Layang Layang

Layang Layang – Swallow Reef, is part of the historically disputed Spratly Reefs in the South China Sea. It has been claimed by China, Philippines and Vietnam over recent decades. However Malaysia decided to take the bull by the horns, reclaimed part of the atoll, blasted a ship’s channel into the lagoon, and built a naval base to mark the territory for Malaysia. There is now also an exclusive dive resort, an airstrip and a research station for the Fisheries Department. To visit the atoll one needs a permit from the National Security Council, Prime Minister’s Dept. It took about three weeks to obtain the permit

We left Miri, Sarawak in early June to sail the 180 nm to Layang Layang. En route we trolled our usual fish lure and had a huge strike, lost the whole fishing reel as the elastic cord snapped. Never saw the fish. As they say ‘hook, line and sinker’. Sailing with modern electronic navigation equipment is truly a wonder. Imagine we sail in oceans with depths over 1000m, looking for a small atoll 7 km long and 1.5 km wide. After 2 nights we are happy to sight this little island in the middle of nowhere. We can only see the island within 5 nm from the island. Once we had motored thru’ the channel into calm, clear waters, we heaved a sign of relief.

After Leo presented our permit to the Naval commander, we had permission to roam around the atoll. In the evening while enjoying the peace and tranquility and the cool night air, sitting on the aft deck with his usual cup of after dinner Chinese tea, Leo heard a thump then squirt squirt squirt. Hullo? A huge squid had jumped into our dinghy. Obviously using the aerial route to escape a hungry predator, did not really get him out of the frying pan this time!, a herald for a wonderful time?? We managed to catch 2 more over the next few days but our luck didn’t last long. The school of squid became too smart to take the bait anymore. They swim around the boat all the time, just tempting us to try to catch them but smart enough not to take the jig.

Within the atoll the water is a consistent 8 – 12 m deep so in theory you can anchor anywhere. We try to find a clean spot of sand so we do not damage the coral and drop our anchor, swim to the edge of the reef which surrounds the atoll and gawk at the riot of colours and shapes of all kinds of unlikely forms of marine life. At low tide, we can just swim over the reef. To get to the outer edge of the atoll, we have to wait for high tide and hope that the current is not too strong. We tried a few times but had to turn back as the current was too strong. We did manage once to snorkel over the outer edge. It was eerie to swim over the outer edge of the reef. There was no visible bottom over the reef’s edge, just blue water. The edge drops off immediately to 200m then over 1000m. Here the denizens of the deep use the vertical face of the reef as their reference as there is no gravity and swim as if that is the ground, so when we snorkel and look down they are swimming on their sides.

Lovely reefs surround the atoll. We anchored in half a dozen places around the whole atoll and noted how different types of fish, coral and shells dominated each section as we moved around the atoll. Not many big fish reside inside the atoll, although some large humphead Wrasses do but mainly small coral reef fishes, suitable for aquariums.

All in all we spent almost 2 weeks in Layang Layang. We had to leave as our permit had come to an end. This place is definitely 5 stars. We caught a huge barracuda on our way back to Kota Kinabulu. It was so big that we couldn’t fit the head in our landing net. We managed to get the hook off with some trepidation as Leo was loathed to kill such a large fish but those sharp teeth would easily chomp off a few fingers and we did not have chain mail gloves. It was too big for food. Anyway it got off in the end by using the landing net as leverage to tear the hook out of its lips. It will have a crooked sneer for the rest of its life but I think that will suit a barracuda.

Victualling for such a long stay away from any food supply is always a challenge. With refrigeration and canning, these days its really only fresh greens and vegetables that run out after about 10days.

We sprouted mung beans and in desperation, stir fried watermelon skin , which when well fried tastes surprisingly like marrow!

The journey back to Kota Kinabalu started painfully slowly, with long periods of calm. The idyllic weather for snorkeling does not suit sailing and it was really in the early hours of the second night when some inclement weather brought a fresh breeze that rushed us over the last 12 hours.

Now we are happily ensconced in Sutera Harbour once again, catching up with the local marina residents and catching up on news and of course the World Cup. Its amazing what happens when you are out of touch with the world for two weeks, we discover that Australia has a first new female Prime Minister. Perhaps we should go away again.

Palawan 2010

Gemma, Matt, Leo and I left Malaysia for Palawan in early February . We had strong north east winds, sailing up the west coast of Palawan was torturous. We did 15 to 25 miles most days. We took a month to get to the top of Palawan and we only had less than 3 weeks to visit the bays on the east coast. Alas, the east coast was the prettier coast, the bays had crystal clear waters.

We picked up NiZhen in El Nido. El Nido is at the top end of the west coast of Palawan. NiZhen is the daughter of Fu Hua and Gracie. She had just completed a working stint in Palawan and was free to join us for 2 weeks. It was quite an experience for her to be on a sailing vessel. I have enclosed Gemma's views of our holiday. A lovely summary of our holiday.

