Crew Wanted: Langkawi to Singapore April 2012

[Miss Calypte]

Hello! We are looking for somebody experienced to assist in sailing our 35ft Endurance from Langkawi to Singapore.We have never done this stretch before so a bit nervous especially to be heading around Singapore... So, ideally we would like a crew member that has done this before, has good navigational skills, good sense of humour but takes the responsibility of safety at sea seriously! We are intending to leave Langkawi first week of April.

[Jon Hacking]

We'll probably be sailing that route about then in our own boat, & you'd be welcome to tag along. But there will also be several other boats heading that way about then. From Langkawi we stop at Penang (Tangjung City Marina), Pangkor (SW bay), Pt Kelang (somewhere), Malacca (if it hasn't silted up), Water Islands. These are pretty big steps, but there aren't a lot of protected places to anchor on that leg.

Would strongly suggest that you get an AIS for those waters. Singapore will insist, & will make you rent one if you don't already have one. See our AIS Page for more info. It's a GREAT technology, best thing for navigation since the GPS.

[Miss Calypte]

Thanks for that Jon. We do have AIS and I can see how great a navigational aid it is! Hope to see you out there!

[klubko]

We went through there twice, heard lots of stories, but it wasn't as bad as it seemed. We had no AIS and the biggest problem (apart from floatsam) were unlit fishermen. Once we almost ran into a ~50' fishing boat on a dark night. Avoided them just by few meters after they lit something what seemed like Christmas tree decorations on their boat. Since then we scanned the horizon with a strong flashlight once every 10-15 minutes and from time to time they would turn on their light for a minute or two...
And then in a squall a smaller fishing boat went dangerously close to us to pass just before our bow. This is apparently a common maneuver to get rid of a bad luck and pass it onto another boat...
The big ships are no real problem. Except when you cross their path near ports.
Btw. we really loved Lumut.

I think that Singapore only insists on AIS when you are cruising their waters (after you checked in). We had no problems rounding Singapore without AIS, checking in One Degree and then leaving Singapore on our way to Santubong.
Good luck!