Year 2- 31st October 2025 - Port Klang-Pangkor Island
We were up at 4.45am and Mark, Andy & I prepared the boat and upped the anchor. We headed west out of the anchorage and round the Islands to go North on to Pangkor Island. It was dark and we had the navigations lights on and had to dodge a few fishing boats as we came out of the bay.
It only starts to get light now about 6.45am and the sun does not come up until after 7.00am – see picture of the day. We had some distance to cover and of course the wind was on the nose and there was not enough of it. Even if we could sail we would almost be going some 40 plus degrees off our course on one tack and sideways on the other.
We did 2 hours shifts so we then had 4 hours off. We motored on hour after hour easting up the miles. There were tankers and cargo ships around and mostly in the TSS zone but during the day that ended and it had been in use since Singapore. For some reason every now and then the battery alarm on the engine panel would bleep. The bleeps were random and there was no pattern to them and they continued all day with probably about 5-8 an hour. It seemed to make no difference to the operation of the engine. Steve looked at the wiring diagram for the boat and the engine instructions but this did not help. I messaged the electrician in the UK and he suggested that it could only be the 12v side, not the 24v system and it could be either a high voltage or low voltage alarm. Steve said he would look later when we anchored.
Ruth made a banana and walnut cake which we enjoyed later in the day. I did some further admin and we all rested between shifts. The weather was warm bit not overtly hot and there was some cloud cover.
We noted that there were some small islands before Pangkor and the App No Foreign Land pointed out an anchorage. Ruth was keen for a swim before dark so we agreed to go and look at Pulau Rumbia. This was a small island with 136m cliffs. We motored up and it was a lovely island and the South of it was sheltered from the wind and swell. However, it was very deep up to close in and I would not have felt comfortable being so close in. I therefore decided we should continue to Pangkor and that the extra 14 nm or so would mean it will be less of a long day tomorrow.
We motored on and the wind increased and so did the swell but we could not use the wind. We came into the bay where we were to anchor as it got dark. It looked nice and there were lots of fishing boats about.
We anchored at 7.05pm in about 10m of water and had travelled 97.22nm in about 14 hours. It had been a long day but we were here. Steve noticed the port navigation light was not working so he investigated the problem and it was a corroded piece of wire and so with the spares I had on board he replaced the piece of wire and with new connections and it being resealed all was working again. We had a welcome beer and I cooked fish fillets with red cabbage which went down well with all.
We discussed whether to stay in Pangkor for a day or so but decided with the limited time we had that Penang would be more interesting so we will head off early again tomorrow to get there in reasonable time.
Pangkor Island is an island in Malaysia, and the name in English is simply Pangkor Island. In Malay, it is called "Pulau Pangkor," where "Pulau" translates to "island" and "Pangkor" can be translated to mean "beautiful," making the full translation "Beautiful Island" Pangkor Island has a land area of 18 km2 (6.9 sq mi) and is 3.5 kilometres (2.2 mi) from Peninsular Malaysia. The interior of the island is forested and is home to 65 reptile species and 17 amphibian species.
Historically, Pangkor was a refuge for local fishers, merchants and pirates. In the 17th century, the Dutch built a fort to control the Perak tin trade, known as the Dutch Fort. In 1874, it was the location of a historical treaty between the British government and a contender for the Perak throne (the Pangkor Treaty), which began the British colonial domination of the Malay Peninsula. The old British name for the Pangkor Island group was the Dindings.
The west coast of Pangkor is famous for its beaches, resorts and hotels for tourist accommodations. The famous beaches there include Pasir Bogak, Teluk Nipah and Coral Beach. The east coast of Pangkor is where all the residents live and where many of them work in the local foods and fisheries activities, including the dry fish factory, boat workshops, and a fish farm. Other attractions on the island include the Fu Ling Kong temple, the Sri Pathirakaliamman temple in Sungai Pinang Besar village; Batu Bersurat, Tiger Rock, the Dutch Fort (Kota Belanda), the tombs in Kampung Teluk Gedung and Tortoise Hill and Batu Gong.
The picture of the day is the sun rising at 7.01am.
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