Year 2- 1 November 2025 - Pangkor Island to Penang Island
It was another 4.45am start and Steve, Andy and I upped the anchor and got us on our way. It was pitch black and there was some swell as we came out from the lee of Pangkor Island. The navigation light repair Steve had done was working well. There was a warship at anchor not far from us and many fishing boats with their bright lights stretched out across our path in front. We found a way through them and motored on.
This was going to be another motoring day as the wind was of course on the nose and too little. The engine made no beeps all day and so whatever Steve did by checking the wiring had stopped the beeping which was good. It started to show signs of light by about 6.45am and the sun came up just after 7.00am. Andy and I handed over to Mark and Ruth at 7.30am. I looked at the pilot books as on the East side of Penang there are two bridges joining the mainland, one of which is 24km long. One has an air draft of 28m and the other 30m. This seemed fine to me as Stormbird’s draft is 26m. I therefore plotted the course through the South Channel and under the two bridges as we planned to anchor in the Junk Anchorage just opposite George Town.
We motored on eating up the miles and had to take into account, dredgers, cargo ships, tankers, tugs and fishing vessels to ensure we did not collide of come too close. This of course gives us something to do on our watches and it reminds you why there needs to be a good lookout at all times.
Andy and I took over from Keith and Steve at 11.30am and I decided we needed to make some water as we will not have enough for the next few days if we want to have showers etc. Even though the wind was light I put out the genoa and sailed a bit off our course for about 1.5 hours as I need to run the generator to make water and cannot run it with the engine at the same time. We therefore sailed and bobbed along about 1.8-2kts and I filled one tank and made half another tank.
Once done it was back to motoring again and heading for Penang. Once we started to get close there was a note on the chart that if a vessel over 5 metres wants to go under the bridges you have to make a declaration to the Port Authority 12 hours in advance in order to get written permission. I looked this up more online and there is legislation which requires this but no obvious form to complete or where to send it. There was nothing in the pilot books about this. I had also read that one bridge draft was 25 m and not 28 so this gave me a conundrum. I did not want to get into trouble or be fined and I also did not want to damage my mast. This was annoying and the alterative was a longer route.
I therefore made the decision that we would go round the West side of Penang and avoid the bridges. We therefore turned West and got on with it. In fact this was quite a scenic route and we saw the quiet side of Penang. We saw on route fish jumping and one fish literally flying (not a flying fish) and flapping its tail for some 50 metres to presumably get away from a predator. We motored up the West side to the Northwest point looking at the odd beach and the mangroves lining the shore. We came round the top and then headed East. As we came round we could begin to see the high-rise blocks of tower blocks, offices and hotels which ran along the North coast to George Town. We then saw a fishing boat coming towards us and they were waiving their hats. They had a net out and wanted us to go outside a flag some 300 yards to our left. It was a bit of an annoying diversion as it was getting dark but it kept the locals happy.
We continued on as the sun came down and it began to get dark. The city was lit up like a Christmas Tree and it began to get a little difficult to pick out the boats moving and buoys from the shore lights. However, we eased our way along the channel and the AIS really helped and we worked our way along in the dark and came to the Junk Anchorage opposite George Town. There were two yachts anchored and some fishing boats and cargo ships. We crept round and found a spot close in and away from any ferry piers. It was 8.05pm and we had travelled 101.8nm -it had been a long day. We had our usual welcome beer to chill and relax and wind down.
Ruth had prepared a chicken stir fry which we enjoyed after the long trip. We could see the lights ashore and we hope to explore George Town and Penang tomorrow.
Penang is a Malaysian state located on the northwest coast of Peninsular Malaysia. It is divided into two parts by the Strait of Malacca: Penang Island to the west, where the capital city George Town is located, and Seberang Perai on the Malay Peninsula to the east. These two halves are physically connected by the Penang Bridge and the Second Penang Bridge. The state shares borders with Kedah to the north and east, and Perak to the south.
Penang is one of Malaysia's most developed economic powerhouses, with the highest GDP per capita and Human Development Index of all states. It also ranks second among the states in terms of average wages. Penang is Malaysia's leading exporter with nearly RM495 billion (US$119.57 billion) in exports in 2024, primarily through the Penang International Airport which is also the nation's second busiest by aircraft movements.
Established by Francis Light in 1786, Penang became part of the Straits Settlements, a British crown colony also comprising Malacca and Singapore. During World War II, Japan occupied Penang, but the British regained control in 1945. Penang was later merged with the Federation of Malaya (now Malaysia), which gained independence in 1957. Penang's economy shifted from entrepôt trade to electronics manufacturing and the tertiary sector throughout the late 20th century.
With 1.74 million residents and a population density of 1,659/km2 (4,300/sq mi) as of 2020, Penang is one of Malaysia's most densely populated and urbanised states. Seberang Perai is Malaysia's third largest city by population. Penang is culturally diverse with a population that includes Chinese, Malays, Indians, Eurasians, Siamese and expatriates.
Penang's modern history began in 1786 when Francis Light, a representative of the British East India Company (EIC), obtained Penang Island from Sultan Abdullah Mukarram Shah of Kedah in exchange for military aid. Light had been sent to the Malay Peninsula by the EIC to build trade relations in the region, where he saw the strategic potential of Penang Island as a "convenient magazine for trade" that could enable the British to check Dutch and French territorial ambitions in Southeast Asia.
