dropped John and I off at the jetty where I dived out the boat and almost went in the other side losing my sunglasses in the water!!!! We then got the bike and hit the road where we just got lost in the inlands of Langkawi.... it was really wonderful! Later that night, John and I bought some DVD'S and headed back to the boat to watch 'Bedtime Story' which was really great! Then another movie ?Zodiac? which is 2 hours 45 mins long, though took us almost 5 hours to watch!!!! Every 7 mins the movie would freeze, so we figured the problem, would open it up, blow the casing to cool it down, stick it back in and watch another 7 mins till the movie finished at 2:30am!! It was an excellent movie!!

Woke up to a humongous T-Storm!! It was absolutely stunning!! 5:30am and the clouds were thick and dark brown/grey which were very low, like you could reach out and touch them!! These storms like the one we are having right now is just soooooooooooooooooo exciting!! It is always quite beautiful watching lightening at a distance though NEVER when it is right on top of you!!! Shame, another boat dragged, and our dingy was pumped in no time with the new system John has got going now, just in case we needed to go an help... But he re anchored and all looks cool beans...

Now one of the strange things about this family is that they always want their hair cut when the wind is howling!! LOL Believe it or not, Jono's best haircut was done in a 20 knotter while sailing across the ocean!! So Justine has the shaggy look, Jess got short hair like she wanted and Jono looks scary!! hehehe

Well, I finally got out my wonderful and precious hand made gift that Bebert and Laurence gave me for my birthday! It is a sailfish cut out of a shell which has been polished!! It is absolutely beautiful!

And it looks so good on!

We lifted anchor and sailed into RLYC onto the diesel dock to fill the diesel, fill the water ? do LOADS of washing and rinse the boat off.... TY Armor tied up right in front of us! We were in rush mode as there was still sooooo much to do! So after completing all the tasks ? we did a last load ? had a good shower then bid our friends farewell while we loosened the mooring lines off the bow and stern and Bebert pushed us off! He said if he didn't push us off we would never leave!! LOL We have a private joke where we call them the Lorneys and they call us the Larneys!! LOL It is really funny how the joke has just continued! Hehe

So we dropped anchor in Kuah, got ready and set out to Kuah town to finish getting the last of our spares and provisions. John and I set off on the bike while the kids set off to Billions with a list, then we'd meet at the dingy, so w went to Port control and customs to get a pass to go to Panang ? then to pick up Jessica's meds, and, and, and....once we had all our goods, and me now in a taxi we headed off to get the last things we needed while John was on the bike. The following day, cutting a LONG story short, we met with Paul at the jetty with our extra solar panel and LOTS of parcels along with Jono helping to pack everything into the duck. John had dropped the bike off and came back to the jetty in perfect time! We headed back to Bluemoon where we organized and stored the stuff ? lifted anchor and headed for ?Hole in the wall?about four hours sail away. We left just after midday and anchored at 6:30pm! What an unbelievably beautiful place!! Really lovely with big rock faces surrounding a calm bay which reminded us of Sudi River!!

Mangroves line the river way and also has a maze of mangroves everywhere! We all had great hamburgers with it being John's cooking day! Sitting on the sugar scoop in the still of the night we all watched the most astounding site! The mountains reflection on the still calm waters were luminescent with phosphorescent!! Twinkling all over the water ? it was a breathless moment! Sensational! The current was ripping past the boat which lit up the boat.... magnificent!! John fishing while we all twirled rope in the water watching the displays of light gave such a brilliant light! Just stunning! Not enough words to describe that beauty one hardly ever gets to see!!

