Enso sail

I wrote a short report about our trip from Pattaya to Singapore for the next boats that will come out of Pattaya. Phil who does the seawind handovers there, will offer this information to the new seawind owners who will most likely follow the same route in the future.

On 21st of October at 7am we left Pattaya and sailed South.

We were to join the Rally to Langkawi so did not have time to day hop all the way down the coast so instead opted to sail more or less directly towards Terengganu.

We stayed just West of the huge Oil fields no anchor zone. 

We sailed a lot during the days and motored through the night as most of the time winds dropped overnight.

We came across some larger ships that were headed into or came out of the oil fields, but not a lot.  Lots of fishing boats here and there, but most were staying in one place or moving slowly. The boats fishing for squid are covered in huge bright lights in green and white, easy to see and avoid. The radar was very handy in helping determine the speed and direction of the fishing boats at night for easy avoidance. 

We did not encounter much debris in the water so did not have any issues night sailing. Though we did see quite large pick up floats/large jerry cans tied together probably for fishing nets of some type. 

We did encounter a current against which slowed us down 1-2 knots until we got near the Perenthian Islands where it moderated to less than half a knot. This was not shown on the Windy App and added an extra night to our expected ETA.

It took 3 days and nights to get near the Parenthians so we decided to stop the night there and sail to Terengganu the next afternoon. 

According to the intel we got although the Parenthians is a national park (and you should have a NP Pass)  you can stop there for the night as long as you don’t go ashore and keep a low profile. 

After dropping anchor a fast patrol vessel steamed up as we were eating dinner. We expected a visit/vhf call, and to be told to move on but they just hung around for a couple hours before leaving after we all went to bed. 

We arrived in Terengganu on the 25th. 

Terengganu has a huge crab claw breakwater bay with good protection to anchor. There is a drawbridge across the bay that blocks access to the marina, which looks in disrepair. The bridge can be opened for around $ 250 US but that would be one way.. and needs to be scheduled. We found it pretty easy to stay anchored in the bay and use our dinghy to get into town. Lots of fishing boat traffic going in and out. And we got to be the turn around point for people on the Harbor tour boats, very friendly waves and smiles. 

We arrived on Friday which is the start of the weekend in Malaysia, here the major religion is Muslim and the holy day is Friday. Thus the airport and immigration office is closed. 

Agent: Cha Aim Global +60 199439842 (Can contact over WhatsApp) 

Sunday we took the dingy to the marina and got picked up by the agent. Drove to the airport for the Passport stamps and the rest was sorted by the agent.

Prior info told us no one was able to get fuel here as the petrol stations are not allowed to give out more than 5L of fuel. We asked the agent and he arranged for us to pick up 300L. We only had 4x 25L cans so did 3 trips from the boat to the fuel dock which is located South of the marina. Tie up to a small dock and walk around with the cans to the fill up. Total cost for 300L was about $380 US.

When going into town you can leave a dingy half the way up a small channel running towards turtle alley. There are some steps to lock the dingy to. (Be aware of tide)

Terengganu – Tioman:

We applied for a NP pass to stop at Palau Tenggol which cost around $50 US for 1 boat and 4 people. This would be a day trip away. The agent brought us to fisheries to get the permit. But it seemed like he didn’t think it was necessary if stopping for just a night. We wanted to do things right so got the passes anyways.

Once we got to Palau Tenggol, the bay had 3 work boats hanging out in the bay and we didn’t see any free moorings. Also there was quite a bit of swell in the bay. Anchoring is prohibited in the NP’s so we carried on through the night to arrive in Tioman around 1500 the next day.

Tioman

The agent: Rashid Jamal +60 178425708 (can contact over WhatsApp)

The agent first told us to pick up a mooring but then told us to come into the marina. 

As soon as we arrived all paperwork was done, and we were free to explore.

We stayed at the dock for 2 days, there is electricity and water if needed. For the last night we moved to a mooring (pick up buoy was a blue fender). Great snorkeling and biking/walking here.

Next stop was an anchorage called Jason Bay. You can stop overnight on the way North/South as long as it is not in a NP. No issues here. Lucky with offshore wind, and small swell. But we understand it is not always nice and calm here.

Than a day trip to just East of Singapore (North of Pusat Serenti Pengerang), Anchoring in the river North of the Navy pier.

Going around Singapore went pretty smoothly. We stayed on the edge of the TSS going with the traffic, and stayed well clear of the Singapore border.  (the Traffic Separation Scheme is like a highway for big ships including roundabouts)

Occasionally ships came in from behind or went the opposite way just outside the TSS, so staying just inside the TSS seemed the best option. 

There was a lot of Singapore Police buzzing around on the border. We were contacted on VHF16 once by them and asked for our destination, but no issues there.

 We motored under the 25m high bridge West of Singapore and moored up in Pinetree marina. 

Good info/advice about cruising East coast Malaysia: https://www.sailmalaysia.life/updates-announcements/navigating-the-east-coast-peninsula-malaysia

Simon