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!

This is our 100th episode on YouTube since the first vlog after our refit, published on 9 May 2015. Back then Jamie was tackling the usual boat chores, Liz wasn’t catching any fish, Millie was thinner and the weather was still hot…

The dodger will be made from stainless steel plate overlaid with honeycomb and fiberglass. We will use hard strataglass in the front and as a frame around the softer vinyl side windows. Both sides will roll right up, and the front will have a central zipped window flap.

While we lingered in the tranquil peace of Tioman the storms clouds gathered. And continued to grow as we made our way to the safe haven of Johor. In this episode we show you what it’s like sailing through squalls and anchoring in lightning storms. Hey ho, that’s the end of the beautiful weather then for a while!

Eagles circled over anchorages while beneath us the clearest water imaginable revealed tropical, cartoon colours. We were overwhelmed by the hospitality the local people offered us each time we set foot in a community.

Thinking of buying a boat, or becoming a liveaboard cruiser? Here we take you through the 5 reasons why you SHOULD buy a boat. There are lots of videos telling us how wonderful and liberating the liveaboard cruising life is. AND IT IS! But we also know that it has its downsides…

Wow, can’t believe that last December our friends and supporters began to suggest Pacific Northwest via Japan as a destination, and now we’re going there. We looked into it, did some research and a bit more research, and realised it could be quite an adventure… So it’s goodbye to shorts, t-shirts and flip-flops, and hello to foul weather gear, jumpers and boots!

Reefs, rocks, shelves, shallows! Anambas doesn’t make it easy…and we wonder if we can get through this crazy area!