The following morning we pumped the duck then set off meandering through the mangrove d winding streams... felt just like going down the sudi river man!Except this time we never had strong winds, high seas or rain!! It was perfect!! Being a soft duck we were all a little concerned going over a stray mangrove in the middle of a narrow channel! It was so nice going down the winding river ways as it was covered by trees and shrub so you never knew what was up ahead which had us all anticipating! Soooooooo exciting.... with floating shops to one side, and boats anchored all the way down the main channel! Some boats have been there for quite a long time while the owners go home for a while, then it was back to bluemoon ? where we lifted anchor and headed for the famous diving spot ? Paulu Payer which was about another 4 hours sail... we lifted anchor about 11:20am and landed up going through an amazing squall!! We lashed everything down on deck with the dark long horizon line showing this was a biggie!! It was! 8.4 knots was great going for a while!!!!! It rained and the thunder rolled ? the clouds were very low ? quite lovely actually! Bluemoon was made for weather like this!! Quite lovely actually!! This kind of sailing seems to spark everyone into a mood that is so adrenaline pumping!! Seems like we are adrenaline junkies as someone once commented to me! LOL

When arriving at P.P it was sooooo pretty!! We picked up a buoy quite close to the drop off... it is a marine park so the diving and snorkelling has been said to be really fantastic! So after picking up the buoy, no one wanted to go snorkelling, except Jono who had been talking about this place permanently so Jono pulled out our gear - We dropped the kayak off the side ? got on and headed for clearly laid out diving area ? or so I thought!!!!!!!!!! We pulled the kayak onto the beach in a little cove, then headed for the clear, warm turquoise water where we put our gear on then headed out exploring! It was magnificent!! The amount of fish was truly unbelievable!! There were all kinds of fish! Parrot, Angel fish, Kingies, Triggers, Rubber lips,Zebra, Pampanoes, Bat fish, Rockcards and so many more colourful fish I do not know the names for... Jono does though we haven't got that far just yet!! The numerous amount of sea cucumbers lining the ocean floor was incredible! There were some big crocodile needle fish! Crayfish, and Baracuda!!!! The amount of fish had us so stoked!! All colours too and they were not afraid of us!!The smaller ones came in big schools and surrounded Jono and I checking us out!! It was totally noo-noo!! I could have grabbed on and kissed him!! These yellow and black stripped fish came swimming up and googling right into my eyes!!! WOW!!!! I was wide eyes in total astonishment and amazement while Jono was looking like he was breakdancing!! He doesn't like it too much if the fish nibble at you...LOL There are no words to express that feeling being so close to God's creations ? what a memory!! Jono was not enjoying the moment as much as me so we moved on with our entourage close behind us!! hehehe Then my first shock! A long barracuda lurking in the darkness... I touch Jono and show him then touch my rings to show him it could be dangerous, next thing he goes up to the surface ? jumps out the water holding his watch!! 'It's shiny' he says... 'yea I know that is why I showed you'! LOL 'but you should be doingthat under the water not on top'!! We had a good giggle then went back under covering the shiny things with our hands... barracuda go for shiny things!!!! So back down we go sucking our bellies in when going over the spiky urchin ? SCARY!!!! I really do not like them as they are a black ball with long spikes all over them and one red dot like an eye!! OOOoohhhh!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! We continue rounding and going over the live coral which was brilliant as little fish were swimming in and out the coral! Eels also living in the coral... There were big colourful fish all the while we were moving in closer to the drop off... Jono and I felt like we were in our own Nemo movie seeing Dori's everywhere!!!! (No turtles Sue ) When we got close to the drop off I was looking at the little buoys afloat, half in the water and half out thinking what a great pic this would be...(we were charging the water camera!) when all of a sudden we were now over the drop off! It was really dark and I was taking in my second shock, with having a lot of reef sharks that there were NO nets!!!! So when I move my eyes now back in the water taking this all in my eyes focus on this humungous 'fish' !!!! What a massive fright I got! My heart literally stopped and next thing this 'fish' turns and faces me!!!!!!!!! It was only then that I realized I was holding my rings cover with my hands but my belly ring was not covered!!!!! By now Jono was infront of me looking at me with his back towards this fish while I was wided eyed!! So I point and shout ?Behind You!? Jono went white man!! (Yea, it is soooooo funny now!!!) As he turns and sees the hugest fish we both have ever seen ? Jono's eyes open wide and that was me GONE!!! I was moving 'on' water!! Turns out to be a predator ? a great Barracuda!!! Like 2 metres with marking of him and amazing eyes that scared the living daylights out of us!! I am amazed we never had a moment of 'brown' water around us!! LOL Wow!! Our hearts were pounding and Jono's legs were like jelly he said ? yet what got to him the most was when he turned around I was 'gone'!!! And he could not catch me!! LOL Then another huge, round and fat fish! Not anything like that Barracude, but with teeth everywhere!! It was amazing!! We finally decided we needed a really, REALLY STRONG cuppa!!!! So fetched the kayak and went back to Bluemoon! Just to think I wanted to snorkel that 60 metres to the area!!! OOOOOooooohhh!!! Well what a wonderful and memorable experience! We had our cuppa then Jono went to the reef and saw a good few sharks.... well need I say more... he was back at the boat for another good cuppa after one bumped the kayak!!! We had prepared John and the girls of what to expect, though it is never the same as the real thing is it? Lol NOTHING really prepares you! Hehehe

