At Quezon

Alishan just dropped anchor at
9degree 15.6N
117 degree 59.6E

AND it's blowing heaps!. So much that we probably won't be able to go ashore today and explore Quezon, our first Palawan town. (the wind is gusting over 30 knots from the E, the bay is full with white caps). Ah well, we have enough to do on board. Hmm, should we have continued further N?
Yesterday was a great day for On the Move. Some nice sailing, wind 15 knots from the E later from the SW. Only a few miles of no wind, the Yanmar was there to help us out. We had anchored about 10 miles from here. Our Cmap navigation charts are very inaccurate. Pfff what a puzzle to find a good spot to drop the hook. Plenty of unmarked and/or wrong located coral shallows.
The fishing is poor....too much sea weed for the trolling line. The locals solve that problem by dynamite fishing Banggg. At one stage we passed a healthy looking but dopy travelly bopping along the surface. Probably missed by the Bang Boys. SAD.
Tell you later if we made it ashore.

Salute

Left With A Bang

Alishan exited Malaysia with A BANG.
That last small Malaysian fishing boat, just 70 meters to the right of us, dropped a dynamite stick.
A loud bang and a huge waterspout as result. And oh yes, a very few! fish came up...belly first. Fisherman happy, he has something to eat for his wife and kids. But nothing is left behind for his future grandchildren. Silly, Silly. We know dynamite fishing is "common" practice in the PI, but it seems it is a cross-border thing these days.
But overall for us: Bye bye Malaysia, thanks for your hospitality. Hope to sail you seas and rivers again.

Yes we are in the Philippine Islands.
Had a great trip across. The 40 odd miles to the first anchor spot (at the top of Balabac Island) was a fun trip. Nice breeze,smooth seas and a clear sky above us. We (motor)sailed the whole way in 1 tack, doing 5~6 knots.
And today Alishan moved to:
8 degree 16.34N
117 degree09.67E.
So far we only have seen nice white beaches, cute palm islands and clear water... Indeed, we can see the anchor in 15 meters of water! Days are hot, but nights are definite cooler!
The plan is to work our way further North via the west coast of Palawan.

Salute

Kudat No-More

Indeed, Alishan is On the Move.
We left Kudat this morning and (motor)sailed 25 miles direction North.
7 degree 10.0N
117 degree 03.5E
Our Pit-stop stay in Kudat took a few days extra(doesn't it always). The main reason was of course the still strong NE wind. But there was also Jaap's birthday. Well-celebrated with Joaquin & Claudia ( crew of sy Lucky Lady), Pepe( sy Argo) and Joancho (sy Pip, what a name!). For us it was a special treat having other cruisers around us again. Marijke showed her skills with cake, fruit punch and the making of a silly hat for the BD boy. Even Nori and Wakame enjoyed all the company on board of Alishan.
Then, one day as we went ashore to have some lunch. What a Timing!:we ran into Steve & Gayla (sy Ariel) and David & Heather (sy Milliways).They had rented a car for the day and had driven from KK. Wow, that roti lunch took >> 2 hours...heaps of talking and laughter.

Kudat's Chinese New Year celebrations were ,for us, minimal. Spoiled after our CNY in Penang 2 years ago. But they like to shoot nice fireworks in Kudat. Alishan stayed in the "pond" next to the golf course. Great golfers out there, we didn't get a single hit.

The weather forecast for the next 2 days looks good. The plan is an early morning start tomorrow (Monday) and we should be in PI waters by afternoon. Will update from there.

Salute

Sea Gypsy Visit

Our visitors the other day.

Like us: Boat People.

Happy to be able to help them out with things we have wayyyy too much.

Alishan did make a Move...to??

Last Wednesday, the weather picture looked okay to make that jump.
So early morning we left the anchorage, motored a few miles to cleaner water where jaap went over the side to clean the 1 inch thick layer of shells from the propeller. Off again...just to find NNE winds with a uncomfy chop. NOT a good start for a 250 mile trip to Palawan.
So we turned around and dropped the hook again, same spot.
Wind reports for the following days were no good, and a "new" plan was born.
Thursday early we left Sandakan for Kudat area ( of course, of course, now the wind was from the SW, but very light), motorsailing brought us to some islands (Tagipil islands) were we spend the night. Here we got company from some sea-gypsies who were very happy with our fresh veggies, rice, band aid and cookies. Each boat had papa, mama and for sure a couple of kids....Plenty of dried fish for the swap. (no thank you). Just big happy smiles is enough. ( pictures will follow).
Yesterday woke us up with yesyes, piping NE winds and we flew the 40 miles to Malawali Island.
Today we'll sail to Kudat ( need to stock up our "lost" supplies) and again look out for a weather window to sail the 70 odd miles to southern Palawan.

Chinese New Year this weekend: GONG CI FA CAI to you all.

salute

It's still too windy from the NE

Alishan hasn't made that Move, as yet.
The weather reports still show too much wind between here and Palawan.
AND the wind direction is of course NE and that is exactly our direction.
So we stay put, having learned our lessons in the past.
Okay-okay, that means we have to go shopping again for fruit and veggies. But that's so easy here as the market is only a 10 minute walk away.

.

YummyYummy Durian ;-))

In the meantime we read a book, go for a walk, do some photo, boat or computer work.
BTW, Alishan still has internet on board so by times we yep the world around on Skype....

Salute.

Sunny Sunny Sandakan

It looks like the NE monsoon lost its bite, at least at this moment.
For sure the wind strenght is down and the skies are (almost) blue. At night we enjoy a full moon, don't you?
We also notice a small shift in wind direction so.....We are now in the countdown-mode to get away from here.

Where to?
Well, just North and hopefully the wind direction is okay. We'll try to make it in 1 line to: Porta Princessa del Palawan in the PI.

Alishan is being loaded with goodies ( what's needed and what is cheap here in Malaysia) and at the moment we have an PETD for Saturday.

Keep you updated.

Salute