THE BEACHSIDE VILLAGE OF ROMPIN

Although the beach side village of Rompin was not initially an organised Rally stop, with an invitation from one of the officials who had attended the Tioman Island celebrations, all that changed. Suddenly we had another stopover which coincided with the annual Rompin Festival. There was all the usual fun of the fair with marquees & tents set up along the foreshores, offering everything from food, drinks, beer, clothing, shoes & souvenirs, to entertainment. The local radio station was broadcasting live, there were karaoke contests, musical bands & anything else that you could possibly think of that is usually connected with a fair. The photo above is of a motorised kite surfer taking off on the beach & although it looked fun, it also looked quite dangerous as he hovered above crowds of people who were all gazing skyward.

The display of kick boxing held the crowd's attention as these older guys moved around the ring in their mesmerising way. The younger guy with the bright t-shirt on, moved like a dancer, easily skipping out of the way of his opponent as he kicked & punched forward but they both tired fairly quickly, obviously out of shape.

Mastura & her family were invited on board "Windy Spirit" the afternoon before we left Rompin. We first met Mastura when she was manning the tourist information booth along the beach. We'd asked her if there was a service station nearby & if there was a taxi service that would take us into the main town as we needed to stock up with more fuel. Apparently the town was about 7 kms away & NO, there wasn't a taxi service but she would be happy to take us the following day when she wasn't working. She was just so kind, & true to her word, she was at the beach the following morning to pick up Kay, Jim, Rees & I. Besides fuel, we also needed fruit & vegies so Mastura drove us to the local Sunday Market where she was really helpful in describing how to cook a lot of the local vegetables as well as negotiating prices for us. She didn't want anything in return so because she had never been on a yacht before, we invited her to visit us for afternoon tea, which she was extremely excited about. Of course, she didn't come empty handed either & brought freshly cooked fish that she'd purchased at the markets during the morning. Her brother & 3 children really enjoyed their time on the boat but as the afternnon wore on & the winds began to freshen, it was soon time for us to sail away as we were heading further north that afternoon. It was a shame that we couldn't have spent longer with this lovely family but I'm sure we'll stay in touch as time goes by. Thank you once again Mastura for your kindness & hospitality.

These frisky little monkeys were everywhere & seemed particularly fond of crossing the busy streets via the overhead electrical wires. From there they had the choice of squatting & fighting in the jungle on one side of the road, or frolicking across the roof tops of the shops on the opposite side. They were certainly a treat for the tourists but I think they were probably a pest to the locals who showed no interest in them what so ever.

A FEW OF THE DIFFERENT ISLANDS VISITED WITH THE RALLY

These caves at Tinggi Island just had to be explored. The water was clear & inviting, the coral was beautiful & the small fish life prolific. We snorkelled around these caves for ages & although they were quite deep, the smell of bats hanging from the cave roof soon had us out into the open again to explore along the edge of the headland.

The beach at the tiny little island of Rawa, offered picture perfect photographs. The exclusive resort offered lunch & dinner to those who wanted to use the facilities, so of course with the 4 yachts that were anchored in the bay, we were all keen to at least have one meal there. Of course it was delicious & being a buffet, everyone was more than satisfied when we departed. Unfortunately, it was at this island that one of the yachts began to drag during a late afternoon storm so the following morning the decision was made to leave this beautiful spot behind.

Just after we'd anchored at Tioman Island, we were very surprised to see a plane landing above the sandy, white beaches. Apparently the air strip was just behind the beach, but at the time it certainly looked as though the plane was going to land right on the beach in front of our eyes. What a scary landing!

Sunset was usually the most pleasant time of the day as the temperatures had begun to drop, the afternoon rains had finished & "Happy Hour" had begun. Calm anchorages like this one were always a welcome sight.

BEACH PARTIES & RALLY FESTIVITIES

It's always fun when there's a beach party but when a group of yachties get together, it's usually more fun than usual with getting to know one & other. This shot was taken at Desaru Beach where one of the first rally stops along the East Coast of Malaysia occurred. The anchorage was in open seas just off the beach & although it was very calm with hot & humid weather, the water wasn't enticing enough to have us swimming.

Harry, Pam, Kay, Jim, Rees & I all thoroughly enjoyed our fresh coconut juices at this luncheon that was hosted by a small village near Kota Tinggi. Thankfully with the monsoon season happening & rainfall every day, the venue was a huge shed that housed us all easily & kept us dry when the rain eventually happened.

Trying to get group photos with the whole rally contingent is nearly impossible but I think that a lot of us were present for this shot. The lunch was delicious & the villagers extremely warm & friendly, offering us all small home-made gifts before our departure.

RALLY FESTIVITIES WITH FRIENDS

The events with the East Malaysian Rally were many & varied but always interesting & fun because they were shared with friends & like minded people. When there was nothing in particular organised, the yachties usually organised something themselves such as beach b-b-q's, beach cricket & games or just a casual dinner at a nearby restaurant. Harry & Pam loved being involved with all this activity & could see themselves doing it one day when they finally retire & start to use their own yacht.

PAM & HARRY JOIN US FOR THE START OF THE EAST MALAYSIAN RALLY

Our friends, Pam & Harry, flew from Australia in mid May to join us on the first stages of the East Malaysian Rally that was going to take us from Puteri Harbour to Kota Kinabalu on Borneo. "Windy Spirit" had been sitting at the Puteri Harbour Marina for the past 7 months so we were excited about finally being under way again after our long stint home in Australia. The weather was extremely hot & humid which was a nasty surprise for our friends who had come from winter in Australia, but with the thought of many adventures to come over the following weeks, the heat was soon forgotten as we made our way toward Singapore & then on toward Desaru, which was going the be the next rally stop.

It was great catching up with old friends who we hadn't seen for ages so we were very excited to find "Bach & Byte", with Kay & Jim on board. They had decided to do half of the rally along the east coast of Malaysia to spend time with us so we looked forward to the following weeks, catching up on each others news & socialising while we had the chance before our return to Australia. Above is a photo of "Bach & Byte" passing under the bridge that links Singapore & Malaysia. The clearance is 25 metres & although it looks a little scary when you are right under the bridge, there is actually plenty of clearance for a normal yacht at any tide.

Winding our way through the Singapore Straits, one of the busiest shipping lanes in the world, was a nightmare as the sea looked like a moving city of container ships that stretched for miles & miles. It basically took us all day to pass this area & knowing that an accident between two container ships had occurred the previous day, we were on a constant look-out to see if we could find the boats involved. The water was contaminated with thousands of litres of oil which sprayed up onto our hulls as we motored through it but fortunately it was easy enough to remove when we had the first opportunity of clear water. Finding this huge boat with a massive hole punctured through it's hull was unbelievable! To think that a ship of this size was unseen by another was hard to believe, especially in these extremely busy waters but the proof is in the photo~!

The two ships involved in the accident are rafted together here & although there was a lot of activity involving tug boats etc, we were still left wondering how they would deal with this catastrophe. The oil was thick & heavy in the water, creating it's own nightmare, so although we were glad to have seen this spectacle first hand, we were certainly glad to clear those waters as soon as possible.