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Ten sailing blogs in one: Island hopping and day sailing from Langkawi to Danga Bay
We were in no rush, just day sailing our way down the west coast of Peninsula Malaysia. Our trip was just peachy, the whole way!
Nine anchorages and two marinas
We made ten stops, mostly deserted anchorages: Pulau Tuba, Monkey Beach and Pulau Rimau (Penang), Sungei Dinding (Lumut) , Pulau Angsa, Che Mat Sin (Port Klang), Admiral Marina (Port Dickson), Pulau Besar, Tanjung Tohor, Pulau Pisang, Danga Bay.
(We’re navigating with Malaysian charts which refer to Island as Pulau, Tanjung as Cape and River as Sungei.)
First night at Pulau Tuba
Meet the Fishing Nets
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Avoiding 87 fishing nets
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Heading for Lumut
Our course to Lumut was infested with fishing net flags. In shallow water.
The trick is to work out which flags go together and if you can’t avoid going over the net in between head for the middle, take the engine out of gear with enough boat speed to propel you forward and hope the net doesn’t end up wrapped around the propeller.
Our strategy worked. But it was a slow 15 miles.
Lumut International Yacht Club
The next anchorage was in front of the Lumut International Yacht Club.
Lovely architecture but not exactly what we expect of a yacht club. They didn’t serve food or drink or anything.
The call to prayer sounded like a gentle romantic love song.
The Lumut boardwalk infrastructure along the river is really pretty, with the most salubrious public toilets I have ever met. The blokes toilet is actually a large aviary.
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Pulau Angsa, Che Mat Sin and Sungei Bernam
The next stops at Pulau Angsa, Che Mat Sin and Sungei Bernam, where we sort of blended in with other residents of the stilt burbs, were gloriously uneventful.
Some sailing blogs make it sound like hardship, but we were getting the hang of this cruising business.
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The Admiral Marina, Port Dickson
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Then we caught our breath at the Admiral Marina at Port Dickson for a few days.
All very civilised, resort style.
It was our first marina stay after being at anchor for the last three years.
When I woke up the first morning with another boat’s mast looming largely right there in my porthole I had a nanosecond of Anchor Angst.
Until I remembered where I was and that our anchor hadn’t dragged, but we had deliberately parked this close to another boat. Phew.
Port Dickson town
In Port Dickson we stopped for a beer at an unassuming café and ended up staying and eating and staying even longer absolutely spellbound by the chef constantly cooking a minimum of three high speed wok dishes at once.
Like a highly entertaining live cooking show.
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The Malacca Strait
On the move again the cargo ship traffic in the Malacca Strait was beginning to build up.
I’ve read sailing blogs about pirates in the Malacca Strait. It’s really the big boats we had to worry about, not pirates.
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We poodled along in the slow lane with a constant stream of varied commercial vessels parading past in the fast lane. Flying fish and dolphins kept speed with us.
A peaceful anchorage at Pulau Pisang
“Boss you move boat boss” indicating the nets they intended to lay out. So, reluctant at first, we moved and were safe for the night.
Anchored in the middle of nowhere
The next night we made it to Danga Bay. I’ll tell you all about it in my next sailing blogs.
Related
A snake in the sink and other fun at Danga Bay Johor Bahru
Are We Nearly There Yet? Sailing Adventures to Tioman Island, Malaysia
Noonsite: The global site for cruising sailors
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