Year 2- 29th October 2025 -Admiral’s Marina - Port Dickson
I woke at 8.00am which is late for me but the later sunrise time helped me sleep longer. The others stirred within 30 minutes and I made a cooked breakfast.
We decided to go and see something of Port Dickson as we were moving on tomorrow. I had heard back from the marina at Pangkor Island and they did not have a space at present so we are going to have to anchor. I had looked up some options on the way.
One party wanted to go to a beach and they headed off -Ruth, Mark and Steve. The others (Keith & Andy and I ) wanted to go and see the Rachado Lighthouse.
The Cape Rachado Lighthouse is a lighthouse located at Cape Rachado in Alor Gajah District, Malacca, Malaysia. The lighthouse is believed to be the oldest in the country, its history allegedly dating back to Portuguese rule of Malacca during the 16th century, although the present structure is a 19th-century construction.
The early history of the lighthouse remains largely unverified, with unofficial accounts by locals tracing the lighthouse's history back to a period following the conquest of Malacca by Portugal in 1511. The Portuguese government in Malacca vested interest in the construction of a lighthouse to guide its ships through the narrow Straits of Malacca, completing the first iteration of the structure on Cape Rachado (a name given by the Portuguese, meaning "Broken Cape”) in the 16th century. Possession of the lighthouse was handed over to the Dutch VOC, alongside Malacca in entirety in 1641, and a second version of the building was claimed to have been built in 1817, during temporary rule by the British under William Farquhar, seven years before Malacca's total changeover to the British in 1824. The present lighthouse was constructed in 1863, during Malacca's status as a British-ruled Straits Settlement, and remains active as of 2008. In 1990, a concrete tower was built by to the original lighthouse to house a MEASAT radar.
The current lighthouse erected in 1863 consists of a 24-metre (79 feet) high circular tower with a lantern and gallery, and adjoining double storey keeper's house at the base, both constructed of masonry and whitewashed. An additional tower completed in 1990 was constructed using reinforced concrete, and holds a MEASAT radar, designed to monitor ship traffic in the Strait of Malacca and aid in communications, at the top of the structure. The lighthouse is entirely based on a fort-like foundation.
The lighthouse is located on a summit at Cape Rachado roughly 100 meters inland, and is enclosed within woodland, which makes the lighthouse's location an ideal area for birdwatching. Access to the lighthouse is largely restricted to travel by foot, with the immediate site accessible only via two stairwells: a spiral staircase with 72 steps and a stone staircase behind the lighthouse, the latter serving as an easier access point to the lighthouse.
Nuria from Sabre 11 joined us and so Keith, Andy, Nuria and I jumped in a taxi and it drove us to the entrance to Tamjan Eko Rimba Tanjung Tuan – a park in which the lighthouse was situated. There was a barrier and a small road leading up into the park. We walked up the road which led to the base of the lighthouse and was about a 1km long. We came across some macaque monkeys sitting in the trees and were watching us as we walked up. We were essentially going through the jungle and it was a bit of a bird sanctuary. This type of jungle was called a Coastal Dipyerocarp Hill Forest which has some 54 species of wild birds and it is an important route for migration of birds.
We walked on and came to the lighthouse and radar tower which was well-kept and painted. This lighthouse has been warning ships of the coast and shallow areas for about 162 years. Unfortunately we could not go in but we could walk around it and look out through the trees to the sea behind. We then walked back through the park to where we started. Nuria got out a banana to eat and before we knew it a load of monkeys arrived and were clearly interested in the banana. It was a reminder you need to be careful with food and monkeys.
Ruth, Mark and Steve had gone off to Teluk Kemang beach but found it windy and so they went off to Pantia Cermin – which was a beach near the Hibiscus Resort. We decided to go to a different beach called Pantai Cahaya Negri which was ok and it had a bridge going to a mangrove island which was closed as they were working on the bridge. I did spot the Port Dickson Yacht Club and thought they would welcome visiting yachtsmen. However, to my surprise they were a members only club and we could not get in. However, the receptionist, recommended the Waterfront. We therefore headed off to The Cove which had a small bar separate to the restaurant. Keith, Andy & I had a beer and then we had a sort of snack lunch. The setting was ok but not that scenic.
We returned to Stormbird and I left Keith, Andy and Nuria and then went off to the supermarket which was quite good and I got some more fresh fruit, vegetables, fish and chicken which will keep us going for a few days.
Keith and Andy were in the pool and I had a quick swim and then went to see Brice on Sabre 11 for a chat and a drink. When I returned Ruth, Mark and Steve came back and Ruth made a chilli with rice which was good. We had heard that the lady band were playing again so we went back to the bar to watch and listen. They were very good and their talent is wasted here.
We will move on tomorrow.
The picture of the day is one of the monkeys we saw on the way to the Rachado Lighthouse.
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