17-18 Sep 05 Passage Kuantan to Tioman Islands Back to Malaysia East Coast Cruise 2005
Our stay in Kuantan was only long enough to do some provisioning and get fuel for the outboard. A storm to the north gave a prediction of favorable weather, based on a forecast from Singapore, so we decided to carry on.
17 Sep The anchor was catted at 0745, we cleared the river entrance at 0820 then began a delightful close reach with southwest winds at 8-10 knots on a direct course to Tekek Bay, Tioman Islands. The expectation for a pleasant passage was dashed at noon when the winds veered and increased in strength. By 1720 we were pounding into 15-18 knot south-southeast winds and 1.5 meter seas and tacked back toward the mainland. Another tack at 2100 as the wind continued unabated and by midnight the boat speed was down to the 3.5 knot range as we pounded into the seas. One annoyance was the amount of water in the bilge coming through the anchor rode hawse-pipe as the green water came over the bow.
18 Sep At 0200 we 'hove to' and spent 15 minutes sealing the hawse-pipe with rags. The wind had clocked back to the south so we tacked toward shore once again. By 0400 the wind was now in the south-southwest, still in the 18 knot range and we tacked onto a course for Tioman. But Mother Nature wasn't done with us. At 0730, as we passed Pulau Tulai, about 6 NM from Tekek Bay, a Sumatran came roaring out of the southwest with 33 knot winds and torrential rain. With a piece of jib the size of a dishtowel we continued on a beam reach at 5 knots. By 0800 the squall had passed and we thanked 'Mom' for washing the salt from the boat. We put the hook down in Tekek Bay at 0830 as the wind, down to 12 knots, and the seas running 0.5-1 meter bounced us around. If we had not been so tired it would have been uncomfortable ... but we managed to get some sleep as the conditions improved. By evening it was calm in the bay and we managed a good night's sleep.