After negotiating an agreement with the Sultan, Light and his entourage landed on Penang Island on 17 July that year and took formal possession of the island "in the name of King George III of England" on 11 August. The island was renamed Prince of Wales Island after the heir to the British throne and the new settlement of George Town was established in honour of King George III.
George Town grew rapidly as a free port and a conduit for spice trade, diverting maritime commerce away from Dutch outposts in the region. In 1805, Penang became a separate presidency of British India, sharing similar status with Bombay and Madras. By 1808, George Town had established its local government, while the founding of the Supreme Court of Penang marked the birth of Malaysia's modern judiciary. In 1826, George Town was made the capital of the Straits Settlements which included Singapore and Malacca. As Singapore soon supplanted George Town as the region's premier entrepôt, Singapore became the capital instead in 1832.
Despite its secondary importance to Singapore, George Town retained its importance as a vital British entrepôt. Towards the end of the 19th century, it became a major tin exporter and Malaya's primary financial centre. Penang's prosperity attracted a cosmopolitan population comprising Chinese, Malay, Indian, Peranakan, Siamese and migrants of mixed European-Asian lineage referred to as "Eurasians", and led to the development of hitherto rural areas such as Butterworth and Bukit Mertajam. However, the population growth created social problems such as inadequate sanitation, health facilities and rampant crime, culminating in street violence and rioting in 1867.
The Straits Settlements became a British crown colony within the same year. Direct British rule led to improved law enforcement, and investments in health care and public transportation in Penang. Owing to enhanced access to education, active participation of Asian residents in municipal affairs and substantial press freedom, George Town was perceived as being more intellectually receptive than Singapore. The settlement attracted intellectuals and revolutionaries, including Rudyard Kipling, Somerset Maugham and Sun Yat-sen. In 1910, Sun selected George Town as the centre for the Tongmenghui's political activities in Southeast Asia, aimed at overthrowing the Qing dynasty.
Penang emerged from World War I relatively unscathed, apart from the Battle of Penang during which the Imperial German Navy cruiser SMS Emden sank two Allied warships off George Town. During the interwar years, the British had acknowledged the need to fortify their armed forces in northern Malaya. However, complacency and lack of resources left British forces ill-prepared to confront the Japanese invasion at the onset of the Pacific War. Although Penang Island had been designated as a fortress, Penang fell without struggle to the Imperial Japanese Army on 19 December 1941 after daily aerial attacks. The British covertly evacuated Penang's European populace; historian Raymond Callahan since contended that "the moral collapse of British rule in Southeast Asia came not at Singapore, but at Penang".
Penang Island was subsequently renamed Tojo-to after Prime Minister Hideki Tojo. Japanese Police imposed order by massacring Chinese civilians under the Sook Ching policy, while women were forced into sexual slavery. Swettenham Pier was converted into a major submarine base by the Axis Powers.
Between 1944 and 1945, Allied bombers from India targeted naval and administrative buildings in George Town, damaging and destroying several colonial buildings in the process. The Penang Strait was mined to restrict Japanese shipping. Following Japan's surrender, George Town was the first Malayan settlement liberated by British marines through Operation Jurist on 3 September 1945.
Penang was placed under British military administration until 1946, after which the Straits Settlements was abolished. The British sought to consolidate the various political entities in British Malaya, including the Crown Colony of Penang, under a single polity known as the Malayan Union. Initially, the impending annexation of Penang into the vast Malay heartland proved unpopular among Penangites. The Penang Secessionist Committee was formed in 1948 due to economic and ethnic concerns, but their attempt to avert Penang's merger with Malaya was unsuccessful due to British disapproval.
To relieve the concerns raised by the secessionists, the British government guaranteed George Town's free port status and reintroduced municipal elections in 1951. George Town became the first fully-elected municipality in Malaya by 1956 and was granted city status by Queen Elizabeth II in the following year. This made George Town the first city within the Federation of Malaya, and by extension, Malaysia.
George Town's status as a free port was rescinded by the Malaysian federal government in 1969. This led to a loss of maritime trade, causing massive unemployment and brain drain. To revive the economy, Chief Minister Lim Chong Eu established the Bayan Lepas Free Industrial Zone in 1972. Massive industrialisation proved instrumental in reversing Penang's economic slump and led to the state's rapid economic growth until the late 1990s. Under Lim's tenure, the Penang Bridge, the first road link between Penang Island and the Malay Peninsula, was built.
Persistent brain drain, aggravated by federal policies prioritising the growth of Kuala Lumpur, resulted in Penang losing its leading position in the national economy by the 21st century. This decline, compounded by various issues including incoherent urban planning, poor traffic management and the dilapidation of George Town's heritage enclave following the repeal of the Rent Control Act in 2001, contributed to growing dissatisfaction within Penang's society.
In response, civil societies in George Town mobilised public support to rejuvenate the city. Resentment against the Barisan Nasional (BN) administration led to the Pakatan Rakyat bloc (now Pakatan Harapan) rising to power through the 2008 state election.[77] Efforts to preserve George Town's heritage architecture led to the city's historical core being designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site that year. The picture of the day is the North part of Penang.
Need/Opportunity Year Three
In year three I will be going from Thailand to Sri Lanka, India, Maldives and then on to Chagos, Mauritius, Reunion, Cape Town, St Helena, Azores and back to the UK. I am looking for crew from Mauritius/ Reunion Island to Cape Town and from Cape Town to the UK. If of any interest do email me.
The blog will continue as we continue the journey. If you have any comments or suggestions about the blog then do email me on hine.nick9@gmail.com