So the following day the whole fam paddled to the jetty, by the drop off - this time without any shiny stuff! Got our gear on, and jumped in with the water camera which is shiny!!!!!! Ridiculous I know!! The water was brilliant, so crystal clear and warm! The amount of fish with all colours and sizes brought back the reality tha we serve a Mighty, Awesome God!!

The coral was fascinating and the family thouroughly enjoyed it, sticking close together while Justine and myself.swam around hand in hand.... now like I said, is anyone really prepared after 'preparing them'.... lol ... next thing Jono jumps up and shouts 'Look'! Aahhh it was sooooo funny to see the reaction of John , Jess and Justine! Everyone was expecting the surprise till it actually came.. A different and much smaller barracuda just hanging in the water was quite a mighty site!! John flinched when he saw it... the reality of actually seeing such an amazing creature so close is completely different to hearing about it and that was now confirmed! LOL It was still the biggest John or the girls had ever seen, though for Jono and I it was small in comparrison to the previous days siting! After the shock and Jono trying to take pics, we moved on back to the floating jetty and saw many eels which really looked scary yet were quite harmless... this place sure is amazing and so delightful! It was a wonderful treat for us all then headed on back to bluem,oon for a good cuppa. We managed to throw off the buoy line which had caused quite a problem for us earlier.. the buoy was made for a cat with the bridle clearing showing that yet not for our size! For these huge ferries that bring all the people to the island.. and so we landed up with the current being sooooooo strong it pulled the lines under the keels with the buoy chaffing badly on the bow... we managed with a lot of strength to manoevre the lines out and taking in slack retied so there was little play... but did we rock and roll the whole night!! It was terrible! We had slapping which we have not had in ages!! The line to the block was even longer making our swing angle huge, which set the alam off a good few times through out the night ? Quite nasty is roughish weather! Yet we did finally get some sleep and a very good snorkel so we were off to P Bidan ? another little island just before Panang.. So with the music on, everyone amped we sailed off with the bunjies and rods out ? we continue to remain hopeful...enjoying the excitement of our new surroundings..

Zaid would be in Panang and so had to work fast in getting our gifts together for him! (His birthday) After a good sail, we dropped anchor on the SW side of the island ? first assessing the clouds gathering around and over the horizon... Panang just on the other side of the bay... we were all hot, suntanned and needed to chill... so we first tidied up, then kept an eye on the wind changing directions and the weather...good thing in the end as if we had not anchored there we would have been blown onto a lee shore in very shallow water!!!!!! I had been putting a video slide show together for Zaid which we were all helping with deciding which pics etc... and managed to cut the cd, but it got stuck near the end, so back to the project and so it went..... Justine had made a very pretty collage pic with a frame made in driftwood which was beautiful!! John assisted in constructing the frame... so the whole family were working while Jess made coffee and food...

