Wednesday 7 November 2012

Sail Malaysia Start

Hi everyone,
Sail Malaysia "Passage to Langkawi" 2012 started on Friday with a registration and welcoming session.  It was good to catch up with many yacht crews we haven't seen for quite a while.  Danga Bay put on some nice food and tea/coffee.  Pity they don't have any clean toilets or working showers for visiting yachties!

Zen Again at Danga Bay
On Sunday Sail Malaysia put on an all-day coach tour to show us the Malaysian State of Johor.  It was a good tour with visits to: the Puteri Harbour marina development and the new government area at the new city of Iskandar; Tangung Piai; a pineapple museum and a tradional Kampung; and finally one of the many large shopping malls.  The tour guide was very good.

Puteri Harbour marketing model
Puteri Harbour marina 
New parliamentary chamber at Iskandar
New parliamentary campus at Iskandar
Tanjung Piai
 On Monday morning we had the technical briefing for the rally, and in the evening the Official Rally Dinner.  The briefing was a bit of a shambles but we got some useful information.  The best speakers were a cruising couple who have spent the last 10 years cruising Malaysia.

The dinner could have been great.  Great venue.  Excellent food.  Great dancers demonstrating local dance.  Good MC.  Short speeches.  All spoilt completely by the audio system which was beyond loud.  Think rock concert.  I must be getting old, but if so I'm not alone - all the yachties we spoke to afterwards was of the same opinion.

With friends at the Danga Bay Marina bar
Yesterday we had one last trip into the CBD of Johor Bahru.  We went with Graham and Anne of sv Kakadu and did some last minute shopping then saw the latest James Bond movie Skyfall.  The movie was great fun - recommended!

Today we plan to depart Danga Bay at 1500, heading down the Johor Strait before anchoring overnight.  Our next destination with the rally is Port Dickson, about 100nm NNW "as the crow flies" and 150nm by sea.  Hopefully they have good pens, plentiful toilets and showers, and small audio amplifiers. ;)

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