Walking and looking for shells.

A great leap into the clear waters.

A view from the top.

Gemma in the water.

The colourful corals.

A Nudibranch.

Dancing shrimps surrounding a sea urchin. Dinner!!

Spot the stone fish.

The photos are taken by Gemma and Matt.

Palawan 2010

On a blustery summer day,
We crossed the Balabac straits.
As we zoomed atop the cresting waves,
We willed some dinner to take our bait.

Not one, but two simultaneous strikes.
Then chaos reigned, two tuna, yikes!
In Clarendon Bay, ‘ada buwaya ?’* yes! *crocodile
Perhaps he said, ‘ you should swim a bit less’.

At low tide we walked,
Following sandy trails,
To find new seashells,
to fill our pails.

Tagbita Bay, we had a long stop.
We washed and watered in a mountain stream,
While old Mario stocked up our banana shop.
Beach fired trevalley, damper in tins,
No scrap of food left, just a couple of fins.

At Long point, we heard a flurry of dogs,
Barking and yapping in search of hogs.
Success at last, one lone boar for slaughter.
We left for Fish Bay and it’s ‘crystal clear water’

Day after day, Matt tried to catch squid.
Alas, success eluded him.
He claimed he could catch one, who’s he trying to kid?
They remained safe and sound, still free to swim.

Quezon promised fresh food and ice cream,
But the anchorqge was not exactly a dream.
The outboard sounded as if suffering a terrible plight,
While from the shore, Pewter remained so far out of sight.

Sebang, the home of the underground river,
Where we watched tiny bats hang all a quiver.
May day Bay was thick with giant jellyfish
And a cooling swim was just a mere wish.

At Alligator Island, we met the German Peter,
With his alcohol consumption, I’m surprised he didn’t teeter.
Pail after pail we drew from his well,
By lunchtime that day, my back, it could tell.

Corong Corong Bay and El Nido town,
We search for Ni* as the sun went down.
Children raced and play fought on the beach.
The peaceful air shattered by the occasional screech.

*‘Ni’ is Fu Hua and Gracie’s daughter. She joined us for 2 weeks of sailing.

The boat soon filled with the familiar stench,
Of newly found shells rotting on the bench.
We swam and dove in clear blue sea,
Exploring new reefs and bays with glee.

Two giant marble cones
Matt is delirious,
While Ni plaintively moans,
‘I want to find one!!’

Unfortunately, it all must end,
And down the east coast we start to wend.
We leave behind Palawan’s beautiful shore,
To see what else this year has in store.

By Gemma

A Family Interlude

The family (Carina, Mark, Jordan, Emma, Ping, Wayne, Gemma and Matt) all joined us on the boat in Brunei in the beginning of January. It was a tight squeeze on the boat, but everybody was ready to rough it out. Leo ended up on the floor rather than sharing a bed with Jordan and Emma as they wriggled and fought throughout the night.

It was fun having all of them around. The kids had such a tremendous capacity of finding fun in the simple things. Jordan and company (Matt, Gemma, Ping & Wayne) wrote silly song parodies as we sailed from Brunei to Labuan.

Emma the skipper

Emma and Jordan had both complained that they wanted to stop swimming lessons, and to prove it to Carina they both had to swim around the boat without a lifejacket. With lots of encouragement from all of us, especially to get Emma through her swim, as there was a slight current that she had to tackle, they made it, hooray!

Showering!

From Labuan we sailed to Pulau Tiga, the island where they filmed the first of the Survivor series. The island has volcanic mud pools, and Ping and Wayne got themselves completely covered in mud (actually Ping fell into the mud pool trying to rope walk across the pool!) They had to jump off the jetty to clean themselves up, and the rest of the family thought it was a great idea to leap off the jetty as well. Soon they were all leaping in. Emma and Jordan had no qualms leaping in with the rest. I was the only chicken…

A muddy pair...eek!

A flying leap

Ready, steady, JUMP!

Everyday we’d play ‘Oh Golly’, our favourite card game. Losing meant washing dishes so it was a rowdy and often, contentious event. Carina usually took the honours of doing dishes!

We stopped in a 5 star marina in Kota Kinabalu and it was great for the family. We enjoyed the swimming pools, the bowling alley, free bus rides to town, and pre-heated towels!

The main event was the trip to the Mulu Caves in Sarawak, the largest cave system in the world. The caves were great, however I found the long walks hot and tiring. We swam in clear streams during the walks and even found 4 wild durians for morning tea one day. The best part was the 3-hour boat ride out of the national park, riding the mini rapids down the river on very unstable canoes. The boatman would warn us not to move too much whenever we hit a rapid.