The sky was getting to be a mass of ominous clouds that gave us all a nervous feel.... there were huge cauliflowers bursting with such amazing display of pastel colours! It was brilliant! We were in the change of monsoons.... without a doubt..... We also were signed up by Zaid for the '60 earth hour' which meant our lights would go out for the hour (except for our anchor lights which are LED's) so we switched off the lights and all listened and watched this amazing, incredible storm roll in... the thunder rolled long and deep!! Wow! The saloon floor rumbled which was awesome!! So we all moved onto the trampoline's and watched the most incredible electrical storm ever!! The wind was howling and warm then cold fuelling the storm which was incredible to watch!! The whole sky lit up so brightly which seemed completely against the ? lights off ? hour as in that hour we had light permanently and so bright!! When the sky lit up it sent fork lightening 'tick in size' down to the ocean like we were watching a star wars movie!! Jono was taking pics while we all soaked in the beauty of the scene! We had taken out the solar panel fuse just incase as the lightening was arching over us from one side of the horizon to the other with us in the middle! It was just brilliant! The sky flashing the thunder rolling... just fabulous! The seas picked up to being extremely rought and we felt like we were sailing at high speed in maybe 45 knots of wind with 5 ? 6 foot swells, which we were actually, over the anchor till it pulled taut then back again and so it went !! We could not believe how much slamming there was!!! We have not had this much slamming since our ?Cape St Andre fiasco? LOL

We felt very happy to not be dragging ? that was our only concern so the slamming and bumping and rocking and rolling we could all with with!

We all came to the conclusion when we first started sailing and were scared of the lightening hitting us ? that when your time is up ? it's up!! You would not even feel it ? so..... we just have a mighty respect for something we have absolutely no control over.... though with the lights off it is always in that time you need them!!! lol Then we heard screaming and yelling in these gale force winds... so we all look and notice a fishing boat we think is in distress ? dragging maybe with no lights! AND right infront of us!!! With a whole ocean to float around in without an engine or anchor it just had to be right in front of us!! LOL (that was the nerves talking again) ? (pap dingy...) you getting the picture! Though no worries, two fishing boats with lights racing to the scene to help and tie on the drifter to the recue! Praise the Lord for His continuous faithfulness!! The reality yet again watching such a storm brings the reality back to what a Mighty God we serve!! I am not too sure how the blood pressure was doing but we sure had a cardiovascular work out!!

When the hour was up the kids were back inside watching a movie while John and I were up front and we were so astounded at the phosphorescent on the anchor chain and bridle!!! It was real beautiful!! We were eventually totally spent so we had a nice shower after checking our faithful anchor that was holding as the storm raged then slept without a worry in the world!!

The following morning was a glorious day as usual! The sun bright and hot! And the island being a military base was a ?no go' zone so we could not go ashore... but no worries as we lifted anchor and sailed across the bay to Gerorge town, Penang, Pinang, Panang!!LOL Now there is a little concern coming in as the tidal current rips past the entrance mouth to the marina... there are no ancorages so you have to moor up in an anchorage... so we have TY Armor on the line telling us we missed the entrance!!!! We are going right by the ferry terminal!! So we turn and find we are pulled quite quickly with the current and so it goes till we go further upstream to get through the entrance safely... then the art of not smaking all the super yachts moored along the entrance channel!! heheh it was no laughing matter! Quite stressful actually!! So with lines in place, everyone in position we find the mooring bays they gave us do not exist!! There are unmoveable poles in the way ? yet Bebert tells us to come onto B dock and there are just so many hands to help us moor on which was really wonderful!!! The only little hitch was we had to go in bow first and the dock is soooooooo short that we cannot climb off the boat!!! So now we have to jump off and this just does not work for Jess!!! My gosh... well we will make a plan one way or the other....

It was great seeing friends again and feeling that yachtie connection again!! One cannot describe that in words....

We signed into the marina and were shown around the club...a aircon TV room with cold water... which the kids have used to watch movies!! Showers and toilets... places to eat the QEII ? and we have the ferry terminal 50 meters away!! So we get to watch the traffic all day and all night!! It is not a bother at all, quite the opposite really... The ferry goes to Butterworth which the kids have gone to twice now with Zaid as they lived on that side... (he now stays in Langkawi) We went to sign in at Port control the next day where the people are real nice and very pleasant!

One evening when the kids went with the ferry to see Zaid, John and I took a walk.... a looooooooooooooooooog walk all the way to china town!!! What a reality shock!! Being back in a city.... so after checking out a place to eat we found the perfect spot ? Mr Pot!! You get coffee with every meal!! hehehehe They made that place for John and me man!! Ended up having a lot of fun!

