Malaysia

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We almost didn't get here. Not that it was far from Batam - it's only 12 miles across the Straits. The problem was that while we were traveling back & forth to Singapore, the marina at Sebana Cove started filling up with Rally boats. We had planned all along to go to Sebana. We'd park the boat there while we did land adventures and returned to the US to visit family and friends for the holidays. We thought we'd try to visit China, which is not all that far away. But then we got an e-mail informing us that the marina was full and we'd have to wait until the end of December - not an option. However, after a few frustrating phone calls (Iridium doesn't work well here) we discovered that it indeed had space. The admiral was still in Singapore having her eyes checked every day. The captain would therefore have to single-hand it the entire 12 miles across the busiest shipping lane in the world. Could he do it?

Crossing the Straits is like a video game in that various adversaries come along trying to sink you. Except they're not virtual, they're steel, and in this case, dirt. But they are massively real.

The barge above looks harmless enough, except you have to bear in mind that they cannot maneuver at all and the cable between tug and barge is under considerable tension. You have to guess their speed and intentions, which are not always clear. Another thing not clear in the above is that there are many such barges crossing the Straits, hauling dirt to fulfill Singapore's vast expansion plans. We almost wonder why they didn't just offer to buy the island of Batam, since they seem to be taking it anyway, one barge load at a time. These guys are everywhere, going both ways.

Yikes! This is the westbound shipping lane, all heading for Hub&Tub, who was struggling at 5.5 kts against a current while the ships you see above, some of which are 1500' long and weigh 300,000 tons, are steaming at him at 20 knots. A major concern here is the ships are not that far apart, i.e. if H&T decided to sail parallel to one ship to pass astern, there was the risk that the next ship coming would make H&T DOA. If that's not enough, the ships above have no room to maneuver and H&T has no right-of-way. Not much to do here but floor the throttle and pray.

Whew! Made it to the anchorage area. The tankers above are big but they're not moving.

Eeek! This one is moving, and fast, too, trying to t-bone (&debone) our hero. Props don't fail me now!

Boy, this is a cliffhanger, isn't it? Will he make it? Join us for the continuing saga, which we simply call, Malaysia South...

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