Happy Halloween from Tioman Island!

I’ve been very neglectful in updating the blog lately.  I don’t know if I have been too busy or just not very motivated.  Either way, there’s a good bit to tell. 

We finally left Kuching.  We took a day or two to leave the river and get our sea legs back and then we made the 4 day trek across the South China Sea to Tioman Island.  For the first time ever, I was the only one on the boat not sick.  Andy caught some sort of bug just as we left Kuching that put him down for a day or two and Jake got dehydrated and just a bit seasick.  I had on my trusty patch and ended up actually reading a few books on the passage…something normally unheard of.  I didn’t come out completely unscathed though.  A nasty side effect of this patch is blurred vision.  A small price to pay for keeping my food down, in my opinion.

This little guy did most of the crossing with us.  Unfortunately, I
found him belly up in the cabin on one of my night watches (I swear
I did not step on him!)

These are the kinds of things you have to watch out for around here.
This actually marks a fish trap.

Tioman Island is a small island on the east coast of peninsula Malaysia that was touted as “one of the most beautiful islands in the world” in some publication years ago, a phrase they use on all of their advertisements.  I don’t know if I would go that far, but it sure was a welcome change from the crocodile infested rivers we’ve called home for the last few months. 

It’s a pretty common stopover for cruisers heading across the sea both ways as its one of the three duty free islands in Malaysia.  Duty Free = cheap beer/wine/booze.  It’s also got pretty good snorkeling, decent beaches (although they appear to be filled with sandflies), and a genuine laid back atmosphere.  It’s not yet overrun with tourists, but has enough to bring in a few good restaurants and give locals a reason to tolerate some of our western ways.  But not all… you see it’s mostly muslim and while they do capitalize on the tourism, there are some things they just can’t give way to.  For example, Andy and I saw the most unique sign (for our western ways) at the local shopping center.  You know those signs with pictures and then the circle and slash through it to say ‘no this’ or ‘no that?’  We saw one with four pictures on it…

If you went to a beach in Florida and saw those signs, I’m pretty sure most people would go home!  We got a kick out of it as it’s another reminder of how our cultures are so different.  I told Andy, I’m too old to prance around town in a bikini anymore, I can’t afford the calories of the ice cream, and well, we prefer to drink our alcohol and smooch in the privacy of our own home.  So we’re good….no issues here.

There was one major difference in our ways that we thought might cause more of a stir for some of the crew.  There is no Halloween here.  Jake’s grandparents sent him the greatest costume and he has almost worn it out getting ready for Halloween.  He loves to dress up…it’s actually a daily thing.  It doesn’t matter what…dinosaur, dragon king (his own creation), pirate, Obi wan Kanobe.  His costume this year…vampire bat (and very appropriate I might add – there are THOUSANDS of fruit bats just outside the marina here).  Surprisingly though, the idea of no trick or treating didn’t cause that big of a disappointment.  Jake decided that we would make a haunted house on the boat.  And at the end, I would hide his candy and he would find it.  He even “visioned” us sitting in a circle around the pumpkin telling ghost stories.  Simple enough.  So we spent all week making decorations, carving pumpkins and planning how to scare “the poop” out of each other.  At the end of the night, he declared it one of his “top 3” Halloweens.  I’m not sure he remembers them before age 6, but we’ll let that slide. 

Our little vampire bat!

He wouldn't smile because he was trying to look scary.

Andy and I were talking about how lucky we were to have a kid that can adapt so easily to whatever is thrown at him.  I don’t know how much of it is lifestyle and how much of it is just personality, but I do think living on a boat and making do with what you have contributes greatly.  Our next challenge will be Thanksgiving and Christmas.  I asked Jake what he wanted for Christmas.  He said instead of writing Santa a letter this year, he was just going to let him decid what he should bring Jake.  With no commercials, advertisements or catalogs to look at, I do believe my 9 year old has run out of things to ask for! 

We’ll spend a few more days here and then we’re off towards the mainland.  Lots to do…visit Singapore, meet up with old cruising friends in Penang, high tail it to Thailand to haul out (along with a thousand other boats)…I’m tired already thinking about it.

On to Woleai

Aren't they adorable?  They followed us all over the island.

It turns out the Christmas air drop by the Airforce was postponed until Friday. Not wanting to get into Yap next week during "afterhours" (= to big bucks), we decided to go ahead and go to Wolei. We would have skipped it all together but we already promised some folks in Lamotrek that we would take some letters and food to their kids at school there.

Tuesday afternoon, we went in to collect the stuff and say our goodbyes. It was so much fun. Everyone wanted to shake our hands and tell us "Merry Chirstmas. Have a safe trip." It made us feel like they really enjoyed us being there. Michaeila and her family made us some snacks of breadfruit, taro chips, and coconut candy for our passage and more leis. Another woman, Augustina, gave me another lava lava in thanks for taking her son some food/mail. We were sent off with stalks of bananas and lots of coconuts. In the end, I like to think we gave more than took. I know Andy fixed a ton of stuff and we gave away everything from movies to batteries to old sails. They invited us back "anytime" and said they would miss us. We'll miss them too. A very nice place, indeed.

We left yesterday for Wolei and are now about 30 miles out. We should get there sometime after lunch. We found out right before we left, that there is another plane doing a Christmas drop in Wolei on Friday as well, so we might actually get to see that after all.

It's been a nice sail (motor sail, last night), though we did see a few long liners in the night. One passed pretty darn close to us and we're still not convinced he saw us. Andy lit up the sails with a giant flashlight and we pulled the motor back as he passed in front of us. After almost three years sailing out here, I've learned, there's only one law of the sea out in the ocean....the law of mass tonnage. They rarely see you (as they've got it on autopilot and are sleeping), they rarely answer the radio, and they rarely change course. Always important to keep a good watch. You may go months without seeing another ship, and then, like last night, we saw two and the one went within a mile of us.

So, we're almost Atoll-ed out, but we're going to give Wolei a few days, then head on to Yap...and buy some vegetables.

----------
radio email processed by SailMail
for information see: http://www.sailmail.com

Underway - Day 1 and 2

Dolphins surrounded the boat as we left Ant Atoll.

Just in time for supper tonight, we caught a fish. Finally! I won't tell you how small it was, just that it was a Mahi Mahi and it was the perfect size to feed our little family.

Our first "little" fish.

Eventually, we caught two more.

That's the first major event that has happened on this passage. So I guess that makes it a pretty good passage. Our wind has been fair, but we've spent today motor sailing. The trades haven't quite settled in and the wind keeps shifting a bit and the speed varies as well. But we're making good time. We should be arriving in our little atoll tomorrow, early afternoon.

I was trying to think of something interesting to write in this update and couldn't really think of anything. The biggest thing on my mind this time is how much I wish I enjoyed these passages more. I haven't gotten sick on this one, but at the same time, I don't feel my best. I get nervous and I'm sure that doesn't help things. I wish I was more comfortable out here. I keep saying it's because we haven't been out in a while, but I know that's not true. I'm just getting more honest... The good news is that it will just be these short passages between atolls so even though I won't have time to get acclimated, I won't be very far from land for long.

Stay tuned...we have no idea what we'll find tomorrow. From the looks of Google earth, it's a bit populated. I don't think it will be too "native" but we'll see!

----------
radio email processed by SailMail
for information see: http://www.sailmail.com