The curries in this part of the world is fantastic!! So we have also been trying out the local specialities... such as ABC, which is shaved ice with different flavouring also added with beans, corn, and whatever they want to.... then you have cendol.which you pronounce CH-AN-DOLL. It is rice flower gone through certain procedures cut up into a jelly like substance put into your drink with cherry, beans, corn etc... the mixture tastes great yet not all the food in it!!

Now one evening John and I were having our last cuppa before bed, and noticed these otto's which were fighting and squeeling ? the one came past the boat so quietly... with these huge eyes checking us out... So cute!!!!

We spent the following day sorting and cleaning - then John and the girls went to town to find spares as our s/b water pump has stopped working now!! I tried to catch up on the log which is taking me forever as I just have too much information about everything!!!!! (also the kids actually do, do school inbetween all of our activities...)

Anyways, we were going to take the kids to China town when Bebert and Laurence suggested we all go together, so Bebert and Laurence with Francois from TY Armor, Jack and Mareeze from Mareja, and all of us on Bluemoon set off and hit undercover while the rain decided to come down just as we left!! Perfect timing I'd say!!

So we see the hip hop bus (meaning it is a free ride) at the stop and so all ran to the bus stop just a short ways away... all wet and now all sitting in in an airconned bus... with lightening flashing!!

We rode along town for a while then got off yet again in the rain and walked around till we found our spot! The red garden which is a huge open area with food shops all around and a 'dance floor' so we all wonder off choosing our meals.... John and I decided on a Bryani which was absolutely delish! On par with a good Bryani made from SA!!! The kids had a lex which is a local dish... everyone had something different which was quite a colourful display ? then came the beer... well with tiny glasses we all ate, drank and got louder and louder!! heheh Here in these parts it is a variety of mixed cultures ? especially chinese, and they are very quiet.... so here is our table among this full and busy place having eveyone looking at us!! Now Bebert is a real tease and my nicknames have grown to ?golden mamma ? Ayla? as he has been reading the engish version of the earth children series which is really fantastic!!!!!! So I lent him some books he never had and now he is hooked LOL!! These girls come on stage with the 'teacher' as the guy is called and each one goes on stage and sings... great voices all of them! Though there is one chinese woman who is very skinny in these high heel shoes with tights and a tight fitting shirt over, with LONG straight hair and funny!! You could see she was full of life and so Bebert and her were teasing each other.. Now Laurence would jump and and dance at the table pulling Jack in and so here we were right next to the stage having the singers down by us while we are all singing with the singer!!!! Photo's clicking kisses given, huggs, what a festive night!! And the beer flowed, and flowed and flowed!! hehehe... Now the girls get given a banner like a princess would which has a money amount written on...RM20 or 50, 100, 500 or 1000... now those banners are given by the boss... and credits are then given to the singers... as they love singing and so get to sing and earn some extra money... as they all have day jobs... so this woman, the fun one which we have called twiggy and who is playfully joking with Bebert and our table, steps over the fountain and walks through the palm trees which Bebert had not noticed at that moment, then she slips while she is still singing!! We roared with laughter while Bebert lifted her up and was doing press ups and, and and... it was soooooo funny!! Yet she made a full comeback so nicely and had the crowd very happy!! Her next song in chinese was about her fall and the actions of hitting her butt on the flower pot was brilliant... only we could not understand by her actions and finger pointing at us was enough to have us laughing permanently!! What our other singer friend said, after we had them all walking off stage to geet us and chat a bit was that the chinese were very shy and quiet.. yet they loved the way we were behaving and wished they could do the same but their culture did not allow it!! So we all felt better about it as it was our table who were all dancing singing and having an absolute blast while the WHOLE place which was pretty big sat ever so quietly just watching!!!!!

So after a brilliant evening we decided to head on home... yet there was no bus, it was early hours and we had to walk!! Now yall know when you drink you get loud, so you can imagine the lot of us singing, making jokes, and greeting EVERYONE along our route home!! It was really such a wonderful memory of the crazy things we were doing.... like the one guy who had laid down on a cement pillar with his legs folded yet sprawled out... while a bus load of locals were standing by and we were taking pics from every angle of this guy... I am amazed he never woke up from all the laughter from everyone witnessing it... sometimes you have to just be there to get the humour!!

