Log

FOLLOWTHEBOAT IN YACHTING MONTHLY! If you weren’t able to pick up a copy of Yachting Monthly earlier this year, you probably missed our article all about the astonishing Anamabas…

The image was taken from the KLCC park, next to the Petronas Towers. If you’ve been there, you’ll know how beautiful the gardens are and how well they are maintained. We loved walking through them. But the biggest surprise for us was just how gleaming and spectacular the tower are, much more beautiful than most of the over-saturated pics we’d seen on postcards and the web.

1. Does living on a boat get old? 2. How to dress in muslim countries 3. Five reasons to go solo sailing 4. Are sailing channels selling out? 5. Catamaran v monohull. Which is best? 6. How to dump trash on a boat

Can you guess where we are (easy!)… but can you guess WHY we are here?

It’s about time we shared some of the joys of sailing with you. In this passage, we day-hopped with some of the best winds we’ve ever had from Malaysia to Thailand. Sit back, enjoy the ride and take in the views, it was AWESOME!

“You both seem like a couple of hoity-toity rich people who, if given a million dollars in cash, would complain they weren’t new bills…” Ah the joy of having a sailing channel, it’s money for old rope, isn’t it? And people appreciate all that hard work, don’t they? We explain what it is really like to have a YouTube sailing channel.

So while we sat in the heat awaiting delivery of a new alternator to battery charger, we got to grips with a few jobs like tackling that diesel leak and picking up a new solar panel. The wait wasn’t too long, and we got on our way within a week. Only to be thwarted by the furling gear for our genoa which chose this moment to get stuck. 

We’re putting a hard dodger on Esper because we need to stay dry and warm during our easterly trip across the Pacific to Alaska and Canada. It will spoil her lines, but comfort wins out over beauty every time on a sailboat!

Krabi Boat Lagoon in Thailand, all shot from a bicycle! It’s a lovely spot to work on the boat… Shot at 60fps in the EM5’s ‘flat’ picture profile with minor adjustments, continual AF, auto white balance using the Zhiyun Crane (Mk2). 

Do You Drink And Sail? Eight Essential Cheap Items For Your Boat! Sailing With Pets! When Should You Quit The Liveaboard Cruising Life? The Truth About Boat Refits! Are Liveaboard Cruisers Tourists?

Every April, Thailand celebrates its new year by descending into a watery chaos with a water carnival known as สงกรานต์ (Songkran). From the smallest child to the oldest inhabitant, irrespective of religious or cultural background, everyone takes to the street.

We crossed everything as John began checking for osmosis, and tapped his way round the hull. The engine had all its boxes ticked and our safety equipment was given the thumbs up. So far, so good. But when he reached the shaft, the surveyor found something we weren’t expecting…

We took leisurely day-hops along the coast, and anchored when the sea-state allowed us. All went pretty smoothly until we dropped the hook just before Pangkor in the open water. A local fishing boat released his floats and disappeared back to land, leaving the long line and net to drift straight onto SY Esper!

At times we were barely making 1kt. With no bolt holes along the coast of Malaysia, and a hostile shore along Sumatra, it wasn’t safe to drop the anchor to wait out the weather.

Monsoons, typhoons, pirates, currents and fog are all going to conspire to make this a difficult passage, so it’s up to us to work out the best way to get from Malaysia to the PNW via Japan!