Year 2- 6th November 2025 – Royal Langkawi Yacht Club

It rained in the night and everything was wet when we woke. We had tea and considered the day. Ruth went off to the marina office to check out the laundry options and they do provide a service so we all packed our laundry up into bags and it was taken to the office and it will be back in 24 hours. I made a cooked breakfast as Andy had made some bread the day before and I had got the bacon out of the freezer. Anyhow it was soon eaten and brightened up a rather damp morning.

The engine man came at 9.00am and he checked all the wiring in the engine to see why the fuel cut off solenoid was not working as the engine will not switch off with the key at the binnacle. Having checked all of the electrical contacts he concluded that the solenoid was faulty and needed replacing. They do not have any here so I will have to get one fitted in Thailand. This is a bit annoying so I will have to manually switch off the engine until then by going into the engine room and pushing down a leaver.

By this time the rain had stopped and the wind was 3 kts of or so and therefore we decided to try and get the old mainsail out of the mast. We all prepared and then I began to furl out the sail. It started well but then came to the area of damage and stuck. Steven got out the bosuns chair and up he went and with a combination of furl in and out and with Steve pulling and using his feet we finally got the sail out. I had prepared the mousing line on the halyard and when we took the hooks of the bottom of the furler we were able to pull the sail down and to take the 5 battens out as it dropped. The tear was quite large and I thought they are never going to be able to repair this. It looked so sad.

We pulled the sail forward to the foredeck and prepared the new sail which was beautifully folded in its bag. We started to raise the new sail but the wind came up a little and altered the angle which provided extra fiction. We therefore pulled it down again and paused. The wind then luckily died again and so we went for it and got it up fully and then quickly furled it away. It was done but I would like to get it out properly when we leave the marina and furl it in the ideal position and set the vang correctly.  At least this was progress and a major job done.

We then decided to put the old sail on to a trolley and wheeled it up to the pool area where we could stretch it out and then flaked it and put it in a sail bag. I do not think it is repairable so it would be good to have it recycled in some way. I therefore contacted the rigger and he said he was interested and would come tomorrow.

I had had an issue with the main fridge lid and the hinges and I had contacted a man who was coming to see if he could fix it. He came and said he would come tomorrow at 9.00am and would fit a whole new section at the back and glue the internal shelf. I would therefore have to defrost the fridge and remove what I could to the small beer fridge which I did over a few hours.

Ruth made some flapjacks and I then had another look about trying to replace the water maker pressure valve. I now know how to get access but my replacement valve is slightly different so I decided to leave it for now and to make enquiries.

Ruth went off to visit a friend and the others went to the poll and bar to relax. I eventually went and joined them and had a shower etc. We had a couple of beers and decided to stay at the marina for supper which was good and tasty. As we were sitting there what looked like a small crocodile swam past. If fact it was quite a large lizard as it had a forked tongue which came in and out. This was quite a surprise.

The weather is looking very wet for about another week. Ruth’s son is in Phuket and it is flooded as it has had so much rain and the weather is the same as here. I think it is being influenced by the cyclone which has hit the Philippines and is now heading for Vietnam.  We will just have to put up with it.  

The picture of the day is the old mainsail on the ground – having a respectful burial until it was folded up the last time into a bag.

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