Then it was onto TY Armor while the kids went to sleep... neat whiskey and, and, and.... my my my! We could have seen the sun almost rising when we got back to our boat which is only three boats away from each other LOL

This morning we are all just chilling out getting our strength back as maybe we go for a second run tonight!!

Sadly, we will not be joining TY Armor or Mareja on going South right now... we have decided to stay in these parts for the next week or so then move on back to Paulu Payer for a few days then on to Telaga and then off to Thailand again for our visa run..... we are also expecting some visitors so we want to be in the area where we can sail..... So in a few days our precious and wonderful friends will be off... and only around Sep ? Nov will we be heading down.... and this time hopefully with SANYATI!!!! Who have been missed in this sailing side of the world!!!!!!! Magic too!!!

So guys, that is all the news for now.... Take care and keep that mail rolling!!!

We love to hear from you!!

John, Jenny, Justine, Jessica and Jonathan

Log 57

Amazing how time just seems to pass so quickly!!

Well... the following day we hired a car and headed off to exchange the gas!!!           

This whole family would have some massive issues without that kettle boiling!!

So with two fill gas bottles we were back on target... with springs coming up we planned for Bluemoon to come out on the beach... this place has some of the most incredible sunsets!!

Our sail here was brilliant! Just what the doctor ordered! For some reason tension seems to be rather high on Bluemoon... hopefully just a quick faze... with the heat getting only hotter with no wind makes us all slightly agitated... yet with the sail to Telaga everyone seemed to settle down and start focusing on the task at hand. Thunder and lightening is becoming an everyday thing now!                                           

So we need to put on our lightening cables, as the season has changed.... a touch early it seems.  We all dingied to the beach and set out our markers and cleaned up the area of rocks, corral and big shells ready for our beaching! Everyone was getting excited now! We were on a mission!                                                                                      

