Mountains Everywhere

The flag of Sabah has the contour of Mt Kinabalu in it.

Of course Alishan has Mt Alishan in its mainsail.

And here below you see Mt Kinabalu on a clear morning when we were sailing along the NW coast of Sabah. Beauty neh.

Sailing the Sulu Sea

Alishan spent a few days at anchor in Kudat. Did it rain those days! And wow, on top of that, heaps of thunder and lightning. We thought we had left that scary stuff behind us at Singapore. But in between all those downpours we indeed had some good quality time with Aslaug and Kari of sy Lady Ann. Thanx guys for showing us around town. Even managed to do some shopping. (fruit, veggies, bread and ....fuel). Monday morning we woke up with a blue sky, so it was time to move on and.... We had a good trip over the Sulu Sea (3 days). Of course the little wind we had was on the nose, this time it came from SE. Mind you the conditions were good enough to do some varnishing ;-)) Alishan is now at anchor in Sandakan. 5 degree 50.4N 118 degree 07.4E The town looks good for a few days, we hope to make some short inland trips to some national parks around here, but then ASAP we want to move on to the Kinabatanga River. Get the camera ready! Salute

From Kota Kinabalu to Kudat

Yes we did get away from Sutera Harbor Marina. Not easy at all as it's so nice to be there. Just the whole set-up, the swimming pool, good showers, gym, good marina and very very friendly people all around us. Staff and visitors. And of course there is the mountain , very special for all the birds and the hiking. BTW did you enjoy Marijke's latest pictures at our HP? Anyway, Alishan is now at anchor in front of Kudat Town: 6 degree 52.3N 116 degree 50.6 E The trip took 3 days, ( we stopped at 2 very nice bays with great views on mount Kinabalu) and it was mostly motor sailing into N-wind ( as in: on the Nose) and boy were we happy to be here. When we rounded the Top of Borneo, only 5 minutes later the sky came down with solid rain and even stronger ENE winds. Zero visibility! In the next few days we will see what Kudat can offer us. Oh yes our good friends o/b Lady Ann are here on the hard stand for boat repairs. We gonna have to give them some moral support. But soon we will be heading further east towards Sandakan. Salute

The Day After

Exhausted and Excited. Yes after all those years of dreaming about climbing Mt Kinabalu, i made it to the top. Okay, now the legs are a chippy sore with muscle ache, but i'd like to do it again. Anybody out there? Marijke has been busy with the new Q update, take a look as already some is uploaded. Mind you it is still under construction. ( Q3 report 2009 etc) Salute

Toppie Mt Kinabalu

That's the goal.
Next morning, 6 am!!

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No indeed this doesn't look like Borneo at all.
But it is Maassluis the Homeport of Alishan, at least on paper.
Jaap flew back to holland to visit Mom and the Gang, all went well.
Loaded with chesse and "WITLOF" he returned and is now getting over jetlag.
Marijke in meantime did heaps of socializing, yes SHM is good for that.
Tomorrow ( monday oct 19) we are booked for Mount Kinabalu Park.
Birds and hiking trails are gonna be explored.
Salute

SHM by Google Earth

Google Earth shot from our present location. Great place for boat, crew and cats.
See the swimming pool?
So nice to go for a splash after an early morning jog.