All set to walk

Like all wonderful holidays, it came to an end. The family left Gemma, Matt, Leo and I in Brunei, heading home to NZ while we traveled back to Kota Kinabalu before heading to Palawan, Philippines.

Family Parodies

Blob It

by Matt Gemma, Jordan, Ping & Wayne.

( music to 'Beat It' by Michael Jackson). It's about a card game ' Oh Golly '.

1. Told you, if you wanna play, you gotta play fair.

The stakes are pretty high, so you betta beware.

The contest's in their eyes, so you gotta take care.

So blob it, just blob it.

2. They told her there are lots of dirty dishes round here.

You betta clean em' up, make em' disappear.

The trumps are in their hands and their message is clear.

So blob it but you wanna beat dad.

Chorus:

So blob it, blob it, blob it, blob it.

Do what Car does and blob it.

You've got a nine in the trump suit,

You don't know whether to bid 1 or 2.

Just blob it, blog it.

3. You betta trump, you betta win while you can.

Don't wanna see no blobs, wanna be a blob free man.

If you wanna survive, betta blob while you can.

So blob it, just blob it.

4. There's only 5 cards and it's well over bid.

You ask for bonus points 'cause you're just a kid,

They trump you or they'll duck you ,

Then they'll got you like a squid,

So blob it but you wanna beat dad.

Chorus x6.

You'll Be Stung

By Matt.

sung to the tune of' She's the One' by Robbie Williams.

Chorus

Kong Kong steers,

Por Por yells,

Emma cries,

Jordan smells.

1. If you go swimming, out in the sun.

You'll be stung, you'll be stung.

If you go swimming, sting suit or none.

You'll be stung.

2. Carina cuts up a ripe pineapple.

Matt complains about the temperature.

It's BOILING!

Ping & Wayne lounge in the forecabin.

G laments the bites upon her skin.

Mark reads a book that sounds

BORING!!

10 People on a Boat

by Ping & Wayne.

10 people on a boat.

It's hard to stay afloat

Going nowhere fast

But it's such a blast.

10 people on a boat.

I think that's a great quote.

Someone spiked my 100 Plus.

Now I think the boat's a bus.

I'm getting really high.

Maybe the boat will touch the sky.

10 people on a boat.

Let's learn this song by rote.

Why should we stop here.

Only 10 is just not fair.

let's each invite a friend.

drive Ma and Pa round the bend.

20 people on a boat.

Oh no, it's not afloat.

Water's coming in.

Maybe we can't win.

We're gonna sink for sure.

Let's chuck our friends over board.

10 people on a boat.

10 people

10 people

Te-en people

on a boat

And it's name is Pewter.

Kinabatangan River, Sabah – December 2009

The Rhinoceros Hornbill

The Buffy Fish Owl

The Greater Egret

Ping, Wayne, and Leo’s nephew, Jeremy, joined us to sail north from Kota Kinabalu, over the top end of Sabah to the mouth of the Kinabatangan River. Which is just south of Sandakan.

It was a slow sail north, close haul, (winds from the front of the boat) all the way to the top end of Sabah. Battling with winds that were 20+ knots, Wayne was horizontal most days, only reviving when we anchored each night. Although, some of the anchorages were only slightly better than when we were sailing.

We all breathed a sigh of relief once we rounded the top end of Sabah, a lovely beam reach to Sandakan. We motored to the north entrance of the Kinabantangan River, and touched the bottom several times as the depth was never more than 1.5 to 1.8 meters. Normally, we need over 1.8m to clear the bottom, but the soft mud was a blessing, and allowed us to carry on even in depths of only 1.5 m, and occasionally 1.3m. That’s when we would touch the bottom, though just momentarily.

It was awesome entering the massive Kinabantangan River, the river was calm and glassy, and even Wayne could read while we motored upriver. The trees by the banks were full of wild life. Egrets, hornbills, orangutans, proboscis monkeys, eagles, kingfishers, owls……. The antics of the proboscis monkeys were very entertaining. One evening we anchored just beneath a tree with a large family of proboscis monkeys. It was fun watching them play, eat and sleep. Waking up in the morning gave us another exciting view of the monkeys, as they too wake up with the sunrise.

Proboscis Monkeys leaping

One night a local guide took us up the river and we saw sleeping kingfishers, owls, crocodiles and some small mouse deer. The highlight was the sleeping kingfishers. Even with the torches shining at them, they didn’t move and we could get really close to them. In fact, we’d get as close as the next branch over, being only a metre or two away from the sleeping birds.

Sleeping Stork-billed Kingfishers

Ping, Wayne and Jeremy left us from the little village along the Kinatangan by road, and traveled overland back to Sandakan. Leo and I motored down the river and then sailed up the coast. Farewell to a lovely calm interlude where we could see monkeys and birds roam freely, which may not last for long, as the oil palm estates are encroaching on their territory.

The photographs were taken by Jeremy.