We had planned originally to go on at midnight and start first light around 7 am!!! You see what I mean when I say I have a problem with this free floating hour that does not fit!! LOL Anyways, after looking at it again, it seemed better to beach her just after midday then work till 7:30 when the sun goes down which would give us more time so on the 10th we notice another boat ?bluemoon of oz!!' beaching on the opposite island... we did our washing with the water collected and sorted everything out that needed sorting, got our selves ready with the tools needed, delegated different jobs and times, and finally sat waiting ready to go!! Zaid, Amanda, and Fakrees called and were coming over to see if they could help as well as go onto an island that normally only yachties or fishermen could... so with great excitement, we lifted anchor and motored over to the sand bank....perfect! We had beached where we had planned! We put the Bruce out with a tailoring line, pulling up slack till we had braced the front bows with the lines attached to the trees up front. Now the wait! The great thing about coming out this time is that we had an extra 300mils of tide as a safety factor to get us off, just in case.... the other bluemoon of oz was really high up on the beach and had sunken in quite a bit!! We all dived and jumped into the water which was going out real quick! Jess was delegated the coffee making! Heheh which was well received as Jono and I landed up cleaning the hulls and vinyl while John and Jess sat idly observing us on the duck while Justine pulled them around! LOL Just like big kids!! We were rather impressed with the job we had done! Chuffed that the anti fouling looked still as good as when we did it! And the vinyl that we put on above the water line has been the greatest thing we did as all it took was a quick wipe and looks as good as new!! The job we thought would take us all day now was done in just over an hour with Jono and I!! Justine fetched Zaid and company on the dingy to the island with fishing rods in tow! We gave Amanda a fishing rod as that was her greatest desire... to fish, so we blessed her with a rod for something really great that she did for us, and man is this woman now addicted! LOL She really makes us laugh! With a wait in progress Jono and I took to being active by doing somersaults on the beach, with Jono doing back flips and walking on his hands which he is so good with!! He is a true fundi in this hand walking and is now trying to do a press up while in the up position!!! hehehe Better him than me hey?! Well I do believe he will do it with all the practice he gets on the boat!! While we are sailing!! Sometimes my nerves are a little frayed when he comes too close to the stanchion lines!!!!! Guess non of us have taken too well to the man overboard scenario! Jono and I went swimming again where I got stung by a small jelly fish!!! Then got pricked by a starfish that I leaned my hand on!!! Jono though it was real funny bringing this starfish out for all to see which had tiny little spikes all over the inside of it!! So now with the water going out at a rapid speed we started to dig a trench around the S/B keel...for the rest of the water to run off, so that John could angle grind and clean ...though very difficult as the keel is flat on the sand ? so we had to dig away the front section to work!! John managed with some tight squeezing and mega sweating to do the job without the cord going in the remaining water!! Then came the moulding of the epoxy putty which is brilliant stuff!! We could have gone under the water when it happened and fixed it then and there! In the water! Though we were happy to do the job right as once it is done then the problem is permanently fixed! Then we had an hour to kill while the moulding dried... It was not a big job, though the impact must have been quite big as the water was seeping ever so slowly into the water tank... though there was no structural damage at all! Thank the Lord for that! My turn was coming up to slap the antifoul on, in that tight spot, so the hour was great to have a good cuppa and a breath of fresh air! Boy was it hot! Walking to see everyone fishing, we chatted to some yachties that had come to make a bonfire on the beach and have some sundowners which was great killing some time... then the thunder started! Loud and rolling... OOOoooh this was gonna be a big one!!! The clouds started to roll and were gathering real fast!!! The hour was up and here I was snuggling in the sand with my head almost buried with a paint brush putting on the antifoul which John was giving to me... drops going everywhere!! lol With this mop of mine, I never seem to come away with my normal colour hair!!! heheh Also, being in my bikini - you would not have noticed for the amount of sand everywhere!!! John included!! Thank goodness we managed to finish the job in time when the waves started coming in.... All of us VERY HAPPY and satisfied with a job well done!! Jess made another cuppa while John and I tried to clean up ? by now the sun was setting and the dark clouds taking over the skies... with the lightening frightfully close!!! The yachties left rather quickly after wishing us well.. It was decided to Jono's absolute horror that he was going to drop Zaid, and friends off in this frightful t-storm.... shame!!! We watched them speed off while we tidied up the area, re-assessed the wind direction and our plan of action coming back onto anchor... It was full moon yet there was no sign of it, instead big black clouds and lots of lightening! The wind was up and we were all feeling the welcomed chill!.The rain was coming down now and with the lightening ? made us all feel very vulnerable standing in the water... feeling very exposed! So John lifted Justine up with his hand, then me as Jess was already on board making us all a good cuppa!! Now John could not get up! I was beginning to panic as he was left in the water and our swim ladder was taken off by John so we could weld some plates on to take the pressure off the gel coat, now when we needed it!!! ? I grabbed the first thing I saw, the block and tackel attached to the davits for lifting the duck up and lowered it to John who took it and then was swinging and spinning all over the place!! Look under the circumstances it was really funny!! Then Justine and I grabbed him and yanked him on board! Rain pouring down ? drenched and all cold!! The lightening was truly spectacular, though I am sure Jono was the only one who didn't see it that way let alone notice, speeding back to the boat!! We tied on and pulled Jono on board, who had the biggest smile of relief on his face!! lol Because the rudders were taking a bit of weight now and we were on a slight slope, we didn't want to be moving too much making them sink anymore into the sand so we all sat in the cockpit talking and drinking coffee while the massive storm raged ahead streaking across the sky... we expected to come off closer to midnight when we felt the boat bobbing ? after a while and a few more good cuppas we noticed that time had flown! We were totally stunned that the storm had moved over the mountain, the moon was out, glorious and full, the seas calm and we were floating!!!! Yea! What a thrill! So in calm conditions we pulled our lines in, and with a nice cool breeze lifted the Bruce up and set off to drop anchor again.... what a glorious site! That moon full and shining bright! Lighting the whole bay.... we dropped anchor at 10:30pm and realized just how tired we all were! And roasted!! After a good nights sleep, we all woke to another brilliant day! It is truly beautiful here looking up at the cable car going miles up to the top of the mountain... fishing boats drifting around... so calm and peaceful... even being blessed with butterflies!! This day was filled with completing all the small jobs on the list... we changed the bilge pumps on both sides servicing the ones we took out as spares... tightened the water filter, the Grey water pumps and flushed the S/B water tank out a few times with jik.... John and I went to fill the water drums then lug them on board and fill the tanks, and so it went till we felt satisfied the leak had stopped... the following day we could check again while leaving the jik in to kill anything unwanted!!! Then it was time to relax again, with this heat slowing us all down.... I got to drilling all the many shells collected and was making 'chimes' and small shell mobiles with all the coloured beads I had... true African style I tell you with bells!! lol Funny thing though, we have been known as being south African by the 17 ankle bands I have on!! hehehe It can only come from Africa!! Strange how each country has their own style which one can recognize!! Been fascinating learning this and being able to identify the style and colours of the beads!! Hanging my end product up and hearing them 'ching'about brought a real big smile to Justine and myself!! We felt like we were back at home where our lounge roof was covered solidly with chimes and mobiles, most of which I would make myself... yet John was not as thrilled or as pleased of course, as us... hehehe though he does like them! To look at only!! And on someone else's boat!! LOL I love it!!! So with an ocean incense stick burning, a full day catching up on the list, and the ching chang of beautiful sounds with a good cuppa... we all felt really happy, chilled and peaceful....contented to just watch the day fold away..... The following morning we lifted the dingy, lifted anchor and set sail to Rebak Marina for the night so we could flush out the tank a few times then fill up, wash the Bimini and tighten and of course do our washing with our wonderful washing machine!!! What another full day!! It was quite depressing trying to stay online and catch up! I cannot believe how much mail we had yet again!! Feeling really loved and missed!! Just love it!! AAAhhh you guys are just soooooo wonderful!!!!!! While scrubbing deck, a great surprise!!! TY Armor called! It was so good speaking to them and catching up on all that has been happening both sides! For some reason our sms's never went through and that was after changing the battery.. so we stuck to emailing... My nickname with TY Armor is ?Golden Mamma? to which even Francois calls me!!! LOL It was really great hearing from them!! And they will be sailing back here to stock up before leaving again by Saturday, so we have decided to prolong our stay... Justine is off to the dentist again this week, and hopefully we will get more dvd's which are so cheap here!! (Having watched so many movies already! There is always space for more!) Provision then head for 'Hole in the wall'  for a few days then head off with TY Armor to Penang, then down to Singapore!! We pulled in the mooring lines and set sail from Rebak back to Kuah ? all filled up, cleaned and packed.... Wow it is incredibly hot!!! Sitting here anchored in Kuah with a great cuppa while the kids have gone to the skate park gives us the time to put our feet up and just soak in the stillness and peace of another great day.... how I love this place!

Today, Sunday, the kids have yet again got great plans for spending the day with their friends...John bandaged my right hand up with a finger splint as I have done something to it... then went off with Ian from Ocean spray to hire a bike for a few days while I was the only one who could drop the kids off at the jetty... (Jono had gone earlier to skate first... ) Justine was not looking so confident with this decision... especially looking at the bandaged hand!! Though she didn't actually have a choice! Though yes, I do know I am an ameteur and do not even trust myself!! lol

Though no worries...I will get to my destination come what may!!!!! 

So off we go, me steering off to the jetty... just to warm up, which is actually very close and ever so slowly,!!

Then suddenly a hard swing from Justine to the right, just missing a workers foot hanging in the water!!! I was concintrating so hard, aiming at the closest part of the jetty making it easier to manoever around!!! Could he not see me coming!!!!!!!

I was already having trouble with this hand putting it into neutral, stern or forward ... so with a looooooong talk about hitching a ride with another boat to make sure I actually got to our boat, I managed to persuade Justine I was now a fundi and would have no problem!!! All was cool beans... at least that was what I truly believed!!!!!

Yet with the wind up, I never took into account the current and so was heading for the eagle which is in the opposite direction of the boat!! Yet with a lot of praying and ziggagging I managed to get to our boat safely!!!!!! As I knew I would! Lol

The rain is coming down hard which is wonderful.... John is working on a new project and is only to happy for me to update the site and do some email replies... so till the next log.... Keep doing what you love and keep that mail flowing!!!!

John, Jenny, Justine, Jessica and Jono